CH 170

Chapter 170

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : To The Swamp, Part 8 — The Path To Become Higher Spirit

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

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Then, a short time later, Euthy comes to Winthia.

「What is it, Winthia? Everyone is in a hurry, what’s going on?」

「You came, Euthy.」

「（Oh, you didn’t get mad at me?）」

Euthy thought she was going to be told to put「-sama,」but Winthia’s expression was more serious than ever. For the first time in her life, Euthy had never seen Winthia’s face like this.

「Euthy, what are you going to do after this?」

「Eh? I’m going to follow Alfiris and the others because of Nia, you know?」

「What if Nia is healed?」

「Hmmm… I don’t think about it too much, but I honestly don’t see a place for me here, and I’m willing to go along with them. Alfiris seems to go to a lot of places, and I’m never bored when I’m with the girls. Besides, Alfiris is honestly too dangerous to be left alone. Why do you ask that?」

「Soon this village will be engulfed in the flames of war.」

At Winthia’s words, Euthy also became serious. And without going into detail, Euthy realized everything, including the look on Aerial’s face earlier.

Although Euthy is usually a joker, she’s a quick thinker.

「What should I do?」

「That is for you, Euthy, to decide. You can follow Alfiris and her friends, or you can go with us. You have always been free to come and go as you please, haven’t you?」

「That’s true. But I didn’t expect it to be this big of a deal, and…」

「Then let’s change the way I ask. Euthy, do you still want to be a Higher Spirit?」

To Winthia’s serious face, Euthy also responds seriously, without any tomfoolery.

「That is, of course.」

「Why?」

「I don’t want to be like the other fairies, picking berries every day, counting the number of leaves, or spending time playing with the fish in the river or the animals in the forest. I like being with nature, you know? I am a fairy, as well. But I have my own will. I have wings that allow me to fly freely, and I want to see more of the world. I don’t want to spend my life trapped by nature alone and eventually disappear into it. I want to be more involved in this world as a different being. That is why I want to become a Higher Spirit!」

Euthy’s eyes showed her will to Winthia with a strong light. When she saw the determination in her eyes, she took her small hand in hers.

「Euthy looks like the old me.」

「Eh—? I’m not as uptight as Winthia, you know?」

「I think I’m more of a maverick as far as Higher Spirits go. Let’s leave that aside for now. Actually, when I was a fairy, I used to do more reckless things than you.」

「Eh, is that so??」

This surprised even Euthy. For Euthy, who had memories of being chastised for her behavior in any way, and sometimes even spanked, Winthia was like a strict disciplinarian parent.

「Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the old days of Winthia.」

「That would be true. I was born in this village of Schutim, but I haven’t been in this village for 10 years.」

「Eh, what are you doing then?」

「I was traveling with humans, out of Schutim.」

「Buh!」

Unexpectedly, Euthy blew it out of the water. She had no idea that Winthia would do something so foolhardy. Fairies are basically forbidden to have much contact with humans, but even Euthu had never thought that Winthia, the head of the village, was doing this on her own.

「You can’t talk about other people, right!」

「Yes, I know. But from here on out, this is a serious story. It is also a story about what it takes for Euthy to become a higher level spirit. Listen with all your heart.」

「……Got it.」

When Winthia’s face became more serious than ever, Euthy straightened her residence and sat up straight in the air. Then, Winthia told a shocking story.

「I once fell in love with a human being」

「Haah?」

「…I told you to take this seriously, didn’t I?」

「Eh, yeah. Sorry, sorry. It was so far beyond my imagination that I just couldn’t resist.」

Euthy hurriedly puts her hands together to indicate that she is sorry.

「…Oh, well. I flew out of Schutim and went straight out onto the prairie as well. There I got caught in a bird trap and was stuck.」

「You’re worse than I was.」

「What!?」

「No, it’s nothing, go on!」

Euthy, whose true feelings came out unintentionally, hurriedly waved her hand to encourage the conversation. Winthia also continues the conversation with a single sigh.

