Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Blind Whirlwind
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Blind Whirlwind
To a spirit, pure energy is like the warm sunlight shining on plants.
Then what would the opposite be like?
"Hic... Hic... Hic..."
Sobs utterly out of place in the stench-filled sewer echoed through the space.
There, a single spirit was gazing at its transformed form in a mirror.
"Uweeeek-!"
It was just as expected.
When it had resolved to foist its existence onto the black mages, it knew without a doubt that it would undergo a horrific ordeal.
Their energy alone was enough to induce nausea with the slightest brush.
So what would happen if it took that energy into its body?
It would naturally be unbearably repulsive.
"It hurts, it hurts!!!"
But she hadn't imagined it would be this agonizing.
And for good reason.
Spirits had no concept of physical pain.
So what was this pain?
What was she, exactly?
She was definitely a spirit, so why could she feel pain so vividly?
-You're different from us.
The voices of her kin rang out.
Their words were true.
She was different from them.
This sharp disgust and pain were proof.
"You're right..."
Tears trickled down.
From an eye that had once held the fresh green of a breezy field, now faded.
From the physically ruined other eye, blood and pus mingled and flowed.
Even with her mouth closed, her teeth were grotesquely exposed.
Her skin was sloughing off like mud after rain.
The reflection in the mirror was hideous beyond words.
"I'm different from you all..."
She let out a sobbing laugh as she stared at it.
She felt strangely unburdened.
At least she wouldn't fall into the delusion and torment as before.
Everything was clear now.
"I'm a mutant..."
"Lady Rapita, a message from Dravon."
"What'd he say?"
"They searched everywhere a spirit might be, but found nothing."
"What about Gadena?"
"Same there—no trace of Perrin."
"...So what now?"
"Head back to the Great Forest for now. We'll need the family's help for a full-scale search."
"..."
The spoiled young lady's wish went unfulfilled.
No matter that she ruled the Great Forest as a great noble—even overturning a distant human city on a whim wasn't easy.
Especially not for a reason like 'lost the spirit the lady cherishes.'
In the end, the spoiled lady and the spirit reunited only after a long time had passed.
In a form far worse than her wildest anxieties.
"..."
The proud, aloof blue wolf pup was no more.
What remained was patched together with countless foreign substitutes—like a molten amalgam of beasts poured into a single mold.
-Uwaaaaaah!!!
A horrific noise fitting the stench-filled sewer filled the space.
From the holes that had once been eyes and mouth, blood and pus drooled like saliva.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..."
The spoiled young lady often threw tantrums when things didn't go her way.
This time was no different.
She refused to accept that thing was the spirit she loved.
Refused to accept that she had failed to protect her.
The moment before a storm is deathly still.
In the sewer where all noise had been swallowed by an emerald glow, the spoiled lady's voice whispered low.
"Sylph... This is my final request... Destroy that thing... Along with the humans of this wretched city..."
The elf slashed her wrist.
Squelch. Squelch. She painted the emerald with dark crimson blood.
A whirlwind engulfed the city.
"Hiiing..."
This was the sight before Rapita's eyes as she regained her senses.
That proud wolf spirit, heedless of whether she had collapsed in shock or not, was nestled snugly in a human's arms, basking in bliss.
"...Perrin."
Rapita called her name in a petulant tone.
Instead of replying, Perrin nuzzled deeper into Rishir's chest.
As if Rapita's voice were an unwelcome interruption.
"..."
The spoiled young lady often threw tantrums when things didn't go her way.
But this time, it seemed her sulking wouldn't be indulged.
A lightless emerald entered her view.
"What's this..."
The spoiled young lady let out a half-whining sob.
For a brief moment, she fretted over her inability to throw a fit.
Then she looked at Perrin once more.
A thought crossed her mind.
If that child had always been by my side, would she have shown me such a face of pure happiness someday?
No. That day probably never would have come.
She had never expected such a side from her in the first place.
She hadn't known.
That she had hidden this spoiled, clingy facet.
The aloof, lonely wolf she knew.
The clingy girl before her now.
Which was her true self?
"..."
Cruelly, the answer came swiftly.
Cruelly, it harbored yet another truth.
'Did I... really like Perrin...?'
She could swear her feelings had been genuine.
But if asked whether her way of showing them was right, she no longer had the confidence to affirm it.
She hadn't known Perrin was such a clingy one.
-Fuck! That feels so good! I've always wanted to say this to you lot. No matter how much I barked or bit, you never got it! I fucking hate you elves!
She hadn't fathomed Perrin's true feelings at all.
If not for this man named Rishir, even knowing the truth, she would have stubbornly denied it.
Why?
Because what she loved was the 'proud, lonely Perrin.'
She loved her unique aura.
Her striking beauty.
But she had never tried to understand Perrin's feelings.
Never considered her thoughts, never listened to her voice.
'I see.'
Rapita realized anew.
That all this time, she had only cared about her own thoughts and emotions.
Never once considered the other person's feelings or perspective.
Perrin's happy expression, once gratingly ironic, now looked different.
"Hey, human. I get that you didn't scheme anything. But how about easing up? Can't you see how the lady feels—"
"Gondola."
"Yes, Lady! I was just about to—"
"It's fine."
"Pardon?"
"I'm fine, so leave those two alone."
"...Lady?"
The ever-devoted bodyguard knight stared at her in shock—he who had always indulged her tantrums.
