Chapter 61 – Reward

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

[I… I don’t know either.]

“Then, what am I? No… what about the ancestors of Eustetia? Did they all just hatch out of eggs?”

[I don’t know that either! But, well… Arisa just asked me to tell you that.]

She didn’t get married.

Her entire life… she was, was… was a virgin.

I have no idea what that means.

I… Eustetia is a descendant of Arisa.

The hair color, the eye color, the history.

Everything points to us being descendants of Arisa Eustetia. But if she didn’t marry, and didn’t do anything of that nature…

“Did she get hit on the head really hard during the final battle? Did she go crazy? Dementia…?”

[Th-That’s impossible… When I saw her, she was perfectly fine…!]

Certainly… I could find no information about the partner of the first family head, Arisa.

Of course, I couldn’t find much information about Arisa either.

But while it felt like Arisa’s information was intentionally erased, the information about Arisa’s partner was so clean, it was as if it never existed in the first place.

What the hell happened in the last 400 years?

Kaloso’s betrayal.

The Demon King’s sealing.

The disappearance of Paulo and Luna.

Reincarnation.

“…Hey, Sparkle. Is reincarnation normally possible?”

[Of course not…]

“Is it impossible for the old lady too?”

[O-Old lady?! I’m not an old lady, I’m the World Tree!!]

Whack! Sparkle bit my finger.

Whether she didn’t have teeth or her strength was weak, it just felt soft.

“Okay, fine. Is it impossible even for the World Tree old lady?”

[I don’t know about that. But… she said that messing with human life like that is… ‘forbidden’.]

“…Forbidden.”

That forbidden thing… Arisa did that?

No, not just Arisa.

Luna, Paulo, even that bastard Kaloso, they all seem connected to my reincarnation.

Did they make some sort of deal with the Demon King?

Or maybe Yurpia?

The only beings with the power to reincarnate someone who is already dead into a new human, and do something that forbidden, would be the Demon King and Yurpia…

In the first place, it’s even hard to say if Yurpia actually exists.

Luna did say she was real, and insisted her miracles proved it, but… well. I don’t believe it.

Still, for now, let’s assume Yurpia exists. If that were true, the only two beings who could have done something so ridiculous would be those two.

Beings that could rightly be called ‘gods.’

So why me?

Why did they do it?

What did they get in return?

[R-Ronan… are you okay?]

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

[You look scary… Whenever you make that face, you always cause trouble…]

“You think I’m some kind of troublemaker?”

[It’s true, though.]

“You must be itching to go back to your beloved World Tree. Should I just snap your neck and send you there?”

[You wouldn’t do that, would you?]

Sparkle crossed her arms and sharply turned her head, but then, sneaking glances, she asked again.

[Then… why do you look so sad?]

“Sad? What sad? I’m just pissed off.”

[About what…?]

“The fact that I don’t even know what’s happening to me, that pisses me off. And the fact that they’re hiding it from me pisses me off, and that goddamn fairy tale book calling me Ronan the Martial Artist, that pisses me off, too.”

And, and…

The most infuriating thing is…

“The fact that I feel like I’m being manipulated, that… pisses me off so much.”

[Hmm…]

Pop pop. Slowly, Sparkle walked over with her little feet, and then, zip—, climbed onto my shoulder. Then she began to rub her soft body against my cheek.

“…What are you doing?”

[Comforting you.]

“Useless.”

But I didn’t push her away.

Her soft touch was nice, and her gentle warmth felt nice, so I just let her be.

“…Still, I did learn something important. Those bastards messed with my reincarnation.”

And…

“The World Tree old lady… knows something about it.”

[I told you, I’m not an old lady!]

Bop! Sparkle’s fist pressed into my cheek.

“Is the old lady doing okay?”

[Ugh… Yes, she’s very healthy. Well, it’s the age of peace, after all. So she recovered a long time ago.]

“If I go, she’ll see me, right?”

Even if she doesn’t want to, I’ll just barge in.

I saved her life so many times, if she dares turn me away…

I don’t know. I’ll just destroy everything. For real.

That’ll be the day all those spirits die.

[Actually, the World Tree said she wants to meet you, Ronan. She said she has a lot to say…]

“Oh… really?”

[Yeah. That’s why I came here. In case I met Ronan, I came to tell you what the World Tree said.]

“So, are you going back now?”

[Yeah. I’ll stay inside Pina’s soul. But I can’t come out like this all the time. I was only able to sneak out because you got rid of that demon.]

For demons, spirits are like elixirs. They’re always on the hunt for them.

So Sparkle being able to show herself like this means there’s no demonic presence nearby.

“Why can’t you come out?”

[Pina hasn’t grown enough to hide spirits, yet. But she will soon! I think I’ll be able to come out often, though not always, in about six months.]

Sparkle, who had been rubbing against my cheek, hopped up to the top of my head and poked her head out, looking down at me.

[So, when are you going to go see the World Tree?]

“Not yet. I’m not ready.”

