Next chapter probably not for 12-20 hours+ Not as much of a cliffhanger at least. After a few more chapters I"m going to go back and do all of the SS I"ve put off for a while.
Year 7444, Month 5, Day 28
The image that was shown in the crystal ball in the end was the single color of black. Even though I say that it"s not like something like a pitch black piece of paper is showing but rather something like bristle. It might be closest to say it"s something like the black fur from the surface of some kind of animal. What is, this? The image of the camera is too close. Once I thought that it"s started to slowly zoom out.
Some kind of soft looking surface of skin like velvet and it feels like thick hairs are growing all over the place? Zoom out some more. Even more. The image being transmitted to the crystal ball from the camera (or something like that) is extremely slowly moving backwards from the target as I try to command it to in my head.
"What is it? This?"
Miduchi is raising her voice in doubt but something like that, I want to know.
It"s zooming out at such a slow speed that it"s irritating and finally the surface of the body which the hairs were growing has started to take shape. The left and right sides of the image were cut. The hairs seemed to have been growing off of something like a rod? The rod like thing with hairs on it..Is this a leg? This, is the leg of some kind of insect.
"Huh? No matter where you look from it"s the same image.."
He~ Is that so?
The number of legs increased. Since I don"t have anything to compare it to in the image I can"t tell the size of it at all. The range that"s being projected is gradually stretching out...What was it again, that"s right, I guess you could say it"s something like a large black spider a {Tarantula}. It has hair growing after all. The large ones can get up to like 30 cm when they stretch their legs out. In the past I saw them on a nature program with my wife. Yeah, it was just like this.
I"ve started to get it.
Miduchi is looking at the crystal ball with a strange face.
"What is it?"
"Ah, no~ it"s nothing. But..Ah..Aah~!"
"Do you have any idea what it is?"
"It"s the symbol of my country."
"?"
The camera has considerably backed away so I can tell quite a bit. This is an insect..rather a spider. It"s the legs of a spider. It"s showing the lower body starting from the legs of a spider. The image in the crystal ball shows four legs on each side and there"s something like long white hairs along the hairline so I can"t tell for sure...But, this is strange? If I remember correctly the legs of spiders are supposed to grow from it"s chest towards the grown and they stretch out at the joints, but it seems this is different. I feel like something is growing directly out of the surface but can"t tell for sure. However, rather than something like that for it to have been a spider...
"Is it this thing? This thing used {Report}..."
I"ve spent countless years living on Orth and for these past two years I"ve lived as an adventurer I"ve seen a number of different monsters. I had confidence I wouldn"t be surprised by most things but this surprised me. I mean, it"s a spider. Are you saying a spider used magic?
Is what I was thinking but as it gradually continued to zoom out I"ve started to get it.
This thing, it"s a spider but not just a normal spider.
I noticed that I was entranced in looking at that appearance. Neither Miduchi nor could utter a single word. Let alone that, before I noticed it Miduchi was prostrating herself towards the image in the crystal ball. Do-geza-r*. There"s someone"s back growing from the back of the the spider legs!
Then in that case, there"s mistake this person is the one who used {Report} on us. Then in that case, I should use {Telepathy} here. I immediately started kneading the mana. Since it was such a large crystal ball I forgot but this spell {Detect Magic User} is on a time limit. That"s why once you use it, until the duration ends it will remain cast, though thanks to that you can use other spells during that time.
Finally I was able to see almost the entire image from the camera. It feels like it"s showing the image of a person sitting holding their knees from behind. No, even if I say person it"s not a human. That is..a Dark Elf. The long pure white hair growing from their head is covering all over their body because they"re facing downwards and the amount of it was enough to cover down to the legs of the tarantula. The length goes down to just above the waist. Since their back is bent over and their posture is facing down right now, if they were to properly stand up and stretch their back out it would probably go down to their b.u.t.t.
