Chapter 108 - 108
Why would a Spirit King...?
Noticing my confusion, the Dark Spirit King nodded as if understanding something on his own. "Ah."
"You're wondering why I brought you back, right? It's simply because I got interested."
"Interested?"
"We dark spirits originally lived in a different forest. In the neighboring country. But nature there declined, making it hard to live, so we moved here. Then one day, the usually quiet forest was noisy. Ah, that was when those savages attacked you."
"That day..."
"That day, I felt the power of spirits from human magic. I went to see what was happening and met you, someone with remarkably strong dark magic... well, you were dead, though."
The power of spirits? Strong dark magic? Many questions arose from the Dark Spirit King's casual explanation.
I must have looked incredibly puzzled. The Dark Spirit King put a hand to his chin and asked the black horse, "Am I bad at explaining?" The horse replied coldly, "The King is always haphazard."
"Well... anyway, I decided to grant my divine protection to a human who caught my interest for the first time in a while."
Eh? Divine protection?
I stared in shock at the unbelievable words. Protection from a Spirit King...?
"Um, that protection is..."
"Huh? Protection is, you know, I lent you my power."
The Dark Spirit King's power was in me? I clenched my hands and focused on the magic flowing through my body, but I could only feel Kuro's magic. I couldn't feel the Dark Spirit King's power at all.
"I don't feel any such power..."
When I told him timidly, the Dark Spirit King blinked in surprise.
"King. You haven't returned the girl's magic yet."
"...Ah. My bad, my bad. I was planning to return it once she got here."
The black horse approached me, its glossy coat fluttering in the wind. The Dark Spirit King clapped his hands as if he had just remembered.
"My magic is coming back!?"
The words "returning magic" startled me. To think the Dark Spirit King had been holding my magic... could such a thing even happen? I accidentally spoke too loudly in my disbelief. The Dark Spirit King blinked at my intensity.
"Y-yeah. I extracted it when I gave you my protection. I want to see how a human's future changes. You wanted to redo a life you regretted. But I don't lend my power for free. I was holding onto your magic until I knew you were a human worthy of my power."
...So that was it.
It was true that asking to be brought back to life was a self-serving request. But something about the Dark Spirit King's tone bothered me. It sounded like he had been testing me. Testing whether I had the qualities worthy of his protection.
"If I hadn't been worthy... if I hadn't changed from how I was before I started over, what would have happened?"
"In that case, you probably wouldn't have lived long without magic."
I had hesitated to ask, but when I did, he replied as if it were no big deal. Still, I felt cold sweat run down my back.
In other words, if I hadn't met the Dark Spirit King's expectations, I likely would have died from something like a worsened cold due to magic depletion. The mere thought made me tremble with fear.
Just then, Kuro placed a front paw on my leg and looked up at me with concern.
That's right... Kuro was there. Because Kuro contracted with me, I was able to live a normal life. I wondered if the Dark Spirit King had helped with that.
"K-Kuro... the reason Kuro contracted with me was..."
"He looked like he wanted to follow you, so I allowed it. I wanted to see what you would do, but I didn't intend to help at first. However, it's easier to have someone by your side to monitor you. I was hearing about you from him. Besides, he seems to like you quite a bit... he never said a single bad thing about you."
"Kuro..."
"Normally, even if I send someone back to the past, they almost never survive."
My heart warmed with gratitude for Kuro, but the Dark Spirit King's next words made me freeze with a smile still on my face. I slowly turned my head toward him, my neck feeling like it was making a creaking sound. The Dark Spirit King was muttering to himself, "The old man's descendant was there too, you're pretty lucky." I had no idea who he meant by "the old man's descendant." But with so many shocking revelations, I didn't even have the energy to ask.
But... it meant that if my timing or actions had been even slightly different, I might not be alive right now.
"Well, you're the one who grasped your current self. I've enjoyed myself for the first time in a while, and I'm glad I chose you."
The Dark Spirit King gave me a bright, happy smile, but I could only manage a dry laugh in return. Still, he seemed to be in a good mood and tilted his head. "Any other questions?"
Questions... I had so many, yet I didn't know what to ask. My mind was a jumbled mess. Still, there was one thing I was most curious about.
"Um, what kind of power is the power of darkness?"
"You should check that for yourself. Here, I'll give your magic back."
The Dark Spirit King gave a mischievous grin. A sphere of faint light appeared from his hand. When he pointed toward me, the sphere followed his movement and vanished into my chest.
What? What happened?
Ignoring my confusion, the light that had vanished into my chest spread through my body, and magic began to circulate. The magic that integrated so naturally into me was incomparably stronger than before.
"This is...? No, my magic wasn't this strong."
"Of course not. I'm lending you my power, so it's much stronger than before. Besides, you seemed to think your affinity was water, but that's wrong."
"...What do you mean?"
"Your power truly manifests in darkness. Water is just a level where you have some decent aptitude."
This was the Dark Spirit King's power? Even though I was only borrowing a fraction of it, I could feel strength welling up from within.
As I stared at my hands, wondering if this was real, I heard the black horse tell the Dark Spirit King, "King, it is almost time." I looked up. The Dark Spirit King frowned at the horse.
"Can't be helped... I have to send you back to the humans for now."
Time to go back?
"Don't look so puzzled. I'm different from the Light Old Man. Ah, the old man is the Spirit King of Light. He's so preachy, I haven't seen his face in hundreds of years."
"Eh, um..."
I hadn't heard about the dark power or the protection yet. I hesitated, wondering if it was really okay to go back like this, but the Dark Spirit King held up a hand to stop me.
"It's fine. We'll meet again."
"We can meet again?"
"Yeah, of course. You're my..."
"King, it is time."
The moment the Dark Spirit King tried to tell me something, the black horse scanned the surroundings and spoke over him in a firm tone.
"I know, I know... Oh, right. Call me Nel."
"A-ah. Nel-sama, thank you."
The Dark Spirit King smiled at me, then picked up Kuro and handed him to me. I could only stare at him in a daze as I took Kuro into my arms.
Then, the Dark Spirit King narrowed his eyes gently and stroked my head. "I'll be the one to go to you next time, so wait for me."
I blinked as I looked at the Dark Spirit King, and when I opened my eyes... His Highness was standing before me with a surprised expression.
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