Lake Lagudorian, the crystal-clear lake of Tristain, was also home to the ancient water spirit.
The four of them had ridden hard for an entire day, arriving at the lakeshore around dusk.
But the moment they arrived, they could see it: the swollen lake had overflowed, flooding the fields of the nearby village.
"Montmorency, are you sure this is the place?" Sora asked.
"There's no mistake. I came here with my father when I was a child. But the water level is abnormally high."
Montmorency walked to the edge, knelt, and dipped her hand into the lake. "For some reason, the water spirit is furious right now, and it keeps raising the water level."
"If this continues, the surrounding villages and towns will end up underwater."
Her expression turning grave, Montmorency summoned her familiar: a frog named Robin.
She pricked her finger and let a drop of her blood fall onto the frog's forehead.
"Take this blood to the water spirit," she said solemnly, "and tell her: 'Ancient water spirit, one bound to you by covenant wishes to speak with you.'"
The frog croaked twice, then leapt into the lake with a sharp splash and swam toward its depths.
Montmorency turned back to the others. "Listen carefully. The water spirit is an ancient being of immense power. Do not provoke her. An enraged water spirit has the power to destroy this entire country."
Everyone swallowed hard, properly intimidated.
"Of course. I'll do exactly as you say, Montmorency," Guiche said.
"I understand," Louise and Sora both nodded.
After about an hour of waiting, the sun had already dipped halfway below the horizon.
Out on the lake, a single spot began to churn, then erupted into a fountain of water—an immense column, nearly ten meters high, surging up from the surface.
Is that…the water spirit?
Hidden in the shadows, Raion stared intently at the rising water.
Montmorency stepped forward, raised her hands, and chanted clearly, "Ancient water spirit, I am Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency, a mage of water and a member of the family bound to you by covenant through the ages. If you remember my blood, please answer me in a form we can understand."
"I remember you, fleeting creature. I remember the liquid that flows within your body," a voice replied, resonant and otherworldly, as the water spirit took on a vaguely human shape.
"Thank goodness." Montmorency exhaled in relief before continuing, "Water spirit, I have a request."
"A request?"
"Yes. I wish you to grant me a portion of your body."
"I refuse, ephemeral one."
"Oh?" Montmorency's eyes widened in surprise.
In the bushes, the other three glanced at each other.
Montmorency lowered her gaze, thinking for a moment, then looked up at the spirit again.
"In that case, may I at least ask you to calm down and stop raising the water level?"
"I refuse. I will flood the world until I find the ring that was taken from me and reclaim it," the water spirit answered calmly, as if stating a simple truth.
Louise flinched, then burst out from the grass. "No! If you do that, everyone will die!"
"What are you doing?! Don't anger the water spirit!" Montmorency cried in horror.
Louise ignored her. She clenched her fist, glaring up at the towering figure of water. "Stop raising the water level, water spirit!"
"I refuse."
With that final word, the water spirit lost all interest in them.
Its towering form collapsed, dissolving back into the lake.
"What do we do now? You've gone and angered the water spirit!" Montmorency panicked.
Sora stepped forward. "To flood the whole world… how long would that take?"
"The water spirit's power rivals that of the Founder. To submerge Halkeginia, it would only take a few hundred years… a thousand at most," Montmorency replied, drawing on what she knew from her family's ancient contract.
"All that… just for a ring?" Sora was stunned.
"For an immortal being, time is different. Centuries mean little." Montmorency sighed. "I have to return home immediately, report to the Queen, and do whatever I can to calm the water spirit's anger."
"Wait, there's no other way?" Sora grabbed her arm as she turned to leave.
"What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off Montmorency!" Guiche rushed over, knocking Sora's hand away.
Sora's cheek twitched; he had no desire to deal with this lovestruck idiot.
"What else can we do? The water spirit is usually easy to negotiate with. Louise must have angered her," Montmorency said bitterly.
"This isn't Louise's fault. It's the fault of the person who stole the ring," Sora said firmly.
"Ring… the ring…" He repeated the word twice, then snapped his fingers. "What if we help her find the ring? Then she might stop raising the water level."
"Huh? To bargain with the water spirit—my family, with generations of contracts behind us, isn't even qualified to do that. And you're just a familiar," Montmorency said, clearly not expecting anything.
"Doesn't matter. We can at least try." Confidence flashed in Sora's eyes. Gandálfr was the familiar once wielded by the Founder himself, someone who could stand as an equal to the spirits.
Still doubtful, Montmorency summoned her frog familiar again and sent it to ask the water spirit to meet them once more.
This time, night had fully fallen. Under the pale moonlight, the water spirit rose again from the depths of the lake.
"Fleeting creatures, I am occupied with raising the water. I will not grant you much time. Speak."
Sora stepped up beside Montmorency, pulled out the Delflinger card at his waist, and as he did, the familiar's rune on the back of his left hand shone with a bright light.
