The ground began to move on its own.
Violently shaking, the walls split open, spewing forth heaps of soil.
I wondered if it was some devil’s trick, but fortunately, I had no worries about being buried alive.
Soon, the ceiling cracked open, and a pit erupted, pushing me out into the open air.
In an instant, I saw sunlight.
I squinted my eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
In the forest, the spirits had gathered, waiting for me to emerge.
They no longer attacked me, sitting quietly and watching me as if they had finished a task.
I looked at Dalbi.
The little one was hopping around joyfully.
Were the sprites asking for my help because their friend had been devoured by a demon?
If so, they were a bunch of rascals.
Damn, why ask me instead of my father?
The tension eased.
A dry cough persisted, and my throat felt parched.
Dehydration symptoms the thirst was taking a toll on my body.
I had no strength to move my legs. I lay on the ground and took a deep breath.
The headache still lingered, and returning to the Quilz Castle would probably keep me bedridden for days.
Thunk!
It was when I absentmindedly gazed at the sky.
Suddenly, the sound of water reached my ears, and a puddle formed beside me.
In the puddle, there was a small frog.
It emerged from the puddle and stared at me intently.
I shrugged and crawled over to the puddle, burying my head in it.
The cold water cooled my heated cheeks.
The water in my throat was sweeter than Aronia drink.
“Haah.”
After drinking the water, I lay down.
The dirt floor was cool.
At that moment, something tickled my back.
Startled, I raised my waist.
Leaves with butterfly wings flew up from the ground.
The butterfly sprites flapped their wings, and in an instant, a layer of fallen leaves piled up around me, turning into a soft bed.
“You guys.”
A warm breeze blew.
“Do you give a disease and then provide the cure?”
I thought they were annoying little creatures.
But receiving the Spirits’ kindness didn’t feel bad.
Dalbi, who had been hopping around, came running to my side.
She leaned against my armpit and sat down.
I stroked Dalbi with my hand.
I looked at my father.
He had wrinkles all over his face.
Now he looked like a 60-year-old man.
With a bewildered expression, he soon found me lying down. When our eyes met, my father’s expression twisted.
He rushed over to hug me.
“It hurts.”
The wound torn by the wolf’s claws was very painful.
Hurriedly, he looked at my messed-up arms and chest and covered the wound with his hands, infusing me with the spirit’ power.
It didn’t heal like Wooshas’ healing, but the wound became clean.
My father said with a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry, truly sorry.”
My mind was too overwhelmed to sob like he did.
I comforted my worried father calmly.
“I’m okay, Father.”
“But this wound…”
“I fell off a cliff.”
I didn’t tell him about meeting the demon.
I didn’t want to burden him with guilt, and there was someone else to discuss the demon with.
Talking about the demon would lead to discussions about the relics of the Azhibita Church.
I decided to keep the promise with my siblings.
Although my father’s gaze changed for a moment, he didn’t ask further.
At this moment, the most important thing was that the youngest son of the Rainberg almost died.
He tried to carry me on the back of the blue wolf, Mac.
However, Mac didn’t like it.
Daah!
Dalbi shouted as if scolding him.
It was a funny sight. This small deer, not even a mouthful, confronted Mac, the Blue Wolf Spirit.
But Mac, who considered him a fellow spirit, turned his head and bowed his knees.
Dalbi jumped onto Mac first.
“I’m his partner, you know. Let me in your back too”
I laughed as I rode on Mac’s back. This guy who always growled at me seemed to care about me now that I was injured.
My father left the Temple of Artemis right away.
Mac was much faster and stronger than any horse.
He quickly crossed the forest and climbed up the cliff. There was no worry about falling.
Mac’s fur swayed like water, and it had a strong suction force.
If that was the case, Mac should have carried me from the beginning.
“Sorry. I almost lost you because of my foolish desire. I never knew the sprites would dislike you like that.”
My father said on the way.
I was confused about what this gentleman was saying.
“But I got the spirit, right? A quite cute one, though not as strong as Mac.”
Mac stopped. My father turned to me, looking at Dalbi in my arms.
He approached and observed Dalbi carefully.
Dalbi licked his cheek with his tongue.
Still, my father’s reaction was strange.
After gently touching his cheek with a thoughtful expression, he scolded me with a stern expression.
“Did you say you have a Spirit?”
“Here, a small deer. Isn’t she cute? Her name is Dalbi.”
I pointed to Dalbi in my arms.
My father got excited all of a sudden.
He raised both hands in a victory pose, patted Mac’s back as if celebrating a soccer goal, and even did a ceremony-like action, shaking his arms like a striker who scored the winning goal.
I didn’t know he would be so delighted about taming this small deer spirit.
My father, who usually scolded me if it was related to my work, seemed particularly stern this time.
But it was too much.
“Hehe!”
Now, he burst into celebration.
He was continuously laughing, and tears even welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Finally, he put his hands on my shoulders and said.
“You did well, Cantavia.”
