* * *

Arc 28 begins.

First, as an introduction, here is the background story, 【The Spirit King of the Forest's Beloved Child】.

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The girl lived in a small, damp, pitch-black solitary cell, in the basement of a certain mansion.

It wasn't because she had done anything wrong that she was put there.

The girl had been there since she was born... and had never once been outside.

To her, that cell was her entire world.

Today, too, the girl sat still, all alone, in the darkness of the cell.

<<<I'm {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} back, Mishtille>>>

Then suddenly, with those words, the inside of the cell was illuminated with light.

The source of that light was a small white mouse with small ears.

That mouse, which had appeared from somewhere in the cell, emitted light from its entire body... and greeted the girl, who was standing alone in the cell, saying it was back.

"Welcome back, Hasumus, desu."

The girl called Mishtille, her silver hair, blue eyes, and unhealthily pale skin illuminated by the soft light, returned a smile and a greeting to the white mouse, Hasumus.

'If someone says "I'm back", you should reply with "Welcome back".'

She had been taught this by Hasumus.

<<<I brought you food.>>>

Next, Hasumus materialized an apple, some nuts like acorns, and the steaming, cooked meat of some creature from the void, and dropped them on the cell floor.

"Wow, thank you, desu!" TL Note: I can’t think of a good way to localize her speech pattern of awkwardly adding “desu” at end of sentences. Think of it as a broken way of trying to make speech polite from a child who does not understand grammar very well.

Mishtille rejoiced, picked up the apple, and began to munch on it, stuffing her cheeks.

As for the meat, it was piping hot, so it was difficult to hold in her hands.

So she brought her mouth close to it while it was still on the floor, and greedily devoured it.

<<<Eat up. As for excretion, do it in the corner of the room, as usual. I'll clean it up.>>>

"Okay, okay."

Hasumus spoke those words dispassionately, while observing the engrossed Mishtille with his beady eyes.

Mishtille, on the other hand, gave a half-hearted reply.

She must have really liked the meat.

She was eating it greedily, in a posture like a dog.

However, there was no one in this cell to point out her lack of manners.

The characters in Mishtille's life were Mishtille and Hasumus... only these two.

"Haaa... that was delicious. Thank you for the meal, desu!"

...No, depending on how you look at it.

"Hey, it was delicious, Mom, desu!"

The 'Mom' whom Mishtille innocently spoke to might also be included as a character.

That being said, that 'Mom' is—

Already just silent bones, lying on the floor of the cell.

◇ ◇ ◇

According to what Hasumus told Mishtille.

A long time ago, Mishtille's mother was apparently captured by a bad man and put in this dungeon.

At that time, she was already pregnant with Mishtille.

A pregnant body.

An unsanitary environment.

...And a life of confinement where she wasn't even given food.

Normally, both mother and child would have died immediately... but Mishtille's mother survived and gave birth to Mishtille.

That's because she was a spirit user, who had made a contract with a spirit.

And the spirit she had a contract with was none other than Hasumus.

Hasumus, following the contract, brought food to Mishtille's mother with his mysterious power, and even helped her with childbirth.

Thanks to that, even in this desperate situation, Mishtille was able to be born into this world safely.

However.

With Hasumus's power, he couldn't save the life of Mishtille's mother, who had become weakened after childbirth.

Mishtille's mother passed away before Mishtille could even remember.

Normally.

A spirit contract is a contract made between the contractor, a human, and a spirit, on an individual basis.

In many cases, if the contractor dies, the contract ends there... and it's rare for them to take care of the remaining daughter.

However, Hasumus, who had been "entrusted" with Mishtille, continued to take care of her even after her mother's death.

Hasumus... this small, shining, white mouse, dutifully continued to be Mishtille's guardian.

He gave her food, kept her clean, taught her words, made her exercise, and, although from a spirit's perspective, taught her a certain amount of common sense and knowledge.

Thanks to him, Mishtille, despite being confined in the unusual environment of a dungeon, was able to celebrate her 12th birthday.

However.

That doesn't necessarily mean that Mishtille was happy.

Because, Hasumus is a spirit.

Although he is someone she can communicate with through language, his sensibilities are not the same as a human's.

This mouse, in particular, was a spirit with a mechanical nature, who would do nothing other than what he deemed necessary.

For example, even if Mishtille, wanting someone to talk to, spoke to him, unless Hasumus found meaning in the conversation, he would ignore her and not reply.

This wasn't out of malice, but a result of his nature...

His attitude greatly hurt young Mishtille's heart.

...In this way, the lonely, boring, and bare-minimum days, with no contact with anyone other than Hasumus.

Gradually eroded Mishtille's body and spirit.

◇ ◇ ◇

Mishtille, who had never left the dungeon, had no way of knowing this... but it was on a cold night, on the day that celebrated the new year.

Mishtille, wearing tattered clothes that Hasumus had somehow brought her, was wrapped in a thin blanket, lying on the cold cell floor.

"Uuuu... uuuu..."

For the past few days, Mishtille hadn't been feeling well at all.

Her head ached, she felt nauseous, and she could barely swallow any food.

Although she had caught colds before, this illness seemed particularly severe.

She hadn't seen Hasumus for two days.

Although he takes care of Mishtille, he isn't with her 24/7.

After all, being a spirit, he doesn't need to eat like a human, nor does he suffer from illness.

Therefore, he couldn't understand Mishtille's suffering... and on this day, too, he left her alone and went somewhere.

(Am I... just going to die like this, desu...)

In the cold, pitch-black cell, Mishtille thought that with a hazy mind.

"What was I born for, desu..."

Along with those weak-willed words, tears spilled from her eyes.

Without ever meeting anyone other than Hasumus.

Without ever exchanging words.

Just spending every day exercising as Hasumus said, and doing simple studies she didn't know how to use.

If she hadn't studied.

If she didn't know anything, even a little, about the outside world.

She wouldn't even have felt the emptiness of these days.

"I wanted to go... outside, desu..."

Thinking that, Mishtille, although feeling sorry, couldn't help but feel a small fragment of hatred for Hasumus.

"Ah... ugh..."

However.

After a while, Mishtille couldn't even utter such resentful words anymore.

Her condition was getting worse and worse.

She couldn't move her body much.

Letting out a hoarse groan was all she could do.

(If I die, I wonder if I can see Mom, desu...)

Since the dungeon was enveloped in darkness, she couldn't see them... but Mishtille somehow managed to turn her head, and while looking in the direction where her mother's bones were lying, she thought that.

(Maybe... that would be happier, desu.)

What kind of person was her mother, anyway?

According to the knowledge she was given, mothers are often 'warm, annoying, kind, and terrifying'.

What does 'kind and terrifying' even mean?

Mishtille, who knew no "other person" besides the dutiful and constantly mechanical Hasumus, couldn't understand it at all.

But even if it's an incomprehensible and unreasonable other person.

It's probably better than the unreasonableness of being alone.

That's what Mishtille thought.

(............)

She was vaguely thinking about that for a while.

Finally, Mishtille's body was reaching its limit.

Thinking about anything had become too much of a bother.

She was about to let go of her consciousness.

It was at that moment.

<<<...Oh, what is this!>>>

...A deep, thick voice, different from the familiar one of Hasumus, echoed in Mishtille's head.

And then, the inside of the cell was brightly lit... and Mishtille felt her body being gently lifted.

"Auh...?"

However, at this point, Mishtille's stamina reached its limit.

Before Mishtille could see or hear what the being, larger than herself, who lifted her up with two arms, was.

She let go of her consciousness, into the darkness.