We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The Heavenly Mountain Range is ravaged by a storm.
I unthinkingly let tears spill.
From the hand touching the trunk, I feel the thoughts of the old peach tree.
With Ares-chan’s cooperation, the thoughts reach my mind not as words, but as images.
What a deeply compassionate peach tree this is.
To have loved and cared for a human child left at its roots for so long.
A child rejoices as the peach tree blooms to its fullest in spring. A grown girl chases the falling petals with joy, smiling happily as she cradles them in her small palms.
The old peach tree conveyed many more memories with “that child” to me.
“At least, deliver my peaches to that child for me one last time.”
Even after the girl stopped visiting, the old peach tree continued to bear peaches every single day.
It wanted her to eat them if she ever happened to visit.
It wanted to see the girl’s smile.
And so, for years, decades, and centuries, the old peach tree continued to bear peaches.
I gently stroked the gnarled trunk of the old peach tree.
Its rough bark, despite being a peach tree, seemed to tell of its age.
Like deep wrinkles on a person, perhaps?
Stroking it was rough and painful, but strangely not unpleasant.
It felt like stroking my grandfather’s or grandmother’s hands, and in a way, it was healing.
“You’ve been waiting for her for so, so long, haven’t you? Yes, it’s okay. I’ll be sure to bring her to you.”
“Ah, gentle child of humans. However, it is enough if you can deliver these peaches to that child for me.”
“No. That won’t do. Don’t you want to see her smile again? I want to see her eat your peaches deliciously under your shade too.”
“Greedy, greedy.”
“Fufufu, yes. I am greedy.”
“I know,” Ares-chan nods with a smile.
“Thank you, Ares-chan.”
“You’re welcome.”
Thanks to Ares-chan, I was able to receive the old peach tree’s feelings.
The old peach tree also swayed its branches and leaves happily, having conveyed its feelings to me.
Alright, I managed to process one immediate problem.
Well then, I pick up Ares-chan and confirm the recent circumstances of Mistral and the others.
However, Ares-chan conveyed an unfavorable situation.
“The Evil Race, they spoke human words?”
“Ehh?!”
The unexpected first words instantly froze my heartwarming feelings from moments ago.
“Uh, what do you mean?”
Tris-kun frowns and asks again at my flustered state. I had already told Listea and the others before departing the capital of Armēdo Kingdom, but Tris-kun has joined us now.
I have to properly explain their ranking to those who have no knowledge of spirits.
For both spirits and the Evil Race, the lower their rank, the more they resemble animals and insects.
Well, for spirits, at even lower ranks, they become mere lights, or just a presence due to the lack of power to manifest.
Conversely, as their rank increases, they inexplicably become closer to human form, becoming more beautiful, more robust, and more imposing. And as their appearance changes, spirits and the Evil Race begin to speak human words.
“Then, that little girl…?”
“That’s right, my introduction was delayed. This is Ares-chan. She’s a high-ranking spirit whose name I took from part of a goddess’s name. She’s as important to me as my own half.”
“One body, one body.”
“So amazing, Elnea-kun! As expected, the Dragon King is incredible!”
My ranking in Tris-kun’s eyes is unnecessarily increasing.
Will he continue to be friends with me like this? Regardless of that.
“So, Ares-chan, when you say the Evil Race spoke, what specifically?”
Ares-chan clears her throat adorably at my question.
Then, in a voice imitation, she reproduces the Evil Race’s speech.
“Ar, ar. Warekoso ha, jazoku da.”
“Ngh!?”
A distorted pronunciation. A grating voice.
A disagreeable way of speaking that makes one want to cover their ears.
Then, Slaton’s expression hardens, and he presses Alex and Louvent.
“That damn bear, he wasn’t human after all!”
“No, that’s ridiculous!”
“Th-there’s no way that’s true…!”
Alex and Louvent, flinching from Slaton’s intensity, try to refute him, trusting their instincts.
But Slaton presses them further.
“What are we going to do?! If he’s not human, we should have taken the Holy Sword from him then and there, even if we had to kill him!”
“Slaton, calm down.”
“Calm down?! Listea, you were deceived! He recognized the Holy Sword as a dangerous entity and cunningly stole it from you!”
And then, Slaton glares at me.
“He’s not an Eastern Magician. True, he was an incredibly powerful sorcerer, but his true identity is Evil Race! You’re the one who told us that the Evil Race are the enemies of the world. Why would the enemies of the world listen to us!”
Apparently, Ares-chan’s voice imitation was too convincing.
