Complete Spirit Transformation.

It means the same as complete severance.

According to Lepia’s explanation, even if we grow old and die later, we could still meet again in the underworld.

I don’t know how pleasant life there would be, but it means our bonds won’t be broken. Follow current novᴇls on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

However, if one becomes a spirit, even in the underworld, we could never meet again.

Even Adwin cannot summon Lisel after she has become a spirit.

He can’t see spirits, and therefore can’t see their souls either.

Grade made a heartfelt plea to me before he left.

“Please, stop Lisel. She has already spent far too many years in loneliness.”

“Sir Grade.”

“When Lisel was with you all, she always seemed happy. She looked joyful.”

“…”

“I couldn’t stop her from becoming a half-spirit. It was my failure, but you, at least…”

His voice began to waver.

I nodded earnestly.

“Leave it to me.”

“……”

“I won’t leave Lisel alone. No, more than that, I won’t even leave her as a half-spirit.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I will make her human again, and one day I will see that she meets you in the underworld. Trust me.”

He raised his arm.

Since Adwin was quite a bit shorter than me, I had to bend down slightly.

Tap, tap.

Grade patted my shoulder and said:

“Please, I’m counting on you.”

Soon, his soul returned to the underworld.

“….”

Come to think of it, I was planning to ask Grade about Velosian.

Well, I will save that for another time.

Adwin soon let out a deep breath.

“Phew.”

“You alright?”

“Yes. I was connected to Sir Grade’s soul, so I felt his emotions clearly. He truly cherished and loved Lisel… even now, fifteen hundred years later.”

“Yeah, that much was obvious.”

I gave a light cough.

Then, raising my voice toward empty space:

“Stop hiding and come out.”

“…”

“Hurry up and come out.”

Lisel didn’t appear easily.

While I wondered what to do, Serein spoke up.

“By the way, I saw Sir Grade’s portrait.”

“Hmm? What now… Ah, I see.”

“He’s kind of… you know.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t exactly call him handsome.”

The others, catching on to her intent, joined in with mischievous smiles.

“Let’s be real, he was a total dud.”

“Yeah, and I heard he had a bit of a nasty temper too.”

“If he hadn’t been a hero, I don’t know what he would have done for a living.”

“Apparently he was kind of childish in the records.”

Just as expected, Lisel appeared.

“Who has been saying such nonsense?!”

“There you are.”

“You’re all mistaken. For one thing, Sir Grade was incredibly handsome.”

“Sit down.”

“…Ah.”

“Come on, sit. Lisel.”

Lisel fidgeted, unable to sit down.

That’s when it happened.

Swish. Grab.

Suddenly, Serein forced her into a seat and hugged her tightly.

“Ah, wha… what’s this?”

“Don’t go anywhere.”

“…Serein.”

“Don’t go anywhere at all. I really like this party. We can’t lose anyone.”

I couldn’t believe Serein said that.

The rest of the party chimed in one by one.

“Of course. We have still got plenty of work to squeeze out of you, so where do you think you’re going?”

“I can’t even imagine a world without your cooking, Lisel.”

“Talking with you is always fun. Keep making it fun.”

“You’re coming to the underworld with us, Lisel. Definitely.”

The last one, from Adwin, did sound a bit like “let’s die together,” but… well, the sentiment was good.

Lisel began to tear up in Serein’s arms.

“But… without that method, there’s no way we can make it in time. Sob…”

“Lisel.”

“Becoming a complete spirit doesn’t mean I’m leaving you all. I will still stay with the party and help you.”

“But you wouldn’t be able to chat and laugh with us anymore, right?”

“.…”

Serein hugged Lisel even tighter.

“I have known you the longest. I know just how easily you get lonely.”

“…”

“And I recently realized something, I’m kind of like that too. People who get lonely easily should stick together, right?”

“Sob… Waaah!”

Lisel broke into sobs.

Even those tears would not be possible once she becomes a complete spirit.

She had to remain human.

[Sniff.]

‘What? Don’t tell me you are crying too?’

[No? I don’t know what you’re talking about.]

‘…….’

[More importantly, what’s your plan? If you don’t use that duke spirit’s power, do you have another way?]

Oh, he is joking now.

‘Why wouldn’t I borrow the power? Such a great means is right here.’

[Huh?]

‘If the hero says they are going to crush the Demon King, and that prissy duke spirit puts conditions on it, then they are the bad one.’

I will make sure to get him to cooperate.

Without any conditions about turning Lisel into a spirit.

I spoke up.

“Lisel.”

“Sniff… Yes?”

She pulled away from Serein and looked up at me, her face a mess of tears and snot.

I grinned.

“That duke spirit, does it have a name?”

To my surprise, spirits did have names.

“It’s called Mime. That’s the duke spirit’s name.”

“Didn’t think it would really have one.”

“Spirits have names just like humans do. Of course, I don’t know every spirit’s name across the continent, but I exchanged names with Mime during that typhoon.”

“I see.”

“But… why do you ask?”

Why else?

‘Use the Eye of Omniscience.’

[Huh? Now you want to pry into a spirit’s secrets?]

‘What? Can’t I?’

[Who said you can’t? Unbelievable…]

After huffing for a while, he asked:

[So? Whose secrets do you want to see with Mime’s?]

‘Lisel’s. I want to see exactly what was said between them during that typhoon.’

[Huh? You could just ask Lisel herself about that.]

I shook my head.

‘It’s not just about hearing the conversation. I want to observe Mime’s actions, gestures, tone, and facial expressions.’

[What’s there to observe? You can’t even see spirits.]

‘Not even through the Eye of Omniscience?’

[…Ah.]

