Chapter 822: Intermission: The Traveling Blue Flower

<Author's Notes>

I'm sorry for informing you late. I've received a response from the publisher regarding Volume 10's Special Edition eBook, which I've been asked about several times.

It seems that the Special Edition eBook will also be released, and the scheduled release date is January 22 (Friday). Thank you very much for your patience.

One late afternoon, Isis was standing in front of a mountain not far from her castle. Kuromueina had asked her to do something for her, and she was currently confirming it.

The Land of Death, located in the northern part of the Demon Realm. As it’s the land governed by the Death King Isis, it's a very feared place in the Demon Realm, but it's also a place of great value to some people.

Not only is it famous for mining rare gems such as Ice Crystals and Blue Diamonds, it is also known for having one of the best Magic Crystal veins in the world.

To begin with, magic crystals were created by mixing ore and magic power in places where magic power in the air tends to gather, called magic pools.

The more magic power there is, the purer the crystal would be…… and the more precious it is. The Land of Death is one of the greatest reservoirs of magic power in the Demon Realm, and it was also home to the Death King Isis, who has one of the largest amount of magic power in the Demon Realm.

A land where magic power in the air originally tended to accumulate combined with the enormous magic power Isis possesses, and furthermore, due to the influence of her magic power of death, no minerals or magic power-eating Demons lived here.

For these reasons, there were several veins of magic crystals with extremely high quality in the Land of Death. And the highest quality veins were found in places where the magic power was strongest…… In other words, it was located close to Isis' castle, so ordinary people couldn't mine there.

And since Isis, the ruler of the Land of Death herself was feared in the Demon Realm, the number of people who could mine the magic crystal from the veins near her castle were limited…… or rather, the only one who could mine them was Kuromueina.

Kuromueina had an exclusive contract with Isis to mine those magic crystals once every few decades or so. Because Kuromueina had informed her that she might be mining soon, Isis was currently checking those veins.

The inspection was a simple one for Isis, only requiring her to activate a simple Detection Magic, and the task was completed in a matter of seconds.

After confirming that there was a sufficient number of magic crystals that could be mined, Isis was about to teleport back home, thinking of reading something, but stopped when she suddenly spotted something.

[……How unusual…… to find this…… blooming in a place like this.]

Before Isis' eyes was a single blue crystal-like flower blooming on the snow-covered ground. Yes, it was the Blue Crystal Flower that held Isis' profound memories.

The Blue Crystal Flower was a flower that had some special characteristics when compared to other flowers. First of all, Blue Crystal Flowers have roots, but they don't absorb nutrients from the ground and don't photosynthesize. It's a flower that blooms using the faint magic power in the air as nourishment, so it can bloom in environments that would normally be unsuitable for flowers to bloom…… such as extremely cold regions and wilderness areas.

But on the other hand, the nature of this plant, which grows by nourishing itself with magic power, is still a mystery, for a Blue Crystal Flower may or may not bloom even when it's in the same environment as the other Blue Crystal Flowers.

In addition to being rare and extremely difficult to grow, it is almost impossible to cultivate artificially, and it bloomed in different places…… It is a flower with many mysteries, as some places have only one flower blooming in an environment just like others, while others have a cluster of flowers.

Because of its mysteriousness, the Blue Crystal Flower has often been the subject of fairy tales since ancient times…… Depicted as the invisible footprints of a traveler, blooming in the places the traveler has visited, which may have been why it was also known as the "Traveling Flower"…… The flower that was on a journey.

In a sense, it is a small miracle to come across a Blue Crystal Flower, and thus, it has gained the meaning "Miraculous Encounter" in the language of flowers…… and for Isis, this was her favorite flower.

[……A single flower…… huh.]

Seeing a single blue flower blooming in a place where there are no other plants, Isis was somehow reminded of her past self…… The Isis before she met Kaito.

Perhaps, that is why Isis gently dug around the Blue Crystal Flower with her magic, making sure not to damage its roots, and made the flower float across the ground where it was blooming.

[……In a place like this…… being all alone…… must feel lonely.]

