(I accept)
Seconds after mentally accepting the proposal, the voice echoed once again in my mind.
WARNING: THE CONTRACT BETWEEN MAKOTO TATSUYA AND THE IMPERIAL SPIRIT OF DARKNESS, SHADE, HAS BEEN ACCEPTED. TO PROCEED WITH THE CONTRACT, MAKOTO TATSUYA MUST RENOUNCE ALL OF HIS ELEMENTAL MAGIC. DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE WITH THE CONTRACT?
Upon hearing these words, I became extremely confused. What exactly is an imperial spirit? Moreover, why would I have to give up my elemental magic to make a contract with the spirit? As these doubts swirled in my mind, the voice of Aurora-sama echoed.
"Oh, it seems you've caught Shade-chan's attention. That's truly fascinating. I think you should accept the contract, Makoto. Trust me, even if you lose the ability to manipulate other types of elemental magic, it won't make a difference, especially when it comes to Shade-chan"
These were the words she uttered, and I honestly had no knowledge of spirits. Therefore, I had no way to confirm whether what she was saying was true or not. However, over time, Aurora-sama never made decisions that harmed me. On the contrary, all of her choices regarding me clearly aimed at my well-being.
Of course, to consider this, I would have to ignore the moment when she advised me to abandon Saemi earlier. I couldn't expect much from a being that probably saw us as insects, but overall, she always provided hints that somehow helped me in the future. This realization led me to believe that this time would not be different.
(I accept the contract)
Immediately after accepting the contract, the voice echoed once again in my mind.
WARNING: THE CONTRACT BETWEEN MAKOTO TATSUYA AND THE IMPERIAL SPIRIT OF DARKNESS, SHADE, HAS BEEN CONFIRMED, INITIATING THE SUMMONING PROCESS.
After these words, an intense brightness radiated before me, causing me to instinctively raise my arms to shield my eyes from the light. After a few seconds, the intensity of the light subsided, allowing me to gradually lower my arms to discover what was happening.
In place of the light, there emerged a beautiful girl with tan skin and hair as black as night, floating with her eyes closed. The first impression was that she appeared human, but I was fully aware that she was far from human. An incredible amount of mana could be felt emanating from the girl.
In fact, I believe the word "incredible" still didn't do justice to what I was feeling. She was like an endless abyss, entirely composed of mana. Furthermore, her body continued to attract and accumulate more mana, which seemed impossible, as it already appeared to have reached its limit.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
(Aurora-sama, is this girl a spirit by any chance? She looks very different from the spirit I saw before. Also, what's happening with the mana in her body? It seems like she's absorbing more mana, even though it already seems to be at the limit)
As soon as my thought was transmitted to her, Aurora-sama responded with her characteristically enthusiastic voice.
"And it's exactly as you said, Makoto. This is Shade, the Imperial Spirit of Darkness. As for your other question, you're partially correct. Spirits don't possess physical bodies, what you're seeing in front of you is essentially a concentration of mana gathered at a single point. These “bodies” require a constant replenishment of mana to sustain themselves, so at all times, they are drawing mana from the surroundings. Although I say “mana-made bodies” you can still touch them and smell them, you know"
Listening to your words, I was momentarily surprised.
"No, why are you talking as if you were expecting something?"
As soon as I asked that question, an enthusiastic response came from Aurora-sama.
"Hehe, who knows..."
While Aurora-sama and I continued our lively conversation, it took me a moment to realize that I was being intensely watched. When I turned my gaze forward, I noticed Shade looking at me. Now that her eyes were open, I could clearly see the color of her eyes, a deep black, just like her hair. Somehow, Shade's beauty seemed somewhat eerie.
While pondering this, she suddenly knelt on the ground, her next words leaving me even more surprised.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my king. It will be an honor to serve you from now on"
Her words momentarily stunned me. Why on earth was a girl I had just met calling me a king? With this doubt in mind, an idea occurred to me.
(Aurora-sama, the fact that Shade is calling me a king... could it have something to do with you?)
As I uttered these words, I didn't get an immediate response. While wondering if something was happening, Aurora-sama's voice echoed seconds later.
"Well... maybe I forgot to mention that I'm also the goddess of spirits. The reason she's probably calling you a king is because you're my apostle. Of course, that's not all, you also seem to have a high affinity for dark magic"
Although my doubts didn't completely dissipate, what she explained made a lot of sense. Somehow, I always felt that my dark magic was considerably more powerful than others', which often led me to choose it. However, who could have imagined that this preference would also influence the type of spirit I would attract?.
Putting these thoughts aside for now, I directed my gaze to Shade, who still remained kneeling. For some reason, she had been staring at me for a while. Although I didn't know the reason, her eyes showed clear admiration. I really couldn't remember doing anything to make her admire me so much.
"Well... my name is Makoto Tatsuya, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Shade. I hope you'll take care of me from now on"
I decided to start the conversation as friendly as possible, but even so, I certainly wasn't prepared for Shade's next words.
"It's an honor to know that you know the name of this humble spirit, my king. It will be a pleasure to serve you, please use me as you wish"
Shade said, and for some reason, her eyes were shining with a mysterious light that, while beautiful, also sent shivers down my spine.