In the afternoon, I met Karant. We talked about Spirits, but neither he nor I were really interested in the subject. Although we talked with interest, our minds were elsewhere.
Karant boasted about the changes that had occurred over the past few months and asked me if I believed in his Spirit User’s talent. I chuckled and replied affirmatively. An hour of conversation sufficed. Like the previous day, he eyed me suspiciously as we parted ways, but he seemed less repulsed, perhaps having grown accustomed to it.
Afterwards, I asked Rainberg’s steward to find a boat heading to Terrin Island for me. Rainberg’s name carried weight.
The steward easily secured a passage to the lord’s island even at night. With a self-satisfied expression, the steward informed me. We managed to secure a small boat, though the captain is said to be mute.
He probably thought I sought the mute captain for smuggling purposes, and he seemed pleased with his resourcefulness in finding one, but I deemed honesty to be preferable.
The stench lingered all day, but I made a conscious effort to ignore it.
Evening fell. Count Schvarzen did not invite me to dinner. I made an excuse to the castle’s chefs, expressing a desire to see the night of Schtearn Port.
I left the castle with the steward and found myself at a desolate pier. A small boat awaited us. The steward seemed perplexed with me going alone, but I gestured for him to remain silent with a tap of my lips.
Alone, I headed towards Terrin Lake Island.
I arrived within minutes of departure from the nearby pier.
The stench persisted. It was not the odor of the sea but rather the foul smell of rotten fish.
I attributed it to the old boat of the mute captain, yet even as I disembarked at the island’s small pier and walked up the hill, the stench persisted.
The island was small. Upon ascending a low hill, I beheld a vast lake. The lake, occupying most of the island’s area, seemed to justify why Count Schvarzen sought to monopolize it as his private domain.
It was a lake as clear as a mirror, with the moon and stars reflected upon its surface. Especially on this night with a full moon, it appeared as though two moons were facing each other. It was a beautiful lake, reminiscent of the pupils of the goddess of the stars.
Yet despite the lake’s beauty, the stench grew stronger.
With a furrowed brow, I descended towards the riverbank. A cool breeze blew, filling my chest with cold air with each breath. Yet my chest only grew tighter. I widened my eyes and gazed at the lake. Beyond the surface, which had previously reflected the moon and stars like a mirror, I began to see more and deeper.
“To fish in a place like this.”
Contrary to its appearance, the lake was empty and indifferent. Not even small fish inhabited its waters. I realized, in this vast lake, that there were no cries of frogs or crickets. My head throbbed. The starlight that the lake had once mirrored now seemed to settle into my retina. Though it was blinding, I couldn’t close my eyes for long. The power of the Heavenly Sky Eye is unpredictable. If I closed my eyes, I might never see again.
In the depths of the lake.
Just as the deep bottom became visible.
There!
Suddenly, a carp moved. It seemed to have seen something as it started leaping with a sound, and I had no choice but to close and reopen my eyes.
“You?”
The calm waves soon gave way to a small whirlpool, revealing something. It was a lake devoid of life. It looked like a creature, but it wasn’t alive. I was slightly taken aback by the unexpected turn of events. The lake’s spirit, I had thought, was a demon. But indeed, there was a spirit dwelling in this lake.
“Why is a Spirit…”
It was a carp as big as a person. Its scales were as smooth as silk and as diverse as a rainbow.
The carp stared at me silently. The carp began to leap even more vigorously. My father had said that Spirit’s emotions follow the emotions of the ‘shaman.’ Natural spirits like Spirit don’t feel emotions. However, this silk carp spirit seemed to have a deeply sad look in its eyes. Even a carp, let alone the Spirit seemed to be crying.
The silk carp spirit looked at me with mournful eyes before hiding itself in the depths of the lake. Then, the restless carp made a dash towards the lake. The carp disappeared in an instant, following the carp.
I bit my lip and took off my coat. Swimming on a moonlit night, damn. There was no time to hesitate. I immediately ran towards the lake. I could swim, but I didn’t have the confidence to follow them. However, the water of the lake was warm, and I could still breathe even after dunking my head underwater. The lake was very deep and dark, but I could see clearly. There was a carp not far away. The restless carp came back to me.
It was a strange experience. I could breathe underwater, and I didn’t feel any resistance from the water. Although my body was submerged in the water and swimming, it felt comfortable, like a legendary mermaid. I could easily catch up with the carp. When I got closer, the carp swam deeper. The only reason I could breathe underwater was because of its power. The silk carp spirit wanted me to follow it.
I followed the carp and reached the bottom of the lake. The empty bottom was desolate, but in the distance, there was a rock with the only seaweed growing on it. The carp stopped by the rock. It didn’t take me long to realize that it wasn’t a rock.
