Ch. 176

So this is what it means when a good deed brings another good deed. Finding that brooch got us a place to stay and horses, which turned into a reward of rain. Still, I can’t help but feel uneasy, like I’ve somehow gotten caught in Ash’s schemes. I have this weird condition where doing something good makes my insides flinch.

“Travelers, if you’ve brought any rumors from the mainland, won’t you share them with me? Hearing those is my little joy.”

“Oh, that? Plenty! Let’s see, if it’s about Lord Fedri, this is the place where it all started, so you probably already know. That’s the biggest talk these days.”

“Of course. I even saw the young lord passing by once.”

“Really?”

“Well, red hair is all the rage now, so maybe I was mistaken. Still, thinking I saw him makes me feel lucky.”

What a positive old man. In this world, rumors were everyone’s favorite pastime—like their version of TV or radio. People were obsessed with them, listening, laughing, crying, believing, doubting… Some even devoted their lives to becoming the subject of a rumor.

“What kind of rumors do you like? There are so many—monster hunts? Politics? Expedition findings? Noble love affairs? Oh, the rumor about the Mercenary King choosing an heir is rather interesting.”

“They all sound fun. The most recent one I heard was about a slave trader in Koran who turned into minced meat overnight. Something about the Red Wing? Apparently, he angered a dark elf.”

“Pfft.”

“Pffft…”

Two people spat out their soup—Lox and Ash. Chad, determined not to waste his food, snorted it out through his nose instead.

Disgusting.

“My favorite rumor, of course, is the tale of Saint Crowell. I’ve never heard anything so moving in my life.”

“Cough—!”

Ah, my nose hurts now…

“Just knowing I lived in the same era as her fills me with faith and makes doing good deeds feel rewarding.”

At this point, only Gale and Enk, who had no idea what was going on, managed to keep a straight face. Rai was screaming in the stable in protest, flapping his wings with a furious ‘flutter, flutter’.

—

‘Aren’t I quick on the uptake!’

A bright morning at the farm. I was enjoying a rare moment of leisure—sitting on the roof, looking down at the fields, counting sheep and goats, whistling, and stretching lazily against the rough chimney while watching the sun rise beyond the gentle horizon.

“The weather’s nice.”

Rai was still locked up in the stable, and the men had gone off at dawn to help the farmer fix his broken fences and storage shed as a way of repaying him for our stay. Lox had grumbled that this wasn’t the time to laze around and that I should come help find the missing pendant, but since Ash—the leader—decided to show gratitude through labor, that was that.

Except for me.

“Hm.”

Basking under the sun, I could feel my mind and body growing peaceful. The wind was warm and gentle, the greenery stretched far and wide, and birdsong drifted sweetly through the air.

Doing nothing suited me perfectly. I’d love to develop that talent further, but the world just doesn’t seem to allow it.

“Big sis! What are you doing up there?”

Looking down, I saw little Lil, the farmer’s granddaughter, waving her hands and calling up to me on tiptoes.

“How did you get up here?”

It was about time to go down anyway, since smoke was already rising from the chimney. I called for Undine, and she gently helped me down to the ground.

“Wow… Spirits can do that too?”

Lil’s pure amazement was much cuter than Annie’s ever was.

“That’s amazing! So cool!”

“Good to hear. Keep admiring me.”

“I’m gonna be a Spirit Mage too!”

“That’s not happening.”

“Why not!”

“Because some things just aren’t meant to be, kid.”

I crushed her dream with merciless honesty and went looking for another place to lie down. The farm was big, with plenty of spots to sprawl out in. Maybe under that tree this time.

“Lil! What are you doing out there!”

“Ah, Mom!”

“I told you not to wander off alone! You just can’t stay still for a second, can you? Even on the ship, you were like that!”

Ah, a mother’s scolding—how nostalgic. From the kitchen window, I saw Lil’s mother waving a ladle threateningly.

“Get in here right now!”

You couldn’t really blame her. In this world, a girl wandering around alone was practically begging to be taken.

“But it’s Grandpa’s yard! It’s safe here!”

Lil hid behind my leg in a pitiful show of rebellion. Well, who doesn’t hate doing what their mom tells them? I knew that feeling all too well—though it’s been, what, nineteen years since I last felt it?

“Get inside! There are foxes around lately!”

“No!”

Ah, so that’s why the men went to fix the fence.

“Lil! You traitor! You ditched me again!”

