[V9C13] A Stagnant Wind

The wind spirit Rynzbelfied had never known or cared about the exact moment of his birth. He simply gained self-awareness one day, realizing that he was drifting through the sky with his fellow spirit Rubelmeria, who referred to him as an older brother.

Some spirits possessed strong egos, and some had weaker ones. Rynzbelfied had always known that his own sense of self was not as strong as Rubelmeria’s.

Even if Rubelmeria was not as expressive as a human, he had always been exceptionally emotional. Both him and the wind surrounding him constantly raged like a tumultuous storm.

Rynzbelfied and Rubelmeria were much more powerful than the average spirit, so they often found themselves followed by weaker spirits. As a result, they spent their days drifting through the skies with an entourage of lesser spirits.

Just as four-legged creatures walk the land, fish swim in water, and birds fly through the sky, it was entirely natural for wind spirits to drift on the wind.

However, as the years passed, the mana levels of the world gradually diminished, and the spirits lost many of their habitats.

Even the wind currents of the sky became devoid of mana. At this point, continuing to drift through the air would result in their bodies slowly falling apart.

“Nii-sama, we’re reaching our limit. Let’s settle down somewhere.”

One day, Rubelmeria proposed this idea.

That said, Rynzbelfied didn’t particularly care if he were to be scattered to the winds and vanish from the world. He thought it was only natural for a spirit born for no real reason to disappear on a whim.

However, Rubelmeria’s strong ego made him dissatisfied with his disappearance, as well as the disappearance of his elder brother.

Since Rynzbelfied didn’t have any strong opinion one way or the other, he simply nodded and said, “Sure, let’s do that.”

Rubelmeria rejoiced for some reason, then found a forest rich in mana and decided to make it their new home.

More time passed, and the mana levels of the world continued to fall.

Eventually, it had gotten so bad that they were stuck in the forest. The spirits could no longer survive without the forest’s high mana concentration. While it was possible to leave for a short period of time, their bodies would gradually fall apart without a supply of mana.

That was the moment when the wind spirits lost their freedom. If they wanted to visit places with lower mana concentrations, they would need to contract with a human.

They could still just barely maintain their physical bodies as long as they had the forest’s mana. However, Rynzbelfied felt his ego whittling away as the days passed.

Rynzbelfied’s essence was that of the wind. And yet, he was stuck in this forest, trapped without anywhere to go.

Is a stagnant wind truly the wind anymore? Rynzbelfied absentmindedly pondered this question using the last remnants of his ego.

Meanwhile, Rubelmeria was still as lively as the storm he was born in. He would often dash out whenever a dragon approached, then drive it away with his raging winds.

Rynzbelfied sometimes assisted in those efforts, as dancing around in the sky and manipulating the winds was one of the only ways he felt he could maintain his sense of self.

＊　＊　＊

“In my opinion…”

Ryn looked straight at Monica, who was listening to the story while sitting on a tree stump.

“Elliott-bocchama said that many believe the Spirit King of Wind sent an ‘Envoy’ to protect this town, but I don’t think such an entity ever existed to begin.”

The humans living in Rainfield revered the spirits who settled in the forest as the ‘Envoy of the Spirit King’, but in reality, they were just Ryn and Rubelmeria, wind spirits who had taken residence there.

The two had only fought off dragons to protect their own territory; they never had any intention of safeguarding the townspeople. Regardless, the people continued believing in the Envoy, and started the Festival of Hymns to express gratitude to the Spirit King of Wind.

However, Monica had a different idea.

The temple dedicated to the Spirit King of Wind had few believers and a pittance of donations. Then, two powerful wind spirits willing to protect the town happened to settle nearby.

Perhaps the temple took advantage of this situation, claiming the existence of the Envoy in order to start a new festival, gaining them additional followers and donations.

(That seems very possible…)

Of course, the real truth was already lost to the annals of history. Either way, the town did become more prosperous and peaceful after the arrival of Ryn and Rubelmeria.

