The Spirit's Name (1)

Vulkan Vulcanus.

A meritorious vassal of the Empire who had distinguished himself in the war against the demonkin twenty years ago, and who had since, as Western Margrave, held the line against monsters and remnant demonkin.

And, more than that—

The father of the protagonist, Rania Vulcanus.

The world believed he had gone into seclusion to train. In truth, however…

"He'd just die if we left him alone, wouldn't he?"

Like Ian, he was in the middle of dying from the Holy Blood of the Evil God.

Yeonhwa let out a sigh.

"I figured Number 1 would be like that, but apparently the divinity felt in the west has dropped off a cliff recently."

Number 1 was the head of the cult. The divinity he sensed would surely be that of the Mother of the Apocalypse.

Which meant—

"Don't tell me…?"

"That's right. That guardian of the Empire apparently overcame Mother's Holy Blood all by himself."

It was absurd. In the original Protect the Academy!, the Holy Blood of the Evil God was graded SSS-rank, the same as Vivian. Even Ian, who had once been king of the underworld, had been at death's door from ingesting only a minuscule amount.

The only way to break the curse is for someone of equal divinity to perform a purification ritual.

The only person who met that condition was the former Saintess, Ariel—but she had vanished from the Marcia Empire with the end of the war twenty years ago.

"Are you sure Number 1 didn't just misread it?"

"Opp— I mean, Number 2. Do you have any idea what kind of person ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Number 1 is?"

"…Fair point."

Just as the Goddess had her Saintess and her Hero, Number 1 was that kind of existence to the Evil God.

And Number 1 is alone, at that.

He had monopolized every authority the Evil God had bestowed. When it came to detecting objects related to the Evil God, there was simply no chance of him being wrong.

…I'll have to warn Ian, too.

Even if it had only been a small amount, Number 1 might have noticed.

Should I just tell him to play dead?

Well, whatever. That was a problem for later. I asked again, just to be sure.

"Ariel hasn't shown up again, has she?"

"That I would know. She hasn't."

"Then it really is…"

Hard as it was to believe, Vulkan seemed to have overcome the Holy Blood of the Evil God through his own power.

That's one weight off my chest.

A time limit had suddenly appeared, making it far too tight to go hunting for the Tears of Ariel. But if what Yeonhwa said was true—

"…Then I just need to protect Vulkan."

Yeonhwa snorted.

"Hey, Number 2. I'm still not on your side, you know? You sure you should be saying that in front of me?"

I snorted right back.

"Because it's you, Yeonhwa."

And if you keep hanging around there, you're going to either die or go insane, you idiot.

"…R-right. Y-yeah. Whatever."

For some reason, color rose in Yeonhwa's cheeks. Clutching her scythe, she fumbled a moment, then turned her head and started walking away.

"A-anyway, I'll be going."

"Yeah. Take care of yourself."

"Hmph. You take care of yourself, Number 2. Number 6 seems to have mixed a new poison recently."

"Yeah. Thanks, Yeonhwa."

"Ugh… How many times are you going to say my name?"

The next instant—

"Anyway. Wait for me."

—Yeonhwa's form vanished in a blink.

"Hoo…"

I stayed on my feet a while longer, just in case. Once ten minutes had passed, I sat down.

I made it.

I was still patting my chest in relief when Dark appeared.

"Eugene. It seems you, too, carry a sorrowful tale."

"Well, yeah. There's a very sad legend between Yeonhwa and me."

"May I ask what it is?"

"I don't believe in legends."

"…You lunatic."

You'd think he'd be used to the sound of my voice by now, but Dark's reactions were still delicious.

"Anyway. We should get moving too."

"That is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your prerogative, Eugene, but I would prefer you explain a few things before we go."

"Ah."

Leaving out the fact that I had possessed this body, I told him everything that had happened. The destruction of the scarecrow. Surviving Vivian. The matter of my constitution—

"Hoh. So there was nothing inside your body at all."

"Don't interrupt."

"…I am listening."

After that, the bet with Eldora. Yuria and the underworld. And even Yeonhwa and the cult.

"Th-then."

Having heard it all, Dark looked at me as if he could not believe a word of it.

"…Then Yuria really is…?"

The dense black mist rippled so visibly it seemed to speak for everything he felt.

"Oh. Speak of the devil."

"Hm?"

"Yuria. She's coming."

I pointed. From the mouth of the underworld, catching the light as she ran, Yuria was flying toward us.

"Ah…"

At the same moment, Dark's expression crumpled.

"Yu-Yuria…! Don't run…!!"

"Okay, Grandfa— Huh!? Eu-Eugene!!"

"Did you not just say you understood?!"

I wondered what that would feel like.

"Eugene!! They said they're done cleaning up!!"

When someone you had loved, someone you had sent off with nothing but regret, came back to a time when they were still alive and breathing.

And—

"Puhaha!!"

