“Wait, Lily. Why are you so impatient, just like me?”
Spike-san lightly tapped the princess’s hand, stopping her.
The human-shaped flame dissipated.
“Ow… Grandfather, why did you stop me… that spirit is truly weakened…”
The princess’s words, saying that she is the same as me, and the way she perceives the spirit, makes me wonder if the Great Spirit is possessing her?
Was that just now, the Great Spirit of Fire…?
“There is an order to things. Katia, I heard the story from Lumia. First, I will explain the circumstances of the Great Spirit’s appearance. After that, I would like to ask you a simple question. Is that alright?”
“Right now, I have no choice but to rely on the power of the Great Spirit. Ask me anything.”
Since Spike-san is going to explain, I’ll stop making unnecessary inferences and concentrate on listening to the story.
We were offered chairs, and the four of us sat down.
Lumia-san is next to me, and Spike-san and Princess Lily are facing us.
“The Great Spirit appeared a month ago… It was sudden.”
“…When I woke up in the morning… there were four… four pillars? …of spirits next to my bed… I couldn’t help but scream. …‘Kyaa-chikan!’…”
Translator’s Note
Chikan means groping. You mostly hear this word in relation to train groping in Japan.
“Um, Lumia-san. The princess is saying strange things with a straight face.”
The Great Spirit of Fire from earlier, although it was in the shape of a person, was clearly not human.
It’s not something you could mistake for something else.
I speak in a low voice with Lumia-san so that the two people facing us can’t hear.
“Don’t say it. She’s just a little… Her sensibilities are just a little different from others.”
Didn’t she almost say ‘clumsy’ just now?
“The Great Spirits told us three main things. The first is what kind of beings they are, and what spirits are. This is the content that has overturned the magical theory from its foundation, which is the source of the current confusion.”
I’ve seen a lot of documents with Lumia-san’s help, so I have no problem with this.
It’s the one that says spirits are involved in the activation of magic.
“Secondly, the Great Spirits themselves don’t know the cause of their emergence.”
“Emerged? The Great Spirits were born recently?”
“It seems so. All we know is that spirits rapidly gathered near the border between our country and the Empire. We suspect the Empire’s involvement and have asked the intelligence department to investigate, but the results have not been promising.”
It’s certainly unnatural.
The location near the border is too suspicious.
It might be more correct to think that some kind of artificial force was at work.
“Third. Spirits have the property of moving in response to magical power. Therefore, the Great Spirits also began to move in response to a certain magical power.”
That was in Lumia-san’s documents, too.
Spirits themselves do not need magical power to maintain their existence, but they have the property of being attracted to and moving towards magical power.
That’s why magic is activated even if you don’t consciously think about the presence of spirits when you use magic.
“They moved and arrived here. Apparently, they were reacting to Lily’s magical power.”
“To the princess? All four pillars?”
“Yes. In the royal family, we have actively incorporated the blood of excellent warriors and magicians since ancient times. It was inevitable because of the endless war with the Empire… Lily is a magician with four attributes, commonly known as an Elemental Master.”
So, the princess is an outstanding magician.
But there’s another excellent magician next to me.
“Didn’t the Great Spirit react to Lumia-san?”
“It didn’t. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a High Elf or some other factor.”
“I see. But it’s amazing, Princess, to have four attributes.”
“…But it’s genetic… it’s not because I’m amazing…”
She says it in a strange way.
As if she doesn’t like the power she was born with.
“In conclusion, it could be said that she was favored by the spirits. It’s better than the Great Spirit going to some random person, but I’m worried about whether it will put more strain on her body than it already does.”
“Nn… I’m fine, Grandfather. …It’s just a little, noisy…”
“Noisy?”
“I told you, Katia. Spirits are the remnants of the dead, and the Great Spirit is a collection of them. According to the princess, fragments of their thoughts sometimes leak out.”
“Is that really okay?”
It means that thoughts and emotions other than your own suddenly flow in, so I think it must be mentally tough.
I don’t know what kind of things they are, though.
“…I’m fine… After being possessed by the Great Spirit, I just couldn’t get out of bed… for about a week…”
“I don’t think that’s fine at all.”
She was bedridden.
Her expression doesn’t change, so I can’t tell if she’s joking or serious.
