484 - Remembrance Festival and the Divine Eye
On the day of the Remembrance Festival, Leonardo, who participates in the rituals starting in the evening, always has the daytime off. Normally, he would use that break to take a nap in preparation for the evening, but it had been decided that if I said I wanted to go out to the festival, he would accompany me for half a day.
In short, it was a half-day sibling date. Since we are now considered fiancés, it simply became a date between fiancés.
Mirshe and Ranvald took their time off in alternating afternoon and morning shifts, and since the masters (meaning us) were going out, Tabitha and Bart could also relax a little. Salisa was scheduled to be off all day because she was appearing in the play at the plaza. In Salisa's stead, the nanny fairy on my shoulder was enthusiastically acting as my guard.
I had thought this nanny fairy did nothing more than carry me to wherever Leonardo was when I felt lonely in my brother's absence, but it seemed its role was truly that of a "nanny." Salisa once threw a cushion at me as an experiment, and the nanny fairy blocked it before the cushion could hit me. Leonardo had told me that a sword could not be pointed at me, so we experimented by having Leonardo charge at me with a shield. To my surprise, this tiny nanny fairy even blocked Leonardo's charge.
...At this rate, even without a guard knight, wouldn't this be the strongest physical defense?
It was a fairy's power capable of blocking even Leonardo's charge. I felt that even if there were magic attacks, it would be more than enough to block them. When thinking of someone stronger than Leonardo, the only other person who came to mind was the Divine King, but I couldn't quite imagine a situation where I would be attacked by the Divine King. The only time the Divine King ever attacked another was likely against the youth in the myths.
...If I connect what the Divine King-sama said with the myths, was there a wider land beyond the Viroup Desert?
The Divine King must have physically sunk it when stopping the rampage of the youth in the myths. Even Leonardo probably couldn't win against the Divine King.
"...Ah, bobbin lace."
While strolling through the stalls side by side with Leonardo, I spotted a bobbin lace ribbon in the hair of a girl passing by. It was a ribbon with a simple geometric pattern, the kind of design featured in that instruction manual. Once I found a girl using bobbin lace, I started noticing it from time to time. Previously, I was the only one using bobbin lace, but it seemed that over the last year or two, girls using bobbin lace had gradually begun to appear. Even so, I was surprised to see a girl using a bobbin lace ribbon so soon, and Leonardo told me that the reason bobbin lace could be seen in the town of Grunnor was more due to the influence of Elke and Petrona than the spread of the manual. Since the two of them had been taught how to weave bobbin lace in the royal capital, they were able to make bobbin lace a product for their own homes immediately after returning from the capital. They had become sufficiently capable of weaving simple geometric pattern ribbons. Since three years had passed since then, a fair number of them must have been released as products.
"Do you want it? Shall I buy it?"
"We already have plenty of lace woven by Aurelia-san and lace made by Kalisa at the house, so it would be a problem if we had any more."
Leonardo, who tries to buy whatever catches my eye immediately, is as much of a sister complex as ever. Despite being able to weave the same bobbin lace himself, I pulled Leonardo's arm as he tried to buy more bobbin lace and hurried toward the plaza. I believe I am loved, but Leonardo's bad habit of simply wanting to give me things just wouldn't seem to be cured.
The content of the play performed at the plaza does not change every year, but it was a good way for children to kill time, and since the winner of the Wemishuvara Contest plays the role of the goddess Itsurateru, it is an event popular with men as well. To watch the play from a good spot, it is necessary to go early and secure a place. I felt that if I asked Leonardo, the Black Knights on guard would likely secure a spot for us, but it wouldn't look very dignified for a Black Knight to be reserving seats in the plaza. Determined to secure a spot fairly and squarely on our own, we headed to the plaza, and perhaps because Leonardo's face was known as the master of the fortress, a path naturally opened up in the crowd around him, allowing us to secure seats.
"Ah, it's Salisa."
As I watched the play side by side with Leonardo, Salisa appeared on stage dressed in traditional attire as the role of the goddess Itsurateru. At the sight of Itsurateru looking different from usual years, a momentary cry of surprise rose from the plaza.
"...I wonder about how many years the person who usually played Itsurateru had been winning the Wemishuvara Contest?"
"By the time I was assigned to Grunnor Fortress, it was already that woman."
Leonardo said that while he didn't know the winner of the year he went to the Zoogary Empire following me, since there were no particular reports, it was likely the same person. In other words, in the town of Grunnor, the same person had won the Wemishuvara Contest for over ten years and played the role of the goddess Itsurateru.
"Was... wasn't the entry itself made invalid in the form of a 'Hall of Fame' like with Felicia-sama?"
