Chapter 58

At Lida's words, Turan lowered the hollowed-log basket of sulfur to the ground. His instincts told him this conversation was far more important than collecting sulfur.

"I don't mean to argue with you, ma'am, but don't the scriptures say that when a person dies, their soul departs for the palace in the heavens to enjoy eternal bliss?"

The scriptures of the Freyan gods varied from region to region in both their teachings and the gods they included, but their doctrine of the afterlife was always the same.

Wasn't that why wizards dispersed the souls of the dead as a funeral rite? They wished for dead magical creatures to ascend intact to the heavens and reach the gods, enjoying an eternity without pain or suffering, rather than remaining on earth as wraiths filled with resentment.

Yet her words implied that even souls that reached the palace in the heavens would grow old and die, denying the accepted afterlife altogether. Lida furrowed her brows at his objection.

"Young people these days! Don't jump to conclusions; hear me out. I said the body dies because the soul grows old, not that the soul dies too. Doesn't it say in the scriptures that the flesh has no meaning in the palace in the heavens? Do you want to keep shitting, pissing, and suffering even after you die?"

Clicking her tongue softly, Lida climbed onto the log basket Turan had made and sat with her legs crossed.

"In short, the human soul is the force that drives the body. When the soul grows feeble with age, the body loses its vigor as well. Eventually, it no longer has the strength even to breathe, and dies... As for the soul, I suppose it ascends to the palace in the heavens and either lives on in its aged state or becomes young again. No one has been there and returned to tell us, so beyond that, it's all speculation."

"Then true eternal life would require a way to reverse the aging of the soul."

"That's precisely what our house is devoting all its efforts to researching! Though we still have a long way to go in many respects."

As she spoke, Lida gave the thigh of the Monkey King standing beside her a few hearty pats.

"Look at this fellow. He's lived nearly a thousand years, yet he's still this healthy! I doubt even my ancestors who decided to spare Aicul imagined he would live so long."

So one reason they had left the Monkey King here was apparently to test the limits of a monster's lifespan. Stroking Aicul's leg, Lida spoke with a dreamy expression.

"Why can Aicul live so much longer than we can? Are monkeys' souls far more resilient than human souls? Or is it because they're lower, simpler creatures? But though this fellow can't speak, he's much wiser than most people. There must be some other factor. Something we don't know about."

Indeed, Aicul struck Turan as exactly the sort of monster Vije might become if she lived to be a thousand. He met the creature's sullen gaze, then quietly looked away.

"I have a soul-bound monster companion, and she's just as clever as Aicul. She can even write."

"Write? Remarkable! I tried teaching Aicul his letters, but he found it such a nuisance that I gave up. Did you leave her somewhere?"

"I told her to wait higher up the mountain in case there was trouble. Shall I call her here, if you don't mind?"

"Please do. I'm sure Aicul would enjoy meeting another monster for a change."

Aicul shook his head at her words, looking incredulous. Perhaps he meant that he had no need for monster friends.

Turan sent a signal through their soul bond telling Vije to come, and shot a small flame into the air. Before long, she descended into the valley on outspread, pitch-black wings.

At the sight of the enormous monkey, she recoiled in fright and hid behind Turan. Had her monster instincts told her how strong he was?

Amusingly, Aicul, who had acted so indifferent just moments earlier, looked hurt by her reaction.

"It's all right, Vije. There's nothing to be afraid of. This is Lady Lida, and this is Aicul. They're both friends."

"So your name is Vije? I'm Lida. I won't hurt you. Won't you at least let me see your face?"

Lida's gentle, affectionate tone seemed to work. After a moment's hesitation, Vije peeked out at her. Aicul had crouched down, apparently realizing that his enormous bulk was intimidating.

Somewhat reassured by the sight, Vije edged out and scratched at the sulfur-covered ground with her talons.

[Hello.]

"My, what lovely handwriting. A monster that writes! If this child lives a long life and writes a history, that alone would be a treasure. How old are you?"

[Don't know!]

"Probably around ten."

When they had bonded, he had heard that she had been a subadult when captured some ten years earlier, so his estimate couldn't be far off. Birds reached adulthood in a year or two at most.

