AN: Due to RL issues, it might be take longer than usual for my next update.
UPDATE 20/11/18: Edited so that Mary is referred to by her birth name in the narration
Mary wondered who the person approaching was. From the sound of their footsteps, they seemed to be human-sized and to walk on two legs. And from the fact that they were approaching the Forest of Spirits, she could guess that they had some kind of business with its inhabitants, but that still left plenty of possibilities. Moreover, they were downwind of Mary, so she couldn't pick up their smell.
Then they came over the hill, and Mary was filled with confusion.
The newcomer was clearly a monster, but Mary wasn't sure what race she was. She had purple skin and flame-red hair that reached down to her waist. A pair of short conical horns sat atop her head. The horns and her generally humanoid shape suggested that she was a succubus, but she didn't have wings or a tail – and succubus horns tended to be curved. Finally, she wore a long white coat, dark pants and travelling boots.
Hold on a second, Mary thought. If I remember correctly, this kind of appearance is –
The strange monster spotted them and her face lit up. She approached with a springing step that seemed oddly familiar to Mary. But before either of them could greet her, the strange monster tripped over a rock.
Heinrich stepped forward, clearly planning on catching her. With her vastly superior speed and reflexes, Mary could have pre-empted him, but a thought came to her mind.
Heinrich has been feeling down lately, and it seems to be because he's not feeling useful. In that case, maybe I should let him handle this at least.
With that in mind, she hung back. That was, in hindsight, a poor decision.
While stumbling, the strange monster somehow managed to trip over her own feet. She became entangled with Heinrich and together they fell over, her large chest right on top of his face. She muttered "Ow, ow, ow…"
Mary froze. The double instance of clumsiness had been so unexpected that she hadn't reacted properly, leading to the current bizarre situation.
"What the – get off him!" Mary shouted. She pulled the strange monster to her feet, employing perhaps a little more force than was strictly necessary.
Heinrich remained on the ground for a second, but quickly got up as well, blushing furiously and unable to meet Mary's eyes.
After brushing herself off, the strange monster lowered her head. "Umm, I'm so sorry!" she said. "I'm a bit – well, very clumsy, and it doesn't help that I'm often in a rush, which is why people keep telling me to slow down, but I keep forgetting to – "
"Wait, wait, it's fine, it was just an accident," Heinrich said quickly. "I – I'm not hurt or anything."
"Really? That's a relief. Again, I'm sorry," the strange monster said. "Wait, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Akame Artiste, and I'm a succubus."
So I was right after all¸ Mary thought. She's part of that family. Why didn't she just say that right from the start!? Why – wait, why am I so mad?
Mary and Heinrich introduced themselves – the former still brimming with an unexpected feeling of anger – and then they learned what this strange succubus was doing here.
"So to start with, my family is known for being experts in the dark arts – necromancy, spiritualism and puppeteering," Akame said. "In fact, we're actually official entertainers for the Monster Lord – not that humans would know that, I guess."
Now Mary remembered. Some of the Artiste family had actually come to the Monster Lord's Castle to put on a performance. That had been over ten years ago, explaining why she hadn't recognised Akame immediately.
"Anyway, that's what my family's interested in," Akame continued. "Me? I'm actually more interested in living things, rather than dead things. I'm interested in ecology – that is, the study of how living things interact with each other and with the world around them. Right now, I'm looking at how herbivory by insects affects organic matter decomposition, and in turn nutrient cycling, in the forest ecosystem."
Mary didn't understand even half of these words. From the look on his face, Heinrich was no different. In fact, Mary doubted that her mother or sister would have understood what Akame was talking about.
"So that's why you've come to this forest?" Heinrich said. "It… sounds like an interesting topic."
"I know, right!?" Akame said excitedly, showing no signs of noticing their confusion. "According to the current literature, forest nutrient cycles are mainly driven by large herbivores, like deer. But I just know that insects play a much bigger role than people think. They live up in the forest canopy, so they're not as well-studied as the fauna of the forest floor, but insects are incredibly abundant, and if my theories are right, they change what reaches the forest floor in all sorts of ways – "
Akame continued in this vein for almost a minute. Mary and Heinrich were even more lost than before, but did their best to seem interested.