Slaton had been suspicious of the cave dweller from the start. And then Ares-chan’s voice imitation came along. It’s no wonder his suspicions reignited.
Moreover, he is genuinely concerned for Listea, his partner, and is enraged on his behalf.
Therefore, I cannot blame Slaton.
However, I must tell Slaton again that a mistake is still a mistake.
“That’s not right, Slaton. She is undoubtedly the Eastern Magician. And she is a genuine human.”
“Why can you assert that so unequivocally, even now?”
Slaton glares at me.
From Slaton’s perspective, if the Eastern Magician was a case of mistaken identity and her true identity was Evil Race, then they should have confiscated the Holy Sword on the spot, even if it was broken.
As a result of a wrong judgment and wrong action, Listea was distanced from the Holy Sword, and she might have fallen into an irreparable situation.
He is letting his emotions run high from such doubts.
Therefore, I spoke to Slaton, and to everyone else, with a calm tone.
“I want you to believe me. And do not doubt the judgment of Alex and Louvent. Certainly, the appearance of an Evil Race in Armēdo Kingdom speaking human words is shocking. And Ares-chan’s voice imitation was surprising. But it’s different. She is not an Evil Race. And she is definitely the Eastern Magician.”
“Where is the evidence to support your words?” Slaton asks, but I cannot present any evidence at this moment.
That is why I can only appeal to them to believe me.
No, I don’t have material evidence, but I might be able to present circumstantial evidence, just as I was about to say.
“Help, meow!”
“Nimia!”
Nimia, who flew in at tremendous speed from a distance, landed in a panic upon seeing us.
“Help, meow!”
“Nimia, what’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry!?”
Nimia, forgetting to shrink, says with her tail restlessly swaying.
“The demons are attacking, meow.”
Nimia had been working hard to gather information on the demons’ movements.
But we already know the situation through the Eastern Magician’s crystal, don’t we?
It seemed like an army of thousands of demons was invading the snowy mountains, but they should have been driven into a rout by the terrifying magic unleashed by the Eastern Magician.
I try to confirm the facts with Nimia, but Nimia shakes her head vehemently and denies it.
“That’s wrong, meow. That was only a small part, meow.”
“Mumumu, what do you mean?”
Thousands of demons, and that was only a small part?
While overcome by an unspeakable unease, I ask Nimia for confirmation.
Then, Nimia speaks a terrifying fact that was completely unexpected.
“They are coming from the north, south, and various places, meow. Each is tens of thousands in scale, meow. All together, it’s over a hundred thousand, meow!”
“Wh-what did you say!?”
The scale of the demon army overwhelms us, making us forget about the Eastern Magician’s true identity and the Evil Race, and we are stunned.
However, Nimia then delivers even more terrifying up-to-date information.
“All the armies are heading this way, meow.”
“Eh, what do you mean?”
I can’t comprehend it and ask for clarification again. Nimia adds an explanation and says it again.
“At first, they came into the mountains normally, meow. But at some point, all the armies changed their course and started moving this way, meow. They probably found the Mage’s location, meow.”
“What!”
No, that’s impossible!
The Eastern Magician’s location was discovered?
That’s impossible!
How did the demons pinpoint the Eastern Magician’s location?
Was her remote magic detected?
But the army that was attacked shouldn’t have even realized it was magic. That’s how terrifying and masterful the Eastern Magician’s remote magic was.
Then why was the Eastern Magician’s location revealed to the demons?
At what stage was it discovered?
I ask Nimia. Then, more questions and shock spread among us.
“The demons changed their course before they were attacked by magic, meow.”
“That means the demons didn’t track the Eastern Magician’s magic to find her location, right?”
Did the demons really locate the Eastern Magician’s whereabouts and change their course? Nimia nods with conviction to my question.
“There’s no mistake, meow. All the armies are advancing towards this place, meow.”
Only the word “why” escapes my lips.
Why was the Eastern Magician’s location discovered?
Why did the several units that invaded the Heavenly Mountain Range from various places suddenly change their course uniformly?
The fact that they entered the Heavenly Mountain Range from various places means that the demons did not know the Eastern Magician’s whereabouts initially. That’s why they deployed troops over a wide area and were conducting a sweep search.
Now, all their armies have changed their course towards us, that is, towards the cave where the Eastern Magician resides, and are advancing.
The method by which they found the Eastern Magician’s location, and how all the scattered armies communicated and decided their course of action all at once.
It’s incomprehensible.
“Perhaps they saw us being carried by the Great Eagle and moving?”
