Chapter 78: Forest Wave, Last⑥: Heart of Mine
I hear voices.
Voices from far, far away.
“Wof!”
“Just once is enough, awaken. You!”
Voices—huh? What… the wind is strong…?
No, it is too strong. Where am I…? What is this feeling of my body falling?
“Huh…?”
I opened my eyes and froze in shock.
I was in the sky.
Right in the middle of an overwhelming blue sky and white clouds.
“!?”
W-why am I in the sky!?
Actually, why am I falling!?
“Calm down. I understand why you’re surprised, but calm down.”
“Because you woke up, Saint and I are slowing your fall. You will not fall immediately.”
Th-that’s good.
Okay, I’m saved… wait, who are Saint and I?
“Now that you’re awake, we’ll have you come over here.”
“Indeed. Come this way.”
Huh? This way?
What?
Suddenly, I was standing on endless white clouds and blue sky.
When I looked up, there was an endless blue-violet starry sky, and beneath my feet was blue sky.
“?”
A giant knife was deeply embedded diagonally into the blue-sky ground.
Beside that knife, as if growing out of its shadow, stood a black table and chairs.
There were five chairs, and all of them were occupied.
“…………”
It was an incredibly strange sight.
Even a nightmare would not go this far.
A white male silhouette.
A blue female silhouette.
What were clearly four octopus tentacles.
A small animal, or rather a Dagaa, wearing a wide-brimmed aristocratic hat decorated with flowers.
And a floating pale-white glowing sphere.
Not a single one of them was normal.
Actually, there was no human here.
Ah, I get it.
“I died.”
This is the afterlife. Oh, so this is death.
“Well, I understand why you’d feel that way.”
“Calling it death is not entirely wrong.”
“Nyoro-nuru-beta-une.”
The four octopus tentacles moved.
“Na!”
“But you are not dead.”
“No, I’m obviously dead. No matter how you look at it.”
I see. I died. I don’t know why I died, but I died.
“Na?”
“No, no. You are not dead. I died long ago, though.”
“I was executed as well, but Wof is still alive.”
“Nyoro-beta-nuru-une.”
The four octopus tentacles writhed.
“Yes. Um, I am not dead yet either. But if the black one dies…”
“????”
Wof is confused.
More than half of them are clearly dead!
“Well, we’ll answer one thing at a time. First, this place is the Chamber of Stars. It is inside Woff’s heart.”
“More accurately, it is the vessel of your soul itself. It was created inside it. Yes, yes. A mental landscape. Memories of a previous life are truly useful.”
“Inside my heart…?”
“Nuru-beta-nyoro-une.”
The four octopus tentacles spun around.
“In your memories from your previous life, this would be called a mental world. You think these events show up too often in Western games and don’t like them much, don’t you?”
“…Because they’re used so often as a plot device.”
They’re in almost every Western game, aren’t they? Events inside the mind, or the mental world.
They’re common in movies and dramas too, so I guess people like them.
What are we talking about?
“I think reflecting on oneself is a good thing. Had I been able to do that, I would not have been executed.”
“You started reflecting far too late.”
“Na?”
“Une-nuru-nyoro-beta.”
The four octopus tentacles swayed.
“I… think I should have properly talked with the black one.”
“That would have been impossible. That thing is the dungeon anomaly itself.”
“If it were simply an evil heart, I believe discussion might have been possible. Hmm, hmm. Yes, yes. In terms of your previous-life memories, it would be like an angel and a devil.”
“Seriously, what are you talking about? More importantly… um, this is the world inside my heart?”
A blue-violet starry sky.
The ground was blue sky.
A giant knife stuck into it.
It felt like I remembered it, and also like I didn’t.
But somehow, it was peaceful.
“Indeed.”
“Yes.”
“Na!”
“Nyoro-nuru-beta-une.”
The four octopus tentacles made a wave motion.
“It is a beautiful place. Wonderful. So this is the inside of a human heart…”
The white glowing sphere spoke as if enchanted.
Um, that was a compliment, right?
I was too confused to accept it honestly.
“…So, who are all of you? I barely understand Dagaa. And the octopus tentacles too… I don’t want to understand, but I do, so that’s fine.”
“Na!”
“Nyoro-beta-nuru-une.”
The four octopus tentacles formed an OK sign.
How dexterous.
I did not understand the others at all.
Not even a little.
“I am on your left arm.”
“I am on your right arm.”
“Right arm and left arm… d-don’t tell me… the gauntlets… the Blue Saint Gauntlets!?”
