The Useless Duke's Daughter Saves the World

♧ [V1 || Chapter 14] ♧

I turned my attention back to the Hō-ō who had given up pecking on my boots. Amusingly, he was panting like he was trying to catch his breath. By the way, I don't exactly know the gender of this bird but, based on the slightly boyish sounding voice, I assumed it's a male. I could be wrong though so, I'll ask him when he calms down.

Now that I think about it.... If I'm not mistaken, wasn't Malakai contracted to a nine-tailed fox? I think his family has a history with them or something. And Elijah's contracted divine spirit was .... Ah! I can't remember what it was but, I bet it's a high level spirit too! He hardly uses his spirit during battle so, I can't properly recall it. I do remember that Evangeline ended up contracting to a mid-level spirit, subjecting her to humiliation and disdain since the other two representatives contracted much stronger ones.

I've never heard of mages being contracted to a Hōō before. In fact, I don't even remember the mentioning of a Hōō anywhere—

"Hey, what were you doing in this garden?" I asked. Out of all the places that the self-proclaimed second most powerful spirit was squatting, why was it in my own backyard? The Hōō looked at me with very annoyed look.

"It's because of the paulownia tree here. Hō-ōs are very specific in where they lay their eggs, so they can only nest in these trees, not to mention the land has to be blessed with peace and prosperity. It just so happens that your home was also built upon this soil. Because of that, my divine mother laid an egg here, which is of course the great me, before she flew back to heaven. Usually, we Hō-ōs are very difficult to find since we immediately fly back to our homeland, once we've matured. That's why you humans can hardly find us on earth"

"Then, why didn't you fly back to heaven? Could it be because you're still a baby?" I raised my eyebrows. It was weird that he had been here all this time since he seems healthy enough to move and flap his wings about in a lively manner. There's no other explanation other than the fact that he had just been born.

"No, you nitwit! For your information, I have been here for 20 years now! The reason why I'm stuck on this stupid human-infested wasteland is because you don't have bamboo seeds!" the Hōō cried angrily.

"I'm sorry. What? You're older than me?"

"Is that what's important?"

"Sorry—I meant, bamboo seeds?"

"Yes! Not only our nesting grounds, our diet is also very specific. We can only be nourished into maturity by eating bamboo seeds. We won't starve to death since divine spirits are immortal. However, we do need proper nutrients for us to develop into adulthood. Divine mother probably didn't realise that this backwater garden has no sustenance for a Hōō!" he lamented, wiping an imaginary tear with his wing. Oh wow. Was that how I looked like when I acted in front of my parents? I hope not cause this bird's acting is embarrassing as hell.

"Is that why you're so small?"

The Hōō started flapping it wings angrily in my face, causing me to fall back on my butt.

"It's all your fault! You've caused my stunted growth and now I can't fly back to heaven!"

"How is this my fault? I didn't know you were here in the first place!"

"How could you not know? Aren't you a holy mage? You should have felt my presence the moment you were born! And yet, you have the audacity to ignore me and leave me here to starve!"

I gaped my mouth. I haven't even activated my holy powers yet, but this bird knew that I was somehow going to inherit holy mana? Wow, he must really be a high-level divine spirit if he was  able detect Evangeline's unawakened powers. The books I've read did say that mana can only be detected by those with immense power. 

"Do you want to grow up that badly?"

"Of course! If I don't reach maturity, I won't be able to fly back to my homeland! It's practically a disgrace that I'm already at this age but I still haven't cast away my childish body"

Maybe... Just maybe, this might be the shining light I so desperately needed.

"Hey! Please contract with me before you fly back to heaven!" I proposed to him.

In all likelihood, this might be a hopeless idea. I'm not even sure if I can contract a divine spirit before I activated my powers and even if I could, how I can successfully utilise this divine spirit depends entirely on my mana strength and control. If what the bird said is true, and I contracted the 'second most powerful divine spirit', won't that mean that I'll actually have a fighting chance against Elijah? 

He looked at me in pondering silence, his face carefully judging mine. Finally, he made his decision.

"No! Why should I? You're too weak—!" the bird stated as he crossed his wings in indignant.

"I'll give you as many bamboo seeds as you want"

"Deal!" he said immediately. You could practically see bird drool on his beak.

"........"

Should a divine spirit be this easy to coax? I figured it would take a lot more convincing than bribing it with food. He must have been really desperate to mature. 

"A—are you sure?" Also, I didn't think someone as proud as him would agree to it. I was even prepared to knock him out and kidnap the bird back to the mansion.

"Hmph! I have my pride but, I'd rather be stuck with a weak contract holder than to stay in this dumpster forever as a child"

"Okay then. Remember, it's your choice! So... how do I make a contract with you?"

"You don't even know how? Hah! Not only are you weak but, you're clueless as well?"

"...... Just get on with it before I leave you here to despair as a child forever" 

"Fine, fine! All you have to do is put your head on mine then, whisper the words 'Celestial divine spirit, become my guiding light for as long as we are bonded together. I am now your contract holder, <name>. And then, you have to give me a name."

"I have to name you?"

"Yes. We divine spirits don't have names to begin with so we need an earthly name to bind ourselves to our contract holders"

"Hmmm...?" I looked above in deep thought. A name huh? I guess I gotta choose something that suits him.

"What about Nova?" I pondered. A bright star, proud and powerful. I have a feeling that he's the light needed for my bleak future.

"Haha! For a clueless human, you sure can come up with a beautiful name. I like it!"

"........" Or maybe he'll bring me a headache.

I sighed and did as the Hōō instructed; placing my forehead against his, feeling his feathers tickling against my skin.

Well, let's see if this works.

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