"Are you alright?"
My words seemed to fall on deaf ears. The girl who had just answered my questions kindly a moment ago had turned completely pale upon seeing me.
Could it be because of my hair and eye color? They seem unusual to me too, but I've seen beings here far more colorful than I am, to say the least...
I mean, I've come across goblins, fairies, even dryads on my way here... and this very girl I'm talking to has bright orange eyes and hair that looks like it's about to catch fire at any moment. So why am I the one who's strange? Isn't that a little rude?
While I was wondering how to bring my conversation partner back to life, she suddenly blinked and flinched, coming to on her own and grabbing the arm of her friend, who had also been staring at me in a daze.
Before I could say anything, she had already taken off, dragging her friend away at full speed.
"Do I really look like a criminal?... Sure, both girls had an ethereal sort of beauty, and I'll admit the idea of making a pact with a spirit does awaken the fantasy lover in me (I was honestly giving it some serious thought), but it's not like I planned to do it against their will or anything like that..."
I've noticed that now and then, I get this strange urge to possess everything I see... Maybe it's a bad influence from my past self. Is that what it means to be an emperor? Or maybe it's exactly that kind of desire that drives someone to become a ruler in the first place.
"Maybe they were right to run away..."
Do spirit contracts even exist in the first place? Are they memories from this world... or do they come from novels and games in another?
Even if I manage to untangle a few memories, it's still hard to tell them apart... I even have memories of worlds where the word "spirit" didn't even exist.
"Speaking of words, I'm glad this brooch did its job."
As I walked away from the crowd, which had already begun to scatter, my fingers touched the small golden brooch at the base of my coat's collar, just to make sure it was still there.
Uris was an artifact in the form of a brooch. Unlike the ring Atra, it didn't have a spell imbued in it, but rather an enchantment that allowed me to understand and convey the intent behind words.
Put simply, it allowed me to understand and communicate in any language. The most surprising part was that it supposedly worked with animals too, not in the same way, most likely, but at least enough to grasp their intent and share mine.
It should even work with written words, though the text needs to be handwritten. Otherwise, the writer's intent wouldn't come through.
Though I don't think that would be a problem in this world. I doubt they have printing presses, let alone digital texts...
"Now then, I'd really like to have a proper conversation with someone. But the moment someone notices me, The Veil of the Rising Sun loses its effect, and things like what just happened occur again..."
Ever since I used magic, I've slowly been able to understand more about it. Or maybe it's more accurate to say I've been remembering more.
That's why my discovery of this place (and everything I've explored since) wasn't received the same way as those grotesque creatures from earlier, thanks to the enchantments on my outfit, which is also an artifact.
So, to be precise, The Veil of the Rising Sun is one of the enchantments on my outfit, the one that lets me go unnoticed. I can even pass through barriers like the veil the locals said was hiding this place. Since it couldn't detect me, it couldn't apply its disorienting magic either.
Are magical veils just trendy in this world?... Doesn't 'The War of the Veils' sound like the title of a movie?
"Although it seems those creatures didn't have much trouble getting through it either... Strange."
But whenever I actively try to talk to someone, the enchantment fails and things like that happen. So I haven't been able to gather much more information, other than the fact that this is spirit territory.
Not spirits as in ghosts, but rather elemental or nature spirits. I think I even remember some Earth legends where elves were considered spirits... Though I haven't seen any elves around here yet.
While I was lost in thought, I reached a quiet spot, free of the curious beings that populated this part of the endless cave network. So I sat down on the ground to think about my next step, mainly how to earn the locals' trust without scaring them off...
"This really is quite a curious place..."
I said that because the cavern wasn't just enormous here, it was full of vegetation. I couldn't tell if I was actually sitting on grass, but it definitely looked like it.
"It really does feel like I'm outside... if not for the stone ceiling and the bluish glow of the crystals, of course."
The crystals in particular caught my attention. They were made of the same kind of magic that had saturated the city of Endalor, and which, in retrospect, I realized was a barrier that covered it completely.
That same magic, or energy, so to speak, was scattered all over this place. I could sense it in the water, in the vegetation, even in the spirits themselves. Though it wasn't quite the same as the one in the city, which had also spread to the surrounding areas to some extent.
Even in its crystallized form, the differences were clear. It felt like it had changed into something new, as if it had gone through some kind of chemical process.
"There's still so much I don't understand, but that's what makes it interesting," I said, unable to hold back a smile. "Truly, this is a fascinating world."
"That's a rather interesting way to see the world."
Behind me, I heard a calm and harmonious voice, like the rhythm of gentle waves brushing against the shore.
If the girl from earlier reminded me of living fire, her friend, now standing alone before me, was the complete opposite. Her mere presence evoked the image of a hidden, tranquil lagoon, its waters as aquamarine as her hair.
But when I looked more closely, the water was shifting ever so slightly... Despite her calm appearance, the girl's hands, gripping an ornate metal spear, were trembling.