Chapter 73 - Pact Ritual and Partnership
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After a moment of melancholy, Mephisto-jiisama clapped his hands once as if to signal the end of that.
"Alright. Let's just start the ritual already. You both are ready to do this, right?"
He asked to Lavinia and I while taking out a few scrolls from his Storage Ring. And as he unfurled it, it shows text written in Devil's script.
"Yes, I'm ready. Thank you, Mephisto-jiisama."
"I'm ready anytime, Chairman."
Lavinia and I answered him.
I gave him my gratitude for his attentive work.
"Good then."
Mephisto-jiisama said with a slight smile.
After that, he takes out a fresh shoft-shelled turtle carcass and candles which is used for the custom for this ritual.
Then he explains the context of the scroll text which actually not really different than general contracts or agreement I know which basically: "Party A will make an agreement with Party B. After the agreement, these are the sort of things Party A allowed to do with Party B. And these are the things which Party A or Party B not allowed to do".
"Any question?"
Mephisto-jiisama asked after explained the agreements.
Lavinia and I both shakes our heads to sides.
"Okay then. Now let's begin.... First is blood signings."
Mephisto-jiisama said and then gave me the decorated knife which previously already prepared on the table.
I know what to do so I took the knife and then cut my finger tip slightly. Then I used my bloody finger tip to write my name in Devil's script on the sign section of the scroll.
After I done my part, I gave the knife to Lavinia and then she also used her own blood to write her name on the document but in Latin script.
And after we done with the signings, the text on the scrolls glows for a moment signalling that the agreement is valid.
With this, our pact is complete document-wise.
"Okay. Now is the ritual."
Mephisto-jiisama said
Lavinia and I entered the pact-purpose magic-circle made from the turtle's blood and surrounded by lit candles which Mephisto-jiisama prepared while he explained about the agreement earlier.
Then we started the ritual with holding hands as if in handshake.
"In the name of I, Lavinia Reni, I shall make a wish to the Head of the Rofocale Devil Family, Rey Rofocale. Thou shall make a pact with me, and become my sworn partner."
Lavinia finished the chant and then the magic-circle starts to glow mysteriously.
And it seems the chants have been simplified quite a bit because as I know, depending on the situation, you need to chant things like how we resulted in making the pact as well as the content of it.
Then, I also chant out the words following Lavinia.
"In the name of me, Rey Rofocale, Head of the Rofocale Devil Family, I shall promise to make a pact with you, Lavinia Reni."
After I done with the chant ritual, the magic circle glow brighter and then glowing symbol of my Rofocale Family appears on Lavinia and my cheek for a few seconds. And after the symbol on our cheeks disappeared, the magic-circle also slowly fade till it finally disappeared completely signalling that the ritual is finished.
"Good. With this, you both are partners connected by the Devil-Magician Pact."
Mephisto-jiisama said with a smile to Lavinia and I and tapped our shoulders for a second.
"Let's get along, Rei~."
Lavinia said with a bright innocent smile.
"Yeah, let's get along, Lavinia."
I replied to her and give her a soft smile too.
After that, we ended our handshake.
Now then, our pact is completed, but...
"So... what should Lavinia and I do now?"
Our pact is completed, so should we research about magic or something?
"Well, that will depend on Lavinia basically. If she chooses to do research and learn about your magic she just need to summon you anytime and anywhere she wants to. It's a five year pact so I think you both don't need to hurry either way."
Mephisto-jiisama answered with a slight shrug.
"In other words we don't have to do anything immediately."
I said that and Mephisto-jiisama nodded slightly.
Well, I guess we can conclude that we have made a pact.
After that, we ended the event with a small lunch party.
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The next day, I promised to met Lavinia at one of the training hall at the Grauzauberer HQ.
And when I got there, I saw Lavinia was already there and it seems she's practicing her magic with a relaxed intensity. She was surrounded by small, glowing orbs of light that danced around her, responding to her every gesture.
"Good morning."
I greeted her, watching the orbs with interest.
Lavinia turned to me with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Rei~!"
Lavinia greeted me enthusiastically.
"I can't wait to learn about Rune Magic~! I haven't got any chance to learn about Runes all this time~."
Lavinia said while she makes the orbs fade out and disappeared.
"Then let's start with that. I'll show you the basics, and we can go from there."
I nodded slightly and suggested to her.
We moved to a center area of the hall.
Then I began by explaining the fundamentals of Custom Rune Magic.
"I'm sure you know that Rune Magic is all about the power of runic symbols. Each rune represents a specific concept or power, and when combined, they create complex spells."
I said and then drew a simple rune in the air with my finger, and it glowed faintly and turned into a small flame.
"That's a basic rune for fire. On its own, it creates a small flame."
I said before the small flame then dissipating.
Lavinia watched intently, her eyes shining with curiosity.
"That's amazing~! Then how about custom runes~?"
"It's a combination of knowledge and intuition.... You need to understand the essence of what you're trying to achieve and then translate that into chained runes. Let me show you."
I explained and then I focused and began drawing a series of runes in the air, each one glowing brightly before connecting to the next.
The runes which lined up then glowed and then appeared a translucent wall.
"This is a runic formula for simple barrier spell. It's designed to protect against both physical and magical attacks as you surely know."
Lavinia's eyes widened as she examined the glowing runes.
"Incredible~! How long did it take you to learn this~? I heard it needs years to mastering Rune Magic."
"Uhh.... It took few months of study and practice for me. But that's just because I have special circumstances. But actually once you grasp the basics, you'll used to it and even can start experimenting and creating your own runic formulas."
I said while remembered my hellish training with my Godslayer Master.
"I'd love to learn more~."
Lavinia said with a smile and her eyes sparkling full of innocent curiosity.
"Yeah, sure."
After that, we spent the rest of the morning exchanging spells and techniques.
I demonstrated few other complex runes, explaining the theory behind each one. While Lavinia showed me her mastery over General Magic like Telecommunication, Teleport, and few others.
And while we learn from each other, we spent time getting to know each other on a personal level too. Lavinia shared stories of her past, her struggles, and her dreams for the future. And I also opened up about my own experiences, the challenges I faced as the head of the Rofocale family, and my aspirations.
And with that we were quite quickly became closer. Or too close even because she likes to hug me, or anything like that.
She said that she felt happy because she feels like she got a little brother. Especially with we both have the same fate of losing our family. So that's why she get quite attached to me.
Even though her a bit too close attachment is a bit vexing and troubling. But I don't really hate that so I just accepted it without hard feelings.
Our pact was slowly became no longer just a formal agreement, but it was a partnership built on mutual respect and trust.
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