Star-trail leaped onto the counter, putting its two front paws together in front of it.
It first looked at the staff member, then turned its head to look at Seisou.
As the two of them stared at Star-trail, waiting to see what answer it would give,
it tilted to the side and flopped onto the counter like a poked mochi ball, exposing a small patch of lighter silver-white fluff on its belly.
“Squeak.”
I'm just a cute little Contract Spirit, don't ask me such difficult questions.
Work is too tiring, too much mana has been consumed, and now I just want to act cute and roll around.
Qiluo also just wants to sleep.
The staff member's impending questions all got stuck in her throat.
“...Is it usually like this?” the staff member asked, turning to Seisou.
Seisou watched Star-trail roll over on the counter and bury its face in its tail, leaving only its two floppy ears exposed.
She reached out and touched Star-trail's ears. Its ears twitched slightly against her fingers, and she couldn't help but let her lips curl upward.
“...Occasionally, when it's tired, it acts like this. It probably flew for too long just now.”
The staff member looked down at the soft, squishy Star-trail. She pushed up her glasses and set her stylus aside.
“...Are you acting cute?”
Star-trail squeaked again.
She reached out and poked Star-trail's exposed belly. The fluff was incredibly soft, sinking in to form a tiny dimple.
She looked up at Seisou, then back down at the creature, which was gently tapping the counter with the tip of its tail, and finally let out a sigh.
“Well, in any case, the Association doesn't have a rule stating that a Contract Spirit can only bind with one contractor.”
“But this situation is indeed extremely rare. I might need to write a note in the report.”
Star-trail immediately flipped itself up from the counter. With its front paws, it precisely swept a withered leaf from the pothos plant next to the staff member into the trash can. Then, it stared at her with its big eyes, its tail wagging slightly.
“...I can keep the note down to just a few words.” She typed a few lines in the remarks section, then turned to Seisou.
“Next is the mana spectrum scan. The examination room is at the end of the hallway, and the technician is already waiting. She will guide you through the remaining steps.”
Seisou nodded and thanked her. She scooped Star-trail up from the counter, placed it on her shoulder, and gently rubbed behind its ears.
As she turned toward the hallway, she lowered her voice, her lips almost brushing the tip of Star-trail's ear. “So Snowrealm is your other contractor? What is she like? When are you going to introduce us?”
Star-trail buried its face in its paws.
At the end of the hallway, the technician was already waiting by the door of the examination room, holding an electronic tablet. Her eyebrows twitched slightly when she saw Star-trail, but she quickly put on a professional smile and gestured for Seisou to enter.
“Please come in. You should already be familiar with the basic process—step into the detection capsule, remain still, and the sensor ring will complete a full mana spectrum scan.”
She was speaking to Seisou, but her gaze couldn't help but drift toward Star-trail, as if trying to confirm whether this was the same one written in the files.
What is this?
Why is it different from when Snowrealm registered last time? There's an extra step?
Did I forget?
In fact, this was intentional on the staff member's part.
This scan wasn't strictly necessary, but to figure out what was going on, she had Seisou go through the full suite of tests according to the standard procedure.
Seisou walked up to the detection capsule and looked at Star-trail on her shoulder.
“Are you going to wait for me outside?”
Star-trail gently patted the back of her neck, leaped off her shoulder, and landed on the console next to the detection capsule.
Seisou nodded and stepped inside the detection capsule.
The capsule door slid shut, the sensor ring lit up, and a pale blue ring of light moved slowly from top to bottom.
Lines of analytical data began to pop up on the console screen:
Lineage Type determined as Sound Attribute, branch registered as Melody Resonance, weapon form confirmed as Ranged Bow, magic circuit integrity assessed as Excellent.
The technician's fingers slid quickly across the touchpad, archiving each piece of data one by one.
When a line reading “Multiple Contract Spirit link traces detected” popped up in the lineage analysis column, her eyebrows twitched slightly. She didn't say anything, however, only adding a line of remarks next to the data.
Link Stability: Good.
Seisou stepped out of the capsule. The first thing she did was not look at her own data on the screen, but walk over to the console and pick up Star-trail.
“Sound Attribute,”
She looked down at the bracelet on her right wrist; the music-note pendant was glowing faintly.
“The same attribute as my sister's. Does that mean I'm just like her? Or can I do other things?”
“The essence of sound is vibration.” The technician took off her goggles and turned her chair to face her.
“The scope of a Sound-attribute Magical Girl's abilities goes far beyond singing. Vibrations can shatter, penetrate, and resonate.”
“You can use music notes to create barriers, or use melodies to disrupt enemy perception. The specific branch of your ability depends on how your mana spectrum feeds back in actual combat. In other words, you'll have to test it out yourself.”
Seisou nodded half-comprehendingly, looking down at her open palm.
While the technician was still explaining several basic practical applications of Sound-attribute mana, Seisou nodded along while quietly slipping her hand into her pocket to feel for her phone.
The moment the screen lit up, her pupils dilated slightly.
The lock screen was packed with messages from her sister, ranging from I'm heading out to What do you want for lunch? and then Where are you? The tone grew more urgent with each message, and the latest one was just four words: Where are you?
The number on the notification badge was growing; she could already picture Yuzuki's anxious expression.
“Uh, my sister is calling,” Seisou said, pulling her phone out of her pocket and offering the technician an apologetic smile. “Do you mind if I take this first?”
The technician made a gesture inviting her to go ahead.
Seisou pressed the answer button, and before she could even bring the receiver to her ear, Yuzuki's voice blasted out from the phone.
“Where are you?! Your body hasn't even recovered yet, why are you running around! I came home and found you weren't in bed—”
“Sis~ I'm fine~ I'm at the Association building.” Seisou held the phone a bit farther away, waiting until she finished speaking before bringing it closer to her mouth. “I'm not alone, I'm with Star-trail.”
“...Kizuna Asana.” Yuzuki's voice came through the receiver, her tone suddenly becoming terrifyingly calm.
Seisou instinctively held the phone even farther away, casting a pleading look toward Star-trail.
Star-trail pointed the tip of its tail at the phone in her hand, then at itself, and shook its head.
It meant, You got yourself into this mess, solve it yourself.
“...Sis, listen to me, I'm really fine. Star-trail has been with me the whole time, and we're already at the Association. I just finished my mana scan, and the technician said my circuit integrity is excellent—”
Seisou tried to deflect the heat with technical terms.
“Put Star-trail on the phone,” Yuzuki interrupted.
Seisou froze for a moment, looking down at her phone screen, then up at Star-trail.
Seisou held the phone out to it, silently mouthing, “Sister is calling you.”
What is the meaning of this?
This involves me too?
I'm just an innocent Contract Spirit.
Star-trail looked at the screen indicating the call was in progress. After a brief silence, it leaned in close to the microphone and spoke in its usual clear voice.
“I was the one who brought her out. Her physical indicators have already recovered to a level where she can go outside, and I assisted her throughout the flight. The Association's scan results have also confirmed that her magic circuit is in good condition. As a Contract Spirit, I would not risk my contractor's health.”
When Yuzuki spoke again, her voice was no longer quite as terrifying.
“...I'm coming over now.”
“Sis, you really don't need to come over, I can handle it on my own—” Seisou leaned close to the microphone, trying to plead her case.
“Wait there.” With those two words, Yuzuki hung up.
Seisou stared at the “Call Ended” notification on the screen, only putting her phone back in her pocket after a long while.
She turned her head to look at Star-trail, her expression a mix of guilt and resignation.
Star-trail ignored her. You dug your own grave, now lie in it.
Rate on N.U.
