[Side Story] Wind Flower (9) (Illustration)
[If it has come to this point, there is nothing we can do. I will tell you the location of Tyr’kalax’s body. ]
The next morning, when I got out of bed, I saw Merilda sitting on the shelf, swishing her feet.
As for me, I was tired from using too much Aspect magic, and Yenika also had no energy, so I went to bed right away.
“… ”
As I was looking straight at Merilda with blank eyes, Merilda tilted her head as if embarrassed and spoke.
[What, what… Are you half asleep? ]
“No, you were supposed to tell me from the beginning. “It’s ridiculous that you keep putting it off every day and talk about it like you’re being patronizing.”
[Yeah, that’s right, but… I never thought I would have to tell such a bad story like this… ]
For a Merilda, she looks precious. It’s quite frustrating.
The way she lowers her head and looks up as if looking at her looks like a girl of that age.
Then, he looked at the sleeping Yenika one more time.
[I didn’t know Yenika could be that intimidated. ]
“… Actually, I wonder if I should be that intimidated. “The situation that Katin is in and the situation that Yenika is in are completely different.”
[ i think so too. Still, as you probably knew, Jenica has a strange sense of entitlement buried deep in her heart. ]
Merilda rests her chin and speaks frankly.
[From his perspective, just being able to communicate emotionally with you is such a great blessing that he wonders if this is okay. ]
“But if you compare it to the highest ranking spirit… “I’m in trouble the way I am…”
[ Normally, when you put beanbags on your eyes, you look like the coolest person in the world. Why not try dating for a day or two? ]
“When you talk about it at that level, it seems like it has become a very petty issue… ”
[Actually, it’s a petty problem… ]
“… ”
Merilda sighed heavily and jumped down from the shelf. Her light movements, like the spirit of the wind, are impressive.
Then he sat down on a chair in front of the table on one side of the room, leaned his upper body toward me, and started talking excitedly.
[ Tyrkalax’s body was sealed by Sylvania herself. The soul was returned to nature and transformed into a physical spirit, but the traces of magical power engraved on the body will still remain even after a long time. ]
“If I get my hands on it, I will be able to make great progress in elemental arts.”
[ Right… So, where do you think it’s hidden? ]
The highest-ranking spirits rarely leave behind corpses. Since there is no concept of death in the first place, we live for a period of time that is close to eternal life.
Since there were only a handful of cases where a corpse was left behind like that of Tyrkalax, it was clear that the corpse of the highest-ranking spirit was also an enormous treasure with unprecedented value.
The first thing that occurred to me was that something of such enormous value would not have been thrown away anywhere, and that it must have been difficult for people to reach or in a place where a huge sealing force had been built…
“If you think about the circumstances… Yes, I guess they buried him where Katyn Palover lived when she was alive.”
Considering the personality of Great Sage Sylvania, such a conclusion could not help but be drawn.
[Anyway, I’m very quick-witted. ]
And speaking of where Katin Failover lived, it was actually quite obvious.
* * *
“found.”
There are degrees of darkness under the lamp.
A large old tree stands tall in the center of Failover Ranch. After digging under it for a while using magic, a wooden door that opened and closed like a lid popped out.
“Oh my gosh… There was something like this under the ranch… ”
“Wow, wow… Living on this ranch all my life, I never thought something like this would happen… I couldn’t even imagine… ”
Orte and Jenica were surprised together. Their similar surprised looks are indeed typical of father and daughter.
I pulled the wooden door open and lifted it, revealing a staircase leading to the basement. There is some kind of facility underground.
“I don’t usually dig under the ground for no reason, so I would have never imagined something like this could exist.”
I poured magical energy into the lamp I brought with me and started a fire. After looking at the flame gently swaying from the wick in the glass lamp for a while, I looked towards Orte and spoke.
“I’m going to take a quick look inside Yenikawa. Please stand guard and make sure no one passes by and gets unnecessarily interested.”
“Yes, yes…” All right… ”
I walked along the stairs leading to the basement, accompanied by Yenika.
