Volume 2: Chapter 025: Makia: Cotton & Sweet Dirt
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Where is this place?
I am standing in the middle of a cotton field, dressed in a simple pure white dress.
It is rare for me to be in white…
[1] A figure, who is no stranger to the colour white, caught my eye.
“Yuri?”
It is really him. I can tell even from the sight of his back.
He is staring blankly into the distance, so I tried calling him again, [1] “Yuri? What is it? Where the heck is this place?”
“Maki-chan…?”
He looks surprised to see me.
I’m guessing that I’m not actually supposed to be here.
“Hey, you should really go and see Percelis, you know? She said that she will be waiting for you at the ‘promised place’ or something.”
“The promised place…”
I had no idea where that place was, obviously, but at least it looks like Ulysses knows. He smiles at me with a sad, nostalgic air.
“Before I could get there, I would have to stay here a little longer, ? think.”
“Here?”
“Here, in my memories.”
Shaaaa—
A warm breeze caresses the field of cotton flowers.
Little particles of white light start floating up.
“There is a small hut over there. Can you see it?”
“I see it,” [1] I say as I stare at the remote little hut in the direction he is pointing.
It looked very lonely.
“An old couple used to live in that hut. They provided occasional lodgings for merchants and other travellers who happened to pass by. That’s the Barometz Road leading to the Eastern Continent.”
“… …”
I squint my eyes at the hut and see a young boy stepping out.
He has white hair and wears white clothes that must have been made from cotton.
“I was born in that house. Back then, I was called Yunosis Barometz. It was only later that I was known as the ‘White Sage of the East.”
“Barometz?”
“That’s right, it is said that the Barometz is a legendary plant from the Eastern Continent. It is said that it bears fruit that resembles pure white sheep. There were two powerful countries within the Eastern Continent which were divided by a great desert. I was born in the milder south side where a thriving cotton industry existed. This cotton would later be sold to the country in the north. Back then, the road used was the Barometz Road. Where my original name came from.
“A plant that bears pure white sheep?”
“That’s right. I was named thus thanks to my pure white appearance.”
Even now, he is chuckling a little.
An air of nostalgia surrounded him as he stared at the small hut in the distance.
“I heard that I was found abandoned in a sheep pen. It’s possible that one of the passing merchants dropped me off there for some reason. Still, the couple by the Barometz road were good people. Therefore, life was not bad. Also, I get to hear all kinds of interesting stories from passing merchants who happened to stay over and see unusual trinkets of all kinds thanks to the location of our house.”
“… …”
Ulysses picks one of the cotton flowers and pulls it apart.
The cotton inside is white and fluffy, just like his hair.
I swear they look really similar!
“Just how did someone like you become the White Sage with this kind of origin story?”
“Naturally, something happened. Among the goods that the merchants transported was a mysterious pot.
“A pot…?”
“Looking back, it was a beautiful Elsha pot that was probably something valuable that the [1] merchants were trying to sell, but to me, I was more interested in the content. No one else could see the fellow sleeping inside of it.”
“In other words, a spirit, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I absentmindedly pluck one of the cotton flowers and toss it at him.
“Was that the White Sage’s first spirit?”
“Indeed. Look, there it is. Prana the Hummingbird.”
“Ah, that fellow’s always fuming for some reason.”
I remember it. A tiny insect-like bird creature that’s always buzzing around the White Sage. I always thought it was a bit of a tsundere, weak though.
“I learned about the existence of spirits after meeting Prana. At first, all I wanted to do was meet more of them. I wanted to know how many spirits roamed this world. That was why I left on a journey with those merchants. To see the world.”
“This feels kind of strange. I never heard you talk about your early life before.”
“That’s because it all happened so long ago. Not to say that I have forgotten about it, but… when life is too long… well, you know.”
“I know. It’s like, the easiest bits that get stuck are the ones that are difficult to forget. Regular life just gets all blurred up.”
“In the end, White Sage was created through a connection with the spirits and these cotton flowers. This Barometz Road [1] led me to the Sanctuary, to the meeting of the Green Shrine Maiden, the Hero… as well as the ‘promised place’ with Shuma and Eltear… because it was all connected.”
Ulysses takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly.
I do the same, breathing deeply and exhaling slowly.
Aah… the air smells sweet.
“It smells really sweet here, doesn’t it? It feels like the soil would taste sweet.”
“Is it delicious?”
“It would be best not to try and eat it.”
Yuri says that with a rather serious expression on his face.
Wait, it’s not like I would actually try to eat it or anything. At most, I would lick it a bit.
I guess…
“Why are you looking away?”
“No reason.”
He was gazing at the tiny hut in the middle of the cotton field of his past memories.
“Maki-chan… could you stay with me for a little longer? There is something I wish to verify.”
“Here? Inside your memory?”
“I want you to have a look too, Maki-chan. You must be here for a reason.”
I nod.
I have no idea why I am here, or what memory he wants to verify. However, just as Percelis had gone deep into her memory to face her past, I guess he also wants some answers.
I guess I should stick around and see this through.
The pages of his memory flip and we go back in time to witness the story of Yunosis, the White Sage of the east and Demon King of 2000 years ago.
[Gumihou: Aside from ambiguous dialogue lines, it was pretty okay]
[1] Add detail
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