NOVEL NEXT Chapter 252
The spirit knows everything.
There is no place in this world without water, and Celsius’s consciousness spreads everywhere.
“You knew. That my daughter, Asydia, still remains like this. If I’m wrong, tell me.”
“You’re not wrong.”
Celsius confessed readily.
“I’ve hidden everything about your daughter from you. That’s right. I said nothing.”
“Why?”
“Well, should I say it’s jealousy? That.”
Celsius lamented in a gloomy voice.
“What do you think I felt seeing the one I fell in love with for the first time, willing to risk her life for a woman and her child, being nothing more than a spirit who couldn’t even have a daughter?”
“…….”
I couldn’t say anything.
“If I say I threw my life away for the world, then I include about one-seventh of that world, so I can understand it. But I threw away my soul for the world where ‘my wife and daughter would live.’ I never thought I would meet again, and at that time, I believed I had completely perished. The only trace you left behind… was Asydia.”
Understanding Celsius’s heart, I couldn’t keep pressing her.
“Everything that makes up Asydia only bore the traces of you and Sorceress Bel. I could do nothing but watch. Looking at an existence that has none of my magic, my color, or anything of mine, do you know what I thought? I considered her not your daughter, but the existence that caused you to die.”
If I had known this before meeting Arpe, I would have been very angry.
“…At one point. As time passed, I started seeing you in Asydia as she grew. That’s when I realized what humans call ‘jealousy.’ As a water spirit, created as a god of the world, I felt envy about the things I could never have.”
But having met Arpe, I felt like I understood the feelings Celsius hid from me.
“If you had talked about my daughter, I would have gone to look for Asydia immediately. No matter that it was after five hundred years, regardless of the Demon King Leviathan’s attack, I would have rushed towards Asydia.”
“…….”
It seems so.
If she had said that back then, I would have requested Lucius to find Asydia.
In that case, Belselphia would have likely been devoured by Leviathan by now.
“Was it correct to speak only after the battle with Leviathan was over, even if it was late?”
“Neither side can be called correct.”
It’s a difficult question.
“I just happened to notice that you concealed the truth.”
If I hadn’t been kidnapped by the Empire and Arpe hadn’t rescued me, it would have been a truth I would never know.
“Celsius. You must have been watching Asydia from a distance too. How she lived.”
“…….”
“They say Arpe is the mother who raised her by her side, but you must have watched over Asydia from afar, always ensuring she was safe.”
The moment I returned to Belselphia.
I saw her eyes when she realized I had come into this body.
Sorrow rose in her eyes before confusion and anger.
“Asydia was a truly happy child. Because she had a mother who watched over her instead of her birth mother.”
“…Would it have been different if her real parents had been there?”
“Well. But this much I can definitely tell you.”
I approached the deeply bowed Celsius and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you for taking care of Asydia. You’ve worked hard until now.”
“……Is it okay? I hid the truth.”
“I understand. And you told me honestly.”
It was because of jealousy.
I couldn’t have children, yet seeing a child born from someone I didn’t love gave rise to a complex of feelings.
It’s both amazing and bittersweet that a spirit can feel such emotions toward a human, yet I am the very cause of that complex.
“What can I say? It’s my karma. If you had harmed or killed Asydia, that would be one thing. But that’s not the case.”
“…….”
“You always made sure when Asydia bathed that the water was warm, quietly removing the flies buzzing around her, and hid the island where Asydia slept so that no one would notice.”
The island Arpe hid wasn’t done alone.
Considering it rose in the middle of the sea, Celsius’s influence cannot be denied.
“I believe. You must have needed time to put your feelings in order, and you planned to tell me the truth someday. I just noticed it first.”
“That…”
“It doesn’t matter if you say no. That’s how I will think.”
I patted Celsius on the back.
“Feelings are truly difficult, aren’t they?”
Celsius is not human.
She is a system known as a spirit, a law of nature, and in ancient terms, an ‘artificial intelligence.’
Such an existence loved, felt jealousy, and then loved again towards another being.
“You did your best, Celsius.”
“……!”
Celsius buried her face in my chest quietly.
“……I wanted to hear that.”
*
A little later.
