Chapter 335: A Tale from the Past
“Honestly, it wasn’t a significant encounter. I just picked up Emi—Emil by the lakeside and kept him with me for about five years,” she said.
What was that sound? Was Grandma’s name Emil?
“I’ve heard he was a child offered to the river god,” Ash remarked.
“Yes. Normally, he would have been swept downstream, but it seems the spirit of the fish living in the river found it amusing to bring him upstream,” she explained. Was it like salmon swimming upstream?
“Though he was favored by the spirits, he had no magic talent. But when it came to growing herbs, he was unparalleled, even if they were bitter enough to make you question their existence,” she continued.
Haulon’s brow furrowed slightly. Just how bitter were they!?
“He was able to enhance his physical abilities, so I taught him swordsmanship and martial arts, equipping him with skills to earn a living. Eventually, I sent him to a friend who was an apothecary. He had a talent for nurturing plants, but everything else was just average. Before I knew it, he had become romantically involved with a prince and set off on a journey to obtain the King’s Branch. And Note was just tagging along.”
“You know that to gain the Spirit’s Guidance leading to the King’s Branch, one must undergo the Spirit’s Trial, right? I helped out a little with that. —Hey, why are you looking away?”
“Nah, it’s nothing.” I was just asking Kadal, who was in the orchard.
“To gain the Spirit’s Guidance? What kind of tasks do they make you do?” Retze asked, and Haulon began to explain again.
“You need to earn the spirit’s trust and learn the path to the Spirit Tree. The tasks vary depending on the spirit. It could be fetching a drop from a retainer, defeating a magical beast to obtain a magic stone, or resolving the drought in the west—”
“Yeah, I was sent all over the place,” the Butler said nostalgically.
Knowing the contents of the King’s Branch trial means you can’t obtain the branch. I wonder if it’s also forbidden for those with experience to share detailed locations?
“By the way, Leora—Ash looks just like you. If he were a bit more delicate, they’d be identical,” she remarked.
“He had a charming and pure impression,” the Butler added with a hint of nostalgia.
Charming!? Sure, Ash looked cute when he was picking marshmallows, but charming? What about that scary face of his? No, I shouldn’t dig deeper into this topic; it might lead to a grave mistake.
“What about your meeting with Haulon and Shiva?” I asked, turning to Shiva.
“This—”
“From the country once, and twice from Note. I only met Haulon when he asked me to run errands,” Shiva interrupted, smiling sweetly.
I sensed something I shouldn’t pry into!
I’ve seen the scene of someone being taken down, and I’ve heard about coming to kill Dinoss, but what else could she be hiding? Is it something embarrassing?
“I thought you had softened compared to the past, but you seem even more intense inside…”
“Heh. For my husband and children, I can become as cruel and fierce as needed,” Shiva replied, picking up on Haulon’s murmured words.
“What about you, Jean? Since you got caught up in the hero summoning, you must have come from the same world as the heroes, right? Do you want to meet them?”
“Nope, not at all. I’d be happy if they all perished quickly,” I answered with a smile at Haulon’s question.
“Oh, unexpectedly harsh. But soon, the Changeling’s independence will begin, so make sure you don’t have regrets,” she warned.
“Independence, you say?” the Butler asked.
“Yes. The heroes are the ones most likely to seek the King’s Branch, so I was keeping an eye on them. But I got curious about the recent teleportation incident and checked again yesterday. The doll among the heroes has gained quite a bit of power—she must have been influenced by the spirits she absorbed, so she will likely turn on her master. Of course, she can’t harm her master without consent, but at this rate, it’s only a matter of time.”
She sighed, holding her teacup in front of her face with her fingertips.
“Was it something like wanting to eat your heart?” Retze asked.
“You know it well. Yes, the doll can’t maintain its form if its master dies, but if it eats the master’s heart, it can become free without disappearing. Normally, there are restrictions on consuming spirits… I took a quick peek, but it seems she even devoured the spirit used for her eyes, which is quite a problem.”
“Ugh.”
So, she would eat my face? And my doll seems to be continuously devouring spirits as usual.
“I have one question. If the doll ever meets the real thing, what would happen?”
“It would probably try to consume it,” Haulon answered briefly to Retze’s inquiry.
I secretly hoped for a mutual annihilation among the heroes.
“Since their faces and forms are different, it should be fine,” I said to Ash, who had stopped reaching for the marshmallows.
“Huh? Wait, could it be that…!? Hold on, it doesn’t even retain the essence of its original personality! What on earth made it turn out so fluffy!?”
“Environment. And what do you mean by fluffy!?”