I recall that was how it was done in the royal capital. When speaking of beauties, Felicia was a common recognition across the noble district, the inner town, and the outer town. If Felicia entered the Wemishuvara Contest, the result would be known even before the voting. Therefore, after winning for three consecutive years, Felicia reportedly began to decline entry into the Wemishuvara Contest.
"I think a Hall of Fame for consecutive wins is a good move... but choosing her as a candidate is also the will of the people. It would be strange to exclude the actual winner and then choose the best among the others."
"That is true."
Indeed, if a new number one were chosen from among those who excluded the actual number one, neither the chosen number one nor the people who pushed for the original number one to be a candidate would be satisfied. Leonardo, who is entrusted with the entirety of Grunnor Fortress and the town, could have introduced a 'Hall of Fame' system at his own discretion, but he said he left it as it was because he wanted to value the will of the people.
...Besides, normally popularity should fade with age.
No one probably thought that the same woman would continue to win the Wemishuvara Contest for over ten years. Thinking about this, Salisa, who defeated her, is amazing. When the offer to enter came to Kalisa, I thought her chest was too large and the balance would be off, but since Salisa, who is the same size, had won before I knew it, Kalisa might have been able to win too.
...Though the current nanny fairy (Kalisa) is flatter than I am.
When I gave a small candy apple bought from a stall to the nanny fairy on my shoulder, the nanny fairy began to munch on the candy happily. I once asked Leonardo, who couldn't see it, how it looked from the outside to give sweets to a fairy, and he said the sweets seemed to vanish from the hand the moment they were given to the fairy. In my eyes, I see the nanny fairy receiving the sweet and eating it deliciously, but from the perspective of those around us, the sweet vanishes so instantly that they might think, 'Was it just an optical illusion that she had a sweet in the first place?'
...It seems that even those under fifteen cannot see nanny fairies of other people.
I have had the nanny fairy on my shoulder since leaving the house, but no children looked back at my shoulder. Since there is no way a child would remain unresponsive while being accompanied by such a small, mysterious creature, it's safe to assume they cannot see it. Since the nanny fairy's domain is 'nannying,' it seems it can only be seen by the children of that house. In this case, 'the children of that house' refers to me and Mirshe, who stopped being able to see the nanny fairy at fifteen.
"Even so, what is actually true in the end, I wonder?"
"Hmm?"
As the play ended and we walked leisurely back toward the house, I suddenly voiced my question. The truth of the myths cannot be made too public, but since we had already returned to the Black Knights' residential area, it should be fine. Being the Black Knights' residential area, there is usually little foot traffic.
"I heard a little bit from the Divine King-sama. The true story within the myths."
As for the content of the play performed at the plaza, a youth who was jealous of the Divine King, who was loved by the gods, aimed to eliminate the Divine King to seize that position. Ignoring friends and spirits who told him he must not do such a thing, the youth finally stole a single sword from the gods. Even the god who created the sword found it uncontrollable and had sealed it, so there was no way a human youth could master it. As expected, the sword began to rampage, draining the life force from the land, and many humans and spirits died. This has become the anecdote of the birth of the Viroup Desert.
After this, as a result of his excessively tyrannical actions, the youth came to receive the judgment of the goddess of justice, Itsurateru. Having both hands and feet cut off by the goddess Itsurateru, the youth, who was loathed by the gods, was not even permitted to become a citizen of the land of the dead, and lived for many years crawling upon the earth. The Divine King, feeling pity for him, interceded with the god of death, Uaksu, and the youth was finally permitted to die. Holding the youth's remains, the Divine King lamented, "This tragedy happened because a being like me existed," and vanished from the earth, which is the content of the myths and the play. This myth, with some slight differences, is the only thing ordinary humans can know.
However, I am different. Having a mysterious connection, I was able to hear the story directly from the Divine King.
The facts are slightly different from the myths.
The one who judged the youth was not the goddess but the Divine King himself, and the one whose hands and feet were severed was the Divine King. Moreover, the one who did it was also the Divine King himself. The reason, if I recall, was something terrifying, like he couldn't restrain himself unless he did so out of sheer anger. If the Divine King hadn't stopped himself even by cutting off his own hands and feet, what would have happened to this world by now?
And the reason the Divine King vanished was also different from the myths. The Divine King gave a mark to his dead lover and seemed to be searching for a being with that mark who had likely reincarnated somewhere. This lover of the Divine King does not appear in the myths or the play. Furthermore, the mark given by the Divine King had returned to the Divine King, making it impossible to find the former lover by relying on the mark anymore. Because he learned this, the Divine King became willing to head toward the next life.
If the task of 'destroying all the remains' entrusted to me by the Divine King can be achieved, the Divine King will journey to the land of the dead. It seems that if the currently living Divine King is lost, the generational change of the Divine King will take place normally, but that is not for me to consider.
