Chapter 212 The Wind’s Mistake
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
On a day that marked the fiftieth year since the wind spirit of the settlement had undergone a change, giving birth to new wind spirits, the settlement and the spirits residing here entered a period of transformation.
In this remote settlement where usually only a few people arrive by carriage, on this day, eight carriages arrived, carrying thirty humans. The remaining carriages were loaded with a large amount of food and livestock.
’What could be happening here?’
’It doesn’t seem like the usual repairs to the mansion… Considering that they brought livestock, I suspect they might be planning to settle here.’
’It would be fine if that’s all it is. Look at the gloomy expressions on the faces of the thirty people who got off the carriages. I have seen that expression countless times before, and it looks like the faces of slaves.’
’If there are thirty slaves, it doesn’t seem like a simple migration.’
’Hey, Water, I was thinking…’
’Yes, I probably have the same thoughts. I have a strong sense of unease.’
The earth spirit and water spirit, who had a bad premonition about the sudden event, saw their premonition come true.
In the evening of that day, a carriage arrived at the settlement.
Unlike the ones that had come before, this carriage had a family crest drawn on its side. From inside, a young man dressed in fine clothes stepped out, accompanied by a woman.
’It’s clearly a noble. What do you think we should do?’
’I don’t know what to do. I never expected a noble to come to a place like this… And what’s with the color of his soul? I’ve never seen anything like it.’
’Neither have I, but regardless of the color of his soul, he is still a noble. Thankfully, Wind has never seen a noble before. The chances of him recognizing one at first sight are low.’
’But that’s only a matter of time. I hope he just observes and leaves quickly.’
’For now, we’ll have to deceive Wind and say that he is also a noble’s subordinate.’
’Well, I’m a little curious to see how Wind will react when she learns the truth.’
’Hey.’
’Just kidding, just kidding. You’re still as serious as ever.’
’You occasionally do things that seem like jokes, you know.’
’Well, I won’t deny that…’
’Just to be clear, absolutely do not pull any stunts like that.’
’Alright, alright, I got it.’
In a playful manner, the earth spirit spoke in response to the water spirit’s words, while silently praying that the nobleman would depart from the settlement as soon as possible.
However, the earth spirit’s prayers were in vain, as the nobleman—Neil—remained lodged in the mansion and showed no signs of leaving the settlement the next day.
For several days, the earth spirit continued to observe the situation, but upon realizing that Neil had no intention of leaving the settlement, she became deeply troubled.
The wind spirit, still unable to comprehend human language, could not understand the conversations of the humans and would not realize that Neil was a nobleman.
However, with humans beginning to inhabit this land, if the wind spirit continued to listen to their conversations, she would eventually come to understand human language and discover Neil’s true identity.
The earth spirit pondered how to dispel the wind spirit’s negative feelings towards the nobleman before that happened…
’That Neil-sama, is he really a nobleman?’
One day, three weeks after Neil arrived at the settlement, the wind spirit addressed the earth and water spirits with these words, as if demanding an explanation.
’…Did you teach her, water?’
’No way, even wouldn’t I do such a thing.’
’Then why did the wind notice the nobility?’
”Well? It’s not like I would know that–“
”I’m asking what’s going on!”
The earth spirit and the water spirit exchange words in secret, and the wind spirit, filled with anger, shouts out words to the earth spirit and water spirit.
The reason why the wind spirit realized Neil’s true identity is a very simple story.
There is no word equivalent to nobility in the language used by spirits.
Therefore, the water spirit learned the word ‘noble’ in human language.
And although the earth spirit and the spirits of water were misunderstood, the wind spirit did not understand human language at all.
Until now, no one had stayed in the settlement for long, but humans had visited the settlement many times over the decades.
At that time, the humans had a conversation, and the wind spirit that continued to listen to it was able to understand a little of what the humans were saying.
It was a conversation between Neil and Diana that led the wind spirit to realize Neil’s true identity.
Neil was often lectured by Diana about how ‘he doesn’t look like a nobleman,’ but the wind spirit overheard their conversation, and so he came to check with the earth spirit and water spirit.
’I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no such thing as nobility in this place―—’
’Alright, alright, stop right there. I don’t know the reason, but the current wind seems to be confident, and clumsy deception would only backfire… Yes, that’s a noble.’