Muttering so, Isis activated her Teleportation Magic.

The fact that it's almost impossible to cultivate Blue Crystal Flowers by themselves is only true when they're being nurtured, but once they've bloomed, they won't die as long as they have enough magic power.

After returning to the castle, Isis transferred the Blue Crystal Flower she had brought back to a pot and displayed it near the window in the room with the best view of the castle.

Thereupon, looking at it with a gentle smile for a moment, she left the room.

A fairy tale writer once said that the "Blue Crystal Flowers are the invisible footprints of a traveler", and of course, it was all just a story.

However, facts are sometimes stranger than fiction…… as the fairy tale's story actually had a certain amount of truth to it.

(Awawawa…… W- What in the world is that sinister magic power…… Is that the Death King that I've heard from the wind's whispers? I- I've been picked up by an outrageous person…… What should I do?)

Yes, as a matter of fact, the Blue Crystal Flower that Isis brought back with her…… had a spirit dwelling within it. Her name…… was "Spica". She was the only Blue Crystal Flower spirit that existed in the world.

In fact, Spica is the only High-ranking Demon that Alice, who holds all the information in the world, is not aware of the existence of, and at the same time, she's the only spirit in the world that Lillywood, the King of the spirits, doesn't know exists.

Why? The reason for this is simple…… This was because Spica had "never manifested as a spirit" before.

To begin with, she was actually a spirit that had existed almost as long as Lillywood, and she could even be called the world's oldest flower spirit.

The Spirits are a somewhat unique species, and putting aside their combat skills, their magic power is usually developed over time rather than through training, and even though there are some exceptions, basically, the older the spirit, the more powerful they are.

Among the Spirits, Spica holds power second only to Lillywood…… but she has never used her power in any way.

(……I- I was just thinking that it's been a while since I've seen a snowy landscape, but I never thought this would happen…… This is quite the problem.)

She basically just traveled around the world on whims, "watching the scenery in a daze while swaying with the wind for hundreds of years", and does nothing more than sometimes, making memories on whims, making Blue Crystal Flowers bloom nearby.

In addition, when Lillywood became independent from Kuromueina, even when she called out to the entire Demon Realm many times, saying "I would like to know about the currently existing Spirits. Putting aside asking you to be my subordinate or not, I would like to talk with you"…… but thinking that it was none of her business, Spica ignored her call, so Lillywood hadn't been made aware of her existence.

In addition, there are no Blue Crystal Flower spirits other than Spica, so Lillywood just deemed it as Blue Crystal Flowers are flowers without spirits dwelling in it.

(Hmmm, if it's someone with sinister magic power like her…… I don't know what they'll do to me if I stay here. I better get out of here…….)

But even if it's a genuinely easy-going person like Spica, she seemed to have some thoughts about the magic power of death that she saw up close, and was thinking of getting out of the castle as soon as possible.

It's just, well…… repetitive it may be…… but she…… Spica…… is the "most easy-going person in the world".

(Unnn, let's get out of here. Urgently…… "after about 20 years".)

Even when she said such a thing, moving to a new location in 20 years is the "fastest ever" for her.

(That being said, the view from here is beautiful~~. The snowy landscape sure is great~~)

Thus, as if her path has been guided for her…… Spica, who would later be known as the Crystal Flower Star, arrived in Isis' castle.

<Afterword>

『Crystal Flower Star, Spica』 

A Spirit that has never appeared before, a traveler that is the most easy-going person in the Demon Realm…… At first, she was wary of Isis' magic power of death, but her perception gradually changed…… and rather, she became interested in Isis, who really cared for Blue Crystal Flowers.

She felt strangely comfortable in Isis' castle, and more importantly, seeing Isis coming to check on her from time to time…… for the first time in her life…… she began to think that she wanted to "talk" to Isis, and for the first time, she manifested as a spirit.

And as they talked, she was drawn to Isis' personality and came to love the warm atmosphere in the castle…… and deciding to end her long journey, she put down her roots in this land and became Isis' subordinate.

She is the only one who can make Blue Crystal Flowers bloom at will.