Chapter 21: The Spirit’s Home

If you were to die tonight, what would you do before then?

Where would you choose to be buried?

And who would you want by your side for that final journey?

As for the last question, Aurora thought of many people—Beatrice, Lorabelle, or perhaps her young lady Leonora.

But she never expected it to be a newly born, naïve little spirit who would end up accompanying her.

It didn’t even have a name yet, and simply liked her out of pure instinct.

But if that was the case… if she could be loved so purely before fading away, maybe she really could go in peace.

Aurora looked down at the little spirit still holding her finger and thought—maybe this was the final warmth the goddess had gifted her before her end.

“Gulu gulu!”

Suddenly, a voice from another spirit came from behind.

A blue-colored spirit blocked her path.

It babbled angrily at the little spirit holding Aurora’s finger, speaking a lot in their chirping language.

It clearly wasn’t happy.

Aurora couldn’t understand their conversation, but the spirit on her finger seemed equally upset.

When it tried to lead her to the left, the blue one blocked that path.

When it tried the right, it blocked again. In the end, the little spirit seemed to have had enough—it even tried to pull her into the air and fly away.

But how could a palm-sized spirit possibly lift her?

“Mmmmh—!”

The little spirit’s face turned red from the strain, but it was clearly futile.

“Um… I don’t think you’re going to be able to pull me.”

“Hmmph!”

Apparently unwilling to accept that, it kept trying.

But just then, another spirit stopped it.

It picked up a tiny twig and smacked the little one square on the forehead.

The spirit, like a falling leaf, slowly drifted down from the air.

“No! No violence!”

Aurora couldn’t bear to see cute creatures fighting each other.

She immediately took the twig away from the angry spirit and caught the little one before it hit the ground.

She looked down at the dazed spirit in her palm.

It was so hurt it had tears in its eyes.

Then—

“Waaaah!”

It burst out crying.

The sound was something between a cicada’s cry and a cricket’s chirp—only pitched much higher.

“There, there. Don’t cry now.”

Aurora gently rubbed its head with her fingertip, speaking softly to soothe it.

“Mugaah~”

Another spirit suddenly let out a chirp.

Aurora couldn’t understand it, but it sounded… like a sigh.

It then flew into her palm and began babbling to the crying spirit.

To her surprise, the tearful little one abruptly stopped crying and lit up with joy.

It hugged and kissed the blue spirit, overflowing with happiness.

Then it grabbed Aurora’s finger again, this time pointing excitedly toward where the other spirits had been earlier.

“Wait—does this mean I’m allowed to enter now? Even though they didn’t let me in before?”

Aurora couldn’t understand their language, but somehow, she always got the general meaning from their gestures and actions.

Still… her body was so big.

Their home was likely tiny in comparison.

What if she couldn’t even fit inside?

But she was curious—deeply curious about what kind of place these adorable spirits called home.

She might as well see it.

Consider it one last wish fulfilled.

The little spirit led her to where the others were gathered.

A colorful group of spirits examined her curiously from head to toe, fascinated by the unexpected guest.

Suddenly, she felt a stir in her pocket.

Aurora looked down and saw a tiny foot poking out and kicking restlessly—it had crawled halfway into her pocket!

“Wait! That’s where I keep—”

Before she could finish, the little spirit had already pulled out the single green leaf from her pocket and flown into the air.

“Gula?”

It hovered, inspecting the leaf carefully, as if trying to figure out what made it special.

“That’s just an ordinary leaf. Please give it back.”

Aurora held out her palm, asking it to return the leaf.

Of course, she could’ve just picked another one from any tree—but she had made a decision with that leaf.

It was like casting a spell of intent.

If she replaced it, the magic would break.

But the spirit didn’t seem interested in giving it back.

It clutched the leaf and flew straight into a nearby patch of flowers.

“Wait!”

Aurora hurried after it, parting the thick blooms—but the spirit was gone.

Instead, what she saw was a glowing magic circle on the soil—white, covered in flower crowns and shimmering with phosphorescent powder.

Suddenly, the circle lit up in a dazzling flash.

All around, petals began falling from the flowers.

They gathered into a swirl, carried by the wind, wrapping around Aurora and the nearby spirits.

Aurora closed her eyes tightly.

She could smell the rich fragrance of flowers, hear the rustling of petals and the faint flutter of wings.

Three seconds passed.

The sounds stopped—but the sweet floral scent still lingered.

When she slowly opened her eyes…

She found herself inside a cavern.

The cave wasn’t dark—in fact, it was brightly lit.

Crystals of various colors filled the cavern, glowing faintly.

Unusual flowers clung to the walls, their centers glowing like tiny lanterns.

Some of these blooms cradled tiny spirits, peacefully sleeping inside them.

A clear pool of water shimmered at the center of the cave, its surface strewn with petals and glittering fairy dust.

