I Didn’t Even Want to Live, But God Forced Me to Reincarnate!

The interior of the house looked peculiar to me. 

On some parts of the house, it looked as if the house itself was fused with the tree–giving off the impression that the tree’s trunk created the house. 

As for the furniture inside, most were made from nature (a.k.a wooden), and most of the furniture seemed outdated compared to the current modern standard, but it still looked lovely and had everything that one could ever need to lead a simple and good life. 

It was as if we were transported back in the ages, but in a good way, because I could see why one would want to live here. It’d be a great retirement home, indeed!

We sat together in the living room with Minny the Pooch entertaining us as Eltharion excused himself to prepare some tea for us, although we insisted we could skip the formalities lest we trouble him…

This was how it went…

“No, this is the least I could do to my guests. It’s not often I receive guests, especially royal guests. As an old saying goes, manners maketh the man.”

Due to his insistence and a firm refusal of our ‘no’, we ended up swallowing our words back and just let him waltz to the kitchen happily as he hummed a song that seemed to be a folk song based on its tune. 

After a few moments and after several herbal scenes wafted in the air, the divine doctor returned with… a set of herbal tea?!

Seemingly aware of our surprised and questioning look, Eltharion explained, “People’s preferences of herbal tea vary. I have no idea what kind of tea you will like, so I decided to pick the three best high-quality herbal teas that I managed to procure.”

He then set the three different pots of tea on the table and several empty cups accompanying it.

“Ahem! Let me give a brief introduction to the teas. The one on the most left is Moonblossom Tea. It is the most famous out of the high-quality tea of its caliber. The taste is quite light but it can help you calm down and gain mental clarity. The one in the middle is Emberleaf tea. As its name may suggest, it has a warm taste of spices that can help keep your body warm and rejuvenate it. And the last one here is Thornroot Tea. Its taste is quite strong but the effect can do wonders for your body, from bringing you clarity of mind and a boost of strength.”

“Oh my, Thornroot Tea? That’s my favorite. I’d like it, please,” Maiara said as she took a cup and gave it to Eltharion, who happily poured the tea for her.

“A fine choice. As expected of Lady Maiara,” Eltharion smiled.

“Doctor, did you know that Thornroot Tea is my favorite, and that’s why you included it in the selection? Not many would opt to have it, you know,” Maiara said as she took the filled cup.

“Oh, how could I? The reason I always include Thornroot Tea in the selection of tea I serve is simple… That’s my favorite. Just like you, I find this tea fits my palate perfectly, despite the fact that most would choose to stay away from it. As such, I always brew this tea in hopes I can find more fans of this tea, albeit the chances being so slim.”

“That is a great idea! Maybe I should join you for the cause?”

That was how the two of them went off to their own worlds of tea…

Maiara and the divine doctor’s favorite tea, huh? I guess it should be a good tea, then?

My hand slowly moved on its own to reach towards the tea pot that had become their heated topic of interest, clearly wanting to try to pour some tea and try it out myself.

Just before my hand could reach out further, Prince Manasye whispered to my ears, “If I were you, I would not do that…”

“Eh?” Surprised, I quickly turned to look at Manasye.

What I saw on his face was clearly a determined face that sincerely advised me to stop, and there was even this peculiar expression on his face, one that seemed to tell that he was recalling an unpleasant memory or taste…

Manasye adored Maiara, so I thought his love would extend towards whatever Maiara liked as well. So this clearly came off as surprising to me.

Luckily for me, Manasye explained further. 

“The taste is really… weird, in a bad way. I thought it tasted heavenly when I saw Maiara drinking it–I mean, she looked as if she enjoyed heaven's delicacies! But when I took a sip, I immediately regretted it and never thought of retrying. It’s been years and it’s still unforgettable… That’s the moment where I came to learn that one can’t blindly like everything that our loved ones liked. It’s better to develop our own principles and preferences rather than following blindly.”

…How bad was the tea that Manasye even came to learn such a valuable lesson, speaking like a wise sage that had seen enough?!

But I turned to look at Maiara and Eltharion, who were currently having a very warm and lively conversation about the same tea as they enjoyed it, their expressions seemed to have sipped something heavenly.

In the end, curiosity and temptation got the better of me as I also poured the same tea as them in my cup. It had a color that reminded me of matcha and the fragrance wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t light either. It seemed neutral. 

As I gazed at the Thornroot Tea I poured into my cup, Manasye had the same expression of not wanting to recall something unpleasant as he looked at me with pity, while Maiara and Eltharion wore expressions of delight and expectation. As I brought my lips closer to my cup and took my first sip–

“Uwaaarghh!”

To put it in good words, the taste was so ‘heavenly’ peculiar that my mouth immediately wanted to let go of the ‘tea that was clearly not of this world’, yet I persevered to swallow whatever was in my mouth rather than being rude and vomiting it.

As I glanced towards the people in the room, I saw a mixed reaction…

Manasye’s face clearly seemed to say, ‘I told you, right?’ as he proceeded to calmly sip the Moonblossom Tea…

After seeing me, Clavis immediately retracted the hand that was about to take the same Thornroot Tea, all the way towards the Emberleaf Tea.

