"Here are the terms of the summon contract. You may negotiate with any of the Pangolin Clan for permission to summon them, should you have the power to do so. We will fight for you with all our skill and all our might, for the honour of our ancestors and the glory of the Pantokrator. In return, you will fulfil any individual agreements you make with my subordinates during those negotiations. You will accept missions to further our goals on the Human Path. You will make no common cause with the clans that oppose us, or their summoners. Is this acceptable to you?"
Calming down now that she anticipated surviving the next few minutes, Kei took time to consider the terms. After the unfortunate events with Takahashi-sensei, she was determined to take greater care this time.
"What do you mean by 'should you have the power'?"
"The more power a pangolin draws from the nature chakra of our world," Pansā explained, "the more difficult it is for them to manifest in yours. Your skill as a summoner, and the human chakra you have to spend, will limit whom you may summon."
"And the missions in the human world?"
"The clan wars are brutal, but they are also subtle. After so long without influence on the Human Path, it will take time to determine how you may best be used. Assassination of enemy summoners is the most likely, sooner or later. Regardless, I do not assign my resources carelessly. Any tasks will be well within your abilities, and will bring their own rewards."
Enemy summoners. Was Kei making common cause with enemy summoners in cooperating with Jiraiya? If so, mentioning the fact could be dangerous. But having it discovered some other way would be worse, and although Pantsā claimed little knowledge of the modern world, he did know what a missing-nin was. What sources of information did he have available to him? Was there in fact such a thing as mind-reading ninjutsu?
"What about Jiraiya, the Toad Summoner? Is he an enemy?"
"Jiraiya?" Pantsā echoed. "Ah, I see. Of course. No, Mori Keiko. The Toad Clan and the Pangolin Clan have long had common foes, which is the strongest bond two clans can possess. If, however, you encounter the summoner of the treacherous Tapir Clan, show them no mercy, and if you discover the lost Condor Clan summoning scroll, cast it into a volcano or drown it in the ocean. For the rest, alliances are as trees, rising and falling in the blink of an eye. When it is necessary, you will be briefed."
Kei nodded. "Can I refuse missions you give to me?"
"If you have compelling reason," Pantsā replied. "Consider it as if you were a mercenary—you are never forced to accept missions, but refuse too many times, or show disloyalty, and your employer will sever ties.
"Know also that if ever you betray the Pangolin Clan, you will be brought here to stand trial no matter how you may try to hide. Do not think us powerless merely because we cannot manifest on the Human Path on our own."
"What if I ever want to withdraw from the contract?" Kei asked.
"You and I may both end the contract at any time, without cost. But know that such a thing is not done lightly. You will never be able to serve as the Pangolin Summoner again, and your actions will be made known to the many clans of the Seventh Path."
"Now, if you have no more questions, I will have your decision."
This was it, then. The moment of truth. Kei was uneasy about entering into a second mercenary arrangement in addition to the one her team had with Jiraiya. And having to face enemy summoners in battle was a frightening thought if any of them were like him. And the idea of having to negotiate for her summons, to have to persuade people—people with alien cultural backgrounds, and mentalities and body language even more mysterious than that of other human beings—was nearly paralysing.
But this was what she had come here for. It had been her decision to seek the summoning scroll. Not Hazō's. Not Mari-sensei's. This was something Mori Keiko chose on her own, a corner of her life in which she could plant a flag and say, "This is mine", even more so than the bloodline she had been given by her family. Perhaps, a tiny voice inside her whispered, with enough such flags she might be able to reclaim the self she did not remember losing.
"I accept the contract," she said, feeling a mixture of relief and apprehension as soon as the words were out. She could feel them falling away like a heavy stone into a pool of water, sinking too deep to ever take back and sending countless ripples into the future.
