Less than a minute after being summoned, the duck was already waddling around the underground ritual chamber as if it owned the place.
Its swaying rear was admittedly rather cute, but the problem was that everywhere it passed turned into a flood.
“Quack! Quaaack!”
Apparently delighted, it flapped its stubby wings and sprayed water all over the place.
At the sight, Yustia’s face turned deathly pale.
“Yurika! S-stop that thing!”
She cried out in a panic, but the duck didn’t so much as pretend to listen.
If anything, as though showing off, it shot the streams of water even harder.
Muddy water dripped down from the ceiling.
That was when it happened.
Yurika, who had been staring blankly at the scene, suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Finally!”
She clenched her fist and shouted.
There was even a hint of emotion in her eyes.
“I can finally show Mr. Taesan the meaning of my existence!”
“What?”
Before I could ask back like an idiot, Yurika rummaged through the pocket of her apron with a solemn expression.
“I’ll show you the true worth of Yurika, the Rosenheart maid in charge of summoned beasts!”
Something glittering popped out of her hand.
“Take this! My special duck-exclusive fishing rod!”
Whoosh—!
Yurika swung something with all her might through the air.
A brightly colored feather toy hanging from the end of the fishing line danced dazzlingly in front of the duck’s eyes.
“Quack?”
The duck, which had been causing a ruckus just moments ago, froze.
Its gaze fixed on the feather toy.
“That’s it, that’s it. Come here.”
With practiced movements, Yurika gently shook the fishing rod and lured the duck in.
As if bewitched, the duck bobbed its head along after the fishing line.
“Now, good duck, right? I’ll give you something tasty too.”
With her other hand, she pulled something like a dried shrimp from her pocket.
“Quack!”
The duck’s eyes went round.
It waddled straight toward Yurika.
Yurika swiftly snatched the duck up and hugged it to her chest.
“Got you, you little rascal!”
Triumphantly stroking the duck’s head, she turned to look at me.
“Did you see that, Mr. Taesan? This is the touch of a professional. This is what managing summoned beasts is all about.”
I had no choice but to click my tongue in admiration and nod.
That girl might be more useful than I thought.
Before long, the duck was sitting quietly in Yurika’s arms, eating shrimp from her hand.
“I admit it. You really are a professional.”
“Huhu, you finally understand? From now on, if you don’t listen to me, Mr. Taesan, I’ll handle you the same way, so be prepared.”
Yustia carefully approached Yurika and reached toward the duck in her arms.
The duck, which had been obediently eating shrimp, paused for a moment, then accepted Yustia’s touch without resistance and quietly entrusted its head to her hand.
“That’s it. Good duck.”
Wuuung—
The red pattern on the back of Yustia’s hand began to glow faintly.
At the same time, thin red lines appeared between the duck’s feathers like veins, then vanished.
It was proof that the summoning contract had been properly formed.
Unconsciously, I brushed a hand over the nape of my neck.
The brand carved beneath my rough skin felt as though it were burning hot.
‘I’m in that same state too, aren’t I?’
It felt like my pride as a human had been subtly scratched, but it was already something I couldn’t undo.
Yustia tapped the duck’s beak.
“Now then, we need to give it a name. And set a command word too.”
“A command word? What’s that?”
“Mm, to put it simply, it’s a safety device.”
Evan, who was sitting in his wheelchair behind us, answered in her place.
“When a summoned beast breaks free of control or runs wild, it’s like a key that forcibly shuts it down. You could call it a kind of command code.”
“Shutdown? So it knocks them out?”
“Something like that. It temporarily cuts off the supply of mana and renders them powerless.”
Evan explained calmly, but I felt a chill run down my spine.
The fact that someone was holding my lifeline in their hands suddenly felt all too real.
“Wait, I didn’t have anything like that.”
When I asked in confusion, Evan tilted his head and looked at me.
“Mm… probably because you’re human, Mr. Taesan. In the case of intelligent summoned beasts, there are times when people don’t bother placing a forced command word on them. Since communication is possible.”
“Aha. So because we can talk, there’s no need to go as far as putting a leash on me.”
“That’s right. And more importantly…”
Evan trailed off with a strange smile.
“It likely means Yustia trusts you, Mr. Taesan.”
At his words, something in a corner of my chest gave a sharp throb.
Trust.
The weight carried by that word felt newly heavy.
Meanwhile, Yustia and Yurika had their heads together, seriously agonizing over the matter.
“What kind of command word would be good for a duck? If it’s too long, it’ll be hard to use in an emergency.”
“Mm, my lady. How about keeping it simple with ‘quack’? Or maybe ‘roast duck’?”
When Yurika suggested it with a mischievous grin, Yustia recoiled and shook her head.
“Don’t joke around! Give me something cooler. ‘Stop’ or ‘halt’ is too ordinary.”
“Then… ‘stay’? It’s used when training dogs.”
