234 Spirit... Egg? (2/2)

”Spirits are what Yin-Yang Masters use to increase their powers—typically they do this by summoning spirits and combining them with a human to make a Spirit-Branded Retainer. However, this spirit is different—it requires you to raise it carefully… Well, it’ll be difficult for you to understand if I go into a long-winded explanation. Simply speaking, once you combine with this spirit, you can suddenly become much stronger, with no risk whatsoever.”

”Oh…”

”I’m going to give this Spirit Egg to you. It can’t be used in its curent status. Whether or not you can receive its power depends on you.”

The silver-haired girl lightly waved her hand and tossed the ball of light to Mika.

Mika reflexively put her hands out to catch it. It felt rather warm.

Then, the silver-haired girl pointed, and a red rune appeared on the ball of light. The exact same rune also appeared on Mika’s forehead.

Mika felt a surge of heat on her forehead, then the rune on the ball of light vanished, and she was left with a subtle feeling inside her body.

”That was…”

”I used a spell to connect the two of you together. Otherwise, you wouldn’t even be able to see the Spirit Egg once I leave your side,” the silver-haired girl explained. ”Also, for you to take it more conveniently with you, all you have to do is say ‘put in,’ and it will seal itself into your hand. If you say ‘come out,’ you can release it.”

”You will have to wish from the bottom of your heart for it to become your companion, and imagine the form that it should have… that is to say, your ‘hopes’ are what will help it ‘hatch.’”

”‘Hatch…’”

”It’s not truly hatching, but its the most similar analogy. It’s too difficult to explain, so you can just understand it like that.”

”Oh…”

Mika felt as if many things were being glossed over.

‘This ball of light… wouldn’t be something dangerous, is it?’ she wondered to herself.

”You don’t need to worry—it isn’t dangerous at all.” The silver-haired girl detected Mika’s concern and smiled. ”After you go back, feel free to show it to Seiji Haruta-sama, and he’ll probably have Natsuya Yoruhana-sama inspect it. This way, you’ll be taking the first step into their world.”

”But whether or not you can ‘hatch’ this Spirit Egg, possess true power, and become someone ‘special’ just like them will depend on your own hard work and luck.”

”Hard work…” Mika muttered thoughtfully. ”Luck…”

”Perhaps you’ll be able to ‘hatch’ it very quickly, or maybe you’ll never be able to hatch it. I don’t know what the result will be, either.” The silver-haired girl began to rise up into the air. ”Goodbye, Mika Uehara… I shall appear in front of you again when I wish to see you. I hope that by that time, you’ll have become an extraordinary person.”

Her figure gradually vanished.

Mika was overcome by a sudden impulse as she watched the girl fade.

”Wait!” she called. ”Can I know your name?”

Out of a mysterious sense of respect and fear, she hadn’t thought to ask her name until now. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming desire to know it.

The silver-haired girl was surprised for a moment but then flashed a brilliant smile.

”My name is Sakura. Sakura...-san. Yep, make sure to remember it, Mika.”

After leaving this sentence behind, the pink-clothed… no, Sakura’s body completely disappeared in a stream of light.

...

Mika returned to Year 1 Class 5 and walked over to Seiji and Chiaki.

Both of them smiled in greeting upon seeing her return.

”Did you finish what you had to do?” Chiaki asked.

Mika nodded. ”Yep.”

”All good,” Seiji said. ”Let’s have some more fun before the school festival ends.”

”Yep.” Mika nodded again and smiled as well.

She sat down at the table in between her two good friends.