by Ennki Hakari
“There are differences from one elf to the next. Judging by your appearance, I’d say that you’re similar to us dark elves.”
Ariane once told me that elves had a strong affinity for magic, while dark elves had superior physical prowess. Given how muscular I’d become, I found it hard to argue with her assessment. However, this body had only been designed to resemble a dark elf in the game world, so I still had doubts about whether I was actually a dark elf in this world.
Still, the fact that I could see the spirit, if only faintly, suggested that this body shared at least some characteristics with the elves. Ariane also once told me that the Great Canada Forest’s founding elder—ostensibly someone similar to me—could barely see spirits.
“We should return to the village and notify the elders that Arc—wait!” Ariane interrupted herself mid-sentence and hit her palm with her fist. “I forgot that Chiyome had something she wanted to discuss with you.”
Chiyome, who’d watched our conversation in silence, bowed her cat-eared head.
“Yes, Chiyome?”
“I’m sure you recall when you and Ariane helped me rescue my comrades in the capital, right? Well, the plan was actually much more successful than we expected. The Calcut Mountains’ refugee population has exploded. Unfortunately, there are a lot of monsters in the mountains as well, and fertile farmland is in short supply. We were already pushing the limits of what the village could support, but now…” Chiyome’s shoulders drooped, her tail moving slowly as she spoke. “The twenty-second elder charged me with finding the founder’s shrine so we can move everyone here.”
While I certainly sympathized with Chiyome’s plight, that was my exact plan. “I already asked permission from Villiers Fim to use this as my home. If I lived here, too, would that be all right with you?”
Ariane and Chiyome exchanged a surprised glance.
“That’s fine, of course,” Chiyome said. “I secured permission from Villiers Fim as well. We don’t actually plan to move the villagers to the shrine. We’re moving them east, to a location the Dragon Lord told me about, near a field and a large lake.”
That made sense. The shrine would suit a handful of people, but it would probably be difficult for a whole village to survive here. From what I’d seen of the area when we emerged from the cave, the basin was surrounded by mountains, making it nearly impregnable. The place Chiyome described sounded ideal.
But something still nagged at me. Why hadn’t Hanzo moved the mountain people here in the first place?
However, when I asked Chiyome, she simply shook her head. “I don’t know why. Hanzo lived many generations ago. I suppose the twenty-second elder might know more, though.”
I had my own suspicions about Hanzo’s reasoning. While this location was practically impregnable, traveling here was a challenge. The journey required you to make your way through a monster-infested forest, then either climb the Furyu Mountains or enter the massive, pitch-black cave beneath them. Sure, the mountain people were known for physical prowess, but a mass migration like that would be perilous, resulting in countless deaths.
I suddenly understood what Chiyome was asking of me. “So, you’d like me to use teleportation magic to transport your people here safely. Is that right?”
Her ears perked up. “That’s right! What do you think?”
Of course, my mind was already made up. “First, I’d like the opportunity to meet your elder. I don’t mean to sound crass, but I want to negotiate to receive the shrine as payment for assisting with your move. Unfortunately, I can’t budge on that, since it’s essential for my cursed body.” I offered Chiyome a smile, to show I had no ill will.
Chiyome regarded me with her usual cool expression, though her cheeks looked a little flushed. Her tail wagged behind her. “I understand. Thank you, Arc.”
I turned back to Ariane. “And what about you? Do you want to return to Lalatoya? I feel bad for making you waste a week fretting over me.”
Ariane shook her head. “The time wasn’t wasted. Besides, Chiyome and I spoke while you were sleeping, and I promised her I’d visit her village.”
I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. It seemed the two of them had gotten close while I was unconscious. I admit, I was a bit jealous.
Ponta used its large cotton tail to stroke the back of my head, making me feel less lonely.
“Thanks, Ponta. I’ll get you a treat in a bit.”
“Kyiiiiiii!”
Just then, my arm’s skin began to vanish, and I saw bone.
“Huh?”