Once Akame had finally finished, Mary said, "So basically, you're a scholar who's here to study the – the ecology of this forest." When the succubus nodded, Mary continued, "In that case, why don't we travel together? We also have business in the Forest of Spirits – or would that be a bother to you?"
"No!" Akame said. Then she realised that this might be misinterpreted and corrected herself, "No, that wouldn't be a bother at all! I'd love the company! I don't usually get the chance to talk to people outside my family!"
There was a brief but awkward silence. It was eventually broken by Heinrich, who said, "Umm, don't take this the wrong way, but – I didn't really understand what you were talking about just now. I think that might be why you don't – well – "
This blunt honesty was only a minor surprise to Mary. She remembered how, when they had first met, Heinrich had been frank about how strange her previous pseudonym was. And during their time in Yamatai, he had become better at social interactions. Hopefully, he'd improve further in the future.
Akame blinked in surprise at these words. She said, "Well, come to think of it… the few times I talked to someone outside my family, they usually said that they had something else to do, and I – and I never heard from them again."
Akame looked dejected, almost to the point of crying. Heinrich started panicking, so Mary quickly stepped in. She said, "Well, everyone makes mistakes, but we can learn from them! We can give you a hand with that."
After some more coaxing, she managed to cheer Akame up. The three of them finally entered the forest.
Despite the forest's reputation, they didn't encounter any fairies or elves at first. Presumably they preferred to stick to the interior of the forest.
This gave Akame the opportunity to gush over all of the insects she found. Whenever she saw a colourful butterfly flapping through the air or a large horned beetle sitting on a log, she would stop, pull out a magical quill and paper and start writing notes on their behaviour, and finally pull out a glass vial to capture the insect in. This was notable because of where she pulled the equipment from: lacking a bag or pockets, she instead used space-time magic to pull them out of a pocket dimension. The incredible precision of this magic was astounding to Mary – in all likelihood, Akame was better in this field than her.
Because of that, they moved at a much slower pace than expected. On the other hand, it did give Akame a chance to learn how to speak more… comprehensibly.
" – so a lot of people just think of insects as being just a few types – ants in general, bees in general, and so on – but that couldn't be further from the truth," Akame said. "As an example, take these two caterpillars I've got here." She held up the insects in their vials. "This one here is green, like a leaf, so it blends in easily and is hard for predators like birds to spot. On the other hand, this one has red and black stripes, and you'd think these bright and contrasting colours would make it easy to spot, and that part's true, but they also act as a warning to predators that this caterpillar is poisonous."
"It's poisonous?" Heinirch repeated. "I've seen caterpillars like this before, but I never knew about that."
"Mm, and the reason why they're brightly-coloured is so that predators know not to eat them," Akame said. "After all, if they looked the same as this green caterpillar over here, any predator that did find them wouldn't hesitate to eat them. They'd spit them out quickly, of course, since poisonous things generally taste bad, but that doesn't mean that the caterpillar's any less dead."
Normally, Mary should have been happy at helping the two of them socialise. But, for some reason, she couldn't shake off her mysterious yet unmistakeable irritation. It wasn't the first time either: she remembered feeling the same whenever Heinrich had been friendly with other monsters in Yamatai.
What is going on with me? Mary thought. Don't tell me – don't tell me that I've gotten used to the idea of having him dependent on me, and – and I'm feeling this way because I don't want that to stop?
At that moment, Akame rushed off again, heading towards a huge spider that sat in an equally-huge web. But just before she reached it, she fell abruptly.
Wait, did her clumsiness strike again? Mary thought. Better go help her up – huh?
When she got closer, Mary saw that it wasn't just an act of clumsiness. Akame had her leg stuck in a hole that was too perfectly formed to have occurred naturally. The leaves and sticks around it also smelled slightly different from those in the surroundings, suggesting that it was a pitfall trap. And at the same time, she heard a sound that was distinct from the usual sounds of the forest. When she focused her attention, she realised that it was the high-pitched giggling of countless people, coming from all directions.
Mary looked around and called out, "I know you're there, come out!"
