Ch. 184
“You may seem selfish and lazy, but I know you’re actually kind and brave. I believe in you. You’re someone who can tell right from wrong.”
I couldn’t tell if that was a compliment or an insult, but Ash’s eyes, fixed on me, were filled with trust and belief.
Those eyes… always made me feel strangely weak.
“Geenie.”
This wasn’t good.
Ash had figured out that when he called my name in that soft voice, I tended to calm down a little. Maybe if I smacked the back of his head hard enough, he’d forget.
“See? Look at Rai’s face. He looks so dejected.”
Rai, that deceitful thing, was groaning pitifully while clinging right next to Ash.
Clever as he was, he’d realized that sticking close to Ash earned him better treatment. Spirits probably couldn’t forget even if you hit them in the head.
Now that the two beings I could never quite handle had formed an alliance, things were getting complicated.
Fine, fine. I ‘did’ leave him behind across the canyon—that was my fault. Maybe I should apologize. And honestly, this might be the first time someone’s believed in me so purely, without judgment, despite how crooked I am.
Ash’s gentle eyes looked straight at me, unwavering.
I could see the faith in them—faith in the kind of person he ‘wanted’ me to be.
“Haa…… fine, Rai.”
[Yes, Master!]
“I’m sor—like I’d say that! Undine!”
[Yes, Master.]
Tch, that’s right. I’m arrogant, selfish, and downright unpleasant.
And I fully intend to stay that way—because it’s easier to live like this. If Rai goes on strike, I’ll just use Undine instead.
You think you’re the only spirit I’ve got?
“There’s bound to be a lake nearby. Go find it.”
As soon as I sent Undine off, both the spirit and one certain man started whining.
[That’s so mean, Master!]
“Geenie! Is apologizing really that hard for you?!”
“Both of you, shut it! Even if I ‘do’, it won’t be because ‘you’ told me to! I’ll do it! When I! Feel like it!”
“And when will that be exactly…?”
“When Rai ‘doesn’t’ make me angry!”
[So basically, never!]
Ash didn’t seem to realize—like master, like spirit.
“You just said you’re going to keep making me angry, didn’t you?!”
[It’s fun, though!]
“……I knew it!”
[Let’s call it affection.]
Die!
Unable to suppress my rage, I grabbed Rai by the neck—but it was like clutching a steel pillar.
Beating him was about as effective as smashing an egg against a boulder.
Since I couldn’t vent my anger, it only built up worse.
“My bad temper—this is all your fault!”
[Nope! You’ve always been like that!]
“Damn it! You’re actually an assassin, aren’t you?! Trying to kill me with stress?!”
“What are you doing, Geenie? Stop it, please. Keep your composure—stop, I said stop!”
Ash forcibly pulled me away.
He didn’t know that choking Rai wouldn’t kill him anyway.
I was furious that the one being I could ‘never’ kill was also the one who angered me most.
“Aaagh!”
[Sheesh, what a temper. Wonder who her master is, huh?]
“You’re so annoying!”
I couldn’t even attack my own spirit with spirit magic!
That wasn’t spitting upward—it was throwing a knife at myself. If Rai got hurt, I’d get hurt too. We were inseparable like that.
With my aggression completely suppressed, frustration exploded instead. I genuinely lost it, and Ash treated me like a rampaging horse.
“Geenie, Geenie…! Please, stop seriously fighting with a dog!”
“He’s the one taunting me!”
“No way. I mean, sure, he’s a smart dog… listens freakishly well, pops up everywhere, hard as a rock, does things no dog should be able to do… wait. Rai… he ‘is’ a dog, right?”
In my anger, I’d ended up talking to Rai ‘out loud’—and even admitted he could speak.
Oops. But Ash wasn’t stupid; his face said he’d already figured something out.
Once suspicion is raised, it grows fast.
And Rai had never looked like a normal dog to begin with.
“……He ‘is’ a dog, right?”
“……Does that really matter?”
“Now that I think about it… he’s, uh… gold-colored, isn’t he?”
Ash’s complexion drained completely.
He went pale, stammering as if terrified of his own thought.
“The dragon that kidnapped you was gold too… and dragons can polymorph into anything… don’t tell me!”
As if uttering a forbidden word, he covered his mouth—his conclusion being that Rai was a dragon.
“Huh?”
[Ahahaha! My majesty ‘is’ quite remarkable! Though of course, I’m far greater than any dragon! How adorable of him to think so.]
“……”
[Still, he’s not entirely wrong, is he, Master? He’s sensed my extraordinary essence! Hoohoho, hohohohoh!]
Apparently forgetting he’d been sulking, Rai burst into his usual obnoxious laughter.
After being called a mutt and a mongrel so long, he was clearly delighted to be mistaken for a dragon.
Meanwhile, Ash was trembling like a man already halfway to his grave.
