Not Alone
What on earth was all this? So much had happened in a single day—no, in a single night.
The moment Spinel appeared, she grew and stunned everyone; the Death brothers turned out to be demons (they had even just concluded their deal); and now he was being told that the mission of restoring the collapsed Spirit Realm had fallen to him.
No, wait. How? By what means, exactly?
The responsibility of harmonizing the ravaged natural world as a Spirit User was already heavy enough to crush him—and now what was he supposed to do?
Why me? Why do these things keep happening to me, of all people?
Eli, Logan, Aidan, Quinn. Never in his life had his friends felt so desperately needed. If they'd been at his side, they would surely have had something to say. Unfortunately, no one was with him right now, and his head began to throb.
―Bayul...
It was then that Shame's low, gravelly voice reached him. Bayul lifted his head wearily toward where the spirit stood.
―You... are not alone.
"...What?"
―We are always... together with you.
"Ah... Shame."
He understood at once what Shame was trying to say. Right—why had he forgotten? His friends weren't here, but he had his spirits. Even if they didn't know everything, their mere presence was comfort enough to lean on.
A wave of guilt washed over him. Here the spirits had been at his side all along, and he'd been thinking of himself as alone—Shame had caught that flicker of weakness before he could hide it.
Shame had every right to be hurt by it, and yet he had chosen to comfort Bayul first. His heart ached with gratitude. Shame must have been just as confused by everything as Bayul was, though he never said a word. Unlike Innocent and Tempesta, who acted like spoiled children, Shame had stood quietly and steadfastly by his side from beginning to end.
"Thank you, Shame. And I'm sorry."
―It is nothing...
"I think everything just hit me all at once today. This is the first time a day has ever felt this long... Thank you for staying with me. Is it too late to say that I finally know I can lean on you?"
―I am fine with it...
―Me too! I'm fine too!
―What do you know about anything?
―I know plenty more than you do, Innocent!
―Tsk tsk. Yeah, right. Sure you do.
Leaving the two of them to their bickering, Bayul turned back to Spinel.
"Spinel, I more or less understand your story now. That I inherited the power of the Spirit Kings of old—I suppose I have to accept it."
―That is admirable, my King.
"But there's one thing I don't get. Why was this power passed down to me? Out of all the people in the world?"
―Even I do not know the answer to that. New fragments of memory have simply begun to appear among us.
"Like you said earlier, right? That you haven't found all the memory fragments."
―That is correct, my King. We will continue to grow. I believe that as we do, we may be able to uncover more of the fragments.
"Was it all planned out that way from the start?"
―By the Spirit Kings of old, you mean?
"Yeah. If we learned everything all at once, there could be side effects. That's the thought that just came to me."
Somewhere along the way, Bayul had calmed down. The sudden upheaval in his life had left him scrambling for a while, but talking with Spinel seemed to be sorting things out. Perhaps he simply hadn't yet grasped the true weight of it all.
"I'll have to find the memory fragments, then. I think that's the key to unraveling a lot of these questions."
―As you wish, my King.
Which meant the other spirits would have to grow as well. Once the fragments surfaced by all four spirits were gathered, something was bound to become clear.
―Bayul, when we grow up, will we change all of a sudden like Spinel did?
"Probably, yes."
―I can't wait for that day! Honestly, I'm not that fond of how I look right now.
"Really? I think you're cute. I like it."
―Look at Spinel. She got all grown-up and mature.
She was, at most, a girl in her mid-teens in appearance—but to Innocent, still trapped in a child's form, it was clearly enviable. The little spirit pouted her lips in complaint.
―And she acts like she's the biggest one now, like she's the boss of everything. Anyway, I don't like it.
She clearly hadn't forgotten—or forgiven—Spinel telling her to shut up when Death had appeared.
The current Spinel used formal speech and addressed Bayul as her king. Her whole bearing had become impeccably polite and deferential.
But that reverence was confined to Bayul alone, just as it had been when she was a Lower Spirit. She had gained a little maturity(?), but when dealing with others, her true nature still slipped out now and then. Going by that, growing in power apparently didn't mean growing out of your personality.
"Spinel isn't trying to boss anyone around. She just recovered her memories first, so she's only trying to tell me about them. So I'd like you not to misunderstand her, Innocent, Tempesta."
―Thank you, my King.
"And about that way of addressing me... can we stop with that?"
―I beg your pardon?
"You're the ones growing, not me. In the end, it'll be you who become the Spirit Kings. Having you keep calling me king just feels strange."
―Whoa! We're going to become Spirit Kings?
―Really? Bayul, is that true?
What have you two been listening to all this time?
Barely restraining the urge to retort, Bayul answered.
"The mission the Spirit Kings of old gave me was to restore the collapsed Spirit Realm. At first I had no idea what that meant—but then I got a hint from the fact that you're all going to grow."
―A hint?
―What hint?
"If the Spirit Realm is to live again, it will need Spirit Kings. I told you, didn't I? In the beginning, the first spirits were born, and they created the High Spirits, and those in turn created the Intermediate ones, and then the Lower Spirits came to be—that's how the Spirit Realm was made."
"And?"
"Right now, for some reason, that flow is running in reverse. I don't know why it's me—but through me, you're going from Lower to Intermediate, Intermediate to High, and then to Spirit King."
