493 - The Inundation of Fairies and Information Gathering 2
"...In other words, the shock from when those worlds connected was the true nature of that earthquake?"
Since I am still the only one who can hear the spirits' voices, I act as an interpreter, sandwiched between Alfred and the deer spirit. When I told them that the world of spirits and the human world had apparently been forcibly connected, this was the first thing that occurred to Alfred. Since I had immediately suspected Camille's involvement, I suppose I am not suited to be a ruler. I was far more concerned with finding the culprit than the cause of the earthquake.
"Could such a thing actually happen?"
--I cannot say it is impossible. You humans made a fuss, calling it an earthquake, but a mere restlessness of the earth is of no hindrance to us.
It seems that for spirits and fairies, who do not possess physical bodies of flesh unlike humans, there is no effect regardless of whether the ground shakes. They can sense the anomaly, but that is all.
That should be the case, but that shaking brought a shock even to the spirits and fairies. If that is so, then that earthquake must have been different from the earthquakes I know.
"Since it was an unusual earthquake that even the spirits acknowledge, that is why there was no side-to-side shaking...? Or rather, considering that not a single piece of glass broke..."
"There is a possibility that the phenomenon of the ground shaking itself was an illusion on the human (our) side."
Alfred, who is unfamiliar with the phenomenon of the ground shaking, seems to find it easier to accept the idea that it was dizziness or an illusion rather than the absurd phenomenon of the earth shaking. To establish that it was an illusion, it would mean that everyone who felt the shaking experienced the illusion simultaneously, but wondering how he would explain that, I recall the reaction of the nursery spirit just before the shaking began.
The nursery spirit, who had been napping, woke up just before the earthquake. In other words, the nursery spirit sensed the anomaly before I felt the shaking and thought "earthquake." Indeed, even before the ground shook. And if we distinguish spirits from humans by the presence or absence of a physical body, it might not be strange if the nursery spirit felt some kind of shock before I did. One could consider that spirits, simply because they do not wear flesh, are more sensitive than humans.
"...I feel like various things connect better if we consider it an illusion."
I cannot truly be convinced that such a massive shaking was an illusion, though. The shaking happened only once, and there was no damage to glass, furniture, or buildings. The mystery of why there have been no aftershocks until now also finds a tentative explanation if it was an illusion. Since it didn't shake in the first place, there is no way there would be damage to buildings or furniture.
The shock that affected even bodiless beings like spirits and fairies happened only that once. Rather, it would be problematic if such an outrageous shock occurred a second or third time.
"...If that earthquake was an illusion, we might not have to worry about the damage that much."
"We cannot be so optimistic. Even if there is no damage to the sea, mountains, or buildings, there must be many humans who were surprised by the suddenness and got injured, like Nadine."
"In that case, would the need for countermeasures be for man-made disasters?"
If it is a man-made disaster, the locations where they occur can be predicted to some extent. Simply put, towns and villages with large populations.
"...As I thought, not having telephones or radios is inconvenient."
If there were telephones, we could quickly learn the situation here and the situation there. While the ground shaking is a phenomenon called an "earthquake," it would also be possible to make it known that this time it might have been an illusion.
If there were humans like me somewhere who could hear the voices of spirits, they might be able to gather information, but Christoph and the others, as rulers, cannot afford to sit back and rely on such uncertain elements. If something has happened, as representatives of the country and leaders of the people, they cannot fail to take action in response.
--What is a Denwa?
"A telephone is a telephone. Like... a convenient tool that existed in the previous world. It was a tool that could deliver one's voice to someone far away, and bring the other person's voice back."
Stories about Earth have been published as stories of another world, and there have been many reincarnated people in the past. Because of that, Alfred did not raise any questions about the "telephone," perhaps remembering the word itself, but the deer spirit seemed different. Tilting its head at the unfamiliar sound, its twitching ears are unintentionally cute.
Since I do not understand the mechanism, I cannot give a detailed explanation, but I briefly explain the function of a telephone to the deer spirit. Speaking of which, I truly think this is the moment when a telephone is most needed. Whether this anomaly is only in the royal capital or occurring throughout the entire Kingdom of Ivizia, I wanted as much information as possible.
--If you wish to deliver voices and carry voices, you should simply rely on the wind.
I am surprised by the deer spirit's words that the wind can go anywhere, and the deer spirit lightly raises a hand. Toward those fingertips, the translucent, fluffy fairies that had caught my attention earlier began to gather.
