Chapter 79
– My name is Ordel. O one who has answered my call, speak your name.
“Rodellia Peris.”
– Very well. Rodellia Peris, I shall use your power as the source to create a gate that allows passage between the realms, and in exchange, you shall receive the authority to wield my power. Do you consent to this?
“I consent.”
– This vow is a pact of souls. As long as our names exist upon this earth, nothing shall sever the contract.
Ordel made a gesture in the air as if drawing a sacred symbol, then pressed a kiss to my forehead.
– This mark shall serve as proof of our bond.
The light faded away along with a cool sensation. I hurried over to the mirror.
The emblem on my forehead flickered briefly before vanishing without a trace.
“Is this only visible to you, Lord Ordel?”
– It will be visible to my kin as well. Things like forests, trees, and butterflies, for instance.
“And not to human eyes?”
– It will appear when you invoke my power.
Fortunately, it seemed the mark remained hidden during ordinary times.
I let out a sigh of relief, nearly having advertised “I’m a phantom beast master” right on my forehead.
– The first day of the contract will leave you quite fatigued. It takes time for our souls to synchronize, so rest well, Rodellia.
With those words, Ordel vanished.
What was remarkable was that, upon completing the soul pact, I instinctively knew how to summon Ordel and what his powers entailed.
At this very moment, a gate connecting the fairy realm to the human world had been forged.
The way to open that gate was simply by calling the name.
Whether I called him or he called me, the moment we invoked each other’s names, the gate would open, allowing him to manifest in the human realm—that seemed to be the principle.
‘So Eden’s words were true after all.’
It was still hard to believe. To think that such power had been hidden within me, someone I thought was destined only to rot in prison in place of the villainess.
‘What now? Should I go straight to Lord Daven?’
In the past, I could have visited the Ainluk Dukedom or the Magic Tower without a second thought.
“Hmm… Now I’ll have to get permission first.”
I couldn’t help but feel a weight settling over my heart at the thought.
‘For now, let’s contact Eden first.’
As Ordel had warned, a wave of exhaustion crashed over me.
I decided to think about the rest later and headed for the door to go home.
“Kyaaah!”
Sierra, who had entered at some point without me noticing, screamed and rushed toward me.
Thinking she must have been genuinely worried about me, I awkwardly opened my arms.
“Sierra, it’s been a whi—”
But the reason for her scream wasn’t me.
“My floooweer!”
She breezed right past me, clutching the flowerpot and sobbing.
“The flower, the Fairy Bloom…!”
Ah. So that’s what it was.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I pretended to stretch while glancing at the pot.
Due to the soul pact, the Fairy Bloom had withered away, leaving only the stem behind.
It seemed to have served its purpose and died.
I was just about to explain the whole story to Sierra.
‘If by some chance you succeed in awakening with the phantom beast master’s stone, don’t tell anyone and come find me immediately.’
‘Even the Magia members?’
‘Especially them. They’re obsessed with magical flora and fauna—how do you plan to handle the aftermath?’
Ah, right. He told me not to say anything.
Recalling Eden’s stern warning a bit late, I awkwardly deflected.
“When I got here, it was already like this.”
“Hic, this can’t be. How could this happen… I definitely checked that it was functioning properly before I left…”
Fortunately, Sierra didn’t suspect a thing and simply hugged the pot, weeping.
“My moneeey…”
She didn’t seem in any state to listen to me.
‘I’m sorry, Sierra. I’ll make it up to you later.’
I quietly slipped out of the hideout. For now, a tactical retreat—cleanup could wait.
* * *
A few days later, I received a message from Eden. After making a formal appointment, I arrived at the Magic Tower and was guided straight to the elevator without any procedures.
The meeting place was Eden’s laboratory.
Unlike my previous visit, the interior was remarkably pleasant now.
In one corner of the room, there was a new table I hadn’t seen before.
It held an assortment of cute knick-knacks that didn’t seem like something Eden would own.
Probably brought in by whoever had done the cleaning.
“Did you take on an assistant?”
My musings ended there.
Seated on the sofa, I stared blankly out the window.
Being at the Magic Tower naturally brought thoughts of Summer to mind.
‘Come to think of it, Summer hasn’t sent any letters.’
Since arriving in the capital, she had written almost daily, pestering me about when we could meet.
But at some point, the letters had stopped coming.
‘Could something have happened to her?’
Since I was already at the Magic Tower, I considered checking in on how she was doing.
“Oh my, hello? You must be Eden’s guest.”
Summer appeared right before my eyes.
“Uh…”
A dazed sound escaped me as the very person I’d been thinking of materialized.
Contrary to my worries, she seemed to be doing exceptionally well.
Her vibrant smile was as warm as spring sunlight, and her lustrous golden hair, neatly braided into one, rustled softly with each step.
The hum of her little tune carried a comforting aura, like stepping into the heart of a forest.
As she unpacked her things, she said,
“I just squeezed some fresh orange juice—would you like some?”
Before I could even respond, she pulled a bottle of fresh orange juice from her bag and poured it into a cup for me.
“Thank you.”
I accepted the juice on impulse, and she sat down across from me.
“This is the first time I’ve seen one of Eden’s guests.”
True to her sociable heroine nature, she was completely at ease even with a stranger.
I fiddled with my cup unnecessarily and replied,
“I didn’t expect anyone else to be in the lab either.”
“Oh, right, I should introduce myself properly. I’m Summer Clopen, and I’ll be conducting joint research with Eden for the time being.”
“Ah, I’m Rodellia Peris.”
“Cough!”
The moment I revealed my name, Summer choked on her orange juice and started coughing violently.
“Hack, sorry, cough, hack! Ack!”
“Are you alright?”
I quickly handed her a handkerchief, and she covered her mouth, nodding vigorously.
Once she finally calmed down, her face flushed red from the choking, she asked,
“P-Peris, as in Lady Peris?”
“Ah, yes. That’s what surprised you, I suppose.”
“N-No, not exactly…”
Summer rambled incoherently, her eyes darting around.
It was a complete turnaround from her earlier friendly demeanor.
I looked at her curiously as she suddenly tensed up.
‘What is this? Does she know who I am?’
That’s odd. There’s no way.
I’d been so meticulous in my actions to avoid revealing my identity.
To hide my gender, I’d used my brother’s handwriting to make it seem like a man’s, while the nickname was “Tall Lady.”
I’d never mentioned my family, and sometimes I’d alter details in my replies.
‘Yeah, no chance she figured it out.’
I must have been jumping to conclusions because I’d been on edge these past few days.
I quickly changed the subject.
“Um, how are you finding life at the Magic Tower?”
At my casual probe, Summer responded composedly.
“Oh, yes, yes. Everyone’s been so kind. Actually, the Magic Tower is like a holy site for mages. There’s so much data, and the research facilities are state-of-the-art, so I’ve been diving into projects I couldn’t do before—time just flies by.”
As expected, her eyes sparkled the moment the topic turned to studies. After watching her for a while, I asked offhandedly,
“Working on research with Eden must mean you see the Magic Tower Lord often, right?”
To avoid giving away my expression, I pretended to sip my juice.
When I glanced at Summer afterward, she tilted her head in confusion.
“No? I haven’t run into him even once since coming to the Magic Tower.”
“Pfft.”
I barely held back from spraying my orange juice and calmly repeated,
“You haven’t run into him at all?”
