We head further north from the alfar village, and find what can be called a sheer precipice.
“Is the great spirit here?”
“…”
“Katima?”
“Ah! Y-yes. The earth great spirit is usually here, but…”
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anyone here. It looks like the earth great spirit is out.
That means even great spirits want to go out from time to time. We should pitch a tent and wait.
I’ve become pretty good at outdoor stuff ever since I came to this island.
I also figure out where to set up Reina’s military tent, which we haven’t used in a while, and it’s ready right away.
As we place things like furniture in the tent, Katima speaks, sounding worried.
“Arata… It’s kinda late to be asking this, but why is Katima here?”
“Eh? Because I need a guide.”
“But what if the great spirit gets mad? Katima doesn’t want the great spirit to hate…”
“Hm…”
I guess to Katima, coming to where a great spirit lives is a pretty cursed thing to do.
But would a great spirit be angry about this?
If they were so intolerant that this was enough to anger them, would they become leaders on an island where the strongest races are gathered…
“I think it’s fine”
“You’re too optimistic…”
It’s kind of shocking to hear that from Katima, who is always so optimistic when she’s in our home.
Then again, if the situation is different, a lot of other stuff changes too.
The great spirits just occupy a big enough space in the hearts of alfar that it makes Katima nervous.
“Well the sun is setting, so let’s just go to sleep for today.”
“Yes… Where does Katima sleep?”
“Eh? In the tent.”
The military tent Reina left with me is pretty big.
Not to mention that we used to sleep in it before we built our home. It’s more than big enough for two people to sleep, so I don’t see the problem.
“Hm… Katima feels bad about Reina, but… He doesn’t even think about it in the first place…”
“Katima?”
“Yes, just apologize to Reina later.”
“For what!?”
What conclusions is she reaching in that head of hers?
It’s not like she had a problem sleeping here when she came to visit…
“Arata, you’re probably gonna get stabbed eventually.”
“Again, for what!? By whom!?”
I eventually fall asleep in the middle of this back and forth, but the next day, and the day after that, there is still no sign of the great spirit.
“What do we do?”
“Well, we’ve confirmed that the earth great spirit isn’t coming back, so let’s go to the next.”
And so, Katima moves further north, going above the sheer precipice.
I use floating magic to go up, and what I see is a barren land without a single blade of grass.
And beyond that, a huge active volcano.
“The fire great spirit should be there.”
“I see…”
This might not be so simple.
There are fire dragons flying above the volcano, probably because this is their base, and on the ground, there are lizard shaped monsters that look like rocks, walking around.
It’s not like they’re going to get the better of me, but I can’t just beat every single one of them either.
Even monsters have the right to live, and we’re not here to destroy this ecosystem.
“What do we do?”
“Well, move forward, and smack away the monsters that get in our way.”
“…Eh…”
Katima lightly swings her dear weapon. She’s motivated, but also violent.
Are you sure about this? This is the sort of thing that looks like it would actually make a great spirit angry.
I follow her as I think that, and eventually one of those rock lizard monsters notices us and attacks.
“Hmph!”
But Katima swings her rock axe and sends it flying far away. It flies until it hits a fire dragon flying gracefully, and comes crashing down.
“Who’s next?”
Katima glares, and the lizards scatter. I guess after seeing a demonstration of how they’re on completely different levels, their instincts told them to run away.
The same goes for the dragons flying above, meaning there aren’t any monsters to be found now.
“…Katima, you…”
“Hn?”
She’s like a big beast that suddenly showed up and wrecked havoc over their ecosystem.
I’m about to say that, but stop. I’m pretty sure that sentence would boomerang back to me.
“Nothing, let’s just keep going.”
“Yes.”
And as we walk towards the volcano that has been erupting all this time, a thought pops into my head.
Would I be okay even if I was submerged in lava?
I think I would, because Tiltue’s flames didn’t burn me at all, but I feel like lava is different.
I feel like dropping a strong enemy in lava is a cliché in manga and other media too.
“Ah, but they usually come back after that.”
I’d probably be all right.
As these completely unproductive thoughts run around my mind, Katima keeps sending monsters flying, and we head towards the volcano like we’re out on a light stroll.
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I guess the Great Fire Spirit wasn’t there either.
Thanks.