「A young human being who was peddling passed by there. He helped me out and I decided to accompany him on his journey for a while to repay him. I would tell him when he was in danger and he would run away. In a time when there was still a lot of warfare going on out there, he and I were in danger many times, but he and I went through many crises together. And before long, we became traveling partners, and I was charmed by his honest personality. I wanted to be by his side, so I set my sights on becoming a higher spirit. I thought that if we were of the same stature and looked at the same way, he would love me.」

「…」

「He was a total softy even though he was a peddler, and didn’t care if he lost money by having his goods sold at a discount. How many times have I almost starved to death because of it? Each time I would warn him, but he would always say to me,『What I am selling is not a product, but hope. Even if I don’t get paid, if there are people who are happy with my product, that’s fine.』

Indeed, his personality brought smiles to people’s faces in many places. He often lost money and was deceived, but at that time few people peddled in the midst of war, and his presence gradually came in handy. And with me, the fairy, accompanying him, his fame gradually grew.」

「…」

「One day, when he had saved up some money and his peddling business was getting on track, he was attacked by bandits. He was attacked by bandits. I repeatedly warned him that he should hire an escort because his name was slowly becoming popular, but he was a man who donated all but the minimum funds to orphanages and other institutions… and even then, he had only what little money he had. I had just gone out to get nuts and he was in the woods preparing a bonfire. But when I left, I found him already buggered out.

I cursed myself for my lack of strength. I hated the bandits who attacked him, but more than that, I took it out on him as he was dying, wondering why he didn’t listen to me. Then he said to me,『I thought if I wanted to make a spirit my wife, I would have to be a more respectable person.』At that moment, I cried beside him, knowing for the first time that he felt the same way as I did. And as soon as he died, I became a Higher Spirit.」

「How…」

Euthy was speechless. Winthia remembered those days, and a single tear trickled down her cheek.

「Do you know the difference between a fairy and a higher spirit, Euthy?」

「I would have thought the Higher Spirits would be closer to nature…」

「That fits in a way. But not only that, we are willful guardians of nature. It is never a physical law that works only for nature, but it must be a being that works for all this earth. That is why we need a clear will. But because fairies are things that come out of nature, many of them don’t have a clear ego at the beginning of their life. Even now, the fairies in this Schutim have little ego and no individual differences, right? In other words, beings like you, Euthy are not heretics, but rather fairies like you are the individuals who can be further elevated. And only when such individuals acquire new emotions and earnestly desire more power, can they qualify as Higher Spirits. In my case, the emotion was『sadness.』」

「I didn’t know there was a reason for that……」

Euthy crossed her arms and began to think. When she think about it, Euthy felt that shd has learned a lot of things from Winthia so far. Patience, moderation, discipline, and other such feelings that were unrelated to Euthy may have been exactly what Winthia was trying to teach her.

「However, the best way to learn about emotions is to engage with humans. Humans are the most emotional creatures on earth. Surely they are the key that will lead us to the Higher Spirits 」

「So, does that mean. Does that mean it’s a shortcut to go with Alfiris and others?」

「Yes, it is. I’m sure you do.」

「What the heck! It’s the same as before!」

Euthy smiled quickly.

「If that’s the case, I have to take good care of Alfiris and the others! Those girls are kind of dangerous!」

「I’m sure they don’t want Euthy to be the only one to say that, either.」

「Hmph! I’ll make sure they say they can’t be without me! Alright, I’m going to go follow those girls!!」

Then Euthy runs out toward Alfiris and the others. As she looked away, Winthia thought to herself that this was a girl who, once she took off, wouldn’t come back, just like when a cruston fruit sends its seeds flying, but just as she was out of sight of Euthy’s voice, she shouted out.

「Winthia!」

「?」

「Thank you for everything! I’ll definitely come back to show my face again!」

「Fufu, this kid.」

There was already no sign of Euthy, and she had probably already gone. She was embarrassed and never said it to my face, but she appreciated that a little, even if it was to Winthia’s. She was sure that if she had said it to her face, Winthia would’ve cried.

「We’ll see each other again. I’m sure we will.」

Then Winthia also ordered the fairies to prepare to withdraw from the village.