“Well, it’s just…”
“No. It’s truly amazing. As I expected, my eyes did not deceive me.”
He said with confidence.
“You’re the strongest Spirit User, Cantavia.”
He looked down at Dalbi. Dalbi looked up at me with his head tilted.
If this guy fights with Mac.
Isn’t it like the level of Caterpie and Dragonite’s fight? (Pokemon)
I knew that my father would scold me terribly if he was particularly concerned about my work.
But this time, it was severe.
Calling me the strongest Spirit User without any evidence, he was praising me too much.
Thinking about it, being inside the belly of the demon was suspicious.
This guy—is it a legendary Spirit?
***
Libera Quilz Rainberg couldn’t see.
Only after pouring in all his concentration and strength did he faintly see a shadow.
A shiver ran down his spine when he realized this fact.
There was only one being he couldn’t see.
‘Oh, god.’
He believed.
And he hoped.
So, he brought his youngest son to the Temple of Artemis.
But when he saw his son, wounded and exhausted, his heart felt like it was tearing apart.
He chastised himself for his own foolishness.
He almost lost his son to his own greed.
He promised not to do that again.
Cantavie was the most vulnerable of her children, unlike his siblings.
But now he was relieved. Cantavia Quilz Rainberg, his beloved son, had surprisingly surpassed the limits of his expectations.
There were four children of the Moon.
‘Artemis’ is a legend, but Libera firmly believed her existence.
He had seen it by chance in a remote land deep in the territory of the Ain People swept away by the front lines of the Great War.
A powerful being unseen so far, carrying even hundreds of Elemental Spirits, moving the entire mountain, a mythical creature beyond belief.
He saw it only once, and since then, never again.
For 40 years, not even once.
But every time he prayed at the Temple of Artemis, he felt it faintly, like a thin thread.
In the excitement of the beings, surely that mythical being was dormant here.
‘Cantavie awakened the mythical being. In 40 years, something I couldn’t do even once…’
He felt a bit, very slightly, inferior, but soon even the uncomfortable feeling turned into happiness.
His son was the strongest Spirit User.
A Spirit User who confidently climbed where he couldn’t reach, the strongest Spirit User!
* * *
Damn, my body is a mess.
As soon as I returned to the mansion, I collapsed exhausted.
Michelle said I stank of alcohol, but I decided not to say anything because I survived thanks to the random things I brought.
Until the medical team arrives, let me rest for a while.
“I feel like I’m going to die. Ugh, it’s bitter inside.”
I thought I wouldn’t experience this shit-like thing in this life.
“Crazy.”
Crazy?
“Huh?”
I stupidly stared at Dalbi.
Crazy? Crazy?
Wait, do mythical Spirit know how to speak?
***
After the treatment was over, I recuperated in my room for a few days.
My father visited me every day.
I asked him about a spirit being able to speak.
In response, he once again took me on a deep lecture.
He explained that spirit speaking is influenced by the empathetic heart of the communicator, and could either become benevolent or malevolent.
According to him, only spirits beyond the extremes of communication’s spectrum could be affected by human emotions and speak simple words to the Spirt User. To achieve that in just one day, you must indeed possess the qualities of a supreme spirit communicator.
Unfortunately, Dalbi only knew how to say the word “Crazy.”
Dalbi learned his first words in a peculiar way.
***
I had to share what happened at the Temple of Artemis.
For the first time, I invited my siblings into the room at my own will.
Dalbi, who was lying in bed, suddenly jumped up and shouted upon seeing my siblings.
Crazy! Crazy!
“Yeah, yeah. Those people are always like that.”
Fortunately, my siblings, who were flying and playing around, couldn’t see the Spirit under my bed.
***
Honestly, I had a slight expectation.
Up until now, whenever my siblings got into trouble, I would get entangled in it and end up unable to do anything, just going along like a puppet.
Even if I said I wanted to live quietly without getting involved as much as possible, it seems I was still someone who wanted to be recognized.
“Interesting.”
But when I explained what happened at the Temple of Artemis to them, embellishing it a bit like a heroic tale, their reactions were less than impressive.
Only Melissa responded nonchalantly with “interesting” while swaying her tail, almost like a habit.
It somehow felt a bit irritating.
“There was the word ‘Fenrir’ engraved on the devil’s neck. Probably his name.”
“You can read demon language?”
“Not really… It just appeared in front of me.”
The conversation was dry. I didn’t want an enthusiastic response like Father’s, but still…
“Anything else?”
“Oh? About that…”
Ranista stood up first. He lightly patted the back of my head, giving me an unpleasant feeling, and left.
Melissa had no interest in me at all. She left without saying anything.
Finally, Wooshas, on her way out, whispered to me.
“Well done.”
Alone in the room, I felt a vague sense of discomfort.
Ah, damn.
What should I feel about this?
Crazy! Crazy!
Hiding under the bed until my siblings left, I peeked down and watched Dalbi awkwardly using the curse words I taught her.
Spirits are said to be influenced by the emotions of their Spirit User, right?
