I believe the term “hidden realm” exists, and this place might be used to describe it.
Led by Muil-san, we proceeded further into the building where the Dark Elf elders gathered, and beyond that, a cave existed.
And we were guided beyond that cave.
“This is the Spirit Village, the world where the spirits we Dark Elves have contracted with reside.”
“….Amazing.”
The world beyond the mist, at the end of the cave illuminated by a lantern powered by magic stones.
The night outside was already a world worthy of being called another world, but this was an even different realm.
Countless spirits flew through the sky, shining in seven colors.
Spirits shaped like animals climbed trees that glittered like jewels.
A world that could be definitively called different from where humans lived, a world that looked like it came from a picture book.
“Those who see this for the first time often react like you, my son-in-law. The forest where the testers went to contract with spirits for this plan is outwardly named the Spirit Forest, but in reality, it’s not much different from other forests. The only difference is that it’s easier to find spirits there because there’s a small entrance and exit separate from other forests. The spirits that go in and out through there wander the forest as if they are taking a stroll in the outside world. This, I suppose, is the true world of the spirits.”
“Haa.”
Seeing such a scene and listening to Muil-san’s explanation, all that came out of me were exclamations of admiration at the overwhelming spectacle.
It was truly a paradise for spirits that existed right before my eyes.
I could only muster a commonplace thought at the sight.
A dense magical power, unlike anything I had felt even in the Dungeon.
It was dissolved into the air, harmonizing naturally.
An ecosystem I had never seen before, created by nature, existed before my eyes; it was difficult to react with anything other than surprise.
“Well, there’s no point in lingering here for too long. My son-in-law, this way!”
This is the world of the spirits, and as outsiders cannot enter unnecessarily, only Muil-san accompanied me.
He called out to me, who was stunned, and we slowly began to walk.
Though I had the urge to look around like a country bumpkin visiting the city, I resisted and followed him silently for about ten minutes.
“Where is this?”
We arrived at what seemed like an ordinary small spring within the Spirit Village.
Though small, it was wide enough for about ten people to bathe comfortably.
“The spirit you are going to contract with, my son-in-law, is special. Its dwelling place is far away, and it would take a considerable amount of time to travel there by horse from here. Therefore, the method of travel is also special.”
What awaited us was a beautiful spring, so clear that it seemed possible to see the bottom.
I thought the spirit in question might be here, but that wasn’t the case. Muil-san began to whistle a tune.
I somehow understood that he was using his magic power to summon something with that melody.
“…It’s here.”
“No, but what is it?”
This elder, who doesn’t look his age, seems to be unable to resist surprising me. He explained absolutely nothing about this place or what was about to happen.
After whistling, Muil-san listened intently for a few seconds, sensed something, and smiled at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
I knew something was about to happen, and even as I asked questions, I sensed something approaching, but I could only come up with answers that remained in the realm of speculation.
The only thing I could infer from the circumstantial evidence was that it was a spirit with immense magical power.
“It’s like what you call a ‘taxi’ in your world. A convenient guy that takes you anywhere you ask it to,”
Is it a spirit for transportation like a horse, given that he said “guy”?
And since this is a watering hole, is it also for the spirit to drink?
Seeing my worried expression, he told me not to worry, but I wish Muil-san realized that his smile full of mischief offered no reassurance.
Since he mentioned “taxi,” I assumed it was a vehicle, but a vehicle that emerges from the water?
I thought of a submarine, but there’s no way such a thing would exist in this world. While Muil-san said not to worry, I was on guard, wondering what would appear.
“A ta…xi?”
And my mind, which had briefly considered a submarine, seemed to be quite sharp today.
“Indeed, it is a spirit that freely travels the Spirit Village, a Ho-rei.”
“No, it’s a whale. A yellow one, though.”
Gazing up at its immense body, I had no choice but to describe the reality before me.
I wanted to ask how it emerged from such a small spring. The massive creature appeared with a splash, and I thought I’d be drenched, but this was the world of spirits.
The scattered water instantly turned into magic power, and the iridescent glow created a fantastical scene with zero damage.
More than that, I wondered how I should react to the appearance of this whale, which cried out “Quooon” and was over thirty meters long.
“Are we riding this?”
“Un, that’s right.”
Given that it’s floating in the air, are we going by air?
In this Otherworld, a flying whale wouldn’t be out of the question.
The yellow whale, called Ho-rei, slowly turned its face towards us and descended.
And then I saw its enormous mouth opening.
“■■■-―‐―‐― Shall we get on, my son-in-law?”
“No, where?”
“? It’s open right in front of you, isn’t it?”
“Generally speaking, that’s not called ‘getting on,’ it’s called ‘being swallowed.'”
“What are you talking about? Come on, if we don’t hurry, the sun will set.”
Perhaps in this case, it would be more accurate to say “jumping into its mouth.”
Muil-san spoke to the whale in a language I couldn’t understand and then, without hesitation, tried to board it.
Perhaps he told this whale-like spirit, Ho-rei, our destination.
However, I, unsure of where to get on, felt a bad premonition, and my reason stopped me from taking that step.
When I asked Muil-san where to get on, as if to confirm my bad feeling, Muil-san pointed towards the whale’s gaping maw.
It’s not unusual for a living being to hesitate at the prospect of being eaten.
However, Muil-san’s expression, as if asking what strange thing I was asking, made me worry if perhaps I was the one who was mistaken.
To that extent, Muil-san was about to enter the whale’s mouth without any hesitation.
By general standards, it would be an abnormal sight, but this is another world. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Silently, I entered the whale’s mouth, and it gently closed.
