Volume 4 Chapter 15 Seven Brides
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Somehow, I ended up with 7 wives.
In this world, it’s not that unusual to form contracts with dragons or spirits, but I never imagined I’d be the one involved.
It’s not a bad thing, really. Actually, by our standards, it’s probably something to celebrate. Some royal families have ancestors who were dragons or spirits, so I’m not the first. Looks like I’ve become one of those loved by spirits…
Love… huh. When I think about it now, calmly, it wasn’t so much love as it was a series of random events, or maybe just going with the flow of the moment.
Lady Uno and Ms. Exceneca… I thought maybe they had some romantic interest, but with the spirits I met, obviously that wasn’t the case.
According to Ms. Emera, the Light Spirit, and Ms. Mistrena, the Wind Spirit, they say we had no real connection at first.
Luck? Fate? I don’t really get it… but it’s like in a dating sim where they weren’t even supposed to be characters I could pursue.
They didn’t want to at all, but got caught up in the excitement and the crowd’s energy, and somehow ended up forming a contract with me. They say it felt better than expected, so they don’t regret it, but it’s… complicated.
Mubiel, the Dark Spirit, originally thought of me as little more than a test subject. Then, the moment we… got physical, she fell in love at first sight.
Ms. Exceneca’s overwhelming passion must’ve spread to everyone else.
Still, spirits usually gather mana naturally from the world, so they don’t *have* to form contracts with humans to gain MP.
But some spirits do form contracts with humans… They do it to gain access to new possibilities by taking in different kinds of mana.
Some changes are good, some are bad. They say they’re careful in choosing their contract partners, to avoid corrupting themselves.
And yet, despite how important the bond between partners should be, everyone just got swept up in the moment and decided to form a contract with me. Are we going to be alright?
* * *
Right now, we’re holding an emergency meeting with my 7 wives. The topic? How to deal with my painfully low max MP.
If you make a pact with a spirit, you can use summoning magic. Humans go after spirit pacts for this summoning magic in the first place.
Both summoning and spirit magic eat up a ton of MP. The caster who calls the spirit has to pay for all of it. No shortcuts.
You don’t even have to be a magician──just sign a pact, and you can use magic, kind of sideways.
My problem is──I flat-out don’t have enough MP.
Lady Uno calls up spirits like it’s nothing, but summoning an Advanced spirit burns through piles of MP.
I heard if you’re human, you need a super-MP job and a whole bunch of levels, just to maybe summon one Advanced spirit.
Basically, unless you’re some busted high-level summoner, calling an Advanced spirit is a no-go.
And me──a Stargazer, not even a magic user──even if I maxed out my level, I’d never get close.
Stargazers just watch the stars and ponder stuff.
Supposedly, the mana quality’s nice, but there’s barely any of it.
Normally, if you run out of MP, the spell just fizzles. That’s all.
But if the summoned spirit agrees, the pact can force its way through anyway.
If a spirit says yes to a forced summon, it pays the missing MP with its own life force.
That kind of burden could erase the spirit itself.
There was even some tragic incident a while back──
some overpowered dude, loved by spirits, got cocky and kept pushing them.
Loads of spirits disappeared forever.
”If it’s for you, I don’t care if it destroys me.”
Ms. Exceneca’s plan? Not a real fix.
She’d actually do it, too, and that’s terrifying.
Gotta put my foot down hard.
”No way. If you ever try that, the pact’s off.”
Not that I know if breaking a pact is even possible.
”How about this──when I get summoned, I’ll use bedroom techniques right away to refill the missing mana?”
Mubiel’s idea is technically possible, but it assumes both of us have mastered “room techniques.” Plus, we’d be totally defenseless right after the summoning. I don’t know how much *intimate action* we’d need to restore the MP, but there’s no way we can do that in the middle of a fight. Still, practicality aside, maybe it’s worth considering.
”If you can create the exact magic circle, you should be able to use mana stored in a magic stone as a substitute.”
Apparently, to use mana stored in a magic stone, we need to go through the magic circle. Ms. Emera’s idea is very realistic, but it would require developing a dedicated magic circle and preparing a lot of magic stones. Speaking of which, Mr. Zenom’s magic tools all use magic circles too… I wonder if I could analyze them with my Editor skill? This approach might need some research too.
”The mana in a magic stone isn’t that great. I’ll give you this one, it’s better than a magic stone.”
Ms. Mistrena suddenly placed something alive-like on top of my head. When I hesitantly touched it, something light and warm jumped up.
A tiny creature with transparent dragonfly wings. A pixie, the same kind that gave us so much trouble in the second tier. This one’s a mutant, though, and despite being small, it has an enormous mana capacity. Creatures like this are sometimes used as mana storage within their groups. Because it has nothing else going for it besides its max MP, it’s considered a failure among the other pixies. I think a specialized individual like this could be really valuable.
If I use this one as my external mana tank, the max MP problem would be easily solved. Summoning a pixie takes up a little MP, but it’s nothing compared to summoning an Advanced spirit. With my low MP, it’d still work.
”There’s no need to force us to summon, right? Just use this one. It’s my *clone*.”
Ms. Frapatica gave me a tiny salamander.
This fire lizard sizes up or down depending on my mana.
Use magic that fits your level──makes sense.
I don’t really get the “split self” thing, but apparently, it’s still part of Ms. Frapatica, connected somehow.
Maybe it’s like hair she snipped off and sent me.
”Just tell me what you want blown up, and I’ll handle it. You can pay me next time we meet.”
Ms. Mone says that if I just use magic, not full-on summoning, it barely tires me out.
I can’t do anything precise──just big, clumsy strikes.
But if you’re flattening a whole building, that’s enough.
So all I need is some way to point at the target?
A living map weapon, basically.
Payment later, kind of like a loan.
Or prepay in mana, like stockpiling with Ant.
”What if I cover the missing mana for you? It’s a wife’s job to take care of her useless husband, isn’t it?”
”Sir Saburou isn’t useless.”
”Lady Uno’s plan won’t actually fix anything.”
”That’s just babying him──textbook bad for men.”
So, how does Lady Uno’s offer really work out?
Feels like my debt’s just gonna pile up.
I don’t want to end up mooching off someone…
The spirits are pretty harsh toward Lady Uno. If I butt in now, it’ll only end badly for me. Best to keep my mouth shut and just pack some mana into the pixie hanging above my head. Honestly, having something to do right now is a lifesaver.
Every time I meditate, I hit max MP instantly, then pour every drop into the pixie──repeat. Little by little, I’m saving up mana. But really, how much does she hold? Where does she even keep it in that tiny body? Feels like her reserves have no bottom.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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