When I faced the highest-level spirits, I didn’t feel particularly pressured or anything. Objectively speaking, their energy was indeed strong enough to rival upper demons, but that level was something I could easily handle.
However, the energy radiating from the Spirit King was different. Not just me, but the strength of a mere human could never dare to rival theirs. They were nature itself, and nature was them.
“Kids these days have no manners. Or has the continent’s etiquette changed while I wasn’t looking?”
An old man sitting in a chair, leaning on a cane, spoke. His appearance, voice, and words were all undeniably those of an elderly man, but I didn’t believe he was truly old. After all, spirits can easily change their appearances; it would be comical to take it at face value.
“I am Lindy of the Elf Tribe.”
“I’m Alicia, serving as Serena the Goddess’s knight despite my inadequacies.”
Still, what could we do? In this place, they were the superiors, and we were the absolute inferiors. It wasn’t just due to the logic of power; since we needed to convince them to remove Lindy’s seal, we had to cater to their preferences.
“So, you’re the hero chosen for this great cause, I see. You really do look as young as they say.”
Instead of the old man who had spoken first, a woman sitting on the railing nearby acknowledged our greetings, swinging her legs. Judging by how she was toying with a marble-sized water droplet in her hand as she talked, she was likely the Water Spirit King.
She appeared to be about my age, but like the old man before, her actual age was immeasurably greater than it seemed.
“Clarice, if you are a Spirit King, please maintain some dignity.”
The man sitting at the center, pointing out the antics of the woman named Clarice, spoke with solemnity, but Clarice ignored him and continued playing with the droplet.
Then, with a flick, she threw the water droplet at me.
Startled by this unexpected pass, I tried to catch it with my hands, but water droplets aren’t meant to be handled like marbles. The moment it touched my skin, it dispersed, slipping through my fingers.
“Don’t you find these sort of meetings tedious too? But bear with us. Most of us have lived very long lives, so we’re unbearably rigid. If only Flora had been here, it might have been better.”
Clarice laughed, clearly amused by my flustered state, and called out someone’s name with a hint of longing.
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Lady Flora here.”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard from Silfi on your way here?”
“No. Nothing…”
Based on what I learned during my Academy days, Flora was undoubtedly the Spirit King of Wind. So, this old man and the man must be the Spirit Kings of Fire and Earth, respectively.
“Ah, well. It would be hard for them to talk about their king casually. They’re such kind souls.”
Leaping down from the railing with a click of her heels, Clarice crossed the room and pulled out one of the chairs from the table where the other two were seated and sat down.
“It’s nothing special. The king’s wanderlust struck again, so she set off on a tour of the Spirit Realm. Thanks to that, I have two votes here, including hers.”
That meant if we could only persuade Clarice, we’d be halfway there. If we could convince one more Spirit King, we could undoubtedly lift Lindy’s seal. Fortunately, Clarice seemed favorable toward us.
“Lady Clarice, if you don’t mind, could you lift Lindy’s seal…”
“Hold on! I understand your earnestness, but we must separate the personal from the official. First, go rest. There are plenty of rooms, so feel free to use any you like.”
But perhaps we were too hasty. Clarice, though continuing to smile at us, was clearly drawing a line. Though I felt a bit let down, she was entirely right, so there was no point in being stubborn.
“Yes… Sorry for focusing only on our side of things.”
“No, no, there’s no need to apologize. Just rest. We just arrived here ourselves and also need to have some discussions.”
Lindy and I were gently pushed out the door by her. Well, what more could we do here? Instead of doing something unnecessary, we followed Clarice’s advice and took over one of the empty palace rooms. After laying down on the bed, sleep quickly overtook me.
With the sleep I lacked last night due to the cramped quarters, exhaustion finally caught up to me. There was nothing more to do here anyway, so I entrusted myself to slumber, hoping the matter would resolve well.
*
BAM BAM
“Alicia?”
“Mm…?”
