By Zephyria 
Ivan continued his explanation in his usual calm tone.
“Even if the people of Yulan wake up early, there are limits. Also, many didn’t believe the words of those who woke them. So, we had to use some force… Fortunately, it wasn’t long before those Nereids came running to help.”
“…That’s a relief to hear.”
“I didn’t bother with casualty statistics, thinking it was something the Yulan side should handle.”
But his next words seemed to hesitate slightly.
What was there that Ivan couldn’t say? Feeling impatient with his unnecessary hesitation, I urged him on.
“What is it? Just say it.”
“Did Mikael lure those Spirits too?”
“No, Rubel did.”
“…What?”
He was saying the most useless things. I had a rough grasp of the situation. I could see the golden light shimmering beyond the wall in the distance. Along with it, I heard the weeping of the ancient spirits.
I decided I had to end their suffering.
All living beings take Mana as their soul. Then, the Spirits born from the collision of Mana are also living things. When they die, they return to Mana and will be reborn as another existence. Spirits who do not fear death believe in their rebirth.
So, in their next lives, I hope they grieve for a shorter time and are happy for a longer period.
Leaving Ruben with the rest of the party, I leaped towards the sea.
It was no problem at all that I couldn’t run on water for long, even though I could run on grass. Thanks to the Yeldidus Spirit that followed me, it solidified the water to create a foothold, allowing me to leap to the very peak of the waves that towered like mountains.
Can a Spirit be cut with a sword?
Yes, it could.
My sword, swung with great force, sliced a Nereid, a creature the size of a person, vertically. They left no remains. The moment their bodies split, they turned into light. They fell like raindrops. Anything that lunged at me was treated as an enemy. Every time my blue sword cut a blue Spirit, tears of sorrow poured down.
I cut, and cut again.
At some point, the ancient spirits stopped attacking to choke my breath. They leaped towards my sword, seeking death. As if begging me to end their long suffering… I gritted my teeth. I cut them down, one by one, without missing any.
Crashing, waves struck from the land towards the sea. Once, twice.
I also drew my sword. Once, twice.
Then, at some point.
My eyes flashed as if I had met a Spirit face-to-face.
The Blue Turtle was a very beautiful and enormous turtle. Yes, it was blue, not golden. Gold was the color of the First Goddess; blue suited the turtle that occupied the vast sea best. The Blue Turtle taught the Undines, who sat huddled around it, many things.
How to make round bubbles of air underwater.
How to pick the prettiest and most vibrant coral from clusters of blue and red coral.
How to make peace when fighting over various words like sky, sea, whale, and shark.
The Blue Turtle was a friend, a lover, and a parent.
I swung my sword again.
One day, the Blue Turtle, feeling deeply hurt, lay on its belly on the white sand. ‘I’ quickly sensed a sharp and unpleasant emotion intruding into the voice of the usually gentle and leisurely Blue Turtle. “What’s wrong, what’s happening?” As I nuzzled and acted cute with my whole body, the turtle hugged ‘me’ affectionately with its two front paws.
[It’s just that… I’ve come to like a god.]
[You’ve come to like? Like? More than me?]
[…Well, I don’t think so.]
As I giggled, the turtle laughed along. But it didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping this non-counseling session.
[It’s that the god… likes their… creation.]
[Yes, so?]
Naturally, gods like their creations. Just as the Blue Turtle likes the Undines. That was an undeniable fact. The Undine couldn’t understand why the turtle was so upset.
[But that creation… died a little while ago.]
[Uh-huh.]
[Should I try to become it too?]
[Become what?]
[That child’s… creation.]
I swung my sword again.
The First Goddess came down to the sea to stop the Blue Turtle. The First Goddess had a very similar appearance to the Ninth God. She had two eyes, a high nose, one mouth, arms that pointed to the sky, and could stand only on her two legs.
So, the Blue Turtle greatly envied the First Goddess.
[If I had looked like a Human from the start… would that god have liked me?]
[That’s impossible. We see the essence.]
[But.]
The Blue Turtle rested its round head on the Goddess’s thigh and sighed. The Blue Turtle said the same thing it had told the Spirits.
[You know. What if I… become that god’s creation?]
[What? Don’t be ridiculous. They’re just… sulking right now. They’ll get over it with time.]
[Still, the child is so sad. Such a small, fragile, cute child.]
[No. I said no. Don’t do that. They don’t love you just because you do that. Loving you in a human shell, that’s…]
Then, the Blue Turtle laughed.
[I’ll take that, though.]
Again, the sword.