The spider legs are stretching out as if hiding the shape of the body but from the skin that can be seen here and there you can tell there"s some curves and you can see the waist line as well. It"s easy to tell it"s a woman from behind. Since they"re hidden by their hair the ears can"t be seen but judging from that deep purple skin color close to black there"s no way they can"t be a Dark Elf. Most likely they"re hiding their face in their hands that are crossed in front of their knees, the camera moves irritatingly slow as it moves horizontally but since the face is still hidden I can"t see it. Incidentally, since it"s not directly showing in my eyes there was no effect from Identify.
Beautiful.
It"s become a common expression but I thought they were a beautiful.
I can"t tell their face but just those limbs are plenty.
Simultaneously it was like I was. .h.i.t with an electric currency, it suddenly flashed into my head.
{G.o.d}, {Demi-G.o.d}...
After all this is, this person is one of them.
It was to the point where I forgot about Miduchi who was still prostrating herself to the ground next to me for a moment but I somehow was able to regain my composure and start fortifying my resolve as I knead mana. My {Telepathy} spell is finally completed.
"{Telepathy}"
I can tell that a line for talking was opened between myself and the target in my head.
I could see the Dark Elf in the crystal ball flinch in reaction.
............
I started talking to the Dark Elf woman who"s gradually started to raise her face in the crystal ball using {Telepathy}. Obviously it"s necessary for me to say the words with my mouth while speaking.
"I"m sorry for suddenly calling out to you. My name is Alan Greed. I would like for you to listen to my conversation for a bit but.."
Do you have time right now? Or is it fine? are things I can"t really afford to say. If they were to say "No" then that would be the end of the conversation after all.
"Don"t wake ＃＄, I was sleeping (. I"m still looking at dream = ～ ..... Nn? {Common Language} huh.."
A displeased voice echoed into my head. However, in the next moment, my eyes went wide open and I was at a loss for words.
"Eh? Alan? Alan Greed!?"
The Dark Elf said that and suddenly raised their face.
That face was,
It"s certainly that of a G.o.ddess,
or rather could be said to that,
from what I could see in their late 20s,
..However,
..There was some j.a.panese mixed into it,
..Reincarnated person!?
No,
This person is,
This person is,
Rather,
This is,
There"s no way I could forget,
Someone I could never forget,
"Miki!!"
I couldn"t help but grasp the crystal ball on the sand in front of me with both of my hands.
..............
I guess she noticed from my sudden shout, I noticed Miduchi flinched next to me but I was way beyond that at the moment. My head is filled with chaos. Why, is Miki"s face on that Dark Elf with legs like a tarantula? Even if it is Miki she looks more than 10 years older than us. Since she heard my name and reacted to it she should know about me. Since she used the spell {Report} it"s certain she must have had some sort of interest in me. Come to think of it with Miduchi I just..I wonder if that"s cheating? However, 16 years have already pa.s.sed. It"s to the point where recently I can only remember Miki"s face from the time around when we got married when it left the greatest impression on me.
"Alan Greed.."Takeo-san?"..{Telepathy} huh.."
While giving off a type of bizarre ambiance that could be called divine, she distorted her posture and fixed the way she was sitting.
I only noticed at that point but it seems that the lower parts of her legs from below the knees have fused together with the stone floor. I somehow thought that the portions below her knees had become something like a strange plant growing from the stone ground.
"Miki..Is it you? It"s me!"
I grabbed on to the crystal ball from both sides and while standing on one knee I couldn"t help but raise my voice.
"Dear, is it you? Takeo-san? From where?"
"Face to the left, show me your face better."
After the Dark Elf looked over here, I couldn"t help but think I was looking at Miki"s face from the front. The mole just below her left eye. And the other mole that"s just below her right lip that have changed to a creepy purple color. And three moles that are in a triangle in the center of her chest between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and jaw. Of course just like Miduchi her face isn"t exactly the same face as Miki"s that I remember. There"s some elf mixed in and her face has become more beautiful but her skin is even deeper purple than Miduchi and the eerie color is the same. Her hair is certainly beautiful but it wouldn"t be wrong to call it pure white. However, that is, Miki. I was confident of it but after seeing her from the front it changed to strong confidence.
