Thanks to Mai and Mei’s cheers, the old man Spirit King was ridiculously strong.

“Uuuhh… Halt, sorry.”

“It’s fine. The match has only just begun, so don’t worry about it.”

After getting severely punched around by the old guy, Ifrit and Gnome got forcefully sent back to the Spirit Realm. Sylph and Undine managed to stay, but they were so exhausted right after the fight that they couldn’t even stand. I had to share some of my mana to help them recover.

“Halt-sama, Sylph-sama,”

“And everyone else,”“We’re really sorry!”

Mai and Mei bowed deeply to the group, looking guilty. They probably regretted cheering for their dad, which ended up making him stronger.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame them. Seeing your family struggling, of course you’d want to cheer them on.

“Mai and Mei, you guys did nothing wrong. The Celestial Spirit King was awesome.”

“Yup. It’s not Mai and Mei’s fault. If anything, I was the one who underestimated how strong he’d be, even against all four of us.”

Sylph looked pretty down about it. But the one who seemed the most crushed was Undine.

“…I finally had a chance to shine, and yet....”

She was standing a little apart from the group, looking like the world was ending. That got me curious, so I turned to Sylph.

“Hey Sylph, what’s up with Undine?”

“Uhh… W-Well, actually… She was planning to ask you to make her part of your family—if she could impress you in this battle.”

Ohhh. So that’s what it was.

Well, that’s an easy fix.

I turned to Tina who was standing nearby.

She gave me a look like, ‘Seriously? Again?’ When I just kept staring at her, she let out a sigh and softened her expression.

“If Halt-sama has already made up his mind, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

“Thanks, Tina.”

I glanced at the rest of my family, but they all just looked at me like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we know how this goes, so just go ahead’.

With their approval secured, the only thing left was Undine’s own feelings.

“Undine.”

“…Oh, it’s Halt, huh? What do you want with a useless spirit like me?”

Wow, she was really down bad.

She must’ve put a lot of hope into this match.

If I just straight-up asked her to join the family now, she’d probably refuse out of sheer self-pity. Convincing her would be a hassle. So… let’s take another approach.

“…Do you want power?”

“…Huh?”

Oof. That sounded way too dramatic.

I instantly cringed at my own words.

“…Do you want the power to defeat the Celestial Spirit King?”

But since I’d already committed, I decided to roll with it.

Would she take the bait?

“Yes! I do! I want to be strong enough to help you, Halt!!”

Oh, nice! She was on board!

“Then tell me—how do you think you can gain that power?”

“…Training? Or maybe working out?”

“Spirits don’t really get stronger from training, though.”

Wait. Do spirits even work out?

Now I was just picturing a super buff spirit lifting weights, and it was kinda hilarious.

“I mean… maybe a little! B-But other than that, I don’t really know…”

“Well, look at Sylph. She’s always with me, right? That means she’s constantly drawing magic from me, which makes her stronger over time. That’s how she was able to summon you guys in the first place.”

Undine blinked in confusion.

Still not getting it, huh?

“…So, how about this? Why don’t you stay with me too?”

“Wha—!? B-But that’s…!”

“Just absorb my magic and get stronger. That way, you can protect me and my family in the future.”

I held out my hand.

Undine’s eyes flickered between me and the others. When she turned back, everyone had the same welcoming expression on their faces. She must’ve felt it too, because her eyes welled up with tears as she reached out and took my hand.

“I… I swear I’ll become stronger.”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

And just like that, I had a second Spirit King in my family.