Chapter 255: Miracle and Magic |
Zeth scriptures recorded the many miracles performed by Zeth.
The miracle of purifying corrupted soil was one of them.
[Please show me too.]
I pushed the military officer away and tried to touch the dirt with my fingertips. What was on the plate was definitely just dirt.
[In other words, does purification magic actually exist?]
Magic to purify corrupted soil has not been transmitted to the current Eruo continent. Rather, the very existence of purification magic is questionable in the first place.
Even in the scriptures, it is not written that “Founding Father Zeth used magic to purify the corrupted soil. Such is the purification magic”. I only vaguely remember, but I think the expression was something like, “The founding father Zeth walked in a tainted land. The taint was purged and the pure earth was revived. People sang and danced in gratitude for the work of the Great Spirit”. The stories where he purifies corrupted soil appear several times in the scriptures, but all of them must have had similar descriptions.
Because the wording is ambiguous, some people think, “If you think about it realistically, it must be magic. There must have been magic to purify corrupted soil in the past”. Some people interpret this as saying, “It’s just a metaphor for the beginning of a new era. There’s no magic or miracle”. Of course, there are those who claim, “The corrupted soil was purified because the Great Spirit blessed the Founding Founder Zeth. This is the miracle of the founder”.
In this way, perhaps because there is supernatural power called magic in this world, subtle descriptions can leave a lot of room for interpretation, which can be problematic. Perhaps Zeth and the members of the Holy High Society understood this and intentionally left behind vague descriptions. This is because mystery has the property of becoming mystical if it matures.
The first reason why the existence of purification magic is doubted is because nobody knew how to do it.
Basically, the more demand there is for magic, the less likely it is to be lost. The more people who learn it, the more effective the backup becomes.
For example, healing magic has been passed down from ancient times to the present day due to its convenience. It’s probably one of the most shared magics on the Eruo continent. There are so many people using this technique that it must be difficult for it to disappear.
And purification magic can be said to be an extremely useful magic if it has the effect according to tradition. According to the rules of thumb on the Eruo continent, it should be categorized as a magic with a low-risk of failure. Therefore, although it is paradoxical, the logic that “because it does not exist now, it did not exist in the past” has a strong persuasive force.
[And there’s no way to confirm that.]
[Indeed.]
Magic is something that is passed down from person to person, relying on the sense of magical power. Therefore, once the story of it is lost, its details become extremely unclear.
Whether Eve’s magic and the miracle of purifying corrupted soil are caused by the same phenomenon is an eternal mystery that cannot even be unveiled.
[Well, what is important is the result. Magic that can be safely called purification magic exists here and now. That should be enough.]
[Affirmative. Truly is]
Magic that purifies corrupted soil. It is a legendary magic that has been dreamed of throughout the ages by people who hate and fear the tainted soil, even though it is thought to not exist. Whether I like it or not, the tension naturally rises.
[I’d like to see it again. Next time, bring a little more corrupted soil.]
I gave instructions to the employees, but what they got back was an apology.
[We don’t have any more in stock. This one was the last.]
Eve visited the Pioneering Association this morning, and as soon as she found the box containing the corrupted soil, she purged it without hesitation. Only a piece of corrupted soil that had been taken out beforehand escaped purification, but the employee said that it was used up during the demonstration earlier.
[…Now that I think about it, you said that the corrupted soil didn’t reach you last time, but maybe Eve purified it as well?]
[Yes. We confirmed that before the president came here.]
Eve looked troubled, probably because all the people in the room were looking at her.
[Of course, because she doesn’t like that unpleasant presence.]
Perhaps sensing that I had no intention of blaming Eve, the military officer lightly followed up.
[Not that I really care though…]
It’s not unbearable, but it feels very painful to be near it…it’s like poop. It’s true that it would be the worst if it was left out in the room or brought to you on a plate. I know you’d want to remove it.
[If you think about the amount of magic, Eve is closer to a Lord-class than a Highlord, so maybe her senses lean towards that. However, I wish she would say something after she erased it.]
[The reason I noticed the soil was missing this time was because Eve reported it to me. She said there was also some filthy soil, so she disposed of it.]
Last time they received only one box of corrupted soil, she thought it was just trash. It seems that Eve did not tell anyone in particular that she purified it. However, this time there were so many soils, thus she reported it after the fact.
Eve doesn’t seem to be thinking about keeping her purification magic secret. Then, it will be easier to ask questions.
[Is there anyone other than Eve who can use this magic to purify corrupted soil? For example, someone from your hometown?]
[There are. Mom and Dad. Actually, everyone can use it.]
Well, as I had guessed. I don’t think it’s magic that Eve developed independently.
In any case, it’s convenient that Raeve can also use this purification magic. In order to learn magic efficiently, the number of masters becomes important.