"Eh? Miki you say..Eh? Isn"t it "her majesty Lilus"? Eh?"
Miduchi is still prostrating herself while whispering in a daze.
"Wh..y, you..Why.."
While I was getting distracted, the appearance of Miki shown in the crystal ball regained her composure and even smiled while calmly speaking.
"That"s amazing. So you noticed it. And, this, you"re watching with {Detect Magic User} right? I"m amazed you knew it. You must have given your best."
"A, ah.."
"I want to meet you. But, I can"t move from here anymore...And, probably...Rather than that, first I need to tell you right. My name now is Lilus. Lilus.Zugutomore."
"Lilus..Zugutomo~re?"
I repeat the name she just said like an idiot.
"After all! Your majesty Lilus! Al-san, please lower your head!"
After hearing my words Miduchi grabbed on to my arm.
"Ah, Eh? It"s fine, it"s alright."
"There"s someone else there right?"
Miki said.
"Ah? Yeah, it"s Shiina. Do you remember? She was my subordinate. A number of times together with.."
"..I remember. It"s "Chizumagurol" right? I know her well."
"Eh? Why?"
"For just a moment, tell Shiina-san to put her hand to her forehead and say "anku". It will make it so I talk to with her. You directly touch Shiina-san as well."
"Miduchi, put your hand to your forehead, and say "anku"."
"Y..Yes."
After hearing my words Miduchi pulled something out of her pocket in a panic and made a pose like she was praying with it to her forehead.
"Can you hear with this? If you can hear then would you respond?"
Miki said that. These were words aimed at Miduchi I guess.
"Wa, Waha..Is it "Li, Lilus your majesty"? I..Iam..Eh? j.a.panese? Eh?"
A portion of her words were in the language here but when she was questioned in j.a.panese, Miduchi was surprised after responding in j.a.panese and seems to have understood quickly before continuing her words.
"I am the "Rank 1 Warrior cla.s.s Midu~ritt.Chizmagurol". "Your majesty". I"m humbly pleased to be able to greet you. Since my current mission has been completed, I will return to "Erurehei" rig"It"s already fine, Shiina-san. I"m sorry."
"Eh? Huh? Eh?"
Miki cut in partway through Miduchi"s words and Shiina-Miduchi is confused.
"Shiina-san. I am..Kawasaki Miki. The woman that was, the wife of Kawasaki who is there. I was happy when you were in "Erurehei"..but, I"m sorry. The one who sealed your memories was me. I had a premonition that a reincarnation would occur and I waited countless years. This time for sure...The moment you were born, I immediately peeked into your dreams when your consciousness was still hazy. There was my husband, when I saw Takeo-san. I couldn"t endure it. I unintentionally, looked at everything stealing them. j.a.pan was so nostalgic, the one who sealed everything was me. I"m really sorry. In the distant past, the person I loved...About Takeo-san you too...But, judging off your appearance it seems you"ve remembered a bit. I know it"s strange for me to say, but I"m glad."
".."
Neither Shiina or I could say anything.
"Probably, you don"t have much time right? I really do feel sorry but please allow me to leave apologizing at this. I"ll tell you as much as I can. Since I don"t have any time either."
"Hey! you, what are"Dear, sorry. But for now please listen. If I remember correctly, it was just before I was about to turn 70 years old, so it was around 20 years after Takeo-san had pa.s.sed away. I went on a trip together with Rentaro-kun and his children and along with the Yuji and Naoko-san couple. When Rentaro-kun"s children were about to get into an accident I saved them and died."
Yuji was Miki"s younger brother and Rentaro-kun was his son, in other words our nephew. When I died he had just become a middle school student. Since we didn"t have any kids we were quite affectionate towards Rentaro. We doted on him so much that Yuji-kun and his wife had to stop us sometimes.
