The Darkness Was Comfortable for Me

No, that’s not it.

There’s no doubt the origin of the raging spirit energy is from that burning location.

The Spirits around were making a ruckus.

I feel like even the temperature has increased.

“That’s the Great Fire Spirit-sama.” (Rifreya)

“Great Spirit…that is? It burns that much?” (Hikaru)

“The Great Spirit-samas take the form of nature. The Great Fire Spirit-sama has the manly figure of being embraced by fire. You still haven’t shown up at the church, huh, Hikaru.” (Rifreya)

“Right. I didn’t have business there after all.” (Hikaru)

I already have a contract with the Great Dark Spirit, and was having a plain lifestyle so that viewers wouldn’t watch me, so I have basically not gone to any place I didn’t need to.

“Even so, why has it come out from the church…?” (Rifreya)

“Is it something rare?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, in order for a Great Spirit-sama to stay in one place, there’s the need for great labour…no, sacrifices.” (Rifreya)

I was munching on my yakisoba and wasn’t thinking too deeply about it.

Even if that is a Great Spirit, it is different from the Great Dark Spirit I called.

That’s what I thought.

The Great Spirit was floating its way here.

By the time the distance closed to around 100 meters, I heard a voice.

—Tasty! Tasty! There’s a tasty smell coming from here!

—Calling me, telling me that they want me to find them, want me to eat them! It is the scent of someone wishing for that!

—Found ya! See, I found ya! A person that wants to be loved by me!

The Great Fire Spirit was looking at me. Straight at me. With fiery burning eyes.

A man with fire covering his whole body. A manly guy in a single piece of loincloth.

He is being tied by several chains, and women that seem like priestesses were desperately pulling those chains.

But the Great Spirit couldn’t be stopped by the power of the priestesses, and they were simply being pulled.

“S-Something is strange, isn’t it…? No, in the first place, the Great Spirit-sama coming to the main street itself is already abnormal…” (Rifreya)

“Rifreya, sorry. It seems the objective of that is most likely me.” (Hikaru)

I stood up from my seat, touched the shoulder of Rifreya, and then took out the Barrier Stone from my Shadow Bag, and broke it.

It was the same pattern with the Great Dark Spirit. No matter how you think about it, it is aiming for me.

—Hmm~? What’s this ability?

—Damn it! I can’t get close! Even though I know he is there!

—Oi! What’s this?! Uooooh!

The Great Fire Spirit was gradually getting away as he got angry.

A barrier that ‘distances dangers’. The more you try to approach it, the stronger the repulsion force.

Also, it is fortunate that this guy seems to be more smooth brained than the Great Dark Spirit.

“…That was dangerous. So this is what happens when I get close to a church, huh.” (Hikaru)

From here on, I should consider the very act of getting close to a church as dangerous.

It is a shame that I won’t be able to come to a good place like this anymore.

“Hikaru…? What’s this film-like thing?” (Rifreya)

“A barrier to distance danger. That Great Spirit seems to be targeting me, so I placed it… Without this, I would have been eaten.” (Hikaru)

“Eaten, you say… In other words, you really are a Loved One…?” (Rifreya)

“No…is what I want to say, but I don’t know.” (Hikaru)

Does a Loved One mean a person that has received the Affection of Spirits?

I can only think that’s the case with this development.

“Rifreya, what’s that Loved One thing?” (Hikaru)

“You don’t even know that… You really are weird, Hikaru.” (Rifreya)

In other words, I lack common sense.

Obviously. I have only been here for a few months.

Should I have confessed that I came from a parallel world immediately just like Alex?

I don’t think there’s any point in hiding it here anymore.

“Uhm…have you felt gazes or laughing at places where there’s supposed to be no one…?” (Rifreya)

“Eh?! Y-Yes, I have! Why…?” (Hikaru)

“I knew it…! That’s the trait of Loved Ones. Spirits gather around the Loved Ones.” (Rifreya)

Those laughs and gazes were from Spirits?

The scorn and the gazes of curiosity…

Does that mean they were all my delusions?

“I see. Then I really am a Loved One…probably.” (Hikaru)

“But I can’t understand. Why is a Loved One able to use Spirit Abilities…?!” (Rifreya)

“Wa, close, too close!!” (Hikaru)

She grabbed both of my arms with incredible strength, approaching me suddenly with strong panic.

But I can’t really follow here.

“The gazes and laughs were from small Spirits. You would hear their voices, gazes, and at times even see them… That’s a Loved One.” (Rifreya)

“So I am a Loved One. Does that have anything to do with Spirit Abilities?” (Hikaru)

“Rather than saying if it has anything to do… Loved Ones normally can’t learn Spirit Abilities.” (Rifreya)

“Why?” (Hikaru)

“When they try to form a contract, they end up being eaten by the Great Spirit-sama.” (Rifreya)

Yikes!