Yenika followed me, holding my arm tightly, with a bewildered expression on her face. Even so, he would never have imagined that there would be something like this under the ranch of his home where he had lived his entire life.
“Be careful not to stumble. “Because it’s very dark.”
“Yes. Ed be careful too… ”
As we went down the dark basement stairs, relying only on the light of the lamp, we held each other tightly for fear of falling.
After going down for a while, I came across a small stone chamber.
It wasn’t that wide. Is this a place that can only be reviewed once you try it?
There, a stone statue that seemed to symbolize a goddess was placed in a cluster, and a shabby wooden box was placed on a small altar in front of it.
The wooden box was about the size of the upper body of a person.
I held up the lamp to Yenika, who was swallowing her saliva, then lowered my posture and opened the wooden box.
Inside the box, which was old but full of luxurious decorations, was a small magic crystal ball placed on a cotton cushion.
The corpse of a spirit is usually like this.
Rather than taking the form of a physical body like a human corpse, it takes the form of an object imbued with magical power.
Fragments of Tyr’kalax’s old memories, probably sealed by the great sage Sylvania herself, are packed into this thumb-sized magic crystal ball.
Whether it is academic value or economic value… It must be at an astronomical level.
One small bead like this might be worth more than all of the Sylvania Bachelor’s buildings combined.
“The joke that there is gold and silver treasure buried under the land where I have lived my whole life has become true.”
Yenika spoke in an awkward manner.
“Yes, but… I wonder if it’s right for me to take this. In a way, it’s like a treasure buried in the Palover family.”
“… ”
Yenika stared quietly while holding the lamp, then closed her eyes and smiled happily.
“If not Ed, who will take it?”
Then he walked over to me with great strides, put his hand in my arms, and took out the leather pouch he had brought with him earlier.
Then, I put the crystal ball inside the leather bag, pulled the rubber band tight to secure it, and then put it back in my arms.
Then he pats his chest where the crystal ball is and talks.
“I’m sure Dad and Mom would say that too. “It’s best if Ed takes it.”
“… ”
“It’s going to be used for academic research anyway. Once you bring it to the academic department, everyone in the academic community will be in awe. You’re not going to look at Ed curiously, asking how on earth he got something like this. “I’m already full just thinking about that.”
Yenika puts her hand on one waist and looks triumphant. Looking at it, it seemed like it was asking for a compliment if it was thankful, so it just looked cute.
Looking at that, I spoke without hesitation.
“You don’t have to try to act dignified. “Your parents aren’t here.”
As if those words had caught her off guard, Yenika’s eyes twitched.
Then he lowers his head, places the top of his head near my solar plexus, and leans in.
“huh… ”
So, for a moment, Yenika stayed still, leaning against me.
An underground stone chamber where the only light is the lamp in one’s hand.
So we just stayed there, just the two of us, hugging each other tightly for a while.
* * *
The business at Pulan has been somewhat completed.
Many issues worth researching about Tyrkalax were discovered, and a rare treasure, the corpse of the highest-ranking spirit, was also obtained.
If news of the discovery of such a treasure were to spread widely, the academic world would probably be in an uproar.
There will be a lot of research offers, and there will also be a lot of offers to sell directly.
In particular, it is widely rumored that a merchant named Slog from the Elte Company has recently been acquiring a lot of items related to magic accumulation. It seems likely that he will be interested in the body of Tyrkalax. Of course, I have no intention of selling it.
Soon, tomorrow morning, this Pulan will open.
Yenika’s hometown, Toren Village.
Although it is a story from the distant past, it is a place where the scars of the highest-ranking wind spirit remain.
As if such a story had nothing to do with it, the scene was as peaceful as always.
If I’m going back early tomorrow morning, I’ll have to pack my bags quickly. I heard that tonight it’s a farewell party at the village level, and they’ll set up drinks and food in the square and make a lot of noise… To be honest, it was a bit burdensome for me.
