Elemental Cats

"No. Tell me what you know. In exchange, I won't cut off another finger."

Toz didn't even need to think about his answer or ask Mindle what she wanted before he refused Dyra's request to pet Mindle.

Dyra pouted a little before she started telling Toz and Mindle what she knew about spirits. Though, she looked a little embarrassed when she first began speaking.

"I did say I know more than the average person. But, in reality, that only means I know more than nothing."

At Toz's raised eyebrow, Dyra continued explaining.

"Most of those who know what a spirit is have heard about them in rumors or fairytales. I assume it's the same even in the mortal realm?"

"..."

"Anyways, as a direct descendant of the Obsidian imperial family, I have access to a little more information. Emphasis on 'a little'"

"So, you don't know anything?"

"I do. Just don't get your hopes up."

Toz was quickly getting impatient at Dyra's dawdling.

"Don't worry. I have no expectations of you."

Toz's words struck Dyra unexpectedly hard, but she could only blame herself. She wanted to curse Toz, but she decided to grant his request and tell him what she knew about spirits.

Both Toz and Mindle eagerly anticipated what she had to say, especially Mindle. Her semi-corporeal body and mysterious origins had long since stopped being an insecurity of hers, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious about her birth or why her egg had been hidden deep underground in a first level plane.

Toz had told her about his initial suspicions about her being a spirit, but that didn't mean much since neither of them really knew what a spirit was or where proper information about them could be found. But they had finally encountered someone who claimed to know something about spirits. And Mindle couldn't wait to hear what Dyra was going to say, even if she wasn't the most trustworthy or reliable individual.

Dyra could see the anticipation in Mindle's eyes, and she gently began telling Toz and Mindle what she knew about spirits.

"First off, spirits are the beings closest to the elements. And as such, magic comes as naturally as breathing to them, which also means they have an easier time improving and becoming stronger than most other beings. According to rumors, they're also naturally long-lived.

"However, their innate advantages are balanced out by the fact they almost can't reproduce."

Toz looked at Mindle after that. She had recently been born. If it was true that spirits weren't very good at increasing their numbers, it didn't really make sense for them to leave one of their own alone as they had done to Mindle. Unable to piece it together, Toz continued listening to Dyra.

"Due to the spirits' different lives to the rest of the known universe, they spend most of their time in their realm. Only occasionally leaving and exploring the universe. Those times are when most of the rumors and information regarding spirits have been obtained. But it's been years since a spirit last left the Spirit Realm."

Dyra didn't hide her curiosity as she looked at Mindle. Although it was a while since spirits were last seen outside the Spirit Realm, that didn't mean they hadn't left. They could have done it and simply avoided alerting the other races. To Dyra, Mindle was proof that the spirits were willing to communicate with humans, and she naturally longed to meet one of her own, even if she didn't have a suitable inclination.

However, the increasing pressure from Toz's hand on her shoulder stopped Dyra from staring, and she moved her gaze away from Mindle.

"Is that all?"

"I already told you there isn't much to know about spirits."

Toz ignored Dyra's response and turned to Mindle. He could tell that although there was some interesting information about spirits, it was only superficial and things that could be deduced from the stories where spirits appeared. He turned back to Dyra.

"Alright, so where is this Spirit Realm?"

Dyra looked a little conflicted, but she eventually decided to answer Toz's question.

"Don't tell him!"

However, Yill interrupted her before she could say anything.

"That's a strictly guarded secret of the imperial family, miss. You can't reveal it to random brats, especially not ones who have chopped off two of your fingers!"

"Oh, granny, please. I can just take a Bone Regeneration Elixir when we get back. And do you really think someone with a spirit companion is a random brat?"

Yill looked like she didn't have an answer to Dyra's retort.

"That doesn't matter. You still shouldn't tell him!"

But she still told Dyra not to reveal the location of the Spirit Realm to Toz.

Toz couldn't stand it anymore and interjected.

"Is that secret worth more than Dyra's life?"

"Ugh…! It's not like that. The empire and the Spirit Realm have an agreement, and one of the conditions is for the empire to keep the Spirit Realm's location hidden."

"Wait, how come I don't know about this agreement?"

"Because it is also supposed to be a secret. But if it concerns your life, it should be okay to reveal at least this much. And since you found out the Spirit Realm's location due to the empire's knowledge, you're technically forbidden from telling outsiders about it. My apologies, miss. I never thought there would come a moment when you would have to talk about spirits and their realm with outsiders."

Dyra looked a little confused and sad as she faced Yill, and it seemed like she wanted to say something, but the words refused to leave her mouth.

Toz and Mindle only spectated the drama, but before anything more exciting than the revelation of Yill keeping a secret from Dyra could happen, a set of footsteps echoed out from further down the hallway. The rustling of chains and a few other noises accompanied the sound of footsteps. Toz and Mindle quickly realized what the source of the sound was. Toz, with Mindle still clinging to his shoulder, dashed forward, almost forgetting about his hostage.