Meanwhile, Ein seemed as if he had decided from the get-go which tea to get as he was currently sipping on his first choice of tea that I didn’t even realize he had already taken.

As for Maiara and Eltharion…

Rather than seeming disappointed, they seemed to have expected this reaction and now had this expression of guilt.

“Ah, the taste seems to be too strong for this young lass. Here, try this instead.”

Eltharion gave me the Moonblossom Tea–it smelled so good–so I tasted it and felt my palate being cleansed. I immediately felt better.

“What about this young lass here? Have you decided?” Eltharion then asked Carbuncle, who was still looking at all the teas back and forth.

“Can I try all of them?” Carbuncle eventually asked.

Eltharion was dumbfounded, and so was I!

At first, I thought Eltharion was dumbfounded due to Carbuncle’s audacity, so I was about to apologize on her behalf when I heard Eltharion laugh.

“Ho ho ho! Daring, aren’t you? Are you going to try the Thornroot Tea despite your friend here fighting for her dear life a moment ago to swallow even a sip of it?” 

“Why not? It’s not everyday I can have these delicacies!” Carbuncle immediately responded.

“Ho ho ho! I like you, bold lass!” Eltharion laughed heartily and started to pour the tea to Carbuncle.

I would have never guessed the next scene that unfolded from that moment onwards.

Carbuncle chugged all the teas with the same expression, clearly savoring all the delicacies. Yes, that included the Thornroot Tea and I simply couldn’t comprehend Carbuncle at that moment. There was no hint of disgust nor pretense in Carbuncle’s face. 

Perhaps due to the power of the tea, Eltharion treated Maiara the warmest, Carbuncle the second in the same position as Prince Manasye, and then the rest of us equally.

Damn, I guess making people like us is the key to getting a better treatment! I should’ve practiced more–no, actually, Eltharion also treated us well, so I guess there was no need to force myself to pretend I liked the tea…

“I’ll be straight to the topic, Doctor.”

Maiara said after we warmed up with some idle talks for a few while.

“Ah yes, what might have brought you royal guests to my humble abode?” Eltharion asked.

“Do you remember Saintess Eneidaestina, Doctor?” Manasye asked.

“Why, yes, of course I remember that poor lass. Though it might not look like so, I have always continued to look out for ways to cure her even until this day,” Eltharion said with a hint of sadness in his eyes upon recalling Eneida.

“T-thank you, Doctor!” Manasye said with happiness.

“This is just what I have to do as a doctor–no, as an elf first and foremost. To think that the girl was forsaken now, despite having been brought up as the saintess for all her life, with people relying on her so much…,” Eltharion only sighed and shook his head without saying anything.

Alright, this divine doctor is on my ‘good people’ list.

“About that… We revisited Vittae village recently and discovered an ancient book that might help shed us some light on the saintess’ condition,” Maiara explained.

“Ancient book?” Eltharion raised his eyebrow. 

“Yes. Although I have a bit of knowledge about ancient language myself, the one used in this book seemed to use a different script in its writing that I am ashamed to admit, but I can’t fully read the text to be able to help,” Maiara said as she lightly shook her head, with the book in her hand.

“Let me take a look,” Eltharion extended his hand, gesturing to Maiara to give him the book, and so she did.

The divine doctor casually examined the book for a short while and…

“Ah, no wonder. This book indeed uses the ancient elven language, but its writing system used very outdated scripts that were abandoned by many elves from long ago, and so not many people still alive today could read this kind of script. It’s been a while since I encountered this script, but give me a bit of time…”

As the doctor became engrossed with the book, I could faintly hear Maiara muttering, “Hmm, should I start learning about this script as well? Who knows it will be important again in the future, just like this time…”

And Ein was circling the doctor as he stole glances at the book…

While Carbuncle, Clavis, and Manasye were playing with Minny the Pooch.

The doctor’s expressions changed several times during reading the book and I wasn’t sure at this point if we’d hear bad news or good news after he was done…

It seemed to have taken an eternity before the doctor closed the book and looked at us with an indescribable expression.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. This… is simply fascinating.”

The doctor’s comment caught me off guard. His expression seemed to say ‘Everyday we learn something new, the world is indeed fascinating and what I just read was mind-blowing’.

Thankfully, he didn’t keep us waiting as he began to explain his findings.

“The secret to the Vittae village’s saint/saintess’ power is recorded here. To put it simply, their miraculous power of life is tied tightly to the power of one’s mind.”

“To one’s… mind?” I widened my eyes. Could it be…?

Divine Doctor Eltharion nodded as he continued, “Yes. Based on what’s written here, the key to help the saintess gain more power is by enhancing their confidence and mindset of what they can do. When the saintess becomes unconfident and has doubts in her mind, the power would diminish. That is the reason behind the policy that any saint or saintess born shall be raised up in the temple since their infancy and identification, and for them to be brought up above everyone, including their own parents and elders.”

…Taking away a baby from their family might be cruel, so I was wondering before why wouldn’t they let Eneida be raised until she was slightly older before taking her away from her parents, and maybe it would have helped her and her family bond more, thus avoiding her parents from becoming that awful, but… 

No wonder she was taken away from the moment she was born and identified as the saintess.

