Chapter 6 (1/2)

*Mira’s POV *

It’s been six days since Captain-san’s injured group returned to Ilga Village.

Hearing the sound of my hardworking mama making the breakfast, I opened my eyes. While squirming around, I crawled out of the futon. My oneechan, who woke up earlier and already changed her clothes, was going out of the room. She turned around when she noticed that I had woken up.

「Good Morning, Mira. Happy Birthday」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Thank you, oneechan.」(Mira)

Yes, today is my birthday.

Because it was my birthday, somehow I felt cheerful and fidgety even in the morning. Furthermore, as usual, the entirely family would celebrate it together; after all it’s my sixth birthday.

「You can sleep more, you know? It’s your birthday after all」(Mira’s Oneechan)

I got down from the bed and rushed to the drawers. My oneechan said this while she took out a complete set including a one piece dress and belt.

「Thank you」(Mira)

I gave my thanks while receiving the one piece and put it on top of the bench. To take off my sleepwear, I pulled up the hems. The sleepwear hems were long and loose like a Kantoui[1], and there weren’t any b.u.t.tons.

「Well, even so I’m awake. I can’t enter the kitchen, right? Then, I’m going to go pick some flowers to decorate the table.」(Mira)

In my family, you’re permitted to laze around in the morning of the yout birthday. Because the mothers usually went to work in the morning, Mama had to make an early preparation for a rather extravagant dinner. Since the dinner is also a present, it can’t be seen by the main character of the birthday. So there was a tacit understanding that someone canjust sleep until he/she has been woken up.

But, as expected, I was fidgety and couldn’t calm down. I couldn’t go back to sleep. If I entered the Academy, my birthday would be during the third school semester, so until I graduated, I wouldn’t be able to celebrate my birthday together like this.

「Flowers, is it? Will it be okay for the birthday’s main character to personally pick the decoration flowers?」(Mira’s Oneechan)

While tilting her head, my oneechan collected the sleepwear I took off.

「Can you do it? Need my help?」(Mira’s Oneechan)

Oneechan pointed at the one piece dress and belt. I decide to half behave like a spoiled girl.

「I can wear it myself. But I wanted to do the belt myself.」(Mira)

「Yes, yes. Then put it on.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Yes.」(Mira)

I unfold the one piece dress. It was the type that had a string to secure the collar, so it wasn’t dress that is just wore down the head, since the string needs to be fastened and tied up like a ribbon.

「*Giggle*. So Mira can be troubled.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Mou~, stop it Oneechan!」(Mira)

*Puff* I pouted my lips, while my head pa.s.sed through the dress.

「Nn, done.」(Mira)

I extended both of my arm to the side and looked up, Oneechan was giggling while picking up the decoration string.

「Let me see it.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Yes.」(Mira)

「You need to pull it lightly in turns from below. Right and left, little by little.」

Onnechan tied the string skillfully like tying shoelaces. After making a half knot the left end and the right end of the string into a ring and held by the fingers.

「Pa.s.s it one more, rabbit’s ear. From above to below, cross the mountain, go through the hole...... And now, it’s finished.」[2] (Mira’s Oneechan)

It had become a beautiful ribbon.

Fumufumu.[3] From above to below, right?

「Want to try it?」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Un.」(Mira)

I unfasten the string until the half knot, and then hold the string on both of my hand, Let’s Challenge It!

「From above to below. From above...... to below? Are?[4]」(Mira)

It became a vertical knot.

「Wait a moment. Ummmm, ah, I see, since the orientation was reversed.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

Oneechan mumbled when she unfastened the knot, when she fixing the knot several times she understood the cause. She unfastened even the half knot and then stood behind me before she extended her hand from above my shoulders.

「Alright, now let’s do this from your point of view. String in the right, pa.s.sed through string in the left from above, and make a half knot.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

The string round around and then be tied together.

「Then, make a rabbit’s ear, from below the right ear it jumped to above the left ear, then pa.s.sed it through the hole. Then, pull it in one sweep, and complete.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Nn. Let me do it.」(Mira)

Once more the ribbon was unfastened, with a whirl, it back into a half knot again. Then, from below the right ring. Then, pa.s.sed it through.

「I made it!」(Mira)

That’s it, that’s it. When I tried to tie other things, it was always reversed in the end.