The Blue Turtle’s Origin was a very blue pearl. The Blue Turtle carried it in its mouth and swam upstream along the Saras River. It swam deep into the continent’s heart.
Like turtles that ascend to the beach to lay eggs, it stepped onto land to break free from its shell.
The Undines followed, weeping and wailing. They pushed and obstructed with their whole bodies, but it was no use.
The Blue Turtle’s Origin shattered that day, and the Ninth God, weeping, gathered the Blue Turtle’s soul and pushed it into the body of the first Human. The Undines watched.
They kept looking at the Human with black hair, who lacked the large and beautiful shell, the enormous front paws that could churn the sea countless times, and the sharp, cute tail. They kept looking, and looking… until he finally broke into pieces without waking up.
The Ninth God kicked the Blue Turtle’s corpse.
Again, the sword.
Now, the Undines, dragging the Blue Turtle’s corpse, flowed with the surging river water. They returned to the sea. Even though they returned to the sea where they were born, loved, and were happy, they couldn’t be happy at all.
So, the Undines grabbed the First Goddess’s ankles. They threatened to sweep away all humans passing through the sea and all humans living on land if she didn’t listen to them.
After much deliberation, the Goddess covered the Blue Turtle with her power. The Blue Turtle thus became a Golden Turtle.
Again.
I heard that the Blue Turtle’s soul had been divided and entered various Humans.
Then, if we gather those souls one by one and put them back, wouldn’t the Blue Turtle be able to revive?
Yes, let’s do that.
Let’s bring back the Blue Turtle with our own power.
Again.
The Undines, who had grown considerably, no, the Nereids, heard the First Goddess’s whisper.
“Sleep with the Blue Turtle. There are fragments of the Blue Turtle among Humans, you know. They will sing for you. The lullaby the Blue Turtle always sang when putting you to sleep… Listen to that song and sleep soundly.”
“Someday, when you wake up, the Blue Turtle will still be in its place. And then, that child… will love you, not someone else. Yes, let’s make it that way.”
The waves subsided.
There were no more Spirits to cut down. The remnants of the Spirits, which had mixed with the waves without leaving a single corpse, were looked down upon by the calm gazes of the Spirits after the generation of the Golden Turtle. I saw some of them swallowing their sobs.
Following the Spirits’ guidance, I descended back to the pier.
Whether they trusted me, or waited even while thinking it was dangerous.
Ruben, who had remained standing on the pier, walked over and hugged me. The first Human glimpsed in the Spirits’ memories bore a striking resemblance to Ruben. Now I finally understood why the Spirits had tried so desperately to harm Ruben.
That bastard called the Ninth God had at least one good eye, I thought humorously, but my mood didn’t improve.
A young child, clinging to their mother’s embrace, shouted in a high voice.
“Mom, look! It’s the Golden Turtle. Is it sleeping?”
“It is… It’s the Golden Turtle.”
It was a familiar voice. The woman who had told us the story of the Golden Turtle one day was there. She stood with three children, their skirt hems soaked and their clothes dripping wet, clinging tightly to her side.
The woman glanced at us and led the children in the direction of their home. The onlookers began to return to their own affairs. Where were the Yulan royal siblings? I had to tell them that the matter had been resolved in some way.
Ruben, I, Ivan, and Sienna were the only ones left on the pier when a round head suddenly emerged from below.
It was the Mermaid who had taken us so far and brought us back here. And the Spirit who claimed to be from Yeldidus. The Spirit gave an awkward greeting.
[I’m finally going to meet Hestia! Thank you for your help.]
“Yes. When you meet her… please give her my regards. Tell her to live well.”
[Yes.]
When asked if I had any more questions before they left, I asked without hesitation.
“The secret wedding. What exactly is that wedding the ancient spirits mentioned suspiciously?”
Then, the Yeldidus Spirit shrugged its shoulders with a sorrowful expression. Seeing this, it was no different from a Human. What generation of Yeldidus had taught it this gesture?
[I don’t know that either. It’s just that the ancient spirits were saying things like that.]
“Saying what?”
[They said they wouldn’t listen to Wesley Kiadris, and that they would definitely achieve a secret wedding.]
It was suspicious talk. No matter how cunning the ancient spirits were, they couldn’t be as cunning as Humans. It was impossible to know what Wesley Kiadris was aiming for by driving the ancient spirits in the opposite direction.
The Spirits and the Mermaid carried the Golden Turtle’s corpse to the shore. Feeling a lingering sense of closure, I stood by the coast for a while, but when Ruben seemed to cough lightly, I hurried to get into the carriage.