Johannes Volkner bid farewell to his own weakness. For the second time, Johannes Volkner approached the summoning chambers. Yet, things were different now. He had used the Command Array, and knew what it meant to be a Caller of Heliopolis. He'd failed Jill rather badly in that respect, but would do so no more. He had done reasonably well in the fight against Boudica; the reasonable side of his own mind knew that much. But it was not enough; his own inability had ultimately been what sealed her fate. Technically, it was possible for the same Spirit to be summoned more than once, but with the thousands, millions, or perhaps even more Spirits that theoretically existed, it was very unlikely that anyone from Heliopolis would meet the same Spirit twice, right?

  He crouched down over the familiar summoning array, looking to the clay doll vessel across the room from himself. Yet again, the circle was something far beyond his understanding, drawn up in a foundation of magic he was completely unfamiliar with. Still, he would hold his hand over it, beginning to pour magical energy directly from the wellspring that was his body, and into the circle.

  "O Spirit, let past and future be the foundation of our contract.

  I beseech thee, give me a chance at redemption.

  For the fool who cannot save one person.

  For the coward who cannot face one threat.

  May your chains bind your fate to my own."

  He couldn't help but notice that the array was consuming far more magical energy than it had the last time he had used it. It was as if, rather than a ritual circle made of chalk and complex notation, he was trying to use his magical energy to fill an entire dammed and drained reservoir to its former glory. Still, he persisted and did not abandon the summoning. He continued to pour magical energy, lighting the chalk up in the same bright, characteristic blue of a ritual conduit.

  "...May your flames burn away past regrets, and leave a bright field for the future.

  I call upon thee, victor beyond the veil.

  I call upon thee, Spirit unburdened by regrets.

  With defeat unforgotten, victory unmatched, and your blood unspilled-

  Answer my summons!"

  Rather than the doll's appearance changing suddenly and without much fanfare, Johannes found himself surprised to see the vessel itself glowing a bright, eerie blue that reminded him almost of a nuclear reactor in operation. He took a single step back, no longer fueling whatever this operation could be, and having to shield his eyes before it was all over in an instant. There, in the thin shawl that each Spirit wore when they first began to inhabit their vessel, was a woman of average height. She had Asian features, with deep, dark eyes that almost seemed to pull him in, but more than that...

  Atop her head, practically framed by her silky, near-pitch-black hair, were two small horns, slightly curved and only seeming to accentuate her charm by distracting one from her beautiful facial features, before they were pulled in once again. At her side, there was something lashed to her garments already, no doubt an Artifact similar to Jill's lantern. Yet, Johannes's eyes widened as he saw that this woman carried not one, but three swords there with her, as if she was just collecting them. No, more concerningly, how the hell did she have three Artifacts?! Was that why the summoning had taken so much magical energy?

  The woman stood calmly, taking in the room and the man before her as she laid one hand on her collected scabbards. When she spoke, she sounded a bit hesitant, unsure of the situation.

  "You are the one who summoned me... Yes? Yes, that makes sense... Ah~! Where are my manners?"

  With a sudden burst of energy and a playful flip of her hair, her eyes sparkled with mischief and determination as she hit a pose, both hands going up, fingers held up in a double-V as she grinned, her energy high, in stark contrast to Johannes' almost humbling chant and her serious demeanor not even moments before.

  "I suppose we'll be working together~! Ah, well, I have arrived superbly to your summons - Or something like that - Nice to meet ya~★"

  Johannes felt his jaw drop. What the hell was with her? This demeanor... Didn't it clash way too much with her features and swords? Still, a cursory glance told him she was of the Binah class. It was one he hadn't seen in the first Distortion, but from what he remembered in the guide, it focused on information gathering and manipulation, and they tended to be fast but not particularly powerful. Didn't that make her three Artifacts even more of a stand-out, then? He noticed that she held her ground, casually shifting her upright stance with her hands on her hips. She was still maintaining her cheeky grin, and it was a little unnerving, if only because of all the modern motions she seemed to be all-too-familiar with.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  "Though, just saying, your call was super intense - Like, I mean, I totally get it; we've all had our fair share of failure... But this time, things are gonna be different! You have my word, with me by your side, things are gonna be ea~sy!"

  ...Was it too late for him to abort the summoning ritual? She was cute, but the way she was speaking... None of this matched with the image other Spirits he'd seen had cemented in his head! Seriously, did she have access to modern fashion knowledge back in her era? Was she a modern era Spirit after all? In any case, she was talking to him, he couldn't just ignore her. He sighed gently, eyes slightly clouded, before nodding.

  "Then, my future is in your hands. We'll see if you can make up for an inept magus. My name is Johannes, so please get familiar with it."