“Us wind spirits prefer music as an offering, so this music-filled town was always very comfortable to us. In addition, the abundant mana of the forest meant we ran no risk of fading away. But even so…”

Ryn spoke in monotone, hardly expressing any emotion. However, the tiniest bit of suppressed anxiety leaked out of those last few words.

Despite being thanked by humans and gaining a safe home, Ryn was not satisfied. She had been constantly asking herself, “Am I really okay continuing like this?”

“The fact of the matter was that I found the prospect of turning into a stagnant wind utterly loathsome. However, my ego had grown so weak that I failed to realize my own feelings.”

Ryn looked absentmindedly into the distance, as if thinking about someone who was not present.

“And so I continued just drifting through this forest, day in and day out… until I met Carla.”

＊　＊　＊

A woman had set up a tent and began fishing at a spring in the middle of the forest. While this might be a commonplace scene in any other location, it was unimaginable for the forests of Rainfield.

The area closer to the temple was relatively safe, but the depths of the forest contained a very dense mana concentration. Staying for an extended period of time would cause mana poisoning in those with low magical resistance. Thus, the townspeople repeatedly warned their children not to venture into the forest.

However, judging by the woman’s outfit, she was clearly some sort of traveler. Hence, she might not have known about the dangers of the forest’s mana concentration.

Rynzbelfied, who had been drifting around the area, decided to warn the woman. This action wasn’t driven by kindness; it was merely a whim of the wind.

“The mana concentration is rather high around here. You should avoid staying for too long.”

When transforming into a human, Rynzbelfied almost always took the form of a young man in priestly robes.

The outfit was an imitation of what the priests wore back when they first arrived in the area. Since quite a long time had passed since then, it probably seemed very old-fashioned to the current humans.

The woman glanced over at the source of the warning, not even raising an eyebrow when she saw the ancient style of the young man’s priest robes.

She appeared to be just a little over twenty. No makeup adorned her face, and her messy reddish-brown hair was tied casually at the back of her neck.

“Thanks for your concern, but I’ll be fine. My magical resistance is relatively high, so I should last a week or so… A month might be pushing it though.”

After replying, the woman pulled some sort of object out of the ground. It appeared to be a tool consisting of a round board attached to a stake. She peered into the board, then nodded at the numbers indicated by the needle on the meter.

“See this? It’s a tool for measuring the land’s mana density. Man, this forest is pretty amazing. Never thought there were still places with this much mana.”

Her tone was leisurely, as if engaging in casual chatter. Despite dealing with a greater spirit, she did not show the slightest sign of tension or anxiety.

This naturally relaxed attitude intrigued Rynzbelfied.

“Are you a mage?” The spirit asked.

“Yeah. I usually travel around the country, conducting surveys on places with high mana density. Well, but I came to this town for a different job.”

While saying this, the woman gestured toward the forest’s entrance while holding her fishing rod with the other hand. That was the direction of the temple dedicated to Shefield, the Spirit King of Wind.

“I have a job to do at that temple, but they turned me away because I didn’t bring my robe and staff. So now, I’m waiting for my friend to deliver them.”

“But I thought that all mages wear robes and carry staffs?”

“Nah, they’d just eat up space in my luggage. Not like I need them when traveling. I usually leave them at my house in the capital.”

The woman went on to explain that she had received the job request while out on a journey. Apparently, she had headed straight to the temple and got turned away at the door since she didn’t look like a mage.

“And to make matters worse, it’s right before the festival, so all the inns are fully booked. That’s why I’m camping out in the forest.”

The woman laughed as she said this, completely indifferent to the rude treatment she had received.

Suddenly, her fishing rod shook. A fish had bitten.

On another whim, Rynzbelfied invoked a gust of the wind to lift the fish out of the water.

Seeing this, the woman let out a whistle and reeled in the line. She had caught a plump and lively fish, still splashing about on the line.

“Thanks for the help.”