"So young! Such a youngster! If only we were somewhere else, I'd find you something delicious to eat."

After asking Vije all manner of questions, Lida turned to Aicul and began nagging him: See? If he learned to write, he could communicate like this too. Aicul covered his ears with his huge hands, as though he wanted to hear none of it.

* * *

After Lida spent a good while mediating between Vije and Aicul, the giant monkey and black eagle seemed to have formed their own peculiar bond. More precisely, they were rather like a kittenish, playful young bird and a laid-back large dog.

Meanwhile, Turan finished piling the sulfur into the basket. Lida suggested he join them for a soak in the hot spring while he was here, saying it would improve his skin and do his health some good.

A short while later, Turan lowered himself into the spring with a single cloth covering his lower body. He had taken off all his belongings along with his clothes, save for the Mimic Holy Relic, which he wore like a necklace on a metal loop.

The water was hot enough to scald an ordinary person, which made it just right for a noble's body.

"Ah..."

Beside him, Vije flapped her wings and repeatedly dove underwater and resurfaced, until Aicul pushed her head down with a thick finger, making her squawk and swallow water. The giant monkey guffawed, only for the angry black eagle to jab his flank with her beak. Unfortunately, it seemed to have little effect on his thick hide.

After watching their playful squabbling for a while, Turan addressed Lida, who was also enjoying the spring with a single cloth wrapped around her body.

"Is there something you want from me?"

"Hmm? Why ask that all of a sudden?"

"Much of what you told me earlier seemed too important to mention in passing."

They had been discussing the secret of eternal life, after all—the treasure of treasures, desired by everyone. That was too weighty a subject to dismiss as an old person's idle chatter, especially with someone she had met only today.

Lida grinned and clapped her hands at his words.

"That's entirely your fault. I chose all my husbands for their good looks, but none could hold a candle to you. It's just like men blurting out anything that comes to mind in front of a beautiful woman."

Turan fell silent, at a loss for how to respond to her claim that his looks had charmed her into spilling secrets. Lida chuckled and shook her head.

"I'm only joking. Don't look at me like that! Most people know we don't age, and what difference would it make if they learned we're seeking eternal life? The conclusion was that we don't know anything, anyway."

An odd weariness and frustration showed on her face as she spoke. Given her age and strength, she was probably a close relative of the recently deceased Ravista House Head. They might even have been sisters.

Then Lida suddenly dropped her playful expression and spoke seriously.

"Yes, the truth is, I brought it up because I do have a proposition for you. Have you ever seen a White Elf?"

"A White Elf...?"

"More precisely, a White Elf royal born with the gift of a Living Spirit Sorcerer."

Where the Dark Elves Turan had encountered and fought several times commanded wraiths—the spirits of the dead—White Elves were said to command living spirits, the souls of the living. Little else was known about them. Unlike the Dark Elves, who had burrowed underground and flourished reasonably well, White Elves had all but vanished thousands of years ago.

Even An Account of a Journey Around the World, which Turan had read, mentioned them only in terms like, "They say such folk lived in this region long ago."

"No, I haven't. Aren't White Elves already extinct? I've read quite a few history books, but there seem to have been practically no accounts of their appearing in the last several thousand years..."

"Perhaps. But there might still be White Elves eking out a living somewhere in the remote corners of the world, hiding from humans. What I want is simple. If you ever find a White Elf Living Spirit Sorcerer, bring them to us, whether you must capture them alive or persuade them."

Certainly, someone who could manipulate living souls would be an enormous help to Ravista's research. If they could halt or reverse aging by manipulating the soul, the path to eternal life would literally open before them.

Lida continued, regarding Turan with a rather inscrutable expression.

"Judging by your power and skill, you can't be from an ordinary family. Yet you wander without even naming your house, so I imagine you couldn't fit in there for one reason or another. That means you can go where others cannot, and see what they cannot see, doesn't it? Those weighed down by responsibilities can't roam as they please."

Though they had never properly tested their mana against each other, Lida spoke as though she knew how capable he was. Apparently, one of the three or four magic tools she carried had a function similar to his Mimic Holy Relic.