“No, I don’t think so. Because I was also carefully observing the surroundings. That’s how I found the peach tree. Besides, I can’t imagine the Eastern Magician making such a basic mistake.”
I can’t believe someone so immature as to be easily discovered due to their own carelessness could have repelled demon invasions for hundreds of years.
Then, is there some other factor?
Mumumu, I ponder, racking my brain.
Alex offers me advice.
“Now is not the time to be trying to find the cause by ourselves. In any case, this is a critical situation. We must inform the Eastern Magician of this situation.”
“Yes, you’re right. Also, to clear Slaton’s doubts, we have no choice but to return to that cave. We have all the players here on our side. To retrieve the Holy Sword, let’s head back to the cave together!”
This time, we will bring Nimia and Duranel, whom the Eastern Magician was wary of.
It’s a bit forceful, but we’ll make them listen to us by hinting at the existence of Dragon Race.
“I’ll tell you about the feelings I received from the old peach tree while we travel. Also, I’ll answer Slaton’s questions. Now, everyone, get on Nimia!”
“Meow.”
I’m sure Slaton still has his reservations. And Listea, though outwardly calm, must be filled with anxiety inside.
Nevertheless, everyone gets on Nimia’s back as I urge them on.
Only Duranel melts into Slaton’s shadow and disappears.
“I’ll be sure to bring her back. Please wait for me!”
It was a hasty departure.
Before I jump onto Nimia’s back, I turn back to the old peach tree and make a promise.
“Ah, and one last thing. Do you happen to know any twin brothers who visited the Heavenly Mountain Range about three hundred years ago?”
Earlier, I only felt the old peach tree’s longing for “that child.”
But there was one more thing I needed to confirm.
Yes, about Armēdo and Yorttenitos.
Then, the old peach tree knew of the two.
“They were cheerful brothers who were very close. I gave peaches to them as well.”
“Then, do you know anything about the Curse Power Sword that the older brother possessed?”
“Curse Power Sword… Ah, yes. I know well about that sword and the Orb of Flame.”
“Really!? That is a precious sword that has been passed down from those twins for generations. But recently, someone called me a thief…”
“I see. Please forgive me, it was I who asked you. That Orb had the power to charm people and its beauty. I feared that if the Orb were left as it was, something irreparable might happen. So, I asked the twins.”
“I understand! With this, the mystery is solved. Thank you!”
“Gentle child of humans, be careful. And please, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, leave it to me!”
Finally, as I jumped onto Nimia’s back, Nimia flapped her wings and soared.
During our travels, I answered Slaton’s doubts as promised.
In the process, I also shared the feelings conveyed by the old peach tree with everyone.
By unraveling the emotions the old peach tree conveyed to me, I will surely arrive at the identity of “that child.” And once “that child’s” identity is revealed, it should connect to dispelling Slaton’s doubts.
Hearing my story, and having grasped clues to the origin of the Holy Sword, everyone resolutely returned to the cave where the Eastern Magician resided.
“Hah, we’re back!”
Slaton bravely announces their return.
Then, a shadow with glowing eyes appears from the depths of the cave.
However, this time, we are not immediately immobilized and restrained as before.
This is because Nimia is protecting us!
“Meow.”
Nonetheless, the main event is yet to come.
Now, I speak to the shadow, which glares warily from the darkness.
“Hey, listen. This ancient Dragon Species, Nimia, scouted the Heavenly Mountain Range. And we found out. An army of over a hundred thousand demons has found this place and is approaching.”
“Goo, demons. Hyak-u… man?”
It seems the Eastern Magician doesn’t understand the unit “hundred thousand.”
“It means a number so large it could fill an entire mountain. It’s many times the size of the army you just annihilated!”
The Eastern Magician makes a grinding sound, baring her teeth.
However, perhaps thanks to Nimia’s presence, it’s not a situation where she refuses to listen from the outset.
Nevertheless, she is undoubtedly doubting whether what we’re saying is true.
“Then, please verify it. You can see through the Heavenly Mountain Range with your crystal, can’t you?”
We’ll wait here until confirmation, which shows we’re not enemies, I urge the Eastern Magician.
The Eastern Magician, half-believing our words and half-doubting, tries to confirm the demons’ movements using her crystal.
It was then.
“Ku ku ku. That is unnecessary. It was a good prelude. However, the main act will not commence, only the after-party remains.”
“Ngh!!”
Before I could move.
Before the Eastern Magician could react.
Space trembled.
Behind the Eastern Magician, an invisible “something” appeared.
“Gaaah!”
And the flickering “something” mercilessly pierced the Eastern Magician’s chest.
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