Slowly but surely, my flesh faded away, returning me to my skeletal form. It had been a little under an hour since I drank the spring water.
Ariane looked just as surprised as I felt. “So, you turned back. I guess the effect doesn’t last all that long, huh?”
She was right, although it was clear that drinking the water greatly extended its effects. Next time, I’d need to increase the amount I drank, and see how that affected my transformation.
Together, we began to plan our next steps.
***
As the sun set, light blues fading to deep scarlets, the serene mountain peak took on the dwindling sunlight’s colors. A gentle wind wound through the hole in the shrine roof. Carrying with it the sound of rustling leaves, it brushed the long grass that pushed through the cracked stone floor and caressed my skin gently.
I opened my eyes and looked around, spinning my lower body and transferring the motion fluidly into my outstretched arm. I was summoning a weak wind-elemental spell from the Mage class.
“Wind Cutter!”
A large blade of air flew out in front of me, chopping down the grass in its path.
Even though this was a base-level spell, it was still quite powerful. It took a lot of practice, but I could now limit its strength enough to cut only the grass in the immediate area.
“Kyiii! Kyii!” Ponta mewed excitedly.
“All right, Ponta. You want to give it a shot?”
“Kyii!”
The cottontail fox took a step forward, narrowed its gaze, and focused its attention on a small sapling growing from a crack in the ground.
“Kyiii kyii…”
Ponta’s green fur brightened almost imperceptibly as fallen leaves fluttered around it.
“Kyiiiiii!”
Ponta sent a gust of wind flying toward the sapling, chopping it down.
“Wow! Good job! Looks like someone deserves a treat. How about some roasted beans?”
“Kyiiiiiiiii kyii!”
“What kind of strange things are you teaching Ponta?” Ariane sounded unimpressed. I turned to find her glaring at me, eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed.
“Well, if I’m going to make this place home, I figured I should at least cut the wild grass. Ponta just started…imitating me.”
While I tried to explain myself, Ponta stared at me quizzically, wondering where its reward was.
“I guess cottontail foxes don’t use many offensive spells against enemies, do they?”
Ariane shook her head. “I don’t actually know a lot about cottontail foxes, but I definitely haven’t heard of them using offensive magic.”
“Huh. I guess Ponta will be the first. It certainly wouldn’t hurt if it had the ability to defend itself.”
“You’re probably right.” Ariane didn’t sound too pleased. “Oh! Arc, you’re starting to change back!”
“So, the amount of spring water I drink does alter how long the effect lasts.”
This time, I drank a liter or so, and it lasted three hours. I watched as my brown skin faded like mist, leaving nothing but the bones underneath, then ran a hand over my ribs.
Ariane’s shoulders slumped. “Hmm. It’s still pretty brief.”
She was right, but at least I had it better than that one super-sized hero from Nebula M78 who only got his body back for three minutes. However, I had a feeling that if I exercised or exerted myself, the effect would likely weaken. I hadn’t gott
en a clear answer out of Villiers Fim on the subject.
“Dinner’s ready,” Ariane said. “Chiyome cooked tonight.”
“Kyii!” Ponta—who’d been staring at me impatiently, waiting for roasted beans—took off in search of Chiyome.
I watched the fox speed away. “So, tomorrow we’ll set out for the Rhoden Kingdom and Chiyome’s secret hideaway?”
Ariane nodded. “I’m interested to see where the mountain people are currently living.”
I followed her toward the kitchen—or what was left of it—where Chiyome waited.
A fire in the old hearth dimly illuminated the room; a boiling stewpot filled the air with the sounds of crackling wood and bubbling broth.
Chiyome’s cat ears pricked up as she listened intently. She dipped the ladle into the liquid, giving it a stir. Ponta sat in front of an empty plate, tail wagging excitedly.
“I made a wild bird and herb stew,” Chiyome explained. “It’s filled with all sorts of nutrients. We often make it in my village, to help people who’ve been sick get back on their feet.”
