580 Increasing Confound
"Right. I haven't introduced myself have I. I'm Kyaro. Nice to meet you. So, what would you like to know?"
"Ah, yes well. I get that it must have to do with elves if we're talking about spirits. But I'm not sure where to start."
Neither of us has any idea where to even begin.
I decided to get one thing clear first.
"Is there a difference between elves and dark elves? They're not in bad terms... Right?"
That might be rude of me to ask. I could have picked my word better, yet she didn't seem to mind.
"Oh I understand why you might take it wrong considering our appearances. But, it's nothing complicated really. We come from the same root. Elves are those who live deep inside the forest, shielded from the sunlight. Meanwhile our ancestors stepped out of the forest into the wilderness, plains and mountains. As our skin was constantly getting exposed to the sun, so did our 'Root'. We're not hostile to one another."
(Something like a difference in melanin level maybe? ...Or maybe an entirely separate thing since she mentioned that root stuff?)
I stopped pursuing that topic and asked about something else.
"My story will feature some disgusting humans. Do you have... any issue with that?"
I'm talking about humans who took part in elf hunting, but it didn't get conveyed to her due to my poor choice of words.
Or so I thought, turned out she inferred it just fine. Just how sharp is Kyaro? I can't believe she'd get that from my poor wording.
"Ah, are you talking about those who hunt and enslave elves? Hmm? Right, I've come to harbor a certain mindset after coming here and taking up this position. Use everything in your disposal even if it means deploying traps, taking hostage or employing underhanded tactics, you're not fighting in an arena. After all, it'll be all for nothing if you get caught by those kinds of people. Getting turned into slaves simply mean you're weak. It's the end of the line."
She's quite candid. Meaning she probably won't get upset with that story.
Thus I told her how I saved elves who were captured by Damo and sent them back home.
"Thank you. You have my gratitude. You are part of the family for having saved my kind. I suppose you took the Blessing of Spirits ritual at the time. Granting that to a non elf is akin to issuing an ID after all."
"Eh? Hold up. I don't remember going through any kind of ritual though?"
"Please don't joke around. The fact that the spirits possessing you don't have malice is proof of you taking the ritual. All the more having six spirits follow you. It's simply unthinkable otherwise."
"What kind of ritual is that anyway? And is there any issue if I have spirits without malice? I mean, what do you mean six spirits!?"
"...So you've never heard those spirits talking... And that means no explanation either, correct? So you really didn't undergo the ritual yet you are liked by those spirits?"
We both have a question mark above our head.
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
"No wait, first let's verify whether I took the ritual or not. What's this ritual like."
According to Kyaro, it's when six elves enclose me in a hexagram shape.
After which they supply mana to spirits and have those spirits circle me. Each elf involved does.
And then, every elf makes a wish to the spirits, in my case, to have those spirits follow me around.
"I don't remember ever going through that. Absolutely not... Actually how do you get malicious spirits possess you anyway? And what's so amazing about having six spirits?"
"Mostly by... getting in the way of a ceremony to revere spirits, or excessively insulting spirits, I suppose? It can also happen when you kill an elf. The elf may pour all their remaining mana into spirits in order to have them possess their enemy. And six is... the maximum amount."
Wait isn't this quite serious? I almost reflexively shouted out, 'We gotta purify them!', but Kyaro seemed to infer my thought and reassured me.
"Please be at ease. As far as I can tell, they don't mean any harm at all. In fact, they're all acting so docile... Hmm? Looking closely, you... Don't have mana?"
As I wasn't really hiding it, I disclosed to her that I am a 'Manaless'.
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