Chapter 123: Aoi Part 1
Translator: Soafp
A blue fox? jumped out of the ring.
Suddenly asked to “give a name”, but to be honest, my mind hasn’t caught up with this situation.
After freezing for a while, the “blue fox?” started talking.
“Hey, hey. It’s our first meeting, so I emphasized cuteness, you know? You’re the Apostle. Get it together.”
Furthermore, this “blue fox?” was pretending to be a cat… I feel like its voice dropped two octaves from the cute voice earlier.
While I’m still frozen, the “blue fox?” let out an obvious sigh.
Walking through the air as if nothing’s there, it comes right up to me. While I’m still frozen and unable to move, it taps my forehead lightly with its short right foot.
“Heyyy. Can you hear me? Hellooo.”
Tapping my forehead and calling out as if making fun of me.
As I’m unable to move, it says blatantly, “Oh, you finally reacted. Well then, give me a name.”
(My body won’t move, so I can’t even speak!)
“Oh! Did you hear me? Since there were people around, I stopped time for now.”
(Stopped time? What’s this fox talking about…)
“Hey! Is ‘Fox’ going to be my name?”
(Fox is the name of an animal…)
“Why are you so fixated on a name?”
(Just wait… Why can we communicate normally?… Stopping time… Also, what are you, anyway? You’re cramming too much all at once!)
“If you’re not the Apostle, you wouldn’t be able to talk to me, right? What are you talking about?”
(I don’t even know!)
“Is today’s Apostle a bit slow…? The worst-case scenario might be to just focus on leaving offspring… But we have to do something about the miasma…”
(I don’t know anything right now. Please tell me one thing at a time.)
“Before that, give me a name.”
(Why are you so obsessed with a name!)
“Why? That’s for the sake of making a contract. This lack of comprehension might be a problem…”
(If I give you a name, will you tell me various things?)
“Oh yeah. Give me a good name.”
(Okay. I got it… Blue Fox… In German, Blaufuchs… In French, Blue Lune… Blune. Sounds like Bulma, huh? Rejected. In Spanish, Azul Zorro… Azurso… Maybe I’m overthinking it…)
Looking at this blue fox again, I realize it’s blue… Ao… Aoi.
“Is it decided?”
(Alright, your name is “Aoi.” Simple enough, right?)
“Aoi… Yeah, that’s a good name.”
Aoi suddenly started glowing, or so I thought, then it transformed into “blue light” itself.
And then, despite not being able to move, my right hand was lifted up on its own, and presented itself to the “blue light.”
The hand part of the Wyvern Leather Armor was somehow removed and now rolling on the floor.
The light that was Aoi seemed to stick to my entire right hand, then gathered on my middle finger, and finally transformed into a “blue ring.”
When Aoi changed into the “blue ring,” the voices of Mother and the others started to be heard. It seems time has started moving again.
“Al!”
Mom grabbed my shoulder, looking pained.
Turning around, it’s not just Mom. Ashera and El also looked worried about me with pained expressions.
“I’m sorry. Let’s get out of here for now.”
I said so, and Mom and El nodded, but only Ashera was staring at the ring on my right hand.
Since Mom and the others looked pained, I decided to move to the hallway for now.
“I’m sorry. What happened to me?”
To my question, Mother answered with a puzzled expression.
“I don’t remember? Hah, I called out to you several times when you were wandering toward the ring, trying to stop you. But you didn’t seem to hear me, so I grabbed your shoulder and made you turn around…”
“Is that so…”
“It might be a bit dangerous. Should we leave the ring for another time?”
When Mom said so, Ashera asked with a tense expression,
“Aldo… What happened to that ring?”
Everyone except Ashera was staring at the ring on my right hand.
“This? To be honest, I’m not sure if it was a dream or reality…”
“The ring appeared suddenly. The moment Master grabbed your shoulder, it emitted a strong light and appeared…”
Realizing that it’s impossible to deceive them, I decided to tell them everything truthfully.
“What I’m about to say might sound like a dream, and even I’m not sure if it’s true. But are you willing to listen?”
I looked into Ashera’s eyes as I spoke, and she nodded slowly. Mother and El did the same.
I recounted everything from my encounter with Aoi to the ring transformation. Since the concept of “time stopping” might not be understood, I explained it as happening in a “mental world.”
“…So according to Aoi, I’m supposed to be the Apostle.”
Mom looked at me with a grim expression.
“I know it sounds strange coming from me… But to really be an Apostle… Hah, I wonder if the Apostle will save the plight of the Blue Ring?”
I shook my head slowly.
“I don’t know the power of this ring. Aoi said he’d teach me various things if I gave him a name. But it seems he’s useless after all.”
As I complained about Aoi, the ring emitted a faint light.