Chiyome ladled meat onto the not-so-patient Ponta’s plate. The fox immediately fanned the still-piping food with spirit magic. It was a pretty impressive sight.
Chiyome had probably decided to make this revitalizing Jinshin clan dish because it would be my first meal since recovering from my blackout.
Of course, I hadn’t actually been sick. The only way I’d survived for seven days without food or water was thanks to my body, or rather, lack thereof. I highly doubted that this world had anything like IVs, so being out for six days would practically be a death sentence due to dehydration alone.
“Well, thank you very much.” I accepted the bowl Chiyome offered me and lifted it to my mouth.
The bird meat had a gamey flavor that permeated the whole stew, but it was tender and easy to chew, thanks to the dish’s long boiling time. The mountain herbs had a slightly bitter taste, giving the dish an almost medicinal flavor. I didn’t want to be ungrateful, but it felt as though the stew was missing something. I continued sipping, thinking how good it would taste with a bit of soy sauce, or maybe a rich bouillon.
“Do you like it, Arc?” Chiyome’s face was a mask of concern.
I responded with a gentle laugh. “I was just lost in thought. It’s delicious, and definitely seems healthy.”
“Hey, Arc, you’re changing back,” Ariane said, pointing with her spoon.
“Huh? Oh. Whoa…”
I looked down. My dark elf body’s brown flesh was slowly reappearing, covering the bones visible moments ago.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Chiyome said, ears drooping. “I used spring water in the stew. In my village, we have limited salt and dried herbs for flavoring, so we often supplement them with spring water.”
“It’s fine!” I said. “Please, don’t worry about it. Anyway, it sounds like it’s hard to find salt in your village. How do you get it, then? And what do you plan to do once everyone moves here?”
Salt is essential to all living things. It can be produced near an ocean, of course, but this basin was surrounded by mountains. If the villagers were lucky, they might find a spot nearby where they could mine salt, but those weren’t exactly common.
Chiyome and Ariane exchanged a glance.
“There’s a small quarry near our village where we mine rock salt,” Chiyome said. “We’ll have to look for a new spot once we move here, though. For now, I’ve asked Ariane to talk with her father to see if we can trade with the elves.”
“It seems like you two decided quite a bit while I was sleeping. So, have you accomplished what you came here to do, Chiyome?”
She nodded. “I had two objectives. One was to find Hanzo’s shrine, and the other was to find the pledge spirit crystal hidden inside.”
“Pledge spirit crystal?” I repeated the unfamiliar words, suddenly remembering that Villiers Fim had referred to Chiyome as “entrusted with a spirit crystal.”
Chiyome set her bowl down and reached into her sash, pulling out a large, diamond-shaped gem. It gave off a prismatic glow in the flickering flames, the light growing stronger and weaker, almost like a heartbeat.
“This is one of our clan’s mystical treasures, passed down by Hanzo himself from generation to generation. I explained this to Ariane earlier; bonding with these spirit crystals gives us our ninja abilities. You use the crystal to pledge yourself to a compatible spirit.”
Chiyome’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly hid the crystal away again.
I cleared my throat and brought my bowl up for another sip. “Huh. This world is full of all sorts of intriguing items.”
Chiyome let out a sigh. “Oh… Then I guess you don’t know where this is from, Arc. I was hoping you might, since Hanzo was a Wanderer, like yourself.”
Ariane shot me a quizzical look. “Wait. Villiers Fim said that Hanzo was a Wanderer, but Hanzo was a human, wasn’t he? Arc is an elf.”
Judging by Ariane’s confused face, I assumed Chiyome had told her about my slip-up earlier, when I used the word “ninja”—a word known only to her people. I’d told Chiyome that it was a word we used back in my hometown.
Of course, at the time, I’d assumed I was a human, just like Hanzo.
I shrugged and mumbled a response. “I…I thought I was human, but apparently, even my memory is faulty.” It was the best explanation I could come up with.
Ariane looked at me skeptically.
I ignored Ariane and turned back to Chiyome. “Do you want to know the spirit crystals’ source because there aren’t many of them?”