"Water spirit, I ask that you stop raising the water level. In return, I will retrieve the stolen ring for you," Sora called out, voice ringing across the water.
Under the moonlight, the water spirit's body rippled gently as it stared at the glowing runes.
"Long time no see, water spirit," Delflinger said suddenly.
"I remember you, Sword of Wisdom. The sword of that man's familiar," the water spirit replied.
Louise, Raion, and Guiche all froze.
That man's familiar's sword?
But Sora is clearly my familiar…
"Yeah, you're still the same," Delflinger said, a hint of nostalgia in his tone. "But you're eternal. My last partner, and that guy, they're already gone."
"All fleeting things end. New ones replace them," the water spirit murmured.
"Gandálfr, if it's you, I will trust you," the water spirit said, its "eyes" seeming to rest on Sora.
"Huh?" The spirit's tone shifted, surprised. "Gandálfr's magic power still resides in your body. Let me help you."
A sphere of luminous water shot from the spirit's body, enveloping Sora at the edge of the lake.
He felt an overwhelming yet gentle power wrap around him, lifting him off the ground.
The moonlight itself seemed to bend toward him as the water spirit extended a hand of liquid light, touching Sora as he floated toward her.
From that point of contact, a portion of the water spirit flowed into Sora's body, about the size of a palm.
"Gaaaaaahhh—!" Sora roared in pain, thrashing and twisting, but the water spirit's power held him firmly suspended in midair.
"Hang in there, partner. This is the water spirit's baptism," Delflinger said, its blade also wrapped in the shining water, being washed together with Sora.
"Sora!!" Louise bolted to the lakeside, heart hammering, completely unaware of what was really happening.
She raised her wand. "Let him go! Let Sora go!"
The water spirit ignored her.
Montmorency grabbed Louise from behind. "Are you insane, Louise? Don't provoke the water spirit any further!"
Louise tore herself free and leveled her wand at the towering shape of water, chanting.
"Yafail Albrick!"
There was no fireball this time. Instead, with a sharp bang, a small portion of the water spirit's vast body caved inward as if struck by something invisible, leaving a shallow crater that instantly filled as water flowed back into place.
This magic… belongs to that man, the water spirit thought, turning its attention to Louise.
Louise was trembling all over, but she clutched her wand with both hands, pointing it unflinchingly at the water spirit.
"Let Sora go. Don't hurt him."
"Void…" the water spirit whispered.
Under the lake's glow and the cold moonlight, Sora's struggles gradually weakened.
A fine mist of blood burst from his body, impurities being forced from his veins.
The water spirit flicked its hand, setting him gently down on the ground.
A large mass of filthy, blood-tinged water exploded beside him—everything the water spirit had expelled from Sora's blood and body.
Sora's face was ghostly pale as he lay motionless on the ground, unconscious.
"Sora!!" Louise rushed to him, pressing her ear to his chest, listening desperately for a heartbeat.
Relief washed over her. It was still there.
"He's fine. My partner's just exhausted from the baptism. A good long sleep is all he needs," Delflinger said.
Louise looked up. "Really?"
"Of course."
Delflinger's appearance had completely changed as well.
The rust that once covered his blade was gone, replaced by a gleaming, silvery sheen, as if he'd just been freshly forged.
"Gandálfr and Sword of Wisdom, I entrust my ring to you," the water spirit said. "And there are other short-lived creatures who have been disturbing my work recently. You will drive them away as well."
"Oh, leave it to me and my partner," Delflinger replied, practically bouncing with energy after receiving the water spirit's blessing.
"Farewell, Gandálfr, Sword of Wisdom… and wielder of the Void," the water spirit said, its form dissolving once more as it scattered and sank back into the lake.
"Sword?" Louise echoed, puzzled.
Knowing what was on her mind, Delflinger explained, "The water spirit has baptized your partner. From now on, he'll find it much easier to wield water magic."
"Is that so…" Louise finally relaxed, shoulders loosening.
"It was actually the baptism of the water spirit?!" Montmorency walked over, her face twisted with equal parts envy and awe. "That's an honor only the first ancestor of my family ever received. It's the dream of every water mage…"
"But if that's the case, then the Tears of the Water Spirit can be replaced with Sora's blood."
Staring at the sleeping Sora, Montmorency's thoughts took a sharp turn. If I could keep drawing blood from him… how many potions could I make? How much money? How much magical research?
The greedy glint in her eyes made her look like she was about to devour him.
"Montmorency…" Guiche slipped his arms around her possessively.
She snapped out of her fantasies and gave her foolishly clingy boyfriend a wry smile. I'd better brew that antidote as soon as we get back.
Louise sat quietly beside Sora, knees drawn up to her chest, simply watching his sleeping face under the gentle moonlight, eyes full of wordless attachment.