“That’s right, Dad. What if we tried planting some seeds in the place where the maga occurred?”
I head towards the next town, rocked by the wagon. Even though it’s the next town, it’s still quite far away, so it’s hard to believe that a disaster has just occurred here.
Still unable to calm down, I checked the luggage I had brought with me and told him a thought that had suddenly occurred to me.
“Plant seeds?”
“Yes. Actually, I investigated the trees on the mountain where the maga occurred, and although I don’t know why, the trees on the mountain are absorbing mana from the ground and spitting it out. And outside the mountainis not affected by the maga, right? The amount of mana spitting out decreases the further away you are from the maga, so I thought maybe it has something to do with the plants absorbing and spitting out mana. However, I haven’t investigated everything yet, and when I was talking to Dad just now, I started to think that because we’re farther away from the maga, the mana spitting out is decreasing, and so the village isn’t being affected…”
It’s still dangerous to jump to conclusions before you’ve finished looking into everything.
Because I had seen the mysterious sight of the trees spewing mana, I thought the reason the effect stopped at the mountain was because of the trees, but that was merely my “thought” and not fact. After just a little talk, I realized that my assumptions were at work and my shoulders slumped.
“No. Planting seeds might be good. I’ve never looked into which seeds grow and how fast they grow, but if monsters can get food in the mountains where the maga is, they won’t come down to the human settlements. Someone who taught me about the mountains a long time ago told me about villages that disappeared because the mountain environment was destroyed. That’s why I think we need to be careful when harvesting them so as not to upset the balance of the ecosystem. Anyway, to stop monsters from coming out, I think it’s also good to create an environment where they can live easily within the town. If the maga can’t be purified easily, we want to keep the impact outside of the town to a minimum, and it would be a problem if monsters came to the village.”
I wondered if it was too early, but I was relieved when my father confirmed it.
When my father saw the seeds I had brought, he thought for a moment.
“Plant these close to the maga… No, spread them out a little. If the maga’s influence is too strong, some may not grow.”
“Yeah, I get it. Also, if trees can help keep it controlled, I was wondering if grass would work as well.”
“Grass…”
“I thought that because annual plants have a short life cycle, they would grow and spread quickly, but what do you think?”
It takes many, many years for trees to reach their full growth. I think the maga will speed up that process, but honestly I don’t know how much. On the other hand, grass seems like it will continue to grow.
Regardless of whether it’s summer or winter, the weeds multiply to the point that pulling them out becomes hard work.
“Let’s leave the grass until after we’ve finished rescuing them. It might block our path, or we might miss a monster.”
surely.
If tall grass grows, it will be even more difficult for rescuers to find them. Time is of the essence, so I would never forgive myself for abandoning someone for such a stupid reason as the grass growing tall.
I only realized it after he told me, so I still lack experience and have a narrow perspective. When I slumped my shoulders in disappointment, my father gently patted me on the head.
“You can still gain plenty of experience, but it’s hard to develop your imagination, so it’s wonderful that you’ve been able to come up with so many different ways to deal with things. So don’t lose confidence. I think it would be a loss if you were too shy to take action. Just like you did with me just now, don’t keep thinking things out on your own, consult with others. If you do that, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a way to make Amelia’s ideas a reality without any problems.”
“Yes.”
I nodded at my father’s kind words.
Yes. I’ll continue to consult with my father about this.
As I was thinking that, my father whispered something in my ear.
“Besides, I’ve made more mistakes than you have. I have a dark history of wiping out a mountain only to later realize I’d failed. Amelia, who was able to consult with others beforehand, is better than me.”
I heard that he wiped out the maga, but was it a dark history rather than a heroic tale?
…No. Yes. It’s something we should never imitate, so it’s a dark history. But if it can be physically erased without being a saint, it suggests that the source of the maga may be underground, so I think this failure is a great step forward.
“But why did you wipe it out?”
“The Saint was scared and didn’t purify the maga, so that’s what happened. One of the guards was killed by a monster right in front of her while protecting the Saint, and the girls who witnessed that moment were so scared they couldn’t move. It’s not like they wanted to be Saints either, but I couldn’t forgive them for being protected at that time and not doing what they could.”
