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Claudia belatedly realized it was not a path that twisted and turned like a maze but a maze itself.

There was a saying that if you were going through a maze, you should place one hand on the wall and keep walking along with it.

It was possible to pass through the maze once, but it was a method that only worked if the maze wasn’t connected to any other mazes.

She was forced to use the method because she couldn’t see ahead, but she wasn’t sure if she was going the right way.

At least it was a relief that it was not a maze where there were traps in the middle, and she could fall into it or get hurt.

‘How much time has passed?’

Claudia was slowly becoming tired.

She walked and walked to the point where she wondered if she had ever walked this long in her whole life.

Physical strength was about stamina, but it required tremendous mental strength to keep endlessly walking in the dark. It was because Claudia didn’t know what would pop up in front of her, so her body was unnecessarily stiff, and this exhausted her even more.

At one point, her knees buckled.

She collapsed onto the ground and tried to get up again, but her legs were shaking so much, it didn’t work out. Claudia decided to lean her back against the wall and rest for a moment.

As she tried to catch her breath, someone’s voice rang in her head again.

–I told you. Just give up. Don’t waste your energy and just wait for someone to come to rescue you.

“Shut up.”

She certainly seemed to be going insane because of the darkness. It looked like she was cursing at herself because of her own hallucinations.

She wished there was a light – even if it was the size of a firefly, it was fine.

It wouldn’t help her the slightest with wandering around the maze, but at the very least, it would provide a bit of mental comfort.

「I cannot see in front of me. Can you lend me some light?」

Claudia habitually used the language of the spirits to make a request. Wherever she went, the low-level spirits liked her very much and followed her well.

Sometimes they would act on a whim or play a little prank, but most of the time, if she asked politely, they would gladly listen to her request.

However, no matter how long Claudia waited, the spirits did not respond.

Although a light spirit couldn’t exist where there was no light, since it was midday now, she was hoping that there would be one or two.

「How about the Spirit of Water? Nix, I definitely heard the sound of water earlier. There’s no way you wouldn’t be here. Sylphid, I felt the cool breeze outside. Earthworm, if you’re listening, could you show me the way?」

Claudia asked, putting her ears to the ground and tapping it with her fist like a knock.

Wherever she went, the low-level spirits, who were highly meddling, would face her. But if anyone saw her now, they would probably avoid her as she looked out of her mind.

No humans could see the spirits dissolved in nature. She could neither hear nor feel their voices. Only the spirits summoned to the human world and enveloped in their contractor’s mana had a visible form.

That was why Claudia couldn’t tell whether there were any spirits here or if they were ignoring her.

「If anyone is here, please just let me know.」

If the beautiful scenery she saw through the gap in the brick was not a hallucination, then this place could not be without spirits.

And even if it was a hallucination, no matter how damaged nature was, the spirits of the wind and earth should react.

‘It’s impossible.’

As she was thinking so…….

Crackle–

Suddenly there was the sound of a fire burning. Startled, Claudia raised her head. The flame torches that hung at regular intervals along the walls lit up at the same time.

「Oh my gosh, Salamander. You were here!」

Claudia called the name of the low-level fire spirit, her face glowing from the flames. But not long after, she tilted her head to the left.

Was Salamander this powerful?

To be able to ignite the flames of the torches that exist in this vast space all at once, when it typically would only be able to create a single spark the size of a candle…….

As she discerned that it couldn’t be the Salamander, she suddenly heard the sound of shoe heels from not too far away.

Claudia stiffened as she waited for her approaching opponent in the brightly lit maze.

It was not long before the sound of footsteps slowly emerged from the twisted alley.

It was a woman with black hair that she had never seen before.

Rather than beautiful, the phrase ‘mysterious and powerful’ came to mind first. Her black eyes, which seemed to capture the night sky, embraced the light of the torches like stars and looked down at Claudia.

「Wh-who……」

Perhaps it was because she had been tirelessly trying to summon the spirit before; Claudia spoke to her in the language of the spirits without realizing it.

She belatedly realized her mistake after she had opened her mouth.

