Chapter 12
Spirits listen to elves because they see them as immature beings akin to themselves—in other words, as children.
The same is true of the rare humans born with the ability to make their voices reach spirits.
Thus, although spirits may help elves, soothe them, or be soothed by them, they never heed the admonishments in their words.
Just as adults do not listen no matter how much a child explains the reasons behind something.
Of course, this is only a metaphor. A spirit's sensibilities are completely different from those of humans, so the concept of a child probably does not even exist clearly for them.
However, with a powerful spirit like this one, it was not unusual for them to call elves and certain humans beloved children.
But when it came to high elves, the matter changed somewhat.
It was believed that, after death, a high elf's soul left its body and became a spirit.
I did not know whether that was true, since I had never actually witnessed the death of a high elf.
In other words, a high elf's soul was an immortal existence on the same level as a spirit.
Therefore, the words of a high elf reached a spirit's ears as the words of an equal.
Spirits aided high elves as kindred, cultivated friendships with them, and deepened their mutual understanding.
This time, Airena had given up on persuading the spirit herself and asked for my help because she believed that the admonishment of a high elf would reach even an enraged spirit.
Whether or not she knew it, there was actually another way for an elf to deliver words of admonishment to an angry spirit.
That was to ask another powerful spirit to deliver the admonishment instead of conveying one's own words directly.
However, because this method placed a spirit with different sensibilities between the speaker and listener, the message might become something entirely different from what was intended. In a case like this, there was also the danger that the anger would spread to the other spirit and make the damage even worse.
So even if Airena had known about or thought of that method, it would truly have been a last resort for when things had become utterly hopeless.
That being the case, you who dwell in this beautiful spring, would you tell me what has made you so angry?
Even when speaking with a spirit, praising one's listener was by no means meaningless.
But what should be praised when speaking to a spirit was not the spirit itself, but the environment in which it dwelled.
Thus, addressing a spirit who dwelled in a spring filled with pure water, or one that gave rise to abundant waters, conveyed profound respect for that spirit.
But in this case, if heavy metals had seeped into and polluted the groundwater, calling it a spring of abundant water might instead have provoked her anger, so I simply called it a beautiful spring.
More important than the wording itself, however, was the emotion invested in it.
When speaking with a spirit, the emotions behind one's words were seen through. In fact, unless one tried to convey those emotions honestly instead of hiding them, a spirit would never trust them.
Needless to say, saying something one did not truly mean could even make a spirit angry.
――――――――――――!
The water spirit's mouth produced a wordless cry of anger—or perhaps merely a sound that could only be described as high-pitched.
Yet it was certainly the spirit's attempt to convey her will, and my ears could discern her feelings from the voice she emitted.
It was, quite simply, an answer to my question.
Apparently, the water spirit was not angry merely because wastewater from the mine was polluting the river.
Apparently, a small ethnic group that revered nature had once lived in this area—though, since I was speaking with a spirit, I had no idea how long ago that had been.
When they hunted and caught game, they thanked the forest; when they caught fish, they thanked the river; and whenever they drank water, they thanked the spring at its source.
Their reverence extended to the water spirit dwelling in the spring, and they worshiped her respectfully as a special being.
The water spirit, too, had felt affection for those who revered her, and she had taken pains whenever heavy rains fell to keep the river from rising enough to threaten their lives.
Apparently, she had been a kind water spirit—so kind that it was difficult to imagine it from the enraged figure she had become.
But the deeper that kindness, the deeper the anger when it turned.
The water spirit and the small ethnic group had built a good relationship, but one day, humans from elsewhere reached out to invade this land.
The small people lost the ensuing conflict, their numbers dwindled greatly, and the survivors were absorbed into the groups of humans who had come from elsewhere.
The water spirit felt deep sorrow over this, but even beasts fought when groups came into conflict with one another.
She could not intervene without being asked, and the small people, for their part, did not want to drag the water spirit they revered into their conflict.
