The reason for the contract.

Elen can’t hide her shock. The thought of Gadiel having to become a half-spirit—its risks flash through her mind.

She knows that, despite having Lovell as family, Lovell himself is caught between human kin and spirit beings in the human world, torn apart by it.

“Gadiel… you don’t really resist the idea of becoming a half-spirit…?”

Elen blurts it out before she can stop herself. Gadiel blinks, surprised.

“Maybe because I’ve seen Lovell-sama… I don’t really resist it.”

“Living alongside spirits… for eternity… your family in the human world… you know…?”

It’s hard to say it outright—becoming the one who keeps watching loved ones die.

“…Because I’m royalty, I’ve already made peace with death.”

“Eh…?”

“Not knowing when the Emperor might pass… the constant fear of being assassinated myself… maybe even my siblings being targeted. I’ve lived with that anxiety for so long.”

And then—those words, and Elen felt her chest tighten.

“When I came to Helgner, I was ready to die.”

“S-such a thing…!”

That’s right—King Helgner had said something similar.

Gadiel hadn’t come to fetch Amiel. He’d come to kill.

Gadiel had always carried so much resolve, walking into that place.

If you’d just tried to understand his situation a little, it would’ve been obvious.

In that place, Sauvel and Lovell—those meant to protect Gadiel—might have been the ones whose deaths were closer.

But thinking again, realizing everyone had walked into that place with their own resolve… her chest tightened all over again.

That Sauvel and Lovell were safe… and now here was Gadiel standing at the edge of death.

There was a chance he’d survive, but even that was just hindsight, really.

Elen couldn’t hold it back anymore. Seeing Elen’s tears welling up, Gadiel panicked.

“Elen, don’t cry…”

Hesitantly, almost afraid, he reached to wipe her tears.

His finger brushed Elen’s cheek—then he froze, startled by the wetness.

“Tears…?”

He was still reeling, like this whole thing was a dream.

“I came into your dream… to talk to you, Gadiel…”

“A dream… is it?”

“It’s a dream, but what I’m saying—being here with Mother and the others—this part’s real.”

“…So it is. Well, honestly, either way, I’d be happy.”

“…………”

A pleasant dream, but still—talking to Elen, touching her… that part’s real, and I’m so happy about it.”

“Gadiel…”

“I’ve always wanted to talk to you like this. I’ve always looked up to spirits. I didn’t see clearly back then, even if I was young… I did terrible things to Elen.”

“No… it’s okay.”

“Realizing I’d been cursed by a spirit made me see my own position clearly. But… even so, I still wanted to talk to Elen…”

“Gadiel…”

“You said you’d listen if I stopped meddling with your family. I was so relieved. I was so excited just to have this chance to talk to you, no matter the reason.”

“…Is that really so?”

“Yeah, it is. I mean… if I’d thought it was just a dream, I could’ve spoken so freely.”

Blushing slightly, Gadiel smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he looked at Elen.

Elen noticed, a little startled, that her tears had finally stopped.

Gadiel wiped the last traces from her eyelids.

We just stared at each other in silence—then I caught it, the flicker of doubt in Gadiel’s eyes.

“Elen… you must hate making a contract with me, right?”

“Huh?”

“Me… being half-spirit… you probably still can’t accept that, can you?”

He must’ve thought, being a royal of Tembar, that Elen would recoil at the idea.

Realizing that, Elen flailed her head, shaking it frantically.

“No, no! It’s not that! I was just… seeing Father… and I got a little nervous, wondering if it’d be okay…”

“About the contract?”

“T-that is… um…”

She looked away, stammering, and Gadiel’s anxiety spiked.

“I—I’ve never done something like this before… I don’t really know what I’m doing… I’m not even sure if I’m… good enough…?”

Elen said it with a little hesitation, and Gadiel’s eyes snapped open in surprise.

“…So you’re not just unwilling to make a contract with me?”

“Eh? N-no, I’m not… not unwilling…?”

But there are plenty of other powerful Great Spirits out there.

If she’s been idolizing Lovell and the spirits in general, maybe a battle-oriented spirit would be better, she thought.

Saying it honestly, Gadiel grinned and said, “Elen’s the one I want.”

Seeing Gadiel’s smile, Elen felt her cheeks warm up, slowly, like a pot left on the stove too long.

She was so flustered she couldn’t even look straight at him anymore.

Noticing Elen’s reaction, Gadiel seemed to get flustered too. The two fell silent, stealing glances at each other, both burning with embarrassment.

“U… Good for you, Elen-chan…”

“Nooo… it’s… so sweet…”

A faint voice from the Dual Goddesses reached her, and Elen flinched, her shoulders jerking.

(Oh… right! They were all here…!)

Elen flushed crimson, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, but no sound came out.

Gadiel made a startled face, looking flustered too.

“Sorry for interrupting. You two were just so sweet…”

“Elen-chan, sorry. Let me explain, okay? After this, do whatever you like.”

“Mother! W-what do you mean, ‘do whatever you like’!?”

She blurted it out without thinking. Watching her, Origin and the Dual Goddesses smiled like they were watching something precious.

“Fine, you becoming half-spirit is no problem. But I should mention—I’m actually pregnant.”

“T-That’s… a truly wonderful thing! Congratulations on your pregnancy!”

Gadiel blinked, a little taken aback, but still managed to offer his congratulations.

"Oh, thank you. But dear, only I can turn you into a half-spirit."

As Origin said that, Elen seemed to grasp what she was about to say.

"Mothers-to-be have unstable power... that’s why..."

"Is that so...?"

"Yes. So you’ll have to wait about half a year before I can do it."

"Will Gadiel be alright until then...?"

Elen was clearly uneasy. The Dual Goddesses both smiled at her.

"We’re here to help you, Origin-chan."

"Yes. You’ll be fine. So, until then, we need Elen to make a contract—just to keep your little soul intact."

Elen tilted her head. What exactly did "keeping the soul intact" even mean?

Van, who noticed the question, explained it.

A soul torn from the body can't return to it anymore. It won't stick. So we half-spiritize the body, and slip the soul inside...

"Then the human soul won't hold onto the body anymore."

"Can't hold on...?"

"Without a stable balance between spirit and body, the power just drains away—too fast to survive."

...Is that the same as my current situation?

Elen herself had been warned that her strength didn’t match her size.

Remembering that, Elen too was seized by unease.

That’s right. Just making the vessel bigger won’t help—its soul’s power is too weak, and the body’s strength will just devour it. You could say it becomes like a living corpse, without will of its own.

"Yikes!"

Elen went pale imagining a zombie. She vowed anew not to let Gadiel end up like that.

After the goddess selects a soul, that’s why it stays cradled within her until conception.

She protects the soul inside herself, grants it power, and then brings it forth.

“If you make a pact with Elen, the goddess’s power will shield your soul—like glue holding things together. Since the goddess shapes the body, the pactholder must be the goddess too, or the strength won’t match.”

“So… that’s why it’s me.”

That was why Lovell and Origin, now half-spirits, still remained bound in their pact.