NOVEL NEXT Book 12: Chapter 5: Part1
A short chapter but, hope you can enjoy it~
Chapter 5 – Meiko
Part 1
I had a shocking reunion with Zenovis-san, but he was not the only mentor from the underworld.
Seeing my surprise, the woman I assumed to be the other mentor deepened her smile.
“Ara ara, it’s so interesting to see the newest addition to Yuti-chan’s family〜”
“Eh, Yuti?”
I didn’t expect her name to come up here, and I was surprised. Then, the woman continued with a gentle smile on her face.
“I am Yuty-chan’s master… ‘Bow Saint’ Archer Arrow. Nice to meet you, Yuuya-chan!”
“Eeeh?”
To my surprise, this woman… Archer-san… was Yuti’s late master!
Reimei-sama laughed amusedly at my continued astonishment.
“Hohoho, that’s a good reaction! Those three are your mentors.”
“Well, Sage-sama and I are just helping Yuuya-chan seal Meiko-chan.”
“Is that so?”
“Umu. As I said before, Meiko is the crystallization of the malice of all the great sinners imprisoned in the underworld. Even the slightest overflow of its power can create all kinds of evil beings in its surroundings. That’s why I’ve asked Archer and the others there to take care of it.”
“Evil beings are different from demons, aren’t they?”
“No, it is not. They can’t be defeated without the same kind of spiritual power as demons do, but in their essence, the malice that overflowed from the body of Meiko has transformed into a different form and started to move. Since it is originally malevolent, once it is unleashed, it will attack those around it without regard. Therefore, this existence cannot be left unchecked.”
“We have obtained a power called spiritual power instead of mystical power because of our death. But with this spiritual power, it would be enough to deal with the creatures produced by Meiko and the like. Therefore, I have decided to train Yuuya so that you will be able to fight Meiko alone.”
“I-I will be trained by Zenovis-san again…!”
The training was quite tough, but there was no doubt that I acquired my strength thanks to his training.
While the thought of undergoing that painful training once again made me feel a bit intimidated, it’s an opportunity that I’m going to take advantage of. I will do my best again.
“Whew… I didn’t expect you to still be so motivated after all the hard work I put you through. If so, then I will respond to that motivation. Unfortunately, I personally don’t have any idea about spiritual power. So I will mainly teach you how to use weapons and magic. Well then, about spiritual power…”
“Yes! I will teach you!”
Kuuya-san’s expression showed his pride as he said this.
“I have heard about you from my thought body in the present world!”
Now that I think about it, it’s amazing that he can communicate between the main body here in the underworld and the thought body he left behind on Earth.
To put it another way, it’s quite a feat to be able to seal one’s own thought body in a scroll.
“With your current ability, can you fight with your body or weapons clad with your spiritual power? For the time being, in order to deal with Meiko, I’m going to have you learn the art of sealing while improving your ability to use your spiritual power, so please keep that in mind.”
“I-I understand.”
I was just about to say this when I noticed something.
“Huh? Come to think of it… I made a soul contract with Zenovis-san, but your memory was gone at that time, wasn’t it? Then why…?”
“Ah. I am already dead now that we could meet again here. That’s why I look the same as I did when I died… but being dead means that I am now only a soul. In other words, my memories have been released from my body, and I can remember Yuuya.”
By dying and becoming only a soul, Zenovis-san was able to remember things about me that he should have forgotten.
As we were discussing things with each other in this way, Reimei-sama grinned.
“Well, I think you’ve had enough of talking with your mentors… There is one last person I’d like you to meet.”
“Eh? Someone you want me to meet?”
“Here, come in.”
When I saw the person who came into this hall, I was even more shocked than when I met Zenovis-san again.
Because──.
“Yuuya. How have you been?”
“Eh───”
I will not forget.
How could I forget?
That voice and that figure.
Absolutely.
As I stood there in a daze… my grandfather, Yuusuke, was in front of me.
“G…Grandpa…?”
“It’s been a long time, Yuuya.”
I was stunned and muttered to myself; Grandpa smiled gently at me.
Ah… how many times have I been saved by this smile?
Grandpa was always kind to me.
The appearance of the grandfather I knew very well was certainly here.
“A-ah… Grandpa… Grandpa…!”
I ran up to him and hugged him without worrying about the tears that were welling up in my eyes.
“Grandpa… Grandpa…!”
“…You’ve become splendid, Yuuya!”
“Yeah… yeah…!”
I was sobbing, but Grandpa gently held me in his arms.
Yes, Grandpa always soothed me like this.
I thought I would never see him again.
I never thought I would see him again like this…
In any way, being able to see Grandpa again was the best thing that could have happened to me.
＊＊＊
“Now, have you calmed down?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
When my tears had finally subsided, and my heart had calmed down, Reimei-sama called out to me.
Reimei-sama smiled gently at me as I felt my cheeks heat up.
“Don’t worry about it. You must have had strong feelings for him, which is rare among humans these days.”
“That’s nice. I’d like to meet Yuti-chan, too.”
Archer-san, who was watching the reunion between me and my grandfather, said so enviously.
“I’m sorry… I wish I could have brought Yuti along…”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it~. After I died, Yuti-chan went down the wrong path once. But thanks to Yuuya-chan, she’s looking straight ahead now… and that’s all I need to be happy about.”
“I see…”
Seeing Archer-san smiling kindly, I knew that she truly cared about Yuti.
Thus, after everyone had been introduced, Reimei-sama clapped her hands.
“Alright! This concludes our conversation here. I’ll immediately ask Yuuya to train hard for the sealing of Meiko!”
“I-I understand!”
“Huff… Leave it to me.”
“Onee-san will do her best, too.”
“Fumu, for the first time in a long while, I can feel my skills as a sorcerer ringing.”
We each responded to Reimei-sama’s words.
“…..”
At that time, I didn’t realize that Grandpa was thinking about something else.