The land of the spirits.

The land where we replanted the World Tree was located in the north. You even have to cross the land of eternal night to get there.

And the north has a high mana density.

With this soft, weak body, I’d definitely collapse at the very beginning of the snowy plains.

So, three years… no, at least two years, and even that is barely possible.

[You’ll take me when you go see the World Tree, right?]

“I’ll need you to find the way.”

[Then Pina has to come with us too!]

“Why Pina?”

[Because Pina and I can’t be separated!]

“So… you want me to take that little kid through the north?”

[Yeah. So, please take care of our Pina.]

“Why are you pushing your responsibilities on me?”

Sparkle smiled mischievously.

[Because you’re Ronan.]

“It’s Eliaernes now.”

[Right. Eliaernes Eustetia. But it’s also true that you were Ronan Lujarak, the human that I, all the spirits, and the World Tree trusted most, right?]

“…Calling it trust when you see me as an errand boy is ridiculous.”

I carefully grabbed the Sparkle on my head with both hands.

She was soft and warm.

“Are you going back in now?”

[Unfortunately… I have to.]

The light surrounding Sparkle gradually began to fade.

“Before you go in, let me ask one last thing.”

[Hmm?]

“…Um.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it again.

Should I even ask this? Why am I so curious?

I don’t know. I don’t know why… but I just.

Right, my will.

I left behind a will.

That must be why I want to check.

Yes, that must be it.

“…Arisa, was she… you know, how was she? Her expression, her demeanor… you know, stuff like that.”

For a moment, Sparkle’s eyes widened.

Then, as if hesitating for a moment, she carefully spoke.

[…She never smiled, not once.]

Then she shook her head and gave a bitter smile.

[But… when she talked about you, Ronan, she smiled.]

I didn’t answer.

I just nodded.

I don’t even know what kind of face I was making.

Was I smiling? Was I frowning? Gritting my teeth? Was my face twisted? Anger? Annoyance? Helplessness? Confusion?

I don’t know.

But Sparkle just smiled painfully at me.

[I’ll go now. I won’t be able to come out for a while. So, while I’m gone, please take care of our Pina. And don’t torment her too much!]

“How well do I treat her?”

[Hehe. Yeah, I know. So, see you next time… Oh, right. Ronan, be careful of the underground.]

“Underground?”

[Yeah… well, should I call it the sewers? Or maybe underground? I don’t know, but I feel something really ominous there.]

If a spirit says something feels ominous, it’s almost certainly a demon.

But there’s a demon in the capital’s underground?

[Even for you, Ronan, it feels like it’ll be really dangerous. So, don’t go near the underground!]

“…Okay, I understand.”

[I’m not just saying it casually! Seriously, don’t go! I wasn’t even going to tell you, but I’m telling you now because what if… what if you got in danger without even knowing it? So absolutely! No matter what! Don’t go underground!]

“Okay, I get it, so stop chattering and go in already.”

[Ugh… Even though I’m telling you—]

“Huh? I swear to god.”

[Eek… Ah, okay, I’m going in. So, see you later… Bye, Ronan.]

With those words, Sparkle vanished back into Pina’s body.

And I sat there for a moment, staring at the faint moonlight that streamed into the room.

I learned a lot.

And now I have a lot to think about.

But strangely, my head felt clear, and my heart wasn’t heavy.

And then, a smile crept onto my face.

I don’t know what was so good that I was smiling.

But for some reason, the whole situation was just funny.

Chuckling I staggered towards the bed.

And then I pushed Stella, who was drooling in her sleep, and Pina, who was curled up and fast asleep, to the side.

And then I closed my eyes beside them.

“Well… There’s no way a chimpanzee would get married. Heh…”

Stella’s drool-soaked pillow was a bit damp, but I didn’t even care.

I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

***

The morning that followed was incredibly chaotic.

“Y-You! Hey! Eliaernes! You’re so mean! Tying me up… wait? When did I fall asleep? Where’s Yurasia? Huh?! Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

Stella, who had been hugging me like a pillow, woke up screaming.

“Hic, hic… sniff, sniff…”

Pina burst into tears and dove into my arms.

And me?

“…Shut up, all of you. My head is killing me.”

The cost of raising my power so quickly, aggressively using combat techniques from my past life, and overusing my aura, was immense.

“And… someone go call a priest. I… can’t move.”

My whole body felt like it was about to fall apart from the pain.

But that wasn’t all.

Crash—!

“Elllliiaaaarnes!”

Leona barged into my room, smashing down the dormitory door, and forcefully poured a horribly tasting potion down my throat.

“Lady Eliaernes. Are you alright?”

Adelia Baros, my homeroom professor, and the one who told me a lot of information last night, came to see me.

“M-My lady! The Eustetia Knights are coming to visit the academy tonight…!”

Yurasia, not even having had a chance to wash her face, rushed in to deliver the worst news imaginable.

“…Sigh.”

The imperial princess who promised to quietly take care of things, must have died last night. Shit.