I swam desperately to reach there. For a moment, I almost forgot that I was underwater and almost held my breath. I thought it was a rock, but it was a young boy with his eyes closed. His blond hair swayed in the current, making him look like seaweed. When I first saw the body, it looked so intact that I thought he was still alive. Even now, knowing that he’s dead, I’m still confused.
Karant.
His body had been underwater for a long time, yet it remained intact, frozen in death like a statue. The carp circled around the body, emitting a mournful sound like a whale’s cry. Was the spirit guarding the body? Why was there a body in the depths of this lake?
Devil.
He had guarded the corpse from the devil.
Devil and Spirit.
I thought of Dalbi, who had been inside the wolf’s belly. Perhaps until now, the Spirit had been preventing the devil from going to the lake. But something had gone awry with Karant’s interference. The spirit mourned as he guarded the corpse. Even when the impostor filled the castle with the stench of decay, he had guarded Karant’s corpse in the lake.
The spirit is a transcendent beast, existing on the boundary between nature and life. Death is natural. Therefore, death does not sadden Spirt. They do not fear devils because they do not know death.
But it’s different if influenced by the emotions of a Spirit User.
The “emotions” of the “Spirit User”.
Whose despair does the Spirit feel?
Karant didn’t just get eaten by the devil. What happened in the hours after his disappearance? The spirit mourned his death. If the outcome of this incident had been happy, the Count’s expectations wouldn’t have been in vain. If he had defeated the devil.
Karant fought to the end.
I lifted his corpse from this lonely bottom.
* * *
“Haah, haah.”
It was when I laid Karant’s corpse by the riverbank.
Exhausted from swimming, I sat down heavily and gasped for breath.
Aah!
I watched Dalbi’s actions. Dalbi didn’t come out of the lake. Instead, he started doing something strange. Suddenly, her silver fur puffed up and began to shine brightly like a star. The light illuminated the lake. As the entire vast lake began to shine along with Dalbi, I watched in awe and disbelief.
That’s when it happened.
Just as the spirit’s body seemed to shrink, Dalbi opened his mouth and casually ate him.
“Huh?”
Aah~!
Dalbi slurped and swallowed after a moment of hesitation.
He made a satisfied sound.
Eating a fish with lots of bones is inconvenient.
No, it’s not even a real fish, it’s a “Spirit”.
“Why did you eat that?”
I lacked the strength to be surprised. I had just been sad, but now I couldn’t help but laugh at Dalbi’s actions. She ate it. Our Dalbi ate the Spirit. She swallowed it in one gulp, not a herbivore but a carnivore.
But as soon as my astonishment subsided, I remembered the legend of Artemis that my father had told me.
This fellow, really.
“Dalbi, are you Artemis? The goddess of the moon?”
Dalbi lifted her head at me. I shrugged at his action, as if asking what nonsense I was talking about. Well, it’s possible. I don’t believe in gods. But it’s a world where devils and “Brother and Sisters” exist. It’s not such a surprising story to have a spirit as strong as Artemis, called the goddess of the moon, and it’s not unbelievable that he’s currently powerless.
The stench paralyzed my nose.
“Oh! Surprise!”
Bullshit.
“Sir Cantavia… What are you doing here… You really surprised me.”
I met ‘Karant’ as I climbed the hill.
I glanced back briefly. Karant by the riverbank should be safe as he was far away.
“When I asked the Count, he said you had changed since your disappeared in this lake. Have you felt the power of the lake’s spirit?”
“Haha, Father is quite the character. Back then, it was a thrilling experience almost leading to death, but looking back now, I think it was fortunate. The power of the water mage is truly remarkable, isn’t it? Even now, I often come secretly to hone my skills with water. Well, it’s a secret to Father. After mastering the power of water, I plan to surprise the Schwarzen family. Haha.”
Haha.
Bullshit.
As I spoke, I approached him slowly.
“Did I mention that my eyes are eagle eyes?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I could see the fish heads long ago, and many other things too. It only took a day. The problem was the uncertainty due to the poor performance of the scouters. Oh, right. People in this world don’t seem to know about the Disguisers.”
The stench.
“But still, after seeing it a few times, I understood. Unlike the twins, the thugs’ cockroaches, although slaves, couldn’t be beaten no matter how much bullshit they spouted.”
After meeting the carp spirit, I became more certain.
He was weak. No, he had become weak.
Like a black wolf, sealed by the power of the carp spirit for a long time.
“I could probably chop up the fish head by myself.”
Thunk!
I quickly transformed my Lamelstar into an axe and with all my strength, I smashed the fish head to pieces.
