As the detailed description had said, it interfered with the world to manipulate phenomena, so once proficiency built up, it would no doubt display a far wider range of abilities.

That was what Walfred believed.

’Huh?’

Just then.

Walfred’s eyes suddenly widened a little.

’Wait, if it’s this ability, then maybe...’

Just as it had held in place a spirit trying to flee.

Conversely, couldn’t it also make a spirit that was sitting still in a particular spot run far away?

To test the hypothesis that had occurred to him, Walfred called out to Elsa.

"Elsa."

"Huh? What?"

"That frost spirit, the bird in front of you. Can you send it all the way over to that plaza?"

The east plaza of Philadelphia Station.

Seeing where Walfred’s finger pointed, Elsa nodded readily.

"Yeah. I’ll give it a try!"

Elsa got up and dusted herself off.

Then she pointed at the east plaza visible outside the station and parted her lips.

[Go over there.]

The Dragon Tongue activated once more.

Right after those words ended, the frost spirit snapped back to its senses and soared into the air. Then in a single burst it flew off toward the east plaza.

It was the moment his hypothesis was proven.

"...Ah!"

Just then.

Something occurred to him.

’Right. Mana!’

Activating the Dragon Tongue consumed mana.

And unlike ordinary skills, it was consumed in proportion to the phenomenon the Dragon Tongue produced or the caliber of the being it targeted.

So Walfred checked through Elsa’s status to see how much mana had been used up over the three Dragon Tongue activations just now.

’Roughly 300 or so.’

Which meant about 100 mana per use.

Less consumption than he’d expected.

’Maybe it’s because the targets of the Dragon Tongue were ordinary spirits.’

If used on a high-ranking spirit or the Spirit King, beings of a higher caliber than common spirits, it would surely consume far more mana than it just had.

’Still, if this is the consumption rate...’

He could easily carve out something like the path leading to the Spirit King that Margaret had asked him for.

He’d been a little uneasy relying on [Frost Resonance] alone, and to think he’d gain an ability that made up for it.

Walfred’s smile deepened.

Just as he finished testing the Dragon Tongue’s performance and was about to head back to the stationmaster’s office.

[Ahh. Mic test. One, two.]

An unfamiliar voice rang out all of a sudden.

A young woman’s voice.

Startled by the sudden occurrence, Walfred glanced around with a surprised look. In the meantime, the unidentified voice continued.

[Mr. Walfred? Are you there?]

A voice looking for Walfred out of nowhere.

Rather than coming from any one particular spot, the voice echoed thunderously through the whole of Philadelphia Station.

In that instant, Walfred realized.

’Could this be...’

The method of contact Margaret had mentioned?

It was a reasonable guess.

The only people who knew he was staying at Philadelphia Station were a handful, Margaret included.

[Oh, sorry if I startled you.]

The voice came again then.

Carrying an unmistakably apologetic tone. An explanation of what had just happened followed soon after.

[This is a skill that transmits my voice in real time to a coordinate I’ve saved in advance.]

The skill’s name, [Sound Link].

It was a skill that transmitted the caster’s voice one-way to a place they’d marked beforehand.

Since it was one-directional rather than two-way, even if Walfred answered, the caster wouldn’t hear it.

[Then I’ll pass along the Major’s message.]

After finishing the brief explanation.

The voice recited Margaret’s message.

[Mr. Walfred. I’m sorry for the late hour, but could you come to the shelter right away?]

The message was simple.

A request to come to the shelter now.

’What’s going on?’

Could it be that a Spirit King had been born?

His brow tightened at the ominous thought.

But the moment he heard what came next, his furrowed expression smoothed out abruptly.

[We’ve found Erica.]

"...!?"

Lauren’s older sister, Erica.

At the news that she’d been found, Walfred couldn’t help his eyes flying wide open.

---

A little while after that.

Walfred arrived with Elsa at the entrance of the Central Avenue underground mall shelter. When he reached the large barricade, a familiar face greeted him.

"Ah, you made it."

The fire-attribute A-rank hunter, Margaret. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She waved as if in greeting, but Walfred didn’t really spare her a glance. Instead he looked around the barricade and asked.

"And Erica? Where is she?"

"She’ll be here soon."

Margaret answered in a low tone.

According to the explanation that followed, the place where Erica had been found was a subway station shelter two stops away from Philadelphia Station.

"I’ve assigned skilled hunters as her escort, so you can wait without worry."

"I see..."

Walfred let out a sigh of relief.

And so, just as Margaret had said, he waited for nothing but Erica’s arrival. The Elsa who’d been holding his hand let out a big yawn.

"Daddyyy. I’m sleepy..."

Elsa rubbed her eyes with her small hands.

Walfred nodded and gathered Elsa into his arms. Before long, Elsa was fast asleep, breathing softly.

Just as he was watching the sleeping Elsa.

Margaret suddenly spoke up.

"Your daughter’s a pretty little thing."

"...She takes after her mom."

It wasn’t exactly a wrong thing to say.

Elsa had borrowed Jenna’s childhood face, and Jenna had looked a lot like his sister.

Meanwhile, Margaret, who had been gazing at Elsa for a while, turned to Walfred as if she’d put something together.

"Is Erica, by any chance..."

"She’s not."

Anticipating what was about to come next, Walfred cut her off firmly. He then briefly explained why he’d been searching for Erica’s whereabouts all this time.

And after a little while.

"I see. The family of someone you know, huh..."

After the whole story was finished.

Margaret nodded quietly. As if she finally understood the situation. Then she looked straight at Walfred and broke into a soft smile.

"You’re a kind man, Walfred."

"...?"

Me, kind?

It was something even Jenna had never said to him. Just as his thoughts stalled at the unexpected words.

A sound interrupted the conversation.

"Ugh, achoo!"

"S-sorry. It’s just a little cold..."

The two hunters standing guard at the barricade spoke with sheepish faces. It was probably because they’d been caught in Walfred’s [Cold Emission].

At the sight, Margaret opened her mouth.

"Hmm, looks like it’d be a good idea to bring the temperature around here up a bit before Erica arrives."

Cold powerful enough that even hunters with enhanced physical abilities couldn’t hold out for long. There was no way a non-Awakened person could endure it.

Walfred thought the same, so he nodded as if in agreement with Margaret’s words.

And then.

Whoosh!

Warm flames bloomed nearby and began to heat the air in the room. As the cold rapidly faded, a notification appeared saying that several skills, including Frost Domain, had been deactivated.

And how long had it been?

Around the time night deepened into the small hours of morning.

Thud!

Footsteps sounded from beyond the inner passage.

A small light cutting through the darkness. At the several presences felt afterward, Margaret grinned.

"Looks like they’re finally here."

A little while after she finished speaking.

A group of people emerged from the darkness. The hunters assigned as escorts. And two somewhat haggard-looking women.