61. Reward
61. Reward
"...What kind of bullshit is that?"
[I... I don't know either.]
"Then what am I? No... what are the ancestors of Eustetia? Did they all hatch out of eggs?"
[How would I know that! But, well... Arisa just asked me to pass that along.]
She never married.
She would remain... a v-vir... virgin her whole life.
I had no idea what that was supposed to mean.
I... Eustetia is descended from Arisa.
Hair color, eye color, history.
Everything points to being descended from Arisa Eustetia. But if she never married, and never did anything like that...
"Did she get hit in the head too hard during the last battle? Did she lose her mind? Dementia...?"
[Th-there's no way... She seemed perfectly fine when I saw her...!]
It was true... there was no information anywhere about the first family head Arisa's partner.
Of course, there was no information about Arisa herself either.
But while Arisa's information felt deliberately erased, the information about Arisa's partner was so clean it might as well have never existed from the start.
What the hell happened over the past 400 years?
Kaloso's betrayal.
The Demon King's Seal.
Paulo and Luna's disappearance.
Reincarnation.
"...Hey. Sparkle. Is Reincarnation something that's normally possible?"
[There's no way it's possible...]
"Not even for the old lady?"
[O-old lady?! Not old lady, the World Tree!!]
Chomp! Sparkle bit my finger.
Whether it had no teeth or just weak strength, it was just soft and squishy.
"Yeah. That World Tree old lady can't do it either?"
[I don't know about that. But... she said that controlling a human life so arbitrarily like that... is 'forbidden.']
"...Forbidden."
And Arisa... did something forbidden like that?
No, it wasn't just Arisa.
Luna, Paulo, that bastard Kaloso, all of them... seem connected to my Reincarnation.
Did they make some kind of deal with the Demon King?
Or was it Yurphia?
The only beings capable of such a forbidden act—reincarnating a person who had already died once into a new human—were the Demon King and Yurphia.
In the first place, it was hard to even believe Yurphia actually existed.
Luna insisted she definitely existed, going on about how couldn't I tell just by seeing her miracles come true... but well. I couldn't bring myself to believe it.
Still, for now... if I assumed Yurphia existed and sorted things out, there were only two beings who could accomplish something so absurd.
Beings truly worthy of being called "gods."
Why would people like that bother with me?
For what purpose?
What did they get in return?
[Ro-Ronan... are you okay?]
"Yeah, what's there to not be okay about?"
[Your face looks scary... Ronan always... caused trouble whenever he made that face...]
"You really see me as some kind of delinquent brat."
[It's the truth.]
"You're dying to get back to the bosom of that World Tree you love so much, huh. How should I help you? Want me to snap your neck and send you off in one go?"
[I know you won't do it.]
Sparkle crossed its arms and whipped its head away, then glanced at me sideways and asked again.
[Then... why are you making such a sad face?]
"Sad face, my ass. It's just because everything's shitty."
[What is...?]
"The fact that they did something with me without me knowing is shitty. And... the fact that they’re keeping it completely hidden is shitty too, and the fact that some goddamn fairy-tale book calls me fucking Martial Artist Ronan is shitty too."
And, and.
The shittiest thing of all.
"The fact that I feel like I'm being jerked around by something is really... shitty."
[Hmm...]
Pit-pat. Sparkle slowly walked over on two feet, climbed up my body, and scurried up onto my shoulder. Then it started rubbing its soft body against my cheek.
"...What are you doing?"
[Comforting you.]
"It's pointless."
But I didn't push it away.
The soft texture was kind of nice, and the slight warmth was pretty nice too, so I just left it alone.
"...Still, I learned something important. That those bastards pulled some kind of trick with my Reincarnation."
And.
"That the World Tree old lady... knows something."
[I said she's not an old lady!]
Boop! Sparkle's little fist squished against my cheek.
"Is the old lady healthy right now?"
[Sigh... Yes. She's very healthy. After all, it's... an era of peace, you know. So she finished recovering early.]
"She'll meet me if I go, right?"
Even if she said she wouldn't, I was just going to barge in.
I saved that old lady's life how many times, and if she turned me away at the door...
I don't know. I'll destroy everything. For real.
That'll be the day all the spirits die.
[Actually, the World Tree said it herself. That she wants to meet Ronan. That she has a lot to say... she said.]
"Oh... yeah?"
[Yeah. That's why I came here like this. In case I ever ran into Ronan, to pass along the World Tree's words.]
"So, are you going back now?"
[Mm-hmm. I'll stay inside Pina's soul. But I can't always come out like this. Even now... I was only able to sneak out because you took care of those Demons.]
To Demons, spirits were no different from Elixirs to humans. In other words, they scoured the world for spirits.
So the fact that Sparkle had shown itself like this meant there were no Demon-related beings nearby.
"Why can't you come out?"
[Pina hasn't grown enough to hide spirits yet. But it won't be long! In about half a year, I'll probably be able to come out often, even if not always.]
Sparkle, which had been rubbing against my cheek, scurried up onto my head and peeked down, poking its head out to look at me.
[So, when are you going to visit the World Tree?]
"Not yet. I'm not ready."
The land of the spirits.