Her brother joined in from the window, teaming up with their mother.

“I don’t wanna peel potatoes!”

“Me neither! Get over here and help!”

“They look like your face anyway, so you peel them!”

“What! You potato-faced brat!”

So they both look like potatoes then. Lil seemed like the type who’d run away from chores—a troublemaker. Kind of like me.

“Lil! Do I have to come out there myself? You’ll be in big trouble if I catch you!”

“Dummy Lil! The fox will get you!”

“I’ll stay with Big Sis! I wanna play with the Spirit!”

“Hmm? Don’t drag me into this.”

Our eyes met—hers shining bright with hope.

“Big Sis, you’ll play with me, right?”

I glanced at her mother, who looked torn between annoyance and gratitude. Judging by the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen, lunch was in progress, and I was the only one doing nothing. I could sympathize with Lil’s potato-peeling rebellion.

So I roughly patted her head to show I’d keep her company. Her mother hesitated but soon went back inside.

Of course, I wasn’t actually going to babysit. I’m Geenie Crowell, after all.

“Undine.”

[Yes, Master!]

I pointed at the girl. “Play with her. She wants to be your friend.”

[Okay!]

“And keep an eye out for foxes. Don’t let her get bitten.”

From the kid’s perspective, playing with a spirit must’ve been the best thing ever. I lay back down on the grass while Undine took on her new babysitting role.

Lying beneath the apple tree, sunlight filtering through the leaves, I couldn’t help but think—how long have I lived apart from my family to the point where even hearing a mother’s nagging sounds nostalgic?

When will I stop feeling this distance from my parents in this world? Will the day ever come when they truly feel like mine?

Whether I stayed close or far, I always felt guilty either way. It was the one kind of guilt I could never shake off.

I remembered my real parents—how I longed for them so much I couldn’t even cry, only swallow the ache.

So much time had passed since I’d gotten used to answering to the name “Geenie,” and yet, that part of me never changed.

Sometimes, when I closed my eyes, I realized it quietly—maybe I couldn’t forget them because they hadn’t forgotten me either. Even as Geenie Crowell, a part of me was still unmistakably Jini.

The old me, the ordinary high school girl no one remembers except my parents. I was dead, yet alive. Only I knew that truth—and sometimes, that made for a hollow kind of sorrow.

—

At some point, I’d dozed off. When I woke up, Lil was shaking me with the scent of flowers all around. I had drooled. Lovely.

“Big Sis! A present!”

As I wiped my mouth and sat up, something soft landed on my head.

“What’s this?”

“A flower necklace!”

“Hmm, more like a flower crown, considering it’s on my head.”

“Your head’s big, huh?”

“…How rude. Your head’s just tiny.”

It didn’t fit, obviously—it was child-sized. I felt the crown resting awkwardly on top of my hair, tangled in my curls so badly that removing it would probably wreck my hairstyle.

“I made it with Undine!”

[We made it together!]

Lil giggled and spun around with Undine across the grass. I decided to keep the crown on and lay back down.

Those two got along surprisingly well, despite not speaking the same language. Maybe it was because their mental ages matched.

“I made one for Undine too, but it went right through her, so I turned it into my bracelet instead!”

[It slipped right through me!]

“It didn’t fit!”

“Of course not… spirits can’t usually touch physical things.”

[Master, I want to wear one too.]

I yawned, and Undine fluttered over to me, pleading sweetly.

I blinked, surprised. Spirits were supposed to follow their master’s orders, not make requests of their own.

Do spirits even make requests?

It was a first, but I didn’t think much of it. I shared a bit of my mana to give her a temporary material form and patted her head to check.

She was tangible. Which meant she could wear the crown now.

[Thank you.]

Undine smiled adorably and flew to Lil, donning a bracelet-sized flower crown as she danced lightly through the leaves like a true fairy of flowers.

Seeing her so happy made me smile too. My Undine really was the cutest thing in the world.

“Big Sis! I want a spirit too! I’ll become a Spirit Mage like you, with a water spirit!”

“No, you won’t.”

“Why not! Why can’t I!”

I took a bite of a nearby apple and shook my head. “Impossible.”

“Ugh, why! I’ll become a Spirit Mage, go on adventures across the continent, defeat dragons, find treasure, and marry a prince!”

“Pfft—hahaha!”

“Why are you laughing!”

“What are you going to do after you marry the prince?”

“…Become a princess?”

What an ambitious little dreamer.