We Live in Dragon’s Peak Chapter 27

Translator: Vitus
Proof Reader: Grammarly (Yeah, it's that software again)

“Grandma, happy birthday.”
“Congratulations to Great-grandmother.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan and I visited Grandma's quarter and gave congratulatory words and best wishes for her birthday.

“Oh, my! Thank you for your kindness.”

Then grandma stood up and received us expressly.
She prompted us to sit next to her.
A long bearded grandpa who were resting there offered us their seat.
I gave them my grat.i.tude and sat down, with Puris.h.i.+Chan on top of my knees.
I wonder why they are entertaining us so much.
Puris.h.i.+Chan clings on to me even further.

“Oh dear, she seems to be very fond of you.”

Grandma smiles while watching Puris.h.i.+Chan.

“W, why would-would that be?”

A wry smile floated on my lips. Puris.h.i.+Chan seems to be very comfortable while hugging me. And grandma also gently pats Puris.h.i.+Chan.
A very strange scene occurred in the center of the open s.p.a.ce back then.
Yes, the gaze of the elven elders was sore.

“This girl is a very special child.”

Grandma told me kindly.

“Our elven tribe is a race that lives with spirits. We bless the souls with the form of a living creature, and use it to serve us.”

Saying that grandmother stretched out her right hand, and suddenly, water appeared to burst in the air as a small light blue colored girl appeared.
The light blue colored girl floated in the air and smiles at me.

“N'ntto, it is the great spirit of grandmother. She is a water elemental.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan explained to me while I looked at the light blue colored girl.

“Eh, How does it have a human figure?”

I am surprised.
Because I did not know that spirits can also take a human form.
I read in stories that spirits are usually an orb of light that s.h.i.+nes according to its attribute, or something it may take the form of reptiles, fish or birds.

“When it comes to great spirits, they can take a human form.”
“Hou, Is that so?”

It is the first time I heard of this.

“Well then, I shall explain it to you slightly in detail.”

I continue to nod in confirmation as grandma narrates her experiences.
It is treasured to hear things about spirits directly from the elders of the Elven family.
If compared with a lesson in a cla.s.sroom at school, the cla.s.sroom experience can only touch a small part of the entire context.

“There are several cla.s.ses in case of spirits. At a low level, they exist as light orbs, and mostly, they cannot be seen, only felt. Next are the spirits which can take the form of insects. The spirits possessing more power might be able to take a beast form.”

The grandmother explained slowly. I think that she has a great personality. I can feel the kindness from all the words and gestures.

“And the highest ranking spirits can take the form of a human.”

On being beckoned by grandmother, the light blue colored girl comes forth.

“Well then, we can understand the level of a spirit by its appearance.”

Fufufu… Grandma laughed at my response.

“N'ntto, there is something different.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan extends her hand to grab the light-blue spirit girl. The light blue girl dodges easily and runs away playfully.

“The fundamental principle is, the spirit changes its appearance depending on the person who uses it.”
“This spirit of water is a superior spirit.”

I think Puris.h.i.+Chan won't be able to catch the light blue ghost girl.

“It is so. This spirit is actually a superior spirit. But, right now it has a.s.sumed a child's appearance. However, it is impossible for a little ranking spirit to gain human presence.”

Hmm hmm, I need to study it.
In other words, the figure of a superior spirit can quickly morph into a beast type or a light orb, but a conversely lower ranking spirit like monster type or light globe cannot morph into a human figure like the superior spirits.

The light blue girl begins demonstrating her water magic on being enthusiastically asked by Puris.h.i.+Chan.
Puris.h.i.+Chan is pleased and goes kya kya.
(TL: There was no replacement for that word.)

“Next, is the attributes of spirits.”

Speaking of the qualities of a soul, the light blue girl that is invoked now is the water quality. Fire is the most common attribute.
Lighting and ice characteristics are rare, and light and darkness attribute often appear in myths.

While grandma and I were talking about attributes, Puris.h.i.+Chan stubs and thrust the wooden sword that I have on my right hip.

“Onii-Chan has the apparition of an ancient spirit tree.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan's words seem to have surprised several elves who were busy drinking.

Let me see. Have I an apparition of the ancient spirit tree?
I tilt my neck in puzzlement.

“Geez, it is a very rare spirit.”

Grandmother also nods at Puris.h.i.+Chan too and looks at me.

“Wh, what kind of thing is it?”

Regardless of whether it was impolite, a middle-aged man near the house spoke while restraining his voice.

“At first, we mentioned that Puris.h.i.+Chan is a particular child.”

I nod in acknowledgment to the word of grandmother.

“This child can see the apparition of the spirit tree, and you possess the ghost of the ancient spirit tree.”

The people of the elven tribe around us seem to be amazed.
Do I possess the soul of the spirit tree? Where is it?
As I could not find any resemblance, I noticed Puris.h.i.+Chan who is nudging my wooden sword from awhile ago.

“Well, perhaps it is related to this wooden sword.”
“N'ntto, there is an apparition of the spirit tree in it.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan's words seemed to stir a commotion.

“W, why, is this wooden sword made from the spirit tree?”

the bearded grandpa looks at my wooden sword steadily in wonder.
You can say so, or rather, it is not made from the spirit tree, but it is the spirit tree in itself.

“The apparition of that spirit tree seems to like you. and Puris.h.i.+Chan is a child who can invoke the apparition of a spirit tree as well.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan smiled brightly on being told that she is an exceptional child.

