Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume11 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 2===

Rinslet was walking towards the Grand Shrine's garden.

Coming before a spring in the center of the garden, she reached out towards the water surface that was reflecting moonlight.

(...Spirit magic?)

Claire was watching in surprise when&mdash;

"&mdash;Ray of Frost!"

Rinslet was softly reciting an incantation.

This was basic ice-attribute magic for freezing the target.

Resonating with Rinslet's divine power, the spring's water surface gave off faint light.

In the end, she slumped her shoulders dejectedly.

"...Rinslet, what are you doing?"

"Claire!"

Rinslet frantically looked back.

"N-Nothing!"

"Liar."

Claire asserted. No matter what, they were longtime childhood friends. It was too easy to see that something was amiss.

"During the ritual purification just now, you were uncharacteristically quiet. What happened?"

"...N-None of your business, Claire."

"W-What, to think I was so worried..."

"H-Hmph, redundant!"

Rinslet suddenly turned her face away and prepared to leave.

"Wait up...!"

Claire swiftly grabbed Rinslet by the arm.

...I can't leave her alone.

She could see traces of tears on the side of Rinslet's face.

"Rinslet, you..."

Looking down at the arm she had grabbed, Claire suddenly noticed.

The spirit seal that should have been carved on Rinslet's right hand was nowhere to be found.

Claire remembered that back when she was unable to use her spirit, the seal would be in a state that was almost invisible to the naked eye. But even so, it could still be confirmed by close examination.

However, Rinslet's spirit seal had vanished completely.

"What happened? Where's your Fenrir?"

"..."

Rinslet turned her gaze away in embarrassment.

"&mdash;The bond is weakened. Even near a spring, I can't produce cold air."

Her voice was trembling. Usually arrogant, she was quite dispirited currently.

Claire looked towards the spring. There was a thin membrane of ice on the water surface.

But that was all. The power of Rinslet's Ray of Frost was not limited to this level, of course.

Originally, she should have been able to freeze the entire spring's water instead.

"What happened?"

"..."

"Tell me. We're teammates."

"Claire..."

Rinslet bit her lip hard.

"...During the battle with the witch, I lost Fenrir."

Rinslet recounted how Fenrir was devoured by the demon spirit during the battle with the witch. That demon spirit apparently had the ability to steal contracted spirits. Even her spirit seal disappeared as well.

Hearing that, Claire&mdash;

"...To go so far as stealing spirits, that behavior clearly contravenes the Blade Dance's ethos!"

Anger was causing her hair to stand vertically.

The Blade Dance festival was not a war for mutual violence. Instead, it was a blade dance offering to the elemental lords.

Trying one's best was required but that did not imply unscrupulous means were acceptable.

"Raise objections with the Alphas Theocracy."

"&mdash;That's most likely futile."

Suddenly a voice appeared from behind.

Looking back, Claire found Fianna and Ellis at the garden's entrance.

"I heard from Ellis about what happened."

"Sorry, I disclosed it without consulting you, because I was thinking Her Highness the imperial princess might have some solution."

Ellis bowed her head politely.

"No, I don't mind..."

"What do you mean by futile?"

"Sjora Kahn is ostracized even among the Alphas Theocracy's royal family. She is regarded as the taboo child who employs demon spirits. Oh well, it's similar to my situation except through completely different causes. However, she wields authority through her connections with part of the military and the Demon King cultists based inside the Theocracy. Even if objections are raised with the Theocracy, they will surely be ignored."

"So what can be done? Do you know anything about that demon spirit?"

"Regrettably, I don't know much about that spirit-stealing spirit either. It's Bandersnatch&mdash;The Theocracy's secret spirit, right?"

Fianna shook her head.

Information regarding demon spirits and their rare users was extremely scarce.

"Is there nothing we can do..."

Ellis hugged her shoulders.

"...No, there must be something."

Claire was murmuring when...

The voices of princess maidens could be heard coming from the Grand Shrine's building.

"&mdash;Everyone, the horse-drawn carriage is ready."