"...There are two 'Spirit's Seats' left, then."
During the two years when my memories were vague, the Divine King's territory, Quebia, moved, finding and destroying the 'Spirit's Seats' that were sleeping in various places. According to the Divine King, the remains were divided into six parts: head, torso, both hands, and both feet, and if this is true, then there are two left. Since Leonardo apparently found one in the Zoogary Empire, it can be destroyed someday as long as the location is known. The problem is the last one, whose location is not even known.
"If it's the Divine King's territory, Quebia, would there be any myths remaining?"
"If the location could be found that way, all the 'Spirit's Seats' would have been destroyed by now."
"You're right."
It won't be that easy, I thought, looking up at the face of Leonardo walking beside me. If it's impossible for my generation, the Divine King had proposed a surprisingly relaxed plan, saying it would be fine if my descendants destroyed it. Hearing the Divine King's circumstances, it is a wish I want to grant, but it is too great a mission to pass on to my own child. In the first place, the problem of whether I can find a partner to leave descendants with is already solved, since the man next to me (Leonardo) is scheduled to be caught.
"...No, but putting the child aside, that child would first need to be a reincarnated person...? Was it actually quite a high difficulty?"
According to the Divine King, since the contents of the 'Spirit's Seats' are the Divine King's remains, they are not easy for the souls of this world to destroy. It is said that the souls of this world simply cannot bring themselves to harm the Divine King, who is also their king. This is where a reincarnated person is useful. Reincarnated persons, being souls brought from another world, have no such imprinting regarding the Divine King. Therefore, for a reincarnated person with a soul from another world, the destruction of the 'Spirit's Seats' is easy.
"Reincarnated person? Not a favored child of the spirits?"
"Reincarnated persons and favored children of the spirits are the same. The difference is whether they are captured as a favored child of the spirits."
When I pointed out that I had mentioned this before, Leonardo looked away awkwardly, saying he felt like he had heard it. Seeing this, he probably forgot until I told him. I think that's reasonable. For people like Leonardo, a 'favored child of the spirits' is a child loved by spirits, while a 'reincarnated person' is a potentially useful existence who possesses memories and knowledge of having lived in a different world. From the perspective of a reincarnated person (me), the two were the same existence, but from the perspective of the people of this world, a 'favored child of the spirits' who is particularly useless and a 'reincarnated person' who can bring wealth depending on how they are handled probably seem like completely different things.
"It seems that because reincarnated persons have no imprinting regarding the Divine King, the destruction of the 'Spirit's Seats' can be done easily..."
"That... might be true. When I met the Divine King, I found myself kneeling before I realized it. The Divine King must be that kind of existence."
"I have never folded my knees even when meeting the Divine King-sama, though..."
That too is likely the difference between a reincarnated person and the souls of this world. For the souls of this world, the Divine King is their king. Thinking that it is natural to kneel before the king before being forced to, I suddenly realized something.
Against such a Divine King, the youth in the myths was able to plot rebellion.
...Wait? Was the youth in the myths actually a reincarnated person?
I immediately shut the lid on the possibility I had just noticed. The mass transport of souls from another world happened after the youth had annihilated a large number of the souls of this world. If the youth were a reincarnated person, the sequence of events would become strange.
"Even so, reincarnated persons have no imprinting regarding the Divine King, huh. That's why Camille could give the 'Spirit's Seats' a name like 'Spirit Crystals' and chop them up."
The barbaric act of chopping up the coffin containing the Divine King's remains was likely something only a reincarnated person could do. For an ordinary human, the very idea of chopping up a 'Spirit's Seat' probably wouldn't even occur to them.
"Tina..."
"It is Christina."
"...The fact that Christina made me destroy the Spirit Crystals was also... hmm? If I was able to destroy the 'Spirit's Seats' which are easy for a reincarnated person to break, does that mean I am also a reincarnated person? No, but I couldn't shatter them into pieces like Christina did."
As Leonardo tilted his head wondering what that meant, I asked him back what he meant. Regarding the two years when my memories were vague, I had only heard a simple explanation. This was the first time I had heard the story that I had shattered a 'Spirit's Seat' into pieces.
"The power used to operate the tools Camille was researching was the 'Spirit's Seats' called 'Spirit Crystals.' Ti... Christina noticed immediately and began destroying them, but..."
Apparently, from a certain point, every time I found a Spirit Crystal, I started telling Leonardo to touch it. My explanation at the time was supposedly, "When Leonardo touches it, the contents are pulled out." I feel like I heard this part a little bit some time ago.
"...At that time, did Leonardo-sama touch the Spirit Crystal with your dominant hand?"
"I think so... why, what about it?"
"No, I just thought that might be the reason."
This might be the reason why Leonardo can touch the nanny fairy with his dominant hand.
