Ch.181181. Manifestation (4)

In the center of the garden was a round wooden table with small chairs arranged neatly around it. It was a spot with an unobstructed view of the entire garden. The well-maintained flower beds and the ivy climbing up the building materials created a mystical atmosphere.

“Please sit here. Our conversation might be lengthy, and it would be uncomfortable to remain standing.”

“Excuse me.”

Sione and I sat in the chairs Edelin pointed to. My master and I sat right next to each other, facing Edelin across the table.

Whoosh—

A breeze carrying the scent of flowers blew in. And riding on that breeze, I could hear the familiar voice of a spirit from behind.

—Myaang!

“Where are you running to? I just want to talk for a moment!”

—Kerk!

“Damn it… it would be easier if Elvis were here… Hey!”

The refreshing voice of Tania blended with the teasing voice of the cotton ball.

They seemed to be enjoying a game of tag among themselves. I was able to focus on the main topic Edelin wanted to discuss without much worry.

Well, although Tania’s way of expressing herself was a bit rough, she was kind-hearted by nature. She had gotten along fine with Elvis, the spirit I contracted with later, so I wasn’t concerned.

Even though they seemed to be bickering now, they would probably get along well soon enough.

“Then first of all…”

Edelin began to speak. She paused briefly to gather her thoughts, glancing back at Tania.

“Let’s start with the topic of spirits.”

The matter of spirits was related to me, not Sione.

I listened attentively to her words.

“The highest-grade spirit was able to be summoned without issue only because this place is right next to the World Tree. However, even so, Ray, you must have felt the strain on both your Mana and physical strength.”

“Yes, my strength suddenly drained away.”

“That’s to be expected. To my eyes, you appear like a gem that hasn’t been fully refined. You still have limitations when it comes to containing a highest-grade spirit.”

Edelin was exactly right.

Once a spirit is successfully summoned, maintaining its presence doesn’t require much Mana. If it’s just maintaining the summoning without any special actions, it only consumes a minimal amount of Mana, much less than what’s needed for the initial summoning.

This applies to highest-grade spirits as well. In Tania’s case, as long as she’s not creating forest-covering, earth-shaking heat waves, maintaining her presence and moving around in this world only requires an amount of Mana I can manage.

“You still face great difficulties in properly summoning a highest-grade spirit.”

But the summoning itself was the problem.

My Mana was already at rock bottom, and my body was completely drained of energy. Fortunately, my mental strength had recovered somewhat, but my physical body was still soaked in deep fatigue.

Just summoning and somehow gathering enough Mana to maintain the spirit’s presence in this world—that was the limit of what I could do right now.

“But that’s not the only problem. The current state of the World Tree is not particularly good either.”

Beyond my lack of ability, there was another issue.

“The World Tree, with its diminished strength, sometimes struggles to connect the spirit realm with this world. So… while it’s fine when you’re right next to it, once you go back along the path, the spirit won’t be able to exert its full power.”

“You mean…”

“Away from the immediate vicinity of the World Tree, throughout the Great Forest, your spirit will maintain the rank of high-grade at best, not highest-grade. Of course, with the reduction in rank, your burden will decrease, but you shouldn’t expect the same divine status as a highest-grade spirit.”

I nodded at Edelin’s words.

I couldn’t handle a highest-grade spirit in my current state anyway. It would actually be more convenient if Tania remained as a high-grade spirit, making it easier to work together in emergencies.

Moreover, if she were summoned as a high-grade spirit from the beginning rather than a highest-grade one, the burden would be less than it is now. The addition of that one word “highest” before “grade” completely transforms the spirit’s rank. If she were high-grade instead of highest-grade, I might be able to manage somehow.

After discussing the limitations of Tania and myself with Edelin for a while, she began to conclude her remarks about spirits.

“And… it would be better to plan for the remaining spirit at a later date. Spirit stones of that quality are extremely rare even in the Great Forest now, and the magic I used to open the gate was quite taxing for me.”

Edelin closed her eyes briefly, lost in thought.

Her deliberation didn’t last long.

“I will call for you when I judge that all preparations are complete. I will try to prepare as quickly as possible, so please wait.”

“…I’m just grateful that you’re willing to do this at all.”

“Think nothing of it. It’s just a small gift for the only heroes who can change the fate of the Great Forest and the elves. There’s no need to feel burdened.”

The Grand Elder’s direct reference to us as the only heroes who could change the fate of the Great Forest and her people placed an even heavier burden on us.

