The afterword continued.
It was about the "Kerberostern."
Apparently, it had been really rough.
Colan and Plancy, who'd joined the Forest Wave.
Both of them nearly died during the Second Wave.
But they made a full recovery with elixirs and witchwater. They managed to survive to the very end.
Good thing I gave them those.
But since they had no idea what was going on, all three went to thank the witch — and the name "witchwater" got exposed.
It was Nabel who defeated the giant spider.
She lost the spider-cutter as the price, but apparently Nabel had changed, as if she'd gained something in return.
Guess you could say she shed a layer, or something.
Anyway, that led to a bit of a problem.
The three from the "Kerberostern" were apparently extremely grateful to me, for some reason.
I didn't remember doing anything for them specifically.
If anything, I'd screwed up pretty badly this time and caused everyone a lot of trouble.
And so… I ended up with leftovers.
One use of the Dimmation Crack.
With a single Red Stone, I could use it one more time.
It might come in handy someday.
Well, next up. Garado left Heisen.
He had no intention of restoring the Jinryu family—turned his back on every last supporter, collaborator, and relative.
He said he was going to become a delver, and walked out.
That's so like him.
If anyone could become a fine delver and rise to lead his own party, it would be Garado.
Maybe someday, somewhere, we'll cross paths again.
Hoss was at Berk's dining hall.
He was helping Samarnya—the waitressing part-timer—with opening preparations.
Luma was expected to make a full recovery by tomorrow.
After that, two important things remained.
One was to ask the witch. I told her the whole story.
"My, my. So you're planning something interesting again, are you? In that case, it should be possible."
"Really?"
"Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And it's still inside you right now, young Wof?"
"Yes. It is."
"Hmm, hmm. By rights, a soul vessel is meant to hold only a single soul."
"Huh?"
"Well, well. But this is young Wof we're talking about. There are always exceptions."
"...There are these guys in my head playing a card game, though."
"Oh my. That does sound rather amusing."
The witch laughs cheerfully.
"The gauntlets on each side are shaped like human forms, you see."
"Well then, shall we get started right away?"
The witch stood up as if to deflect.
What exactly did she use to make those gauntlets?
"Get started? But what about permission—"
She hadn't obtained permission from the original owner.
"Oh, oh, that's not necessary."
"But—"
"Hey, hey, young Wof. Think about it for a second. Even if it were the original person—even if that were truly the case—it's actually weirder that it's still around."
"Th-that's certainly true."
"Exactly, exactly. We can pass it off as an uncanny resemblance."
"That's way too forceful."
But well, that body is something from thousands of years ago.
The fact that it still exists is the odder part.
Besides, the original owner had said something about not really liking their own body.
Yeah, fine. If I use it quietly, nothing scary will happen. If I get caught, I'll just apologize.
Inside the warehouse—the pitch-black, giant carriage. A custom-ordered vehicle: "Skear Coffin Ele."
It had been laid to rest on a bed in the back of the second floor.
The Haiyan body. The original body of that Haiyan.
Hair so black it gleamed, flowing down past her waist. Brown skin.
She looked almost exactly like Megadia, her descendant, but her height was ordinary.
Her physical appeal as a woman was outstanding, though — a genuine beauty who could make you stare without realizing it.
I could hardly believe this was the Haiyan's original body.
Honestly, I still didn't believe it.
There are things in this world you can believe, and things you can't.
This was definitely one you couldn't.
"So, um, what do I do?"
"Heh heh, heh heh, young Wof. Across all ages and all lands, how does one wake a sleeping princess, eh?"
"...Splash water on her?"
No, no, that's a lie. That's gotta be a joke.
"Ah-ha-ha, ah-ha-ha, now that's funny. Funnier than the witch's water, that is."
He burst out laughing.
Of course I knew.
"No, no, I'm serious, that's not okay! Even I know that goes too far!"
"Oh my, oh my, oh my — it's quite simple, really. Just hold a phoenix revival egg in your mouth and press it against this corpse's lips to let the liquid flow in, eh."
"Please stop calling it a corpse... You're joking, right?"
"Well, this way the success rate is guaranteed, eh."
Seriously? Even so, that was... no matter how incredible a beauty she was... I'd have resistance.
"So basically, I just need to get her to drink a phoenix revival egg?"
"Well, I suppose that's how it is."
The witch nodded, looking a little bored.
I gave her a flat look, then took out the phoenix revival egg.
It was egg-shaped, so it resembled the holy egg of an elixir.
But the golden ancient characters on its surface flickered red like flames depending on the light.
That gave the whole egg a reddish appearance. Truly a phoenix.
The opening mechanism was the same as an elixir's.
Inside the egg, liquid sloshed and swished around.
"...On your lips."
Crimson... vividly colored, slightly full lips.
They stood out against her brown skin.
"There, there, just one tiny drop is all you need."
"...I open this, right?"
"Of course, of course. That's right. Otherwise you can't drink it, you know."
"...Me?"
When I made a complicated face, the witch gave me a bright smile.
Right. I steeled myself and touched the lips. Soft. And... not cold.
"Why is it warm?"
"Well, that's because it isn't dead."
"Huh, but—"
"It's just that the soul slipped out of the body, that's all."
And that's not called being dead?
Well, whatever. Let's continue. I open the lips... uh, pry them apart with my fingers, and part the teeth — and the jaw moves with a creak.
Warm... inside the mouth... It feels like I'm playing a prank on someone who's sleeping.
Before I could register any strange sense of guilt, I let a single drop of the oddly red liquid fall from the Phoenix Revival Egg.
I confirm it properly enters the Hyeran Body's mouth.
"Is this right?"
Nothing happened, so I checked with the witch — and at that moment, something left my body.
And then, abruptly, totally out of the blue, the Hyeran Body opened both eyes with a snap.
The irises were a slightly bluish purple.
It looked right at me.
"!"
I flinched involuntarily and stumbled back.
The witch asked.
"Hello, hello. Do you know who you are?"
"Hello. Yes. I'm the Queen."
So it's the Queen — does that mean it worked!?
"H-hello."
"Um, me. Am I human? Something feels... off, in various ways."
She slowly sat up.
Then she checked — looking at her own hands, touching her face.
"Yep, yep. Definitely human, all right."
"Thank goodness. Wof..."
"Y-yes?"
"Thank you."
"Y-you're welcome..."
"So, um — this is sudden, but I have a favor to ask, Wof."
"What is it?"
"Could you give me a name?"
A name... me?