"You can watch, but you absolutely can't make any noise while you do."
"These minor spirits are very timid. If there's even a slightly loud sound, they'll get scared and run away."
Still a little worried, Emilia reminded Shiro once more.
Only after he made a zipping motion across his lips did she smile and walk over to a stone bench in the corner of the garden.
Then she closed her eyes.
Her lips moved softly, as though she were speaking with something invisible.
Before long—Pure-white points of light, sparkling like stars, appeared around her.
There was no evidence to prove it.
Yet the instant Shiro saw those lights, he instinctively understood.
These glowing white motes were the true forms of the minor spirits he had been looking for.
As he observed them, the scenery around Emilia gradually became dazzling and dreamlike.
The white spirits danced through the air like falling snowflakes.
At the center of that snowfall, Emilia's silver hair flowed down like a waterfall.
Her violet eyes seemed unusually deep and mysterious, like stars shining in the darkness of space, naturally drawing the gaze of anyone who looked at them.
This almost fairy-tale scene continued for roughly half an hour.
Listening from the side as Emilia spoke with the minor spirits, Shiro gradually developed a better understanding of these creatures.
Unlike spirits such as Puck, who possessed clear self-awareness, minor spirits had extremely faint consciousness.
It was difficult to even call them living creatures in the conventional sense.
Most of Emilia's "conversation" with them consisted of her telling stories she had read in books.
The minor spirits merely replied with things resembling—
"Haha."
Or—
"Ababa."
Even when Emilia occasionally asked them questions, they could only mechanically describe whatever they had witnessed.
Still—
During the conversation, the minor spirits had clearly drawn closer to Emilia.
Shiro felt the process resembled raising a pet.
If you treated them gently while they were young and never harmed them, then once those minor spirits matured and developed self-awareness, they would naturally be less afraid of approaching you.
The only unknown was how long it took for a minor spirit to grow into a true spirit with independent consciousness.
From that perspective—Puck really had taken on the role of Emilia's father.
He was carefully making preparations for her future.
"Someone is waiting for me today, so we'll have to finish a little earlier."
"Let's continue talking tonight."
Emilia raised her pale hand and waved goodbye to the minor spirits.
The surrounding motes began flashing in response.
Then, like mist dispersing beneath sunlight, they gradually dissolved into the air.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Shiro shook his head.
Then he asked curiously—
"Do you talk about things like this with minor spirits every day?"
"Doesn't it get boring?"
"Eh?"
"Shiro, you can understand what minor spirits are saying too?"
Emilia's attention had not been on how dull their conversation might seem.
She had spent the past several years like this and was long accustomed to these simple exchanges.
If anything—Having a group of beings willing to quietly listen to her stories was something that made her happy.
What surprised her far more was the fact that Shiro could understand the minor spirits.
Being able to understand the language of spirits meant possessing the aptitude to become a Spirit Arts User.
In other words—If Shiro found a spirit willing to form a contract with him, he could become a Spirit Arts User at any time.
He was already strong enough to fight Reinhard evenly.
If he formed a contract with a powerful spirit on top of that, just how strong would he become?
Even Emilia, who rarely cared about comparing strength, could not help feeling curious.
"Yeah."
"I have a special Divine Protection that lets me understand the languages of almost every race."
Shiro could not exactly explain the true nature of his ability to Emilia, so he simply attributed it to a special Divine Protection.
And technically, he was not lying.
His ability to understand other species was indeed a blessing.
It simply had not been granted by this world.
It came from a certain [Celestial Star Spirit].
"That sounds so nice..."
Emilia spoke with obvious envy.
"It isn't as convenient as you think."
Shiro tried to reassure her.
"Most creatures in the world don't really possess anything that can be called a 'language.'"
"They just make instinctive sounds, and some can't communicate verbally at all."
"So most of the time, this Divine Protection just saves me from having to learn different languages."
"And even then, it only lets me read, understand, and speak them."
"If you asked me to actually write those languages, I couldn't do it."
"Being able to understand minor spirits this time is more like an unexpected bonus."
"But isn't that already enough?"
Emilia tilted her head in confusion.
Her blue-violet eyes were filled with genuine puzzlement.
Perhaps to Shiro, compared to his other abilities, this power was merely a convenient extra.
Aside from creatures like the spirits of this world, most languages could be learned eventually with enough time.
But that was not what Emilia envied.
She did not envy his ability to understand spirits or his potential to form spirit contracts.
What she envied—
Was the ability to communicate freely with other races at any time.
Because of her silver-haired half-elf appearance, Emilia had always been judged and rejected by others.
To her, being able to understand other races meant there was at least a chance she could find someone among them who would not dislike her appearance.
For most people, finding someone willing to speak with them was completely ordinary.
For Emilia—It was something precious.
Although Emilia had invited Shiro to Roswaal Mansion only because she wanted to repay him—The fact that he showed none of the usual wariness toward her and could casually tell her about his abilities as though they were already familiar made her quietly happy.
Emilia's matter-of-fact attitude left Shiro speechless.
Over the years, he had met all kinds of people.
There were those like Stella, who pushed forward for the sake of the country behind her.
There were people like Ais and Bete, who constantly trained themselves for revenge.
And there was even Kurogane Ikki, who, like Emilia, sought strength so others would acknowledge him.
Without exception—Shiro included—Everyone he knew tried to fulfill their wishes by becoming stronger.
Somewhere along the way, even Shiro had forgotten one of the reasons he originally wanted to visit other worlds.
He had simply wanted to see scenery he had never witnessed in his previous life.
Yet the moment he arrived in Orario and learned about the incredibly convenient Falna—Combined with the influence of Ais and the others—He had barely explored the city at all.
Instead, he spent nearly all his time burying himself in the Dungeon and pursuing greater strength.
Emilia was different from all of them.
She had chosen a much more difficult road.
She also wanted to be accepted.
Yet she had never obsessed over whether she herself was powerful enough.
Instead, she simply approached everyone she met with complete sincerity.
Of course, believing that sincerity alone could erase prejudices accumulated over centuries was somewhat naive.
Still—Shiro had to admit something.
Before the rest of them became strong enough to force their dreams into reality—Emilia was actually the person among them who stood closest to achieving hers.
'Maybe before the Seven Star Sword Art Festival begins...'
'I should go back and see how the Loki Familia has been doing after more than a year apart.'
The thought surfaced naturally in Shiro's mind.
…