There was some more giggling. Then the fairies exploded out of the bushes. They resembled teenage girls or young women, but shrunken to the point that they could sit in the palm of Mary's hand. They had the antennae and transparent wings of insects, and wore dresses dyed in natural colours and woven from plant fibres. And, just like the butterflies they resembled, they flitted about constantly, never staying still.
One fairy, who had green hair and an expression of mischief that was even greater than that of her peers, boldly flew closer to them. She said, "Teehee, how did you like that? We put a lot of work into making sure that our traps can't be found easily!"
Mary couldn't help but put her hand on her face. If there was one thing that fairies loved to do, it was playing pranks on others.
Heinrich helped Akame pull her leg out of the trap. The succubus seemed unsure of how to handle so many people at once, so Heinrich was the one to ask the fairies, "Wait, you just set up traps like that where anyone can get caught in them?"
"That's right!"
"Lots and lots of them!"
"Isn't it funny?"
The fairies' words were a seemingly-nonstop barrage that came from all directions. Heinrich seemed a little lost on who to respond to, but he continued, "That's – that's not right. People could get hurt."
"Don't worry about that!"
"We always stick around to watch!"
"Nobody gets hurt!"
"But it would still be better if you didn't set these traps in the first place," Heinrich said. "It's inconvenient for people who want to visit your forest, like us."
The fairies didn't take too kindly to being contradicted. The one who had spoken up first, who seemed to be the leader of the group, said indignantly, "Grr, you can't tell us what to do! Now you've spoiled the fun!"
The fairy pulled out a tiny wand, one that could be mistaken for a large splinter, and the others followed suit. With concerted waves of their wands, they conjured up a growing mass of wind, one powerful enough to make the branches of the trees whip about furiously.
Mary had been holding back until now, but she couldn't do that any longer. She stepped forward, pulling Heinrich and Akame behind her, and thrust out her staff. By concentrating the energy of the earth in the staff's tip, she was able to disrupt the fairies' spell and disperse the mass of wind.
The fairies were stunned, but only for an instant. They scattered and attempted to flee into the bushes. With their small size and incredibly agility, they would have been impossible for most humans or monsters to catch.
Of course, Mary wasn't like most monsters. She held her staff up vertically and then flicked the tip towards herself, creating a miniature gale that sucked the lead fairy back into reach. She caught the fairy in her hand while taking care not to damage her wings. She held the fairy for a couple of seconds, just long enough for her to realise what had happened, then let her go.
The fairy looked surprised at being released and didn't try to escape. Her friends also stopped their escape, though they remained at a safe distance.
Mary thought back to her previous experiences with fairies. Once she had thought of what to say, she began, "Okay, there's no need to resort to violence just because you're in an argument. Did your mothers bring you up to behave like this?"
The fairies hung their heads in shame. From what Mary knew, fairies tended to strike out on their own at an early age. Because of their love of freedom, fairy children couldn't stand being under the yoke of authority for any longer than necessary, and their mothers didn't try to keep them at home. This was why they were childish even as adults, spending their days playing pranks on each other. However, they still had the same fundamental set of values as other people.
The lead fairy said, "No, they didn't teach us to be like that. We're… we're sorry, we shouldn't have done that."
Mary smiled and was about to reply, but she heard the sound of someone else approaching. It wasn't just anyone, either – the way the footsteps were slightly too loud reminded Mary of the beast monsters she had encountered before, specifically of how they had deliberately advertised their presence.
An elf walked into sight. She was virtually identical to a human woman, with fair skin and shoulder-length blonde hair, except for her long pointed ears. She wore a short dress designed for mobility and of a mottled green that blended in well with the forest. A short bow and a quiver of arrows were hung over her shoulders. Said weapon wasn't pointed at them, which was a good sign. She was looking at them warily, however.
The elf observed the situation, notably sighing when she looked at the pitfall trap. She then turned to Mary's group and said, "Don't tell me – did the fairies catch you in one of their traps?"
"That's true, but we've actually sorted that out already," Mary replied.
The elf let out a long-suffering sigh. "I thought so. I sensed the casting of wind magic from afar and thought it was the fairies, but – well, I guess I was hoping that they hadn't done it yet again." She ran a hand through her hair in frustration, then continued, "Sorry, I should have introduced myself. My name is Fiara, and I'm one of the rangers who patrol this forest. How can I help you?"