The place where we had transplanted the World Tree was in the north. You could only find it by crossing the land of polar night, even within the north.
And the north had high Mana density.
With a body as weak and soft as mine right now, I'd clearly collapse at the very edge of the snowfields.
So it'll be 3 years... no, at least 2 years before it's barely possible.
[When you go to the World Tree, you'll take me too, right?]
"I'll need you to find the way."
[Then Pina has to come too!]
"Why Pina?"
[Because Pina and I can't be separated!]
"So... you want me to drag that little runt across the north?"
[Yep. So please take good care of our Pina.]
"Why are you pushing your job onto me?"
Sparkle grinned.
[Because you're Ronan.]
"Right now I'm Eliarnes."
[Right. Eliarnes Eustetia. But it's also true that you were Ronan Luzarak, the human most trusted by all the spirits and the World Tree, right?]
"...You call it trust while treating me like an errand boy, my ass."
I carefully cupped Sparkle, who was on top of my head, with both hands. It was soft and squishy.
"Are you going back in now?"
[Unfortunately... I have to.]
The light surrounding Sparkle began to fade.
"Before you go in, let me ask one last thing."
[Hm?]
"...Hm."
I opened my lips, then closed them again.
Was it okay to ask?
Why was I even curious about this?
I don't know. I don't know, but... just, well, a little.
Right. My last words.
Because I left last words.
It must be that I want to confirm them.
Surely, that's what it is.
"...Arisa, was she, well... how was she? Her expression, or the mood... you know, that kind of thing."
For a moment, Sparkle's eyes widened.
Then it hesitated for a moment, and carefully opened its mouth.
[...She never smiled. Not even once.]
Then it shook its head and smiled bitterly.
[But... when she talked about you, Ronan, she smiled.]
I didn't answer.
I just nodded.
I don't even know what expression I was making.
Was I smiling? Frowning? Grinding my teeth? Twisting my face? Anger? Irritation? Emptiness? Confusion?
I don't know.
But Sparkle just looked at me and smiled painfully.
[I'll be going now. I won't be able to come out for a while. So... while I'm gone, please take good care of our Pina. Don't bully her too much!]
"I'm already great to her."
[Ahihih. Yeah. Okay. Then next time... Oh, right. Ronan. Be careful underground.]
"Underground?"
[Yeah... should I say underground? The sewers? Beneath the earth? I don't know exactly, but I sense a really unsettling presence there.]
If a spirit called something unsettling, there was only one thing it could be: a Demon.
But there was a Demon underground in the Imperial Capital?
[Even for you, Ronan, whatever's down there would be dangerous in your current state. So... don't get any weird ideas, and don't go anywhere near the underground!]
"...I got it for now."
[I'm not just saying this! Really, don't go! Promise me! I wasn't going to say anything originally, but just in case... just in case Ronan ended up in danger without knowing, that's why I'm telling you. So, absolutely! No matter what! Don't go underground!]
"I said I got it, so stop chattering and go in already."
[Hmph... I go to the trouble of telling you and you really—]
"What, you want me to—?"
[Eek... O-okay. I'll go in. Then, see you next time... Bye, Ronan.]
With those final words, Sparkle seeped into Pina's body.
And I sat there blankly for a while, watching the faint moonlight coming into the room.
I'd learned a lot.
And just as much, there was now a lot to think about.
But somehow.
My head was clear, and my heart wasn't heavy.
And a smile hung at the corner of my lips.
I don't know what made me smile.
But, well... the situation itself was just funny.
Giggling, I staggered over to the bed.
Then I shoved Stella, who was sleeping with drool running down her face, and Pina, who was curled up and sleeping soundly, into the corner.
I closed my eyes beside them too.
"Well... there's no way a chimpanzee got married. Heh..."
The pillow soaked with Stella's drool was a little damp.
But without even caring about that, I fell straight asleep.
*****
The morning that arrived was incredibly chaotic.
"Y-you!!! Hey!!!! Eliarnes!!! You're really too much! Tying me up and... huh? Wait, when did I even fall asleep? Where's Eurasia? Huh?! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay?"
Stella, who had been hugging me like a pillow in her sleep, screamed the moment she opened her eyes.
"Hic, hic... hic hic..."
Pina burst into tears and burrowed into my arms.
And as for me.
"...My head's ringing, so all of you shut up."
As the price for rapidly raising my Tier, roughly wielding Aura on top of that, and overusing my Past Life's combat techniques.
"And... call me a priest. I... can't move."
I was suffering from pain that felt like my whole body was about to shatter.
But that wasn't the end of it.
BANG—!
"ELI!!!ARNES!!!!"
Leona, who had completely smashed the dormitory door and barged into my room, forced my mouth open and poured Potions of horrific taste down my throat.
"Miss Eliarnes. Are you feeling all right?"
Adelia Baros, my homeroom professor who had given me a lot of information last night, came to visit.
"M-my lady! The Eustetia Knight Order is visiting the academy tonight...!"
Eurasia, who had rushed over without even washing, delivered the news I least wanted to hear.
"...Haah."
The Imperial Princess who had promised to quietly resolve things must have died last night. Fuck.