“Hey. Who’s useless here? It seems the Apostle of this generation not only lacks intelligence but also has a foul mouth…”
Aoi, who had just become a ring, suddenly appeared in front of me, striking a pose of anger and complaining. Honestly, I don’t understand what’s going on, but I’m too tired to be surprised anymore.
“Hey, long time no see. Now you can speak properly.”
As I replied to Aoi, Mom grabbed my shoulder.
“Al, what’s that?”
“Eh? Oh? Can you see it? That blue fox-like thing…”
“I can see it! It’s floating! What is it?”
“Oh, this is the Aoi I mentioned earlier. What is it… now that you mention it, I also don’t know what this guy is.”
“You don’t know…”
“Let me ask. I’m a bit tired of being surprised.”
While Mom, Ashera, and El looked at me with incredulous eyes, I asked Aoi.
“We’re in the middle of our conversation, but is it okay if you teach me various things?”
“Yeah, if you don’t get smarter, it’ll be a problem for me too.”
“First of all, what are you?”
“Eh? Are you serious?”
“Yeah.”
Aoi looked up at the sky with an exaggerated reaction.
“I’m starting to lose confidence. This is too much…”
“So what are you?”
He glanced at me and let out an obvious sigh. I’m about to lose my patience.
“I’m obviously a spirit. I’m also a part of the Spirit King.”
“Spirit…”
“What kind of Apostle did you think I was? I’m the Apostle of the spirits. If so, it’s only natural that I’m protected by spirits.”
“Will you protect me?”
“Of course. But I don’t have any fighting power. I’m more of a brainwork kind of guy.”
“…Then, how will you protect me?”
“First, the extent of my power… let’s see. Within the range understood by humans… is about 10,000 meters.”
“10,000 meters.”
“Yeah. Within that range, magic doesn’t decrease, or even if it does, I’ll replenish it immediately.”
“!! Magic!”
“Yeah. And… that’s probably all for now.”
“Even that’s enough. With this, Blue Ring can be protected.”
As I rejoiced, Mom interjected.
“What else can you do? What other powers can you lend us?”
“Why is someone unrelated sticking their nose in? But I’ll tell you.”
“…Please do.”
“If you release other mana spots, I’ll connect them.”
“Mana spots?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t even know that… What have people been doing for the past thousand years?”
“…I’d appreciate it if you could tell me.”
Mom’s temples throbbed. This guy really knows how to provoke.
“Aren’t those places where mana gushes out? By the way, this place is one too. In the past, the Spirit King transformed mana into the shape of a ring and entrusted it to humans.”
“So the legend was true…”
“How many of those mana spots are there, and where are they located?”
“Eh? Wait a minute. Right now, there are about fifty large ones. They’re located all over the world, even underwater.”
“What happens specifically when you connect mana spots?”
“Eh? You connect them. So you can freely come and go. Is your head okay?”
Ah. No good. Wind Bullet (for monsters) are floating around Ice Witch like 15 shots. This woman is serious, isn’t she? I don’t want to deal with her.
“Don’t you think you should consider using a more polite tone, Spirit?”
Aoi froze, sweating like a waterfall.
“I-I’m sorry!!”
Ten minutes later, after being educated by Ice Witch, Aoi is yelling words of apology, showing his “belly.” According to him, it’s a sign of submission.
“Hey. What is he? I saw a future where if I ran away, I’d still be caught.”
“The future?”
“Ah? Oh, I sometimes see the future. I can’t control it myself, and the future can change, but…”
“The future… Can you see the future of Blue Ring? The future of this city?”
“No, it’s impossible. Like I said, I can’t control it.”
“I see…”
It seems he won’t let me off that easily.
“By the way, how do you release those mana spots you mentioned earlier?”
“Most mana spots have a ‘master.'”
“Master…”
“Yeah. Mana spots are neither good nor evil. They’re just vents for mana. When a living creature touches them, they form a connection with the mana spot. For animals, that’s all there is to it, but the problem arises when monsters touch them. Monsters carry miasma, you see. They contaminate the mana spots with miasma. Frankly, if an ‘Apostle’ is born, it means that more than half of the mana spots in this world are contaminated with miasma.”
“Miasma…”
“Yeah. If left unchecked, the land will wither, the seas will dry up, and the creatures of this planet will die out.”
“So the Apostle’s job is to defeat the masters of mana spots all over the world and become the new master?”
“That’s right. You’re finally starting to get a little smarter.”
This guy… except for Mom, he’s still spewing venom.
“Speaking of which, what is the miasma that keeps coming out?”
“Miasma… Originally, it’s the ‘negative emotions’ that people carry. It’s a bit long, but can I continue?”
“Yeah…”
From there, Aoi began to talk about the relationship between miasma, humans, the mana stream, and the Spirit King.
Honestly, the story was too big for me to keep up with.
But I have to understand it in my own way. It’s about my own future after all…