A loud noise suddenly woke me up. As I opened my eyes and cleared my head, the sounds of knocking on the door and Lindy’s voice calling my name reached me.
“Uh, uh! Give me a moment!”
Realizing I was awake, I hastily got up from the bed to open the door.
“What’s up? You were sleeping? I’m sorry if I woke you up.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a deep sleep anyway, just a brief nap. So, what’s up?”
Though I slept unknowingly, my body was by no means tired.
“Hey, why does there always need to be something going on between us? I came to see if you wanted to eat since you probably haven’t had anything yet.”
Sure enough, Lindy was holding a few fruits in her hands. It seemed like the palace, though filled with vacant rooms, didn’t have a dedicated chef, so Lindy must have gone out to find these.
“Now that you mention it, quite some time has passed, but I’m not really feeling hungry?”
However, despite Lindy’s efforts, I didn’t feel the least bit hungry. Though I could eat if I had to, it wasn’t like I needed to force myself to.
“It’s because we’re in the Spirit Realm. Unlike the material world, the air here is full of energy, which is enough to substitute for meals. Though we aren’t spirits, relying solely on that without eating is not exactly healthy.”
Lindy placed the fruits on the empty table. Meanwhile, I pulled out a chair and offered it to Lindy, sitting on the one opposite to her.
Are these fruits from the Spirit Realm? They were definitely something I had never seen before.
“There’s no poison, so don’t worry. Though I can’t guarantee how they taste…”
As if to prove it, Lindy bit into one of the fruits. Following her, I also ate one.
It was slightly strange using fruit as a meal, but since I wasn’t hungry anyway, I treated it like a snack.
“So… how do you think things are going to go?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I mean the seal. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten why we’re here?”
“Oh, of course not. It’s just… There’s nothing we can do, so I’d say the chances are fifty-fifty?”
Fifty-fifty. If I were considering Lindy recovering her power after the seal was lifted, that was a manageable probability. Moreover, given our plan to convince the Spirit King regardless, calculating odds was pointless from the start.
“Still, it’s lucky that Lady Flora is away. She’s such a free-spirited person that even I don’t know how she’ll react. On the other hand, Lady Clarice, as you’ve seen, is generally well-disposed towards others.”
“But she said before that she had to separate personal from official issues…”
“Ah, that? She says that but takes good care of those she likes.”
Knock knock
When I had finished half of the fruit, someone knocked on the door. Unsure of who it could be, I tilted my head and opened the door.
“Lady Clarice?”
“I came to visit. It’s not every day we get visitors to the Spirit Realm, so I couldn’t just turn back without checking.”
In Lady Clarice’s hand was a bottle. She shook it to show us.
“There’s nothing special to offer, but one of my underlings in the human realm started making alcohol recently. I thought it might be worth trying.”
Liquor made by spirits? Hard to imagine. But there was one thing I knew for sure: this drink wouldn’t taste bad.
All the fruits Lindy brought were far tastier than anything I had ever tried back in the human realm. The liquid in the bottle looked like fruit wine. If such delicious fruits were used, the liquor couldn’t possibly be awful.
Good food was always welcome, of course, but the fact that it was alcohol made me hesitate. My total drinking experience boiled down to accidentally consuming some during a prank by Linne in my Academy days. Back then, I hadn’t even realized it was alcohol and ended up so drunk I couldn’t remember anything.
But would it be okay this time? Back then, I drank unknowingly and couldn’t control myself, but now that I’m aware, I can simply stop when I feel a bit tipsy. Also, after growing older, I’m unlikely to get drunk as easily as before.
And if I had any bad drinking habits, my friends from those days didn’t mention anything, so I must not be too disruptive when drunk.
“Welcome, Lady Clarice.”
I extended my hand into the room, welcoming her.
It’s a good opportunity. Lindy said Clarice was likely to support us, but it would be better to solidify that. Who knows, she might even persuade the other Spirit Kings on our behalf.
“Have a seat.”
This could be a favorable situation where the odds of success are better than initially anticipated.
