How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 84

It’s a dark space.

I don’t know how to describe it. It felt like floating in a sky without light.

“Leave it to a master of illusions.”

That damn hag. She could have given me a heads-up.

I was grumbling like that, about to look around, when it happened.

“Oh! Where is this?”

My heart almost stopped.

At the sudden voice from beside me, I instinctively reached for my sword. But there was nothing to grab. I was still in the same clothes, but the sword had vanished without a trace.

I soon understood why.

A youthful figure. Maybe in her mid-teens. A girl just entering puberty stood before me.

I saw her long, blonde hair reaching her waist, her cat-like eyes, and her tightly closed lips.

“Wow, seeing it like this is a first for me, too?”

It was a voice I remembered. No, it wasn’t even a memory. It was a voice I had heard hundreds, thousands of times.

“Aphen.”

“That’s right! I thought you’d be more surprised, but you’re surprisingly calm.”

Aphen, moving her body this way and that as if she had a new toy, spun around in a circle.

And she wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing.

Of course. An ego sword probably doesn’t properly understand the concept of clothing. It was fortunate that it was only curved like it was made of clay, and not detailed.

‘Good thing, or I would have been in trouble. No, come to think of it, Aphen is over a hundred years old.’

Aphen tilted her head, noticing my hollow laughter as I had silly thoughts.

“What were you thinking that made you laugh?”

“None of your business.”

“It’s obvious. You were having lewd thoughts.”

The biggest advantage of Aphen manifesting through embodiment is probably that she has a physical body. If not, hitting her would have been impossible even after a lifetime.

“Aaaagh!”

“You have no filter.”

“That hurts!”

“I hit you to hurt you.”

“Why did you hit me!”

“Because you deserved it.”

Leaving the fuming Aphen behind, I turned around to look around again.

I still couldn’t see anything. If it were reality, the surrounding terrain would have given me a sense of distance, but here, nothing existed, so I couldn’t even gauge the width.

As I lost interest, Aphen, who had been grumbling to herself, puffed out her cheeks and approached me.

“That’s too much.”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t materialize because my power was lacking?”

“That’s a story for the mortal realm!”

“Then why can you do it here?”

“Because the energy is veeery abundant. Happy now?”

Aphen covered her head with both hands and cowered, as I raised my right hand.

“Again, so why can you do it here?”

“…Because it’s a space created by that druid.”

“Explain in detail.”

“This isn’t the mortal realm, is it? It’s a space within an illusion.”

“Restrictions are lessened in an illusion?”

“To be precise, it follows the will of the druid who created the illusion. If the druid released the restrictions that would hinder me, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“It’s just a story in an illusion, though.”

“That’s right. What happens here has no effect on the mortal realm. It’s just a dimension that’s merely an illusion. Still, it’s exciting to have a body like this after so long!”

I sighed at Aphen, who quickly changed the mood again and jumped around.

“Anyway, so there’s a spirit somewhere here.”

“I wonder where it could be?”

“Do we have to go looking for it?”

“I guess so.”

Hmm.

Right, left, front, back.

Everywhere I looked was the same strange scenery.

‘Well, whatever.’

It’ll crawl out on its own if I search enough.

* * *

I take back what I said about it coming out if I search enough.

How much time has passed?

I looked around. Still, nothing had changed. There was nothing to gauge time.

Based on a rough estimate, it was clear that several days had passed. But I couldn’t know the exact time.

I don’t feel sleepy, and I’m not hungry.

It felt like this is what it would be like to have an astral projection and become a ghost. Walking aimlessly, doing some exercise and training when I got bored, and then starting to walk again.

It was a boring routine with nothing new.

Eventually, my patience reached its limit, and I stopped with a light sigh.

“Why isn’t it coming out?”

Aphen, who had been trailing behind me, shrugged.

“Who knows.”

“What’s it so unhappy about that it’s hiding so well?”

“Isn’t it because it’s been burned once before?”

“Burned?”

“It was used by a human once. You’re also human.”

“If you put it that way, I saved it.”

“The opposite of an evil person isn’t necessarily a good person.”

“Are you saying I’m evil?”

“No, well, kind of.”

Aphen smiled and shrugged.

‘Is it hiding because it’s afraid I’ll use it again?’

I mulled over Aphen’s words.

She’s not wrong. Objectively speaking, I rescued it to get information about that mysterious group.

To be honest, it wasn’t entirely an act of goodwill.

But that doesn’t mean I’m asking for something unreasonable. It’s a simple give and take. I saved it, and in return, I want information about those guys.

Besides, I’m willing to take revenge for it if necessary. I’d be upset if I was treated like an evil person with that much.

As I was lost in thought, Aphen asked me again.

“So, what are you going to ask the spirit when you meet it?”

“Why do you keep asking what you already know? To get their information.”

“And after you find it?”

“I need to figure out their intentions. And if those intentions go against my goals, I’ll have to fight.”

“Do you have no other purpose?”

“No. What can I do with a spirit stone?”

“It’s a gem with a spirit sealed inside. It’s a very precious item. You could sell it for money. Mages would go crazy for it.”

“I have a lot of money, you brat.”

“Does that mean you might sell it if you run out of money?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Ugh. Do I have to explain everything so explicitly?

“I’ve heard that spirits have egos. Their way of thinking might be a little different, but the core is similar to humans.”

“I guess so.”

