Chapter 436: Black ‘Fragments’
“Did Retze come? — The Spirit informed me of the visit, so I【Teleportation】ed here.”
I had thought it might be Yukihyo or Uma.
As I crunched through the snow, a group trailed behind me.
“What about you? What brings you to a place like this?”
“Well, we came for a request…” Dean replied, looking a bit sheepish.
“We were expertly led deeper in, it seems.”
The butler, carrying a woman, chimed in. I was also holding a princess in a double carry.
The sight of the upright butler cradling the woman was quite picturesque. I wondered if I looked good too. Well, Ash might look more like a man while carrying her.
“There were too many of them!”
Chris, having regained some strength, patted Dean’s shoulder and started walking on his own. He still seemed a bit unsteady on his feet.
I wondered if there were others besides that Observer. It made sense, considering they were all battered and bruised.
“Still, this place is beautiful! It’s like an oasis in the Demon Forest!”
Chris gazed at the garden with sparkling eyes. I’m glad he’s feeling better, but this is a sacred place, a sacred place.
“Please, come in. It seems we don’t have enough chairs…”
I opened the door and invited them inside.
Also, Retze was sprawled out on the floor. When I approached, he lazily rolled onto his back and looked at me.
“…It seems a futon would be better than a chair.”
I【Storage】d the table and chairs, laid down several thick carpets I bought from Es, and placed a futon on top.
“Lord Jean…”
The butler called out, looking troubled.
“What is it?”
I laid Ash down and pulled out a blanket.
“Alright, alright. Let’s move Retze.”
As I said that, Retze rolled onto the futon by himself. Looks like he’s exhausted, huh?
Dean and Chris also took off their cloaks and shoes, preparing to flop onto the futon.
“Could it be… White Goose?”
“Yeah.”
“Blorp!”
Retze shot up.
“Ugh…”
Then he flopped back onto the futon with a thud.
“This is a super high-quality item! It’s not something you can just dirty!”
Chris jerked back from the futon, where he had been about to place his hands.
“Stop carelessly bringing out expensive things!”
Dean hurriedly shoved his dirty boots away from the futon.
“Isn’t it the same as the sleeping bag we always use outside?”
What’s the big deal now?
“Wait! That inside…!”
“My adventure gear has somehow exceeded the request fee…!”
Dean and Chris were lively.
“What about Ash?”
I asked the butler, who was laying the woman down on the futon.
“He sustained injuries protecting this woman from a Demon Beast and was entangled by a Black Spirit while escaping. It’s not an immediate concern, but we should head to the Temple soon.”
There are few Black Spirits capable of physical attacks, but they can attach themselves to weakened humans.
Even if he hadn’t fully merged with the Demon Beast, it wasn’t a good sign. When a regular Spirit attaches itself, it can make things easier to ignite or slightly warm the air, bringing about minor positive changes to the environment. In contrast, a Black Spirit can make things harder to ignite or create a damp, unpleasant atmosphere.
It seems they also bring forth bad memories and amplify feelings of jealousy and envy, which is not ideal.
“Let’s see.”
I lifted the blanket to check the ‘fragments.’ They clung to his shoulders, sides, and legs—black ‘fragments’ swirling like mist.
As I brushed them away, Az popped his head out. It seemed Ash had been protecting him. However, there were no black ‘fragments’ around Az’s chest and the area with the bracelet, so perhaps Az and the others had shielded him.
Were they protecting each other? I had used【Healing】without checking the wounds, so I could only speculate, but it seemed Ash was in a dire state. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had been fully possessed by a Black Spirit.
“You did well.”
I transferred some magic power to Az, who looked tired with his ruffled feathers. He shimmered like he had just bathed, returning to his usual round form.
I also sent some magic power to Aoshizuku and Ryokuen peeking from my sleeves. Should I try to infuse them with stronger Spirits or something?
“…Lord Jean can grasp Spirits, after all.”
The butler said with a subtle smile.
“Retze can too. Oh, Vine-chan is torn.”
“Ah, it really pushed itself quite a bit.”
I playfully tapped Retze, who was sprawled out on the futon, brushing off the black Spirit ‘fragments’ and channeling magic into the vine.
The vine that had spread from the sword, half-drawn from its scabbard, stretched out, smoothly returning to the sword before snapping back into the scabbard. Vine-chan is quite skilled.
“The Adventurers hired in the Fortress City managed to escape cleanly midway, and while I dealt with the culprits mixed in, I was stuck with the summoned Demon Beasts, wandering for two or three days, only to have a Black Spirit come after me. It was a nightmare.”
Dean spread his arms wide, making it easy for me to hit him. His chest and sides were safe.
Seeing him from the side made me wonder what to do, but I gave a bit of magic power to the two fetish Spirits.
“Just when I thought I had escaped the Demon Beasts, now there were an abnormal number of Black Spirits. I couldn’t see them, but I could feel their presence vaguely, which was better than nothing. The lady was screaming.”
Chris also spread his arms for me.
“At the very last moment, it was Lord Retze who saved us. Is this place a sacred area? The Black Spirits stopped pursuing and merely watched from a distance.”
The butler, who could see Spirits, asked.
“Yeah. It’s a sacred area, a gift, but still.”
“I see, so the opening of the sacred area caused the Black Spirits to give up and disperse.”
The butler nodded in understanding.
“…Sorry. I’ll make sure my acquaintances among the Black Spirits don’t attack.”
They didn’t disperse; they just went after the Observer…