Something pulled out from the 'Spirit's Seat' is likely remaining in Leonardo's dominant hand.
If a part of the Divine King's power dwells in Leonardo's dominant hand, it wouldn't be strange if he could touch spirits or fairies. The Divine King is that kind of existence.
...Wait? But if this is the reason, isn't it a weak reason for why he can't touch with the other hand?
If a part of the Divine King's power has entered Leonardo, I feel like he should be able to touch spirits even if it's not with his dominant hand. No matter how much he touched with his dominant hand, even if a person's body is divided into two hands and two feet, it is connected as one. It's hard to imagine that it would only affect the dominant hand.
...Thinking about it again, Leonardo-san really is a mystery, isn't he?
In the first place, he possesses a level of physical strength that seems like a joke. Speaking of absurdities, it's strange that he is entrusted with four fortresses when normally only one can be held. To add to the strangeness, Leonardo apparently was able to enter the Divine King's Temple. The fact that he could enter the temple made for the Divine King by the gods in the age of myths means, conversely, that Leonardo is the Divine King. The logic is that since he could enter the Divine King's Temple, which only the Divine King should be able to enter, he is the Divine King.
Those who can enter the Divine King's Temple are, precisely, the Divine King and one other person, a being called the 'Gods' Favored Child.' The Gods' Favored Child is the next generation's Divine King. When the Divine King yields the seat, the being called the Gods' Favored Child becomes the next Divine King. From the perspective of spirits, both are the same existence, with only a difference of whether they are current or next generation.
...But, though he is hiding, the Divine King-sama is currently active, isn't he?
Here, the Leonardo = Divine King theory is crushed. Since a current Divine King exists separately, it's impossible for Leonardo to be the Divine King. Even if it were, only the possibility of him being the Gods' Favored Child remains slightly.
However, this possibility can also be denied immediately. Leonardo's eyes are both black. And the eyes of the Divine King and the Gods' Favored Child are both azure. This azure serves as a mark of inheriting the Divine King's blood.
Azure blood thins to blue and then becomes other colors. This is why there are many blue eyes among the royalty and nobility of the Ivizia Kingdom and the Saenard Kingdom. Marriage policies were carried out in this world as well. Especially the blood of the Divine King was considered something that must be carefully protected, and in the Divine King's territory, Quebia, they kept the blood as concentrated as possible, but also left blood outside in case something happened to the Divine King's clan due to disasters such as cataclysms. That is the blood of the Divine King that, tracing back, has entered the blood of the royalty of various countries. The fact that blue eyes are common among royalty and nobility is evidence that, tracing back, they inherit a small amount of the Divine King's clan's blood. I have heard that my grandmother also descends from royalty, so my eyes being blue should be for the same reason.
Thinking that far about royal blood, Ranvald's face suddenly crossed my mind. Leonardo and Ranvald had features that were too similar to be considered strangers. Since their ages are too close, they couldn't be father and child, but it's possible that a father whom he himself doesn't know is in Ranvald's mother's lineage. If that's the case, the possibility that noble blood flows in Leonardo is not zero. And if noble blood is present, the possibility that a 'Gods' Favored Child' is born outside the land of the Divine King's territory, Quebia, is also not zero.
...No, I was wrong. Since Leonardo-san's eyes are both black, he didn't have the aptitude to become the Divine King in the first place.
There's no way Leonardo has any relationship with the Divine King. I think so, but something is bothering me and my thoughts won't leave it. While I was worrying with a hazy feeling, Leonardo beside me started saying something strange, "Speaking of the Divine King..."
"...Christina might meet the Divine King one more time."
"What is it? Does Leonardo-sama now make prophecies as well?"
When I gave him a light glare, saying I don't need such ominous prophecies, Leonardo knit his brows troubledly. Normally, Leonardo would be the one to dislike the topic. Meeting the Divine King usually means 'I am kidnapped by spirits.' He probably can't afford to have me go missing that many times.
"Even so, that's what he said. Something like, another thing he wants me to grant has come up."
He didn't ask what it was, but that's why he'll likely come to convey the matter once, Leonardo said. He also added that at that time, please, do not go missing.
"It's troubling to have that said to me."
I don't go missing on purpose every time either. He should complain directly to the Divine King about not taking me away or carrying me off.
...But, I see. I'll meet him once more.
If so, it might be good to try and hear the truth of the myths. I don't think an interesting story will come out, but the hazy feeling of wondering what is true should clear up.
...If I can meet him once more, that is.
I have a feeling that the next time I meet the Divine King, it will somehow be the final time. If it's my end, meeting him would be decades away, but if it's the Divine King's end, the timing is unpredictable. If it's the Divine King's end, it should be after finding and destroying the last 'Spirit's Seat.'
Either way, it's not something that will happen immediately.