"When I realized it I had been reborn on Orth. Far in the east, in a country of elves called Robans that no longer exists. I think it was around 1,300 years ago from now that I was reborn on Orth. Well since I was an old woman I only thought that it was lucky I was able to be reborn. They"ve long since died already but I got married and gave birth to children as well."
I see, so she was able to have children..That"s great. I felt a bit of tears come to my eyes.
"There were various inconveniences but you could say I was happy. But, when I was out hunting together with the girls of the house next door my village was attacked by the army of a neighboring country. When we returned two days later from hunting it was in a terrible state. My husband and child died at that time. My child had still only just turned two years old."
...
"Those of us who survived swore for revenge. We organized a resistance and opposed the Kingdom of Myurushia that had invaded. I was somehow able to make it through thanks to my Unique Ability but it took me 10 years to destroy Myurushia. Around that point the only one remaining alive from my village was me alone. But, I guess you could call it reparations, or a reward for that, I was no longer a normal person. I was released from the realms of {mortality} and became an {immortal}. Though I say that it"s not like I had become invulnerable. After that I ended up marrying another {immortal} named Zugutomore."
I"m sure my mouth is hanging wide open.
"I"ll summarize it since it would get long but since I wasn"t able to have a child with Zugutomore, Zugutomore went into a rage and was about to kill me, so I killed Zugutomore first. After that, various things happened and I moved to the west of Oladd and decided to settle down there. After that a considerable amount of time pa.s.sed..700 years, no, I think it was around 800 years ago. In the form of inheriting the deaths of two {Greater Deities} named Sharaizudan and Neral I turned into a Dark Elf and a {Demi-G.o.d}. In other words, I"m the original ancestor for the Dark Elves and Shiina-san could be said to be one of my distant descendants."
I"m sure that Shiina"s mouth is wide open as well.
"And, even more various things happened and we arrive at the present but starting from here is the main story. Listen well. Though there might be some things you already know. Everyone who is reborn is endowed with a certain amount of disposition. The easiest thing to understand is probably the "Unique Ability". Also, level up. When the ability level of "Unique Abilities" reach their highest level, MAX their hidden ability is released. Whether you know or don"t know this will become the small deciding difference so make sure you don"t forget it. After that, there"s growth to mana, but it seems you realized it so that should be fine."
It seems like she knows everything.
"It seems like you know a reasonable amount about these things. After that is the reincarnations from j.a.pan. It happens once every couple hundred years, people from various eras in j.a.pan are reborn. The only ones I know from modern day j.a.pan is you two and myself though. Did you know? The one who created Rombert Kingdom is Minamoto no Yos.h.i.tsune who died in Kinugawa. I"ve met and talked to him before. It seems that Benkei from the same era was reborn as well but he seems to have died before meeting Yos.h.i.tsune."
Wh, what was that?!? Ah, come to think of it Karl said something like Kurojo. I guess that was the Kuro Hogan of Kurojo?
"There was several other people as well. Of the famous ones Yagyu Mitsuyoshi reincarnated as well. Though I killed him directly myself. It seems that occasionally there"s times when several dozen people are reborn all at once as well. In that case, it"s often that the Unique Abilities are distributed so what I just said might become considerably important. Fundamentally when all of the people who possess Unique Abilities dies and a number of years pa.s.s another person is reborn."
You, just now, said something pretty outrageous.
"Then, you, don"t have a Unique Ability?"
"I said it at the start right. I have one. It seems I"m not included in the count anymore since I became a {Demi-G.o.d}. Up until then the period where there was one or two people was the longest. In any case, it"s something important. Don"t forget it. If the level of Unique Abilities increases then their hidden abilities are released. Even if your Unique Ability is known, whether you know this or not the superiority is decided, so make sure you definitely don"t forget it."
"Yeah."
"It might be about a good time. I"m in Erurehei. But, I think I"m going to die already pretty soon. I"m somehow able to maintain my appearance and youth but my mana is about at it"s limit. I probably won"t even last another few more days I think."
"Eeh!!?"