Mary and her friends introduced themselves and explained their reasons for being here. The surrounding fairies had forgotten their fear by now – fairies had fast-paced minds that could go through a dozen emotions in a minute – and they started chattering excitedly about this new information.
Fiara nodded and said, "Alright, I'll take you to Sylph. She hasn't had visitors for a few months – which is a long time by her standards – and would like the company. Follow me."
The three of them followed the elf deeper into the forest. The fairies accompanied them at first, but one by one they became interested in other things and drifted away. By the time they reached their destination, there were only half a dozen of them remaining.
Along the way, Mary talked to Fiara and learned that this was far from the first time that Sylph had received human visitors. In fact, some of her visitors came all the way from San Ilia, the capital of Ilias' faith!
This led to Mary thinking about monster-human relations more generally. When they had met, Akame had seen nothing wrong with walking up and talking to them. Similarly, the fairies and Fiara hadn't been surprised at seeing a monster alongside (what they thought to be) two humans. Mary had heard how things were much better outside of the Noah region, but they were looking even better than she had expected.
They came to a clearing. Mary noticed something odd, and soon after so did Heinrich and Akame. Elsewhere in the forest, the wind was never stronger than a mild breeze, but here a number of powerful gusts were constantly colliding, stirring up leaves and filling the air with a continuous howl. Probably, the strong wind was the reason for the lack of trees, by killing any growing saplings.
Floating in the centre of the clearing was another fairy, but one with a presence that overshadowed all the others. Her long and untidy hair, dress, gloves, shoes and wings were all varying shades of green. Despite being in the conflux of the winds, she wasn't blown about at all, remaining in perfect control. Without a doubt, this was the Great Spirit of Wind, Sylph.
When she saw the approaching group, a huge smile appeared on Sylph's tiny face. In the blink of an eye, she zoomed over to them and called out, "Hello! I felt you coming on the wind and it's been so long since I got visitors and I just – " She suddenly started coughing, but recovered after a few seconds and continued, "Anyway, make yourselves comfortable! I want to hear everything you've been up to!"
It's like – it's like meeting Akame all over again, Mary thought.
Fiara excused herself and departed, leaving Mary and her group with Sylph and the remaining fairies. Sylph directed the three of them to a series of stumps which they then sat on.
One by one, the visitors explained their experiences to the residents of the forest. Naturally, Mary kept the important parts of her identity secret, and she and Heinrich also avoided the topic of what had happened just before Yamatai Village.
In the process, they also learned more about Akame. She was an only child, and thus was under a lot of pressure from her mother to follow the traditional path of the Artiste family. She had struck out on her own in an attempt to prove that her preferred field of study was worthwhile. This was something that resonated deeply with Mary.
Sylph buzzed around excitedly as she listened, filled with a seemingly-infinite energy. She never looked bored at anything they said, even showing interest in Akame's collection of insects.
One the three of them had explained everything to her, Sylph clapped her hands and said, "Oh, how exciting! Damn, I wish I could see stuff like that!"
"Well then, couldn't you go out and see them for yourself?" Heinrich asked. "Or is it that you're the leader of this forest, and so you have to stay here?"
"Mmm… not quite," Sylph replied. "It's not that I'm allowed to leave here, but… how do I explain this? There's a lot of long words involved, this is something that Deeny would be better off explaining… Well, to keep it simple, because I'm the spirit of wind, I can't go outside this forest for too long. This forest is filled with the power of wind, so it's nice and comfortable for me, like water for a fish. If I go outside, I get a lot weaker, and I can only stay outside for a few days at most before I have to come back. There's only one way for me to stay outside this forest for long is – " Sylph's eyes fell on Heinrich. She blinked, then suddenly shouted, "Hey, will you make a contract with me!?"
This startled Mary and the others. After a few moments, Mary remembered something that she had previously read and said, "Wait, if I remember correctly, you can make contracts with humans to lend them your power?"