The Eye of Omniscience could even reveal the secret conversations between Idria and Hyran.

As long as it was acknowledged as a secret related to the two parties, it could perceive everything without any obstruction.

That’s why it’s called the “Eye of Omniscience.”

[Just take this ability for yourself. Seems like you know more about it than I do.]

‘Don’t joke. Anyway, show me.’

“Alright.”

The Eye of Omniscience has been activated.

The current level of the Eye of Omniscience is 4. You can view secrets up to Grade A.

Selection criteria: ‘The secret between Lisel Vint and Mime.’

This secret is Grade A. Accessing now.

A screen appeared.

Lisel was shouting something toward the typhoon from the crumbling rooftop of the imperial castle.

Behind her, the First Hero, Grade, stood anxiously, clearly at a loss.

‘As I thought, not exactly a handsome guy.’

[Don’t say that Infront of Lisel. She might actually hit you.]

Anyway, I focused intently on their conversation.

She was definitely shouting in spirit language.

But strangely, that spirit language transformed into Imperial language in my mind.

Is this the power of the Eye of Omniscience?

Truly astonishing.

“Please stop. I said stop!”

“If you grant my wish, I will stop.”

The voice was surprisingly polite.

I stared intently at the screen.

‘Ah… I can really see it.’

When Lisel asked me to bring Serein to my hometown.

And when we blew the horn underground in the imperial castle.

Those were the two times she had shown us a spirit.

But the spirit I was seeing now was on a completely different scale.

‘It’s almost the size of the entire imperial castle.’

[Bigger than Agril too. So that’s the Duke Spirit.]

The Duke Spirit Mime continued speaking.

“Please, become a spirit.”

“No. That would mean I have to live forever. I would have to part with Lord Grade!”

“…”

“You have always been like this. You appeared before me without me ever asking or wanting you to.”

“Do you resent us for that? Thanks to us, you became part of the Hero’s party and defeated the Demon King, didn’t you?”

Lisel fell silent.

Mime spoke again, his tone sharper.

“If it weren’t for us, you wouldn’t have even been in that position. Could you have become a party member of Hero Grade otherwise?”

“I… I could have! Even if I wasn’t a party member, I would have been by his side. I was his slave from the start!”

…Oh?

Grade really was something.

At that time, the common belief was that slaves weren’t even human.

For him to truly love such a slave, and even abolish the slave system for her…

“In any case, unless you cross over to ‘this side,’ this typhoon will not stop.”

“…”

“If becoming a full spirit at once is too much, then at least put one foot in.”

“What do you mean by ‘one foot in’?”

“You will understand once you experience it.”

I figured he meant making her immortal while still allowing her to communicate with humans.

Lisel bit her lip and asked,

“Why? Why go so far to make me the king?”

“…”

“If you’re that strong, why don’t you just become king yourself? Wouldn’t that solve everything?”

“That’s impossible! That’s why I’m doing this!”

Mime suddenly raised his voice.

I studied him even more closely.

“There is a being that I and all the spirits on the continent must take revenge on.”

“Revenge? On whom?”

“I will tell you once you become king.”

“…”

“Now choose. Are you going to watch this capital be destroyed, or will you at least become half-spirit?”

Lisel hesitated for a long time.

She finally asked,

“If I become this ‘half-spirit,’ can I still stay with Lord Grade?”

“Yes.”

“Truly?”

“I promise.”

“…Alright. Then.”

Lisel nodded.

Snap.

The screen went black.

I crossed my arms and sank into thought.

‘A being that all spirits must take revenge on.’

Who could that be?

Without knowing their name, the Eye of Omniscience was useless.

“I guess I will have to hear it directly.”

Everyone turned to me when I muttered this.

Neril asked,

“From who? About what?”

“From Mime. About the one he wants revenge on.”

“That Duke Spirit has someone he wants revenge on?”

“I don’t know if it’s a person. No… definitely not a person.”

A human couldn’t live 1,500 years.

If the target’s lifespan were short, Mime wouldn’t have offered the half-spirit option.

I turned to Lisel.

“Call Mime.”

“What?”

“I’m going to have a proper talk with him. You will have to interpret between us in spirit language.”

“Ugh. I can’t believe I have to see that irritating face again.”

You were going to meet him in your original plan anyway.

With a sigh, Lisel put out the campfire.

We tilted our heads, and she explained,

“It will start a forest fire if he gets mad.”

The area was thick with trees.

If those huge things were blown down by the wind, it could be a real hassle.

So we moved to a safer spot.

Once we reached a place that seemed safe enough, Lisel took a deep breath.

“Phew…”

“You okay?”

“Yes. Just a bit nervous.”

“It’s fine. If he tries anything bad, we will take care of it.”

Lisel smiled softly, as if reassured.

“Then I will call him.”

She shouted toward the sky.

“Derem. Bearmi. Mime. Mime!”

The next moment.

A typhoon descended from the sky.

Mime didn’t attack us, but his mere presence was enough to put us in danger.

I signaled to Xenia and Serein, and they cast shield spells on us.

The chaotic wind died down.

While I straightened my messy hair and clothes, Lisel spoke.

“Driame. Bear.”

Whoosh…

A massive form appeared.

Not as big as the Celestial God, but still big enough that we had to bend our necks.

That was the Duke Spirit Mime.

[Calling him was fine, but what exactly are you going to say?]

‘I’m going to get information.’

[Information? Ah, about the target of his revenge?]

‘Yes.’

[Well, I’m curious too, but aren’t there more pressing matters right now?]

No.

Mime was strong enough to force shield spells just by appearing. There wouldn’t be many who could be the target of his vengeance.

‘Maybe.’

Maybe it’s one of the beings I already know.

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