Daktulos Blessing — Meilin

We changed routes from Mysteria to Kingdom de Fleuve.

According to Haruki, the kingdom is known for its world-class cuisine, art, and fashion. “I heard the desserts there are super delish!” Himari exclaimed while packing her belongings, “I cannot wait to taste the wonderful food! Maybe I could learn a thing or two from the chiefs.”

The same goes for me. I smacked my lips at the thought of food. Himari’s cooking was enjoyable, but the idea of fancy food from a kingdom sounded irresistible.

We set off by boat for the Kingdom de Fleuve.

“Did you know? Kingdom de Fleuve is a nation almost as large as Tian Cheng, except it mostly consists of water instead of land! That makes the place super secure, since monsters cannot swim, and its rivers are really complex and hard to navigate!” Haruki flew in circles, blabbering facts about the kingdom.

Himari was invested as usual, while Yulan was on guard, making sure there were no monsters in sight.

That leaves Jianyun and me sitting side by side, silent.

I looked at the pouch I held in one hand, remembering my conversation with Lady Elpida earlier. “I still can’t believe she did that.” I murmured, “She really hates her nails, huh.”

The day prior:

“Little Mei, you’re leaving already?” Standing in the doorway, with hands crossed, stood Lady Elpida with the thing that’s always following her—Eros.

“Yes, Lady Elpida.” After spending a lot of time with the elf, I’ve developed a newfound respect for her. As for Eros, he’s still the lowly brat who often behaves eccentrically.

Lady Elpida grinned, leaning in and squeezing my shoulder. As an elf, she was much taller than I, towering over me and blocking the light. “There’s something I still haven’t asked you.”

“Yeah? Ask all you want.” I shot a look at Eros, signaling Lady Elpida to send him out.

“What wish do you intend to make?” She shooed him away and gave me a pitiful look as if saying: Poor Eros, you could be a bit nicer to him.

“To return to Earth.” I shot her back a look that said: Not if he acts like a freak!

I originally left Earth because of Haokei’s death. Knowing what she did now, I couldn’t bring myself to forgive her for deceiving me. She was the reason I hated my life. But now I’m no longer bound by lies; I finally saw how selfish a decision I had made.

I left so many things behind. So many things are not yet decided, so many memories are not yet made, so many words are not yet said, so many apologies are not yet apologised. Maybe this is the consequence of death. Only after death, or perhaps in the process of approaching it, will you begin to appreciate the bits and pieces of life. I burdened my parents and caused them so much pain. I thought that with me away, their lives would be easier, without a mouth to feed. But I was very wrong.

That thought saddened me, and Lady Elpida tilted her head in concern. “I’ve realised that I have so much yet to do back on Earth, I have so many mistakes I must fix. So that’s my wish. To return to Earth, and repair what I can repair.” The wish is my only chance to return.

“Wow. You’ve grown quite a bit, Little Mei! But not as much as the glamorous Lady Elpida!” Lady Elpida gave me a warm hug and playfully ruffled my hair.

“Please. You’re going to suffocate me.”

“It’s good that you’ve decided on a wish.” Lady Elpida has been much warmer to me than before. Five weeks have passed since we arrived in Eikasia, and that has given me ample time to contemplate my wish.

“But there’s also a risk.” Lady Elpida held out a scalpel. “The closer you are to your wish, the closer you are to corruption.” Her expression was shadowed.

She lifted her sleeve, revealing the markings again, and raised the scalpel.

Shing—

She swiftly sliced her pinky off and wrapped it in a bandage. At that moment, her patterns flared, and the spider lily on her forehead glowed the brightest.

It happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to react. “What are you doing?” I stared in horror at her severed finger. I couldn’t imagine how painful it must’ve been. But Lady Elpida’s expressions were carefully conveyed in a way that made it impossible for me to discern her thoughts.

A spider lily was wrapped around the finger and placed in a pouch, which Lady Elpida handed to me.

“In your journey, there will always be a chance of corruption. Be it you or someone else, when that time comes, make use of my blessing.” Lady Elpida wore a pained smile, “I won’t be able to accompany you on this journey, so this is the least I can do. Please accept this.”

I held the pouch close. “Thank you. But don’t you dare do that again. Each of your fingers is beautiful, so don’t cut them off.”

She smiled, genuinely this time, “You think so?”

And that’s the story of how I have Lady Elpida’s finger in my hand.

We took the coastal route, which lasted for a few weeks. Haruki told us tales about his previous journeys with his former owners. One particularly memorable story was the meeting with his first owner:

“It’s cold.

It was raining.

My paws felt limp, my mouth dry.

I mewed desperately, clawing on the shredded pieces of cloth wrapped around my body.

I don’t know how I got here. I curled into a ball and tried to warm my tiny body. I was frozen, actually frozen, trapped in an ice block.

I was sure I had an everyday life before. Before this happened. But I had forgotten everything, all the memories were gone, blown away by the sheer cold.

That’s when a ray of sunshine shone down.

A young lady, with a voluminous dress and soft, delicate gloves, appeared in front of me. She is what people call a witch. And that meant danger. But in her eyes, I could see a spark of kindness.

With nobody else to rely on, I followed her. My first Madame. Madame Hikari Kazeya.

Those days were bliss. Madame Hikari was an elegant lady who had a very high regard for fashion. “Witches must wear witch attire!” She decided that rule. And this red scarf was a lucky charm hand-woven by her.

She taught me how to speak, nya!

One peculiar thing about Haruki is my lifespan. I’ve long lived past the expected life of a cat, nya, as Madame Hikari said.

And I’ve even lived past her.

She was one of the most honorable witches, never using her power to cause harm. She only cast healing spells to heal villagers.

Despite that, the power of orbs was too overwhelming for her petite body to bear. She had corrupted. Before she turned into a monster completely, she gave Haruki the ability to fly, nya…

Then she whispered, ever so softly, “Soar high, Haruki Kazeya. Fly away from the land of the corrupted. Let the wind guide you, and never, ever let evil corrupt your heart.”

I did as she said. I flew far away.

I don’t know what I did wrong. I don’t know what she did wrong. I wish a spell could fix everything.

It’s cold again.”

“Poor Haruki.” Himari patted the cat affectionately. “What a sad story indeed. But fret not! You have us now!”

“Every time I lose a Madame, my body feels cold and lifeless, nya. That is, until I find another owner, of course! Then the cycle goes on…” Haruki mewed cheerfully, but I could feel his grief.

“I understand. I happened to lose loved ones once as well.” Yulan murmured.

I feel like the party members all lost someone dear to them at some point.

I sighed, looking up. The wind carried flower petals up into the vast, blue sky.

I understand how Mom feels now.

Please wait for me…

I’ll be back soon.