"That's right!" Sylph said. "It's something that all spirits can do. Basically, we can change ourselves into a form that's pure energy and go into a human's body. It only works with humans, not with monsters – I can't really remember why, but I think it has to do with two sources of dark energy not being able to exist in the same body. Or something like that. Anyway, when we're inside a human, we're protected from the outside world. I've had a few contractors before now, and each time I was able to see all sorts of interesting things. So, what do you think?"
Mary mentally reviewed the books she had read in Yamatai about the use of spirits by humans. There were a subset of human mages called summoners, who could infuse other humans with lesser spirits to give them power comparable to the average monster. Even the Four Great Spirits could empower humans in this way, but because of their power and intelligence they formed proper contracts with humans unlike their lesser kin. However, there were never any records of monsters being able form a contract with a Great Spirit. It was hypothesised that this was because the Four Great Spirits were also monsters, being composed of dark energy in addition to their respective elemental energy, and so they would be rejected by the body of another monster.
However, Mary then noticed something odd. She was currently disguised as a human, yet Sylph had only considered Heinrich as a possible option for her contractor. True, her power would benefit him much more than it would Mary, but how would Sylph know about that?
Heinrich looked uncertain about the offer. It was no wonder – even if he was more accepting of monsters than he had been a few months ago, it was another thing entirely to let one possess his body. He said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure about that. Um… first of all, what kind of effects would this have on my body?"
"There won't be anything like that!" Sylph said confidently. "I'm perfectly okay to have around! And on top of that, I can give you all sorts of awesome powers. I can let you control the wind, I can let you move a hundred times faster, and if you get good enough at using my power, I might even be able to let you fly!"
Mary thought that this was a good idea. Heinrich had been worrying about falling behind lately, and the power of the spirit was one option to rectify that.
Heinrich spent some time considering this. Eventually, he said, "Okay, I will."
Sylph rocketed into the air, screaming with joy all the way. She zoomed back down to eye level and said, "Thank you, thank you! This'll be amazing for both of us, I promise!" Sylph took a few deep breaths, cleared her throat, and continued in a slightly more formal tone, "Thank you. But first, I need to make sure that you're able to handle my power. It wouldn't be alright to give the power of the wind to someone who couldn't use it, after all."
"Okay then, how are you planning on testing me?" Heinrich asked.
"Before I answer that, I need us to be alone first," Sylph said, turning to Mary and Akame. "Sorry about this, but can you leave this clearing for a minute? The test is something I want to keep a secret. Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long, and I won't hurt him, I promise."
The two of them agreed. They left the clearing and headed out into the forest until there were enough trees to completely obscure their view of the clearing.
Once they had settled down, Akame said, "I haven't experienced so much excitement since – since – well, since as long as I can remember."
"That's one of the advantages of going out and trying new things," Mary replied with a smile.
Akame looked around at the forest, seeming satisfied. She then said, "I went along with the flow, but are you sure about leaving Heinrich by himself? You seemed pretty confident in him."
"You could say that," Mary said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "When you go through life with someone else, you tend to pick up confidence in their abilities."
"So does that mean you're – oh!" Akame began to reply, only to spot yet another insect on a nearby log and hurry towards it, vial in hand.
Another one? Mary thought. But what was she about to say. From the context… no, it couldn't be, there's no way we give off that impression to others. It's just not possible.
After catching the insect, Akame brought it over for Mary to see. She said, "Look, it's a nice and large cricket, of a species that I've never seen before."
Mary froze.
"A lot of people don't know the difference between a cricket and a cricket, but it's actually really easy to tell them apart," Akame continued, not noticing Mary's reaction. "Grasshopppers have short antennae, whereas crickets have long antennae, sometimes longer than the rest of their bodies. Also, crickets have – "
Mary quickly put a hand on a tree trunk to keep herself upright. Her breathing quickened, while a series of images flashed through her mind. The words of the ecologically-minded succubus sounded faint and distant.
-ooo-
Now that he was alone in the clearing with Sylph, Heinrich felt even more nervous than before. Sylph hadn't shown any reason for him to distrust her, and Mary had approved of this as well, but it was still difficult for him to calm down.