“Now, this is my personal question. As I said, the Great Spirit is with Lily, and Lily has already decided to lend you her power.”
“Nn… If there’s something I can do…”
“Thank you very much!”
That’s good, really.
The rest depends on the Great Spirit.
“I want you to answer my question casually. I swear that no matter how you answer, I won’t interfere with you meeting the Great Spirit. I simply want to know what kind of person you are.”
“Yes.”
I wonder what kind of question he’s going to ask.
He wants to know the other person’s personality, so it should be a pretty serious question.
Spike-san’s expression tightened.
“Your previous life was as a man, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Your soul was drawn into this body, and you became a girl… As a man, honestly, weren’t you excited?”
“…Huh?”
What is this old man saying?
A serious question… wasn’t it?
“…Grandfather, you’re the worst…”
“Wha, what kind of question is that!? Filthy, filthy!”
Gazes of criticism from the two women pierce Spike-san.
But what’s with the older one reacting so innocently?
“W-Wait! There’s a meaning to this question, wait! W-What do you think, Katia?”
“W-Well, I was originally a man, too. I entered the body of the opposite sex, and it’s not like I wasn’t interested.”
“…”
“Katia… you…”
Cold gazes are now directed at me.
It’s a bed of nails…
It’s completely my fault, Spike-san.
Sigh.
“But as you know, this body originally belonged to her. No matter what, it’s borrowed to me, it’s someone else’s body.”
“That’s certainly true. To be precise, it should be called a cohabitation of souls, perhaps.”
“Therefore, I have treated it with as much care as possible. I was careful about what I ate, I didn’t disrupt my daily rhythm, and I trained my body so that I wouldn’t be easily killed by monsters when I returned it.”
“…Even so, your arms and legs… look thin…”
“I’ve been careful about this, too. Since she’s a girl, I thought she wouldn’t want her arms and legs to be too thick. I trained my core to build lean muscles…”
“You’ve had a hard time. That may have led to a body suitable for swords.”
“Yes. Well, I was always indebted to the girls in the village for hair and skin care… After all, I’m a man, so there were many places I couldn’t reach… Haha…”
“…That’s not true… It’s very, beautiful…”
“Actually, I’ve always pretended not to hear words about my appearance. It’s partly because I’m not good at judging my own beauty, but also because I’m scared… I’m worried about whether I’m keeping it in a way that won’t embarrass her.”
“What are you saying? This body has grown into a beautiful flower. Right, Spike?”
“Yes, she is beautiful enough to make any man turn his head. Including those overly developed breasts.”
“…Grandfather… you really are the worst…”
“Muoh! My mouth slipped– Wait, Lily! Don’t look at me with that face!”
“Is that so… It’s grown beautifully, properly. I’m glad…”
I feel like a little weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Although, the possibility of being able to return this body has become extremely low…
The princess’s clear eyes looked at me.
She looks like she wants to say something.
“…You are, a kind person.”
Kind?
Me?
“Where? I, even if it was the result, took over this body. Until now, I haven’t actively tried to find a way for her to return.”
“But until then, you felt like your souls were merging into one, right? In fact, after the souls were separated, the other soul started to weaken, so you shouldn’t be blamed.”
“But Lumia-san, that’s just an excuse. It doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t do anything.”
“…But, if that girl could come back… you… you were thinking that you wouldn’t mind disappearing if you could return the body… right?”
“Tch! Even so, it’s meaningless! She might not be able to get this body back anymore!”
My tone became rough.
I know, it’s just taking it out on her.
But, I can’t control it.
“You are an honest and kind man. To put it badly, you could say you are foolish. If you had kept quiet, no one would have noticed that this body, this soul, belonged to someone else.”
“…”
Certainly, Spike-san is right.
Humans are greedy creatures.
To live freely in this world, pretending that she didn’t exist–.
To say that I never thought about it would be a lie.
I’m also afraid of dying, of disappearing.
But more than that, I can’t forget the warmth she gave me in that darkness.
And the promise I made to “protect” her.
“I want a man like you to be by Lily’s side. If possible, I’d be happy if you could protect Lily in the same way. I know you’re probably preoccupied with that girl’s soul right now.”
“…I also, like you… When things calm down, I want to talk more.”
Do I have the right to accept those words?
I couldn’t find an answer until I could meet her again.