#1183 Masterpiece

Here’s the story so far:

After hearing the earth spirits’ ominous mutterings, our farm caught wind that the world might be in serious danger.

There’s no way we’re letting our world get wrecked now that things have finally been running smoothly, so after some investigation, we concluded we needed to meet the biggest shot among spirits… the Spirit King.

But meeting the Spirit King isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
In fact, it’s tougher than meeting a god.

We figured out that in order to stand face-to-face with the Spirit King—who doesn’t even have a physical form—we need help from the four elemental spirits of earth, water, fire, and wind.

We’d already succeeded in bringing forth earth, fire, and water spirits, leaving just the wind spirit!

That’s where we left off, and now we’re at the present.
This is where the future story begins.

We tried our best to find someone whose vibes matched the wind spirit.
Just like the methods that worked so far, we looked for someone who embodied the wind’s lightness, freedom, and dry straightforwardness. But surprisingly, no one fit those conditions just right.

Come on, we’ve got a fair number of people on the farm.
It’s weird that not a single soul ticks all the boxes.

But if you think about it, we’re farmers, right?
Everyone’s down-to-earth and spends every day cultivating the land, carefully working the soil. So, if you consider how that might clash with a wind affinity, maybe it’s not all that surprising.

I was just about to expand the search outside our farm when…

“Hold it right there! You’ve got some nerve trying to hash all this out without even telling us!!!”
“Master, please allow us to join in on this festival as well.”

Wha—?! You two?!

Letasreit and Horkosfon?!

 The soybean duo that our farm is so proud of have busted in at the last second!!!

“I don’t know the details of what you’re up to, but ignoring us completely is heartless of you! And what’s this about the world being in danger? Isn’t that exactly the sort of situation where this legendary duo ought to shine?!”
“We would like to save the world for the sake of all the people who’ve supported us, and for the glorious future of natto!!!”

Their reasons for joining are perfectly decent and pure, but given who they are… I can’t help feeling uneasy.

Because, c’mon...
These two only ever think about beans! How are they gonna help us reach the wind spirit?

Horkosfon is an angel, so I guess I see her as more “light” affinity. Letasreit… who knows? Royal affinity maybe?

But now they’re both basically so dyed in “bean affinity” that they’ve upended any previous image.
I can’t picture them summoning the wind spirit no matter what.
If anything, the wind spirit might lodge some kind of complaint.

That’s exactly why I chose not to tell you guys! But you just had to show up uninvited…

So, what’s gonna happen now?
I can practically smell the chaos brewing…

“Letasreit, according to your investigation, it seems they’re trying to summon a spirit.”
“Indeed! Let’s use our super-miracle-shine-force energy to call forth a super-ultra-gorgeous spirit!”

Um, could you two not just charge in headlong like that?!
And spouting nonsense terms that sound… kinda dumb?!

“In that case, here we go! Fwooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!”

Letasreit is so pumped her sheer vigor looks like it’s warping the air around her.
But no matter how hard they try, I really don’t see them connecting with the wind spirit…

You can have the most powerful cannon in the world, but if it’s not aimed right, you’re never gonna hit the target.

Still… as Letasreit focuses all her energy, something begins to form in the space before us.

Is that… the wind spirit?
Did they really manage to physically manifest the wind spirit?!

“…I am the Bean Spirit.”

…Ha?

“The Bean Spirit.”

We heard you the first time!
Well, it’s more like I refuse to comprehend it...!
Though, to be fair, my brain’s so busy rejecting reality that repeating it might help it sink in.

But still!

“What do you mean, Bean Spirit?!”
“Just as it sounds. I am the spirit that governs the bean attribute.”

What even is that?!

Spirits are supposed to be the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, right?!
Who gave you permission to pop a brand-new element into existence?!

“Master, I’d say we’ve summoned the perfect spirit for us, wouldn’t you, Letasreit?”
“It’s like a shining embodiment of who we are!!!”

Stop looking so satisfied!

Now what do we do?!
In a way, this turned out exactly the way I thought it might, and that’s exactly why it’s horrifying!

We were supposed to summon all four elemental spirits so we could forge a path to the Spirit King!

Earth spirit!
Fire spirit!
Water spirit!
…Bean spirit!

One of these things is not like the others! If we try to proceed with a bootleg element, we’re not gonna get the effect we need!

“It’s fine, right? Wind and beans are pretty similar, aren’t they?”

No, they are NOT!
They don’t share a single letter! They’re not even close!

But Letasreit brushes off my protests at her own relaxed pace…

“C’mon, c’mon, let’s at least give it a whirl first, see how it goes?”
“If it doesn’t work out, we can always come up with something else.”

They completely ignore my exasperation, acting like they’re hosting the show.

“Just look at all these spirits gathered together! How majestic is that?”
“It’s a sight everyone should witness at least once in life.”

I can think of something that’s not quite there, though!

“If we think of ourselves as complete, then even the impossible becomes possible!”
“Now, everyone, combine your powers and make a miracle happen!”

Stop trying to take charge, you two!

Still, the spirits themselves seem pumped, responding with high energy:

“Eaaaarth!”
“Fiiiiire!”
“Waaater!”
“Beeeans!”

No matter how many times I hear it, that last one does not fit!

“WHEN THE FOUR POWERS UNITE, THEY SHALL GUIDE US TO THE HIGHEST PRESENCE! REVEAL YOURSELF, YOU WHO GOVERN THE CYCLE OF ALL THINGS!”

With that, the “four” elemental spirits combine their powers, opening the door to some completely different dimension.

Even though it’s midday, star-like lights swirl across the sky, and in the center, a hole opens up wide.

From that hole… something drips out.
But it only looks like a tiny droplet because of perspective.

As it gets closer to the ground, I realize it’s massive.
It’s way bigger than the gods we’ve summoned in the past.

It’s shaped like a human yet clad in attire so refined it practically radiates intelligence.
It’s decked out in dazzling armor, complete with a flowing cape.

Elegant, majestic… It looks like a proud king ready to lead an army into war.

“Is that the Spirit King…?!”

So...this is the being we went through so many hoops to meet?
The legend says that once the four elemental spirits—earth, water, fire, wind—recognize you, the Spirit King appears.

…But hold up!
That definitely wasn’t a perfect set of four!

Something’s off!
We ended up mixing in something that wasn’t wind!

It’s like trying to open the gates of the demon world using a laughing doll, an angry doll, a crying doll, and a dancing doll, and it actually opened!
That analogy might be a little obscure, but that’s how I feel!

“Don’t start relaxing just yet, Saint! This is where things really kick off for us, right?”
“Precisely. You need to talk with the Spirit King and find out exactly what kind of threat is bearing down on the world, Master.”
“We’re only at the starting line! The Spirit King is the big boss of all spirits! Even just negotiating might be really tough. But don’t be scared, Saint!!”

While Letasreit and Horkosfon are giving me a rousing pep talk, let me just say:
What I’m most afraid of right now is…!

...getting sued by the Wind Spirit!!!