Its ears were small and rounded but folded outwards in a way that made them look almost crumpled. Instead of membranous wings like a bat, the garaima had feathered wings, but according to the book I’d read, they weren’t suitable for flying; instead, they were used to glide. However, garaimas reportedly spent most of their time in the treetops and moved slowly like sloths, rarely ever coming down closer to the ground.
We bid farewell to the garaima and continued following after the many elemental spirits guiding our way.
However, after only a few more steps, we encountered yet another animal…
This pattern repeated several times before the emperor made a suspicious and slightly aggravated face.
“It’s almost as if every single animal that calls this forest home is coming out to greet you, Lady Nefertima…” Apparently, the elemental spirits commented on that because the emperor asked, “Why, though?”
Then, with a dubious expression that suggested he wasn’t convinced by whatever the elemental spirits had said in response, Emperor Celiunos argued, “I don’t believe any of the other beloved children throughout history possessed that kind of power…” He then turned and addressed me. “Hmm… The elemental spirits are saying that you’re special, Lady Nefertima. Do you have any idea what they might be referring to?”
Hey, elemental spirits! What do you think you’re doing, casually spilling other people’s secrets?! I’m sure they’re referring to the special ability I requested from God to be adored by all creatures other than humans, but there’s no way I’ll admit that! Time to play dumb, big time!
“Special?”
“It might mean you’ve been granted a different ability than other beloved children who’ve appeared up to this point. Either we don’t know simply because your powers haven’t awakened yet, or else…” Emperor Celiunos trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.
Beloved children were all souls reborn in Asdyllon from other worlds. It seemed likely that God had also offered each of them an ability of their choosing before they were reborn. I’d probably just picked a very unusual ability compared to the others.
Still pondering that mystery, the emperor resumed walking, leading me by the hand.
We’ve already made our way pretty deep into the forest. I wonder if there’s still far to go until we reach the elemental kings?
I didn’t mind the long walk. More than anything, I was excited to see what other animals we might meet along the way.
Just then, my vision suddenly went dark.
“Wagh!” Something was covering my face. “Get it off! Get it off! What is this?!”
Panicked, I struggled in earnest, but someone grabbed my arm and held me in place. Unable to move, I somehow forced myself to stop fighting. Then, a strange POP! POP! POP! sound reached my ears.
It felt bizarre as the thing was removed from my face. It didn’t hurt per se, but it felt almost like someone was sucking my skin through a straw…
I struggled to calm my ragged breathing and glanced over at Shinki once I regained my sight, only to find him holding something strange and entirely unexpected in his hands.
“What the heck is that?!”
It turned out that what had been wrapped around my head were tentacles—the appendages of a mollusk. At first glance, it looked an awful lot like an octopus or a squid.
“I’ve never seen one of these before,” Emperor Celiunos admitted.
Even the emperor, who’s been here many times, has never seen this creature before?!
It flailed its appendages wildly, attempting to twine its body around Shinki’s arms. I poked it experimentally with my finger, and it wriggled its body, recoiling from the point of contact.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed suckers on the creature’s tentacles. They were large and rounded, more like an octopus than a squid.
So that’s why it made that weird sucking noise when Shinki pulled it off of me!
It looked pretty similar to an octopus, except the portion of its body I presumed to be its head was quite small. I couldn’t tell where its eyeballs were. If it even had any. Either they were very small or non-existent.
The creature was yellow, but its tentacles transitioned in a gradation to bright red at the tips.
This coloration seems like a sure sign of a poisonous animal…
“…You aren’t poisonous, are you, little guy?”
The elemental spirits, not the octopus-thing, answered my question.
“The elemental spirits say it’s not harmful to you as long as you don’t eat it,” Shinki translated for me, causing the emperor to suddenly look over at him sharply.
“Shinki, you can see elemental spirits?”
Huh? Did no one bother telling the emperor about that? He knows that Shinki is my “knight” as a beloved child. I don’t know if Euche told him or if he just figured it out on his own based on his knowledge of beloved children, but…
“Can’t all ‘knights’ see elemental spirits?” I asked.
The first king of the Kingdom of Gaché had been a beloved child, but his “knight” was his rhinoceros beast mount. Will had said that this rhinoceros had also been able to see elemental spirits. He’d explained that was so that the “knight” could deescalate the situation if it looked like holy beasts or elemental spirits were going to go on a rampage for the beloved child’s sake.