“Good grief, what ridiculous things you’re saying. Relax—whatever he is, he’s no dragon.”
“That’s a relief, but… wait—that means he’s ‘not’ a dragon, but also ‘not’ a dog, right?!”
Why was everyone around me so sharp? Maybe because ‘I’ was sharp—birds of a feather, after all.
“Ash, what did I tell you before? What are nosy men like?”
“……Unattractive.”
“And what should men be?”
“Quiet. But not like… Rovenin.”
“Correct! Such a model student. Don’t forget it.”
Somehow, he lowered his gaze, blushing like a shy bride. What on earth embarrassed him that much?
[I approve of this marriage.]
“What the heck?”
[Ash seems obedient. I think he’d listen to me too.]
I agreed, folding my arms and nodding.
Our Ash had really grown up well. Kind, smart, handsome—what more could anyone want? Whoever ends up with him is lucky. I’ll have to stop him if he ever tries to marry someone weird.
Can’t just hand him over to anyone! Is this what having a big sister feels like?
[Master! We found the lake!]
Just as I was idly wondering who Ash might marry one day, Undine brought news that lifted everyone’s spirits.
“Guys! We found the lake!”
I couldn’t help but cheer too. My voice came out louder than I meant it to.
—
It seemed sending Undine instead of Rai had been the right choice.
I was used to relying on Rai for everything, but he had one fatal flaw—he was bound to his metal body.
Undine, on the other hand, became freer from physical limits as my power grew.
She could become clouds, rain, or drift along the wind.
The Water Spirit Undine led us toward the scent of water.
[This way!]
We galloped out of the wasteland, and after about fifteen minutes of riding, a small forest appeared. Following Undine into the trees startled a flock of birds into flight.
As I watched the small birds scatter, a familiar smell reached my nose—the rich scent of water. A bit salty, a bit fresh—sea mixed with lake.
I was far more sensitive to it than most people. Not as much as Undine, of course.
Pushing through the sun-dappled green path, we finally saw it—a massive lake spread out before us. Lox was the first to shout.
“A lake!”
The vast, deep-blue lake reflected the color of the sea. Just seeing it told us—it had been here all along, waiting quietly through the ages.
Majestic and serene.
It held that tranquil dignity unique to lakes—like a god watching over the world, embracing life in silence.
It might sound foolish, but I always felt something like a first impression when I looked at a lake or pond, as if it were a person.
“There’s definitely something here.”
I muttered unconsciously.
It looked like any ordinary lake connected to the sea at one corner, yet my instincts whispered insistently.
There’s something there.
For the first time, I thought maybe—just maybe—we might actually find the Chalice of the Golden Star.
“Y-yeah! This is it! The lake mentioned in the letter! I’m sure of it!”
“Really, Lox?”
“We really found it?”
“Yes! Well… just the lake.”
Their excitement was contagious; even I found myself smiling.
As we stopped by the shore, a cool breeze swept over us. While the men whooped and cheered, I approached the lake, drawn by that strange sensation.
Tilting my head, I stared at the spot that bothered me most—where a waterway connected the lake to the sea.
That’s where it was—whatever was tugging at my nerves.
From here, it looked no thicker than a finger, but up close it would be much larger.
‘A dungeon? Monsters? Merfolk? A spirit stone?’
The treasure hunt wasn’t over yet. Finding the map had been the start; finding the lake only meant we now knew where to run.
And the end of that run would only come once we found the dungeon’s entrance.
Finding that entrance was always the hardest part.
The door would surely be hidden—perhaps even trapped. And if there were no traps, then it would be buried deep within.
“The lake’s… bigger than I thought.”
“Huge, yeah. And it’s connected to the sea.”
“Don’t tell me the treasure’s at the bottom of it?”
“It’s an old lake, so it must be deep, too….”
Before I knew it, the men had gathered beside me, already debating how to locate the dungeon’s entrance beneath that vast expanse of water.
They knew as well as I did—this wasn’t over yet.
“Ash? Hand me the marker.”
“Lox has it.”
“Hey. Give it here.”
“……Don’t you think there’s a huge difference in tone between how you talk to me and how you talk to Ash?”
“Kind words get kind replies. Have you ever been nice to me?”
I wasn’t a saint. I didn’t have to be nice to everyone. What a joke.
When I looked at him like a bothersome customer, Lox frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
“……Why do you need the marker?”
“I told you not to ask stupid questions. Hand it over before I take it by force.”
He grumbled but eventually handed it over. Stubborn for the weakest one of the bunch.
“Can you not make it sound like I’m being mugged?”
“Then hand it over nicely.”
“You could at least ‘listen’ when people talk.”
“Do you ‘want’ me to hit you?”
“I’ll give it to you, but… this is our treasure, so please handle it carefully.”
After a short back-and-forth, I finally got hold of the marker, a pendant-like object—and headed straight for the lake.