Since I remembered them, the connection came quickly.
“Indeed.”
“That is correct.”
Eeeh… Witch. They really do have wills after all!
And the left and right sides have separate self-awareness!
“S-so, who is this white sphere…?”
“I am a spider.”
“Huh?”
“Wof-kun. I am the giant spider you are currently fighting. Its heart.”
“…………”
That makes absolutely no sense.
Actually, why are so many weird things living inside my heart!?
And wait, there are cards I recognize on the table.
Are these people playing cards inside someone else’s heart!?
“Well, that is how it is. Please talk with this spider’s heart.”
How exactly “that is how it is” explains nothing!
“We are in the middle of a game, you see.”
“Na!”
“Nyoro-une-nuru-beta.”
“Yes, yes, it was your turn.”
The four octopus tentacles stood straight up.
Hey.
Do not casually resume a card game inside someone else’s heart.
And the tentacles are a player too!?
“I am sorry. I have caused you all a great deal of trouble.”
The sphere of light sounded apologetic.
No, I think you are better than the people enjoying a card game inside someone else’s heart.
“…Ah, no… was it you who told me to have a discussion?”
“Yes. I am sorry. At that time, I became emotional. I am truly sorry.”
“Well, in the end, we were able to talk. So, um, I heard about the black one from Gwyne, so I know a little. Is that black thing something like negative emotions?”
Like the good heart and evil heart that often appear in memories from my previous life.
“…I was a queen. I understand that now. I was the queen of a country of beings called humans.”
“You were a queen?”
I knew she was a queen spider, but that was different from the records.
She had been worshipped, but there was no description saying she was a queen.
“At least, that is what I believed. They were beings with different forms from mine, and we could not understand each other’s words. Even so, I accepted them as my citizens and served as queen for this nation.”
“…………”
There was something I had always found strange.
The giant spider had been seen as dangerous.
But there was not a single record saying it rampaged through the city or harmed anyone.
I had thought it had been restricted or controlled somehow.
I see.
It had not done anything.
The spider had thought of the humans as her citizens and herself as their queen.
Most likely, she had served as queen based on biological instinct.
But more than that, I think it was also her personality.
Her form was different, and language did not pass between them, but she did not harm them and silently contributed to the city.
Because her form was different, instinctive fear never disappeared.
Because language did not pass between them, no one could read her heart.
And yet she kept working for the city all that time.
No wonder people became more anxious because they could not understand her.
I can understand why they saw her as dangerous and why the three factions formed.
“But as the months and years passed, the country gradually became wrapped in unrest, and the citizens split into three groups. I knew my existence was the cause, but there was nothing I could do. Then I was sealed away and fell into a long sleep. I felt relieved when I was sealed.”
“Relieved?”
“Yes. Because my citizens would no longer fight because of me. As a queen, the most important thing is my citizens. If sacrificing myself brings them happiness, then even my life is not too precious to give.”
“……”
“I think this: even though our words could not reach each other, because I was that kind of being, my citizens understood and sealed me instead of killing me… That is why I do not resent them.”
“Then why?”
“I was asleep for a long time. But recently, intruders appeared in the forbidden land where I slept. Yes. Laada and the man in the red mask.”
“Those two.”
I feel like I already know how this ends.
“I do not know exactly what they did. Even so, because of them, I awakened, and the black one was inside my heart. That was not the queen. That was… shameful as it is, me as a single spider. The me who was not a queen.”
“…And so, um…”
“Right now, only the black one is inside my body. I was driven out, and before I could return to the sea of souls, I was drawn here. Because of that, I am still causing you trouble.”
“What does that mean…?”
“The reason you are currently in the sky is because of me.”
“…T-then, why am I in the sky in the first place?”
I have no idea what is going on.
“That is also partly Mineha’s fault.”
“Mineha?”
The male silhouette who called himself Saint was smoking while holding cards.
Hey, excuse me.
Do not smoke inside someone else’s heart!
“The dungeon could not endure the suddenly generated energy that could even destroy dimensions, causing a temporary collapse. You remember, don’t you? After obtaining the sacred egg of the elixir, the dungeon shook and then you were teleported.”
“Ah! That’s why I’m in the sky? No, wait. How do you know that?”
The Blue Saint Gauntlets were only made recently.
“That is because I looked at the memories inside your heart.”
“…………”
That is an invasion of privacy.
“Yes. Gulp… phew… Since the soul of the spider queen I invited was inside you, the balance seems to have been greatly disrupted. That is why it only affected you.”
