After Starting a Thread as a Reincarnated in an Unknown Otome Game, I Got Caught in a Battlefield of Beauties - Chapter 12: Come Forth, Spirits! And Let Us Make a Pact!

Chapter 12: Come Forth, Spirits! And Let Us Make a Pact!

“—It’s definitely here.”

“—It has to be here. If not, I’d seriously lose it.”

“Right. There’s no other path.”

Me and Leticia, half-doubting, gaze at the translucent light blue spring before us.

The spring is brimming with magical power and boasts incredible clarity, allowing us to see right to the bottom, which looked only a few inches deep… but it’s probably much deeper.

…How deep is it, really?

Curious, I picked up a fist-sized rock lying nearby and tossed it in.

And then…

“It’s deep, isn’t it?”

“It’s really deep.”

The rock kept falling for tens of seconds.

So, entering means certain death, huh?

What a terrifying spring, seriously.

Anyway, this must be the spring that the hardcore guys were talking about.

If I put a spirit stone in here, a pretty strong spirit should come out… probably, definitely.

I take out the spirit stone I brought with me.

As I’m about to throw it in, my hand stops.

Slowly, like rewinding a video, I lower my arm and stare intently at the clear blue spirit stone in my hand.

This one costs 100,000… no, I got it for half off, so 50,000… man, that’s expensive…

To just throw it in the water… feels like such a waste… I should have just resold it for double.

Just as I think this, I remember the shopkeeper’s kind smile and decide against it.

No, reselling it would be wrong.

I really need to honor that shopkeeper’s kindness; otherwise, I’d be the real jerk here.

“Okay… please… just let this work in one try—Please!!”

With all my heart, I threw a spirit stone worth 50,000 mani into the spring.

“—I don’t mesh well with you. Call someone else.”

As the stone plopped into the water, a humanoid spirit made of flames appeared.

However, after barely a glance at me, the spirit quickly dismissed me with those words.

Watching the spirit, I clenched my fists tightly.

…I can’t stand it anymore…!!

“—Haa?? Don’t mess with me, you jerk! This is the 20th time! Try to understand how it feels to hear the same words 20 times! Show some respect, damn it!!”

“What… How dare you speak to me, a high-ranking spirit, like that…”

“Shut up, bot.”

The flame spirit seemed surprised by my words, but I shut it down with force.

“Why do all the spirits, regardless of their type, say the same thing—’I don’t mesh well with you. Call someone else’? I did call someone else! 19 times! Just make a contract with me already, damn it!!”

“Hmph, impossible is impossible. We probably won’t meet again… but I will remember your insolent words.”

“If you’re going to leave, then go already, trash.”

So, my 20th attempt at making a contract with a spirit ended in failure.

And just like that, 1 million money vanished like bubbles in water.

That’s the amount a commoner could live on for 10 years, or a lower noble for 2 years.

The sheer size of the amount left me dazed, my vision blurred, and I collapsed right there.

My body trembled, and my ears rang.

No, this can’t be happening… this must be a dream…

This is way worse than pachinko or slot machines…

Because not a single penny comes back, and the money just keeps disappearing.

“…A-Alto…?”

“…Haha, Leticia… I don’t think I can keep myself together anymore… I’m really sorry…”

Seeing how broken I was, Leticia leaned in close and spoke to me with concern.

Normally, I would have been embarrassed to have such a beautiful girl so close to my face.

But now, I was too tired to even think about that.

“Because… 1 million… that’s the amount of money a commoner could live on for 10 years… and it all disappeared in just a few minutes…”

“There’s one more left, you know?”

Her words froze me in place.

Like a broken robot, I turned my head towards Leticia… and she pulled a different, pitch-black stone from the bag where she kept the spirit stones.

…Ah, right, there was a 21st stone, a bonus from that kind shopkeeper.

Caught up in the loss of 1 million, I had completely forgotten about it.

Slowly, I stood up and took the spirit stone from Leticia.

“Thank you…”

“Is that really a spirit stone? The only ones confirmed to exist are blue, red, yellow, green, and white…”

“…But, the kind shopkeeper said it’s a spirit stone, so I’ll give it a try…”

I gripped the black spirit stone tightly and threw it into the spring.

—Light overflowed.

A display of northern lights, incomparable to anything before, lit up the dim cave, brighter than the midday sun outside. 

But the lights didn’t stop; they blew the ceiling of the cave away, revealing the bright blue sky.

The source of the light, the spring, gradually turned from white to black. 

As all the water turned pitch black, the darkness began to spread outside.

The blackened blue sky vanished——

—And a sky full of stars appeared.

At that moment, where the ceiling used to be—

“—I’ve been waiting for a long time. It’s been ten thousand years since my last contractor.”

She had jet-black hair cut evenly at her shoulders, an unnaturally perfect beauty that seemed more than human. 

Her eyes, pitch black yet clear as crystal. 

Wearing a jet-black dress that shined like countless stars in the night sky, this woman, appearing to be in her twenties, possessed a breathtaking beauty. 

Yet, her face looked somewhat familiar. 

She smiled at me like this.

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