#685 An Early Reunion with the Spirits

Earth spirits.

Cute beings that live on our farm.

Spirits are originally formless beings that help with the workings of the world.

But on this farm, due to various special conditions, they’ve materialized and run around like ordinary creatures.

They take the form of small, round, adorable little girls.

Their main task is to help with household chores.

Though small, they are reliable hard workers.

But now, they’re not around.

Because it’s winter.

As they are a part of nature’s spiritual essence, their energy wanes when the power of nature weakens in winter. During that time, they rest and conserve their energy without engaging in any activities.

Think of it as their own version of hibernating.

Every year, they awaken in the spring and emerge from the ground, so we’re not worried. But still, it feels lonely when their lively presence suddenly disappears.

That’s why winter feels especially quiet.

And it’s precisely because they awaken that the liveliness of spring is all the more vibrant.

However, something’s different this year.

* * *

“You saw the earth spirits?”

That’s ridiculous.

We’re right in the middle of winter.

Winter is a season of stillness for living creatures. The earth spirits, who embody the very life force of the land, also suspend their activities and do not appear before us.

Since the peak of winter has passed, the snow will melt in less than a month, and as the first sprouts of spring emerge, the earth spirits should also come out from underground and reunite with us.

But it’s still too early.

Way too early.

“Are you sure you weren’t seeing things? Maybe you mistook Pochi or the Professor for them during the night when visibility was poor?”

Pochi is a dog, and the Professor is a cat.

In fact, the spirits are about the same scale as small animals like them...

“No, it was definitely the earth spirits, My Lord,” reports the goblin to me.

He’s a sincere fellow, and I can’t imagine him lying.

“Besides, we saw them during the day, not at night. There were multiple witnesses, so the chance of a mistake is extremely low...!”

“Hmm...!”

If he’s so firm in his belief, it’s hard not to believe him...!

“...Or could it be that after not seeing the earth spirits for so long, you were experiencing withdrawal symptoms and hallucinating?”

“M-My Lord...!”

Can you completely rule that out?

They’re such adorable beings, after all.

“I-Indeed, having those simple-minded spirits running around at our feet is heartwarming and a wholesome sight. When we can’t see them for an entire winter, it feels like there’s a hole in our hearts that keeps growing larger with the cold wind piercing us deeper and deeper...!”

Right? Rightttt?

“But! If we lose our sanity just because we want to see them so much, it would only burden them! What we saw was not an illusion! It was definitely the earth spirits, My Lord!!!”

Okay, okay.

I’m slightly intimidated by his earnest response.

I guess I should take the witnesses’ report seriously and fully commit to investigating this myself.

Were the things they saw really the earth spirits?

In pursuit of the spirits who shouldn’t be here in winter, it’s time to delve into this mystery!

“So, where exactly did you see the earth spirits?”

“At the pyramid, My Lord.”

“What?”

* * *

That’s right; we have a pyramid at our place.

Sometimes I wonder, “Why is there a World Heritage site in our farmland?!” But what’s done is done.

It’s the result of enthusiastic deities who came from another realm.

We can freely go inside, and it’s even turned into a dungeon, so we’re currently exploring whether it could become the main hunting ground of our farm, alongside Sensei’s cave and Veil’s mountain.

For that reason, orcs and goblins frequently visit the pyramid, but...

“You saw them here?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

They saw the earth spirits here at the pyramid, apparently.

We proceeded inside the pyramid with the orcs and goblins who reported the sighting, but I was shocked to find there were surprisingly many such witnesses.

There were this many of you who spotted the spirits?!

If that’s the case, the theory of misidentification might indeed be dismissed!

“Even Orkubo’s here...!”

“We always spot those kids whenever we explore the pyramid, My Lord.”

He’s referring to the earth spirits as ‘those kids’...

It’s clear how popular the little ones are among the orcs and goblins.

“At first, we certainly thought it was a mistake. Those kids don’t come out in the winter...! It’s unthinkable that they would be here, which has turned into a dangerous dungeon.”

That might be true...

Might be, yeah...

“But if those kids are really inside the pyramid, we must protect them as soon as possible!”

“I’m sure they’re lost! They might even be lonely and crying!”

“They must be hungry!”

“Just imagining one of them all alone in such a dark and creepy place!”

“My heart is being crusheeeeeeed!”

Calm down!

Calm down, guys!!!

They’re beyond saving; the orcs and goblins have lost their composure over the cuteness of the earth spirits!

They’re so worried, they’re not their usual cool selves!

“I get it, if that’s the case, let’s quickly form a search party and find the spirits as soon as possible!”

“My Lord! Spoken like a true master!”

No need to flatter me like that in this situation...

But while listening to their concerns, I’ve started to worry too.

The inside of the pyramid is like a complete maze as if to say, “Suffer and die, grave robbers.”

Just imagining an earth spirit, lost and wandering alone in there, wanting to go home, on the verge of tears...

“Uwaaaaaah! Guoooooooooooooooh!!!”

My heart is being gouged out!!!

Full power to the search party! Deploy Pochi and the others who can track scents! Mobilize the elves with their high reconnaissance abilities as hunters...!

The grand search line to find the earth spirits has begun.

And then, about an hour later...

* * *

“Team B reports they have found them, My Lord!!!”

“What?!”

They’re really here?!

I still can’t help but be shocked!

“Are you sure it was the earth spirits? Not mistaking it for Lord Medjed or something?!”

“It’s true! According to the report, they are currently chasing the target, My Lord!”

Chasing?! 

But why?!

Does that mean our target is running away?!

Why would the earth spirits try to escape from us?!

“Pursuit team! Pursuit team, send a report! What’s the situation over there?!”

“Wait a minute. Whom are you talking to this whole time?!”

“Um, to Team B via communication magic, My Lord?”

“You guys had such a spell?!”

Could they stop introducing new technologies without me knowing?!

But it’s thanks to that we can keep in touch with each other in the complex dungeon, so I guess it’s good?!

[Uwaaaaaaaaaah! Guhooooooooooh!]

“What happened, pursuit team?! What was that hoarse cry just now?!”

[Inform all members! It’s a trap! We thought we were chasing those kids, but we were led to a trap set up point... Guhoooooooooooh!]

Another hoarse cry?!

What happened? Are they okay?! Answer ussssssssssss!

But all that came from the communication magic was the ear-piercing sound of noise.

This magic can even function like an actual radio?!

[...Ah, ah. Mic check. We have cwear skies today, but the waves are high!]

“?!”

We hear another voice come from the communication magic!

This young voice...!

[Announcement, to all twespassers!]

[We have, excwusivewy possessed this pwace!]

[This is, our tewwitowy now!]

This broken yet adorable pronunciation...

It’s definitely the voice of the earth spirits!

[We have, wisen for fweedom, and peace!]

[We are soldiers of the revowution!]

[We will never give in, to tywanny!!!]

The earth spirits really are here!

But...!

But what are they trying to do?!

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clear skies, high waves is a battle of tsushima reference (today's weather is fine, but waves are high. -wikipedia)