Beloved by the Spirits

They all chased after Evalin and stepped outside, where they could see her walking away.

She was heading briskly in a different direction from where the Puppes had gone to work.

He wondered where she was headed, but figuring it had something to do with the "interesting use" she'd mentioned, he followed in silence.

Not a single monster appeared along the way.

That Puppe army had probably cleared them all out.

He wouldn't mind hiring them as a city's self-defense force.

The animal trails gave out, and Evalin began carving a path with magic.

They walked along the newly made path, and after a while, he sensed the air change.

It was as if something had enveloped them. A vague sense of comfort.

"Stop."

He halted as told.

The spot was a small clearing where no trees grew, seemingly by chance.

"The magical power here is incredibly dense…"

"It's a mana spot. Unusual to find one outside a dungeon."

"What's a spot?"

"Also called a mana pool. They sometimes appear deep inside dungeons. It's a place where various factors converge to temporarily increase the concentration of ambient magical power, which speeds up mana recovery."

"Inside dungeons, they're usually monster nests. They're what cause monster houses."

Alexia seemed to have unpleasant memories of monster houses, her face souring as she recalled something.

Azu smiled wryly beside her.

Something must have happened during their adventuring work.

"'Temporarily' isn't quite the right word for this place. This is a location where the forest's magical power flows in. I manage it, so no dangerous monsters spawn here and it doesn't expand. If the Mosquito Monster had found its way here, the continuous supply of magical power would have overwhelmed the barrier before it could be set up."

"I'd rather not think about that. So this is why your mana recovery is so fast. Here I thought elves just had absurd recovery rates."

"Having a larger vessel does mean faster recovery compared to humans, but to fully restore in a single day, even I need to be here."

"I see…"

Now he understood what kind of place this was.

"So what are you going to do here?"

"This, of course."

She held up the Wind Elemental Stone.

A gentle breeze stirred around them, bringing a pleasant feeling.

"Did the Elemental Stone react?"

"It only reacted slightly to absorb some ambient magical power. It's still essentially empty."

Evalin snapped the fingers of her right hand, and the earth rose up and reshaped itself.

It formed a pedestal for the Elemental Stone.

One that looked as though a master craftsman had carved it, completed in an instant.

She placed the Wind Elemental Stone atop it.

"Even though my magical power far exceeds a typical human's, simply generating enough to restore an Elemental Stone that's become like a fossil isn't easy. It could take years."

"I figured… And you can't exactly pour all your magical power into it. Honestly, I came hoping just to get your opinion."

"I'm not finished."

Earth moved again, encasing the pedestal.

A simple shrine took shape.

"Step back a bit."

They retreated as instructed.

Wind began to swirl around the shrine.

Strong wind.

Standing in it for too long might throw someone off balance.

"This way, no forest monster will touch it, and it'll be in optimal condition for the Wind Elemental. Besides, no human can reach this place without my guidance."

He turned to Alexia beside him and asked what Evalin had done.

"She just casually changed the area's elemental attribute to wind… The magical power flowing into this spot is now automatically being converted into wind magic and concentrated into the Elemental Stone. It's auto-charging. And unless someone interferes, it'll keep going forever."

"That's… impressive, right?"

"Changing an area's elemental attribute isn't trivial. If I tried it, I'd have to keep casting fire magic continuously, and even then I'd barely manage a fraction of what she did."

All he could grasp was that she'd done something extraordinary.

"Managing this spot was a bit of a chore anyway. With the sandy part of the forest needing restoration too, this works out. The Wind Elemental Stone will recharge on its own until it's fully restored, and I won't have to lift a finger."

"How long do you think it will take?"

"Less than a year, I'd say. Come back whenever seems right. You're always welcome."

"Good to know."

What might have taken decades would now be resolved within a year. Leaving it in her care seemed like the right call.

She'd gone ahead and done all of this without so much as asking, but expecting an elf like her to check in first was probably futile.

If anything, this was her being accommodating.

"Then I'll leave it in your hands. If anything comes up, send a letter to Kassad under my name and it'll reach me."

"Kassad? … I'll remember that."

She was definitely going to forget by tomorrow.

Well, it was unlikely anything would trouble her.

"We'll be on our way, then."

"Understood. I'll put those seeds to good use."

"Please do."

They'd overstayed their welcome, and he didn't want to burden Evalin further. He turned to leave.

Then a small fox with jade-green fur appeared at his feet.

When had it appeared?

The fox padded over to Finn and began nuzzling its face against her leg.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Finn seemed to recognize it wasn't hostile, because despite her words, she let it be.

The jade-green fox vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

"That was…"

"A Wind Elemental appeared for just a moment. It left only its blessing with that black-haired girl before disappearing."

"With me?"

"For it to choose her over the Apostle's Vessel, they must have exceptional compatibility."

Finn stared down at both her hands after Evalin told her.

She didn't seem aware of the blessing.

"I don't feel any different, though…"

The instant she said that, she vanished without a sound.

He'd seen Finn do similar things before, but this might have been the first time she'd vanished in complete silence, without him even being able to tell the moment she moved.

"Over there."

Azu could apparently still see Finn and pointed up at a tree.

Finn was standing high up on a branch.

She leaped down and landed without a sound.

"When I moved, my body suddenly felt incredibly light… So this is a spirit's blessing."