“The apparition of the spirit tree seems to like me, and Puris.h.i.+Chan is a particular child who can see that phantom, but is there any relations.h.i.+p of that with depositing Puris.h.i.+Chan to me?”
“Indeed, there is. Even if we say that Puris.h.i.+Chan can see the apparition of the spirit tree, there is no spirit tree in our vicinity. Even if we search the entire forest, we might not be able to find even a single one. It is very hard to find. So, by staying at your side, she can always be in contact with the apparition of the spirit tree.”
“Is it important for her to be in contact with the apparition of the spirit tree?”

Also, is it really alright to deposit a major child to someone that you have just met today?

“Fufufu, it is paramount. Because it is a necessary ability for the person, who will lead the elven tribe in the future.”

While saying so, grandma patted the head of Puris.h.i.+Chan.
Puris.h.i.+Chan closes her eyes comfortably.

“W, well, is Puris.h.i.+Chan, the future head of the elven family?”
That's right. There is only this girl who can invoke the apparition of the spirit tree for now and me.”

Uwa wa, I cannot take charge of the future head of the elven tribe. Though I am typically perplexed by sudden things, the load of this responsibility is too much.

When I am in a panic with irritation, Puris.h.i.+Chan suddenly turns her eyes and looks further in the distance.
Her sagging ears twitch jerkily.
Then, grandmother turns eyes to the direction that Puris.h.i.+Chan looked at.

“There is something wrong. Even if it is a beast, it cannot come into this village quickly.
“N'ntto, Nyanko?” (TL: Nyanko= Kitty Cat)

Puris.h.i.+Chan stands up and gets away from me. Taking my hand, she tries to bring me to the place where she was staring earlier.

I am troubled and look at grandma.

“Could you please go with her to take a look. There is a spirit in Puris.h.i.+Chan, so there is no danger.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan and I broke out of the plaza on receiving grandmother's approval.
I thought that someone else would be following me, but the other elves gathered around grandma seemingly talking about something.

“Here, here.”

Being lead by Puris.h.i.+Chan, we arrived at the flower garden outside of the village.
She mentioned a kitty cat earlier, and I wonder if the cat got lost?

On arriving at the flower garden and straining my ears, I could clearly hear the cry of a little cat.

“N'ntto, ah, there.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan points to a certain location. There was a kitten which appeared as if it would soon sink into a sea of flowers.

“Nyanko.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan goes ahead and holds the kitten.

“Kitten… What would we do?”
I wondered. It looks a bit different from the cats I know…

Her hair is white and fluffy. On looking from a distance, it may seem that the tips of her hair have a slight tint of pink. And its long tail appears to be double the standard length.
Yes, this is an unusual color and tail, but there may be such cats.
But you know…
Long swollen ears and a cute rounded horn like that of a sheep grew on its head.
And on its back,
I wish I just imagine it, but there is a pair of small folded wings.”

“Cute Nyanko.”
“Nya.”

Being embraced by Puris.h.i.+Chan, she looks happy.

No no no.

This is not at all a kitty cat.

“Well, let's return to grandmother's place for the time being.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan looks at me strangely who can't hide my unrest. But she returned to the village square obediently,

while holding a fake kitty cat.

Returning to the square, it was as busy as ever.
However, people gathered around the grandmother, and Mistral talked with several women.

” Great Grandma. Nyanko”
“Nyan.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan raises fake Nyanko overhead and says in a loud voice in the middle of the plaza.
Then, they got the attention of everyone.

And silence.

Then it became a fuss.

“No no, it's not a cat,”
“What, what is it”

Everyone has noticed. That's right; it is not a kitty cat. It is serious.

There was a big fuss in the plaza.
Adults approached interestedly while their face twitched, while the young people got away from it.
The elderly run about in utter confusion.
In the meantime, Grandma came walking with a stick.

“It's a cat.”
“Nyan.”
“Oh my”

Only Grandma was not disturbed and gently stroked fake Nyanko that lied on top of Puris.h.i.+Chan's head.

“Ernea, what on Earth is this?”

I found that I was at the center of the fuss that was occurring in the plaza. Mistral came next to me.
However, Mistral also had a drawn face looking at fake Nyanko.

“This is troubling.”

Grandmother does not look troubled at all, though.

The fake Nyanko seems to be pleased when grandmother strokes her.
And Puris.h.i.+Chan who is the culprit of the commotion was delighted as she misunderstood that the other people were excited.

“I would like to talk more with you, but perhaps it would be better if you hurried back to Sleigstar-sama.”

Grandmother urged Mistral and me after stroking the fake Nyanko for a while.

Well, that's right. It may be better to consult with Elder Sleigstar.
Mistral nods with me.

“Puris.h.i.+a and Nyanko will also go.”

Puris.h.i.+Chan grabs the hem of my clothes.

“That's right. Take care of Puris.h.i.+Chan too. I will inform her mother.”

Uh, how is it okay to leave an extraordinary child with us so quickly.
But fake Nyanko will not leave Puris.h.i.+Chan, so maybe I should take her with me.
On checking Mistral, she also has a careworn face, but it felt like it's inevitable.

“Well then, I will be leaving Puris.h.i.+Chan to you. Sorry that you could not celebrate properly.”
“Lord Elder, please leave this to Mistral. Besides, I will come to see you again.”
“Grandma, I'm going.”
“Nyan.”
“Alright, please take care of yourselves. May the divine protection of the spirits be with you. ”

We were sent off by my grandma and left the village of the Elven tribe in a hurry.
Actually, I really wanted to have fun, but I guess it's inevitable since it's an urgent matter.
Also, we would have Puris.h.i.+Chan slowly guide us to the village when we return.

With a little reluctance, I entered the forest hand-in-hand along with Mistral and Puris.h.i.+Chan

[Translated by Vitus at ExMachina.Asia]