Apparently Hikarin can only see me with my contract and Phelia with her spirit eyes. Krona was disappointed about that, but this is all I can do.

　I decided to play with Phelia and Krona until the appointed time, though not in exchange for that. I asked them what they wanted to do, and they both said they wanted to play make-believe, so I did.
　I played the role of the father, and Phelia and Krona took turns being the mother and the child. In the beginning, we were all friends with each other and took turns playing together, but from the middle of the game, the roles were changed to Phelia as the mother and Krona as the mistress.
You! You're going to choose between me and this woman! And, "If you don't choose me, I'll die! And so on and so forth, and it was as sloppy as a daytime drama in a previous life. Who taught such sludge to a five year old boy........
　I couldn't overlook the quirks, though, and I made him promise not to play this trick or treat anymore.

　Despite all that's happened, it's comforting to play with the two of them. I tried not to worry about it the last time I was on the big march, but that was the first time I killed a creature. Since it was the first time, including in my previous life, I still feel it in my hands.

　Life is lighter in this world than in the previous life. Even the slightest bit of carelessness can cost you your life. In order to protect myself and my precious things, I will continue to kill living things. Perhaps we might even try our hand at humans. We need to make sure that when that happens, we won't be lost. Because someday you're going to have to make a decision...

　As I was thinking about this, Hikarin pecked me on the head. Hikarin's special seat is on top of my head, and apparently it's nice to sleep here, with a good carpet of hair for everything.

'Master, I have something difficult on my mind. Let me figure it out for you!

'No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it.

　I chuckled so bitterly and Hikarin used a bolt of lightning magic.

''Aaba-baba!'' What the hell are you doing!

You signed up for this and you have nothing to hide! I've watched the Master since he was a baby, and I know what's bothering him! Come on, spit it out!

'Wait a minute! What do you mean you've been watching me since I was a baby?

''A spirit can't sign a contract with a human unless that spirit and the human's magic wavelength match! So while there were spirits that couldn't be contracted for life, Master was a very rare person who was in tune with spirits of all attributes because of his title. That's why many spirits were very popular with me, but I won the tournament with all the spirits.

　I didn't expect to see the influence of The Marginalized One here....

'So I know that the Master was happy to bury his face in his mother's chest, and that he tore up his father's prized book!

　Oh, my God! You think I'm the only one who knows information?

'By the way, my mother knew that I was happy to bury my face in her chest.

　Seriously! Is that why you sometimes look at me with such kind eyes?

So, you can tell me anything you want! Leave it to me!

　Well, then we can talk. So I told Hikarin what I thought earlier.

"That's the easy part!

　Easy? What do you mean?

'I'm going to be strong enough not to have to kill people! As long as we get strong enough to make people lose their will to fight, so that they can choose to live or die, we'll be fine!

　...I see. Strong enough to make you lose the will to fight.

Can I be strong?

I can be strong! It's okay because I'm with me, a high-level spirit of lightning!

'Are high-level spirits that amazing, Hikarin!

''Right now it's in this form because the master's magic supply is low, but as the master's magic supply increases, it will become its true form! He's a nice buddy, so you can look forward to it!

　Nice buddy. That'll be fun.

Yeah, well, good luck with that. Good luck with that, buddy!

'Please say hello! Master!

　I felt like I had made a real deal with Hikarin.

　As I was talking about this, the teacher came over.

'Ah, sir. Are you done with the post-processing?

Yeah, the center has cleared up a lot. It's all thanks to Ray for burning the demons without a hassle. The troublesome part of a conflict or war like the Great March is the cleanup after it's over. If you don't dispose of a significant amount of corpses before they rot, they'll either become a source of disease or undead.

'I see. So you're busy dealing with that outside the gate?

''No, Ellis and I took care of things outside the gate, so it's fine. And there weren't many demons to begin with this time.

　Yeah. Well, she said it was the fastest thing she'd ever done.

"Well, it's about time. Let's head over to Zeke's office.

'Yes! Let's go.

　We headed to Zeke's study.