Chapter 245.3: Main Day (Part 3)
As Danbulf, Mira's focus had been on appearing mature, elegant, and powerful. Now she was lacking that type of appeal, making her less popular there, and she could not help but think back to those days.
While Julius and the detective were being held up by their fans, Mira was left alone, so she headed straight to the shop in front of the Spellcasters' Union. The balcony she would be using was located there.
「Ah, there you are.」
The three adventurers they hired were already there. Mira had met them the day before, and they had all introduced each other then. The one wearing armor and carrying a sword was Nina, the one wearing robes was the mage Mina, and the last one was the necromancer Nana.
「Huh? The detective isn't with you?」 Nina asked that, seeing that Mira came alone.
「He's over there.」 In response, Mira turned to look at a tightly packed crowd in the street, pointing at where the detective was.
「Ahh, I see. He's always been popular after all.」
Even they were aware that the detective was also quite popular, and Fuzzy Dice was not the only one with fans. So the three laughed it away and said they would just have to wait a bit longer then.
「By the way, I kinda forgot to ask yesterday when we met, but are you... Erm, could you be the Spirit Queen? Is that right?」
Pushed by the other two, Mina took a step forward and timidly asked that. It was clear that she was unsure of how to properly address Mira, who looked younger than the three, but if she was the Spirit Queen everyone was talking about, then her adventurer rank had to be A, while the three were sitting in C. So Mira would be their superior in terms of rank, making it a bit tricky to approach her.
「Ah, mhm, somehow that's what people call me now.」 Mira proudly confirmed that, acting like she was used to being called that. In reaction, the three adventurers' faces lit up with excitement.
「I knew it... I thought that might be the case! I believe you've already met Zack from our group. Thank you for everything you did, and your generosity by giving us such a valuable item.」
Nina bowed all of a sudden while saying that, and then the rest of her companions did the same, thanking Mira.
Mira just tilted her head in confusion, wondering why they were doing that. But after some thinking she thought of something, there was that man on the rooftops she had met two days before, and she had given him a Spirit Crystal.
「Ahh, are you friends with that man I met on the rooftops?」
When she voiced her hunch, they confirmed she was right. They nodded, saying that was him, and continued thanking Mira before expressing just how happy they were about it.
The three were sisters, and they actually had a fourth one, the youngest.
She had recently turned ten, and seemed to have some aptitude to become a spellcaster, so half a year prior she had undergone an affinity examination. Her dream was to become a saint, accompanying her sisters in adventures and helping them out.
But the examination revealed that she only had affinity to become a summoner. Currently in this world, summoners were seen as paperweights with no use, and anyone who had no other affinities would usually give up on becoming an adventurer altogether.
Their little sister was no exception, becoming disappointed and depressed as a result. But then the appearance of the Spirit Queen sparked a new hope in her.
The Spirit Queen was a summoner, an adventurer who had reached rank A, and stories about her were spreading all over the world. That little girl finally had someone to look up to.
If another summoner had managed to become so famous, then surely she would be able to help her older sisters as well.
「She began working out and studying how to become a summoner after that... And then realized that everything was really complicated, and that there's very little literature about summoners, so she became depressed again.」
Nina told the story with a bit of nervousness, but then she smiled as she said, 「But then we heard that the Spirit Queen was visiting the city.」
Just when the girl found some hope, she was met by an insurmountable obstacle. That left her distraught again, until she heard rumors that the person who had given her that hope was nearby.
Not only that, but the Spirit Queen was talking about all the possibilities a water spirit could bring, and was even teaching people how to form a contract with one.
When they heard that, the three older sisters rushed to find a Spirit Crystal for their little sister, only to find that they were too late and the few that were in stock had been all sold out already.
That led to more disappointment, until the next day when they heard that a water spirit had appeared in the city.
So the three sisters once again went out and searched for the spirit in the city. Someone else in their group, an adventurer named Zack, eventually ran into the Spirit Queen herself, who was generous enough to give him a Spirit Crystal, which made the little sister happier than ever before.
Even more shockingly, when the three older sisters accepted an urgent request from a detective, they ended up running into the Spirit Queen herself.
「At this point it feels like there's some sort of higher power bringing us together...」
After telling all of that to Mira, Nina looked at Mina and Nana, who all straightened their backs and looked straight at Mira.
「I know this might not be the best place for this... But could you please teach our sister at least something about summoning?」
All three of them bowed at once after that plea. The three had agreed to make that request, all for their little sister's sake.
High rank adventurers that were famous enough to have a nickname like Spirit Queen were seen like celebrities, especially by lower ranking adventurers like the sisters. Usually they would be reprimanded or made fun of if they tried asking someone like that for help or coaching, as it could be seen as a waste of their time.
The three sisters were fully aware of that, but they still decided to ask as it was all they could do for their little sister.
「Sure, I don't mind.」
After all the hesitation and nervousness of the sisters to ask for that, Mira gave an instant reply. She had been impressed by how much they cared for their little sister, but more importantly, Mira cared about summoners more than anything.
If that girl was struggling with being a summoner, then she would gladly teach her the basics. The story of Bruce she had heard before was still in her mind too, another summoner who was working hard to revive their class. She had not met him yet, but knowing he was out there had motivated her to work harder.
「Th-Thank you so much!」
The sisters were slightly taken aback by Mira's swift reply, but thanked her as soon as they regained their bearings. Mira just nodded like it was no big deal.
(It's still a small step forward, but I'm sure this is the beginning of the triumphant return of summoners!)
A girl who was once despairing at being a summoner had regained hope thanks to the Spirit Queen's actions and words.
Knowing she had become the role model and hope of someone else told Mira that all her work thus far had not been in vain. All of that was putting Mira in a really good mood.