In the heart of a deep mountain stood a gravestone. I stared at it blankly.
It was a strangely protruding gravestone. Left at a slant in the ground as if it had claimed its place there from the very beginning, moss and vines had begun to grow over it.
At first glance, it appeared to be an unmaintained, lonely grave of someone whose name had faded into obscurity…. But I had a strong feeling it was not so.
Illuminated not by artificial means, but by the brilliant summer sunlight, green leaves cast a translucent shadow, and several pale green rays filtered through, creating a magical atmosphere.
Its natural appearance evoked a sense of incongruity and suspicion. Not in the sense that someone must have artificially created this environment, but rather the thought that this gravestone had been deliberately set up in such a place.
– Beep. Beep. Beep.
The sound that pulled me out of my deep contemplation was the mechanical noise emanating from the antenna-shaped device held by Vivian. I blinked and refocused my eyes, glancing around.
“… There’s a signal coming from over there.”
Vivian murmured as she pointed toward the gravestone. Just as she said, the antenna was indeed pointing directly at it.
It was a peculiar occurrence. The fact that the gravestone was where it was pointing made it feel even more bizarre. Daniel opened his eyes wide and began to step forward slowly.
“O, oh…!”
Lost in awe of the mysterious phenomenon before him and the breathtaking sight provided by nature, Daniel looked extremely excited. I called out his name.
“Daniel, student.”
“This is incredible…! Just a little closer, just a little more….”
“… Daniel, student.”
“First, if we attach a talisman…. Ah, Professor.”
After calling his name twice, Daniel’s eyes, which had been intensely focused on the gravestone, finally shifted. I let out a quiet sigh.
“I understand your excitement, but that does not mean you should carelessly approach someone else’s grave.”
“Yes…. I’m sorry.”
Daniel scratched his head sheepishly upon hearing my words. Even if it was a grave of someone forgotten by the world, casually approaching it out of curiosity in case there was a ghost was rude behavior.
To the one buried in that cold earth, and to whoever had created that grave. After slowly surveying my surroundings, I drew a sign of the cross in the air and murmured a prayer.
“Even though they may have been forgotten by all the peoples living on this land, may the Lord, the owner of the world, consider their upright heart….”
Finishing my short prayer, I opened my eyes and turned to the students and Sub-priest Sofia, who were standing frozen like nails.
“It would be better to go somewhere else.”
“B-but….”
“… Professor. I just want to take a quick look.”
As I had expected, Vivian and Daniel began to cling to my pants with longing expressions. Knowing that this would happen, I could refuse their request coldly.
“No. Do not carelessly approach someone else’s grave.”
“Ah….”
“Tsk….”
Even if they felt disappointed, it couldn’t be helped. Even if I were in Daniel’s position, I would have simply walked past that grave. That is the courtesy owed to the deceased.
Thus, when I tried to move forward with the gloomy-faced Daniel and Vivian leading the way.
“Okay, let’s gradually….”
– Whoosh—.
A single gust of wind blew. A fresh, yet powerful breeze that would easily rustle even the branches swept through. I unconsciously turned my gaze toward the gravestone.
“…?”
And I saw.
The leaves of the vines growing over the gravestone fluttering in the wind, revealing glimpses of something that had been obscured.
That something. The moment I saw the letters that seemed to have been carved in by someone using some sort of tool, though its appearance maintained a natural look as much as possible.
“……!”
I was already slowly approaching the gravestone.
“Professor?”
“Uh, huh?”
“Professor Antorelli! Where are you going?”
I heard the voices of the students and Sub-priest Sofia calling my name, but even their voices gradually faded away.
At this moment, it felt as though only the gravestone and I remained beneath the green veil cast by the sun.
So, I walked and walked until finally arriving right in front of the gravestone. I knelt on one knee and slowly lowered myself. The vines and moss clinging to the gravestone trembled in the breeze as if whispering for me to quickly confirm this gravestone.
Courtesy to the deceased. Just as I thought that, I knew well how absurd it was for me to do such a thing with my own hands.
However, I….
Gently brushed away the moss clinging to the gravestone and pulled aside the vines wrapped around it. What unfolded before my eyes was.
[ Born under the blessings of runes from nature, and returned to the embrace of nature, Nerwen Rhyurfindel. Hoping for the day of our reunion. ]
“… This is.”
It was the phrase engraved with the name of the owner of this grave. Written in unsteady handwriting, clumsily etched.
I quietly gazed at it. I couldn’t hear any sounds, so I focused intensely.
Unlike the humans who write from left to right, the unique arrangement of characters described from right to left had a peculiar flourish at the end of each letter that curled gently— a style I was all too familiar with.
It closely resembled the inscriptions on the elven daggers that were captured and used during the Great War. The thought crossed my mind.
So, to put it another way…. The owner of this grave is….
“… an elf.”
