May Nature bless you!
Every time I passed by, the Elves greeted me with sorrowful expressions.
“May Nature bless you…”
“Doidra.”
“Father.”
My father, who served as the High Priest of the Ellar Kingdom, looked at me warmly. Then his gaze fell upon the white chrysanthemum in my hand, and he lowered his head.
Everyone in the Ellar Kingdom, including my father, was working both within and beyond the kingdom to protect our people and our nation.
There was the Guardian Unit, which protected the young who had not yet learned Spirit Arts, as well as the citizens of the Ellar Kingdom and the World Tree.
There was the Supply Unit, which procured food, drinking water, weapons, and other supplies.
There was the Covert Operations Unit, which worked to sow discord among the Humans who believed in the Dragons in the kingdoms and empires ruled by Humans.
There was the Dragon Reconnaissance Unit, which reported on the power structure and internal affairs of the Dragons.
Lastly, there was the Investigation Unit, to which I belonged. Its duty was to locate and protect the Spirits scattered throughout the continent. Every member of the Seventh Investigation Unit except me had been killed by those accursed Dragons.
I let out a brief sigh before my father, the High Priest, then stood at attention. He gently patted my shoulder and spoke in a low voice.
“You came alone… Was the Seventh Investigation Unit completely annihilated…?”
“…Reporting, sir. Doidra of the Seventh Investigation Unit, total personnel: one. I have returned without completing the mission…”
“I see… Go to the conference room and report to the Spirit King.”
“Understood.”
I looked once at my father’s weary face, now covered in fine wrinkles, before slowly walking toward the conference room.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Come in.
When I opened the door and entered, Elder Philn and Elder Yorite looked at me and forced bright smiles onto their faces.
“Doidra.”
“Elder Philn, Elder Yorite, have you both been well?”
Elder Yorite approached me and patted my shoulder consolingly.
“You are the one who has suffered…”
He looked at the white chrysanthemum tucked into my pocket, let out an almost imperceptible sigh, and then continued with a cheerful expression.
“Are your wife and daughter doing well?”
I flinched for a moment.
“Of course.”
I forced a bright smile as I answered the Elder’s question.
“Ha ha, I see… She must be clever, taking after you. How old is she this year?”
Four years old…
No.
She had been four when that Dragon took her.
By now…
“I will make certain to introduce her to you before her Coming-of-Age Ceremony.”
“Ho ho… There is no need to rush. Your mission may be important, but you should look after your daughter from time to time as well. Is the reason we carry out our duties not also for the sake of our future?”
The thought of my wife and daughter, held captive by Rerian, made my heart ache as though it were being torn apart.
If I summoned the Subspace as he had ordered, I would undoubtedly be branded a traitor who had sold out his country and be executed.
But if I carried out the task properly…
Even without me, would he truly provide my wife and daughter with the wealthy, comfortable life he had promised them…?
“Doidra.”
Elder Philn’s voice brought me back to my senses, and I looked at him.
“Is… something troubling you?”
“N-No. Thank you.”
I looked around, searching for the Spirit King.
The other members operating outside the kingdom had not yet returned. I needed to wait until they came back, and once everyone had gathered, I would summon the Subspace…
GRAB.
“Ugh!”
Elder Philn clasped my hand tightly and spoke in a low voice.
“Your hand is trembling, and it is terribly cold.”
“I-I am fine.”
“Elder Yorite! Prepare some warm tea.”
“Understood.”
I did my best to calm my trembling hands before cautiously asking,
“Where has the Spirit King gone?”
Elder Philn raised his eyebrows as though recalling something before answering.
“He went to see His Highness. Ah! This is fortunate timing. When His Highness arrives, examine his condition for us.”
“What? Has something happened to His Highness?”
“Well…”
The Spirit King and His Highness are entering!
I whipped my head toward the door.
STEP. STEP.
The footsteps were gentle, yet carried such strength that they exuded dignity. Before I realized it, my heart had begun pounding in rhythm with them.
“Spirit King!”
I dropped to one knee and greeted King Hellorn.
“Oh, Doidra!”
He placed a comforting hand upon my shoulder and replied warmly.
“You truly… suffer greatly each time.”
“I can only apologize for failing to protect the Spirits.”
Elves who received the power of a Spirit could wield their own unique Spirit Arts.
I possessed a tracking technique that allowed me to hear the faint breathing of Spirits. Although I could not determine their exact locations, I could estimate where they were by the subtle tremors and volume of those sounds.
Because of this ability, I had been ordered to serve in the Investigation Unit. Most of the Spirits I had tracked with my power had been killed by the Dragons.
‘No. It was no different from killing them myself.’
To save my captive wife and daughter, I had prevented young Elves from summoning Spirits.
My father protected the kingdom as its High Priest, while his own son sold the nation to its enemies.
Was I making the right choice?
I had already betrayed my country all this time. What good would wavering now accomplish?
THUD. THUD.
The sound of footsteps approaching from behind the Spirit King echoed powerfully in my ears.
They were no ordinary footsteps.
Yet they were footsteps I had heard before.
‘Rerian?’
Rerian?
That bastard could never have breached the Barrier erected with the Spirits’ power.
My body trembling, I slowly raised my head and looked at the owner of the footsteps.
Broad shoulders and black hair.
Black hair?
I jerked my head higher and stared at his face.
This person… I could not be certain, but was that Prince Kellick?
