/
“We managed to get through this one too. …..”
After the battle, we walked out of the forest. Eleas was still asleep on my back, and Tia was on the lookout, but so far there were no signs of any monsters or anything attacking us.
Well, even if the Demon King was dead, it would be weeks or even months before the power of the spirits would return to this land, so it was not surprising.
“Eleas-kun, that was amazing”
“I know right. I know he was coming to save us but I still got the chills.”
If that thing cut me down, I wouldn’t be turned to dust and die …… by any chance, would I? If I could die from that, I wouldn’t have been split into 100 and one and trapped in an infinite world by a being like God.
“Haha …. Oh, yes. This time it was Eleas-kun, not Ed, who finished him, but did you recover the Demon King’s power?”
“Hmm? Ah, it’s okay.”
Tia asked me, and I responded by squeezing and opening my own hand to see how it felt. I could already use my banishment skills, and it felt as if their power had increased a little.
“Maybe, the condition for retrieval is that the Demon King dies while connected to me?”
“Huh? Ed must be caught by the Demon King every time and say ‘GUAAH!’?”
“That’s… No, there must be a better way, I think.”
“Fufu, is that so. I think you should think about it carefully, you know?. After all, every time you get caught by the Demon King and rescued by a hero, you’re like a princess in a fairy tale.”
“Gghhh…., that’s not true.”
I reply to the giggling Tia with a bitter, wry smile. Yeah, I’ll seriously consider it. I wish I could train somewhere…. or something so that even if the Demon King touched me, he won’t be able to block my powers.
We made it back to the town from which we had left without incident, exchanging such chit-chat as we went. We discussed the possibility of taking Elease to a church in a large town if he continued to sleep, but he woke up normally the next morning, so there was nothing we had to worry about.
However, Eleas seemed to have only a hazy memory of the time between his awakening as a hero and his passing out, and no matter how much I and Tia explained to him that “you awakened to some great power and defeated a dangerous enemy that was attacking the spirit tree,” he seemed to have no idea what was going on.
However, whether he was aware of it or not, the truth The three of them returned to the elven village to check on the condition of the spirit tree, and what awaited them there were the elves who welcomed the young heroes.
We passed through the line of people who were verbally expressing their gratitude, and were ushered into the same meeting place we had visited on the first day. This time, however, there were many people gathered there as well, and the dignified village head’s face was overflowing with joy that he could not hide.
“I’m glad you’re back Lunaritia-dono and Ed-dono, thanks to your help, the spirit tree has been restored to its original state. We will give you the promised reward later, but first, please accept our heartfelt thanks. And Eleas. I couldn’t be more pleased as a village head than to see you, who had just left his village…..become a great warrior and save the spirit tree in the blink of an eye. You are the pride of our village. It was a great deed, O Hero Eleas.”
“Thank you, Satocho-sama.”
“Thank you.”
“T-thank you very much……?”
While Tia and I bowed our heads in thanks, only Eleas had a puzzled expression on his face. Seeing this, the village head laughed.
“What’s wrong, Eleas? Why are you making that face?”
“Um, I think I’ve explained this several times already, but I don’t feel like I’ve actually defeated anyone and… it’s like I’m being praised for something I haven’t done, and it’s making me feel uneasy.”
“Hmm. Is that correct, Ed-dono?”
“Haha, Eleas definitely defeated the source of the problem. I have no hobby of taking credit for something I didn’t do, and conversely, I have no intention of doing anything that would force an inexperienced warrior to take credit and bring him closer to death. It was definitely him who not only saved us when we were captured by the enemy, but also beat us as it were. However, I don’t think we should put too much expectation on young warriors…… because He was so desperate that he lost his memory and that’s why he was able to do that.”
“That’s true. As for Eleas, we will have another look at his abilities later on. There are many warriors who would like to have a showdown with the hero who saved the Spirit Tree. Is that alright with you, Eleas?”
“Oh, yes. Of course. It’s good for me to be known for my abilities.”
“Fufu, Be ready to be surprised, right?”
“Yeah. Do your best and surprise everyone!”
“I-I’ll do my best!”
Eleas replied nervously, but there was no trace of fright on his face. As a result of several mock battles on the way back to the village, it was true that he no longer had the overwhelming strength he had when he fought the Demon King, but he had normally maintained the twin sword skills, which were a joke before, and I am sure the warriors in the village will be greatly surprised. It would be fun to gloat over it and say, “I raised that kid,” but ….we have something to do before that.
