Tamed or Captured

Asha calmly replied.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Flustered, Nek tried to explain himself.

“I thought she was my master and wanted to test if she was qualified to become my master….”

“Shut up.”

“Everyone here seems to hate me…”

Nek muttered in sorrow. Duran struck him in the head again from behind.

Karaf took a deep breath to control his anger while Asha asked.

“But why did you suddenly appear in front of me? You’ve never appeared before.”

“Because my master recently woke me up.”

“Master?”

Asha’s eyes widened. 

Nek babbled.

“I stayed asleep in that dagger until the next contractor woke up. The last time I fought with the flower spirit, I was punished by God…..”

Karaf’s face twisted at the mention of God.

Nek continued.

“But someone woke me up… I can’t hear that voice now.”

Asha asked cautiously.

“By any chance, is the owner of that voice Jackal?”

“Jackal? Is he from the Kelpie clan?”

“Yes.”

“Does his voice sound low and careless?”

Asha looked up for a moment, recalled Jackal’s voice, and then answered.

“Yes.”

“Then, my master is Jackal!”

Nek’s face brightened as he had finally found his master. 

He looked somewhat lacking to be called a spirit.

However, Karaf’s face transformed like a ghost, and his red eyes flashed.

“So, he is your next contractor after Cylon… That’s what you’re saying?”

Asha stared at him in surprise, and Karaf muttered as he lost his senses.

“I have to kill you right here, right now.”

“Wait… Flowers should be kind!”

“…. This time, I’ll show you my power properly.”

Karaf jumped up from his chair and drew his sword again.

His red eyes flashed, revealing his strong will to slash Nek with his sword.

But Asha quickly stepped forward and stopped him.

“Your Highness, if you kill the Water Spirit now, we will lose the opportunity to obtain information!”

Nek intervened.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you can’t kill me. Because the flower spirit in your chest is not normal right now.”

Karaf walked towards him in anger and grabbed his neck, shouting.

“Of course! Because you put a curse on my heart…!”

He shook Nek’s neck violently and screamed.

“If you don’t break this damn curse right now, I’ll tie you up under the scorching sun to dry you out!”

Karaf gritted his teeth, but Nek frowned.

“I can’t break your curse.”

“Why not?!”

“Didn’t you see earlier? As soon as I touched your chest, I was repelled.”

Karaf frowned.

Nek’s curiosity was piqued and he asked with a glint in his eyes.

“Shall we try it again? Could you open your shirt so that I can see it better?”

Despite trembling, Karaf took off his shirt.

Asha felt a little embarrassed and turned her head to the side, but Nek clapped his hands like a child and cheered.

She didn’t understand why he was so happy but decided not to question it.

Nek reached out and put a hand on Karaf’s chest.

However, he immediately removed his hand. He jumped up and down while holding his own hand in a ruckus.

“Oh, it’s hot!”

Asha and Karaf looked at him in confusion. 

Nek’s hands turned red as if he had really touched lava, and then his hand melted down.

It was a terrible and eerie sight, and Asha covered her mouth in horror.

Nek trembled all over, but then he created a new hand.

Water flowed from his wrist and transformed into the shape of a hand.

“…I guess it didn’t work.”

“Why can’t you break the curse?!”

Nek pondered for a moment before answering.

“To be precise, I didn’t place the curse. We spirits only lend our power to the contractor like nature lending power to humans. There may be other conditions to break the curse. For example, the contractor who signed a contract with me must use their power to undo it.”

Those words reminded Asha of Jackal.

 Karaf looked complicated and asked.

“Then I won’t ask you anymore. You said Cylon was your former master.”

When Nek looked up, he saw Karaf with slightly bloodshot eyes.

“Why did he betray me….? Do you know why?”

For the first time, Nek smiled sadly.

“My previous master was a nice person, but he didn’t have the qualifications to be a contractor.”

“What qualifications?”

“He didn’t have a firm goal or a strong will to make a contract with a spirit.”

“What does that mean?”

“Not everyone is capable of making a contract with spirits. God does not easily bestow his powers or abilities on just anyone.”

Asha nodded.

“However, there are people who have a strong need for the power of the spirits. These are usually individuals with a clear goal or motivation, who are willing to surpass human limits to achieve their desired objectives.”

Asha was a little taken aback by these words.

Perhaps she hadn’t realized that she had been chosen as a butterfly because of her strong desire to overcome the overwhelming despair she had felt on the day the ethnic minority village burned down.

This could have been the reason why the wind spirit was dwelling in her chest.

Upon reflection, it seemed that all butterflies had an ‘awakening condition’ for this very reason.

The reason why she was able to use the power of the wind for the first time was that she wanted to develop her strength to protect people by learning archery from Jackal.

She didn’t know that the hardships and adversities she faced might have been a “test” that the wind spirit brought upon the contractor.

And that was the decisive reason why Nia couldn’t become a butterfly.

In contrast, Jackal possessed the qualities of a contractor.

He had a strong motivation to protect Asha.

Then, Nek said.

“Normally, spirits store all their memories within their bodies. However, for some reason, my memories of my former master are scattered like pieces. It seems I put a seal on my memory when I sealed the flower spirit so that no one could see them recklessly.”

“How can we see the memories then?”

Nek pondered before responding.

“Wouldn’t it only be possible for the next contractor to see those memories? Spirit contractors have the authority to access all memories.”

This meant that Jackal had to form a contract with the spirit to learn exactly what had happened at that time.

Nek sighed with disappointment.

“If the flower spirit was awake, we could ask what curse you have… Anyway, I can’t solve this alone. It’s beyond my abilities.”

“Useless, pathetic bastard.”

Karaf cursed him with a disappointed look on his face causing Nek to get angry.

“Why am I useless and pathetic? Where else can you find a great dagger like me?”

“Are you a great dagger?”

Karaf asked with a slight smirk.

Nek’s eyes widened as he retorted.

“Of course! Can’t you tell just by looking at my body? Where else can you find such a well-polished, perfect body in this world?”

Hearing this, Karaf looked at Asha and said expressionlessly.

“He’s crazy.”

“Yes, he is crazy.”

Ignoring Nek’s frustration as he jumped around alone, Karaf sat down and fell into deep thought.

     Why of all people is the horseman the next contractor…?

He smiled bitterly, unaware of his own expression.

Having the same spirit as the man who had betrayed him, he felt like it was some kind of twisted fate.

“Then, you’ve gone through countless masters so far?”

Nek nodded in response to Karaf’s question.

“Since ancient times, we spirits have been searching for contractors who can use our power to protect the Flower Kingdom under the command of God Etzheim. From a young boy who played with me like a toy to nobles, knights, beggars, and adventurers… Many have touched my body.”

Although the ending of his sentence seemed odd, Asha tried to ignore it.

“So, did you test each master every time?”

“No. At first, I gave my body to anyone. Spirits each have their own standards for choosing contractors, but I’m naturally capricious and didn’t care who my master was. However…”

Suddenly, Nek’s eyes grew bitter.

“I couldn’t do that after knowing that if an unworthy person acquired me, they would be unhappy. So I decided to choose a person with a pure heart as my master who wishes for my power.”

Nek explained before falling silent.

Suddenly, Asha thought of Cylon.

“……Then I will go find my master. He must be somewhere nearby.”

Nek had already changed his mind and started searching around like a fickle water spirit.

Even this resembled the nature of water, very fickle.

Asha firmly told him.

“Jackal is not here.”

Nek’s expression immediately collapsed like that of a lost child.

“He’s not here…?”

“No, he’s really not here.”

“Really……?”

“Yes, he was here, but he’s gone.”

Karaf watched Asha answer Nek’s childlike questions kindly and resolutely, with a slightly bewildered expression.

Nek collapsed on the ground with a lost expression, muttering.

“Why isn’t he here…? He called me out and left…?”

Asha sighed.

“I’ll make sure you meet your master soon. Just wait quietly until then.”

Although displeased, Nek calmed down when Karaf offered him an outdoor bath as a place to live.

From Karaf’s perspective, he was annoying, so he didn’t give him a room, but a luxurious outdoor bath. Despite being called a useless spirit, Nek seemed to like it.

Although he looked like a fish, he was playing in the water like a child…

While Nek swam around with a gloomy face, Asha quietly placed a few duck dolls in the water, hoping to cheer him up.

As she watched Nek happily play with the duck dolls and splash around in the water like a child, Asha let out a sigh. She knew she needed to introduce him to Jackal as soon as possible.

* * * * *

Jackal was in his room, reading a letter from Asha.

After he finished reading, he started packing his things. Sosa was surprised and asked him.

“Was something wrong written in the letter?”

Jackal replied while packing diligently.

“Monsters have appeared in the capital.”

“What?”

Sosa was taken aback.

It was not unusual for monsters to appear in the capital city, which received the most divine protection.

“Moreover, a water spirit appeared in the palace.”

“What?”

Sosa’s eyes widened in shock.

Jackal explained earnestly.

“I have to go. I’ll make a contract with the water spirit and come back. Tell the village chief that I’m going to Lycaon for a while. Keep this a secret.”

Sosa stared blankly at Jackal as he rushed out of the room. 

Something unusual had happened, but in fact, Jackal had actually read Asha’s letter, which was filled with love, and had decided he had to see her right away.