“Young Master’s hair has changed color!”
“He has grown taller.”
“His ears are still short, though?”
“His ears are still rounded, but I can feel the power of a Spirit from him.”
“Mother of Nature! Thank you!”
“We always believed in His Highness.”
Everyone around me whispered about His Highness.
Was there something wrong with his body, as Elder Philn had said? No, nothing seemed wrong. Mana was flowing through his body. Did that mean His Highness had summoned a Spirit before his Coming-of-Age Ceremony?
Judging by His Highness’s age, he should have been old enough to summon a fourth- or fifth-generation Spirit… Yet almost all the young Spirits had either been sealed away or killed by the Dragons. Had he summoned one of the surviving Spirits?
THUMP. THUMP.
The alien energy within His Highness made my heart race beyond control. To identify the power of the Spirit he had accepted, I would have to send my Energy into him. However, that might offend His Highness, and with so many people watching, I might draw needless suspicion.
In that case…
Wanting to learn the identity of the Spirit within His Highness, I focused every sense in my ears and silently invoked my unique technique, seeking to hear the Spirit’s breathing from within his body.
[What Is Heard Shall Be Seen.]
TING.
The spell was blocked.
This had never happened before except with King Hellorn, the Elders, and my father.
They had all received the power of second-generation Spirits, who had been born long before my own third-generation Spirit, so it was understandable that I could not easily peer into their depths. But given His Highness’s age, he should have received the power of a fourth-generation Spirit if he were fortunate, or more commonly, a fifth-generation Spirit.
AHEM. AHEM.
The sound of someone clearing his throat broke me from my thoughts, and I raised my eyes toward the source.
Elder Philn?
Elder Philn covered his mouth with his right fist and cleared his throat several times before addressing me.
“Doidra?”
I glanced around before looking at His Highness, who was standing directly in front of me.
‘Ah, damn it.’
I slowly rose to my feet, bowed my head, and greeted him.
“My apologies. I was not myself… My name is Doidra.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Congratulations on summoning a Spirit.”
“Yes, Doidra.”
At King Hellorn’s call, I quickly dropped to one knee and answered.
“Yes, Spirit King.”
“What happened to the Seventh Investigation Unit?”
“We were attacked by Helmut, Baidola, and Pnekoa.”
“Hmm… Are they not all Dragons serving Rerian?”
“That is correct.”
King Hellorn let out a deep sigh.
“Those three again…”
“My apologies.”
“How are we supposed to stand by while they continue uprooting the future of our young Elves, preventing them from learning Spirit Arts…?”
“My apologies.”
Elder Philn spoke cautiously from beside King Hellorn.
“Spirit King.”
“Yes, Elder Philn.”
“Can Doidra not determine the location of the Spirit His Highness absorbed?”
King Hellorn nodded vigorously and looked at me.
“That is right! Doidra, you possess a tracking technique, do you not?”
I moistened my dry lips with my tongue before answering.
“I do.”
“Use your Mind’s Eye to examine the Spirit His Highness accepted. If the Dragons have not yet discovered the place where that Spirit resides, would that not mean that other Spirits may also have survived nearby? There may be suitable candidates among those who have yet to perform Spirit Summoning.”
“Understood.”
I had already been curious about the alien Spirit within His Highness, so this was fortunate. I glanced at him before slowly rising to my feet.
Was the air around him so different from when I had seen him here several years ago to receive another assignment because of the Spirit’s Energy? Unlike King Hellorn, His Highness exuded a distinctly cold presence rather than warmth.
Although his manner was brusque and his atmosphere cold, His Highness addressed me with an air of dignity.
“I know little about the power of Spirits, so I leave this in your hands.”
Even at such a young age, was this the bearing of the next Spirit King? Before I realized it, I had bowed respectfully. Then I placed both hands upon His Highness’s shoulders and recited the incantation.
[May the Breath of Nature Reach My Ears.]
THUMP. THUMP.
The instant my senses touched the alien Energy within His Highness, my heart began beating so quickly that I could no longer control it.
FWOOSH!
A sticky heat, scorching like flames, seeped into my hands.
Huff, huff.
“What is wrong?”
I turned my head toward the voice.
Elder Philn was staring at me with concern. When I looked back at His Highness, I realized that I had pulled my hands away from his shoulders.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
What was that?
That unpleasant yet familiar Energy of fire…
“My apologies, Your Highness. I will proceed again.”
His Highness stared at me without the slightest change in expression.
[Detect.]
Once again, I sensed that alien flame and the smell of something burning.
!!!
Without realizing it, I pulled my hands away and stared at His Highness.
The terror of having my family used to threaten me.
That overwhelming power from which there was no escape.
It was a Dragon.
“Doidra! Are you all right?”
SHAKE. SHAKE.
Elder Philn continued shaking my shoulders.
“I-I am fine.”
“You were trembling with a vacant expression. Is something wrong with His Highness’s body?”
I could feel the flames of a Dragon within His Highness.
This was far too serious to be described as merely something wrong.
In nearly two hundred years of studying Spirits, I had never once heard of a Spirit possessing a Dragon’s Energy.
“I will send my Energy through you once more, Your Highness. Please relax and remain at ease.”
Rather than merely sensing it, I would have to see it directly to understand.
I gently placed both hands upon His Highness’s shoulders once more.
[What Is Heard Shall Be Seen.]
I recited the incantation.