Ch.79The Green Lady (3)

*

It took quite a long time to calm down.

The green lady who had been pouring out shocking truths finished her final words and patiently waited for me to calm down without adding another word.

Perhaps she needed time to calm herself as well.

Just as I had lost my family, she had lost her children.

It must have been incredibly painful for her to speak of such things.

I could understand that.

But that didn’t mean I suddenly developed determination or resolve where there had been none.

I asked in a dry voice:

“Why… why did it have to be me? Why…”

“…”

“I never wanted this ability, never thought about becoming a hero, and never wanted to sacrifice myself for humanity. I never asked for this. This isn’t sacrifice. It’s just… being a sacrificial offering.”

“…Ah, Ash.”

“What were those days with Silvia? A piece of cheese on a mousetrap? Were they just a justification to push me into this cruel fate? Did you have to use even her feelings—her heart that sacrificed everything for humanity—like this? For humanity’s sake? What about me? What about Silvia? My parents and Laila!”

I was aware that I was being unreasonable.

Neither the green lady nor the goddess had planned this fate.

If they had, they could have avoided the misfortune that befell them.

But my heart, unable to find anyone to blame, could only spray its sticky, dark emotions in all directions.

If I didn’t, I felt I might die from the sheer injustice and resentment.

“I’m sorry… I’m truly so sorry…”

The green lady gently embraced my bowed head.

Her embrace, like the soft flesh of a tree or the skin of a fruit, emitted a fresh fragrance.

That pleasant scent seemed to somewhat reduce the bitterness that had risen to my chin.

“…It’s natural to feel that way. It’s natural to resent.”

The green lady kept apologizing to me.

Despite it not being her fault, she held me in her arms, offering words of apology without a single excuse or correction.

“But I have no choice but to ask this of you.”

“…Can’t you step in yourself?”

“I have things I must do, and I have no time left.”

“Time? How can you, the Queen of Spirits, say you have no time compared to a mere human like me?”

“Because I must soon return to nature’s embrace.”

“…What?”

A spirit returning to nature’s embrace.

I could easily guess what that meant.

The spirits who had helped me were said to have dissolved into the wind and sunlight.

For humans, that was equivalent to the concept of death.

“What are you saying?”

“There’s something I absolutely must do.”

“You’re saying you’ll die, so why not just not do it?”

“I must do it. That’s my role, Ash.”

“What could possibly require the life of the master of this forest and queen of spirits?”

“It’s not a difficult task, but I’ve already used too much power. Like those children.”

“What on earth—”

She stroked my head as she held me, letting out a laugh tinged with sadness near my ear.

Beyond that laughter, a very small voice leaked out.

“Ash, it was necessary to remove the magical contamination accumulated in your body.”

“…Ah.”

That’s right,

I wasn’t dead.

This wasn’t the afterlife.

Neither heaven nor hell, but the world of spirits.

The magical contamination that had filled my body and was killing me wouldn’t simply disappear just because I entered this place.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t followed the fox to get here.

I couldn’t remember when I had started being here.

“…Don’t tell me.”

I suddenly recalled what she had said when she first saw me.

She said she had been waiting for me.

That was probably all she could do.

She must have waited for me to come to this forest,

Waited for me to follow the fox into the spirit world,

And after treating me when I collapsed, waited for me to regain consciousness.

“Again… again?”

“Ash.”

“Again… because of me.”

“Ash!”

She held my face and looked straight at me.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not being forced to sacrifice myself for you, and you’re not driving those around you to ruin.”

“…But,”

“You are hope. Our hope. So have courage. Your sympathy for us is beautiful, but you must never blame yourself.”

“…”

“It’s not your fault.”

She slowly removed her hands from my face and took hold of my hands.

“When you leave this place, you must use me.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“…This forest is already filled with magical contamination. I can remove it and create a safe place for you.”

“But then you’ll…”

“No,”

She shook her head.

“A spirit’s death is different from a human’s. We return to nature’s embrace. After a very long time, we will be reborn as new spirits, and my children know this, which is why they willingly sacrificed themselves for you.”

No matter if they are reborn, unless their memories and personalities remain intact, it is essentially the same as death.

Of course, this might just be a human sentiment, but I couldn’t help thinking she was playing with words to reassure me.

I shook my head and firmly refused.

“No. You’re basically asking me to kill you.”

“Ah, Ash, that’s not it.”

“What do you mean that’s not it? Why are you making me do such a thing, why!”

“Ash, because it’s you.”

“I’m just an ordinary person with no special talents! The idea that I have such a fate is absurd!”

“Ash…”

Her grip on my hand tightened.

She spoke with a resolute voice.

“Being a spirit master isn’t about innate talent or destiny.”

“…What?”

“We say that for simplicity’s sake, but what a spirit master needs to be born with is something else.”

She raised her hand and lightly placed her palm on the center of my chest as she spoke.

“Even if someone has the ability to command us freely, to use us, they become a spirit master only if they can sympathize with us.”