”Huh, why would you lie and say he’s a noble’s lackey!”
”Because, if that person were a nobleman, wouldn’t you, a young one, do something about him without thinking about the consequences?”
”What!?”
”Water, what are you doing?”
Thinking that she would speak frankly and calm the wind spirit, contrary to the expectations of the earth spirit, the water spirit speaks provocative words.
’It’s pointless to say anything to a child, so I lied.’
’Wha- I’m already a splendid spirit!’
’Oh, is that so? I thought the wind was still an immature child and would definitely attack a noble, but—’
’––––––! Don’t make fun of me! I’m not young! I don’t know anything about humans or nobles! I don’t know those people!’
The wind spirit, in a fit of anger, disappears, leaving the earth and water spirits to converse.
’Phew… that was quite a forceful move.’
’But it was quite effective, wasn’t it? The recent wind has been like a rebellious human child, so when we said, ‘You’re going to intervene anyway,’ it was obvious she would rebel against that.’
’Your methods are always the same. They work, but they’re just temporary fixes.’
’Still, it’s better than doing nothing, isn’t it? For the time being, it should hold up if nothing happens.’
’…I hope so.’
When the water spirit is this optimistic, the earth spirit, knowing it’s a sign of trouble ahead, couldn’t shake off a bad feeling.
And indeed, the earth spirit’s premonition would prove to be accurate.
It was in the middle of the Flame Star that the spirits received a request from the elf Lewya, who had joined the settlement, to grow crops, and the spirits immediately sensed where it came from.
’Lewya’s request, huh? Maybe, just maybe…’
’Ah, well, even though Lewya is the one speaking to us, the wish itself belongs to that noble. I heard about such a thing before.’
’Is this how those nobles operate?! Are they trying to use not only their own kind, but us as well?!’
’Calm down, you’re already a respectable spirit, aren’t you? Don’t get worked up over something like this.’
’I-I’m not getting worked up!’
’Well, if that’s the case… But, it’s your jurisdiction, so will you accept it?’
’Yeah, maybe…’
The earth spirit ponders for a moment at the question posed by the water spirit.
The content of the wish is already being fulfilled by other spirits in each of the elf villages, so it wouldn’t be seen as interfering too much.
The earth spirit itself doesn’t hold any ill feelings towards humans, and thought it would be fine to accept as long as the appropriate compensation is provided.
However, considering the enraged and excited earh spirit, who knows what they might do if this wish is granted. With that in mind, the earth spirit decides it’s best not to accept it.
’Let’s decline’
’Well, that’s a reasonable decision. But the problem is…’
After saying that, the water spirit looked at Lewya and Neil.
Lewya, who had temporarily given up on trying to reason with the wind spirit, dominated by anger, was discussing the next plan with Neil.
While the wind spirit understood only a little of human language and didn’t know what the two were discussing, the earth and water spirits fully understood their conversation.
’Looks like that nobleman hasn’t given up yet’
’If so, we can refuse as many times as you like’
’You’re taking it easy, with the way things are going today, you’re going to get angry every time you ask for a favor. I need to make him think that it’s impossible to be conciliatory at this point.’
’Hey, I’m sure you’re not trying to imitate the wind, are you?’
’No, no, I won’t do anything. All I’ll have to say is my attitude and words, and next time he asks me to do something, I’ll just say no with abusive language. I can see what he is up to.’
’If the other person isn’t aggressive, I’d like to avoid being aggressive as well…but in this case, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.’
At least it would be much better than the raging wind spirits, so the earth spirits agree to that idea.
The next day, the slaves set up something like a stone pedestal next to the field, and the following day…
”O spirits dwelling in this land (Uris Fair Arast), In this land (Uris), We thank you for allowing us to live here (Noomihare), We offer this gift (Wiare) As a sign of our gratitude (Honuut) Let us present it (Hanaama).”
It was not Lewya who spoke in the language of the spirits in front of the stone altar filled with crops, but Neil.
They had not expected a noble to speak directly, and the reaction of the wind spirit, who particularly disliked nobles, was tremendous, with incoherent screams being thrown into the sky.
Ignoring the wind spirit, the earth and water spirit discussed among themselves.