If someone dies in front of you, you’d probably be terrified and lose your nerve. If something like that happened to a younger girl like Alice, it’s not surprising she would be unable to move.
But I also think that if someone I know – like my father or Theo – died protecting the Saint, and they didn’t try to purify the maga, I would feel an immense anger. So much so that I would want to wipe out everything.
“There’s something up ahead?!”
“A monster?!”
The trip was relaxed as we were travelling by cart, but tension ran high as we saw movement ahead. I also used physical strengthening on only my eyesight to check ahead.
“…They are a duo consisting of an adult and a child. It’s possible that they have been transformed into monsters, but judging from their appearance, I don’t think they are monsters.”
Once I told them what I knew, everyone remained on guard but relaxed a little.
The figures I saw using physical strengthening were an adult and a child. If they turned into monsters, they would take on a deformed, inhuman form, and undead types wouldn’t be walking around in bright sunlight, so I think they were probably human.
I saw the adult notice our carriage and wave towards us.
“Let’s stay vigilant and stop the carriage at their place to talk to them.”
Following my father’s orders, we drove the wagon forward and stopped in front of the two of them.
“Please help me! At least help this child!”
As soon as the wagon stopped, without a word of greeting, the woman shouted loudly. Just by looking at their faces, you could tell they were exhausted. The boy with them was probably around five years old. He was quite small and clung to her legs in a cuddly manner.
“I’d love to help you, but please answer my questions. Are you from Winklem? What’s the situation there now?”
When the blacksmith asked her, the woman looked distressed.
“There were more monsters than I’ve ever seen before… We were attacked while we were sleeping.”
It must have been quite scary, as the woman trembles as she reminisces, clutching her arm.
“What did the monsters look like? If you could just tell me something similar to an animal, that would be fine.”
“Well, what I saw was a big rat and a spider, and I barely managed to escape with my child, but now he can’t walk… I twisted my ankle too, so it’s hard to carry him…”
“Please let me see.”
Our village is too far away for a child of about five years old to walk. There’s no point in being whiny.
First, I bend down in front of the injured woman and check her leg. I ask her to take off her shoes so I can see her better, but it’s so swollen that it’s difficult to take off the shoes. I don’t think it’s broken, but it’s a nasty bluish-black color. I’m surprised she’s been able to bear it and walk this far.
I use magic to create small ice cubes and wrap them in the gauze I had in my bag.
“For now, just cool off with this. How about you? Just tired?”
“Ugh. My legs hurt.”
“Let me see a little.”
I gasped when I saw what was underneath the pants on his sore leg.
It seems that the people around me were the first to notice something was wrong because I held my breath.
“Boy! Where and what bit you?!”
The boy’s shoulders shook in surprise at the adult man’s threat and he clung to his mother’s legs.
“Please don’t yell. Just because you’re bitten by a monster doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily turn into a monster.”
The principle of monster transformation is still not fully understood, but if you are attacked and injured by a monster, there is a high probability that you will become a monster. However, my grandfather taught me that it is only high, not absolute, and that the transformation will not be complete in a short period of time. So while it is necessary to fear appropriately, I was repeatedly told not to take actions that would show the patients the fear we feel. This is especially important with children. Children cannot express their intentions as clearly as adults, but they understand the words of adults more than adults think.
“It’s okay, I’m not mad at you.”
I met his gaze, smiled, and looked at his big brown eyes intently.
“This man was worried about your injury. He was worried that it might make you sick.”
“Sick?”
“Yes. It’s a scary disease that can be transmitted to other people, but if you treat it properly, you’ll recover. So, can you tell me what kind of creature bit you?”
When they become monsters, they attack others, and those who are attacked also become monsters, so it’s like an infectious disease. If you talk about monsters or something like that, parents will panic. It’s not good to convey that to children, so I choose my words carefully.
“Yes, you see. The cat did it.”
“Cat?”
I wonder if it was a pet cat or something. I looked at the mother and she had a troubled look on her face.
“I think it’s probably a stray cat. We don’t have one.”
“It’s not Nora. It’s Percy. We were all feeding him.”
“When did you get bitten?”
A stray?
I’ve heard that rats and spiders have turned into monsters, so this makes it even more difficult to tell.
I spoke as gently as possible so as not to scare him.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