Perhaps thanks to Yenika, this Toren village itself felt very friendly to me. As a result, even though I only stayed for a few days, I felt like I had become quite attached.
Aside from that, this is a very nice town.
The air is good, the water is good, the wind is cool, the scenery is peaceful, and it is understandable why Yenika was able to grow up into a girl like the protagonist of a fairy tale. She actually spent her childhood in a place that seemed to recreate scenes from fairy tales, so it makes sense.
Still, when you leave, you have to leave.
“Ed. “Do you want to stop by somewhere else before you go to the dorm?”
On the way back to the dorm after finishing my errand, Yenika grabbed my arm.
It was unusual for Yenika, so I nodded. Then, with a very happy expression on her face, Yenika took me up the mountain path.
Coming out of the village and climbing up the ridge was quite embarrassing, but I decided to follow Jenica’s lead for now.
“Actually, it’s not that big of a deal, but there was something I really wanted to show Ed.”
“… what is that?”
“Hmm~.”
Yenica smiled, looked back at me, and spoke slowly.
“I had something like a wish in my life.”
“… ?”
There is a path that appears when you leave Toren Village and climb the ridge. If you look at the road that continues along the neatly erected fences, you can see the mountainous area with the sun setting at a glance.
“I’ve always thought that way since I was young. The mountain range seen from Pulan is so beautiful that I never get tired of looking at it every day. So, if you have someone special or special to you, be sure to show them this view. “I thought that way all the time.”
Jenica grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the outside of the fence.
“But the only people I knew when I was young were people from my hometown, right? So there was no need to introduce to most people how amazing this scenery was. “Because I already know.”
“Well, I guess so.”
“So, I’m so glad that Ed came to this Pulan. Now, come this way, this is the best view.”
And, leaving behind the scenery of the sun slowly setting, he turns around and faces me.
Her hair, which is turning red as it catches the setting sun, flutters a few times in the wind of the alpine region, and Jenika’s smile, which is barely visible, is also reflected.
“I was very intimidated for one reason or another, but I never regret it. You never know what direction your life will take, but one way or another, I will never regret meeting Ed. “It’s different from Tyr’kalax, yes.”
“… ”
“Meeting Ed was the greatest blessing of my life. So, I really wanted to show it to Ed.”
A path leading along a fence. Sheep and cows are occasionally seen here and there in the grasslands.
Rice paddies, fields, private houses, and a large lake spread out in the distance. The top of a mountain covered in perpetual snow, birds flying in the wind, and pretty pansy flowers along the road. And girl. It’s hard to see because the sunset is dazzling, but she’s probably smiling brightly.
“Actually, there’s nothing to boast about, it’s just a countryside that can be found anywhere… Still, it’s where I’ve lived. “For me, it’s like my life.”
That scene felt strangely vague.
I don’t know why, but I slowly approached Yenika and kissed her.
Yenika trembled in embarrassment at the sudden movement, but eventually closed her eyes and let herself go.
After that, we sat side by side on the ridge and looked at the scenery together for a while.
As I wrapped my arms around Yenika’s shoulders, a strange sense of stability arose. Yenika probably feels the same way.
“Yes, it’s a beautiful place.”
“Hehe, I’m glad.”
Living my life to the end, even if it means holding on to my complicated and delicate feelings. In fact, Yenica Failover has always been like that.
The world is not a place where you can live like the main character in a fairy tale, without worries and just immersed in a refreshing sense of happiness.
That’s why we lean on the person next to us.
“Yenika.”
“huh?”
“… You don’t have to worry too much. “I assure you, we will be quite happy.”
I lived happily ever after – I know there is no such irresponsible ending in the world.
Even if we have complicated hearts, let us live as happily as possible.
Human beings were creatures that could make such a decision.
“Hehe, I’m glad.”
Isn’t that bad enough?
After saying this to the wind spirit of long ago, I quietly raised my head and looked at the scenery of Pulan.
[illustration]
Pansy flowers were blowing in the wind and shaking their heads.
Yenika called, it was a wind flower.