’What should we do? I never thought a noble would come into direct contact.’
’Well… I think we should just firmly refuse as planned.’
’But won’t our words not reach him?’
’That’s where Lewya can act as an interpreter. He will probably ask Lewya, ‘What was the response?’ It’s actually convenient if er can respond directly to the noble himself.’
’Then how do you plan to respond?’
’Well… ‘Your intentions are obvious. Come back another day.’ Hmm, that sounds weak. We don’t want him to come back at all, so let’s take a cue from your tone, earth… How about something like, ‘It’s creepy to receive a gift out of the blue. Your intentions are obvious, you brat.’
’I don’t recall using such harsh words.’
’It’s all about the tone and choice of words. If you want to give the other person a sense of intimidation, the tone should be more firm. So, how do you plan to respond?’
”I don’t like your attitude of speaking as if the altar and crops were made by someone else, as if they were your own.’ maybe?’
’…Well, you’re not any better.’
’I simply stated an objective fact.’
’The power of a logical argument can sometimes cut deeper than any abusive language. Now then… Wind, how about you…’
’Fool! Idiot! Moron! Trash! Scum! Slowpoke! Ugh! Fool!!’
’――Oh my, you don’t have a shred of vocabulary, do you?’
’Even though your thinking is dulled by anger, this is just terrible.’
The earth spirit and the water spirit threw words at the wind spirit, who was listing as many insulting words as she could think of, with an expression of disbelief.
’Wind, if you keep doing that, the noble will think of you as a child and underestimate you.’
’Noisy! Then what should we do?’
’Well… let me think. We need to choose words that won’t make the noble think you’re just children.’
’Hey, make sure you don’t teach the wind any strange words!’
’How about something like, ‘You immature brat who hasn’t even lived a quarter of a century, stay in your unnecessarily large and tasteless dwelling and scratch yourself’?’
’What? A quarter of a century? Stay? What?’
’A quarter of a century is one-fourth of a century… Ah, it’s too much of a bother to explain. Basically, it means that he is only half our age or even younger, like a child, wind’
’I see, that works!’
’As for the other terms… I can’t really explain it because the earth spirit might get angry. It’s a concept that doesn’t exist for us, and only a very small number of creatures, including humans, can do it. It’s difficult to explain without giving examples.’
’I see… well, I don’t really understand, but let’s go with that!’
The wind spirit consider “unexplainable” = “difficult to understand” = “adult words” and accept it with an ambiguous understanding that they are saying something difficult without understanding the crucial part of the words.
In this way, with each party having their own reasons, the words of refusal were all put together, and it was at this moment that the earth spirit confronted the water spirit.
’You, are you using the wind to indirectly attack the noble because you don’t want to directly intervene?’
’Oh, how absurd. I am simply steering the wind to avoid excessive interference with humans.’
’…Is that so?’
’It is. There is nothing good that comes from excessive involvement with humans.’
The earth spirit, with a serious demeanor, could not pursue further after being answered in such a manner, possibly having experienced painful encounters with humans in the past.
As expected by the water spirit, the words of the spirits were conveyed to Neil through Lewya, but an unexpected situation arose once again.
The nobles place great importance on their reputation.
Even if the other party is a spirit, if they humiliate him and make a request, it would completely ruin their noble status. However, unfortunate as it is, the other party is Neil.
Without giving up, the pointed out parts were improved, and he repeatedly begged in front of the altar.
At this point, the earth and water spirits also realized that Neil was completely different from the nobles they knew, and were at a loss for how to deal with the situation.
While they were pondering about this, the wind’s frustration continued to grow, and finally, a situation occurred where this frustration leaked out.
The weather that day was light rain. The spirits thought that Neil, who had been praying in front of the altar every day, would not come out of the mansion today, but contrary to the spirits’ expectations, Neil was praying in front of the altar, which had no roof, despite the rain, and he started making a wish using his poor spirit language.
Both the earth spirit and the water spirit were stunned by this and could not say anything, but the wind spirit was different.
Just when they were thinking that the annoying nobleman wouldn’t come today, the wind spirit reached her limit and started blowing wind at Neil.
’Wind! What are you doing! ”
’…’
’Hey, listen to me-‘
’Well, just calm down.’
