Volume 6.5 Chapter 54: A Smile That Could Kill

"What do you mean "Eh?" Are you kidding me?" Keith clutched his head. How could they not see it? The way those three acted clearly showed they had no sign of trust in Alfia and Faelyn.

"But we formed a contract with them." Faelyn frowned. Forming a contract showed the two had some trust in one another.

Keith retorted, "That doesn't mean you guys gain their trust."

"Really? But isn't there trust because you formed it?"

"Yes, you can think of it like that." Keith thought about it and explained, "I used the wrong word. Rather than trust, you haven't formed a bond with them." A bond between the contractor and the spirit. That wasn't something that could be formed just from creating a contract.

"But they're spirits," Alfia stated.

"And that's why you can't make them do what you want," Keith shook his head. That shut Alfia up as Faelyn asked, "What do you suggest we do then?"

"The first thing you should do is to give them a name." Keith realized something. These spirits don't even have a name!

They were nameless.

"Uh," Alfia and Faelyn paused. They looked at their spirits; two ran while the other hid behind a tree.

"A good name for them?" That was a tall order.

"You can't just keep calling the three it and them." Keith retorted. It felt wrong since they were on the island all the time. Especially so with him since he played with them and Fira was always beside them!

"Can't you give them a name?" Alfia questioned. It seemed those two would like it if he did instead of her.

"I'm not their contractee; you guys are. It wouldn't matter so much if I did." Him naming them compared to them doing it were two different things.

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"...I understand." "Faelyn?!"

"Princess, he's right." Faelyn stared at the hedgehog, who continued to hide from them. She asked, "What should I do?"

"The first thing we need is to make him comfortable with us." The hedgehog was definitely wary of them. That was the most significant hurdle they had to cross.

"The easiest way is to soften up your tone."

"This is how I usually talk."

"Yeah, that's not going to cut it." Her usual sounded more like a command; it was pretty cold.

"Try smiling and ask it to come over here." That should be simple. Or that was what Keith had thought.

"Come over here." Faelyn smiled, but that only horrified the hedgehog even more!

"Woah, woah!" Keith pulled the girl back, "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm doing what you said." Faelyn did exactly what he said. She smiled and asked him to come over.

"I asked you to be kind, not turn into a damn lion." That was not a smile; that was a threat! Never would anyone expect her to have such a crooked look. Is she one of those who smile instinctively and can't do it by command?

Either way, the hedgehog was frightened even more. The difficulty went from an 8 to a 10!

"Hah, take five." Both Faelyn and the hedgehog needed some time to cool off. Turning his head, Alfia wasn't doing so good either. The hawk and wolf continued to do their own thing.

"...Let's take a small break."

"Woof!" "Kwak!" The wolf and bird quickly came to his side. Keith sighed and took some food out, "Here you are. Have a bite."

The two spirits happily ate their food. While they did,

"Here's yours." Now came Alfia and Faelyn. The two begrudgingly ate the food as they watched Keith being friendly with the spirits. He turned to the last one, "Um, do you want to eat meat?"

"Pii!" The hedgehog shook his head and was slightly scared of the red meat.

"I see. Please have this." Keith sliced an apple instead and placed it a few meters away from him. With that, he continued on with his meal.

"Are you sure we should leave him like that?" Faelyn stared at the hedgehog, who continued to be wary about everything.

"Best if we do. You can't force him to do anything. That will make him anxious in front of us." The spirit needed time to adjust to them. And he was right; slowly, the hedgehog came behind the trees and looked at the apple.

A little interested, the hedgehog started at the apple before taking a nibble. When he did, the spirit began to eat faster! The little baby really enjoyed it. And it wanted more. He stared at the food the others were eating.

It slowly waddled towards Keith and the group. And when it did,

"Pii." It made a slight sound.

"Do you want more?" Keith tilted his head.

"Pii!"

"Then come over here."