It was not a lonely grave of some human without any known relatives, nor was it a forgotten grave that nobody remembered.
This was the grave of an elf.
*
Suddenly approaching the gravestone, Professor Antorelli exhibited no movement and simply knelt there silently, staring at it.
“… Professor, what is he doing?”
“Don’t know…?”
“Hey, Professor Antorelli?”
Normally, he would have immediately responded to the students calling for him, but the current Professor Antorelli showed no signs of moving even at their calls.
“Professor? Professor Antorelli!”
“Professor!”
Even though several students called his name in succession, it felt like he should at least glance back, but he did not. He looked as if he had frozen in that posture. Daniel shouted with a worried expression.
“This is…. Could it be that he’s possessed by a ghost?!”
“Hmm…. It’s a possibility. We need to perform an exorcism quickly.”
“Among us, the only one who can perform an exorcism is Professor Antorelli, right?!”
“… This is bad. We’re going to be trapped here.”
While Daniel and Vivian exchanged banter, no one else showed any interest in their conversation.
Sub-priest Sofia looked at Professor Antorelli with a worried expression. At a glance, his eyes were fixated on the gravestone in front of him.
‘… I need to get closer.’
In the end, Sub-priest Sofia steeled herself and made the sign of the cross. She wanted to approach Professor Antorelli.
As soon as Sub-priest Sofia took a step toward him, Daniel, who was fumbling in his pocket for some incomprehensible talismans, looked at her with a startled expression.
“Sub-priest Sofia?”
“It seems like Sub-priest Sofia might be possessed too.”
“Damn it! Just how powerful is this lingering spirit?!”
“… Everyone, it’s not like that, so please calm down.”
After Sub-priest Sofia awkwardly said this, the commotion between the two occult enthusiasts quieted down. Sub-priest Sofia tried to maintain a calm expression.
“Head Priest….”
A voice that couldn’t help but slip out. Knowing about Professor Antorelli’s painful past, she couldn’t help but feel anxious seeing him sitting before the gravestone, staring blankly.
Eventually, as Sub-priest Sofia approached Professor Antorelli, she first observed his expression.
“Head Priest, sir…?”
“…….”
He stared blankly at the gravestone. Seeing the unfocused, dull look in his eyes, Sub-priest Sofia bit her lip tightly and grabbed his arm.
“Head Priest! Head Priest!”
“…….”
“Head Priest!”
“… Prof.”
“Yes?”
As Sub-priest Sofia shook Professor Antorelli’s arm vigorously, he finally looked at her.
“It’s the grave of an elf.”
“… E-elf?”
“Yes.”
Contrary to what she had expected might not be good, Professor Antorelli answered far too normally. Sub-priest Sofia looked down at the gravestone with a confused heart.
“Is it really the grave of an elf….?”
“… Yes.”
“Why is it in such a place…?”
Professor Antorelli remained silent. His face was expressionless, but Sub-priest Sofia could read the complicated emotions hidden within him and chose to remain quiet.
“… Well, I don’t know either.”
“…….”
“I really don’t know.”
Confusion filled Professor Antorelli’s eyes. While still looking down at the gravestone, he closed his eyes gently.
After a short while, he reopened them. His gaze was noticeably calmer than before.
“Are you alright now?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
After reflexively giving that answer, Professor Antorelli turned his body and approached the students. Sub-priest Sofia hurriedly followed behind him.
“P-Professor?”
“Are you alright?”
Concerned gazes turned toward Professor Antorelli. Daniel, who had been the first to walk this far, was dripping with cold sweat.
Receiving the worried and anxious looks, Professor Antorelli waved his hand dismissively and unfolded a map.
“I’m fine. I was just momentarily lost in thought.”
“Is that so?”
Laura asked with a particularly worried expression, her wide-open red eyes glistening with tears.
Could she also know something about Professor Antorelli? Just as Sub-priest Sofia pondered this.
“First, let’s head back for today.”
Professor Antorelli said while looking around. Upon hearing his words and glancing around, Sub-priest Sofia noticed that even though it was mid-summer, the forest was already beginning to darken.
“Ah, the sun is already….”
“Indeed, it seems that being in the mountains causes the sun to set quickly.”
In the end, we had no choice but to head back with Professor Antorelli leading the way.
As Sub-priest Sofia followed the group, who began to walk away without even looking back at the grave, she unconsciously turned her head in the direction of the grave.
“… Huh?”
And she saw.
Something standing behind the gravestone, as darkness began to fall.
‘What is that…?’
Sub-priest Sofia squinted her eyes and tried to discern its identity.
As the shape moving in the darkness became somewhat clearer, just before Sub-priest Sofia could gauge it.
“Sub-priest Sofia! Hurry up and come!”
“… Ah! I’m coming now!”
The moment Chloe called out to her, her concentration broke. Sub-priest Sofia resigned herself and turned around.
She thought it was just something she misinterpreted due to the darkness.
