Chapter 20.5: Aftermath Part 2

Reimuz trudged with Erumina up the hill, the bright sun centered as the focal point made them raise a hand to cover their eyes. They continued their march to visit the girl who remained unconscious even after a night of rest. Before entering, Reimuz shot a glance at his tent; Celes still hadn’t come out for some reason.

Bothered by this uncertainty, a worried voice came out of his lips. “Actually, I’ll follow you in a little bit,” he said, his gaze not leaving their tent.

Erumina looked up to him. “Very well, I’ll wait for you two inside.”

Did she knew what he was thinking? He didn’t say a word about Celes after all. Understanding a woman’s thought process was indeed one of his terrible weak points. Even now he still couldn’t get a grasp on how Celes properly thinks, and knowing this made him exhale a sigh.

He walked to their tent and lowered his head inside. Immediately, his mouth hanged open.

Celes rolled on the bed, her face burrowed on the pillow she used to throw at him earlier. She made some cute little noises, like a laugh softened by the pillow, and rolled over once more. Several minutes passed and Reimuz did nothing but watched her silly antics.

So this was the reason why she wanted him to go out? He thought to himself with a smile.

“Ehehehehe… Ehehehehe… That idiot is mine now…” She rolled again, facing the ceiling. Raising her pillow up high, she continued her creepy laughters. “Ehehehehe… Ehehehehe…”

Reimuz felt mortified, right down to the bone. She wasn’t placing a curse on him or anything like that, right?

“Hey, Celes,” he made his presence known, and then time froze for them both.

None dared to move from their positions, which made it even more awkward. Dumbfounded, Celes turned bright red. She couldn’t make excuses now that he caught her, but Reimuz didn’t expect her to explain. Gathering his courage in slow little steps, he turned around and started walking away.

“Don’t let him escape, Sylphie!”

The moment she exclaimed that, some unknown force pushed him back inside. Invisible iron grip carried him off his feet and thrashed him back on the bed. Like a ripple of amusement went through her, Celes moved on top of him and sneered. Her eyes told him clearly that she did not want to shoo him away; he had become, after last night, adept at reading those messages unspoken.

Celes raised her eyebrows and cocked her head to look at one side. “You must be thinking I’m weird now.”

Reimuz chuckled. “Never, I love everything about you—no matter how eccentric you get.”

Celes bit on her lip, teary eyed. “So you do think I’m weird.”

He blinked twice and looked at her. Foolish and fluttery, he gave her heart the answer it sought. He smoothed down her hair and lifted his mouth to connect their lips. A kiss that should’ve ended with one huff, but Celes pushed him down and fastened their mouths further.

He heard a click and the taste of iron hinted in his mouth. “Celes, you bloodied my lip again.”

Smiling, she circled her tongue around her lips. “You’re lucky I didn’t break your nose.”

Was she mad, or was she being cuddly? He couldn’t tell exactly. Like the word unpredictable was made just for her. Either way, it was time to get up.

Celes pushed herself up from his chest and got up. As she reached out to her ribbon, he saw dimples on her cheeks. She did smile now, but he was still cautious. Nothing came to mind as to why she got upset after all.

Reimuz followed and dragged himself upright from the bed. After Celes had finished fixing her hair into a beautiful ponytail, the two of them went out. She was smiling, a beautiful heart wrenching smile that hooked his soul into submission.

As they walked, Reimuz quickly recalled the events in his head.

First, he was hired to purify this place of tainted spirits, but because this incident transpired, he wasn’t able to fulfill that request. The mines did led much deeper inside. Based from what he saw, it felt like he barely traversed its depth.

The other thing was that he was unable to capture a single spirit for his blacksmith training, giving him the feeling that this trip lost its meaning. His hammer should’ve responded if an acquirable spirit was nearby, yet not even once did it do when he was in that area full of tainted spirits. Why was that? He couldn’t help but think he was doing something wrong.

Anyways it was a good time for him to know what really happened here and what led Emily to run off in this place. Whether there was indeed a perpetrator in all of this or it was merely a coincidence, only her statement could shed light in all of unanswered question he have for himself.

So much mystery he has to solve, so very little clues. Reimuz sighed at the thought of it. A fragrance both humble and sweet floated in the air as they entered Emily’s tent.

Erumina walked to them both and offered them a cup of water.

“How is the princess doing?” asked Reimuz, as he took his cup from her hand and chugged it in one go.

Reimuz shifted his gaze at Emily. Although Erumina said she was doing better now, he still couldn’t help but think that she looked miserable. Like the solemn light of the moon, her face was pale and she had an expression as if a nightmare was bothering her sleep.

“As you could see, she’s still unconscious,” said Erumina. “It might be better to bring her back in Berkut and have a proper doctor look at her condition.”

She had a look saying she doesn’t know what to do, and he knew that any word of comfort he’d say right now would only be disregarded by her troubled heart.