“I came because I heard your voice, child.”

The woman understood her words.

‘So it is a spirit.’

And it was a voice that she had heard before.

Claudia narrowed her eyes with a puzzled expression as she groped for the faint memory. Just before she fainted and woke up here, she felt as if she had heard that voice in the sea while sailing.

“Did you call me here? I’m sure I heard your voice…….”

“Yes, that’s right. I called you here.”

‘Aha, I see.’

Claudia nodded absently and then frowned slightly a while later. So the spirit just threw her in here and watched her struggle as she wandered through the maze?

“I was patiently waiting for you to ask for help. Though, I was hoping that you would be able to get through it yourself.”

“Why would you do that…….”

Claudia made a strange expression as she contemplated whether to curse or not. It casually pushed her into a maze and wanted her to escape it herself.

She wanted to get angry at her for giving disease and then medicine¹, but the woman exuded an atmosphere that made it difficult for her to get angry. Claudia clamped her mouth shut as she stared at the woman who resembled a sage.

In the end, she couldn’t say anything.

“Of course, if you’re having a hard time and at a loss, I’ll reach out to you. So that you can move forward without falling down like this.”

The woman stretched out her hand to Claudia.

Claudia stared blankly at the outstretched hand and unknowingly reached out and grabbed it. Then the woman pulled her up with considerable force.

“You’ve done well enough. The frustration and hope you felt will one day become your foundation.”

“…….”

She was praised.

Still, she didn’t know if she could ask any of her questions yet.

‘Is this woman an independent spirit?’

There were tens of thousands of spirits, but the spirits familiar to humans were already determined.

Spiritualists could only form a contract with one spirit, so the contract was typically formed with a spirit that was useful in life or in battle.

Like the spirits that Claudia immediately called upon when she was in crisis, the spirits of the natural world that governed light, darkness, earth, water, and fire were familiar to humans.

Spirits that fed on emotions were even called ‘parasites’ among the ill-mannered spirits. They weren’t well known since they typically didn’t willingly appear to help out.

Consequently, it was no wonder that she couldn’t recognize her opponent as they were not a spirit of the natural world.

As soon as she said she needed light, it turned on the light and appeared. Most of all, its actions and words were not like humans. Bringing Claudia here was not something an ordinary human could do.

Claudia didn’t think about it for too long and asked bluntly.

“Are you an independent spirit?”

Then the woman answered skeptically.

“What if I am?”

If it was a spirit and its form was visible, then it meant that it already had a contractor.

Claudia agonized if all her efforts were in vain.

She grabbed onto her pounding heart and tried to calm herself down.

It didn’t matter if it was a duplicate contract. Claudia was merely going to assume that it had no contractor since it was an independent spirit.

As long as the spirit, itself, was willing to sign a contract with her, then it probably wouldn’t matter.

“Then please sign a contract with me!”

The woman was surprised by the abrupt and unguarded words, and so was Claudia. Since she had been desperately hoping for it, she rushed straight to the point without realizing it.

“If you sign a contract with me, well…….”

She was speechless from here on.

Claudia knew that all she possessed was money. However, such materialistic things would not work on the spirit.

‘I don’t even know what spirit it is in the first place.’

And yet, she blindly decided to sign the contract.

It was somewhat reckless, but she had a hunch that this spirit would not be a poor choice.

And above all, the spirit said it called Claudia.

Spirits didn’t care about humans who were not their contractors. After all, it was always the human side that needed the spirits.

Low-level spirits sometimes followed and showed favor for humans with high affinity, but that was because they were immature.

The intermediate spirits and above, at the very least, did not care if humans had high affinity or not.

That meant there was a desperate reason for its actions.

“I will do my best so that you won’t suffer.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but you need me, right? If you sign a contract with me, I can do anything for you. Please let me do it.”

When Claudia clenched her fist to make an oath to the sky, the woman let out a chuckle.

^{1. “Giving disease then medicine” is a proverb used when a person who initially caused trouble for others is offering a remedy and trying to help.↩}