BXBX NOVEL Chapter 34 - The Great Earth Spirit (2)
Chapter 34 - The Great Earth Spirit (2)
“Jerk…”
Julia bit her lip as she removed the messy knee sock from her other leg, noting the contrast with the neatly arranged one.
“So annoying.”
“Why? He showed you the proper way to wear them.”
“But touching a lady’s legs without permission is weird. And grabbing my waist like that…”
“Lady?”
Charlotte tilted her head.
Was Aslan treating Julia like a lady?
It didn’t seem that way to Charlotte.
“He treats us like kids. Lifting us by the waist and all.”
“Huh!? No way. That guy is definitely looking at us with ulterior motives.”
“Hmm?”
Really? Was he?
Charlotte tilted her head this way and that, trying to recall any instance of Aslan looking at them with such eyes.
No, he just seemed generally dark. Yeah.
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“I’m sure! The spirits said so. They said Aslan Vermont looks at us with suspicious eyes sometimes.”
“Hmm?”
That suspicious look… wasn’t it just his money-hungry eyes?
He seems to see us as assets to make money.
“No way. He wouldn’t be interested in small and weak girls like us.”
“According to the maids, he’s just fattening us up to eat us later.”
“N-no way…”
“And the spirits said he sometimes mumbles about his future plans for us when we’re grown.”
“Wha...!”
Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock, her smile fading.
Really? That seemed plausible now.
Charlotte quickly fell for Julia’s story.
“What do we do!? If we don’t escape, one of us will become the Countess!”
“If we can’t escape by then, I’ll marry him. You ask Yuri for help and come rescue me later.”
“Julia…”
Julia’s serene smile seemed strangely resolute.
Charlotte gulped and said,
“No, I’ll marry him if it comes to that.”
“Charlotte…!”
Countess.
It sounded kind of cool.
Like a prestigious title, right?
“I’ll do it! You escape, Charlotte, please!”
“I said I’m fine with it...!”
“Stop being stubborn!”
“You too, Julia!”
Their voices grew louder.
As their voices seeped through the door, Sylvia, who was waiting outside for Julia to change, couldn’t believe her ears.
What were these girls talking about?
***
“There’s really nothing here. Now I understand why it’s called a wasteland.”
“Yeah. Arient territory looks vast, but there’s a lot of land like this.”
Sylvia was amazed at the barren land before them, with nothing but dry weeds.
The soil was poor, making it unsuitable for farming.
It was too far from water sources, making it inconvenient for people to live.
Why did Aslan accept such land? Sylvia wondered.
‘Ah! He didn’t want to seem too generous by cutting the interest, so he accepted this useless land to appear kind!’
Sylvia thought she understood and was impressed.
She had been too suspicious of him.
Thinking everything he did was with bad intentions made everything seem twisted.
Even villains could sometimes act out of pure goodwill, right?
“I plan to build a training ground here. When Charlotte uses her Super Strong Sword, it’ll cause a lot of noise. If we do it in Vermont territory, it’ll burst the eardrums of our people. Arient’s people’s eardrums are less valuable than ours.”
“Ah. I see.”
That figures.
Sylvia’s eyes dimmed.
She shouldn’t have expected anything different from this man.
How could he always prove her expectations wrong?
Sylvia decided to stop making assumptions.
Expectations led to betrayal, and assuming bad intentions led to regret later.
She would just take things as they came.
Judgment could come later.
‘Since I’ve declared I’ll follow him...’
How could she go back on her resolve as a knight?
No matter what, she would stay by his side and see his end.
Then she would judge if he was truly evil or not.
With a lighter heart, Sylvia followed Aslan.
“It’s about time they came out...”
“They were arguing about who should marry you.”
“What?”
Aslan’s face twisted in confusion.
After a moment, he processed what Sylvia said and felt a bitter aftertaste.
“Do they both dislike the idea of marrying me that much?”
He had no thoughts of marriage, but still.
Hearing that the two fought over not wanting to marry him left Aslan feeling a bit gloomy.
‘Actually, they fought over who should get to marry him, but I won’t tell him that. He might get cocky.’
He’d probably get smug if he knew they were fighting over who would marry him.
Sylvia turned her head with a smug look as Aslan fell silent, lost in thought.
“You finally made it out. Was fixing one knee sock that difficult?”
“Whatever. Come here. ...Now.”
“What are you doing?”
“Observing your eyes, Mister!”
“...?”
Charlotte and Julia ran up to Aslan and peered into his eyes closely.
Then, whispering to each other, they concluded, “Nope. Doesn’t seem like it.”
“Stop the nonsense and follow me. We have to deal with the Great Earth Spirit.”
“So, what do I do? The Great Spirit isn’t a ghost. I can’t exorcise it.”
“First, try talking to it. If that fails, you’ll have to use your command.”
“Ugh. I hate that.”
Julia’s face twisted.
Commanding was a Spirit Master’s technique to bind a spirit under their control.
The stronger the Spirit Master, the higher-level spirits they could bind.
But Julia didn’t like using it.
It felt like tormenting the spirits.
Low-level spirits were like insects, but even mid-level spirits had intelligence and emotions.
Binding and controlling their will felt wrong.
She hated it.
She hated it more than the idea of marrying Aslan.
Julia shuddered.
“If you don’t want to, then persuade it well.”
“Huuu. Okay. I’ll try.”
It should be like with the Dwarf Grandpa\'s vengeful spirit.
Just as he stayed in this world due to unresolved issues, the Great Earth Spirit must have a reason for disrupting the construction.
If she could find out why and reach an agreement, it would be fine.
Julia gained confidence and stepped forward, feeling the stares of the gathered crowd and growing more determined.
“Ha! The Empire’s best Spirit Master couldn’t do it, but this little girl thinks she can?”
Count Arient’s mocking didn’t deter Julia.
It was strange.
The more people said she couldn’t do something, the more determined and motivated she became.
She felt she could do it!
‘And when Aslan says, it feels doable...’
Why?
When others said it would work out, she felt uneasy.
But when he spoke, she felt reassured.
Was it his touch? Did he have something?
“Huh. Let’s go. I can do it.”
Ssshh.
Julia and her group reached the corridor.
A chilling wind blew through the low-hanging fog.
Julia’s lips trembled as she walked forward silently.
‘Something is ahead! And it’s huge!’
The fog slowly lifted.
What should have been a straight path revealed a brown wall.
Julia’s body froze.
It was even bigger than she imagined.
Bigger than the mansion?
Julia’s head tilted up, and the Great Spirit’s form filled her vision.
[You see me.]
Julia’s mouth dropped open.
This is… This is...
“It’s kind of cute?”
[...!?]
It had stubby proportions and a round body.
Despite its size, it looked cute.
Julia suddenly relaxed.
[Kyaaaaah! Calling me cute!? I’ve absorbed the mountain’s spirit for a thousand years! I am the Great Earth Spirit!]
“But you’re still cute...”
“Really? Is it really cute, Julia? What does it look like?”
“Wait a second. I’ll draw it for you. Here!”
Julia quickly sketched the Great Spirit on a wooden board.
The spirit’s expression hardened.
“It really is cute! So adorable...”
[No! My true form!]
The Great Earth Spirit’s true form was revealed to the world.
Its majesty crumbled in an instant.