With this I would be able to tie a ribbon!

「I also want to do the belt!」(Mira)

While being elated, I also want to challenge tying the belt into bow. Since there was a ribbon in the collar, then I thought it would be better if the belt tied into bow in the back. With my hand in the back, I performed the knot.

「Mira, it turned into vertical knot.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

「Eeee!」(Mira)

*shock*

「My, my, doing it on your back is still too difficult for you. If you still want to tie it in the back, then you tie the belt in the front then bring it to the back.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

Just like dressing a kimono.

「About the place that you want to go today. It’s to pick flowers, right? Don’t go too far, alright?」(Mira’s Oneechan)

Oneechan quickly fixed the knot on the belt, *puff* I pouted my lips.

「Yes, I’m off.」(Mira)

「Take care.」(Mira’s Oneechan)

After I had regained my composure, I opened the door to the corridor and exited the room.

「Good morning. Grandma, Mama. I’m going to pick some flowers.」(Mira)

I called out to the kitchen from the entrance of the living room. As I was heading to the entryway, I heard calls from Mama and Grandma.

「Good Morning. Be careful.」(Nara)

「Happy birthday. Take care.」(Mira’s Grandma)

「Yee~s, I’m off.」(Mira)

I called out once more, before I went to outside. Different from Decembers in j.a.pan, the temperature wasn’t too cold and the perfectly clear sky made me feel good. I closed my eyes, I extended both of my arms as far as I could and stretched my body.[5]

「Nn~」(Mira)

『Good morning, Master』(Guno)

「Good Mor.....neeeeeee!」(Mira)

When my eyes opened, I saw Guno’s face close up, then I gave out a shrieking cry and bent backward.

「What happened, Mira?」(Mira’s Grandpa)

Grandpa and Papa came running from the house. The two were always mending the farming tools while waiting for the breakfast to be prepared.

「What’s wrong? But there’s nothing here.」(Egil)

Papa raised a hoe and looked around. I looked at Guno who supported me and felt unpleasant so I awkwardly apologized.

「I’m sorry. I’m only a bit surprised by the Spirit.」(Mira)

「So, it’s a Spirit’s prank?」(Egil)

「Un.」(Mira)

Since I had honestly told him about my Spirit Sight, Papa understood and lowered his hoe.

「Good morning Grandpa, Papa.」(Mira)

I properly greet them

「Oh, good morning」(Egil)

「Good morning. Today is yer birthday, right?」(Mira’s Grandpa)

「Yes. I can’t wait for the dinner. By the way, where are the oniichans?」(Mira)

「They still asleep. Even though the youngest child has already woken up.」(Mira’s Grandpa)

Just as Grandpa was telling me this, from the inside of the house, I could heard Oneechan’s yell.

「Nam! Ed! Wake up! Mira already woken up you know!」(Mira’s Oneechan)

Since I’ve already woken up, my two brother ended up to being woken up. My prayers to them. But since there was a saying that early birds get the worm, they need to give up and wake up.

「I will go pick some flowers near the river」(Mira)

「Alright.」(Egil)

「Be careful, ye hear.」(Mira’s Grandpa)

「Ye~s」(Mira)

✦✧✦✧

Inside the forest, there was a big spring. The water flowed from the spring and became a river. One of its branch flowed to the village. My destination this morning was that riverside. I greeted the people who headed to work at the field while the Spirits walked behind me like attendants. When I saw the creek, I ran off to the riverside.

The season was still cla.s.sified as winter, however thanks to the mild climate, there were flowers blooming. Of course there weren’t as many varieties as those blooms in spring or summer.

『Nee Master. Is someone have a birthday today?』[6](Dine)

「Yes. It’s my birthday. Since my present is a dinner, I’ve come to here to pick some flowers for the desk decoration as a thankful gift for it.」(Mira)

Maybe because of the contract, the words telepathy that was sent from the Spirit were not in Katakana. I also glad that it wasn’t short sentences or few words anymore.

I paid attention to Dine’s telepathic words, since she couldn’t be seen by others, I was bothered whether I seem like I was speaking to myself. I answered her while searching for flowers that would look good for the bouquet. Thereupon, the Spirits who were searching the flower together stopped moving.