--You all, show this human girl what a wind spirit is.
--Okay! Sounds fun!
--What are we doing?
--Doing?
The wind spirits--I had assumed they were fairies, but it seems they were spirits--who gathered in a swarm at the deer spirit's fingertips, now gather around me. I waited, wondering what they intended to make me do, but it seemed I was the one to act. The deer spirit looked back at the door leading from the courtyard to the government building and pointed to the cat-head headgear peeking out from there.
--As a test, deliver the girl's voice over there.
--Got it!
--What are we delivering?
--Hurry, hurry!
Dietfried, who had entrusted the guidance to Felicia, apparently did not go home just yet. The ears of the cat-head are peeking from beyond the door, and he seems to be scouting us without noticing he has been spotted. He is likely the ill-mannered child who eavesdrops, whom Felicia was wary of.
"...Can you really deliver a voice?"
--Leave it to us!
To the wind spirit who puffed out its chest, claiming it is good at carrying voices, I give a word of warning to Christoph that it might be a bit ill-mannered, and then say just one word.
"Wah!!"
"Wawa!?"
Because of the distance, Dietfried should not have been able to hear me even if I shouted in the gazebo, but the wind spirit seems to have delivered my voice right to Dietfried's ear.
I had them deliver only the single word "Wah!!", but the effect was immediate.
Surprised by the sudden loud voice, Dietfried jumped out from the shadow of the door where he was hiding and fell on his backside.
"...You really can carry voices."
--How was that!
--Amazing? Amazing?
I instinctively clap my hands at the wind spirits flying around me, begging for praise. I didn't think my voice could actually be carried. As for Dietfried, who was startled by the sudden loud voice in his ear, he stood up, looked this way once, and then, perhaps thinking he hadn't been noticed yet, hid in the shadow of the door again. At a glance, he seems to have grown into a wonderful prince, but his insides are the same as ever.
"I would also like to try carrying a voice from over there..."
--Sure!
--What are we carrying?
If the things the deer spirit said are possible, I think it is wonderful, but for the wind spirits, this seems to be a game. To the wind spirits flying around with an excited atmosphere, wondering what to do next, I have them carry a question to Dietfried. Next, they should carry the answer to this question back.
As I watch the wind spirit flutter off toward Dietfried, Dietfried looks around suspiciously. It seems my voice has reached him. Dietfried looks this way once, then crouches on the spot and mumbles something.
...I wonder what it is? I shouldn't have asked such a troubling question...
To Dietfried, I used my voice carried by the spirit to convey the intent of this experiment and instructed him to answer with a memory shared between me and Dietfried. Something like meeting in the city of Ragarette, or playing reversi together, a simple answer would suffice, but Dietfried, visible from a distance, is writhing on the spot. Eventually, having finished writhing alone, he turned his back to us.
"...When I was ten, I made a puddle on the third floor of the Ragarette lodging (hotel)."
Dietfried's very small voice spreads around the gazebo table. A puddle? Christoph and the royal dukes tilted their heads, but Alfred and Felicia, who should be in the midst of child-rearing, seem to have realized the meaning of "puddle." Since gazes seeking an explanation were directed at me, for the sake of Dietfried's honor, I pretend not to notice those gazes.
...Of all things, why did he bring up that memory!?
It is certainly a shared memory between me and Dietfried, but I wonder if that was something he should have said. Thanks to that, I realized there are still things we must experiment with.
As I repeated the exchange with the wind spirits several times, more wind spirits gathered from the surroundings. It seems wind spirits are strongly curious and also fond of gossip. When I asked how far their gossip-gathering range extends since they said they are good at it, I am surprised when they answer that they can go anywhere. To see if they really can go anywhere, I try asking about the state of Mey Fortress, the border between the Kingdom of Ivizia and the Zugall Empire.
...I won't deny that while I say it is to investigate the range of the earthquake, I am actually worried about Leonardo-san.
The indescribably lukewarm gazes from Christoph and Alfred when I suggested to the wind spirit to tell me the state of Mey Fortress make me feel uncomfortable. Incidentally, as expected of Alfred, his adaptation was frighteningly fast. Using the wind spirits with skillful words as a trial, he has begun gathering information from outside the royal capital. Thanks to that, the disaster countermeasure meeting of Christoph and the others is proceeding smoothly.
