Chapter 58
"What? Benefactor?"
The doll's form began to slowly change.
The cloth doll vanished, and a baby dragon appeared before Iri's eyes.
"Y-you, what are you?"
A fist-sized dragon hopped right onto Iri's shoulder.
Iri widened her eyes hugely and asked.
"Cookie! Do you know what this is?"
"Spirit beast."
"Huh?"
"It's a spirit beast. The reason the tanuki was scared was because this guy was nearby!"
"Gasp!"
Then the dragon's golden eyes gleamed mysteriously as it spoke.
"I came to repay the benefactor's grace!"
"Huh? Grace?"
"Yes. I came to repay the grace of purifying the land so I could be born."
"You're a spirit beast who knows manners a bit? But more than grace, if you're a real spirit beast, there's something you gotta do."
"I'm a real spirit beast, but do I need certification?"
"No, not certification! You were just born yesterday!"
Iri thrust her chin up sharply.
"I've lived five more years, so you gotta show manners to me!"
"......What are manners?"
Iri thumped her chest in frustration but paused.
Because her instructor's voice echoed in her head: 'Teach it to kids who don't know well!'
"First, when you meet someone, bow your head and greet them. And for baby spirit beasts like you, using polite speech to a 'near-adult' like me is basic!"
Iri stroked the baby dragon's rough scales.
Then the baby dragon's eyes sparkled excitedly as it bowed its head and lifted it again.
"......Good. The start's good. Now say what you wanna say to me!"
"As the words say. I came to give thanks to the being who let me be born from 4-star purified land and helped me hatch as a dragon spirit beast."
"Gasp! Then! Can you grant a wish?!"
"Yes, that is so."
Iri had one wish.
To be happy forever and ever with Hammuni, whom she loved most in the world!
"The world is in crisis of destruction. Hurry and save the world!"
The dragon spoke hesitantly.
"That's a bit."
"......"
"Too much."
"Then dispel the magi from Grand Duke Ortejo elder!"
"Oh, that might be possible. How many stars is the magi?"
"5-star."
"......Ah, that's a bit much too. I'm a dragon, but I can't do everything well. I was just born, after all."
Cookie cynically muttered Iri's inner thoughts for her.
"What use is this guy exactly?"
But right then, the dragon muttered.
"Oh, then how about this ability?"
"What ability?"
"I can grant the ability to imbue a specific 'existence' with a portion of your current purification power."
"......!"
"That 'existence' can purify people it touches. Meaning 'indirect purification through contact' becomes possible."
Right now, Iri could only purify through direct contact with a specific being.
But if she gained the ability the dragon spirit beast mentioned?
She could purify others through an existence imbued with her purification power, without direct touch.
Iri's eyes sparkled.
"Good! Give me that ability!"
"Excellent. And as the spirit beast's benefactor, I can give you a bit more purification power, albeit weakly."
The dragon spirit beast cleared its throat with an ahem, then tapped its tail.
[Purification Status Window of 'The World's Strongest Hero' Iri!]
2-Star: Light 'Tree'
■□□□□
(......)
2-Star: Light 'Tree'
■■□□□
[Special Ability!]
-Can imbue a specific 'existence' with 1-star purification power.
'Wh-what rapid progress?!'
As the spirit beast's repayment ended, the baby dragon climbed onto Iri's soft shoulder and muttered.
"But benefactor, really so squishy......"
"Squishy......?"
While the dragon spirit beast was exploring Iri's squishy flesh for a while.
Declan and Milligan arrived at Iri's door.
Iri waved her hand with a bright smile.
"The spirit beast came to find me-nimida! And I fixed the land too-nimida!"
Before her baffled dad and grandpa.
Iri just smiled innocently!
* * *
That afternoon.
The contract between Milligan and the spirit beast was fully completed.
This news quickly spread beyond Ortejo Castle walls, reaching the entire North, land of darkness.
Ordinary northern villagers lived harsh lives.
Their lives saw no sunlight.
So when good news occasionally arose, it spread carrying happiness.
This rumor was the same.
"Finally, a spirit beast came to our North too?"
"Born from purified land in the North."
"Milligan-nim brought it!"
In a ghost village, one elder muttered.
"Finally, hope is coming to our North full of only magi."
"......"
"It was like this before too. The day our North prospered. Back when I was a boy soldier......"
They usually filtered his stories of glory days. But now, everyone listened curiously.
The North, called land forsaken by gods.
Hope was slowly blooming here.
The protagonists of that hope were the spirit beast, Milligan, and the spirit beast's benefactor.
"Wonder who the one who made the spirit beast born is."
"A great archmage?"
"Rumors say a 5-star purification sorcerer. Then, if that person were here, all North's magi would vanish."
People were terribly curious who the purification sorcerer was.
But.
Right after Declan returned to Ghost Castle.
The great 'that person' whom everyone praised and showered affection on, who made the land for the spirit beast to be born......
* * *
"Now, hands higher."
Declan Ortejo.
He rewarded as much as he punished firmly.
Iri had done something dangerous for a five-year-old. So he intended to make her fully realize that.
"W-well, if I may speak, my arms hurt a bit, elder."
"You've only held them for 5 minutes."
In Declan's bedroom.
Still maintaining exactly 2.5 meters distance.
Iri, kneeling with hands raised, nodded vigorously.
Wondering why she nodded, he looked closely.
"Gasp, right-nimida. It's been 5 whole minutes-nimida!"
"Means it doesn't hurt since it's only 5 minutes?"
Iri's eyes widened hugely after long punishment.
She peeped at him worriedly.
"If I may, elder, that means it hurts super a lot after 5 whole minutes-nimida."
"Hm, doesn't seem enough yet."
"But-nimida."
"Yeah, why."
"Elder thinks I did wrong, right? Then, a wrong child should be punished until realizing the wrong......"
"......I lose. Hands down."
"Yes!"
Iri was a righteous child.
Too good a child to reform him who always lived wickedly.
"You had purification power. 1-star. So how did you do 4-star purification?"
