pdf-ebookys Chapter 99: One Who Is Loved By All Things.
Chapter 99: One Who Is Loved By All Things.
Chapter 99: One Who Is Loved By All Things.
After hearing Jang Cleo’s words, I took a moment to reminisce about the times I had spent with Tacchia.
I did this to find the basis for why Tacchia would have come to love me.
“Since you’re here, have a meal before you go.”
The first thing that came to mind was that she always prepared meals whenever we met.
Yes, now that I think about it, every time we met after I received the weapon, she always cooked for me.
There might have been exceptions once or twice, but upon reflection, I couldn’t recall any such instances.
The same was true even when I had a meal appointment with Airi.
“I’m sorry, I already have someone to eat with today...”
“Then eat here and eat again.”
“...What?”
“At your age, you need to eat a lot to grow. Eat before you go.”
“No, I’m not even a teenager...”
“Don’t you like the food I make?”
“...No, it’s not that.”
“Then eat. I’ll prepare it for you.”
It was almost forceful in a way.
Thanks to that, I had three meals just that evening, but it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy the food.Fịndd new updates at novelhall.com
It tasted ordinarily good, was plentiful, and she didn’t even ask for compensation.
During the early days of my adventuring, when my earnings were modest, I was grateful even for that.
When I knew nothing about her circumstances, all I felt towards her was pure gratitude.
“Um, Miss Tacchia. Are you lonely by any chance?”
But no matter how much I liked her, the disparity between such treatment and her rugged nature was unavoidable.
One day, while having a meal with her, I committed the faux pas of bluntly asking her a question that might be considered rude.
“...What?”
“Oh, no, I mean... I thought maybe you didn’t have anyone else to eat with.”
Although I knew it was impolite, I couldn’t help but be curious.
Her base, both before and after, was a secluded place with few people around, so it seemed unlikely that anyone else but me would visit.
So, even though she acted otherwise, I thought maybe she was lonely, and that’s why she offered me meals.
“If I were lonely, I would have grabbed anyone to eat with.”
However, her actual response was far from such a speculative thought.
When I turned around, puzzled, she had already turned away, staring only at the distant mountains outside the window.
“What?”
“Don’t ask pointless questions. Just finish your meal. The food is getting cold.”
“Ah, yes...”
Her voice was unusually sharp and uncharacteristic of her.
I sensed her evasion, but I still vividly remembered what she had said up to now.
It wasn’t something she did for just anyone.
Wasn’t that statement enough to misinterpret myself as someone special to her?
Of course, in this world, being oblivious could lead to death at any time.
Having faced many near-death experiences, I was fully aware of how dangerous it was to make assumptions.
Especially now, knowing a bit about her situation, I was certain she couldn’t harbor ‘those feelings’ for me, yet to think it was love.
Was it even plausible?
“You, managing to casually get meals from her...”
But what Jang Cleo focused on was not her inner thoughts but the actions she showed towards me.
“Is that really so surprising?”
“It’s beyond that. What you’ve told me is less believable than if someone said the world would split in two tomorrow.”
Even so, I couldn’t help but think that was an exaggeration.
However, the cold sweat trickling between his furrowed brows indicated that his words were not a joke but a serious statement.
“If you’ve met the soul within the spear, you’d know she’s no ordinary human.”
“......”
After a moment of silence, I finally nodded in affirmation.
My reluctance to respond directly was because I hoped her identity wasn’t what I thought.
The fact that she was a dragon who almost destroyed the world in the past, abandoned her daughter in a war-torn era, and even killed her daughter who tried to stop her.
Whizz, whizz.
And then...
Whoosh.
After some time, I felt a vibration as if something was grasped at my fingertips.
Was it Jang holding my hand?
No, it didn’t feel hard or wrinkled like a hand.
Thump, thump.
“Now, prepare yourself and slowly open your eyes.”
I prepared myself not to be startled by whatever might appear in front of me.
Whoosh...
In the end, what appeared before me was a bluish afterimage in a space where light flickered.
It looked human, but ultimately, it was just an afterimage.
There were no facial features, and only the upper body was visible.
The lower half seemed to be half-formed, then vanished as if evaporating, leaving only an afterimage.
Whiiing, whoooong...
Yet, at this moment, I could feel the sensation of my hand being grasped, albeit unstably.
It wasn’t a perfect touch, but I was aware of a physically tangible presence.
“Is this... a ghost?”
Could it be that ghosts had appeared where the undead reigned?
“It’s a spirit.”
Jang, refuting that thought and removing his hand from my back, began to explain the being holding my hand beside me.
“Spirits are extremely small beings that exist in this world... They follow the flow of mana, the energy that permeates everything, so they can exist everywhere and move anywhere.”
They moved along with mana but were so small that they were imperceptible to the human eye.
They could be compared to cells, molecules... or even smaller concepts.
If they were beings that parasitized and lived on the energy permeating everything, that would be an excellent way to think of them.
“And to speak differently about spirits, they can also be called ‘fragments of will.’”
“Fragments of will?”
“Mana is an energy that is drawn to will and responds with physical force... Even mere insects are attracted to mana, so if an invisible being can draw mana, it can also be considered to have a will, right?”
They were called fragments only because they were incredibly small in scale.
However, the being in front of me, contrary to being just a fragment, had the consciousness to touch and face a human hand.
It was as if fragments of will permeating everything had gathered, eventually forming a ‘single cluster’ with a human shape.
“Of course, they have almost no intelligence, just following the flow of mana. But because of this, they are instinctively drawn to beings that exert a strong influence on everything.”
“If it’s about a being with strong influence... does that mean I’ve gained the power to lead them by receiving Mr. Tacchia’s power?”
“Yes, it’s just a fragment, but enough to make contact more easily. And when a certain number of them gather, they cluster together in a form similar to that which drew them out, as if imitating it.”
That was why the tomb of the dragon, called the sovereign of all things, was chosen as the training ground, and why Tacchia gave me a cigarette back then.
Although the clustered form was incomplete, and couldn’t speak, the hand holding mine seemed to want to convey something, vibrating again.
Whiiiing.
Before being drawn to me, they were nothing more than fragments.
At this moment, they had come together, imitating a human, resulting in what could be called ‘intelligence and personality.’
“...Haha.”
And interacting with such beings must be the basis of the skills he showed me before.
Sensing this, I began to assess what had unfolded at this moment, aiming to reach my own conclusion.
“Boss, could these beings also be affected by my abilities?”
“Probably. Seeing as they started imitating a person, albeit imperfectly, from the first try, it implies that spirits are easily influenced by nature.”
Indeed, if they were beings with will, they wouldn’t be an exception to my abilities.
Thus, like ego weapons or the undead, it was clear that these beings would also be affected by my power, and some sort of phenomenon would occur.
For instance, they might immediately flock to me upon recognizing my presence and mention my name in front of me.
“So, that means... they are also reacting to my presence.”
Woooo...
The spirits howled as if responding to my words.
It was a language understood even without translation.