Not exactly the kind of work I wanted to do in front of other people. The campsite was fairly large so leaving it was quite the walk all things considering. A bit to the south east there was a hill that I used to help me hide. I rolled out one of the pieces of parchment I had gotten. Oh right. I needed Mina to show me what the documents she found looked like.

I opened my book. The page I drew her on had a light blue glow to it, especially around what would be her outline. I wonder. Can I cancel the summon from this distance? I learned how to cancel summons during the trip. I took a deep breath and tried to bring her home. The blue glow faded and her image reappeared. Dang! It worked! Cool!

I summoned her again the next instant.

“That was weird, captain,” she said. “I was just at the bazaar, and now here?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t bad I hope?” I asked.

“No, I wouldn’t say bad,” she said. “Just different.”

“Can you show me what the papers looked like again? I need to forge them, the sooner the better!”

This part felt kind of slimy if I was being honest, more invasive than the normal telepathy for sure, but it was fairly easy for me to get the general gist of each section and my skills at copying were pretty good. It was slow and boring work, but I couldn’t afford anything less than perfect.

“How’s it look?” I asked.

“Wow, you are so good, captain. I can’t tell the difference besides your name,” she said.

I smiled. I had one more sheet of parchment. “I think we should test my ability,” I said. I was experimenting with different parchment and ink first. If my ability worked than the book I had didn’t mean anything to it. But it’s possible the book's paper was unique, or the pen that I found with the book is unique.

“So what kind of summon are you going to make this time?” she asked.

Hmm… I wanted to try a plant too. That may have been foolish given the extra variable, but I couldn’t summon a knife. Mina and Kagerou were both animals. I wondered if I could create plants. “I think, a cactus.”

“Why a cactus?” she asked.

“You’ll see!” I said as I began sketching. I wasn’t going for any real world cactus. I was making a dome, or more accurately an upside down bowl. With an open space underneath it, to make it the perfect shelter for me. With some hard wood bits and a softer outer shell with thorns, it should be something no human or monster wants to investigate.

If this works then I was literally creating a new type of thing. I was getting excited. I realized something else while thinking about it too. Mina came out about one to one to her art. But Kagerou had come out probably twenty times larger than his art. So I could modify the size. This cactus needed to have enough space for me to fit and preferably comfortably enough to sleep. So she would need to be at least three meters in diameter underneath. Yeah. I gave her a flower on the top to complete the look.

Hanakirin, the gentle guardian. Yeah that would be her name. A spirit of healing and protection. Like a tree spirit, a spirit with thorns for her enemy and protection and safety for those that fall under her control. I like it.

Wait! No way! I noticed the ink stopped soaking into the parchment the moment I finished her name. Did it work? I tried to summon her and sure enough, there she was. With a bit of a thud as she nestled into the dirt.

“She’s big!” Mina said.

Yep. I fell to my knee. Wow, that felt intense or sort of at least. It was a steady drain, one I hadn’t felt with Kagerou or Mina. Is it because she is so big? I took a deep breath and walked towards her. Her thorns moved aside for me as I touched her soft base. I guess she wouldn’t have a mouth in which to speak.

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“Spirits need no mouth,” I heard. It was soft, almost a whimper.

“I see, your voice,” I said. “It reminds me of my mother.” I clenched my hand into her body.

“I am honored, young master,” she said. “But you should dismiss me, the one that shares my name approaches.”

Huh? Shares her name?

“She is right!” Mina shouted. “A human approaches.”

I canceled both summons and slumped to my butt. Letting go was like a breath of fresh air but having it without bracing myself had caught me off guard. I will need to practice that too. I was tired. As much as it was nice to have Hanakirin, I can’t say I am looking forward to sleeping outside again.

I wondered who is coming all the way out here? I felt like I should maybe be on guard but I could always summon Kagerou at a moment's notice. I was just way to mentally tired after all the forging and drawing to care. The sun was getting close to setting and I was becoming quite hungry.

“Theodore!” a female voice called out.

Looking, I saw Hana. Oh! Duh. Hanakirin. Hana. I laughed at my own failure. “Oh hey. What brings you out here?”

