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“…For a spirit to become this attached…”

The tamer who came to retrieve the Salamander muttered in astonishment while staring at her contracted spirit sitting quietly beside me.

Apparently this one belongs to the category called a lower spirit. Its true body resembles a land dragon; a sub-dragon that spews flames from its entire body.

She found it enshrined in a remnant temple of ancient spirit worship inside an unexplored region, and after repeatedly traveling there and painstakingly building a relationship, she finally managed to form a contract.

Areas humans have never set foot in, such as remote frontiers and ruins, are called unexplored regions. Exploring them is considered the glamorous work of adventurers. There are overwhelmingly many in the west, but quite a few in the east as well.

Spirits are normally only occasionally encountered in those regions, and even lower ones possess power surpassing ordinary magical beasts. They’re proud beings and absolutely not the sort that grow attached to humans.

“Salamander, come back.”

It completely ignored its pleading contractor and kept staring at me.

I cautiously touched its head. Its smooth scales were warm from the heat; when I stroked it, it closed its eyes in pleasure and flicked its burning tongue.

I… think that means it’s happy.

“…I can’t even touch it carelessly. You might have talent as a tamer.”

The tamer, introducing herself as Hilda, looked at me in disbelief.

“I barely have any usable mana.”
“…Summoning would be difficult then. And taming—you obviously can’t bring the spirit’s real body into town. No one has ever directly contracted a spirit before, so it would cause a huge uproar.”

Both taming and summoning are fairly common arts in cities, she said. Because of that, knowledge is shared to a degree, and the upper limit people can manage is barely creatures classified as high-rank magical beasts. No human has ever directly controlled a spirit or anything else bearing a special title.

“The only exception would be Templar Knights of the Star Dragon faith. If acknowledged, Lord Divine Star Dragon Owlnova mediates a contract with a holy dragon. These are not beings humans should command.”
“I see… By the way, what if—”
“You should stop.”

I was about to ask what would happen if I tried to form a direct contract with the Salamander, but she cut me off. Seeing me and Sufi blink in confusion, Hilda looked serious.

“Even as a phantom body, a spirit allowing a child it just met to touch it is abnormal. If you carelessly voice that intention, it might come for you in person.”
“…Never mind.”

That was a very real warning. When I made it clear I’d drop the idea, the Salamander visibly wilted. Its tail flame shrank from torch-sized to candle-sized.

If I said something careless, it might genuinely take it as a promise and come to me. I had no idea why it liked me, and that was scary.

If I’d reunited with someone friendly from my previous life like the Unknowns we retrieved from the storage, that’d be different. But I don’t know any flaming lizards or dinosaurs.

The ones I’d interacted with at this level of intimacy were the black dog-like Kuro, the long-tailed tit made of snow, and the white Haniwa-like moving statue.

Also, there’s the male calico cat that’s everywhere and nowhere, also the penguin in a plague mask who insisted on treating humans.

…and the large moving teddy bear whom I couldn’t accept at the first meeting despite it trying to be friendly.

Not one of them was a lizard. So the Salamander being this attached to me wouldn’t make me happy. If anything, it’s unsettling.

“I might want to learn Summoning Art.”
“We’d love someone with your talent… so please give the Salamander back…”
“Please return to your contractor…”

Hilda was getting increasingly desperate, so I also asked it to go back. Reluctantly, it returned to its contractor’s feet while staring at me. I let out a deep sigh.

“It might be troublesome, but you should properly learn all about Summoning and Taming so you won’t be tricked into forming a direct contract.”
“Yeah…”

I might encounter something like this during travels. Thinking that, I couldn’t just postpone it anymore.

I’m happy at the prospect of gaining a powerful ally, but why are the cards that come to me always ridiculously strong yet impossible to show in public…?

■■■■■

While considering the recruitment attempts from Hilda, I learned something.

There are two types of apprentice training held by the Adventurers Guild.

The first teaches skills essential for adventurers; making the correct movement for your role, combat techniques, gathering tips, identifying poisons and traps, and precautions when entering unexplored regions.

The second shows the apprentice Arts they can learn, aka demonstrations like today. Adventurers gain more career options, while instructors recruit newcomers into minor professions and guilds.

Gildor the alchemist was probably trying to earn merit points. From C-rank upward, conduct and social ability are evaluated, and successfully serving as an instructor is a significant achievement.

For traveling, it’s more convenient to be an adventurer than an alchemist.

After Q&A ended, the instructors left the training grounds.

Remaining were us, Nick’s group, and a few slightly older apprentices. Most were westerners, making things a bit uncomfortable.

“Lots of people today, nya.”
“Well, it’s usually fewer. Magic is just that cool, after all.”

There’s no Mage Guild in this town, so seeing magic firsthand is rare. Mages are researcher-type people, even less commonly encountered than alchemists who often double as doctors.

“I might study magic.”

Midd from Nick’s party declared while repeating chants.

“Our party probably can’t use magic, nya…?”
“You’re four beastfolk, after all.”

Noche looked disappointed after asking questions. Apparently she’d been told it’s difficult for beastfolk to use magic. But considering their surplus mana beyond passive body reinforcement, I think they could.

“You’d be insanely strong in melee.”
“Well, yeah, nya.”

Noche puffed out her chest proudly; Nick looked slightly frustrated.

“Noche and Sufi are really strong.”
“That jump-over-people thing you guys do still makes no sense to me.”

Sena and Misa, the girls who’d been brushed off by the alchemist, apparently spar often too.

And yes, I also think jumping high enough to go above people is strange.

“By the way, Alice is an adventurer in your party too, right?”
“Yep, our youngest, nya.”

…Somehow I’ve been labeled the youngest. Considering how much they take care of me daily, I can’t object.

“…Sorry if this sounds rude… but what can you actually do?”
“…………”
“Mm.”

Nick carefully poked a sensitive topic. Noche looked extremely troubled, and I tightly held Sufi’s hand to stop her from snapping back.

“Well, the Sister is worried, you see. Adventuring is dangerous work, and you look so frail.”

Even I’m aware of it. I know I’m the type who should spend the day in bed. But reality isn’t that simple.

So without flinching, I said it myself:
“—I can’t do anything.”

“Uh, you’re saying that awfully confidently…”

Because at apprentice level, being genuinely useless is the truth.

“…I’ve been wondering, Alice, you can’t use *magic*?”

As if just remembering something, Filia asked with a wry smile.

We’d agreed not to casually reveal that I’m an alchemist. The receptionists warned showing it off will absolutely get me kidnapped. So everyone naturally avoided saying it.

That’s why Filia asked it specifically about magic. But it’s a natural question; how can I use alchemy but not magic?

In fact, since they share the same roots, many theories and techniques overlap. Saying I cannot use any magic at all would actually be a lie.