「Hm? What’s wrong?」(Mira)

『Birthday present?』(Rufi)

I nod to Rufi’s question, and then the spirits exchanging look with each other before saying 『I’ll go searching』 and scattered. Then, the first one who came back, Guno guided me to a place where a lot of flowers were blooming.

「This, this look like Cosmos[7]. Since they are lovely, maybe they can become the main part of bouquet.」(Mira)

Pink, yellow, and white cosmos look-a-likes were picked and turned into a bouquet.

After I had picked some flowers, Rufi and Dine came back, and guided me to another place.

『Master, how about this?』(Rufi)

Their small hands pointed at a small blue flower in the front.

「Hmm, are this Dayflower[8]?」(Mira)

I stretched my hand to pick them, but when I looked at Cosmos bouquet, I pulled back my hand.

『Don’t want to pick it?』(Rufi)

「I don’t think they’ll go well with this.」(Mira)

『Then these too?』(Dine)

Dine said it while pointed at purple water hyacinth[9] that blooms on the water surface.

「It’s can’t be used as a bouquet. But I think it’s sure to be beautiful if its floating in a water tank.」(Mira)

I think that it will look good in a goldfish bowl. I think it also good in a pond where Koi fish swim.

「Also it’s dangerous for me to pick it, so I can’t.」(Mira)

『I am a Water Spirit, you know?』(Dine)

「Ah that’s right. But I don’t bring a bucket, so even if I pick it I can’t bring it home. I appreciated your intention, thank you.」(Mira)

『That’s so? But we also want to give present to Master.』(Dine)

So, she intended to give it as a present. Then I had done something bad. While I was doing some reflecting, Sala came back dejected with dropped shoulders.

『I couldn’t find anything cute.』(Sala)

Uh oh. This season only had few cute flowers blooming. Guno was an Earth Spirit, so he was able to detect plants that spread its roots through the ground, so it could be said that it was easy for him to search it.

In this case, it would be also useless if I only do some poor comforting. Was there anything that I wanted Spirits to do? I had received flowers from Guno, but if it possible, I prefer something that need cooperation from those four.

...... Somehow I felt I became a mother of quadruplets. To deal with every single one of them equally was really difficult.

「That’s right. Ne, Spirits can use magic even if they didn’t receive magic power from people right?」(Mira)

I recalled when I got motion sickness in the carriage and my body became warm, so I inquired and received positive statements from them.

『If it a little then we can.』, Dine said, 『If we grown up like Guno, then we can do many other things.』 , Rufi said.

「If you don’t grown up you can’t use magic?」(Mira)

『Since the amount of surplus magic power between high ranked and low ranked spirits are extremely different.』(Guno)

Guno replied to my question. However I couldn’t understand the meaning behind his words so I tilted my head, then Guno explained it with more detail.

『Spirits like us, was born from the magic power which filled the world. Afterwards, once we absorb magic power for hundreds of years, we would grow into high ranked spirits. If we make contract with human that had good affinity to us, then the time needed to grow up can be shortened. When I first met with Master, my appearance was of a low ranked spirit. In actuality, it should have taken me about 300 more years to grow up from that form to my current appearance.』(Guno)

That was something that slammed me extremely hard.[10]

「Etto, I’m sorry to make you lose your childhood.」(Mira)

『There is no need to apologize, Master.』(Guno)

『He’s right, Master』(Dine)

As if persuading me, Dine revealed the part about magic power reward between spirits and magicians.

『We yearn to quickly become high ranked spirits. When there’s no need to use grand magic, Master doesn’t need to give us excess magic power so that we can grow up into high ranked spirits, you know? But we still will gladly receive it as a reward.』(Dine)

「But didn’t you wish for it when we return to the village?」[11](Mira)

I wanted to retort if she forget about the time when rode the horse, 『At that time there still no contract.』 She bragged. In other words, if she could get it, then she will try to get it. She was quite cheeky.

「As expected, giving a name means establis.h.i.+ng a contract.」(Mira)

Sala nodded as if giving confirmation.

『Since Master is our first contractor, giving us a name is the same as make a pact with us. All the following contractors would need to learn the name that we had received from the first contractor. If they could call our name then we will permit a contract with us.』(Sala)