The Fire Keeper’s sobbing subsided, and we pulled apart, both of our faces flushed with embarrassment.
“Um... I’m sorry. I couldn’t control my emotions...”
“Ah, no... It’s fine.”
“Hey~ we’re still here, you know. Could you two maybe stop disappearing into your own little world?”
“What do you mean, 'our own little world'?!”
I was dumbfounded by the commander’s nonsense.
Exactly how was she looking at us to think we’d drifted off into some private fantasy?
“So, what is this ‘world without fire’ thing?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t told them about the world of Dark Souls before I was transferred here.
It made sense that the commander would ask. It was likely the first time she’d ever heard the phrase.
“Hmm... If I explain that, it’ll be a pretty long story. Is that okay?”
“Then let’s talk about it on the [Fraxinus], not here.”
The commander spoke into her intercom, giving a few orders, and we were promptly recalled to the [Fraxinus].
“All right, now tell us. About this ‘world without fire,’ and your mission there.”
“Are the others okay with this?”
The commander said it was fine, but what about the others?
Especially Itsuka-kun, Rinne, and Tohka, since they were still students.
For the record, Tobiichi and the young lady had left the moment things were over, claiming they were exhausted.
“I’m fine!”
“I’m fine too.”
“If Shido is okay with it...”
“I don’t mind either...”
“All right, now that everyone’s on board.”
Since everyone else agreed, I began to speak.
Long, long ago, in the Age of Ancients, when the world was shrouded in fog, there were only gray crags, archtrees, and Everlasting Dragons.
Then, at some point, the First Flame appeared, and the world was divided into heat and cold, life and death, light and dark.
Those born from the dark were drawn to the flame and discovered the Lord Souls.
Nito, the First of the Dead; the Witch of Izalith and the Daughters of Chaos; Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his knights.
And a pygmy, unknown to all, also found a Lord Soul.
Using the immense power of the Lord Souls, they waged war against the Everlasting Dragons and emerged victorious. That victory marked the beginning of the Age of Fire.
The world was supposed to find peace, but the fire gradually faded. A ring called the Dark Sign began to manifest on human bodies, turning them into the undead.
Those who became undead eventually lost their minds and went hollow. People called them Hollows and locked them away in prisons.
To prevent the First Flame from extinguishing, the three lords—excluding the pygmy—each tried to sustain the fire in their own way, but only Gwyn succeeded.
He burned himself as kindling to rekindle the flame, and thus, he became known as the Lord of Cinder.
Before he sacrificed himself, Gwyn asked a friend to find a king who would succeed him if the fire ever began to fade again.
That request was fulfilled, and a Lord of Cinder appeared again in the next age, and the one after that.
And how much time passed? By the time Gwyn’s deeds were relegated to ancient history, the Lord of Cinder ceased to appear.
So, to revive the dying fire, the chosen method was to resurrect the previous Lords of Cinder and force them to sustain the flame once more.
But the resurrected former Lords all wandered off their own paths, except for one.
Thus, the final, desperate choice was to use those who had tried and failed to link the fire: the Ashen Ones.
“Basically, that’s how it went. The Fire Keeper’s job is to assist the Ashen Ones so the fire doesn’t go out.”
“Wait a second. You said you were an Ashen One when you introduced yourself. Are you saying you’re the one who continued the fire?”
“I can explain this part quickly. First, the Ashen Ones are so named because their bodies bear the mark I just mentioned: the Dark Sign.”
I lifted my shirt to expose my chest.
The women, including the commander, instinctively covered their eyes with their hands, but they soon peeked through their fingers, staring at my chest.
“...That’s the Dark Sign?”
“Yes. This burning ring on my chest. That’s the Dark Sign. As I mentioned, if you have this, you become undead. For the record, it doesn’t grant any special physical buffs or anything like that.”
“So that means...”
“I’m probably what you’re thinking. Just an ordinary person who doesn’t die. Nothing more, nothing less.”
What followed was obvious. I simply died, and died, and kept dying, scraping together souls to raise my stats, reviving over and over again until I finally reached the First Kiln.
“The First Kiln is where Gwyn linked the fire. There, the [Soul of Cinder] guarded the flame, utilizing the attacks of the Lords of Cinder who had come before. I defeated it and inherited the fire.”
“...By burning your own body.”
“Yes. And when I opened my eyes, I was in this world.”
When I finished speaking, no one said a word.
A heavy silence filled the room until Yoshino-san’s eyes began to well up with tears.
“Y-Yoshino-san?! What’s wrong?!”
“I-it’s just... Hieta-san must have suffered so much...”
Yoshino-san was crying because she was imagining the sheer hardship I had endured before inheriting the fire in the world of Dark Souls.