Clearly, Edelin, who had received the divine oracle directly, had succeeded in reading something about us and the power I possessed. Each word and phrase she spoke carried weight.

With that thought in mind, I briefly recalled the remaining spirit Edelin had mentioned.

‘Elvis.’

Elvis, the highest-grade wind spirit. Unlike Tania, our Elvis was a relatively quiet and timid spirit. Unlike other wind spirits who tend to be free-spirited and curious, he was quiet—quite unusual.

Elvis had squeezed out all his remaining power to strengthen the final arrow I shot at that damned Demon, and then was reverse-summoned back to the spirit realm due to exhaustion.

After he disappeared, Tania desperately tried to fill the void and save me.

The thought of meeting Elvis again after Tania filled me with renewed emotion.

As I was thinking about this, the topic finally changed.

“Now, let me tell you about the problems currently facing the Great Forest.”

This was a conversation that not only I but also Sione, who had come all this way with difficulty, could share.

Edelin began to explain what damage the Great Forest had suffered from the cult followers and what threats they were currently facing.

“Humans carrying Magia are spreading greater evils and stepping deeper into the Great Forest.”

The cultists had been leaving traces even in places not far from the city recently.

“Also, beasts intoxicated by the Magia they’ve spread have gone mad and are hunting for life.”

All the beasts that had walked in the cultists’ footsteps had become corrupted and were ruining the forest.

“Several Demons are already hiding in the Great Forest, and our forest people are prioritizing the search and elimination of these Demons, but… finding cunning Demons is not an easy task.”

“Then is our role to find these Demons?”

At Sione’s question, Edelin tilted her head slightly.

“The blood of Sianella carries divine power. With that power… if you could help with the search, things would proceed much more easily. Yes, if possible, I would ask you to find and destroy the Demons together with our elite forest guardians.”

Whoosh—

The wind blew.

Edelin’s black hair, sparsely mixed with white, fluttered in the breeze.

“But there is something more important that you must do.”

Unlike the gentle breeze, Edelin gazed at Sione with her most solemn expression yet.

“Sione Sianella and Ray. You are the only heroes who can pierce the heart and break the strong horns of the calamity that has reached the World Tree despite the elves’ resistance—the alien Demon.”

“…The alien Demon.”

“The World Tree told me. That in the near future, a terrible Demon will appear and cover the Great Forest with poison and death energy.”

…Wait. Poison and death energy?

An ominous memory flashed through my mind.

Perhaps sensing my suddenly intense emotions, Tania, who had been playing with the cotton ball, quietly approached from behind and gripped my clothes tightly.

When I turned my head to look back, I saw Tania with a frowning face.

It seemed she had read my thoughts and successfully grasped the situation I had recognized and understood.

Tania sent me a telepathic message that only I could hear.

—…It can’t be that bastard, right?

I also conveyed my thoughts to her through our accumulated bond, communion, and the will and spirit connected by our contract.

‘…Surely not. It can’t be.’

—But poison and death energy totally matches that bastard you just thought of.

Ignoring her dissatisfied voice, I quietly listened to Edelin’s words.

Tania stared at me intently before sitting cross-legged on my lap, resting her chin on her hand.

“……”

And Sione was carefully watching Tania as if she were a very strange spirit.

The quiet and elegant voice of the High Elf restored the momentarily disrupted atmosphere.

“And the only ones who can save us from being violated by that Demon are you.”

The Grand Elder, who had read the future through the divine oracle, was full of conviction.

“The Fleta of House Arielt will help you. If you prefer, you may work with the houses of Chelnis or Ianet instead of Arielt. Fleta will have no choice but to respect your decision. She won’t be able to complain even if she misses the honor of assisting the heroes.”

Have no choice but to respect.

At those words, Edelin curled the corners of her lips into a small smile. That smile revealed the authority she held in the Great Forest.

“If you heroes help us eliminate the evil in the Great Forest, I, Edelin, will spare no support or backing for you. And if you clear away the Demons trying to kill our forest—”

The Grand Elder elegantly adjusted her wind-blown hair with a graceful gesture.

Then, gently placing her right hand over her chest, she said:

“I, Edelin, would gladly offer even half my soul.”

Edelin’s voice was filled with determination.

Tania, who had been quietly observing this, secretly sent me a telepathic message.

—…What’s with her? That High Elf refers to herself in the third person, and she keeps her eyes wide open like a deer. She’s weird. I don’t like it.