Reimuz turned back to Celes. “Celes, do you have an idea on what could’ve caused this?”

Celes shook her head. “Unfortunately, even Sylphie couldn’t find anything wrong,” she said in-a-matter-of-fact tone. “I’ll speculate and say that some sort of curse was afflicted to her before that tainted spirit fused with her soul.”

Mystified, Reimuz inquired even more. “I’ve been wondering for a long time now, but what’s the difference between spirits like Sylphie and to those spirits that housed themselves inside an item?”

Celes sneered. “Aren’t you a spirit blacksmith? You’re supposed to know this.”

She folded her arms over her chest, and though her words were sharp, she couldn’t hide the smile that suddenly emerged on her face. Oh, the truth of it. Was she that happy he asked?

“Sorry if I’ve been slacking off in my training,” he said, smiling as warmly as he could.

Celes blushed at the sight of it. “There’s no helping it then,” she cleared her throat and began explaining. “Once a spirit gains their existence, they will need a home, or little by little, that spirit will dissipate into nothingness. For example, most of the minerals mined in this continent has an “essence” that spirits love. That’s why spirits either finds a home inside an equipment or other house’s miscellaneous.”

Reimuz nodded and held his chin with one hand. “I see, but then… How does that explain Cliona and Sylphie materializing themselves?”

Her lips curved, for just a moment, into a surprisingly sweet smile. “Simple. It’s because Slut—err Spirits like Cliona already reached the peak of their purity. As spirits aged, the more their purity condenses into a higher form.”

Despite Celes’s wonderful explanation, he still didn’t get most of it. But he did understood the basic principle. To summarize the information that left her lips, the older the spirit, the stronger they get.

“So… does that mean Cliona is a very powerful spirit?” he muttered in confusion. It was a question he felt like he didn’t need to ask. He saw and wielded her power firsthand after all.

With a sigh, Celes nodded in agreement. “As much as I’d love to deny it, she is.”

Reimuz pressed with his questions. “Then, is it normal for tainted spirits to possess people, just like in the mines?”

“No, when spirits are tainted, they usually take the form of a beast. Similar—”

“Wait, what happened to the miners?” Erumina interrupted.

Reimuz had totally forgotten; that she knew nothing about what happened inside. Even then, he has no guts to tell her the truth. The truth that it was him who killed most of the workers around here. Transformed monsters they may be, it was still him who struck them down.

“Other than your sister, nobody else survived,” Celes answered the question that was posed for Reimuz. Her tone was calm, but it was a tone that hid something dreadful.

“I see,” Erumina showed a doubtful expression, but that was all.

She was quick, he thought. With a sharp mind and a clever tongue.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his eyebrows twitching. “We should held a proper funeral once we get back.”

Erumina nodded. “Mhmm… And I’m sorry for making it hard for you.”

He trembled at her words. If only he knew. If only he had more strength. There were so many “what-if” that could’ve saved these lives. Killing wasn’t the only solution, but it was the only answer he found at that time. He had no choice. Yes, it was easy to make that excuse.

“Reimuz…” Celes called out to him and held his trembling hand.

Reimuz laughed with a shake of his head. “I’m fine… Totally.”

Nothing good will come out from his overthinking, he knew that. He walked to the edge of the room and sat on the dresser he considered like a stool. Erumina offered him some more water, which calmed his mind with every cup, while Celes just silently leaned her back on his shoulder.

Silence fell in the room then two more figures entered the tent: A slim girl, with a short bobbed cut hairstyle carrying a familiar sword, tagged by a seemingly bored guy.

As they drew closer, Wein waved a hand with a smile. “Hey.”

“Yo,” Reimuz returned the greeting.

“Sister, the carriage has arrived,” said Elseria.

It was nigh time for them to return. This trip to the mines had gone way too long. But, while he was musing that by himself, a sudden idea jolted in his head.

“I see, it makes sense,” his eyes widened. He stood up and grabbed Wein by his arm. “Wait, for us here,” he said to the bewildered girls, and dragged Wein outside of the tent.

“Oi, oi, oi!!” he complained, but it fell to deaf ears.

The moment they got out, he released his grip.

“How did you find out I was the same as you again?” asked Reimuz, his heart beating so fast.

Wein paused. “Huh?”

“Just answer me, quick,” he insisted.

Pressing a palm on his face, Wein sighed and pointed a finger downwards. “Your shoes, man. Look at your shoes. As far as I know, they don’t have sneakers here.”

“That’s it! My clothes!” He jerked his hand in sudden excitement.

Wein remained confused. “I still don’t get it.”

But indeed, when he first entered Berkut, he was still wearing his school uniform. Now, out of all the people that saw him wearing that, who showed the most reaction? If the theory forming in his head was right, his meeting with his childhood friend was not a mere coincidence. Everything else was planned, carefully.

Reimuz grinned. “I think I have an idea. Come, let’s go back inside and I’ll explain on the way. It’s time to return to Berkut.”