“Will said all that, did he?” Emperor Celiunos asked when I explained that to him.
“Will and Lars taught me many things!” I nodded.
“Euche, you knew and didn’t bother to tell me?”
So he did learn about Shinki from Euche, after all? But Euche didn’t necessarily tell the emperor everything he knew.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Emperor Celiunos pressed. His eyes drilled accusingly into Euche, who neighed imperiously back at him.
A moment of heavy silence followed this exchange before the emperor finally sighed and gave in, saying, “I’m sorry; I was wrong to accuse you of intentionally withholding information.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what had passed between them, but regardless, I was glad to see that they’d resolved their disagreement relatively easily.
As we walked, I got the emperor to tell me what Euche had said to him.
“Isn’t it obvious that a ‘knight’ can see elemental spirits?”
In short, Euche hadn’t bothered to tell the emperor that Shinki could see elemental spirits only because he’d assumed Emperor Celiunos already knew.
“My knowledge on the topic is fragmented,” he admitted. “I should’ve asked more questions about beloved children and their ‘knights.’”
Because they’re always together and have such a close relationship that they truly consider each other “life partners,” it seems they have developed a bad habit of not bothering to communicate with words. Euche must’ve assumed the emperor would know something like that because he’s well acquainted with how clever Emperor Celiunos is.
“I’m going to ask more questions from now on to make sure I don’t miss important information like this again. So you’d better not complain about having to answer all my questions, got it, Euche?” Emperor Celiunos said, not even bothering to conceal the tenderness on his face as he stroked Euche’s muzzle.
That! That’s it! It’s the same besotted look the dragon knights and beast knights always wear when they’re with their beloved mounts! In other words, it’s the face a pet owner makes when their precious pet cuddles up to them affectionately.
You just can’t help being blissfully happy when your adorable fur baby loves you right back!
“It’s finally come into sight.”
Urged by the emperor’s relieved tone, I searched the area ahead with my eyes but saw only trees. If there was anything there, I certainly couldn’t see it.
“…Where?”
“Look, can’t you see the legs over there?”
“Legs?” I stared hard at the area the emperor had pointed to but still didn’t see anything.
What does he mean by “legs?”
With my mind a whirlwind of confusion, the emperor practically dragged me forward.
“Did you know? The gatekeeper of the elemental palace, home to the elemental kings, is a komorizae.”
I’ve heard of komorizae, but why would one of them be the elemental kings’ gatekeeper?
I knew komorizae were supposed to be really big, so I tried tipping my head back to look up—and boy, was I in for a shock!
“Whoa!”
A giant face was looming directly over us.
What the heck?! Is scaring the pants off of people a special interest for all the animals in this forest or something?!
The komorizae’s body was about three times the size of an elephant’s, and a variety of small trees and bushes grew on its back. It looked quite a bit like an elephant, except that it wasn’t its nose that was long—it was its neck. This neck appeared capable of a large range of movement, similar to a snapping turtle or other long-necked turtle.
So you can only imagine how terrifying it would be to look up and find this creature looming over you!
However, the komorizae’s long neck extended past me and stopped directly in front of Shinki. Something jumped out of Shinki’s arms and latched onto the komorizae’s face.
Oh, it’s that octopus-thing from earlier! But why did it jump on the komorizae? And, more importantly, has it been stuck to Shinki this whole time?!
The komorizae slowly raised its long neck, then brought its head around toward the small forest on its back.
Is that octopus-like creature actually a resident of the forest on the komorizae’s back?
…If so, would that mean it used Shinki as a taxi service? Aren’t they a little too lax with security around here just because humans can’t get in?!
“Lady Nefertima, try ducking between the komorizae’s legs.”
At the emperor’s urging, I hesitantly stepped beneath the giant komorizae. I was planning to dash under the huge animal and escape out the far side, but the moment I ducked underneath it, the scenery around me suddenly changed.
Without even a moment to register my new surroundings, I was suddenly pounced on and pulled into a tight hug. It was hard to believe such a thing was even possible, but it was even tighter than Karna’s trademark stranglehold hug.
“It feels like we’ve been waiting for-EVER!”
“I… can’t… breathe…”
Somebody, anybody, help meeee!