Hey! What does that mean!?
"Also, even if I say I"ll die that doesn"t mean I"ll perish. In another several years, several decades, or depending on how things go even several hundred years I can revive. That"s why there"s no need to worry about me right now. After all I"m a {Demi-G.o.d}. However, it"s impossible for a while. I"m looking forward to meeting again. But, right now there"s no time, so please listen carefully. Shiina-san, I"m really sorry. Just before I was about to die you were born right below me, so I ended up losing myself. You two had plans to meet up after the accident right? I continued to use the spell {Report} starting from Lail increasing the distance looking for you. I was finally able to find you five years ago. I slowly and gradually aligned to your consciousness. But, I"m sure I caused some trouble for you by causing you to forget various things right? I"m sorry."
Miki said apologetically while lowering her head in a different direction.
"After that, Shiina-san. I"m sorry about peeking into your heart at my own convenience but please look after this person. I"m sure it"s not something that can easily be forgiven but, please, please I"m leaving it in your care."
"Such a thing, those words are a waste for someone like me, no, but..Lilus..Miki-san, madam. I, I am.."
It"s fine if you don"t say it. Though it"s also fine if you say it. But, in that case I"ll say it.
"Miki, right now Shiina, is my woman. I didn"t think you would be in this world after all.."
"Yeah, that"s right. When I saw Shiina-san and you a short while ago I thought that might end up the case. If it"s between two people who reincarnated then they can have children even across different races. Since I"ve seen countless people I already know. It"s a normal child though. It would be good if you can have a child as well. They"re cute...It seems I"m at my limit. Normally {Demi-G.o.d}s aren"t allowed to concern themselves with {mortals}. It"s fine to one-sidedly peek, give orders, or kill them but conversation is no good. Because it ends up providing too much information. I"ve somehow been trying to make sure that it isn"t exposed but it"s really about to get bad already."
"Shiina-san. It"s a bit of something business related but I"ll tell you about it. If you want to pa.s.s your opinion with the elders then in front of them say anku and sing the j.a.panese national anthem. It"s just a bit but I think it will be of help to you. However it"s only while in Erurehei. If you say you were called in front of the royal palace and sing there it will be fine. I"ll do as much as I can in my remaining time. Lail Kingdom is my child. Since it"s my precious, child after all. I"ll do something about the royal road construction of paradise plans as well. After that, Takeo-san, when you"re meeting with the fairies teleport from below. While you sing the j.a.panese national anthem. That"s the incantation for teleporting. I"m sure that a.s.sociating with them is difficult but they"re fundamentally righteous existences unlike me so I think they"ll teach you various things. Think carefully before you reveal your "Unique Ability" to anyone. Particularly the "Identify" type. Even if there"s a temporary discord there"s a high possibility you"ll end up gaining the trust of your allies in the end but in the worst case if the information is exposed they"re the first ones who are targeted. Since there"s no such thing as a magic to make up for that. If among your enemies someone pays my country a lot of money to a.s.sa.s.sinate you unless there"s a considerable reason they can"t turn it down after all. Also, be careful of the reincarnations in Devas Kingdom. One day an obstacle for you"
It seems we ran out of time.
A crack appeared in the crystal ball and just as I thought it had turned to dust even that dust disappeared without a trace.
Miduchi and I couldn"t do anything but stare at that spectacle in a daze.
It seems that Miki had already realized my dream several hundred years ago.
I feel both mortified and happy.
I put my arm around Miduchi"s shoulder while I"m unable to hold back the smile that naturally came to my face.
It was a nostalgic and warm feeling.
It"s true that several memories were sealed.
Miduchi even had almost all of the memories of her live sealed away.
However, while I don"t know how Miduchi feels about it, I"m not angry.
My wife had become a G.o.d before I realized it and even just a bit tried to help me out.
It"s plenty if I understand that much.
Even if it"s impossible right now, I won"t be able to show a good face if I"m not at least a King by the next time I meet her.
In order for you to feel as proud as your first husband does.