The blue female silhouette cut the cards while drinking alcohol.
Please do not drink alcohol inside someone else’s heart.
Also, please do not invite souls into someone else’s heart without permission.
There are many things I want to say.
Mountains of things.
So, because of Mineha, Heizen almost collapsed?
And I got caught up in it and was teleported into the sky?
What kind of power is that?
Even if we lacked firepower, the power she obtained was far too beyond expectations.
“Why above the sky?”
“Because there was no underground space. The only open space was the sky.”
“Since it is a dungeon, you should be glad you did not end up inside a wall.”
That would be instant death. Not funny.
“Nyoro-nuru-beta-une!”
Hm? The tentacles disappeared for a moment.
But they came back.
No, don’t come back.
“What happened?”
“Nuru-beta-une-nyoro.”
The four octopus tentacles moved separately, as if explaining.
“Oh, that was close.”
“Nice. I shall praise you.”
“Na!”
“Thank you. I am sorry, this is my fault.”
“W-what happened?”
I asked fearfully.
Even though this was inside my own heart, I felt like I had been left out.
The male silhouette, with a cigarette in his mouth, answered.
“Ah, Nabel, who defeated the spider, nearly got killed by the spider’s final fart, but they saved him.”
“Um, please don’t call it a final fart… It’s embarrassing…”
The white sphere of light turned bright red and spoke in a tiny voice.
“You should learn to be considerate toward women.”
“My bad, my bad.”
Nabel-kun was in danger!?
If he was saved, then that is good. Thank you, tentacles.
I am going to ignore the fact that they moved on their own again.
“And Wof, you will reach the ground soon.”
“Huh?”
“Relax. You will fall onto the corpse of the spider queen.”
“What!?”
Corpse. I see. Nabel-kun defeated it.
With Spider-Cutter, probably. That had a special relic that could defeat any spider.
The price was losing Spider-Cutter.
“I died?”
“More accurately, the black one died. And so, spider queen. Now you are free. That request you mentioned earlier. No, perhaps it is a wish, or a dream. Wof can make it come true.”
“Huh?”
“Is that truly all right? I think I should return to the sea of souls like this. And after causing this much trouble, asking Wof to grant my wish would be far too arrogant.”
“Why not? You are a queen. Be arrogant.”
“You were too arrogant. Besides… Wof does not care about things like that. There is nothing in this man’s heart that would allow him to ignore a woman’s wish. No matter what, he will grant it. He is the Night King, after all.”
“He is the Night King.”
“Na!”
“Nyoro-nuru-beta-une.”
The four octopus tentacles moved as if bowing.
I am not the Night King.
And I do not understand what you mean!
“How boring. Your life was saved through a strange fate. Do not waste a miracle. You have the right to accept it. Besides, I was executed, so I cannot grant that wish. Though I have no intention of leaving this prison of souls.”
Please do not call the inside of my heart a prison.
“Na!”
“Wait, Dagaa. That was the card I was aiming for!”
“Nyoro-beta-une-nuru.”
The four octopus tentacles high-fived Dagaa.
“What… Did you lot scheme against me!?”
“Not bad.”
“Gnununu…”
Do not “gnununu” at me.
Do not get excited playing cards inside someone else’s heart!
Hah.
“Um, Spider Queen. I have no idea whether I can grant your wish, but would you still tell me what it is? If someone like me is enough.”
A lot had happened, and she had caused us trouble, but I was able to talk to Gwyne.
In a way, she had taught me the option of talking things out.
So this was thanks for that.
But I had no idea whether I could actually grant it.
It might only end with me listening.
Well, that was probably how it would go.
“…Thank you. My wish is—”
When I heard that wish, it fit perfectly.
Ah, I see. Right. Of course it would be that.
In a way, I understood.
And, yeah.
Impossible.
It was definitely impossible.
That is just too—
Wait.
Wait a second.
Wait, wait.
It can work.
Huh? This can work.
It can. I can do it!
I can! I can do it!
There is that!
And there is that too!
Oh, it is all here.
This can work.
I can definitely do it.
“I can do it.”
“Eh!?”
“I can do it.”
“Eeh!?”
I can.
I really can.
There is something perfect for it.
But first, I need to consult the witch.
Then we can go from there.
Still, I think her wish can mostly be granted.
Because—
“Wof. Time.”
At the male silhouette’s voice, my consciousness suddenly faded.
And then I woke up on a bed.
It was four days after the Forest Wave had ended.