Chapter 99: One Who Is Loved By All Things. |
After hearing Jang Cleo’s words, I took a moment to reminisce about the times I had spent with Tacchia.
I did this to find the basis for why Tacchia would have come to love me.
“Since you’re here, have a meal before you go.”
The first thing that came to mind was that she always prepared meals whenever we met.
Yes, now that I think about it, every time we met after I received the weapon, she always cooked for me.
There might have been exceptions once or twice, but upon reflection, I couldn’t recall any such instances.
The same was true even when I had a meal appointment with Airi.
“I’m sorry, I already have someone to eat with today…”
“Then eat here and eat again.”
“At your age, you need to eat a lot to grow. Eat before you go.”
“No, I’m not even a teenager…”
“Don’t you like the food I make?”
“…No, it’s not that.”
“Then eat. I’ll prepare it for you.”
It was almost forceful in a way.
Thanks to that, I had three meals just that evening, but it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy the food.
It tasted ordinarily good, was plentiful, and she didn’t even ask for compensation.
During the early days of my adventuring, when my earnings were modest, I was grateful even for that.
When I knew nothing about her circumstances, all I felt towards her was pure gratitude.
“Um, Miss Tacchia. Are you lonely by any chance?”
But no matter how much I liked her, the disparity between such treatment and her rugged nature was unavoidable.
One day, while having a meal with her, I committed the faux pas of bluntly asking her a question that might be considered rude.
“…What?”
“Oh, no, I mean… I thought maybe you didn’t have anyone else to eat with.”
Although I knew it was impolite, I couldn’t help but be curious.
Her base, both before and after, was a secluded place with few people around, so it seemed unlikely that anyone else but me would visit.
So, even though she acted otherwise, I thought maybe she was lonely, and that’s why she offered me meals.
“If I were lonely, I would have grabbed anyone to eat with.”
However, her actual response was far from such a speculative thought.
When I turned around, puzzled, she had already turned away, staring only at the distant mountains outside the window.
“What?”
“Don’t ask pointless questions. Just finish your meal. The food is getting cold.”
“Ah, yes…”
Her voice was unusually sharp and uncharacteristic of her.
I sensed her evasion, but I still vividly remembered what she had said up to now.
It wasn’t something she did for just anyone.
Wasn’t that statement enough to misinterpret myself as someone special to her?
Of course, in this world, being oblivious could lead to death at any time.
Having faced many near-death experiences, I was fully aware of how dangerous it was to make assumptions.
Especially now, knowing a bit about her situation, I was certain she couldn’t harbor ‘those feelings’ for me, yet to think it was love.
Was it even plausible?
“You, managing to casually get meals from her…”
But what Jang Cleo focused on was not her inner thoughts but the actions she showed towards me.
“Is that really so surprising?”
“It’s beyond that. What you’ve told me is less believable than if someone said the world would split in two tomorrow.”
Even so, I couldn’t help but think that was an exaggeration.
However, the cold sweat trickling between his furrowed brows indicated that his words were not a joke but a serious statement.
“If you’ve met the soul within the spear, you’d know she’s no ordinary human.”
“……”
After a moment of silence, I finally nodded in affirmation.
My reluctance to respond directly was because I hoped her identity wasn’t what I thought.
The fact that she was a dragon who almost destroyed the world in the past, abandoned her daughter in a war-torn era, and even killed her daughter who tried to stop her.
Wasn’t this a story far removed from the initial impression that she was a blunt but caring person?
“Indeed, I suspected as much, but to say I’m loved just because she cooked meals for me…”
On the contrary, if all that was true, why would she have shown even a rough kind of care towards me?
Her goal was for me, through her daughter, to kill her, yet she cared for me like one with affection, cooking meals every time.
“How can love be confined to just romantic relationships? There’s also the love between parents and children, and even affection towards pets.”
A pet? Did Tacchia truly see me as such?
From a dragon’s perspective, are humans seen as such adorable beings?
…No, I don’t know.
Initially, I was inadvertently entangled in her circumstances and needed the cooperation of those in front of me to navigate through them.
Even in my conversation with Pheloi, having been driven out midway, it was impossible to understand her thoughts right away.
“…Is there any relation between Tacchia’s love for me and my newfound ability to create a circle?”
So, it was better to focus on the immediate tasks at hand rather than dwell on unresolved questions.
Regardless of what the future held, it was clear that I needed strength, so I decided to set aside my doubts and focus on the training with him.
“Before explaining that, let me ask you one thing.”
Jang seemed to understand my intention and didn’t press further.
Before we started the training, he posed another question to me.
“Haven’t you created a circle in front of her before doing so in front of me?”
“Yes, I have done it before in front of Tacchia.”
“Then, did she ever feed you her blood before that?”
“Blood?”
“I’m talking about the blood that flows in the body.”
For a moment, I thought he was talking about something like blood soup, but soon I realized why he was asking.
After all, we were in a dragon’s tomb.
Considering even the remains of a dead dragon were coveted by humanity, Tacchia, a ‘living dragon,’ could be seen as a resource with special powers.
“No, she just put the cigarette she was smoking into my mouth.”
Ironically, I had never actually consumed her blood.
