NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 275: A Helping Hand (2)
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Mira had been there in the past, helping Artesia with a quest that involved entering that place.
That brought her memories of her friends back then, but it also reminded her of the somber air filling the Purgatory Cellars, and made her feel bad for how spirits were being treated, put on the same level as cursed objects. While their viewpoints were slightly different, that sentiment was the same for both the owner and Mira.
But now she was seeing a new hope there. Maybe she would be able to find plenty of antiques with spirits in them if she visited the Purgatory Cellars.
「By the way, is it common practice to leave such items in the care of the church then? Do other shops do that?」
The owner loved antiques so much that he could not bring himself to allow one to be treated like a cursed object, and chose to tuck it away in an inconspicuous corner. But Mira began to wonder what other shops would do.
「Other shops… Well, I’d like to think some remain hopeful that one day they can be fixed up, but probably most choose to destroy them instead. And the less scrupulous ones might even turn a blind eye and sell them off to other places. The church also requires you to pay a certain amount for them to take in items after all.」
Much to his chagrin, he also understood the business side of things, so even if he loved antiques, he knew that others would act in different ways.
「I see, I thought as much…」
Since no one knew what they were, spirits in furniture were constantly mistaken for more ominous and evil entities, and it pained Mira to realize that in the past, many such spirits had died as the antiques were destroyed.「So in that case, if I said I want to buy this sofa, would you sell it to me?」
After thinking for a moment, Mira asked that with determination, she could not leave that spirit in such a situation.
「You want it? But as I just explained, it’s haunted in a way that we can’t fix yet. I would never sell something like that.」
The owner replied right away. If all he cared about was money, he would instead list all of the downsides and ask if she still wanted it despite that. But he felt personally responsible for every single item in his shop, and he did not want one of his clients running into misfortune because of something they bought.
That response really went to show just how good of a person the owner was. But as it just happened to be, that went against what Mira wanted.
「Really? Even if I were to tell you that this is exactly what I was looking for?」
But because of his morals, his mind was already set on the sofa. That made Mira want to make him connect the dots himself instead of revealing everything.
「What you were looking for…」
The owner stood still, staring at the sofa, then at Mira, then back to the sofa, and continued doing that while blinking rapidly, trying to comprehend what that meant.
「Huh?! Wait, then it’s a… But… No, is there really a spirit living in the sofa?! That can’t be… The specialists were spellcasters so they should’ve been able to see a spirit, right?! There’s no way they wouldn’t know…」
His shock soon turned to confusion, as his knowledge on the matter conflicted with Mira’s claim.
(Ahh, now I understand.)
Hearing that reply, Mira finally knew why people had treated those spirits with so much neglect. Spellcasters being able to see and talk to spirits had become common knowledge, and that led to some misconceptions.
Everyone believed that all spellcasters had the ability to see spirits, and those skilled enough would also be able to see spirits in items, with swords being the easier to notice.
But that belief backfired when it came to Man-Made Spirits, like those in furniture. As the Spirit King had explained, even those with a lot of experience would hardly notice them, as they preferred to stay hidden, merely watching over the household that had produced them.
In other words, even though people knew such spirits could exist, they did not know their usual behavior, so they did not even consider that possibility with the sofa. Everyone thought that if there was a spirit in the sofa, any spellcaster would be able to see it.
In reality, one would need a strong tie to spirits to even notice something about the sofa, and something like the Spirit King’s Divine Protection to actually know for sure. It was possible for some spellcasters to achieve the first part, but only Mira had gotten far enough to achieve the second.
The two teachers that the owner had hired seemed to be rather experienced, maybe they were even on the same level as the spellcasters of the Silver Linked Towers. They had managed to sense something on the sofa, meaning they also had a strong connection with spirits, but it still was not enough for them to know more.
If they had known of the conditions that led to spirits being born in furniture, maybe they could have taken it as a possibility, but they were also limited by knowledge.
Those two were used to seeing and talking to regular spirits, so they did not notice the spirit in the sofa. Then again, if specialized spellcasters did not know about them, it was hard to imagine anyone at all did.
Because of that, they would attribute everything to other causes before considering the existence of a spirit. That had happened with the sofa in front of them, and it likely had happened many times in the past for other antiques that were gone now.
「Are you sure…are you really sure that there’s a spirit living in this sofa?」
The owner was utterly confused by then and did not know what to believe, so he turned to look straight into Mira’s eyes and asked that. But strangely, his doubt seemed almost overshadowed by hope, since if Mira was telling the truth, then the poor sofa would not have to suffer the same fate as so many other antiques in the past.
Spirits were commonly called the good neighbors of humans, mostly referring to those in nature like Worthramble or Anlutine. More importantly, they were capable of holding conversations, and would often help people being attacked by monsters.
But Man-Made spirits, like those in furniture, did not have the same type of consciousness as those from nature, their will manifesting in the usability of whatever object they were born into.
The most common type of Man-Made spirits were Armor Spirits. Those residing in weapons provided the power for their wielders to fight until the very end, and those residing in armor provided the defense for their wielders to stay safe.
Even with all of those differences, they were all called spirits, as they all shared the same type of spiritual power within them.
Just like how people could use their own mana to conjure spells, spirits would manipulate the spiritual power within them, the mana permeating the world around them, and even the power of the stars circling around the world to manifest spiritual magic.
Whenever all of those powers of nature converged and became concentrated, Primitive Spirits would be born. And Man-Made Spirits were born when bits of spiritual power took root in tools and items.
It was that difference in birthplaces that also impacted the way they behaved. Man-Made Spirits were born from a single source and motivation, while Primitive Spirits came from an amalgamation of different powers. As a result, they had more advanced minds and actual personalities.
Unlike those spirits, commonly called the good neighbors of humans, Man-Made Spirits like those in furniture did not really have the mental capacity to communicate. But that mattered little, as they would always support their owners, in a way making them just as benevolent neighbors to humans as other spirits.
「Yes, there is. I can see it very clearly.」
Mira nodded firmly, reassuring the owner. Then she made the mark of the Spirit King’s Divine Protection start to glow as she explained in more depth about those spirits, how they were extremely hard to notice, and how she only managed to do it herself thanks to the Spirit King.
「Ohh, ohhh! Incredible!! So there really is a spirit there! This is amazing. Thank you so much! I’m so glad!!」
The glowing mark carried enough weight to convince the owner, as he began jumping with happiness, looking at the sofa with adoring eyes. He was delighted that there was no need to destroy it or quarantine it within the church. He also was relieved that the kind spirit did not have to suffer such treatment, and he continued thanking Mira over and over again.
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