“Yoshino-san, you’re far too empathetic.”
To be honest, I really had suffered. I had woken up in a world spiraling toward ruin, and after somehow inheriting the fire just to find a way home, I ended up in another world entirely.
“Still, I’m fine now. I’ve met such wonderful people here.”
Hearing that, the others looked at me with deeply moved expressions.
“So, you can stop crying now. Your cute face will get all puffy.”
As I said that and wiped Yoshino-san’s tears away, I could feel several stares piercing into me.
“...Shido. You should try doing that too.”
“No, how am I supposed to just do something like that?!”
What exactly had I done to trigger that kind of conversation? I really didn’t get it.
“Hehe. That’s why the Ashen One is so kind. You didn’t have to continue the fire, but you did it quietly anyway.”
The Fire Keeper spoke with a hint of pride in her voice.
What exactly are you so proud of?
“All right, they're dry.”
After finishing with Yoshino-san, I returned to my seat, but something felt missing.
“Ah.”
I’d forgotten Hikinon.
I pulled the forgotten Hikinon from my inventory and equipped it, immediately hearing its sniffling voice.
“〔You bad master... making me worry again... putting me away and not even taking me back out...〕”
“I’m sorry. Now calm down a little.”
“〔No! I’m pouting! You put me away because I was useless, didn’t you!〕”
Hikinon was seriously sulking.
I wondered how to handle it, then decided to pivot to praise.
“Come on, that’s not true. Hikinon helps so much!”
“〔...How much?〕”
“Just having you around makes me feel safe! It’s like a giant wall is protecting me. Besides, you’re the only shield in the world that can block a spirit’s attacks!”
“〔Yep! That’s right! I’m the only shield in the world that’s the toughest and best at blocking spirit attacks!〕”
Luckily, the barrage of praise worked. Hikinon quickly cheered up and puffed itself out with pride.
“Ashen One, what is this?”
The Fire Keeper looked at Hikinon with sparkling eyes.
“A doll? A shield? Something like that.”
“〔Eek! Master! That woman’s eyes are weird!〕”
Hikinon shrieked that the Fire Keeper’s gaze was unsettling.
“Um, may I touch it?”
“〔Master?! No, right? You’re not going to say yes, right?!〕”
“Uh, well... maybe for just a little while?”
“〔Masteeeer!!!!!〕”
And so, Hikinon was fondled for several minutes before finally being returned to my inventory.
“It was soft...”
The Fire Keeper seemed to have genuinely enjoyed the feel of Hikinon, flexing and unclenching her hand as she spoke.
“But, Fire Keeper? Is that what you're called? I don’t actually know your name. What is it?”
“I’m curious too,” the commander added.
I had been wondering about the Fire Keeper’s name as well. I had never once asked her during my time in Dark Souls.
“I don’t have a name. Fire Keepers are not given names.”
Her calm answer made me feel a pang of pity.
She had lived for so long, bound by nothing but her duty, without even the simplest identity.
I decided then and there to give her one.
“Um... what is the Ashen One’s name?”
“My name is Higakieta Hai.”
“Then I’d like something similar...”
“No!”
I stopped her immediately.
In Japan, when a woman marries, she typically takes her husband’s surname. If we weren't careful, it could sound like we were married.
“Here, when people get married, the woman takes the man’s surname...”
“Huh? Isn’t your surname Hai?”
Oh no. Dark Souls was set in a medieval Western-style world.
“Th-that’s... in Japan, the surname comes first...”
“Ah, ahh!”
She realized the implication and blushed deeply.
“Hmm... Ah. How about Sachi?”
Sachi means happiness or good fortune in Japanese. I chose it because I wanted her future—now that she was free from her duty—to be filled with joy and luck.
“Sachi... That’s very lovely. It means happiness and good fortune.”
“What do you think?”
“If it is a name given to me by the Ashen One, then I love it.”
“I see...”
I didn’t quite understand why she placed so much trust in me.
Still, she didn’t reject it, so I figured she liked it.
“Then your name will be Sachi, and we’ll figure out a surname later.”
“What about where she’ll live?” the commander asked.
“As for her residence, she can stay in a spirit mansion like yours. Since they already know each other, I suppose she can take the neighboring room.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Sachi bowed to the commander in gratitude.
The commander dismissed the thanks, noting that since Sachi would need to learn basic common sense, she should visit the [Fraxinus] every day.
“If you want, you can also learn from Hiki.”
“No. I cannot burden the Ashen One any further.”
“I see. If that’s your wish, then fine. Now let’s go home. I’m starting to get tired.”
And so, we all returned to our respective homes.
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