It was a sight unlike anything Aurora had ever seen—serene and mysterious, yet full of vibrant life.

“Where is this place…?” she murmured.

“Gula gula.”

Her finger was tugged again—it was that little spirit from before.

It pulled on her finger eagerly, leading her deeper into the cave.

Aurora, momentarily distracted from the lost leaf, allowed herself to be guided along.

“Pardon the intrusion,” she said softly.

She felt a little anxious.

After all, this was clearly the spirits’ home.

Was she being too forward, trespassing like this?

More and more spirits gathered to look at her as they passed, but Aurora didn’t feel uncomfortable.

Their gazes were filled with curiosity, not malice—unlike so many humans, whose eyes often brimmed with perverse intent when they looked at her.

After a short walk, they arrived at a wider section of the cave.

Here, even more crystals and flowers filled the space, lighting it in gentle waves of color.

Before her was a small waterfall, water trickling out from between the rocks.

Its source was a mystery.

Then, from beneath the water, a voice rang out—a soft, airy female voice that sounded both delicate and kind.

“What is your name?”

Aurora had read in books that there were countless types of spirits, and most groups had a queen who oversaw reproduction.

She guessed the voice must belong to their queen.

“My name is Eve Aurora. I apologize for arriving uninvited.”

Though she couldn’t see the queen, Aurora still bowed politely in the direction of the waterfall, showing her respect.

“Eve Aurora? How interesting,” the voice mused.

Suddenly, a massive blue flower bloomed beneath the waterfall, its stem rising slowly.

As the bud opened, a young girl with long white hair and shimmering blue skin appeared, reclining lazily inside the blossom.

Her eyes glowed faintly, and she looked about the size of a ten-year-old human child—large, at least by spirit standards.

“I’ve heard of you, Eve Aurora, the Parasitic Fairy.”

“You’ve… heard of me?”

“Yes. There’s a powerful witch… I don’t know what spell she used, but now, every spirit within 300 kilometers of the magic academy knows your name.”

Aurora blinked.

“They know my name… why?”

“I don’t know,” the spirit queen said.

“But I do know one thing—if I hand you over to that witch, I’ll receive a Baiyou Flower in return. It’s a relic full of powerful magic.”

As she said this, the queen gave Aurora a sly, dangerous look—like she might tie her up and deliver her on the spot.

Aurora, of course, could guess exactly which witch from the academy they were talking about.

“But don’t worry,” the queen said.

“You helped our child. We’re not like humans—ungrateful and coldhearted. I won’t do anything to harm you.”

She glanced at Aurora’s swollen ankle, her once-white hair now streaked with dirt, and the soiled state of her clothes.

“Still, barging into someone’s home looking like that is a bit impolite, don’t you think? No helping it—I’ll give you a hand.”

With that, she snapped her fingers.

In an instant, the surrounding spirits swarmed around Aurora.

“Gula.”

At the queen’s gentle command, the little spirits leapt into action.

Tiny hands somehow pulled out strands of thread and buckets no larger than a pinky finger, then rushed toward Aurora in a glittering cloud.

“W-Wait—!” Aurora cried.

The world spun for a moment, and by the time she recovered, she felt oddly refreshed—lighter.

Looking at her reflection in the water, she gasped.

At some point, she had been dressed in a brand new pink dress dusted with glittering fluorescent powder.

Delicate petals were sewn into the fabric, giving it a soft, floating elegance.

Her whole body had been cleaned.

The grime was gone, her hair shimmered again, and she smelled faintly of flowers.

Even the swelling in her ankle had vanished, as if it had never been there.

“This is…”

“A gift from me,” the queen said cheerfully.

“The dress is woven from flower-spun thread. The petals are imbued with my magic—so long as you cherish it, it will never wither. Just accept it with gratitude.”

“Thank you… really,” Aurora said, a little flustered.

She had never received such a generous gift before.

Her cheeks flushed with shy gratitude.

“Well then,” the queen said with a sly smile.

“Now that we’ve wrapped up the whole gratitude thing, let’s talk about my child.”

She gestured toward the little spirit that had been hiding in Aurora’s pocket all along.

“It seems to like you quite a lot. It won’t even listen to its sister.”

Its sister?

Aurora guessed that must’ve been the spirit that had bonked it on the head earlier.

“You’ve really made things difficult for me,” the queen sighed dramatically.

“It was only just born, can’t even speak yet, and already it knows what it means to like someone.”

“Lovely lady, why don’t you just do a good deed all the way and take it out for a few days? Let it play, and once it’s tired, it’ll come home on its own.”

“Me? But—”

“Oh come on, you already accepted the gift, didn’t you? That settles it. See you later, pretty lady. And stay away from the forest to the east, alright? I’d hate for other spirits to capture you.”

Before Aurora could protest, the queen snapped her fingers again.

Flowers blossomed all around her, swallowing her in a colorful swirl—and the next thing she knew, she was back in the forest.