’Say that to the wind, not me. No matter how you look at it, it’s the one who lacks composure.’
’Oh, it looks like the wind is surprisingly calm. If the wind really had a tantrum, she would blow the entire mansion away. The fact that she did it with such ease is proof that reason is at work.’
The wind caused by the wind spirit is not very powerful.
If the weather were clear, it would be a pleasant breeze, not something to warn anyone about.
It’s just that today happened to be rainy, and that’s all there is to it.
’That nobleman isn’t the kind of person to scurry back home just because he got wet. At this rate, he will definitely fall ill.’
’I agree, and the wind doesn’t understand that. Living creatures don’t like getting wet in the rain, so she probably only thinks about making him run away by showering him with rain. That’s probably all her thinking. That’s why she think this is a good opportunity.’
’A good opportunity?’
What’s the point of continuing this?
In the end, the earth spirit was restrained by the water spirit, and the rampage of the wind spirit continued until Neil left.
The next day, Neil did not appear in front of the altar at the usual time, and the wind spirit was proudly claiming that yesterday’s action had an effect.
Surely the nobleman must be feeling regretful, so the wind spirit, who normally disliked approaching the mansion, headed there to see Neil’s face.
After searching throughout the mansion, the wind spirit finally found Neil, but Neil’s condition was completely different from what she had imagined.
Sweat beaded on his face, he was breathing heavily, and his distressed appearance was unmistakable, which greatly unsettled the wind spirit.
Because what Neil showed was something the wind spirit had never seen before.
The wind spirit had observed humans who had visited the settlement so far, but seeing a sick person was a first, and although she didn’t understand what was happening, she could still comprehend the pain in Neil’s expression.
Overcome with inexplicable anxiety, the wind spirit left the scene and returned to the earth spirit and water.
’Earth, Water… the behavior of the noble seems strange. His face is red, he is sweating profusely, I have never seen anything like that before.’
’He must has caught a cough.’
’A cough?’
’It’s a type of illness. Some call it a cold.’
’If he gets so wet and then get hit by the wind, of course he’ll catch a cold. It’s really tough if you let a cold get worse. Humans are surprisingly fragile creatures after all.’
’What happens if it gets worse?’
’He dies.’
The carefree atmosphere abruptly halted, and the sharp words brought the wind spirit’s thoughts to a standstill.
When the wind spirit was newly born, she was taught about the concept of life by the earth spirit.
As a lifeless entity, the wind spirit couldn’t comprehend it right away, but by observing the activities of the creatures living in the forest and hearing stories from the earth spirit, she learned and understood that life is precious.
That’s why, unlike other creatures, she disliked the humans who unnecessarily take lives and the nobles who control them—
’Is it because of me… that he will die?’
She doesn’t have any excuses for what she didn’t intend.
The wind spirit has performed an act that unnecessarily threatens lives, just like the humans she despises. This realization deeply unsettles her.
’Well, it’s one thing if it’s a child or an elderly person, but at his age, even if he catch a cold—wait, huh?’
’The wind has disappeared’.’
’Maybe I went a little too far with the intimidation.’
In response to the vanished wind spirit, the water spirit showed no signs of concern, despite saying otherwise.
’Well… this is for the best. Even if it’s a bit exaggerated, it was a good opportunity to instill a sense of responsibility in the wind, just as you said. This way, the wind will learn to control her emotions a little. Besides, it’s optimistic to think that at that age, everything will be fine. If complications arise, humans can easily die. What the wind did was undoubtedly an act that threatened the lives of others.’
’Yes, but what will you do if this leads to the death of a noble?’
’I will report to the Creator and seek judgment.’
’You’re still as bureaucratic as ever. Well, even if it’s deemed excessive, we spirits will just be rebirth, so it might actually be a good opportunity.’
’…Anyway, for now, let’s continue to observe. Don’t interfere with the wind or the noble for now.’
’I know that without being told.’
The wind spirit, who had vanished in front of the earth and water spirit, was back in Neil’s bedroom.
”Cough! Cough――huff… huff…”
’……’
The wind spirit, watching over Neil as he lazily lay on the bed, coughing from time to time, continued to ponder and eventually made a decision.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Report Error Chapter
Tags: