Chapter 61 …
Theodore was carrying anyone who was even slightly slower than the others as they tried to escape, bringing them into the tunnel and out.
“The emperor isn’t even being careful… is he insane?”
That thought naturally came to mind at the sight.
Meanwhile, we had a problem on our side as well.
Unlike me, who had been blessed, the last miner trying to escape was starting to fall behind.
“Huff… huff…”
“You have to run faster!”
His expression was collapsing.
It made sense; his stamina was reaching its limit. The tunnel was uphill, the temperature high, and coming out last, he hadn’t even had a moment to catch his breath while running full speed.
(Agatha, if you still have any strength, please…)
But Agatha didn’t respond.
No matter how blessed I was, I couldn’t carry this man on my back.
The blessing was only the small amount of strength that Agatha had left me. My own stamina was gradually running out.
Would this man fall behind and be left behind? And the exit was right there.
“Even just one…”
I reached my hand toward the man’s back.
At that moment, Theodore, whose eyes met mine, cursed under his breath and charged forward.
With all my strength, I pushed the man toward the exit. At the same time, Theodore dashed toward us at incredible speed.
“Saint!”
Through the cloud of dust, I saw that the miner I had pushed barely made it outside. A relief.
It seemed no one could sustain the collapsing speed of eleven people at once.
(Ah, this is another needless death.)
It was only a short distance, but I couldn’t get out myself. Truly a pointless death.
Even at a moment like this, that thought crossed my mind.
“Dorothy!”
Suddenly, Theodore’s voice came faintly.
I also felt the bracelet Cade had given me burning against my skin.
[Humans are noisy.]
[I don’t like them. Why are they so greedy?]
[If it weren’t for ‘that one,’ we would have destroyed them already. Hehehe.]
[Exactly.]
[Right? Right?]
[Yes! Yes!]
So noisy…
There’s nothing more irritating than being woken from a deep sleep by a commotion.
“…Ugh.”
I groaned and opened my eyes. My whole body ached as if I had been beaten.
[It opened its eyes! A strange being opened its eyes!]
[It opened its eyes!]
[A strange being!]
“What…?”
Clear, childlike voices whispered in my mind.
I frowned and pushed myself up.
Then I looked around—and couldn’t help but be shocked.
[A strange being!]
They laughed and giggled at me…
A child…? No, not a child…
I saw something.
A creature about my height, humanlike in appearance.
But its golden body glowed faintly, its eyes entirely black, and it had wings.
The wings on its back were visible even from the front, shimmering in rainbow colors.
It seemed cute, yet somehow creepy and frightening.
[Are you on humanity’s side?]
[A strange being. You summoned us.]
[Then you are not on humanity’s side?]
[You look human.]
[But you smell different.]
“…Wait. What… what is happening here?”
Had I not just faced another pointless death?
Is this supposed to be the paradise of this world, Hoi Naphta, or something?
But the Naphta from scripture didn’t feel like this…
‘It seems like a cave…’
The stone walls surrounding the area rose steeply, so it must be inside a cave. The sunlight shining through was peculiar, though.
At the center of this space was a waterfall, surrounded entirely by flowerbeds…
‘Forsythia, roses, cosmos… all together?’
Flowers from completely different seasons together…? Even the trees were strange, ranging from cold-climate conifers to tropical species.
Around me, more of these creatures basked leisurely in the sun.
I grew increasingly bewildered.
[A strange being is confused.]
[Explanation is needed.]
[Bring the king.]
[The king! That would be best.]
King…? If a king, the king? The ruler of a kingdom?
What on earth was happening to me now?
Amid my confusion, one of them rose, seized a captive, and flew away.
“Am I… alive?”
I asked the question I wanted to ask first.
[Yes. You’re alive.]
[You cannot die here. Strange beings cannot die here.]
[Because of ‘that one.’]
“Who… is ‘that one’?”
[The king will tell you.]
[The king will speak. The king.]
Communication was impossible. I curled up, sitting in place, watching them warily.
[The king! It’s the king!]
They suddenly became excited and flew into the sky. Their movements were so fairy-like that I almost forgot to breathe.
Then,
[Seems it has risen.]
A solemn voice came.
“Ah… h-hello.”
I instinctively stood and bowed.
The one they called the king resembled them but was adult-sized. Its wings were much larger, and its hair long.
[You are flustered.]
The king smiled softly, lazy and playful.
“Y-yes…”
[We are the spirits of Mount Beza.]
“Oh, I see. Spirits?!”
I naturally replied, then raised my voice in surprise.
I’d heard they were deep underground, so why were they suddenly here…?
Then, was this being… the Spirit King?!
[Hmm. Child, I dislike loud noises.]
The firm tone sent shivers down my spine, an unexplainable sense of pressure.
“I-I’m sorry.”
It felt scarier than a god, so I kept my mouth shut.
I knew almost nothing about spirits—only that they were similar to gods.
“What… is happening to me?”
[You collapsed, so we brought you. Your bracelet—it was crafted using our power.]
I finally remembered the bracelet Cade had given me burning when the tunnel collapsed. Now I noticed its original color had disappeared entirely.
[Normally this would be difficult, but you… are not from this world. You resonated with our power and summoned us. It’s similar to how you can speak with gods.]
“Ah…”
That made sense. So my possession was indeed a strange incident.
[In short, you are not human.]
“…What?”
What was this supposed to mean?
The Spirit King’s bombshell left me utterly bewildered.
The king still smiled enigmatically.
“By what measure am I not human? I’m completely human.”
[The exterior is human. You will live like a human, and die when your lifespan ends.]
“Then I’m human, right?”
[But the power you possess…]
The Spirit King looked straight at me.
My reflection appeared in its entirely black eyes. Strange, somehow.
[You received it from ‘that one.’ By that measure, you are closer to us than to humans.]
“…Who exactly is ‘that one’?”
Something felt off. Who could be called ‘that one,’ and gave me such power?
‘Power to communicate with gods, summon spirits…’
That wasn’t exactly human.
I quietly observed the Spirit King. It grinned.
[Cannot say. Forbidden to reveal.]
No… Then why say anything at all? Tempting my curiosity!
“So then, none of this can be explained to me?”
[Usually your mouth would be sealed and memories erased, but it seems ‘that one’ allowed this.]
“…Sealed?”
Sealed?
[Yes. Without my will, other words simply will not flow.]
Hearing that, I recalled how Agatha’s head hurt whenever she tried to read the High Priest’s texts, repeating the same complaint.
“Are the guardians forbidden from mentioning ‘that one’? Or is even approaching the subject impossible?”
[Oh, you’re clever. You noticed immediately, so I understand a little.]
“Understand what?”
[‘That one’ guided your soul here.]
“So that’s who—”
[Cannot say.]
“Sigh.”
Cannot speak, but piques curiosity.
I could almost grasp it, yet it remained invisible.
[I can only know that ‘that one’ exists. Your guardians weren’t even allowed to know that. Getting information from them will be difficult.]
“Then why… do you know?”
[Perhaps I received permission because I am bound to this mountain. ‘That one’ dislikes abuse of power—]
The king, who had been talking animatedly, suddenly stopped and smiled faintly.
[Nothing more I can say, now.]
Its words were cut off by some unknown force.
Who on earth is ‘that one’?
[Hehe. King, let’s play.]
[When to play? We need music.]
[Yes, yes.]
While I was pondering, nearby spirits seemed to sense the conversation had paused, and flew to restrain the Spirit King.
The Spirit King elegantly pushed them away and said firmly:
[Go play among yourselves. We are in conversation.]
[King, so strict.]
The spirits pouted, then suddenly pulled instruments from the air and flew to the center of the flowerbed.
Then they began playing. Instruments appeared from nowhere and played on their own, wine gushing forth like fountains.
“A festival… maybe?”
[Spirits love music and alcohol. They do this daily. Sometimes the music gets repetitive, though.]
I was surprised that spirits enjoyed drinking and music.
Though loud, the music was sweet and beautiful, making me feel at ease.
“It’s beautiful.”
[You have a deep appreciation for music, child.]
“Anyone would say it’s beautiful.”
[Well, there’s no one to share impressions with.]
The Spirit King smiled, seeming pleased.
We spent some time watching the spirits dance and fly to the music.
After a while, the Spirit King called me again.
[Anyway, child. You were able to summon us, so be grateful. Otherwise, you would have died.]
“Ah. Thank you.”
They had saved me, so I collected myself and bowed in thanks.
[When you return, leave this mountain. And take all humans with you if possible. Avoid an incident like yesterday.]
“Yesterday’s… incident? You mean the tunnel collapse?”
I asked, feeling uneasy.