“Let’s shake off all the burdens and focus only on the future!”
I declared in front of everyone.
“The past is the past! We will overcome the current crisis and move toward a hopeful future, heading toward a happy ending! That is our party’s primary task!”
“Yes, Master.”
Lucius clapped in response to my words.
No matter what the rest of the party felt, if Lucius clapped, that was the end of the matter.
“We can’t let our complicated past lead to current crises, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct. Even if Belselphia was the former Demon King’s army, right now, we are the ‘allies of the Hero Party.'”
“That’s right.”
Even if they were enemies in the past.
Joining forces temporarily against a stronger enemy or a more evil foe is a common occurrence.
“From now on, we will gather comrades. Those who can join us. People who can protect humanity from the threats of the world.”
The threat of Zephar.
The threat of Lucifer.
Though they are different in nature, coincidentally, the two forces are currently ‘not clashing’.
“If Lucifer is expanding his influence from the southern part of the order to the center. Zephar is trying to absorb the entire eastern continent. In this situation, the best thing for us is for them to collide…”
“If they are not clashing in this situation, I can’t help but think they are colluding.”
“That’s right.”
If the entire continent is one vast battlefield.
They split it in half first, then plan to concentrate their strength and fight.
“The central and southern regions belong to Lucifer. The eastern and some northern regions belong to Zephar. And the only remaining place is…”
“…the Anari Principality.”
“Exactly. Coincidentally, this place has become the only stronghold for humanity.”
The farthest place from the order.
This will become the frontline for humanity.
“Is there anywhere that needs help?”
“Help?”
“I think these people might be helpful. These are people we absolutely must protect. In the case of Droniel, there’s Count Odrone’s Territory.”
“…That’s right.”
Count Odrone’s Territory is in the southwest of the continent.
It is out of the range of activities of Lucifer and Zephar, but the enemy’s movements are faster than expected, so we must take precautions before they arrive.
“First, let’s head to Count Odrone’s Territory and get people on the Mech Kraken. Is there anything else?”
“…It’s a bit dangerous, but the Holy Knights near the system might be able to help.”
Liriez carefully spoke up.
“The Spartan warriors of the Anari Principality. They might have grievances against the actions of the angels. They may not, but if we can persuade them, they could be a good force.”
“Good. Mark that down. Anything else?”
“I-I’ve got one!”
Rosmas raised her hand and stood up.
“We’re going to the Elf Forest!”
“The Elf Forest?”
“Yes. It’s near Normans. Actually, I didn’t want to say it, but…”
Rosmas quietly spoke, aware of Lucius.
“…I’m the princess of the elves. Daughter of the Elf Queen, Rosmas Heyroin Eliminated Terbation. …I’m sorry for hiding it all this time.”
Wow.
That’s truly amazing.
‘But even if she is an elf princess, it doesn’t matter.’
Nothing changes.
I just think, oh, she’s an elf princess.
“Really? That’s great. Then I can ask the elves for help too. But making that move immediately…”
“One more thing.”
Lucius carefully raised his hand.
“The Golden Mount urgently suggested going up to Sky Island.”
“…To Sky Island?”
“Yes.”
Lucius pointed to the sky with a very serious face.
“Then we have no choice. We need to divide into ground and sky teams and draw lots.”
Dividing the team around two heroes.
“We’ll draw lots to divide the members. Those going up to the sky with Lucius, and those moving on the ground with Liriez.”
“That’s….”
“Dividing the party around the heroes. We must put personal feelings aside and think only about the greater cause.”
For the greater cause.
“Lucius will ride the spirit device up, and Liriez will take the Bride Ship. How does that sound?”
We’ll think about complex issues later.
“Let’s make a quick decision. We’re dividing fairly between top and bottom.”
“Top and bottom?”
“Yes. On the count of three, we’ll move our hands up and down, and based on that, we’ll split.”
There is one condition.
“If your hand is the same as Lucius’s, that person will be on the sky team, and if it’s the same as Liriez’s, that person will be with Liriez’s team.”
We must ensure no hero is sent alone.
“We’re going at once. No do-overs or changes. It’s a one-shot deal.”
Up, down.
Sky team.
Lucius.
And me.
“……?”