  While he was pretty sure she'd be pleased if he met her energy, it would surely be a falsehood. He kept things professional, a slight distance between them as he introduced himself. He slowly walked closer, offering her his left hand. He wouldn't risk her cutting off his right arm if he needed to use the Command Array, and she had clearly laid a hand on her swords earlier. God, he wished he had been wearing the armor right now.

  Her grin only grew wider and more wolfish, as if he'd said something particularly appetizing, as she stepped forward as well to meet him in the middle, joining in the handshake with no explanation and seeming just a bit too eager.

  "Alright Jo-ha-nnes~!"

  She had said his name in a playful, sing-song manner before finally letting go, and he had to admit her voice was easy on the ears. She was, most definitely, a Binah class. Even if her Spirit had felt like it had a different classification, he could confidently stake money on it. Still, why did she say it like that? Different Callers had compatibility with different types of Spirits... Maybe besides the Gevurah class, he also had a secondary specialty in 'oddball girls with no concept of social norms'? She was still talking...

  "Y'know, ya don't have to go on about being an 'inept mage' and all - Let me be the judge of that stuff, 'kay~? I told you, things'll be different. It might be asking a lot of you so soon, but... Have a little faith~?"

  She hadn't even acknowledged that he was on guard, and that was both worrying and reassuring in a way. Pulling away from their handshake, he gave a light huff, with just the slightest touch of her infectious playfulness.

  "We'll see. You've made a good impression with your strengths so far, so I'll be counting on you, okay?" Between her Asian features and the swords she was carrying, he was fairly certain she was Japanese, but narrowing down who she might be was much harder. Especially given the fact that her mannerisms were completely modern, so he couldn't gauge a time period, besides 'probably not modern day'. He was pretty sure she was using some kind of cheat to know about this stuff.

  "Anyway, I would give you a full tour of Heliopolis's facilities, but I need to head to the workshops and finish a project of mine. If you'd like to explore the place, feel free -- Just avoid anything marked 'Team A', 'Restricted', and 'Magic Reactor Storage'."

  ...Had he summoned a Da'at or Malkhut, he honestly probably would've invited them along, but he was pretty sure that she wasn't able to offer any insight, and would just end up bored if she came along to the workshop. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to one side, hair falling down to frame her face as she smiled.

  "Well... Hm. Is your workshop in one of those rooms~?"

  ...He couldn't tell if she wanted to come along for real or not. If she did, he was going to have to babysit her so she didn't break anything, wasn't he? Unless she was a mage herself... But a glance of what he could tell from her spirit didn't show anything of the sort, from what limited info he could glean.

  "It's not really my workshop, it's communal. I'm just using it for the moment. It's not restricted, but... Well, you're not likely to have much to do there. It's built mostly for Callers, support staff, and Da'at, you know?"

  Small horns, Japanese... Maybe he could get more hints on who she was if he poked around some more famous examples with a joke, since she didn't tell him.

  "Well, it should be fine. It's not like you're Shuten Dōji or anything, right?"

  --His eyes widened as Flash of Inspiration gave him an immense premonition of danger. A chill down his spine, sweat beading all along his forehead in an instant as his heart rate spiked. He'd just made a brutal misstep, he needed to fix it before the situation degraded.

  "After all, you're way too genuine and caring to be someone like that. If I had to compare you to someone, I'd say Princess Kaguya, but she didn't use a sword..."

  Thankfully, she didn't seem to acknowledge his first comment, clapping her hands lightly together with the smile still gracing her face.

  "Aw, how sweet~! To think you'd compare me to Kaguya-hime... But no, I'm not her. Though I might not be a mage, there's no reason I can't enjoy being in the workshop with my Caller~★! If you have concerns about me, I can assure you, I won't trouble anyone! I'm like, super capable~!"

  As if to punctuate her words, she struck yet another pose, leaning forwards and winking as she put the V over her closed eye. He had a feeling she was going to be doing this a lot... Hopefully it would mellow out a bit before they entered the next Distortion. She clearly knew both Shuten Dōji and Princess Kaguya, but it was obvious which she preferred. Perhaps that meant she was a 'good person' at heart, or at least wanted to be seen as one? He sighed gently as he turned towards the exit of the room, motioning for her to follow suit.

  "Yeah, we can head over. Tell me if you get bored though, okay? Seriously, there's enough to do around here between Distortions that you won't get bored if you just let me know."

  Her reply was short, curt, and sweet. "Of course, Johan~★!"

  ...It seemed he was going to be stuck with another pet name from now on.

  She was... Odd, for sure, but she seemed good-natured enough. Despite her beautiful appearance, she seemed almost childish in demeanor, as if she was innocent of the world or at least playing at the idea. And besides, there was no Gevurah instability or anything like that to worry about this time, right?