Episode 99. One who is loved by all things.
After listening to Jean’s words, I took a moment to reflect on the time I spent with Tacia.
To find the basis for why Tacia came to the conclusion that she loves me.
‘Let’s go and eat while we’re here.’
The first thing that came to mind about her was that, without exception, whenever I met her, she prepared her meals.
Yes, if you think about it, after handing over her weapons, whenever we met, she cooked her meals.
There may have been an exception once, but looking back, I remember that there was no such thing at all.
That was also the case when I had a meal plan with Airi.
‘Sorry, I have someone to eat with today…’ ….’
‘Then eat here and eat again.’
‘… Yes?’
‘At your age, you need to eat a lot to grow well. ‘Eat and go.’
‘No, I’m not an adolescent kid…’ ….’
‘Don’t you want to eat the food I cooked?’
‘… No, not that.’
‘Then eat and go. ‘I’ll prepare it for you.’
On the one hand, the attitude is even unreasonable.
Thanks to that, I ate three meals that evening alone, but if I thought I didn’t like the meals, that wasn’t the case.
The taste was normally good, the portion was generous, and no food costs were required.
In my early days as an adventurer, where the income was decent, even that was something I felt grateful for.
When I had no idea about her circumstances, all I felt for her was pure gratitude.
‘Hey, Mr. Tacia. ‘Are you lonely?’
However, no matter how likable you are, it is inevitable that such treatment feels at odds with your rough personality.
One day, while I was sitting across from her and eating her meal, I ended up being rude by asking a question that may have been rude to her face.
‘… What?’
‘Oh, no, that’s… …. ‘I guess it’s because I don’t have anyone to eat with.’
I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t help but be curious.
Her base was a remote place with few people before or after, and as a result, it seemed like no one other than me would come to visit.
So, even if he pretends not to be like that on the outside, he may actually be treating me to a meal because he is lonely on the inside.
‘… ‘If I were lonely, I would have grabbed someone to feed me.’
But what I actually got back was an answer that was far from such a surprise.
When she turned around feeling her doubts, she had already turned her head and was looking at the distant mountains outside her window.
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‘Yes?’
‘Don’t ask unnecessary questions and just eat. The food is cold.’
‘Ah, yes…’
A voice that was unusually sharp for her.
From then on, I sensed her equivocation, but even now, I clearly remember what she said.
I don’t do this to just anyone.
Isn’t that in itself enough to misunderstand me as a special person?
****
Of course, in this world, if you are not careful, you will not be surprised if you die at any time.
As I have been through many difficult situations so far, I was fully aware of how dangerous it is to pass over something.
Now that I know a bit about her situation, I know for sure that she can’t have ‘those feelings’ for me, but it’s love.
Do you really think that’s even possible?
“You, the old man, manage to eat her food peacefully.”
But what Jean cared about after hearing my story was not her inner self, but her behavior towards me.
“… “Is that really that surprising?”
“It’s not at that level. “The story that the world will split in two tomorrow is more believable than what you just told me.”
No, I even thought that it was only to that extent.
In fact, the cold sweat flowing between his furrowed eyebrows was showing that what he said now was not a joke, but came from sincerity.
“She would know that if you met the spirit in her window, right? She is not an ordinary human being.”
“… ….”
She was silent for a moment, then finally nodded her head in approval.
The reason I didn’t answer directly was because I hoped she wasn’t who I thought she was.
She was a dragon who almost destroyed the world in the past, and not only did she leave her own daughter alone in her time of war, she even killed her own daughter who tried to stop her.
Isn’t this a story that is different from the first impression that I know how to be considerate of others, even if only in a crude way?
“I definitely guessed that, but to say that she was loved to the extent that I even prepared her meals… ….”
On the other hand, if all those stories were true, I couldn’t help but wonder why she gave me her consideration, even if it was crude.
Her goal is to make me kill that child, but she always prepares her food as if I have her affection.
“How can love only be between a man and a woman? “The relationship between parents and children and the affection for pets are concepts that are clearly defined as love.”
