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Chapter C3 – Why am I so useless?
I’m so…
Useless.
I thought I fit into the team with Ignis and Nina.
I felt like I had some purpose.
But really, that was just for show, wasn’t it?
Ignis is a natural born genius with loads of potential.
And Nina…
Comparing myself to Nina would be like comparing an ant to a dragon.
Even though I learned some archery and even got this amazing bow, I feel like I’m always dragging everyone down.
Especially this time.
I couldn’t do anything.
All while Mable, someone who isn’t even an adventurer, had a duel with the pirate king.
Part of me even felt glad I didn’t have to be the one to fight him.
How pathetic is that?
Ugh…
But even after she lost, I couldn’t put up any fight and got captured like everyone else.
If only I could summon my friends again…
…
Back there…
It finally dawned on me just how big of a difference there was between me and Nina.
When the pirate king unsheathed Nina’s sword and the cursed flames struck our cell, I felt my very bones burning with pain.
But all it did to Nina, was wake her up.
Like a gentle breeze.
And on top of that, she somehow absorbed it and made it hers.
That ridiculously destructive blast I saw as my consciousness faded…
I thought for sure that was just a crazy dream.
But after I woke up again, I saw the destruction with my own eyes, along with Nina sleeping right next to me.
That was her true capability.
Her real power she has been hiding to make me and Ignis feel like we are her equals.
I finally understood.
I understood that I can never hope to match her.
I will always just be someone who tags along and leeches off of her.
Just like…
When I was under Matoto’s charm…
…
Has…
Anything even changed?
The only thing that’s different is that I can’t even hug Tapi to calm down now…
…
No, what is wrong with me?
I can’t compare Nina to Matoto!
She’s not holding me down like him!
It’s me!
I’m the problem!
I need to…!
I…
Need to…
…
What do I need to do…?
Train myself to get as strong as Nina?
That’s impossible.
What should I do…?
…
“So, the ability to learn any magic you see…”
“Y-yeah…”
“And a skill that completely erases your presence.”
“M..mhm…”
That was Mable interrogating the two twins.
It seems like Leo, the boy, had some incredible skills he was born with.
Now that I think back at what happened in the pirate’s lair, I remember the pirate king doing something akin to erasing his presence.
Well, I’m not sure how, but Nina still found him and blasted him away.
Maybe the copy of that skill wasn’t as good?
…
But that doesn’t matter.
I don’t care about hiding.
Leo’s other skill is what I’m curious about.
‘Ability to learn any magic you see’?
That must mean he knows a lot of different magics, right?
Right…
Perhaps even…
Summoning magic…?
“Err, but for some reason, I can’t replicate Nina’s magic… that’s the first time that has happened…”
My shoulders drop as he says that.
So he can’t learn all magic?
Is it pointless to ask…?
No…
He said ‘first time that has happened’, so there’s still some hope.
“Umm…”
Ugh, everyone looked at me.
“Something wrong?”
Lina, the girl twin asked me.
Why do I feel so much pressure now?
“Err, d-do you know… summoning magic?”
I-I said it!
But now it feels even more uncomfortable!
P-please say something!
“Summoning…? Umm, yeah, I do!”
My eyes lit up.
He does?!
“Umm, here, look.”
Leo waved his hand and a circle of light shined on top of the table.
A few seconds later, a thick green caterpillar appeared there.
“UAH!”
Ignis, who brought her face closer to it earlier, jumped out of her seat.
She’s not a big fan of bugs, is she?
“Err, this is Cindy. I made contract with her about a year ago.”
Huh…?
Contract?
“Yeah, I know, she doesn’t look very impressive… b-but she’s really cool! I swear!”
“If she’s so cool then why do you never summon her…”
To the Leo trying to glorify Cindy, Lina interjected with a few silent words.
“W-what is a contract?”
I attempted to steer the conversation back before it went completely off course.
“Hmm? Oh, well… you have to make a contract with the one you want to summon… a-and I definitely didn’t get refused by stronger monsters in the past! I CHOSE Cindy!”
Ignoring his excuses, I didn’t understand what he was saying.
I have to make a contract?
How did I summon my friends before then?
I never made any contract!
“Anything wrong…?”
Leo noticed my confusion.
“I… never made any contract…?”
The confusion didn’t disappear from either one of our faces.
Right, Leo doesn’t know about my past.
I should expl-
“Eeeh? Then how were you able to summon Cerberus and the others?!”
… Ignis yelled out in surprise.
“C-Cerberus?”
For some reason, the name startled Leo.
“Yeah, a big dog with three heads! He was adorable!”
“A-ador… what?!”
Once again, the conversation started going off course.
“B-but I never made a contract with anyone… I just kind of… could summon them… after getting cursed.”
“C-cursed…?”
Ugh, do I have to talk about everything right now?
I probably should…
“That curse made her real ugly! And she could summon Cerberus because of it back then!”
…
Or I can let Ignis sum it up in a rude way.
“I-I see… Umm…”
Leo fell into thought for a second before continuing.
“Well… I heard it’s possible to forcefully summon something without needing the contract… but it should seriously exhaust the summoner and anger the summoned one.”
A-anger?
W-were they all angry with me all along?
I thought we were friends!
“Well, she did get exhausted whenever she summoned Fenrir, but other than that…”
“FEN-…!”
Another shocked expression.
Does he know Fenrir?
“Hey Leo… wasn’t Fenrir the name of some legendary beast back in Resuna?”
With Leo frozen with shock, Lina spoke up.
But…
Huh?
A legendary beast?
I-I mean…
Fenrir was very strong and cool…
He even managed to stand ground against Nina…
B-but, a legendary beast?
…
No!
More importantly!
Didn’t she say ‘back in Resuna’?
Is Fenrir in Resuna?
“Yeah there was… what an interesting way to name your dog…”
…
But, I didn’t name him…?
His name was…
Was…
Huh…
Wait, where did his name come from?
I remember I always called him Fenrir, but I can’t recall ever hearing his name was Fenrir, or deciding it myself…
“Well anyway… if you want to be able to summon these creatures properly, you would have to find them in person and make contracts with them…”
Find them in person…
And make proper contracts…
I…
…
I can do that…?
But other than Fenrir, I have no idea where everyone else could be…
Moreover, ‘in Resuna’ is too broad.
I can’t search through the entire neighboring country…
That would take years…
…
No.
I’m falling back to my useless spineless self.
So what if it takes years?
I can’t let that discourage me!
“Leo… would you tell me more about these contracts?”
JAVILY LIBRARY 
Dude, you okay?
It’s been a year
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