As soon as I stepped into the throne room, the intense mana that was there suddenly surged over me.
If it was anyone else, they would have been shocked by this surge of mana and would have even been pushed back by how intense it was.
But my body was different from the body of others.
I just stepped forward in the middle of this wave of mana, looking at the one that this mana came from.
It was a beautiful woman who was sitting on the throne in the center of the room.
However, if one looked at her closely, they would see that there was this blue hue that was to her skin. It was as if there was even this blue glow that surrounded her.
That was because she wasnât actually a human, she was a spirit.
She wasnât just any spirit, she was the Water Spirit King, Undine.
"Human, youâve arrived at my palace, but youâve come too early. I havenât unsealed my palace yet and youâve already come to seek me. For what purpose have you come here?"
A beautiful voice rang out, one that would be more than enough to make men drown themselves at sea just to get closer to it. It was a voice that would even put a sirenâs voice to shame.
But I wasnât moved by this voice since I had heard something similar before.
It was a voice that was on par with Arielâs voice, Ariel who was the princess of the mermaids.
As expected of the Water Spirit King.
After a moment of silence, I suddenly said, "Undine, I wish to form a contract with you."
As soon as my voice fell, there was another silence that followed.
But then that silence was replaced with laughter.
It wasnât just any kind of laughter, it sounded like bells chiming with how beautiful the sound was.
Though one could clearly hear the disdain that was in this laugh.
"Hey, water woman, donât look down on my contractor."
The moment that Ifritâs voice rang out, the laughter suddenly stopped and there was a serious look that appeared on Undineâs face as she looked at me. She just continued looking at me for a while before suddenly speaking.
"Is that really you, fire boy? Youâve actually degraded yourself to becoming someoneâs contracted spirit?" There was even more disdain in her voice when she said this.
It was clear that the relationship between Ifrit and Undine wasnât good based on how they talked to each other. But then again, one wouldnât think that the relationship between them would be good when they represented opposing elements.
When one thought of elements that clashed the most, they would think of water and fire.
It was also why Ifrit had been referring to Undine as âthat womanâ the entire time.
Ifrit and Undine argued back and forth for a bit, but then it seemed like Undine was tired of talking with Ifrit.
Instead, she said to me, "Why would you want to form a contract with me when youâve already formed a contract with this fire boy? Thereâs nothing for you to gain from forming a contract with me as well. Do you really think that you can use the power of two Spirit Kings of opposing elements?"
The way that she said this wasnât just disdainful towards Ifrit, it seemed like there was a genuine concern in her voice regarding this matter.
But I just simply said, "I do. Iâm confident that my body will be able to handle the strain of this."
Ifrit said in a complicated voice, "I wouldnât have contracted with him if he was that simple. I can guarantee that it wonât be a problem."
This time, Undine didnât argue with Ifrit as she looked at me with a strange look.
It was as if she couldnât understand why Ifrit would be speaking up for me like this, but she recognized that there had to be something special about me that Ifrit was saying something.
Even if she had that bad relationship with him, he was still a Spirit King just like her.
So she had no choice but to take him seriously if he were to say something like this.
After a long time, Undine finally said, "I wonât say any more on this matter, but that doesnât mean that Iâll agree to contract with you just for the sake of fire boy. If you want to form a contract with me, youâll have to pass my trial first. Youâll have to go and find the four pieces of my crown before I deem you worthy of forming a contract with me."
"Ha, ha, ha..." An exhausted laugh came from Ifrit when he heard this.
"Fire boy, is something funny?" Undine couldnât help knitting her brows when she heard this.
In the end, Ifrit just said with a sigh, "Forget it, Iâll tell you later."
Undine had a confused look on her face, but she didnât get the chance to say anything as she turned to look at me. That was because she could sense that there was a familiar feeling coming from me.
That look on her face soon filled with surprise and confusion when she saw the crown that I was holding.
There was a long silence that filled the air before she suddenly said, "How, how do you have it already?"
She was so shocked that she had even stuttered over her words, but it was hard for her not to be shocked when someone showed up with the crown that she had just mentioned.
I didnât explain as I said, "Since I have this, does that mean that we can form a contract?"
Undine didnât say anything as she looked at me with a complicated look on her face.
It seemed that she was still sorting through her emotions with the way that her expression changed.
But in the end, she finally said with a sigh, "Fine, you have earned the right to form a contract with this one."