ISEKAI? More like I See Crap!-Chapter 163: The Spirit’s Longing ( )

Ellyn was still humming softly, holding Hazuki’s shirt like it was her favorite plush toy, when a strange feeling tickled her senses—as if a gentle breeze was blowing in a sealed room.

She looked up.

Someone was sitting on the windowsill.

A girl. Human-looking. Slender, about Ellyn’s age—or maybe a little younger—but clearly not ordinary. Her feet didn’t touch the floor. The window was on the third floor—much too high for anyone to climb.

Yet there she sat. Calm. Smiling.

"Hello, girl..."

Ellyn’s instincts kicked in instantly. She threw Hazuki’s shirt aside and drew the small blade hidden under her pillow, aiming it at the intruder.

"W-who are you!?"

The girl’s smile didn’t change.

"I mean no harm. And besides... you can’t touch me. No one can."

"What do you want!?" Ellyn demanded, narrowing her eyes.

"Can I..."

The girl tilted her head gently.

"Touch the necklace? Just for a second."

Ellyn blinked—the necklace?

She quickly activated her Absolute Eye, the swirling power lighting up in her gaze.

And that’s when she saw it.

The girl wasn’t human at all.

She had no physical presence—only faint, swirling mana layers. Translucent strands of light drifted around her form.

"You’re... a spirit."

Ellyn’s voice lowered to a whisper.

The spirit girl just smiled, her eyes drifting toward the necklace resting gently against Ellyn’s collarbone—Hazuki’s gift.

Ellyn unconsciously gripped the necklace, fingers curling around it.

"This one...?" she asked quietly, cautious.

The spirit girl floated gently closer, her presence oddly light, like a drifting feather.

"Yes~" she nodded, her eyes twinkling with distant sadness.

"It was a gift... from someone. A long, long time ago."

Ellyn’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"How long are we talking?"

The girl didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she twirled in the air, like a child dancing through a memory.

"A thousand years ago... maybe more."

Ellyn’s throat tightened.

"A thousand years...?"

"Yes~" the spirit said softly now.

"It was a promise."

"Promise?"

The girl paused mid-spin, hovering in the air as if those words alone held enough weight to still the wind.

"A promise to be together. Forever."

Her gaze softened, landing gently on the necklace.

"He gave it to me. Said he’d never forget."

Ellyn’s grip on the necklace tightened. A flicker of unease crawled up her spine—jealousy? Curiosity? Pity?

"And... did he keep the promise?" she asked, almost against her will.

The spirit’s smile faded just a little.

"He forgot me."

The spirit girl floated by the window, her expression distant—as if she was seeing a time Ellyna could never reach.

"Me and him... we were lovers."

Ellyna’s eyebrows furrowed.

"Lovers...? With who? Wait—"

The girl continued, her voice soft and fragile, like a memory that could break at any moment.

"We were in the same party. With the Heroes from a thousand years ago."

Ellyna blinked in disbelief. frёeωebɳovel.com

"A thousand years ago? But... that was—"

"Long before your time."

The girl’s smile was faint, but hollow.

"He was kind. Stupidly kind. Always worried about everyone else... even when he was hurting."

She turned toward the moonlight, bathed in its pale glow, like a ghostly painting come alive.

"One day, the heroes returned from a mission. They told me he left. That he quit the party..."

Her tone grew quiet, edged with bitterness.

"...because of another woman."

Ellyna’s lips parted, unsure what to say.

"I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t. So I searched for him."

"You did?" Ellyna whispered.

"For fifty years."

The girl’s voice trembled as she floated down, her bare feet never touching the ground.

"I sold everything. Spent every coin I saved from our adventuring days. Traveled far and wide. Every town, every ruin, every battlefield... hoping to hear his name."

She clutched her chest, as if her heart still beat there.

"But there was nothing. No sign of him. Not even a grave."

"And then...?"

The girl’s eyes darkened.

"I fell ill. Bedridden. I couldn’t move anymore. I was running out of time. But I still wanted to know..."

She looked at Ellyna with eyes full of sorrow.

"I held onto the necklace. Praying. Crying. Hoping."

"And?"

A long pause. Then, softly—

"I used a forbidden skill."

Ellyna froze.

"You mean—"

"Yes. I bound my soul. I turned myself into a lingering spirit..."

Her smile returned, sad and wistful.

"All for a single answer. Why? Why did he leave me? Why didn’t he come back?"

Tears shimmered in the spirit girl’s eyes, like dew that refused to fall.

"He was... someone rude. But kind."

Her voice cracked softly.

"When he talked, he never filtered anything. He said whatever he wanted—blunt, harsh, even silly at times."

She chuckled weakly, wiping at a tear that wasn’t really there.

"But that was what made him real. Honest. I hated it at first... then I fell in love with it. With him."

Her voice grew quieter.

"It wasn’t easy to get him to fall for me. It took time. Persistence. He was so slow—so annoyingly unaware of how much I loved him. But when he finally took my hand and said I was his... it felt like the world stopped just for us."

The girl looked down, her voice trembling.

"And then... he vanished. Just like that. No message. No goodbye. Just... gone."

A heavy, cold silence settled between them.

"All I wanted was an answer."

Her eyes fell on the necklace gently hanging around Ellyna’s neck.

"Why did he leave me? What happened? Did I do something wrong? Was he forced to go? Or... did he stop loving me?"

Her fingers hovered over her chest, aching as if a wound time couldn’t heal.

"This necklace... it’s the only thing I had left of him. A gift. A promise. The last memory of us."

She looked away, her voice hollow.

"And still... even now... all I want to know is—"

Her lips trembled.

"Why did he leave me?"

"So please..." The girl’s voice trembled. "Can you let me touch it? Just once?"

Ellyna hesitated.

"Um... wait."

She narrowed her eyes and activated her Absolute Eye with a deep breath.

The spirit girl’s expression changed.

"Absolute Eye user..." she murmured.

Her trembling hand reached forward—not to grab, but just to reach.

"Please... please let me touch that necklace."

Her voice cracked.

"I’m not asking for much. I just..." Her lips trembled. "I really miss him."

She closed her eyes, a single tear falling and being absorbed into the ether.

"I waited. I waited where he told me those words—’I love you.’

"I stood there after I used the forbidden skill. I gave up everything—even my own death—just to stay a little longer. Just to see him again."

Her fingers hovered inches from the necklace, not daring to touch without permission.

"That promise... was all I had."

( End Of Chapter )