“If we treat it like a person, it’s like it’s been trafficked by strange people. Are you going to take such a kid, extract what you need, and then sell it to other guys again? I hate having bad dreams.”

“Ooh. That’s cool.”

“It’s not cool, it’s just that any normal person would think that way.”

“Humans are also good at easily changing their minds.”

“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”

“It’s a simple question, why are you getting so defensive?”

“You idiot. Even if I had such thoughts, would I say it out loud? If I were such an evil person, I would lie without batting an eye, so why are you asking such a thing?”

“That’s exactly why it might not be coming out!”

“Even if that’s the case, why are you arguing about it? It should come out and talk to me directly, get some promises….”

Wait.

You little….

“Hey.”

Aphen smiled bashfully at my call.

“What is it?”

“Are you hiding it?”

“Hiding? What?”

I was about to pour out a torrent of words, but I calmed down. I took a deep breath and met Aphen’s gaze.

“So, you’ve been testing me all along?”

“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Are you going to play dumb?

Well, it doesn’t matter.

All I need is a place for conversation anyway.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, so you listen too.”

I turned to face Aphen and crossed my arms.

“Okay. I think you might be afraid of me, a fellow human.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But it’s a little strange. I’m like that, but why is it keeping its mouth shut even to the elf?”

“Isn’t it just because it can’t trust anyone?”

“If that’s the case, why would a guy with chronic distrust who can’t even trust that elf trust you?”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t hide my rising annoyance at Aphen’s bewildered answer, and I glared at her.

“Aphen? Why does it trust you when it can’t trust anyone?”

Aphen started to back away with a flustered face as I took a step closer.

“Th, that’s….”

“That’s what.”

“I, I’m….”

“You’re what.”

“Because I’m a spirit.”

Aphen put her hands together and gave a sheepish smile.

On the other hand, I tilted my head at the unexpected answer.

“A spirit?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re a spirit?”

“Th, that’s right?”

“Not just a sword with a self [an independent consciousness]?”

“Hey, even if it’s my mom [referring to Kerwyn, the great mage], how could she create a soul that didn’t exist?”

“…Didn’t you say you made it by taking bits of Kerwyn and Bellancus’s souls last time?”

“That’s also true!”

“You just spew lies as soon as you open your mouth, don’t you?”

“N, no, wait a minute!”

Aphen waved her hands and quickly opened her mouth again.

“I heard that my soul as a spirit was right after it was torn apart. That means my mom put her own and the Emperor’s in to save me!”

“…In other words, only the shell is a spirit, and the core is a human soul?”

“That’s right!”

“Aren’t you lying about that too?”

“No! This is real! Believe me!”

There’s no such thing as a hybrid like this.

Of course, I thought it was just a magic sword with a self, but in fact, Aphen’s original form was a spirit?

Well. Creating life is close to the realm of God. Aphen is an existence with a personality, and creating such an existence is no different from creating life.

But it’s a story I never expected.

I vaguely thought that it was possible because it was Kerwyn, the great mage, and I didn’t think much of it.

“Then, if you’re a spirit, how about magic?”

“There are many magic swords, but there are so few of them that there are so many besides me on the continent.”

“Ah. You’re not using your skills, but just using the help of the sword?”

“That’s right?”

“Then you’re not doing anything.”

“Eek, no, I am!”

“Or what.”

“You’ve seen my power all along!”

Aphen’s power?

Yeah. I dismissed it as magic, but there were many suspicious parts.

When I first met Rahenna, she protected me from the spell with a mysterious power, and at Aslahina’s tomb, she wrapped me in golden energy.

Come to think of it, I heard that the Emperor chastised the battlefield with golden wings.

Besides, Aphen’s ability to materialize also fits all the pieces if we assume that she is a spirit.

“So, a spirit of light?”

“Woong.”

“So the knights of the royal family, including the Emperor, got the title of Knights of Radiance?”

“Woowoong.”

“Woowoong is bullshit! Why are you saying that now?”

“Actually, I don’t have any memories of that time, even though I’m a spirit….”

“No memories?”

“It’s because my mom forcibly put me in this sword to revive me when I was dying.”

“You have no memories as a spirit?”

“Uh-huh.”

“If you think about it, this sword and the spirit stone are the same tools for sealing spirits.”

“That’s right.”

“The reason you’ve been hiding it from me is….”

“I, I didn’t hide it.”

“Then, you were playing hard to get?”

“Ch, the secret of birth is not easy to tell, right?”

“Are you saying that now….”

“Aaaagh! Don’t hit me!”

Swish!

Aphen covered her head and cowered as I raised my hand to flick her forehead.

I sighed and withdrew my hand at the sight.

Okay. This kid was a spirit too.

The reason why the way of thinking is different even though they are the same spirit is because humanization has progressed due to receiving the soul fragments of Kerwyn and the Emperor.

Well. Okay. I don’t care about that.

“So. Let’s say your secret of birth is like that.”

“I thought about it carefully and said it.”

“What does that have to do with me, you idiot? What’s important now is that you’re hiding that guy.”

“Eueung?”

I couldn’t stand Aphen’s appearance of denying it until the end, and I shouted.

“Ah, okay, come out now!”

Aphen, surprised by my shout, stumbled and fell on her butt as she stepped back.

“…….”

A black girl clinging to her back like a koala, trembling, came into view as she fell with a thud.