―Spirit King?
―Whoa! Amazing! If I become Spirit King, what should I do? What do I do first, huh?
"It's only a guess for now, but given the circumstances, that's how it seems to me. What do you think, Spinel?"
―If that is what my King believes, then so it shall be.
"Ah, there you go with the 'king' again. I told you, I'm not a king."
―I... but...
"I'm just Bayul. A human, same as anyone—different from you, but human all the same. How could a human ever be the king of the spirits? Right?"
Besides, if anything, they were the ones destined to become Spirit Kings. The title was absurd, no matter how you looked at it.
"Just call me Bayul, like you always did. I'm more comfortable that way."
―But my King bears the power of the Spirit Kings of old. It is that power we follow, and so we believe it is only proper to show you reverence.
"I'm telling you, it makes me uncomfortable. Earlier I was too stunned to say anything, but every time Spinel goes 'my King,' I break out in a cold sweat from sheer embarrassment."
―Same here! Every time she does it, I have to stifle my giggles.
―So it wasn't just me? Hee hee.
"You heard that, Spinel?"
―......
"As long as you haven't lost your memories from when you were a Lower Spirit, Spinel, you'll be able to treat me casually again soon enough. I'd like us to stay that way."
As long as she can keep it under control, that is.
He didn't bother adding that last part aloud, because Spinel was already doing exactly that.
―Yes, my King... no, Bayul. I shall do as you ask.
"You can drop the honorifics too."
―...Yes.
"Thank you for understanding, Spinel. Let's get along well from now on."
―My King... no, Bayul n—no... I... very well.
It was a strangely awkward sight: Spinel, who had seemed nothing but composed and clever since becoming an Intermediate Spirit, stammering like that. Maybe that was why Innocent and Tempesta burst out laughing so hard they could barely breathe.
Bayul was intensely curious—and more than a little worried—about just how those two would change when they evolved as well.
"Shall we wrap things up for tonight and get some sleep?"
He hadn't said it outright, but Bayul was thoroughly exhausted by now. He had run all the way to the mine without rest, and even after rescuing the miners, one thing after another had piled up.
Once something was finally resolved, all the tension drained out of him and his whole body went heavy. Compared to the frail weakling he'd once been, Bayul was healthy enough now to take pride in his stamina—but tonight, sleep was all he wanted.
"There's nothing else you need to tell me, is there?"
―No, Bayul. Nothing.
"Hm. Quick learner."
Bayul was just settling into his bed, satisfied with Spinel's answer—
―Oh, wait! I have something to report!
Tempesta came swooping over to his bed.
―Bayul, something happened earlier! That guy who claimed to be your cousin...
Morning broke over the ice mine. Perhaps because of everything that had happened the day before, Bayul had collapsed like the dead and slept straight through. Tempesta had troubled his heart with his report just before he drifted off, but the sandman won out over it all. Bayul fell asleep immediately, and the deep slumber went a long way toward melting the fatigue away.
"The meal is quite modest, young master. We did our best with what little we had, but I fear it may not suit your palate."
By special arrangement, everyone had gathered in the dining hall to eat breakfast together. The laborers had already finished their meal and been dispatched to repair the mine, so today's table held only Bayul, Ian, Derrick, and Father Juan.
"To think this is all they could serve—the mine truly has nothing to eat. And I'm sorry, Father Juan, that we've made you suffer through it."
Derrick apologized on Belgovsky's behalf.
"Not at all. I'm content as long as it fills my belly. After the chaos of last night, this is more than fine. Wouldn't you agree, Sir Ian?"
"On the battlefield, a spread like this would pass for a royal feast. It looks delicious to me."
Without the least hesitation, Ian picked up his spoon and fork and began to eat.
"It's perfectly fine for me too. You even managed to prepare a meal in the middle of all that chaos—thank you for your hard work, Mr. Belgovsky."
"Oh no, not at all, Young Master Bayul! It's only what I ought to do!"
"Have you eaten yet?"
"Yes, I ate with the laborers earlier."
"Then, if it's no imposition, might I hear your report while I eat?"
Belgovsky shot Derrick yet another furtive glance. At that silent what should I do?, Derrick knit his brows and gave a small motion of his eyes that seemed to say, just do as you were told.
After a brief hesitation, Belgovsky appeared to steel himself—and suddenly threw himself prostrate on the floor, weeping loudly.
"P-please kill me, Young Master Bayul! It is all my fault!"
"...What are you saying?"
"I—I was so eager to help the Lord that I overreached. I should have given the laborers proper rest, but in my greed to raise the extraction quota, I pressed them into work before dawn, and that is what brought about this disaster. P-please, forgive me!"
"...So you're telling me this happened purely on your own orders, Mr. Belgovsky?"
"Yes, yes, Young Master Bayul! As you know, the ice mine is Hamilton's main source of revenue, is it not? I heard the city badly needs money because of the floods. And so, hoping to be of even the smallest help to the Lord... *sob*..."
He was acting far better than expected—but unfortunately for Belgovsky, Bayul had Tempesta. Having heard everything from the little wind spirit the night before, the sight of the man weeping and groveling stirred nothing in Bayul but fury.
"Hm. That's a very different story from the one I've heard."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Because what I heard is that all of it was done on your orders, Derrick. Am I wrong?"