“…”

“Because you’re such a person, we willingly serve and love our master.”

“That’s absurd, that’s strange.”

“No matter how much you deny yourself or belittle yourself, we know how beautiful a person you are. Because you are our master.”

She looked at me with glistening eyes.

The jewel-like tears formed in her emerald eyes slid smoothly down her lemon-like cheeks.

“And even for a spirit master, we don’t follow blindly. Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, and one thousand three hundred and fifty-two years ago, I had no master. I served no one as master.”

“…Why?”

“I didn’t know then, but now I do. That I—we—want to do anything for you. That we want to do anything to save you. This isn’t sacrifice, Ash. It’s hope, it’s a wish.”

“Please, please.”

I shook my head, whimpering.

But she slowly brought my hand to her forehead and said:

“Ash, if this fate given to you is too burdensome, you can run away.”

“Yes, I’m scared, I can’t do it…”

“But even so, don’t you want to meet the hero again?”

I couldn’t say anything.

Unless I planned to live in this spirit realm forever, if I wanted to leave, I would have to use her.

The outside of this spirit realm, the Fallen Tree Forest, would already be covered in magical contamination.

“You can run away with her if you want. Even if you hide with her in a world fallen into the clutches of the Demon King, I won’t blame you. But you do want to see her again, don’t you?”

“…”

“Then first, don’t you need a place in this forest where you can stay without being swept away by magical contamination and dying?”

“…”

She was right.

I didn’t want to fight the Demon King, nor did I want to take Silvia to him.

I didn’t want to be a chess piece in a gamble for this world’s fate, nor did I want to ensure my safety knowing the green lady would die.

But if there was one single wish I had, it was to see Silvia again.

To live with her.

I had left her on my own because I thought I was going to die, but if I could live, I wanted to be with her.

As if reading my mind, the green lady looked at me and said:

“Do you want to part with her like this?”

“…No.”

“Then you know what you need to do, Ash.”

“…”

“Will you choose me over her?”

She spoke with a sad smile.

I slowly nodded and stood up.

“…Alright.”

“Yes…”

“I’ll do it.”

*

She eventually explained to me how to handle spirits.

I half-listened as she kindly explained how to kill herself, but despite my insincere attitude toward learning, her explanations sank into my mind effortlessly.

It wasn’t because the green lady was particularly good at explaining or because I was some incredible genius.

Unlike magic, which I had struggled to learn through books all my life, I could understand everything just by listening to her words.

It was a moment that, once again, convinced me that being a spirit master was truly my destiny.

Perhaps magic felt this easy to Sister Maria.

It felt like memories I had never experienced were flowing into my mind.

I shivered slightly at that feeling, which was both fascinating and unfamiliar.

Perhaps due to the nature of the spirit realm having no day or night, both my conversation with her and learning spirit arts from her took a very long time, but I didn’t feel sleepy.

Was it the special power flowing in this place, or was time flowing differently here compared to the outside?

I wasn’t sure which was correct, but the fact that time was passing remained unchanged.

The green lady, having told me everything, slowly rose and spoke calmly:

“I have nothing more to teach you. Now you just need to leave whenever you’re ready.”

“…”

“Once outside, just do as I’ve told you. A place in the forest will be cleansed of magical contamination, and the hero will surely come to where you are soon.”

“How do you know?”

“I told you I can sense what happens in the forest. She’s still in this forest, hunting monsters amidst the magical contamination.”

“…”

“She seems unable to contain her grief over losing you.”

“…I see.”

The green lady looked at me with a faint smile.

“…You really love her.”

“Yes.”

“…How fortunate.”

“Happiness seems like a word that doesn’t suit either me or Silvia.”

“Are you unhappy when she’s by your side?”

“No.”

“Happiness blooms even in despair. That’s why hope never disappears. Because happiness gives birth to hope.”

She slowly raised her head.

Like my father gazing at the golden wheat fields of Goldfield stretching to the horizon, she looked up at the sky with eyes that seemed to be looking somewhere far away.

It was as if she was looking beyond this world wrapped entirely in teal.

“Now, it’s time to say goodbye.”

“Ah…”

Realizing that moment had finally come, I let out a short sigh.

Hearing my sigh, she looked down at me, smiled brightly, and came over with small steps to embrace me tightly.

Her fragrance, reminiscent of fresh nature, filled my arms.

She rubbed her cheek against mine and said:

“Ah… Ash, my rightful master.”

“…Ugh.”

“I was happy to meet you. Truly happy that you were exactly the person I thought you would be.”

“…Your Majesty,”

“Master,”

She kissed my cheek and said:

“Don’t pity me. I will always be watching over you. No matter what choices you make, I’ll always be watching over you.”

“…Surely there must be another way—”

“Farewell, Ash.”

She slowly waved her hand in the air.

Like a lizard’s skin being torn, the teal sky was ripped apart.

In an instant, I found myself in the middle of a forest surrounded by magical contamination.

.