“That’s a little…”
Watching the two women hold such a serious discussion, I let out a small laugh.
To think they were struggling so much over one little duck.
“Then decide on it. Next is me.”
Evan cut off the conversation in a calm voice, then familiarly rolled the wheels of his wheelchair onto the summoning stone.
Yustia and Yurika’s gazes turned to him.
The summoning circle Yustia had left on the floor was already fading faintly now that the flow of mana had been cut off.
Evan opened the worn leather bag hanging beside his wheelchair and took out a thick ancient book.
The sound of pages turning filled the silence of the underground space.
Rustle.
From deep within the bag, he took out a glass bottle filled with a transparent liquid.
It was holy water concentrated with mana.
“Do you want help?”
Yustia took a step closer, looking worried.
Drawing a complex circle on the floor while sitting in a wheelchair was no easy task.
But without even raising his head, Evan waved a hand.
“No. I’m more comfortable performing the summoning ritual alone.”
There was firmness in his voice.
It sounded like the will of someone who did not want his own ritual disturbed.
Evan opened the bottle and dipped his finger into the holy water.
Then, making minute adjustments to the wheels of his wheelchair, he began moving back and forth across the floor.
Creeeak, creeeak.
Along with the sound of the wheels rolling, wet lines were drawn across the floor.
The movement of the wheelchair itself became a brush, tracing out an enormous circle.
The holy water dripping from his fingertips flowed along the wheel tracks and took on a gentle glow.
“Wow…”
Yurika let out a small exclamation.
I, too, stared at the sight in a daze.
To draw such a perfect circle while dragging along an inconvenient body.
His persistence and precision gave me goosebumps.
Beads of sweat formed on Evan’s forehead.
Even as he breathed hard, he did not stop, advancing toward the final stroke of the summoning circle.
Everywhere he passed, a silvery-white light slowly filled in, pushing back the darkness.
Creeeak.
The wheelchair stopped.
Evan caught his breath and wiped away his sweat.
On the floor, a geometric figure like a constellation, formed by intersecting sharp straight lines, was shining.
If Yustia’s summoning circle had been an elegant work of art made of soft curves and circles, Evan’s was like a thoroughly calculated blueprint.
“This is… definitely different.”
I muttered blankly.
Yustia also narrowed her eyes and examined the summoning circle.
She propped her chin on her hand as though intrigued.
“It looks like the summoning circle Arwen used. It’s a method designed to maximize affinity with spirits.”
“You can tell just by looking at it?”
“Of course. Do you know how hard I studied? The formulas of ancient mages specialized in spirit summoning are the basics of the basics.”
Yustia wrinkled her nose, putting on a proud air.
“Phew…”
Evan brought out his own spirit.
Then it rose in wisps and wrapped around his body.
Ssssss—
In an instant, the spirit coiled around his arms, legs, and impaired lower body.
A transparent armor-like membrane formed over Evan’s pale skin, and I could see strength entering the legs that had been lying limply in the wheelchair.
“It’s amazing even seeing it again.”
As I watched with bated breath, Evan slowly released the handles of his wheelchair and stood up.
Thud.
Both feet planted firmly on the ground.
He, who had always relied on his wheelchair, stood tall in this moment like a warrior stronger than anyone.
Behind his back, the white spirit energy spread faintly, emitting a mysterious aura.
“Now, shall we begin?”
Evan slowly steadied his breathing and corrected his posture.
A flush mixed with excitement and tension spread across his pale cheeks.
He turned his head, stared straight at me, and curled up the corners of his mouth.
It was a provocative smile.
“Please pray that the best water-attribute spirit to catch you comes out, Mr. Taesan.”
“What? You want me to pray?”
When I let out a disbelieving laugh, Evan brazenly shrugged.
“Yes. That way, even if I lose to you again, I won’t be able to make excuses, will I? Things like, ‘I lost because I was unlucky,’ or ‘The compatibility was bad.’”
He put on an arrogant air, but his eyes alone were serious and calm.
I chuckled and nodded.
“Fine. Let’s see you do your best. Since you’re at it, summon a strong one. That’ll make beating it down more satisfying.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll bring forth a very, very fierce one, enough that you’ll have trouble handling it, Mr. Taesan.”
Evan replied without backing down from my words.
As a strange tension flowed through the air, Yustia and Yurika also held their breath and watched him.
Evan closed his eyes and reached his hand over the summoning circle.
The white spirit energy surrounding his body began seeping into the floor along the lines of the summoning circle.
“O cold breath of the abyss, answer my call.”
His voice was low and calm.
But the mana contained within it cut through the space like a sharply honed blade.
Wuuuuung—!
The summoning circle made of straight lines resonated, emitting a blue light.
Cold air rose from the floor and washed over our ankles.
A sharp, chilly energy utterly different from Yustia’s summoning filled the underground space.
“Become the sword that carries out my will, and manifest in this world!”
Evan’s eyes flashed open as he clenched his hand tight.