As he notices the serious look in my face, his laugher starts to subside; he sits back next to me and finally begins to speak again.
"Hmm, you've properly noticed it. That`s right, it has been a long time since I last saw a living person."
I`m actually somewhat relieved. That would mean I didn`t die after all… Though I should actually confirm on my status once I have the time.
But the way in which he referred to the living as if he himself wasn`t included… Did I misunderstand? Or could it be he`s a god too? Or could it be he's--- undead…?
"It seems you're still in doubt. I`m not a god. So either I've been here for a long time, and, for some reason, managed to survive without aging or dying. Or… I'm already dead. I'll give you a hint, there might even be some water in here, but there's definitely nothing to eat."
In this world, undead monsters exist. From zombies to ghouls, ghosts and liches. They were described in the book as fairly strong monsters. And they're characterized for their unusually over-aggressive habits against any living thing.
If he really is dead, then I know where I`ve seen him before. With that dress, his figure resembles perfectly the painting of a very famous person I saw in the adventurer's book.
I shiver at the thought of meeting an undead hero… I just might be looking at something way outside my adventurer rank.
"I'll tell you the answer then…" He flashes me a smile, emphasizing his canine teeth. "I'm certainly dead, and whatever I am now, can no longer be considered as a living person."
Is he insinuating he is an undead after all?
He pauses for a second, giving me some time for what he just said to sink in.
"Surprised? Are you afraid now? You should be…" He closes in on me menacingly while saying that.
Yes, I'm certainly surprised. I didn't expect to see something like this so soon… But…
"I'm not really afraid."
"Hmmm?"
"Most of the undead are unintelligent… But even those who still have some form of rational thinking, such as the liches, aren't able to suppress their unusual aggressiveness against the living… You do seem a little scatter-brained, but if you were an actual type of undead monster, then you would have attacked me right from the start, without any sort of conversation before."
Could he be a spirit?
"I'll pretend I didn't hear what you said about my brain, though, in a strict sense, it is true I don't even have one anymore…"
"Besides…" I look at the fairies. "There`s no way someone who lives with them could be that bad."
"Hah… You would trust me just because of that?" He also turns to look at the fairies. And his face slowly returns to his bored--- no, lonely expression… "But I do understand what you're feeling… Do you know what those are?"
Well…
"Not really. But I`d say they resemble fairies. Even back at our world, they are usually depicted in myths and other fictional stories, right?"
Though they don`t have their usual depicted appearance. That of a human appearance with butterfly wings and such. I guess I just called them fairies as a generalization, instead of naming them 'unidentified ethereal creatures'… In truth, I have no actual idea of what they really are.
Well, he should be able to understand just what I mean, considering he was a summoned hero like the others at one point.
"In your world… I see…"
'Your' world?
"In my world there were no such stories… A barren land, filled with fear and despair. The seas were so corrupted they had already turned into poison; the skies were either grey or black, and we couldn't breathe the air without wearing protective equipment, unless we were wishing for a slow and painful death. The sun rays would burn our skins at any direct contact… We had to live while hiding ourselves in the ruins of the old civilization… There were no such things as 'faeries' in our myths… Instead, our stories simply depicted times when the land was supposedly habitable… What you call 'faeries' are named spirits in here. I personally call these ones as 'hope'. Each type of spirit is linked to some aspect of the world. These deep green ones, in specific, are present everywhere from the moment something is born until its demise. They represent life… But you should be familiarized with that already."
…
I don't know why she began to tell me the story of her life on our first meeting, but I couldn't help but pay attention to such a tale…
I thought she was a spirit, but it turns out those fairies are the ones who are the spirits. In that case, however, then just what is she…?
Caham! I mean, 'he'.
And what's more, he said he lived in a post-apocalyptic future before he was summoned here? Was that the future of my planet…? Or… Could it be that our worlds were not the same…
I digress…
These little creatures I followed to reach this place are named 'spirits of life' then?
I see…
"Then, the reason why my wounds have healed…?"
She simply nodded to my question, without averting her gaze from the spirits.
I take another look at them. Their dance makes my heart sway, as if it wanted to join them. No matter how much I look, I can't help but think of how truly beautiful they are…
"I wish Tsubaki could see this…" I let my thoughts escape.
Her face grimaces a little and she soon turns to looks at me.
"Don't give up kid. Work on it little by little and reencounter the one you're looking for. Compared to me, you have way more chances to reach your goal."
She says matter-of-factly.
Understandable. You can't do anything anymore once you're dead--- Is what one would usually think. But considering she is still able to talk to me like this…
Ugh… I feel like I'll end up having to help this ghost move on… Why is the story moving in this direction…?
"W-would you like to tell me of your unfinished businesses…?"
"Hey, wait a minute. Just because I've died it doesn't mean I'm dead, understand? Undead is its own term for a reason"
I see, so people don't actually die when they are killed… Wait. Uhhh, what…?
…
Anyways, at times like this, it's best to just quote a random famous sentence.
"That which is not dead may eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die… I guess…"
"Er… What? I just meant my body may have died, but my soul is still here, you follow? I'm actually entrapped to this forest, I am its soul and it is my body…"
That looks like a ghost story if I've ever heard one… Is there really no unfinished business to be solved here…?
"Huh…. So you can't get out of here?"
"I can feel everything that happens inside the forest, and also some of what happens outside of it… But I can't separate myself from it. Probably, not until I die--- again… I think it`s the same for everyone, but in my case in an unmovable body of a larger scale."
When she puts it like that, she seems more of a guardian spirit of the forest than a ghost. Or even a different kind of living being altogether, such as a sentient forest…?
"lol isn't that a good thing then? From the way you say it it looks like you're still alive enough?"
"Heh, how could someone who died and had their soul stuck somewhere be considered 'alive'? It's nonsense, don't you think? I feel more like a ghost haunting the woods…"
I can't deny that's exactly what I had been thinking five minutes ago… But for someone who has been here for so long, and had so much time to think; to me it simply looks like she's wasting her own energies trying to put herself down.
From what she just described, it's way prettier to think that she's living together with the Forest.
"Well, I`d say you resemble more the soul of a plant than a ghost haunting a tree… Heck, I even thought you were the spirit of the forest when I first saw you. And well, if the Forest is your body and you're its soul, then that certainly counts as a living being to me. Haha, if you`re like an actual plant girl, then this place should change its name from Sherwood Forest to Sherwood the Dryad, don't you think?"
"I`m a man."
Oops…
He`s quite sharp while saying that.
"S-sorry, my bad…"