Heinrich let out a deep breath. He reminded himself of his goal: to be able to pull his own weight. He didn't expect to be able to equal Mary, but he needed to gain at least the power to take care of himself.
At the same time, there was a desire within him, one that everyone had at some point in their lives: the desire to be special. Heinrich imagined himself speeding through the air on a gust of wind, moving as freely as an eagle. Who wouldn't want that?
Well, I doubt that I'll be doing anything on that level right away, Heinrich thought. Still, it's nice to dream about.
Sylph cleared her throat, gaining Heinrich's attention. She said, "Okay, are you ready?"
Heinrich clenched and unclenched his fist several times, letting out some of the tension in his body.
"Okay, I'm ready."
Sylph nodded, then assumed a serious expression. "First of all, I will test your mind!" She declared. "Only someone with a sharp mind can hope to use my power properly!"
Heinrich felt a slight sense of unease. It was the kind of test that often appeared in stories. If he was being honest, he wasn't the kind of person who would be able to pass such a test… but this concern proved unfounded.
"Okay, what's thirty times seven?" Sylph asked, still in the same serious tone as before.
Heinrich blinked. He thought he must have misheard the question horribly. There was no way that a test of intelligence could possibly be this simple. Perhaps the real test was to see if he could figure out that this was a trick?
"Hehe, it's a tough one, right?" Sylph said confidently. "Don't worry, I'll give you as long you need to work it out!"
"…Isn't it two hundred and ten?" Heinrich said tentatively.
"Th-that fast?" Sylph said, reeling back in shock. "It's a three digit number, there's no way you could have – "
Sylph descended to the ground and started scratching in the soft soil. From what Heinrich could discern from her tiny numbers, she was calculating the problem step by step.
"You're… right?" Sylph said. "But - don't tell me you're a genius at math?"
Heinrich remained silent. He didn't want to say that everyone in his village, save for the youngest children, could have done the same calculation and with at least as much ease. After all, basic mathematics was a vital skill for all kinds of occupations. Even a supposedly-simple farmer needed to know how much produce they had to sell to make a profit.
Shaking her head rapidly, Sylph continued, "D-don't think that they'll all be this easy! For my second question, name ten kinds of flower!"
"Ten?" Heinrich asked, still having trouble believing what he'd heard. "Uh: rose, lily, tulip, dahlia, dandelion, magnolia, daisy, begonia, buttercup, amaranth…"
Heinrich was no expert on flowers, but again, even he could manage this much. If it had been twenty – no, thirty kinds of flowers, he might have been in trouble, but a mere ten didn't even qualify as a challenge.
"W-wow! I – I can only name six…" Sylph said, sounding awed. "But! You definitely won't be able to handle the third, and final, question! Which is heavier, a tonne of rocks or a tonne of feathers?"
This time, Heinrich didn't doubt what he'd heard. He replied, "Neither, they both weigh one tonne."
"Ha! Gotcha!" Sylph said triumphantly. "Of course the rocks would be heavier, silly!"
"What?" Heinrich said. "That's not it! You just said that there's one tonne of both. A tonne is a unit of weight, so according to the terms of the riddle, they should both be the exact same weight!"
"Eh?"
Sylph was shocked, as if Heinrich had said something she'd never heard before. She started counting on her fingers for some reason, then her mouth gaped open.
"I… I… I never thought of that before…" Sylph said dejectedly. "I heard that saying from the fairies… But now that I think about it, no wonder they always laughed when I said that the rocks were heavier…"
Now Heinrich couldn't help but feel pity for Sylph. She looked like a human child who had just learned that there was no angel that gave her presents for acting nicely.
"Can I – can I ask you one question?" Heinrich said. "You mentioned forming contracts with humans before, but – did you test them in the same way?"
"I – to be honest, I didn't always have this test," Sylph admitted. "It's something I came up with recently. I thought that it would be good for picking out the best candidates."
There were a few seconds of awkward silence. Then Sylph shook her head and pointed at Heinrich.
"Okay! The test of mind wasn't enough, so now it's time for the next test! This is the one I've been using right from the start! This is the test of strength! I'll test you in a fight!"
"W-What!?" Heinrich said. "I can't do that! You're – you're – "
"Don't worry, I'm a lot tougher than I look!" Sylph replied.