I could not tell from the spirit's account whether those invaders were the present-day kingdom, but this land was conquered.
Even so, the surviving descendants of the small people continued to quietly revere and worship the water spirit while living among the other humans.
But apparently, those descendants strongly protested the development of the mine and were driven out of the land.
The descendants of the people she had cared for were driven away, while the humans who came afterward polluted the water without any reverence for it.
The fish died, and the plants withered.
The water spirit's anger was also anger at herself for failing to act until things had reached this point.
She wished she had acted during that conflict and swept away the enemy army.
She wished she had protected them regardless of whether they feared her for doing so.
What was lost could not be recovered.
But to prevent this land, which she herself loved and which they had loved as well, from being polluted any further, she had decided to sweep away the invaders even now.
It was then that a beloved child who revered her and tried to stop her appeared.
The water spirit was soothed by that child's presence, and therefore felt all the more strongly:
For the sake of the world in which this child lived, she should sweep away all evil things.
In short, yes... this was bad.
As always, the spirit's words were short but packed with information, which was bad enough.
The water spirit had completely made up her mind, which was even worse.
With so much tangled history behind it, I wondered whether it was even possible to stop her anymore.
After all, this was not merely a problem with the mine.
And after hearing her story, I was starting to sympathize with the water spirit myself.
In this state, no matter how much I talked, I would not be able to change her mind.
Then, rather than stopping her, I would change the flow.
My opponent was water.
Once water decided to flow, holding it back was extraordinarily difficult, and probably impossible.
But by changing the direction of its flow, water could greatly reduce the damage.
Yes, this was one of the methods encompassed by the concept of flood control.
I never expected that I, a high elf, would end up talking about flood control, but... well, it would be a good experience.
I understand your feelings very well. I have no words with which to hold you back. But even so, let me say this: those who would be swept away by your waters are not the people you should direct your anger toward.
Because I had received the water spirit's words, understood them perfectly, and sympathized with her feelings, she too became willing to listen to mine.
So I spoke.
Those who suffered when swept away by water would be the weak.
People who knew nothing and worked desperately, forced to obey orders without even knowing that what they were doing was wrong.
A mother desperate to raise her child, and an innocent child who knew neither good nor evil.
Most of all, an infant knows neither guilt nor reverence; a child living there now is no different from a child of the small people who revered the water spirit.
If I swept them away, I would make her unlike the one they had cherished.
And above all, the powerful people responsible for this matter had secured their own safety, so simply sweeping everything away with water would not make them disappear. It would only inconvenience them somewhat.
My friend was taking action against the pollution caused by the mining waste.
Of course, that did not mean the problem would be solved immediately, but things should move in a better direction.
Therefore, spirit of the water, I ask that you please do not direct your anger at the wrong people.
As for the outcome, the town of Galaret was spared from being swept away.
I heard that the mining pollution had also come to light, and that countermeasures were being devised under the leadership of the smiths' guild—or, more precisely, under the guidance of the dwarves who belonged to it.
Apparently, it was also decided that the smiths' guild would cooperate in and investigate future mine development to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.
Once it became clear that the cause was mining pollution and that the water spirit was unrelated—in fact, that she was the victim—Airena and the others of White Lake were apparently credited with successfully completing the request as well.
In other words, everything ended peacefully and without major incident.
Because the lord of Galaret was dismissed after being held responsible for the failure of the mine's development, the sanctions against those who had been expelled for opposing it were rescinded.
I did not know whether those people, who had probably already begun new lives elsewhere, would return to this land, but... I hoped they would.
Then, some time later, the former lord of Galaret apparently drowned himself with his face submerged in a bathtub, and the king of the Kingdom of Rudelia who had appointed and dismissed him drowned in a bathroom three days later.
It was rumored throughout the kingdom that the dismissed former lord of Galaret had resented the king and placed a curse on him in exchange for his own life, but the whole truth lies in deep, dark water.