Chapter 9, Episode 26: Send-off
After taming Korumi and discussing the fine print of the agreement to release the souls of the dead, we returned to the manor’s entrance to find Glen waiting outside the open gate while Korumi hid behind me as a young child would.
“Thank you for waiting,” I said in greeting.
“Didn’t wait that long. Looks like you came out unscathed... Is that the monster you were after?” Glen asked.
“Korumi the Fairy,” I explained. “Once I had him detained, we were able to hold a conversation. In exchange for releasing the souls of the Undead, I’m going to let him live. I’ve already made him into my familiar.”
“Huh. If you’re good with that, I got nothing to say. That kid’s power kept the gate and fences up this whole time, right?” Glen asked.
“The gate? I think so... Korumi?” I asked.
“He kept hitting them. Fixing them was a lot of work,” said Korumi.
“Punching through them was a pain because it kept getting fixed up,” Glen said. “Never thought such a little thing was keeping it all in place. So, you done here now that you shook hands?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to be a little longer,” I said.
The soul Korumi wanted to spend some more time with before releasing belonged to a mother cannonball rhino whose calf stayed in the manor. The pair of rhinos had sought shelter in the manor after being attacked by other monsters beyond the walls, but then the mother rhino died from her injuries. Korumi, who’d watched these events unfold, made the mother into an Undead so she could stay with her calf. Since they were wild monsters, they usually roamed outside the manor, but Korumi could summon the mother if he chose to do so. He could easily release the mother’s soul, but he wanted to let the rhino calf spend a little more time with its mother.
“Little rhino got your heart, huh?” Glen said to Korumi.
“According to Korumi, the mother has accepted her own death—as I imagine most wild monsters would. But she’s worried for her calf. She wanted to see the calf join a new herd and, if possible, see for herself if the new herd was strong enough to protect her calf until it grew up.”
“What the...? You’re telling me Undead monsters think like humans?” Glen asked.
“Cannonball rhinos are one of the smarter monsters in the Sea of Trees,” Korumi said.
“What I just told you was a sort of translation or interpretation based on what Korumi had read from the mother’s mind,” I explained.
“So that wasn’t straight from the monster’s mouth—makes sense. Some monsters defend their young and care for them, I guess,” Glen observed. “It’s impressive he can understand what a monster’s thinking, basically.”
“If Korumi were to fully utilize his ability, there would be no language barrier between any species,” I said.
Korumi’s power was way better than any translation tech on Earth—it was like having thoughts broadcasted out loud. His ability to read someone’s memories would be the cause of trepidation for most people who’d want to voluntarily use his power to communicate, but that was a bridge we could cross when we got there.
“Korumi said that the mother and calf rhinos were alone because their original herd fell apart when its leader suddenly went berserk. The same leader regularly prowls the village. Taking it out should be an adequate show of power to the mother rhino,” I said.
“So you’re going to stick around for a while,” said Glen.
“Yes. It’s been coming to the village’s watering hole every few days, and it causes a ruckus every time it does—I’d know right away when it shows up, so it would only be for another few days, max. Would you like to stay with me?” I offered.
“Yeah. I still got some room in my bag, and it’s not like I got anywhere else to be in a hurry. Getting out of the forest is going to be a lot more comfortable with you,” he said.
“Compared to how you used to camp? I’m sure.” Somehow, it felt like I had a stray dog following me around, knowing it’s going to be fed. Of course, Glen helped me out more than enough for the quick and easy accommodations I could prepare for him. “Speaking of cooking, do you clean the monsters you hunt? I’ve only ever seen you chuck whole carcasses into your magical bag.”
“Chuck ’em and forget ’em,” Glen admitted. “I know it’s better to clean them, but I keep chipping my knives and tearing up the meat and hide every time I try. Eventually, they just started buying the whole carcass from me so I can’t ruin them.” To keep his game fresh, his bag was also imbued with Ice magic. As it turned out, it was a portable icebox.
“Then why don’t you let my goblins clean them for you? One of them practically lives to clean game, so he’d be happy to do it. That should give you extra room in your bag. Any part of the carcasses you don’t want can be used as feed or a reward for the goblins,” I said.
“Really? Then I’ll give you all my raptors for starters—I just want the scales, claws, and fangs back. I’ll sort through my bag and see what I want to give you next. Where do I put them?” Glen asked.
“If you could put them in my Dimension Home for now—” I started, when I felt a tug on my left sleeve. “Korumi?”
“There’s a warehouse here. And a place to clean game,” Korumi said.
“Oh, right. This was the home base for clearing out the forest at one point,” I said.
“It was both a military facility and a shelter for the villagers,” Korumi added. “It should have everything you need.”
I took Korumi up on his offer and decided to clean Glen’s game in the manor. Before I let Glen into the manor, even though I’d already made Korumi promise not to use his power without permission, I had to tell my companion that the fairy could wield his power if he really wanted.
“Meh. Should be fine. It doesn’t feel dangerous anymore,” Glen said, and stomped right into the manor.
Even though the manor was old, Korumi’s regenerative powers and the manual upkeep performed by the hordes of Undead kept the place clean and functional, complete with furnished bedrooms where we would be sleeping for the next few days.
***
“Are you ready, Korumi?” I asked.
“Yes...”
Leaving Glen to sort through his game in the warehouse, Korumi and I were standing in the courtyard with my grave slimes. The courtyard wasn’t too large, but the outdoor space that used to receive airdrops of supplies performed by monsters was big enough for Korumi to release those souls.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“If you bring out the Undead, I can release them. I won’t make them stay anymore,” Korumi said.
“Then I should prep the fire... Do you know how this spell works? You can read my memories if you’d like.”