The woman quickly skewered the fish and stuck it into the ground near her campfire.

While waiting for the fish to cook, she poured coffee from a small pot into a mug and took out a stick-shaped confection wrapped in paper from her bag.

After splitting the confection in half, she gave one half to Rynzbelfied.

“Here.”

“…? What’s this?”

“Never seen it before? It’s one of the town’s local sweets.”

The woman playfully tapped her half against the half in Rynzbelfied’s hand. Then, she began singing some sort of song.

“Populia rukah, kalrukah ♪. Populia rukah, lululeria ♪.”

All of the words were completely unknown, but for some reason, Rynzbelfied found them familiar.

He quickly realized the reason: because it resembled the spirit language. That said, the pronunciation had been corrupted in places, of course.

With the confection in hand, Rynzbelfied vocalized those same words in the spirit language.

“———♪!”

And as he sang those words, the surrounding trees began to rustle.

The songs of spirits were not the same as human songs. They more closely resembled the magical incantations employed by mages.

Rynzbelfied’s song reached the surrounding spirits, causing them to summon magical winds tinged with a yellowish-green light, rustling the bushes and trees.

Seeing this, the woman smiled and playfully knocked the confections together again.

“Populia rukah, kalrukah ♪. Populia rukah, lululeria ♪.”

“————♪!”

The song of the woman resonated with the song of the spirit.

After finishing the song, Rynzbelfied found the sensation to be quite nostalgic. It had been a long time since he last uttered those words. What did they mean again…?

“How was that? Fun?”

The woman laughed heartily and dipped the confection into the coffee mug. Once it was softened up, she took a bite with relish.

She then offered her mug to Rynzbelfied, who reached out to dip his portion.

But that very instant, they were interrupted by a powerful magical wind from above, causing Rynzbelfied to freeze.

“…!”

With the confection still in his hands, Rynzbelfied darted through the air and hid himself in the trees.

A few seconds later, someone descended from the sky. However, this was a human employing flight magic rather than a spirit.

He appeared to be a young man wearing a uniform with a standing collar and cape. His chestnut-colored hair was tied back at the nape of his neck.

The woman did not show the slightest surprise at the fleeing spirit or the man flying down from the sky. In fact, she continued to chew on the confection nonchalantly.

“Carla, delivery for you,” the man said, handing something to the woman.

It was a robe adorned with luxurious embroidery, alongside a golden staff with a beautiful gleam.

After placing her half-eaten confection on the mug, the woman accepted the robe and staff.

“Man, I’m sorry about this, Louis. I didn’t want to send you on a minor errand right after you got back from the joint exercise with the Empire.”

“I don’t particularly mind, since I am on paid leave…”

The man who was apparently named Louis cut off his words and frowned, staring at the tent and campfire.

“But why is someone of your stature camping out in the middle of nowhere? Don’t tell me it’s those damn geezers from the temple…”

A glint appeared in the man’s eyes.

Meanwhile, the woman simply chuckled and said, “They turned me away at the door.”

The man clicked his tongue and stared menacingly in the direction of the temple. Then, he spoke in a refined tone after putting on a wicked smile.

“You’ll be paying them another visit now, right? By all means, let me accompany you. I’d love to see those senile fools flustering over their mistake.”

“Come on, don’t be so tasteless. Besides, it’s not like I’m that important,” the woman said with a wry smile.

In response, the man countered in a grandiose tone.

“What are you saying? You are my senior apprentice, Carla Maxwell the Starspear Witch, and an esteemed member of Seven Sages.”

After observing the exchange between the two, Rynzbelfied leaped off the tree branch and silently flew away. Once he reached the sky, he began singing again, this time in the human language rather than the spirit language.

“——Populia rukah, kalrukah ♪. Populia rukah, lululeria ♪…”

Rynzbelfied went on to take a bite of the confection, which was incredibly hard.

The spirit’s struggle to consume the confection prompted him to recall that it had been quite a while since he last engaged in the act of eating.

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