—when someone who had surely died a lonely death, bearing every sorrow in the world on their back…

"Eugene! Why do you look so scruffy?!"

…showed up again, laughing that brightly.

"…Aaaah!!"

What on earth would that feel like?

"I wouldn't know, but it probably wouldn't be bad."

"Huh?"

No. It would definitely be happiness.

"What did you just say?"

"That you did well."

"Aww, you should've said that louder!!"

For some reason Yuria was bubbling over, and Dark was sobbing at her side.

"Yuria… Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness."

As an aside: in the original work, the Spirit King of Evil who lost Yuria vanished without a trace. The original put it like this—afterward, countless spirit mages tried to form a contract with the Spirit King of Evil, but not a single person succeeded besides the villainess Yuria. Only Isabel Narcisse, a candidate for the next Saintess, uniquely heard his voice, and even she left behind nothing but a single line:

"Why does he only keep crying…"

That was the extent of it. And even that was not really about the Spirit King of Evil. Most of it was the story of Isabel Narcisse, the girl who would become Rania's companion.

So I was truly glad.

"Oh! Eugene, did you hear?! They said the Rank Assessment Exam is going to be done in teams?! And, and you know what! You're a knight and I'm a mage, right!? Sure, you've gotten weaker, but I figure I can pay you back for everything you gave me this time, so I'll be on your team—"

"Yuria."

"Yeah? What? What what?"

"I think my ears are about to bleed."

"Hwaah! Sorry! I got way too excited!!"

The Yuria of now would never meet that kind of end.

No. I would make sure she never would.

I soothed the excited Yuria, then mouthed words only Dark could see.

"I kept my promise."

"…Thank you."

Dark cried for a long time. I pretended not to notice and turned my head.

"Eugene? What are you doing?"

"Tears gathered make Mount Tai."

I opened the canteen I was carrying and started catching Dark's tears as they scattered into the air.

Do you have any idea how precious this item is?

Unlike human tears, they dispersed into empty space, so I hopped around after them like a frog that had lost its mind.

"Huh? Grandpa, what's he doing?"

"…Even the Goddess wouldn't know what's going on inside that one's head."

Yuria and Ian's bewilderment was enough to make Dark stop crying.

"…You lunatic."

"You can keep crying if you want."

"I'm done. Thanks to you, I'm not even sad anymore."

Dark let out a hearty laugh, then came closer and asked, carefully:

"Eugene. I know it is shameless of me, but could you grant me one more favor?"

"Sure. Whatever it is, let's get it over with."

"…Lend me your body for a moment."

Ah. Why hadn't I thought of that?

"Here."

"Are you certain? Even if it is only for a moment, it may place a great strain upon you."

"I'm busy. Hurry up."

"…Very well. Thank you."

I still had plenty of Tyraenol left. Once I grasped Dark's intent, I lent him my body without another word.

Oh. I didn't know it had an effect like that.

Oh, fuck. Why the hell does it have an effect like that?

"Hey! Dark of Darkne—"

I wanted to snatch my body back that instant. But then—

"Yuria. My fair companion."

"C-companion."

"I'm so glad you look this happy."

—I saw Dark's face, on the verge of tears, and I couldn't do it.

Right. What's the point of having friends otherwise.

This was exactly when you risked your life to help.

Alright, then. From here on—

"…How good you've been. Truly, how good."

"E-Eu-Eugene?"

—this was time for just the two of them.

The first thing the Spirit King of Evil did was rest a hand on Yuria's head.

"…You can't even stroke it, can you?"

"…I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠know I was just being fussy."

It was a small wish she had once asked for as a birthday present—a wish he had never been able to grant.

Next were her hands.

If only he could have held these small hands sooner, he would not have lost her so meaninglessly.

"Come here."

"Why…?"

"Come now."

"O-okay, for now."

"That's it. Good girl."

Last was her forehead.

Tap.

He drew Yuria in, pressed his forehead to hers, and looked, without a word, into those golden eyes.

Vividly, the wish that had poured out of her so fiercely in the moment before her death came rushing back.

The child who, even then, refused to give up the one thing that was hers—refused to give up Caesar. The child who, if she could be happy that way, wished that her self in that world would know nothing at all.

Even if that something—

"…is me."

Caesar, the villainess Yuria's only friend, pressed a kiss to her forehead.

And with that, Caesar finished his farewell. It had been a scant sixty seconds, nothing more, but—

"…Thank you. Truly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thank you. Eugene…"

"Yeah. Cry as much as you need, then go."

"…Thank you so much…"

"Cry quietly, you idiot."

It seemed it had been enough.

.

.

.

While Dark was crying, I checked the system windows that had appeared before my eyes.

This bastard sure squeezed every last drop out of it. Well, he was a Spirit King. He would have used it with precise calculation.

More importantly, what's this?

I checked the next window.

The body was changing? I was waiting to see how, exactly, when—

"Huh? Something feels a little pai—"

Fuck, HEL——!!

Mmph.