I'm sorry, but I have to say it.
I. Hate. That the Spirit Kings are visible to everyone that besides their personal chosen. I hate that they can have direct conversations. I hate that these god like entities are being relegated to imaginary friends that answer their devotees beck and call at a whim. The interaction with everyone besides the people with their blessing and people with at least the blessing of other spirit kings is incredibly irritating from a story telling point of view and really water downs their mysticism.
You could've had Claudia's older brother, Liam, be the one to see what happened and trash the maid and mother for bad mouthing his little sister.
You could just give Claudia genuine powers that she has to master on her own besides telling Gerald to fix the problems she finds herself in.
You could've made the relationship she has with the Dark Spirit King that much more personal while leaving her with the difficulty of trying to explain to other people that her Guardian Diety isn't going to redestroy the country a second time. As is, if you're leaving a bait and twist where the whole point is that the Dark Spirit King is misunderstood, there's zero reason why Claudia can't just have him appear and hold a discussion with people to explain his side of the story. I'm not saying that particular scene would work flawlessly, it'd be interesting and broken at the same time, but, it would also be the logical jump with the rules you applied.
Hell, with the rules and settings I'm giving, you could even have the Wind Spirit King whisper into the father's ear that his son is telling the truth when Liam stands up for Claudia. Who knows, maybe you'll do it in the next chapter sense these Spirit Kings are on Speed Dial, but the mysticism could've been seriously improved by simply NOT showing the magic source.
Edit: @FrostBlood
Yes they can and I hate it.
I. Hate. That the Spirit Kings are visible to everyone that besides their personal chosen. I hate that they can have direct conversations. I hate that these god like entities are being relegated to imaginary friends that answer their devotees beck and call at a whim. The interaction with everyone besides the people with their blessing and people with at least the blessing of other spirit kings is incredibly irritating from a story telling point of view and really water downs their mysticism.
You could've had Claudia's older brother, Liam, be the one to see what happened and trash the maid and mother for bad mouthing his little sister.
You could just give Claudia genuine powers that she has to master on her own besides telling Gerald to fix the problems she finds herself in.
You could've made the relationship she has with the Dark Spirit King that much more personal while leaving her with the difficulty of trying to explain to other people that her Guardian Diety isn't going to redestroy the country a second time. As is, if you're leaving a bait and twist where the whole point is that the Dark Spirit King is misunderstood, there's zero reason why Claudia can't just have him appear and hold a discussion with people to explain his side of the story. I'm not saying that particular scene would work flawlessly, it'd be interesting and broken at the same time, but, it would also be the logical jump with the rules you applied.
Hell, with the rules and settings I'm giving, you could even have the Wind Spirit King whisper into the father's ear that his son is telling the truth when Liam stands up for Claudia. Who knows, maybe you'll do it in the next chapter sense these Spirit Kings are on Speed Dial, but the mysticism could've been seriously improved by simply NOT showing the magic source.
Edit: @FrostBlood
Yes they can and I hate it.