To prove this, Sylph flew right at a nearby tree. Her tiny body slammed into the trunk and then bounced away. Heinrich stepped forward in an attempt to catch her, but Sylph remained in the air, without any signs of injury.
"See?" Sylph said proudly, with a piece of bark stuck in her hair. "Don't worry about hurting me. Anyway, all you have to do is hit me once, and you win. Got it?"
Heinrich was still a little reluctant at fighting someone so much smaller than him, but this feat of durability was undeniable. He agreed, and also pointed out the piece of bark so that Sylph could remove it.
Sylph took up position at the centre of the clearing, while Heinrich stood about five metres away from her. Heinrich had a tree branch in hand – even if Sylph was much tougher than expected for her size, using a real sword would still be dangerous.
Sylph was the one to initiate the duel. She raised her hands and shouted, "Wind, guard me!" With that command, the winds changed course unnaturally, spiralling around Sylph. The wind formed a sphere around the spirit, one that was visible to Heinrich because it stirred up the leaf litter as well.
Heinrich stepped forward and thrust the branch at the centre of the tornado, but the branch was completely blown away. While he was knocked off balance, Sylph raised her hand and a powerful gust blew directly at Heinrich, sending him flying away. Fortunately, the ground was soft and cushioned his landing.
Picking up the branch, Heinrich tried again and again. But he simply could not get through Sylph's barrier of wind. He never would have thought that mere wind could offer so much resistance.
On the other hand, Sylph wasn't able to inflict any serious injury on him either. She moved her arms vigorously before each attack, making it easy for Heinrich to predict and avoid her gusts of wind. Even on the rare occasion that he was hit, he was simply blown about without suffering anything worse than a scrape. It seemed that the power of wind was good for defence, but not offence.
Within her barrier of wind, Sylph laughed. "You won't be able to reach me at all! If you can land a single hit, I'll consider you worthy… but you won't be able to do it!"
There has to be some way of getting to her, Heinrich thought. Other people could do it, after all. If my normal attacks don't have enough force to bypass her wind, then – wait, I could try that out!
First, Heinrich called on the magic within him to enhance his body. He needed every bit of strength and speed that he could get for this.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red ribbon, a small souvenir from Yamatai Village. While grasping it tightly, he circled around Sylph, making sure the ribbon was always visible. He then threw the ribbon forward while digging his feet in to skid to a stop.
As expected, Sylph continued following the ribbon. Heinrich didn't let this opportunity pass. He charged forward, raising his branch high, and swung it down. As before, the branch was torn out of his hands by the wind.
But even that was another feint. Using one arm to protect his face, Heinrich threw himself at the barrier. The wind pushed back on him, but his body was much heavier than the branch, and he managed to overwhelm it.
The moment Heinrich collided with Sylph, the barrier of wind dissipated. Heinrich dug in his foot to avoid travelling further and potentially falling on top of the tiny spirit. He then stepped back and breathed heavily.
Sylph fluttered around unsteadily for a moment, but soon returned to her usual cheery self. She said, "Okay, you've won! That's all of the tests! Now it's time for our contract!"
Heinrich wasn't sure what to expect next. The word "contract" made him think of writing on a sheet of paper and leaving his seal on it, but he doubted that a contract with a spirit worked that way.
Sylph pointed her finger at Heinrich and vanished in a flash of light. He was confused momentarily, only for the wind to rush into his body, despite the clothing and skin in its way. A sensation akin to a raging storm filled his insides, causing him to stagger.
Alright, I'm in! Sylph said, her voice now somehow inside Heinrich's head. Now that we've merged, you can now use my power over wind!
Really!? Heinrich thought. So does that mean that I can do the same things as you? That would be incredible! Intercepting all attacks, and blowing enemies away with gusts of wind…
N-No, you can't! Sylph replied quickly. You still don't know how to harness my power properly. You won't be able to use the wind to attack or defend. My other contractors took weeks before they could reach that level.
Oh… well, I should have expected that, Heinrich thought. I really wanted to try flying – ah, forget about that! Anyway, can you really hear all of my thoughts like this?