Or more like, of course that would happen. The Great Spirit of today was also saying tasty tasty.

I think the Great Dark Spirit that showed up in the forest said so as well.

“Great Spirit-samas love Loved Ones. You have to be careful too, Hikaru. It would be one thing with the Great Spirit-samas that are bound by the church like the one of today, but if you were to be found by a Great Spirit-sama in the wild, you would be devoured.” (Rifreya)

“Aah…yeah, got it. I will be careful.” (Hikaru)

I do have firsthand experience after all…

That avatar of darkness really must have been a Great Dark Spirit. She was completely trying to eat me.

If the Barrier Stone didn’t work, I would be dead.

No, today as well, if I didn’t have a Barrier Stone, who knows what would have happened.

If I had run to the dungeon, I might have been able to manage somehow, but I don’t think I would be able to get away if I were to be chased seriously.

“Well, anyways, is there a connection between Loved Ones and Spirit Abilities?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, you are Loved by Spirits after all. In the first place, Spirit Abilities are performed by borrowing the power of Spirits. In your case, Hikaru, I think there would be several tens of times more Spirits who would want to help you compared to me. I have spoken a lot with my little sister about how, if Loved Ones were able to use Spirit Abilities, they would be the strongest, but…to think one would exist…” (Rifreya)

“Is that how it works…?” (Hikaru)

“Hikaru, do you know how many times us Spirit Users can use Spirit Abilities in 1 day?” (Rifreya)

“No…” (Hikaru)

“3 to 10 times. 15 would be considered a lot. If you use more than that, you lose consciousness.” (Rifreya)

“Seriously…?” (Hikaru)

I didn’t think there would be that much of a gap.

As expected from the Affection of Spirits that cost 30 Points…is what I would like to say, but thinking about the fact that their natural enemy is Great Spirits, it is basically the big gains, big pains logic? This is complicated.

Even so…Loved One, huh. How ironic.

Even though I am a hated one.

Chapter 058: The Demon of the Dungeon and the Warning

“By the way, do Great Spirits show up in dungeons?” (Hikaru)

“No, Great Spirit-samas don’t manifest in dungeons.” (Rifreya)

That’s a relief. I have almost no Points, so if I were to get caught up with something like that, it would be over.

“I was about to say this in the morning before entering the smithy, but in exchange for Great Spirit-samas not manifesting, a Demon Lord appears in the dungeons. It is the biggest demerit of creating a dungeon. Demon Lords that are as strong as Great Spirit-samas rarely appear, but they sometimes appear in shallow floors, so you have to be careful too, Hikaru, or…” (Rifreya)

“Or…?” (Hikaru)

“Demon Lords also love Loved Ones…” (Rifreya)

“That’s awful… Or more like, what are Demon Lords in the first place.” (Hikaru)

This is something I have learned after speaking with people like this, but there’s way too much I don’t know about this world.

Well, I have done my utmost to not get involved with people, so it can’t be helped, but there should be a limit to everything.

“You were diving into dungeons and didn’t know about Demon Lords?!” (Rifreya)

“As I said before, I am a beginner.” (Hikaru)

“A Demon Lord is the embodiment of magic that manifests by gathering the swirling Chaotic Spirit Energy in the dungeon.” (Rifreya)

“Is it different from monsters?” (Hikaru)

“Monsters are an amalgamation of a variety of Spirits, so their purity isn’t that high. They almost never drop a Chaotic Spirit Stone even when defeating them.” (Rifreya)

“A Chaotic Spirit Stone is more expensive, was it?” (Hikaru)

Price is important.

An explorer is basically like an excavator of Spirit Stones.

I also have one, but the only info I’ve got is that it is expensive.

How expensive is it, I wonder.

“It is on a whole degree more expensive. You can use Chaotic Spirit Stones for anything, and complex magic tools can’t be operated without a Chaotic Spirit Stone. It is worth 10 times more than a colored Spirit Stone of the same size.” (Rifreya)

Now that I think about it, I have done an Item Appraisal to a Spirit Stone before.

I open the Status Board and show the past record.

[Spirit Stone: Chaotic. A Chaotic Spirit Stone is an item that can be harvested from the body of an animal that has become a Monstrosity or shows rarely when defeating a monster. Chaotic means that it couldn’t obtain one pure element and has been mixed -it has all elements and is also denoted as ‘Demonic’. The drop chance from a Demon Lord is 100%. It is rare for a normal monster or a Monstrosity to drop it, and it is valuable. Big Spirit Stones are being traded at a high value as an energy source for magic tools. The pertaining appraisal target was dropped from a Flame Orangutan Wondrous Entity. LL size. Rare material.]