Chiyome ran a finger over the spot where the spirit crystal rested in her sash. “Yes. Hanzo supposedly left the clan ten pledge spirit crystals. Only ten, no more. There are eight in the village. The one I found here makes nine. According to legend, the remaining crystal was lost long ago. If there were more, they would improve our village’s defensive capabilities a lot.”
I wondered whether Hanzo brought the spirit crystals from his own world, or crafted them here. Perhaps a skill from one of the crafting classes had created them.
“Once you’re bonded with a spirit crystal, I assume you can’t easily undo it, right?”
“I would die the moment I undid the bond,” Chiyome said. “These spirit crystals are passed down from generation to generation. Upon the previous owner’s death and cremation, the spirit crystal is taken from the ashes, and given to the person entitled to join the Jinshin clan’s top six fighters.”
Chiyome’s face, illuminated by the light of the silent flame, was no longer that of a young girl, but of a warrior who’d put her life on the line for her village and comrades.
I suddenly found myself lost for words, so I brought the bowl back up, gulped down the remaining herbs, and let out a deep breath.
“Thank you for the meal, Chiyome.”
Chiyome bowed her head.
***
Early the next morning, as the sun was still barely cresting the horizon, we woke to find the shrine shrouded in mist, the forest still and silent.
After we said our goodbyes to the Dragon Lord, who was still lounging in the hot spring, I used Transport Gate to teleport us to an area near the Rhoden Kingdom’s capital. That was the closest place I knew to the Jinshin clan’s village. The dark, imposing forest vanished, and we found ourselves in the middle of a large, open field.
Off to the south, I saw the walls surrounding the city, and beyond that, the capital itself, illuminated by early morning light.
Ponta yawned lazily atop my helmet—probably still tired from waking at such an early hour—and nearly slipped off the side.
Behind us, to the north, were the Calcut Mountains, their peaks a sawblade against the sky. A massive forest sprawled at their base.
Chiyome’s village, and the Jinshin clan’s hidden base of operations, were located somewhere in those mountains. There was no road to speak of, so we let Chiyome lead the way. Thankfully, there were relatively few monste
rs in the area. The tradeoff was that there were plenty of bandits.
“Most of the area’s bandit camps will be gone soon, though,” Chiyome said.
She led us through the forest easily and confidently.
“You mean the Jinshin clan is pushing everyone out of their territory?” I asked.
Chiyome stopped and turned to face me. “What exactly do you think we ninja do?”
Her question confused me. “Rescue comrades abducted by the humans?”
The corners of Chiyome’s mouth turned up slightly. “We certainly do that. But we also hunt bandits. Blades and other metal objects are invaluable in our village, which makes the bandit camps ideal hunting grounds.”
Since the bandits probably didn’t want their pillaging and looting to draw too much attention from local nobles, they set up camp outside town. That made it even easier for the Jinshin clan to attack them and steal their supplies.
Judging by the physical prowess Chiyome and Goemon displayed during our assault on the Etzat Market, your run-of-the-mill bandit wouldn’t even stand a chance.
“If the Jinshin clan suddenly possesses stolen items, doesn’t that draw suspicion from the capital?”
“That’s what our informants are for. They make sure that any survivors returning to town claim that humans attacked them. We make it look like the bandits moved their base camp, wipe it out, and steal their supplies. That’s why so few bandits raid from the area around the Calcut mountains.”
Chiyome’s tail wagged confidently. She turned and led us deeper into the forest.
Those mountain people were a lot more rugged than I’d given them credit for.
***
About halfway up one of the mountains, after a short journey through dense forest, we finally reached a clearing. The soil underfoot gave way to rock, and I saw that the way ahead was riddled with deep gorges. Between them, a mountain stream snaked downwards.
Chiyome pointed toward a peak across from the overhang where we’d stopped. “Once we pass this gorge, we’ll be in the Calcut Mountains proper. Humans rarely venture out here, due to the powerful monsters that make these mountains their home.”