Do you really think of me as a pet, Mr. Tachia?
Do you think humans are such cute creatures from the dragon’s point of view?
…No, I don’t know.
In the first place, I got caught up in her situation by chance, and in order to get through it, the cooperation of the person in front of me was inevitable.
I was kicked out of the conversation with Philoi, so there was no way I could understand her thoughts right away.
“…Is there something to do with me being loved by Mr. Tachia and being able to create circles?”
So rather than focusing on unresolved questions, it would be better to focus on what is needed right now.
As it was clear that she would need strength no matter what the future held, she decided to put her doubts aside for now and focus on training with him.
“Before I explain about it, let me ask you a question.”
Jean seemed to have read my intentions and did not question me.
After that, before he started training, he started asking me one more question.
“You, before you created a circle in front of me, didn’t you create a circle in front of her too?”
“Ah, yes. “I’ve done it in front of Tachia before.”
“Then did she give you blood before that?”
“… “Blood?”
“You’re talking about the blood flowing from the body.”
For a moment, I wondered if I was going to talk about something like seed soup, but soon I realized why I was asking that.
In the first place, where we are is the dragon’s grave.
While the remains of dragons that have already died are considered a resource coveted by mankind, Tacia, a ‘living dragon’ at this moment, can be considered a resource with special power in itself.
“No, Mr. Tacia just put the cigarette he was holding in my mouth.”
But ironically, she has never received or consumed her blood directly.
Maybe she hid it in the meal she prepared for me, but considering that it was after she passed on her cigarettes that she created her circle, it was highly likely that her basis was there.
When I thought about it again, it was quite an unfamiliar situation, but whatever.
“It’s a cigarette… It’s already worn out, so feeding it ash won’t make much of a difference.”
“Are you worn out?”
“You will find out later, so for now, let’s focus on training. For now, sit down, close your eyes, and take deep breaths as I signaled.”
“Ah, yes. Like this… ….”
No matter what, it is not easy to take more time.
Afterwards, I followed his instructions and took the time to prepare before starting full-scale training.
Close your eyes quietly and exhale as if meditating.
In the process, when I felt a sense of coolness gradually spreading through my body starting from my lungs, he placed his hand on my back and spoke quietly.
“Do you feel anything different from usual?”
“Yes, I feel more refreshed than usual. “I feel like my head is clearer.”
“It is the result of the rich energy of the dragon vein. In that state, quietly use your mana.”
-Wow.
Jean’s mana is transmitted through the hand placed on his back.
In addition, as I used the power of the armor to use mana, I began to feel a sense of conflict with the physical force occurring behind the scenes.
No, the collision is only temporary.
As soon as I gradually decided to accept his mana, the resistance disappeared, and soon I felt the mana he was controlling seeping into my body.
“… It takes care of itself even if you don’t pay attention. “Cooperative students are rewarding to teach.”
As I accepted his mana into my body and continued to use my mana, I felt that the vibration felt through my skin was gradually becoming clearer.
Yes, something changed the moment his mana seeped into my body.
-Weeeing… ….
The strange tinnitus that started to come after that was like an ultrasonic sound that was created when the vibration sound naturally emitted by Mana intensified.
It was as if the medium that produced the vibrating sound had at this moment multiplied like a flock of cicadas.
“Are you starting to hear something?”
“Yes, it’s like tinnitus…” ….”
“They were drawn to your status and began to recognize who you were. I expected it, but it goes by quickly. “Please continue a little longer.”
They.
Is there someone else here besides me and him?
-Weeeing, weeeing.
Amidst doubts, the sound becomes more prominent.
Now that it was closer to an ‘echo’ than a cicada’s cry, I felt dizzy, but I eventually endured it and continued to concentrate.
And……
-Wow.
After some time has passed, a vibration is felt as if something is being held at the tip of one’s finger.
At first, it was soft, but then it was caught between my fingers. Eventually, it folded over my hand, and the feeling was the same as when holding a person’s hand.