“Ah, it’s really gone, So beautiful”
“True, It’s overflowing with the power of the kind spirits,…. thank goodness.”
After separating from Eleas, who was led by the village head, Tia and I arrived at the spirit tree. The black tendrils that had been entangled in the tree were no longer there, and a faint warmth could be felt from the pale light emanating from the spirit tree.
“I wish we could have shown this to the Elder. ….”
“Yeah….”
I had been prepared for this since Eleas awakened to his heroic powers, but as I had expected, the Elder had already passed away. The funeral for the Elder, who had died in his sleep at home, was already over. The body was buried in the garden of the house and then left to decompose by the “funeral magic” used by the elves, and a young tree was planted in the resulting humus.
It’s said that the Elves live with the values of coexisting with nature and spirits, with their decaying bodies becoming the source for new life to sprout. However, it wouldn’t be lonely to sleep in that garden where spirits come to play. I’ll go visit it with Tia later
[Hoho, there’s no need for that.]
“? Tia, just now… Tia?”
Suddenly, I thought I heard a voice and looked around, but there were no people around, probably because they were gathered toward Eleas. I asked Tia if that was the case, and for some reason she raised her eyebrows and looked at the spirit tree curiously.
“What’s the matter, Tia? Something on your mind?”
“Yeah. Right now, I felt the presence of the Elder from the Spirit Tree…”
“Is that so? But his body is in the garden of his house, right? If so, then …. no, by any chance?”
“By any chance, …. what?”
“The elder said something like, ‘When you get old, you get closer to the spirits.’ So I was wondering if, by any chance, when you die, your soul becomes a spirit, and it inhabits this tree.”
“Eh? There’s a difference between a dead person and a spirit. But, yes. Although it may only be a slight possibility, if you died and for a little while, if you could be mistaken for a spirit and could stay here, then… would that be possible?”
“Well, who knows. I don’t really know, but we should assume that’s what happened, right?”
I didn’t know anything about spirits, and I have no idea what happens to the souls of dead elves. But if I don’t know something, I should be able to interpret it in a way that suits me.
It’s a convenient excuse for those of us who were alive, a self-satisfaction to keep us from getting depressed. Even though we knew it was a kind and selfish lie, it’s much better than spending time sinking into regret.
“Indeed, We might not have made it in time while he was still alive, but We made it before his soul went somewhere else after death. I think the elder wouldn’t be angry if I just thought that way on my own, right?”
“Hmm… yeah, I think so.”
As I gazed at Tia’s smiling profile, I couldn’t help but reach out my hand. Then a gentle breeze brushed against my cheek—
Pikon!
—Conditions met. Ten minutes left until return.
“What!? Why!?”
“What’s wrong Ed!?”‘
“It said the condition has been met. …. says it is sending us back in 10 minutes.”
“What!?”
In exactly the same words, Tia also expressed her surprise. No, really, why? Don’t tell me Eleas “banished” us? But we’ve only been together for about three months, so that doesn’t seem possible…
[..…thank you]
“Huh!?”
At the strange voice I heard again, I looked at the spirit tree. Of course the tree didn’t talk because it wasn’t that demon king…. but I couldn’t help but feel a faint flicker of its light, as if it was telling me something.
“No way. ……?”
There were two conditions for me to be “banished” from the world. I must either work with a Hero for more than half a year, or be recognized as a companion by gaining a certain level of trust, and then be banished in that state.
I’ve never envisioned it before, but what if the gratitude the Elder have for us was synonymous with trust? And what if, instead of kicking us out, the Elders’ own departure from our midst would result in the same as “banishment” …?
“Ha. What, were you really there? Or …..?”
“Hey Ed, what are you talking about!? I haven’t even prayed to the Elder’s sapling yet――”
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. It looks like the Elder there has just left.”
I grinned and turned my gaze toward the spirit tree. Naturally, Tia looked puzzled, but her expression soon changed to a smile.
“The Elder!? …… Understood. If Ed says so, then so be it. I’m glad I was able to keep my promise. Good-bye, Elder. May the leaf that withers return to the earth and one day become a leaf of a great tree and we will meet again.”
I closed my eyes and put my hands together with Tia, who was chanting a prayer. After waiting for a while, our bodies disappeared from this world.
—Three ……Two ……One ……World transfer is now underway.”
At that moment of departure, I felt the gentle fragrance that filled the Elder’s garden reach my nose.