The First Farewell

Eight years had passed since I came to this world.

The days I spent here had been happy ones.

I had a kind and brilliant master, a dependable watchdog who could be cheeky or needy at times, and a friend who visited once a week.

We peacefully drank tea, talked about sorcery, and sometimes explored the forest together, and I could say without a doubt that I had been happy during those days.

But those joyful days could not last forever.

Recently, the outside world had suddenly grown turbulent.

The conflict between the Sorcerers’ Association and the other nations had intensified, and the threat of war had steadily begun to loom.

But something far more serious than any of that happened to us.

Garmon-san—my master, my benefactor, and the summoner who had called both Bella and me—collapsed.

The truth was, there had been signs for some time.

The life force emanating from Garmon-san had been gradually, yet unmistakably, diminishing.

But I hadn’t thought it was anything serious—or perhaps I simply hadn’t wanted to believe that it was.

After all, Garmon-san was an exceptionally skilled sorcerer.

I’d casually believed that someone like him could surely do something about his own life.

But reality wasn’t so kind.

With Garmon-san lying unconscious before us, the person Bella and I turned to was Annie.

There was no one else we knew whom we could rely on at a time like this.

I could never thank Annie enough for rushing over immediately, but the words she gave us were cruel.

Annie said Garmon-san hadn’t collapsed because of an illness, but because of age—in other words, because the end of his natural lifespan was approaching.

If it had been a disease, we could have done something about it.

It might have been different for an ordinary person, but this tower was home to users of both sorcery and Magic.

Overcoming an ordinary illness wouldn’t have been particularly difficult.

But there were only two ways to deal with a lifespan that was about to run out.

He could either rejuvenate his body by drinking a legendary elixir said to be the Water of Life or the Wine of the Gods, or he could cease being human.

When I heard that, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

After all, there were two different ways to save him.

Finding such an elixir would certainly be difficult, but with gate Magic, I could search all across the continent, and Bella and I could easily conquer all but the most extraordinary ruins.

If one was circulating on the black market, we could always use our wealth to obtain it.

Or, if Garmon-san wanted, I could even help him cease being human.

I was a devil, after all. The power to do such things dwelled somewhere deep within me.

I’d heard that only the king who ruled over devils could create new devils, but for some reason, I was certain that now, I could do it.

…And yet Garmon-san shook his head at both of those options.

He said he was already satisfied.

He said he had been happy spending his days in this tower after I arrived, and then Bella came, filling the place with life.

And because of that, Garmon-san told me that he would give me his soul.

Why would he say something like that?

Something hot was threatening to spill from my eyes.

It was then that I learned for the first time that even devils could cry.

When death had been closing in on me, I’d been so desperate not to die that I’d clung to a devil for salvation, so how could Garmon-san simply give up on living?

Garmon-san himself had taught me that surrendering one’s soul to a devil meant losing even the chance to reincarnate as a human, so why was he trying to give his soul to me?

I couldn’t accept it.

I had just started thinking that maybe I should simply turn Garmon-san into something no longer human against his will.

Suddenly, my body froze, and an intense pain tore through me.

Ah, this was the effect of our contract.

Because of the contract made when I was summoned, I was incapable of harming Garmon-san.

…So what I’d just thought of doing would count as causing harm to him.

I only wanted Garmon-san to keep living.

I was so sad, so unbearably sad, that all the strength drained from my body.

“It’s all right. I am happier now than I have ever been. Ever since Lept came to this tower, my happiness has only grown little by little. That is why I wish to fall asleep while I am still happy.”

I couldn’t say anything to Garmon-san as he smiled weakly, but gently.

He had already made his decision.

There was nothing I could do anymore to interfere with his will.

“Bella, you have done well protecting this tower. Thanks to you, I was able to live here in peace. But if you would not mind taking on one more duty, would you allow me to transfer your contract to Lept?”

Bella whimpered sadly, but even so, she nodded.

Garmon-san stroked each of Bella’s heads in turn, then looked toward me.

“Lept, as a former human, your nature is entirely unsuited to being a devil. That is precisely why you should accept my soul. If you increase your power, you may be able to protect yourself from unfavorable contracts as well. …It is about the only thing I have left that I can give you.”

Once again, Garmon-san told me he wanted to give me his soul.

I knew perfectly well that I wasn’t suited to being a devil.

There was no guarantee my next summoner would be as kind as Garmon-san, and by now, I’d been shown more than enough evidence that Garmon-san was the rare exception.

But if Garmon-san refused to bend his will, then I wouldn’t bend mine either.

“No. If I accept your soul, then it’ll mean everything I did in this tower was ultimately for that purpose. It’ll make my life here feel like a lie. I don’t want that. I was happy too, and my happiness kept growing just like yours did. So I absolutely refuse to accept anything beyond what was agreed upon in our original contract.”

And so, I shook my head.

After a long silence, Garmon-san sighed at my words.

“You truly are ill-suited to being a devil, Lept. …Very well, then. But being able to spend my time with someone like you has brought me more joy than anything else.”

Then Garmon-san stared down at the little finger of his own hand.

Under the contract between Garmon-san and me, I was to receive that little finger after his death.

“Devil Lept, I, the summoner Garmon Paffel, desire a new contract. I shall place the life and mana remaining within this little finger and give it to you. You may have this entire tower as well. In return, when I am reincarnated someday, if I should find myself in danger, I want you to use that power to save me.”

He extended his hand, and I hooked my own little finger around the one he held out.

Yes, like a pinky promise.

As far as I knew, there was no form more fitting for making a new contract—a promise.

Garmon-san, being a person from a different world, probably didn’t know its meaning, but he understood what I intended.

…The time for our farewell had come.

Garmon-san had said he would place the life and mana remaining in his little finger.

Garmon-san had said that he was happier now than ever before.

And so, at this very moment, he was choosing to pass on.

Garmon-san’s outline began to crumble, his entire body except for the little finger entwined with mine slowly turning to dust.

“Someday, without fail.”

I nodded at Garmon-san’s words as his body continued to crumble.

Yes. Someday, without fail.

I was a devil. I would honor our contract, and I possessed a body capable of waiting until that day came.

“We’ll meet again, Garmon-san.”

Garmon-san smiled upon hearing those words, and then his body completely crumbled away.

At the very end, I clutched the remaining little finger to my chest and sobbed loudly.

“…Bella, I’ll summon you again as soon as I can, so take care of me next time too.”

After storing away everything in the tower, I hugged Bella tightly amid the empty grounds where it had once stood.

Bella rubbed her faces against me worriedly, but there was little time to linger over our farewell.

Now that we’d lost Garmon-san, our summoner, I could no longer remain in this world, and the same was true for Bella, whose contract had been transferred to me.

I left behind a letter for Annie, who would probably come here tomorrow, be shocked by what she found, and worry about us, and then I departed from the world.

Ah… I truly had been so happy to have come to this world.

The seven moons floating in the night sky continued shining upon my fading figure until the very end.