This is the Item Appraisal I did to the Spirit Stone of that fire giant monkey.

What I have appraised can be picked back up from the log.

At that time, I didn’t understand what it meant, but now I do.

A drop rate of 100% for Demon Lords, a valuable item, and it is used as an energy source for magic tools.

…All the important stuff was written here.

“Also, Hikaru, please keep the fact that you are a Loved One a secret between us two. Especially for people affiliated to the church.” (Rifreya)

“Why?” (Hikaru)

“If you are found by a related party of the church, you will be confined as a sacrifice.” (Rifreya)

“Seriously…? I’ll be careful. Looks like it would be better to not get close to anything related to the church… Or more like, aren’t you also affiliated to the church, Rifreya?” (Hikaru)

“I am just an apprentice. Also…I am against sacrifices. In reality, making a dungeon city like this is against nature to begin with.” (Rifreya)

“I see. Your homeland was the Light Great Church, right? Do they not use sacrifices there?” (Hikaru)

“Siltion is a natural church. It is not like an artificial church where they use sacrifices to keep the Great Spirit-samas in one place.” (Rifreya)

“I see.” (Hikaru)

In order to create a dungeon city, they need Great Spirits, and for the sake of that, they use Loved Ones as sacrifices… That must be how it works. I feel like I was suddenly slapped with the reality of dungeon cities.

“I am glad you were the first one to learn that I am a Loved One, Rifreya. If I had been unlucky, I could have become a wanted man…” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, that’s why, please be really careful, okay?” (Rifreya)

Judging from her serious expression, it really must be bad.

And in reality, I had the Barrier Stone, so I was okay; but if I didn’t, I would have been done for.

But all this business about Loved Ones being made into sacrifices and getting eaten by Great Spirits… Won’t a lot of people that used 30 Points to get Affection of Spirits be caught in this trap?

Especially being eaten by a Great Spirit. How can you even avoid that?

I feel like there aren’t that many who could take the 30 Points for the Affection and, on top of that, get the Spirit Ability for 10 Points.

A total of 40 Points is a pretty painful number.

“Yeah, but this is one big surprise. When I am with you, I really don’t run out of things to get surprised about. Your Spirit Abilities are incredible, you didn’t falter at the blacksmith and properly made your order, you are a Loved One, and you even have a magic tool that can keep away a Great Spirit-sama.” (Rifreya)

“No, the last one I basically dragged you into it though. This thing lasts for a long while, so let’s eat the fried noodles.” (Hikaru)

A Barrier Stone is effective for half a day.

It keeps away danger, so it seems like the harmless people around can tell that we are here.

It must have a special way to judge threats.

This Barrier Stone is my last one, so I wanted to use it when a situation required it, but I didn’t expect to use it for this…

Oh well, a happening like this is necessary in order to obtain viewers.

By the way, the yakisoba was good.

Despite this being an isekai, the food is tasty. This scores pretty high points as a japanese person. If this were a world that only had meat and bread, I would have considered learning to cook as soon as possible. Or I might have traded for sandwiches with Crystals.

After a while, people of the church came here hurriedly to hear about the situation, but it seems like they couldn’t see us and we were ignored.

Just as Rifreya said, they must have come to search for the Loved One.

“Looks like it is okay to undo the barrier. The presence of the Great Spirit is gone now. Maybe it returned to the church?” (Hikaru)

“Y-Yeah…it must have. Hikaru, the church manages the Loved Ones in order to avoid things like this from happening. Please make sure to never forget that.” (Rifreya)

“Right. I don’t want to be eaten. I will make sure not to get close to the church.” (Hikaru)

I currently have zero Points.

I have more than 30 Crystals, so it is possible to trade them for a Barrier Stone worth 1 Point, but I can’t go using a Barrier Stone every time this happens.

Fortunately, I now have an idea of what the presence of a Great Spirit is like. Looks like it will be okay as long as I don’t approach a certain distance.

“Definitely, okay? If this happens over and over, they will be searching high and low for you, Hikaru. If they get serious, you won’t be able to stay in this city anymore… You definitely must not forget, okay?” (Rifreya)

“Got it. I definitely won’t get close. I promise.” (Hikaru)

Being warned over and over, I promised to Rifreya.

Anyways, I have already completely understood that Great Spirits are my natural enemy. There’s no way I would get close to them.

After that, I undid the barrier and we dashed to the guild.

There was no presence of the Great Spirit.

Man, what a shame that I won’t be able to go eat that yakisoba again.

l