After a few moments, Korumi seemed to have done just that. “Understood. Should I explain it to the freed souls?”
“Hmm...” I considered that. “Don’t worry about that. Just wish them peace.”
After we prepared to send off the dead, I had the grave slimes release their Undead little by little. The first ones out were zombies and skeletons that looked the least human. In contrast to their behavior from that morning, they only showed some signs of hesitation before walking up to the smoke without a fight and vanishing into thin air.
“Are you doing all right?” I asked Korumi.
“Yes. They’re gone,” he said simply. Although he seemed a little rueful, he was taking the send-off much better than I expected. Based on his mood during our negotiations, I’d been concerned that he was going to try to back out of it.
“Do you want to share any memories you have with them?” I asked.
“Memories...”
“Only if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind. I just don’t have much to say,” Korumi said, and went on to explain how he didn’t interact with the souls he bound all that much. Whenever he turned a bound soul into an Undead, they would become confused from the lingering memories of their life—and especially of their death—or they would show their character, jagged and jaded from their time in the Sea of Trees, and they did not take kindly to Korumi the monster. That’s why Korumi had always shown illusions that mirrored his target’s idea of happiness and desires. In addition to quelling their mental distress, the Undead became captivated by the illusions—without a second glance for Korumi.
Korumi was satisfied, though. Being able to socialize with the Undead was the cherry on top, but he was happy just to observe his villagers. When Korumi said he was lonely, I’d assumed he wanted social interaction, but he just wanted someone to inhabit his space.
“That makes sense, I guess it’s because you’re a house...?” I wondered aloud. That explained why he changed his tune and quickly agreed to release the souls once I asked to use the manor as a base and station the goblins here.
“In that case, the goblins will multiply quickly,” I reassured Korumi.
“I’m excited.”
“They’re cleaning the game now, and they’ll soon start distilling too. Is that all right with you?”
“There are plenty of empty rooms,” Korumi said. “I can tell when pests or monsters come in. I can chase away anything from the grounds with illusions.”
“It won’t be a problem while they fit in the manor, then.”
Undead after Undead emerged from the grave slimes and rode the rising smoke to the heavens. As Korumi and I exchanged small talk and watched the cycle of Undead purification, they slowly became indistinguishable from live humans. Those who must have remained conscious in the slimes exclaimed in surprise.
“Outside?! No, this is the courtyard.”
“We were outside the gates.”
“Damn! Where are my men?!”
“Oh, gods!”
It didn’t take long for their attention to shift to us, convinced that the battle at the gates was still raging on.
“You! What have you done with my—” They stopped, all of a sudden.
“Korumi?” I asked, guessing that he’d put them all in an illusion.
“They were going to riot. I’m going to explain everything,” he said.
Korumi no longer had a grasp on their souls as far as I could tell. I decided to see what would happen.
Soon, a dozen or so of them began shouting in disbelief, one of them whining louder than the rest. “Liar... It can’t all be an illusion! I’m the greatest thief in the kingdom!”
In life, he must have been a thief exiled to the forest. I was mentally preparing to forcibly cleanse the thief stuck in the glory—if you could call thieving that—of his past.
“Silence, you rambling fool.” A man in full armor, who’d called himself Baron Destoria, grabbed the shoulder of the first Undead.
“How dare you?! Unhand me at once!”
“I know not who you are,” Destoria said. “But you must understand that you are dead.”
“Th-That’s the illusion! The monster is trying to fool us!”
“Fool... Now, I understand. I died in that very moment. Something guides me now...” The baron turned his gaze to me. “You. What is your name?”
“Ryoma Takebayashi,” I answered.
“That is not a name I have heard of... And I should not pry into your identity. My name is Alice Destoria. I thank you for freeing my soul. My time in captivity was not an uncomfortable one, but my men are waiting for me in the beyond. I shall be leaving soon. If possible, tell my family of my death—and that I fought to the very end.”
“Fortunately, I have a connection with Duke Jamil. I have no personal ties to the Destorias, but I will make sure word reaches your family,” I said.
“A thousand thanks. It does nothing to repay you, but I will be taking this man with me so he doesn’t cause you trouble,” the baron said.
“What?! Speak for yourself! Unhand me! Damn you!”
“How do you call yourself the greatest thief in a kingdom when you can’t even pry my hand off your shoulder?”
“Help me!” the bandit cried. “I’m not ready to— Stop!”
With a firm grip on the self-proclaimed great thief, Baron Destoria disappeared into the smoke.
Once the area suddenly became quiet again, a priestess slowly came up to me. “Forgive me for approaching you, Prophet, to express my thanks,” she said.
“What do you mean by Prophet?” I asked.
“I strongly sense the great gods in you,” she said.
That reminded me. The gods had told me that some humans would notice my connection to them. “Just the other day, I received a blessing from Meltrize...”
“Oh! To have my last moments witnessed by a Prophet—blessed by Meltrize herself, no less! As a servant of the gods, there has been no greater honor. The gods truly have not forsaken us!” she exclaimed, rising to the heavens with a look of euphoria on her face.
“Wait—and she’s gone...” I would have loved to hear how blessings affected magic. I’d have to ask the gods directly next time.
“Hey,” a familiar voice called. I turned to find an old man I’d grown accustomed to seeing—he was the one Korumi had disguised himself as while we fought. Whoever he was, he now scowled at Korumi. “I’m sorry I left you alone,” the elder finally said, and turned his back on Korumi. “Let’s go, everyone. That’s an order.” He vanished, followed by soul after soul.
Once the last bound soul was gone, the bonfire rapidly dwindled. Korumi silently stared up at the sky until the last wisp of smoke disappeared.
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