She rose with his support and addressed Rishir.
"You. Did I ever tell you this?"
Rishir braced himself.
Wondering what rant this lady would unleash now.
"Thank you."
"Pardon?"
"I heard you saved Perrin from those shady humans. Without you, she might've been in real trouble. So thank you for that. And—"
Rapita glanced at Perrin.
Perrin was still glued to Rishir, utterly ignoring Rapita.
A bittersweet, relieved smile crossed Rapita's face.
"Thank you for listening to Perrin's voice. Without you, I would've found her and tormented her more."
"..."
Perrin's ears perked toward Rapita, then her head followed.
Her gaze was still wary, but now tinged with curiosity absent before.
Rapita smiled, moved.
This was it. This was how it should've been all along.
"Sorry, Perrin. I'm so sorry for everything. Truly."
Sob. Sob.
The spoiled young lady finally burst into tears.
Her overzealous bodyguard watched silently from the side.
For the spoiled lady crying before others looked more mature than ever.
"I didn't know you were hurting that much. No... I never even tried to know. And yet I acted like I knew everything about you. I made you suffer like that. I'm sorry. So sorry. Will you accept my apology...?"
"..."
Perrin turned her head away from Rapita.
Looking at her brought back the elves who made her, the kin who shunned her.
Accepting the apology felt like forgiving them all.
How could she?
"Ah..."
It was then.
A pure bliss that erased even resentment softly caressed Perrin.
Perrin looked up at the human holding her.
Rishir was gently stroking her head, gazing with kind eyes.
Perrin didn't know what it meant.
What thoughts drove him to accept and embrace her.
Suddenly, she thought it didn't matter.
That inexplicable warmth and kindness stirred a whim in her.
Whatever.
Perrin muttered lowly and flatly.
Rapita didn't miss it.
"Thank you..."
A smile spread across her tear-streaked face.
"Lady. Are you really sure? We don't need to take Perrin—"
"...Perrin isn't some possession of mine. I should've respected her life sooner than this..."
"Lady...!"
If anyone was most moved by this ordeal, it was the overzealous bodyguard knight.
His eyes, drinking in the spoiled lady's growth, looked ready to spill tears at a touch.
"Dravon. Return the item I entrusted to you?"
Rapita and the listening Dravon both chuckled unwittingly.
The 'Blue Mantle,' an elven treasure that purified the wearer's energy—a blue cloak.
Memories surfaced of their solemn exchange before the commission, underscoring its gravity.
Dravon promptly returned the Blue Mantle to Rapita.
Rapita handed it straight to Rishir.
"Hm?"
"It's one of our elven treasures, the Blue Mantle. It has the amazing power to purify the wearer's energy."
Rishir eyed the cloak curiously, then glanced down at himself.
Rapita, grasping the implication all too well, sighed. "Hoo..."
"Right. It might mean nothing to you. But take it anyway."
"Pardon? You're giving it to me? An elven treasure?"
"It's mine to do with as I please. Got a problem?"
Then Gondola whispered urgently in her ear.
"...Ahem. Changed my mind. Forget what I just said."
Rapita cleared her throat awkwardly and pocketed the Blue Mantle.
Instead, she pulled a pouch from her bosom and whispered to Gondola.
-This okay to give?
-The commission was to Dravon first, so shouldn't we discuss with him?
-Why? He did nothing this time.
-It's procedure per the contract...
Moments later, Rapita eyed Dravon sullenly.
"Dravon. I want to reward Rishir for this commission, but Gondola says I need your permission."
"Ha. No need. I did nothing this time. Consider the commission canceled."
See? What'd I tell you?
Rapita shot Gondola a triumphant glare.
"..."
Gondola closed his eyes and nodded.
Yeah, that's more like it.
The spoiled young lady still had a long way to go.
"So, Rishir. Take this. And let me be clear—it's not for you. It's for Perrin."
"Pardon? Isn't it for saving her?"
"...I'm just saying! Don't use it all on yourself—save some for Perrin! Get it!?"
"Ah, of course."
"What? Why are you laughing!"
"Lady. Time to go."
"No, why are you laughing! Th-Think it's funny 'cause I yielded!? Just you wait!!! I'll never forget this humiliation!!!"
The spoiled young lady felt her face flush for some reason and fled the scene.
"..."
The hulking bodyguard then bowed deeply to Rishir before following her.
"Well then—"
As the incident wrapped up, Dravon spoke up as if he'd been waiting.
"Rishir. According to Kella, you're interested in our guild?"
The top-tier adventurer, who had kept his cool even against an elven princess, now showed rare impatience.
The next morning.
On the weekend, Fienne and Rona finally met Rishir again for breakfast.
"Alright then. Shall we each report our achievements from this short time?"
Fienne puffed up the moment she sat and opened with that.
Rishir's tale began—
"Wait, hold on!"
Before long, Fienne's initial bravado vanished as she urgently cut him off.
His story sparked countless questions.
"What did the Dragon Guild Master say to you—... No, that's not it."
But the one burning foremost was this.
"You right now..."
The true ancestor's face went ghostly pale, as if beholding a specter.
Just days ago, as a 5th Circle mage, Fienne had looked down on Rishir.
She could instantly gauge his mana from the overwhelming gap.
But now.
It was hazy.
Even focusing all her senses on Rishir, she couldn't precisely measure his mana.