“But nobody in the village or the temple said they knew…?” Manasye was vexed.

“Perhaps it has become a tradition that’s followed blindly by the people nowadays. Yes, without knowing the reason or seeking it,” Eltharion lightly shook his head.

“And then? There must be a reason why it’s not widely known anymore,” Ein asked Eltharion to continue his explanation.

“Indeed, you are a sharp young lad. This knowledge was supposed to be useful, but sadly… evil prevails even amongst us, the elven kin, the one that’s said to be created from the holy fragment of our goddess… Some evil people figured out that the reverse could also happen,” Eltharion paused for a while as he sighed and shook his head.

“They tried to use the power of the saint or saintess at that time for the wrong causes, causing the power to warp into something sinister that can be of use to their sinister cause. That’s when they decided that this knowledge shall be buried from the public. But the author of this book decided to record it in ancient language, with such obsolete scripting to leave a way, in case the knowledge is needed in the future, but not everyone can gain access to this knowledge.”

The divine doctor finished his explanation, and all of us held our breath.

The truth was finally served right in front of us, although it was quite different from all the guesses I had in mind. 

“At least it isn’t something sinister like a curse, but the problem of mind… That is going to take some time and effort, and it can come back any time if it’s not completely resolved,” Maiara sighed.

Yeah. On a brighter side, it isn’t a curse or anything sinister done by some kind of villain. But on the other side, it is even trickier to fully resolve…

I might sound like an evil person for saying this, but it would be much simpler to have someone being the cause of the problem, and then defeating them to resolve it.   

“Indeed, one’s mind is the hardest out of all to fix,” Eltharion agreed.

I went silent as I called out to Fenrir in my mind.

‘Fenrir, we… definitely can help with this one, right?’

[Indeed that seems so.]

‘Then…’

Maybe it was time to start opening the cards on our sleeves while also trying to be more daring. This might just work out…

“Uhm…”

The moment I slightly raised my voice, everyone quickly shifted their visions to me, and I became the center of attention in one go. 

This is a bit nerve-wracking!

“I may be able to help if it’s related to one’s mind… I… uh, happened to have this… special gift. No guarantee, but I can at least try,” I said.

“Really?! That’s amazing, Escha!” Life suddenly blossomed from Manasye’s sparkly eyes as he approached me happily.

“No guarantee!” I emphasized.

“It’s alright! It’s better than nothing!” Manasye exclaimed.

“What kind of gift is it?” As expected, Eltharion asked.

“Uhm, to put it simply, it’s some kind of a hypnotherapy…,” I explained in accordance to how Fenrir instructed me to. 

In a way, Fenrir’s ability worked like hypnotherapy. Going inside another’s dream to access their subconsciousness and work on it… Yes, there were similarities, indeed.

“I see… That is amazing, being this small–I mean young,” Eltharion said with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Hey, I heard that!

“Well, I am still young and inexperienced, that’s why I said no guarantee. But I will try first,” I said for the third time.

“If it doesn’t work out, we can still opt for conventional treatment by giving her therapies. Yes, yes, it’s not as bleak as it seems!” Eltharion seemed to be reassuring himself at the same time.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel, that’s all that matters,” Ein suddenly dropped a meaningful quote.

“Oh ho. I like that, young lad,” Eltharion laughed.

“This is good, right, Prince?” Maiara said to Manasye, who replied with a hug and a bright smile, “Yes, Maiara! I am so glad!”

Looking at the two figures, I suddenly thought of something.

“Wait… Doctor Eltharion, have you looked at Maiara-san’s condition? Can you help her too?”

“Escha…,” Maiara was clearly touched.

Divine doctor Eltharion was stunned, but he quickly explained, “I have examined her before. I even examined her when she first got inflicted with her condition. To be honest, it’s hard since the curse destroyed magical roots. To restore a broken magical root is no easy feat.”

“But there’s a cure to that?” Ein inquired.

“There is, but… It requires a very rare herb that isn’t even guaranteed to be encountered once in every hundred years,” Eltharion shook his head.

“What herb is that?” Clavis asked.

“We call it the Thunder Miracle Herb. It is a herb that grows in a random place and is very rare to begin with, but what we need is the Thunder Miracle Flower, in its blooming condition. This Thunder Miracle plant will only grow a flower and have it bloom for a short moment during when natural thunder hits the plant. Otherwise, the Thunder Miracle Herb will just wither away and die, it’d be equal to a weed,” Eltharion shook his head and sighed.

H-he’s been sighing a lot today thanks to us… Hopefully it won’t shorten his lifespan…

But that kind of flower almost seems mythical! Does it even exist in the first place?! 

“Huh? What do you mean? Isn’t that flower so common just like the weeds?”

Carbuncle suddenly chimed in, causing a deadly silence as Eltharion quickly turned to look at Carbuncle with his eyes almost popping out of their sockets!

T-this!! Is this one of Carbuncle’s broken common sense due to being a dragon?!

Feeling that it might be the case, it was my turn to have my eyes almost popping out of their sockets!!