Chapter 215: Conversation with the King
“I didn’t wish for Demon Beasts or Black Spirits to appear, you know.”
“Even if you don’t voice your wishes, everyone harbors thoughts deep within their hearts. It’s impossible to believe there would be no influence.”
That’s because my time living in this world has been short. I haven’t faced any dangerous encounters with Demon Beasts or Black Spirits, nor have any of my close companions. Perhaps I still don’t truly understand the terror of either.
—I’m the only outsider here.
“Demon Beasts aren’t showing up, huh?” I change the subject.
“This is the effect of the King’s Branch,” Karn replies.
“I thought there might be Demon Beasts near the King’s Branch.”
“There are, as guards protecting the King’s Branch.”
The sound of Karn’s metal armor clinks beside me. The Spirit lights that lined the corridor continue to illuminate the darkness. The guiding Spirit walks barefoot on the cobblestone, but I can’t tell if it’s really touching the ground. It didn’t leave any footprints in the desert, after all.
“The King’s Branch has long lost the ability to distinguish between various entities. Right now, it’s being suppressed by Karn, so there aren’t any significant changes around, but the black cracks on the King’s Branch are gradually increasing.”
The guiding Spirit quietly explains.
“This is where the Demon Beasts will emerge.”
As we step out of the corridor, we enter a vast space.
The upper part is dark, blending into the shadows. Massive pillars, thicker than those in my renovated tower, stand in regular intervals, disappearing into the darkness above.
“When I enter the room where the King’s Branch is kept, the Spirits will temporarily transfer to the main body. If I’m not there to suppress it, the Demon Beasts will become active. Destroy it before that happens.”
Karn draws his Great Sword, preparing for battle.
“Can’t I just go in and destroy it myself?” Why go through the trouble of returning it to the main body?
“At least let me see my beloved woman one last time.”
Karn grins fiercely as he slashes down a black creature that attacked us.
Is he in love with a Spirit? Is that even possible? I think Mishto and Haralfa are beautiful, but they lack a certain liveliness or physicality that makes me consider that direction.
“—You take the King’s Branch out, and the people say nothing?”
As I stare in surprise, Karn changes the topic again.
He just slaughtered a Demon Beast, but it seems he views it as nothing more than swatting a mosquito, his tone unchanged.
“I don’t have a people or a nation, so I’m fine.”
“…You should be the king, considering you were able to enter here.”
Even if he says I should be…
“Master is his own king!”
Well said, Ex-Staff!
“Why are there no people? Did they perish during your journey?”
“Journey?”
“The journey to obtain the King’s Branch. It’s only natural for your traveling companions to become your first subjects, right? Or did you hire them all?”
First of all, can I really call my routine of returning home for breaks and nights a journey?
Normally, even if you hired someone, you’d expect some friendship or solidarity to develop, or perhaps the opposite feelings to arise from the hardships. I feel a bit guilty, but I’d rather not compare it to the survival on the island.
“You came alone and wished for me alone!”
Don’t say it like I’m a loner, Ex-Staff!
“All alone… Right, you came here alone too.”
“I’ll have you know, I have friends!”
I assert my point.
I haven’t confirmed it, but they’re my friends. If someone says otherwise, I might cry.
While we talk, Karn is efficiently taking down the Demon Beasts. Rather than saying he’s efficient, it’s more accurate to say he’s dispatching them carelessly. He doesn’t seem cautious at all, yet his attacks are minimal and precise. He’s on a different level than me.
“The King’s Branch is influenced first by the one who wished for the branch, and next by the companions who faced the trials to obtain it. Creating the King’s Branch isn’t just about voicing your wishes and swearing oaths. There’s a discrepancy there.”
Ah, I remember that declaration about creating it haphazardly through actions. Ex-Staff mentioned that the actions during the trials reflect the state of the nation.
“And the sworn ideals must be upheld first by the king, then by the people. As generations pass, discrepancies will arise again. —Thanks to that, we’re in this state. We’re barely holding on because we’ve kept the oaths spoken aloud.”
Karn chuckles wryly, suggesting that even without interference from other nations, this would have eventually happened.
According to Ex-Staff, the evaluation of the nation in relation to the trials was “Strong and perfectly prepared! Plus, it’s somehow comfortable!” Could it be that if these three aren’t upheld, Ex-Staff will suffer?
But he also mentioned that the staff is his reason for existence, so it’s likely that my persistent wish takes precedence. I should ask him about it later.
“If you gather Spirits and then neglect them, when the Spirits that left return, it’ll be terrible.”
The Spirits that left… When the Black Spirits, robbed of their power and wounded, return after the effect of the King’s Branch fades, they’ll wreak havoc. It feels like poetic justice.
—No, considering the lifespan of Spirits, a century’s worth of accumulated resentment could come crashing down all at once. That sounds pretty harsh.
High above the massive pillars, lights shine far above my head, and the diffused light reaching the floor casts large shadows of us. In this vast space filled with towering pillars, we eventually arrive at a single door.
The pale blue stone door is adorned with wooden reliefs; this must be the goal.
“Just so you know, what I wished for was about four centimeters in diameter and just over three meters in length.”
It’s better to come clean early to minimize the damage, I hope.
“We’ll extend the branches, so the length doesn’t count, Master!”
“Oh? I thought the extension was a service based on my wish, but it was already part of it?”
Now that I think about it, they do extend the branches to give me the Spirit’s Branch, right?
“Hey…”
Karn stops and gives me a half-lidded stare.
Is it okay for someone who didn’t wish for a nation to bear the responsibility of destroying the branch?