Chapter 399: Kokuzan-chan
The pitch-black trunk stretches straight up into the sky, with branches extending above to cast shadows. The trunk isn’t particularly thick, but the trees are tall.
A beautiful straight line, a deep black color. As I move, I’m reminded of a mechanism where moving a black lattice makes the picture appear to shift. It feels like something unknown is peeking at me through the gaps in the distant trees.
Just as I think that, I realize Kokuzan-kun is mingling among the surrounding Spirits.
So, what should I do?
I feel like it’d be better to ask Kokuzan-kun directly rather than Uncle Oiwa—wait, it’s not “kun,” it’s “chan”? Ah, right.
“Well now… first, there are few who can enter this Forest,”
Kokuzan-chan dislikes both the Black Ones and the humans who give birth to them.
But you’re black too, right? I know there’s a difference, but I can’t help but interject. Wait, if you hate humans, then why was I named?
Uncle Oiwa sways gently, speaking in a leisurely, drawn-out voice. He’s a Spirit that can’t stray far from his main body, which is the massive boulder right in front of me. It’s a strange feeling to see such a large rock swaying.
Kokuzan-chan takes on a form reminiscent of a kunai, with the pointed end facing down and what looks like wings sprouting from it. There’s a black light in the center of a hole that seems meant for threading a finger or a string.
“Somehow, I can’t enter the Forest,”
Kokuzan-chan says that those who step into her domain find themselves in the space between the Spirit Realm and the Material Realm. Kokuzan-chan can freely move up to the tops of the trees that grow from her.
So, does that mean the entire Kokuzan is similar to a mysterious space called the Fairy Path or Spirit Path?
“There’s also Mist outside the Forest,”
The Mist is Kokuzan-chan’s Retainer. It connects the entrances.
Every time Uncle Oiwa speaks, Kokuzan-chan spills the beans…
“Those who aren’t liked by this mountain will never reach it,”
They wander in a world different from Kokuzan-chan’s.
I think Haulon called it “Awa’i.” It’s close to the Spirit Realm, but if conditions are met, humans and animals from the Material Realm can enter. The Spirit Path is similar, but I have a feeling the space created by Kokuzan doesn’t have an exit.
“If it gets too bothersome, you’ll be chased away,”
Beneath Kokuzan-chan, there’s a twist between the Spirit Realm and the Material Realm. You’d be tossed into that.
Wait, does that mean those who get tossed might end up in a Labyrinth? I’ve heard that the Demon Beasts and animals in the Labyrinth, along with the occasional Treasure, just pop up from somewhere… Is that twist scattered all over? That’s scary.
“Indeed. What I know dates back to the era of the Giant Stone Spirits,”
Kokuzan-chan has been around even longer. But she’s forgotten exactly when.
Which direction should I ask my questions?
For now, I understand that the era of the Giant Stone Spirits and the era of the Tree Spirits lasted quite a long time. After that, the winds blew fiercely, bringing ice and darkness for a while. Now, it’s light.
Kokuzan-chan is also a Spirit that has endured the passage of time, so she possesses power and can sometimes resist influence. Since her main body doesn’t move, she isn’t a Spirit that spreads her Retainers all over the world, but she’s still a strong Spirit.
Even now, she’s causing a white night, yet the influence of the Light Spirits is faint. Perhaps their range is too far to reach here. It seems there hasn’t been an era of Fire Spirits here.
Since humans have never settled in Kokuzan, their history is unclear. It seems there have been individuals who have visited here alone for a long time, claiming it’s for some coming-of-age ritual.
“When the winds began to blow strongly, there were those who tried to cut down these trees,”
Kokuzan-chan bravely knocked them down into the twist.
—There might be humanoid Demon Beasts in some Labyrinth. Guh.
“Speaking of which, Heroes have come here several times,”
Kokuzan-chan dislikes Heroes.
We really get along well.
“The Heroes cross the Mist and take various things without permission,”
Kokuzan-chan’s Collection!
“Oh, is it because you dislike Heroes that you named me?”
Kokuzan-chan, who had slipped in, aside, Uncle Oiwa properly named me—well, more accurately, he asked for my name.
“That’s part of it,”
That’s part of it.
“But the main reason is that your presence is calming,”
Kokuzan-chan has never seen such a mix of Spirit presences before.
“Even though there are various presences, it’s stable,”
It’s rare!
Uncle Oiwa chuckles softly, while Kokuzan-chan’s presence sparkles with excitement at the rarity.
“Wait, do I really feel like that right now?”
I can’t help but ask back.
“That’s how it is,”
That’s how it is.
“If it’s stable, then that’s good, right?”
The overwhelming presence of Spirits makes me a bit anxious. I’m still human, right…?
“That’s right. You have a physical body, which helps maintain stability,”
Kokuzan-chan likes you.
“Spirits with a main body like mine will surely like you.”
It’s a vague way of saying “physical body,” but is it safe from a human perspective?
“Heroes are stable, but…”
They have a strong presence of one type of Spirit.
“They’re quite biased,”
Kokuzan-chan says that if they want to come to her, they should at least be tainted by darkness.
Kokuzan-chan, that sounds like becoming a fallen Hero. You mean to befriend the Dark Spirits, right?