...I've been interpreting this whole time and my throat is dry.
As I let out a soft sigh, the nursery spirit strokes my cheek as if to comfort me. The nursery spirit, who had been bullied by the cat-head fairy, has been on my shoulder ever since the spirits approached the gazebo.
--Found it.
Three wind spirits glide in front of me and tell me the state of Mey Fortress with gestures. Concepts like borders created by humans do not apply to spirits, so I could only specify locations by direction or the shape of mountains and trees at the destination, but it seems there is no mistake that this is the state of Mey Fortress.
How should I put it, the report that an overly abnormal situation is occurring makes me think it would be problematic if this weren't the border.
"Christina? Did something happen?"
"Um... it seems the wind spirits have looked into the state of Mey Fortress..."
"What happened? Was Leonardo taking his frustration out on the Empire soldiers because he missed his sister?"
"I think that would have been cuter."
I do not bother correcting Alfred on whether it is a sister or a fiancée. This is a matter between me and Leonardo, and the way he is called is too trivial for me to feel like correcting it.
"I don't quite understand, but according to the spirits... the cells of Mey Fortress are packed with energetic naked men."
"...Hm?"
"Also, they seem to have overheard the conversation of the Black Knights stationed at Mey Fortress, and it seems the naked men are likely soldiers of the Zugall Empire."
"What is that, I don't understand the meaning at all."
"It's okay, I don't understand the meaning either."
I am simply conveying it exactly as the spirits told me. I try to organize the story in my head, but I don't understand the situation at all. Naked Empire soldiers packed into the cells of Mey Fortress.
"...Excuse me, could you deliver my voice to Leonardo-sama?"
--Who? Re-o-na-ru-do.
--Human? We can't tell them apart.
--Telling them apart is hard.
Just as they didn't know the location by the place name, it seems spirits cannot identify humans by name. Or rather, even humans cannot match the face and name of a person they have never met. This was something that naturally happened even if one weren't a spirit.
"The one at the castle where you gathered stories, with black hair and a long green cloak over black clothes..."
--Ah, that one.
Before I could finish, the wind spirits seemed to have an idea of who Leonardo was. The wind spirits, who had been flying around with a joyful atmosphere as if they found this a funny game or something, stopped moving abruptly. If it's not my imagination, their voices have become stiff.
...Huh? Why has the atmosphere become strange...?
Unable to hide my bewilderment, I speak to the wind spirits, who have entered an atmosphere that is not very welcoming. I ask if something happened to Leonardo.
--Nothing really?
--Nothing's happening.
...This isn't an atmosphere of "nothing's happening," is it?
Utterly perplexed by the wind spirits whose atmosphere changed so blatantly, I tilt my head as if to hide my inner thoughts. Then, the nursery spirit on my shoulder pats my cheek and points to my pocket.
"Eh? Are you hungry?"
When I ask if it is a request for sweets, the nursery spirit makes a clearly exasperated face. It seems my understanding was wrong. While wondering what it could be, I take out a baked sweet from my pocket and hand it to the nursery spirit.
...Huh? You're coming down?
The nursery spirit, who had been hiding on my shoulder since the spirits appeared, is now boldly on the table. Holding up the baked sweet as if to show off to the wind spirits, it begins to munch on the sweet with a smug face it usually doesn't show.
I realized the nursery spirit's intention after the wind spirits' atmosphere changed. The wind spirits, who had become unresponsive the moment Leonardo's name came up, gather around the nursery spirit and me. Feeling the restless atmosphere of the wind spirits, I try taking out one baked sweet from my pocket. In that instant, a tension that takes one's breath away spreads among the wind spirits.
...I get it. They are deeply interested in the baked sweets.
I think the nursery spirit eating them so deliberately and deliciously attracted the wind spirits' interest. How should I put it, a tension that could be called a powder keg dominated the area.
"Um... if you carry my voice to Leonardo-sama and bring back an answer, I will give you these baked sweets--"
I couldn't finish saying "I will give you the baked sweets." I am swarmed by spirits volunteering as messengers, to the point where it is difficult even to breathe. The nursery spirit's wind spirit induction operation seems to have been a brilliant success.
...Though my snacks are in danger!
Royal Capital: In the midst of the Inundation of Spirits Wacha-Wacha Festival. Meanwhile, at Mey Fortress, the Empire Soldiers' Naked Festival is in progress.
Typos and omissions will be fixed at a later date.