It was possible she could have hidden it in the meals she prepared for me, but considering I created the circle after she shared her cigarette, it was likely that was where the basis lay.
Looking back, it was quite an awkward situation, but anyway…
“Cigarette… Well, considering its worn and used state, feeding you ash wouldn’t make much difference.”
“Worn and used?”
“You’ll understand in time. For now, focus on the training. Sit down, close your eyes, and take deep breaths as I signal.”
“Ah, yes. Like this…”
Whatever the case, it wasn’t a situation where I could afford to waste more time.
I then took the time to prepare for the actual training, as he instructed.
Quietly closing my eyes, breathing out as if meditating.
As I began to feel a refreshing sensation spreading from my lungs throughout my body, he quietly spoke, placing his hand on my back.
“Do you feel anything different than usual?”
“Yes, it feels fresher than usual. My mind also feels clearer.”
“The abundant energy of the Dragon Vein is having an effect. In that state, try to quietly manipulate mana.”
Whooosh.
Jang’s mana was transmitted through his hand placed on my back.
As I harnessed the power of the armor to manipulate mana, I began to feel a sensation of colliding forces from behind.
But that collision was brief.
As soon as I was willing to accept his mana, the resistance faded, and soon, I felt the mana he was controlling seeping into my body.
“…You are doing well without needing guidance. It’s rewarding to teach a cooperative student.”
As I continued to manipulate mana while absorbing his, I gradually began to feel a distinct vibration through my skin.
Yes, something changed the moment his mana merged with mine.
Whizz…
The strange ringing that followed was like an ultrasonic sound, created by the intensified natural vibrations of mana.
“Are you starting to hear something?”
“Yes, something like tinnitus…”
“They are drawn to your caliber and are beginning to recognize your existence. I expected it, but the progress is fast. Continue a bit more.”
Whizz, whizz.
And then…
Whoosh.
After some time, I felt a vibration as if something was grasped at my fingertips.
Was it Jang holding my hand?
No, it didn’t feel hard or wrinkled like a hand.
Thump, thump.
“Now, prepare yourself and slowly open your eyes.”
I prepared myself not to be startled by whatever might appear in front of me.
Whoosh…
In the end, what appeared before me was a bluish afterimage in a space where light flickered.
It looked human, but ultimately, it was just an afterimage.
There were no facial features, and only the upper body was visible.
The lower half seemed to be half-formed, then vanished as if evaporating, leaving only an afterimage.
Whiiing, whoooong…
Yet, at this moment, I could feel the sensation of my hand being grasped, albeit unstably.
It wasn’t a perfect touch, but I was aware of a physically tangible presence.
“Is this… a ghost?”
Could it be that ghosts had appeared where the undead reigned?
“It’s a spirit.”
Jang, refuting that thought and removing his hand from my back, began to explain the being holding my hand beside me.
“Spirits are extremely small beings that exist in this world… They follow the flow of mana, the energy that permeates everything, so they can exist everywhere and move anywhere.”
They moved along with mana but were so small that they were imperceptible to the human eye.
They could be compared to cells, molecules… or even smaller concepts.
If they were beings that parasitized and lived on the energy permeating everything, that would be an excellent way to think of them.
“And to speak differently about spirits, they can also be called ‘fragments of will.’”
“Fragments of will?”
“Mana is an energy that is drawn to will and responds with physical force… Even mere insects are attracted to mana, so if an invisible being can draw mana, it can also be considered to have a will, right?”
They were called fragments only because they were incredibly small in scale.
However, the being in front of me, contrary to being just a fragment, had the consciousness to touch and face a human hand.
It was as if fragments of will permeating everything had gathered, eventually forming a ‘single cluster’ with a human shape.
“Of course, they have almost no intelligence, just following the flow of mana. But because of this, they are instinctively drawn to beings that exert a strong influence on everything.”
“If it’s about a being with strong influence… does that mean I’ve gained the power to lead them by receiving Mr. Tacchia’s power?”
“Yes, it’s just a fragment, but enough to make contact more easily. And when a certain number of them gather, they cluster together in a form similar to that which drew them out, as if imitating it.”
That was why the tomb of the dragon, called the sovereign of all things, was chosen as the training ground, and why Tacchia gave me a cigarette back then.
Although the clustered form was incomplete, and couldn’t speak, the hand holding mine seemed to want to convey something, vibrating again.
Whiiiing.
Before being drawn to me, they were nothing more than fragments.
At this moment, they had come together, imitating a human, resulting in what could be called ‘intelligence and personality.’
“…Haha.”
And interacting with such beings must be the basis of the skills he showed me before.
Sensing this, I began to assess what had unfolded at this moment, aiming to reach my own conclusion.
“Boss, could these beings also be affected by my abilities?”
“Probably. Seeing as they started imitating a person, albeit imperfectly, from the first try, it implies that spirits are easily influenced by nature.”
Indeed, if they were beings with will, they wouldn’t be an exception to my abilities.
Thus, like ego weapons or the undead, it was clear that these beings would also be affected by my power, and some sort of phenomenon would occur.
For instance, they might immediately flock to me upon recognizing my presence and mention my name in front of me.
“So, that means… they are also reacting to my presence.”
Woooo…
The spirits howled as if responding to my words.
It was a language understood even without translation.