Did Jean hold my hand?
No, it’s not that hard and there are no wrinkles.
More than anything else, at this moment, Jean is ‘putting both hands on my back’.
Still, if someone held my hand, it would mean it was a third party.
– Excited, excited.
Maybe one of the undead I met on the way here appeared in front of me.
“Okay then…. Now, prepare your mind and slowly open your eyes in that spot.”
I felt such anxiety, but his voice behind me was completely calm.
I felt uneasy when he heard the words “Prepare your mind,” But I decided to trust him for now and quietly opened my eyes on the spot.
According to his words, I prepare to never be surprised no matter what appears in front of me.
-Wooow… ….
What appeared before me at the end was a bluish afterimage that appeared in a space where light flickered.
The shape looks like a human, but even that is ultimately just a shape.
There are no facial features at all, and all that appears is the upper body.
The lower body was half-made and then disappeared as if evaporating, leaving only an afterimage.
-Weeeing, wow……
Nevertheless, at this moment, the sensation of holding my hands felt unstable.
Even if the texture is not perfect, it is enough to recognize that it is something that can be physically touched.
“This…” …. Ghost?”
Could it be that ghosts have appeared just because the undead are running rampant?
“It’s a spirit.”
Jean, who denied such thoughts and removed his hand from his back, began to explain the person standing next to me and holding my hand.
“A spirit is something that can be called a very, very small creature that exists in this world……. “They exist everywhere and can move anywhere because they follow the flow of mana, the energy that permeates all things.”
Extremely small beings that move through mana but cannot be perceived by the human eye.
By analogy, cells or molecules…. Or, it may be seen as smaller concepts than that.
If you are a being that lives as a parasite on the energy that inhabits all things, it would be excellent to think like that.
“And speaking of spirits in another way, they could also be called ‘scraps of will.'”
“A crumb of will?”
“Mana is energy that is guided by will and emits physical force in response to that will… …. Even mere insects have the attraction of mana, and even if they are invisible beings, if they can guide mana, wouldn’t it be possible to say that they also have will?”
The scale is so small that we can only use the term “Crumbs.”
However, contrary to the assessment that the being in front of me was just a crumb, it clearly had the consciousness to touch a person’s hand and face it.
It was as if the fragments of the will that permeates all things gathered together and eventually turned into a ‘single group’ that took on the shape of a person.
“Of course, they have little intelligence and just follow the flow of mana. But that is why they are instinctively drawn to beings who exert a strong influence on all things.”
“If it’s someone with strong influence… Does that mean I received Tacia-san’s power and now have the power to lead them?”
“Yes, it’s only a convenience, but it’s enough to make it easier to get a chance to make contact. And when the number gathers to a certain level, they gather in a similar shape, as if imitating the person who led them. They’re approaching.”
That is the reason why I chose the tomb of the dragon, said to be the lord of all creation, as my training ground, and the reason why Tacia passed down cigarettes to me at the time.
Although the gathered form was imperfect and it was impossible to speak, the hand that came out and was being held was vibrating again as if it wanted to convey something.
-Weeeing.
Beings who were nothing more than crumbs before being drawn to me.
At this moment, as a result of coming together and imitating humans, what we call ‘intelligence and personality’ was created.
“…… hahahaha.”
And fitting in with such a being would be the basis of the skills he showed before.
When I realized that point, I immediately judged what happened at this moment and tried to come to my own conclusion.
“Elder, do you think they will be affected by my abilities?”
“Probably so. Seeing that he started imitating a person, albeit imperfectly, from the first attempt, it could mean that he has a constitution that makes it easy for spirits to be attracted to him.”
Anyway, if these are beings with will, they are no exception to my abilities.
So, like ego weapons and undead, it was clear that they would be affected by my abilities and some kind of phenomenon would occur.
For example, as soon as they recognize my presence, they immediately flock to me and say my name in front of them.
“So, that means… They are also roaring in front of me.”
-Oooooh……
The spirits howl as if responding to my words.
It was something that could be understood even without translation.