I thought being inside a creature’s mouth would be more humid, but contrary to my expectations, it wasn’t. The temperature and humidity were comfortable, and it was surprisingly bright for being inside a mouth.
Though I felt a slight “zun” sensation of floating, once it started moving, I felt nothing and couldn’t confirm if we were moving as there were no windows.
“It’s absurd. It was more comfortable than a taxi, even though it’s inside a living creature.”
I felt a slight sense of absurdity at the journey, which was more comfortable than my past experiences with carnivorous plants.
“That’s right, isn’t it? It would take at least half a month to get here from there by horse, no matter how fast we went.”
It felt like five minutes.
We arrived at our destination almost immediately.
However, according to Muil-san, the distance we traveled was far greater than I imagined.
“By what principle?”
It’s natural to be curious about the method of shortening such a distance, which is impossibly fast by modern standards, let alone instantaneous.
“We don’t know the detailed principle. Ho-rei can go anywhere there is water, so it can appear from a spring to a spring, from the sea to a spring, or anywhere with clean water. Some say it travels by connecting bodies of water through a special space.”
“What a fantastical creature.”
“It is a spirit, after all.”
It’s become a routine exchange for such questions to be answered with a single word: “fantasy.”
Watching the whale that showed me this fantastical common sense dive into the lake with a flip of its tail, my thought was that it was something akin to a cheat.
If this were Earth, transportation companies and traffic-related businesses would undoubtedly clamor to use it.
“Now, from here on, we can only walk. Are you ready, my son-in-law?”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be here.”
I turned away from the fantastical space and looked back.
“Why is only this side monochrome?”
“That is the power of Valse, the Spirit of Time and Space. Beyond here is a world where time has stopped. I don’t know what lies ahead either.”
“How do we contract with it, then?”
The scene, which looked like something out of a fairy tale, transformed into a world that seemed to belong in a horror game.
Time had stopped, colors had faded, and a scene like a black-and-white television from the early Showa era unfolded before me.
And there were no spirits in this vicinity. Apparently, due to its overwhelming power, spirits below intermediate level did not approach, and intermediate spirits above that did not approach due to territorial disputes.
Therefore, this place was extremely quiet.
A space where no living things existed, only nature.
Strangely, I didn’t feel any aversion to it.
“Don’t worry. If you enter the domain without malice, the spirits will naturally speak to you. All you have to do is respond properly when they do.”
“The perception range is also off the charts.”
Thinking it would be reckless to attempt a contract through combat, I slowly stepped into the monochrome world.
“Well then, Muil-san, I’m off.”
“Un, be careful. I will wait here for your return, my son-in-law. I look forward to good news.”
“I will do my best. The result will be a surprise when I return.”
Muil-san was not allowed to enter beyond this point.
While it wasn’t forbidden to take trials with others, Muil-san said that the spirits would have a better impression if the trial was taken alone.
That was what Muil-san explained.
I hesitated for a moment as I crossed the boundary between the black-and-white world and the colored world, but I quickly stepped forward.
Although trees grew thickly, a game trail remained, and I pushed forward silently.
I advanced, experiencing a sense of time gradually stretching.
The flow of the river, the falling leaves, the blowing wind – nothing existed.
Only a stopped world continued.
“Oh, how rare. For a human to come to this land.”
A voice suddenly echoed in that space.
“Ngh!”
I looked around, but I could feel neither a physical form nor magical energy.
I thought it might have been my imagination, but I couldn’t believe that strong voice was a hallucination.
“Are you lost? …You don’t seem to be.”
The voice had a friendly tone, which made my body relax more than I expected, and I took a deep breath.
“Are you, perhaps, Valse, the Spirit of Time and Space!”
“Oh, you know about me? Well, if you come here, there’s only one purpose, right? It’s natural you’d know. So, are you by any chance here to undergo my trial?”
Her voice sounded surprised, or rather, unexpectedly so.
Contracting with spirits is a particular specialty of the Dark Elves within the Demon Lord’s Army.
Perhaps it is rare for a spirit to have a human come to contract with them.
“Yes! I have come to challenge your trial!”
“Oh, such a straightforward voice, full of spirit! That’s good.”
I had imagined spirits to be more solemn, but her tone made me feel like I was chatting with neighborhood housewives.
It was like an energetic child trying to stand tall and being praised for it.
In fact, to that spirit, I might indeed be like a child.
“How long has it been since a human desired a contract with me? It’s definitely been over a thousand years. So, human. Why do you desire a contract with me? I will decide the content of the trial based on your answer to this question.”
Valse, reminiscing with apparent enjoyment, showed no reluctance to the contract itself.
Thinking for a moment how to answer a question from such a being, I decided it would be better to answer honestly than with a pretense, and took a deep breath.
“I wish to live alongside the beloved people who live long lives, and I ask for your power!”
I blurted out my heartfelt desire.
“…”
“…”
I admit I said a cheesy line that I would never normally say out loud.
However, the reason for seeking contract with a spirit is not for a general’s position or to become stronger.
It’s because I don’t want to be the only one to decay while leaving them behind. I felt I couldn’t lie about that feeling, and so the words came out.
Though I felt a bit embarrassed, I had no regrets.
A moment of silence.
I awaited the spirit’s reply.
“For love, you say. Very well. I see no lie in that answer! Yes, love! That’s wonderful!”
And the answer that came back was filled with joy.
“Now! State your name, human! Under the name of Valse, the Spirit of Time and Space, let us begin the trial!”
“Jiro Tanaka! Just a humble human!”
Today’s Quote:
Now, I wonder what kind of trial will be given.
That is all for today.
If you found this interesting, please leave your comments, ratings, and bookmarks.
Please continue to support this work.