Rather than contradict her, Turan listened in silence, then asked a question of his own.

"What would I receive in return for bringing you a Living Spirit Sorcerer?"

The knowledge she had shared was quite rare, but it was absurdly meager payment for bringing back a Living Spirit Sorcerer who might have disappeared thousands of years ago. Frankly, wasn't this harder than stealing a great house's signature Holy Relic? At least those were known to exist.

Lida grinned and winked at him.

"Payment, is it? How about me? I may be a little old, but I pride myself on having looks that can hold their own anywhere. I'm embarrassed to boast, but all my husbands were quite satisfied with me as well."

The beauty with flowing black hair and smooth, healthy brown skin lifted the cloth concealing her body slightly in a gesture of seduction.

But Turan felt nothing in particular at the sight. Her elderly manner until just moments ago was still too firmly lodged in his mind. Above all, he was beginning to understand that this was simply how the old woman teased him.

"I'd like a serious answer."

"You're no fun! Very well. If you bring us a Living Spirit Sorcerer, we will give you a Holy Relic of Agelessness."

A Holy Relic that prevented aging...

Unconsciously, Turan glanced at the guardian magic tool he had removed with his clothes. Since he owned something with a similar function, he understood what she meant.

"Do you mean an object that contains Ravista's bloodline ability itself?"

"More precisely, it constantly bestows the powers of healing and purification on its wearer. We've already had ordinary humans wear it and confirmed that they didn't age until the day they died. Naturally, it's a treasure of which even we possess only one."

"How long did its wearers live?"

"A hundred and twenty to a hundred and thirty years. It varies from person to person, but that's the usual range."

The revelation was so staggering that Turan paused to catch his breath and looked up at the sky. If she was telling the truth, wasn't it truly on par with the greatest Holy Relics left by the gods?

Gazing at the stars scattered across the pitch-black sky, he felt his narrowed thoughts broaden again. An idea flashed through his mind, and he asked Lida another question.

"Have you made this offer to anyone else?"

"We've discreetly approached a few influential figures in the great houses with whom we're acquainted. There are also a few powerful wandering nobles like yourself, though they're rare. Naturally, the reward goes to whoever brings one first."

In other words, he was one of the fishing hooks House Ravista was casting far and wide. Casting two, three, or a hundred would give them better odds than casting just one.

Indeed, a highly capable noble wandering without a house affiliation was exactly the sort of person most likely to find a White Elf. The hiding place of a race that had vanished thousands of years ago would hardly be somewhere ordinary people could visit, while powerful wizards generally stayed shut away in their houses' strongholds.

No matter how he considered it, it seemed a fairly good offer. She wasn't demanding that he devote himself to the search. If he simply happened to find one on his travels, he would receive a Holy Relic.

"I'll contact you if I find one."

"That answer alone is payment enough for all this old woman's enthusiastic chatter today."

Lida gave the mellow chuckle of an old woman.

* * *

After their soak, Lida said she would see him again sometime and promptly headed down the mountain ahead of him.

Turan spent the night in a suitable spot, then stored all the sulfur in his High-Capacity Pouch. Given its pungent smell, he first partitioned the space inside so it wouldn't touch anything else. As befitted a Holy Relic, the pouch could do that too.

Once everything was neatly stored, the sight of the sheer quantity drew another exclamation from him.

'I shouldn't run out anytime soon.'

There were perhaps two or three hundred kilograms. Even that was a mere speck compared with the amount in the valley, so if he ever needed more, he could simply return for it.

Heading east with Vije perched at his side, Turan recalled the previous night's conversation. The promise of eternal life if he brought them a Living Spirit Sorcerer...

During that conversation, he had thought not only of the tantalizing prospect of eternal life before him, but also of the ancient Freyan god's writings he had read in the library. Of that being who, in the twilight of his life, had openly displayed his contempt for humanity and his desire to control it.

Suppose that, while extending his life by changing bodies or borrowing a Living Spirit Sorcerer's power, he had discovered that the descendants he so disdained could attain eternal life. What if he grew paranoid that they would someday aspire even to the realm of the gods?

Might he have wanted to prevent it, even if that meant exterminating every White Elf save a handful he could control?