“You! Duh,” she said, offering me a sandwich with a bright smile on her face. “I made it myself.”

“I mean, how did you know I was up here?” I asked. If she is a good tracker it would be better to know such things.

“This!” she said, holding her closed fist in front of me.

“What’s that?” I asked.

She laughed. “You really don’t see it do you? Not even a tiny bit?” She opened her hand but nothing was there.

“Is that abnormal?” I asked. I hated feeling like I was possibly answering questions in the worst possible way but what else could I do? I couldn’t see anything.

“Nah,” she said. “Just you had so much mana, it felt like you should see it. I can teach you, if you want.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. Learning was certainly a good thing, but learn what! Ugh!I hope I wasn’t making a mistake here.

“Call it repayment. You’re mana gave us extra food and summoned that wolf Kagerou. Petting a lycanthrope really helped me calm down. All the ones I knew stayed back to join the war effort.”

I smiled. I was happy I could help. Even if the situation she was referring to had made half the camp on edge. “I thought that is what the sandwich is?” I teased.

“Nah,” she said. “I know you said you weren’t ready to get married. But one day you will be. I might as well make a good impression now. I can do more than punch, even if people doubt it.”

This certainly was a new side to her. She was usually so groff, but she didn’t have quite the same refinement her sister had. Honestly it was a nice balance. I’d be lying if I said a cute girl giving me a sandwich cuz she liked me didn’t make me happy. I smiled as I took a bite. The bread was more hard tact than actual bread. So calling it good was a stretch, but in its own way. It had a charm.

“Thank you. I was starving, so this is just what I needed,” I said.

She smiled and began eating her own sandwich. It was odd seeing her without her sister. Knowing her, she had to have slipped away or Hina would have followed her over here. She was trying so hard. When the sandwiches were gone and my stomach wasn’t rumbling anymore she raised her finger.

“Now. I found you with a spell. Open Eyes.”

“Open eyes?” I asked.

She nodded. “It is a tier one spirit spell that enhances the spirit detecting levels of your eyes to enable you to see spirit particles.”

So like, aura sensing? Or ki sensing? Interesting. “Can you teach me?” I asked.

She nodded. “First, you need to channel mana into your hand, then place your hands over your eyes. Let the mana sink into your eyes. Don’t overdo it for your first try. Just let me know when you get a pleasant warmness.”

Okay. Mana, I had done that a few times. So flowing it into my hands was simply enough. “Got it.”

“Repeat after me. O lord of spirits, guide my hand. Guide my eyes. Give me your sight. Spirit Tier One: Open Eyes!”

“O lord of spirits, guide my hand. Guide my eyes. Give me your sight. Spirit Tier One: Open Eyes!” I said.

Whoa, it was like. Almost a twisting sensation in my eyes and a coldness. When I opened my eyes, lights, little specks of light everywhere! It was beautiful, magical even. No wait I guess literally.

“First try? You are quite something Theodore. Usually people find spirit magic to be harder,” she said.

“I love it,” I said smiling. “But how did this help you find me?”

“Focus on my heart,” she said as she placed her hand over it.

Oh geez, she was basically telling me to stare at her boobs. Totally not fair! But I guess I had too. It took a moment but as I stared at her chest. A pink cloth seemed to grow out of it. “Pink?” I asked.

“You see it,” she said. Can you grab it?

The cloth floated in the air as it was made of tissue. It seemed to defy gravity entirely. I wrapped my hands around a piece further away from her body. “Like this?”

“Yep,” she said. “This is my spirit ribbon. If I am nearby, it is visible,” she stood up and ran around me.

Oh, I get it. The ribbon in my hands didn’t move. It was more like she was dripping more of this cloth as she ran around me. If I followed it, I would follow her. So she found me by tracking my ribbon. Interesting. This would be a notable detail to remember.

“Please remember my ribbon,” she said. “So we can always find each other.”

I smiled and stared at her ribbon. It wasn’t just pink. I noticed it had a floral pattern etched into it. Also the trim was yellow. It was truly unique if you knew what to look for. “I got it.”

She smiled. “Promise?”

“Yeah.”