That's right, but don't worry! Sylph said, then she suddenly appeared in front of him again. She continued, "I can pop outside of your body just like that, and it doesn't affect our contract in any way. So if you ever need privacy, don't worry about that!"
"Huh, that's convenient," Heinrich said.
"Now, let's call your friends and tell them the good news!" Sylph said.
-ooo-
In the end, they spent a week in the Forest of Spirits. For all of her… quirks, Sylph had centuries to accumulate knowledge about the forest and she showed them all kinds of sights.
There was the village of the elves, composed of treehouses located high up in the canopy. Its native inhabitants could access the buildings easily thanks to their superhuman jumping and climbing abilities, though they had thoughtfully set out rope ladders for the less physically-gifted. Here something odd had occurred: one elf asked Heinrich to meet her alone in a secluded area, and she was about to say something when Mary appeared. Looking slightly upset, Mary had told the elf to not bother Heinrich. To this day, he still didn't know what that was about.
There were the beds of flowers of every colour imaginable, where the fairies played their games. At these times Sylph would physically manifest in order to join in on the fun. She often stayed with her compatriots until nightfall and required considerable coaxing to leave them.
And in the depths of the forest, there was a small pond that gave off an atmosphere of tranquillity. According to Sylph, it was much like the spring where "Deeny" – Undine – lived. This made Heinrich wonder what the spirit of water was like. For some reason, Mary spent long periods of time here, gazing at the still surface of the pond.
But as always, the time came for them to move on. Akame remained behind, claiming that there were still countless secrets in the forest and that she would need several lifetimes to uncover them all.
The three of them exited the forest, Sylph buzzing about near Heinrich's head. It was at this point that she decided to say something shocking.
"Say, Alice, just what were you trying to hide all this time?"
When Sylph said that, Mary tripped and fell flat on her face in a manner that was reminiscent of Akame. She got back on her feet, coughing up dirt, and said, "Wait, what!?"
"Eh? Was that too sudden?" Sylph asked. "The reason I'm saying this is because I can understand people through their wind. Basically, the wind gets changed when it passes through a person, and the way it changes depends on how they're feeling, and so I can figure out what people are feeling from their wind. And ever since we've met, your wind has been – what's the word for it? Chaotic. That usually happens when someone is hiding something."
Heinrich and Mary shared a look, then nodded. If Sylph was going to be sharing his mind from now on, the secret would come out soon enough. It was better to tell her now.
Sylph looked between the two of them. "Wait, don't tell me it's – it's that?" Sylph said. "Oh – in that case – "
"It's not what you're thinking!" Mary snapped. "Anyway, I'll tell you. But first, can you sense anyone who might be watching or listening in on us?"
"Nope! There's no one around but us," Sylph replied. "That's another thing I can pick up with the wind."
"I can't sense anyone either… okay, here goes nothing," Mary said.
Taking a deep breath, Mary changed her appearance. She returned to the same blonde hair and red eyes that she had when Heinrich had first met her, but now she also gave herself monstrous features. Her hands became scaly and tipped with claws, while purple tentacles and green vines unfurled from under her dress.
Seeing these traces of Mary's true form was still unnerving to Heinrich. It wasn't as shocking as when he had seen the entirety of her true form, but his heart still skipped a beat at the sight.
"My real name is Mary Fateburn, and I'm the daughter of the current Monster Lord Alice the Seventh," Mary explained. "Although I'm currently going by 'Alice', partly so I can get used to it. Anyway, I'm currently travelling around the world incognito and I need you to keep this a secret as well."
"I see! That makes a lot more sense!" Sylph said, nodding. Then she tilted her head. "Wait, what does 'incognito' mean?"
"Wha – It means that I'm hiding my real identity!" Mary said. "Anyway, you have to keep this a secret."
"Got it!" Sylph said. "Well… to be honest, I'm not all that good at keeping secrets… But! I shouldn't have any problems if I stay inside Heinrich right?"
Heinrich wasn't exactly reassured by these words, and from the look on her face, neither was Mary. Still, they ended up deciding that it was enough.
Mary changed back to her disguise and Sylph returned to Heinrich's body. They stepped onto the road and headed south.