「What is your name?」
『I am Philia Lanca』
『Huh? If she has a surname, does that mean she is a noble?』
Philia looks puzzled at Yuu’s words. I also tilt my head and look at Yuu.
「Lanca is the name of the village」
『Eh?』
While wondering about Yuu, who does not seem to understand, I explain.
「It means Philia of Lanca Village. I am Rina Lanca. It is not a surname, but the name of the village attached to us」
『I see. I thought it was a surname』
Is he particular about surnames? Perhaps in anime or comics, only nobles had surnames?
『If you change where you live, does the name Lanca change?』
Eh?
「It does not change. Even if you move, the fact that you were born in Lanca Village remains the same」
I see, my previous explanation was a bit insufficient.
『Ah, so that is what it means』
Good, he seems to have understood.
I am not good at explaining things clearly. I heard that when negotiating with ghosts, it is important to speak clearly, so I hope I am doing okay.
「Philia. Who is it that you want to meet?」
『Two children. I am anxious because they are with the husband who killed me』
The culprit is her husband?
『Whoa. She was killed by her husband? Maybe to be with his mistress?』
『Eh. Yes. He killed me because he wanted to be with that woman』
I look at Yuu in surprise. He guessed it well.
『Ah, sorry』
I tilt my head at Yuu, who apologizes looking sorry.
Why did he apologize? I am curious, but I must concentrate on negotiating with Philia.
「Philia. What if the children are dead—」
『They are not dead!』
「Can you really say that for sure? You do not know the current situation, do you?」
Sorry for speaking harshly. But it is important.
『That is…』
「If they have passed away, I cannot let you meet them」
If they remained in this world like Philia, we could meet, but I cannot make irresponsible statements.
『They are not dead. They must be fine』
「I do not know if your children are alive or not」
『…Yes, I understand. In that case, it cannot be helped. If they are dead, I will give up』
「Thank you for understanding. Where do you think the children are?」
It seems they live in this village, but if the place where the children are is far from here, I cannot easily let them meet. If I were a bit older, I could act more freely.
『There is a house where we lived, about fifteen minutes from here』
It is close. That is good.
「What are the children’s names?」
『Carius and Taguas』
Huh? Carius and Taguas? I have heard those names somewhere before. Ah, onii-chan has friends who are brothers with the same names.
「Could they be the brothers who attend Lanca Village Second School?」
『Yes, that is right. Do you happen to know them?』
「Yes. Onii-chan introduced them to me」
Indeed, Philia’s deep green hair is very similar to the hair color of the friends onii-chan introduced. Also, Carius has light green eyes like Philia. Taguas has light blue eyes. Perhaps the younger one resembles his father.
Anyway, I am glad that Philia’s children are nearby. If it is them, I can meet them if I go to school. If I am on leave, I should be able to go to Philia’s house by taking a slight detour on my way home.
『I wonder if those children are okay?』
Philia asks anxiously.
「I am sorry. I have been absent from school for the past few days, so I do not know」
『I see』
My heart aches slightly seeing Philia depressed. If I go to school now, I might be able to let them meet. But not yet.
「I will state my request now」
『Stating your request means you will let me meet the children, right?』
「That depends on whether Philia agrees after hearing my request」
『I said I would do anything!』
「I know. But please judge after hearing what I want you to do」
If she does not understand properly, the contract will not be established!
『Understood. What is your request?』
What I want to know is about the priest and those trash people. The first thing I want her to investigate is,
「I want you to investigate the priest at the church」
『Ah, you mean that priest who was causing a scene in front of the house?』
I nod at Philia.
「Yes. Investigate everything about him」
『Understood. Investigating seems easy enough, so leave it to me』
「Then, let us make a contract」
『A contract?』
「Yes. We will make a contract to surely fulfill our promises to each other」
This way, I can definitely learn about that priest. Well, it imposes on me the obligation to definitely let Philia meet her children.
『I will make the contract. What should I do?』
Ugh, I am nervous. What if I cannot touch Philia after talking this much, unlike Yuu?
Yes. I should have checked if I could touch her before speaking.
Deep breath, deep breath. It is okay. This is my first contract, but I can do it! I can definitely do it. After all, I learned from Father.
I extend my hand in front of Philia.
「Place your hand on mine, Philia」
My heart is pounding. It feels like everyone around can hear my heartbeat.
Philia’s cold hand rests on my palm.
Good. I can feel the sensation of Philia’s hand. This confirms that I can touch ghosts other than Yuu.
「I, Rina Lanca, make a contract with Philia Lanca. Philia, say it too」
『I, Philia Lanca, make a contract with Rina Lanca』
「I, Rina, promise to let Philia meet her children. However, if they have passed away, meeting is impossible. Philia understands this. Also, no specific deadline is set for this. Philia, is this acceptable? Please answer with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’」
『Yes』
「Philia will investigate and report everything about the church priest that Rina desires. The deadline is two days. Is this acceptable?」
Ah, Yuu made a surprised expression. Did he notice? That there is no deadline for my side, but there is one for Philia’s side.
『Yes』
「Then, let us make the contract」
I channel my spiritual power toward Philia’s hand.
Huh? Why is it not flowing?
…Ah, I messed up. In this vessel, I have never moved spiritual power before, so of course I cannot do it immediately.
Lie, failure? No, calm down. I, or rather my previous self, practiced a lot. It was necessary to protect myself, so I worked hard until I could do it. Yes, I can do it. The vessel has changed, but I can do it.
First, perceive the spiritual power inside my body… Huh? I found it immediately. Is it because my spiritual power has increased significantly?
Slowly, slowly move the perceived spiritual power to my hand.
Good. I was able to move it more easily than I thought.
『Rina? Are you okay?』
Yuu looks at me with worry, but I cannot respond right now.
Slowly, slowly flow it into Philia’s hand… My hand overlapping with Philia’s is enveloped in a faint green light.
When the light disappears, I gently look at the back of my hand.
『Is that a flower? A mark of the contract?』
「Yes. It seems the contract was successful」
On the backs of both my and Philia’s hands, there is a mark indicating the success of the contract. Two Oleander flowers are drawn.
Good. It was my first contract, but it went smoothly.
Still, the movement of spiritual power in this body was unusually smooth. I wonder why? Well, I will think about that later.
I pick up the pendant lying on the ground. Then I look at Philia.
「Could you investigate the priest immediately?」
『Understood. But I cannot move』
「It is okay. You can move for the purpose of fulfilling the contract」
After hearing my words, Philia looks at the pendant I am holding and then moves away from us.
『It is true. I was able to move away』
「Because it is for fulfilling the contract, you cannot meet the children yet」
「Ah, is that so?」
She seemed to try to go to the children, but that is impossible. I am sorry.
『I will investigate immediately. Then, I can meet the children soon, right?』
I just smile without answering. I do not know if we can meet soon.
『I am going』
I watch Philia leave and let out a sigh.
「My explanation was lacking in various ways」
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