[However, I have never heard of elves being able to use purification magic. What about you guys?]
When I asked the military officers, they all answered that they did not know.
[The elf race itself is a very rare race… We have never seen anyone other than Miss Eve.]
In the first place, we don’t have that many chances to see people of other races. Naturally, it never becomes a topic of conversation.
However, it is said that there are many commoners who think that the elf race is a fictional existence. In a sense, it is a race that is like the purifying magic itself.
[Is that so? But, like Eve, sometimes one or two were found, right? But, it’s something that no one has ever noticed before.]
[There are several possible causes. As you can see from Miss Eve, her magic power surpasses that of a normal Lord-class. If she enters a land ruled by a Noble, appropriate measures would be taken.]
Raeve and others must have had the same amount of magic power as three military officers of the knight family. If a Noble keeps them as a pet, a magic seal would be essential. It would be extremely troublesome if they got violent. In fact, both Eve and Raeve were properly treated when they were first purchased.
[And the person who lived like that was most likely living a life that has nothing to do with corrupted soil.]
If you ask me, that’s certainly true, and it’s unlikely that the living environment of the upper-class is littered with corrupted soil. There are no people who would bring those into the city. There is no chance to use purification magic before the magic seal is applied.
[Finally, and this is probably the biggest reason… Even people of the same race do not necessarily share the same magic. The same goes for us. There are magics that are rooted in certain regions only.]
Royal Nobles and Imperial Nobles are both humans, but that doesn’t mean they share the same magic. There are many cases where magic is known to many people in the eastern part of the continent, but is completely unknown in the western part of the continent.
[Purification magic should be similar to this, and I have a vague idea that it is a magic that is shared by a small number of people, including the Fiction tribe, which is the tribe that Miss Eve belongs to.]
Because the magic was too local, none of the elves discovered so far had mastered it. This is the most plausible theory.
[Eve, what do you think? Are there people in other villages who can use the same magic?]
[I don’t know.]
In the first place, Eve had said before that she had never left the village until Orshian’s attack. She only knows the villagers of the Slade tribe, also known as the Fiction tribe.
As I was thinking about the need to listen to Raeve as well, the military officer took a step closer to Eve.
[In any case, Miss Eve’s purification magic is extremely valuable. I think we need to take immediate measures.]
The more teachers you have, the faster you will learn magic, but if you have fewer, it will take a lot of time to learn. It can be said that magic spells of which the users can be counted with one hand are already one step away from failure. It is also a difficult stage to pass on the legacy.
[We also need to confirm the detailed effects. We are going to borrow Miss Eve for a while…]
[Wait, wait, don’t be so impatient.]
I understand the desire to share, but Eve was nervous as the military officers approached her. Then, as if asking for help, she ran towards me. This is cute.
[Fortunately, my father is scheduled to return to Newnelly today. I plan to report this directly this evening. Until then, please be on standby.]
[Affirmative.]
I’ll also put a gag order on the employees and Eve. The employees of the Pioneering Association are used to handling secrets due to the nature of their work, so there’s no need to tell them every time, but just in case.
===========
It was late in the evening when my father returned to the castle.
If I called out to him, he might think something had happened, so I decided to wait for him to call me. Regarding purification magic, I will first report to my father. My mother is my mother, but she is also a member of the Evenafis family. I should wait for my father’s decision whether to inform the others or not.
My father had come back from a meeting with the Zeldomitra family, so I thought there was a high possibility that he would call me. As expected, I was informed of my father’s summon after dinner, so I immediately headed to the innermost room.
[How was your stay at home?]
When I entered the room, the first thing he asked was the hardships that I experienced.
This was my father’s first time away from home since I was appointed as the next head of the family. I was serving as the temporary chief executive of Newnelly City and Quordenze Territory. I didn’t have anything in particular to do, but I was under some pressure, so I was honestly happy to hear my father’s words.
[There will be more opportunities like this in the future. It will be a good experience for you when you are taking over Quordenze someday.]
[Yes. I’ll do my best.]
It’s like on-the-job training as the head of the family. Since we’re in the innermost room, I decided to ask him for advice on various things.
It wasn’t until some time later that I reported on the events at the Pioneering Association.
[….Purification Magic, as in THAT Purification Magic…?]
Even my father seemed confused since it was magic thought to only exist in legends.
It’s not that he doesn’t believe it, but there are still parts of him that can’t believe it. He kept looking up at the ceiling and thinking.
[I haven’t actually seen it at full scale, but it seems that it can purify an area the size of a villa’s grounds with a single activation. But it is also said that highly contaminated corrupted soil cannot be completely purified unless it is applied over and over again.]
That was Eve’s own testimony. In the Pioneering Association’s demonstration, the corrupted soil on the plate was purified in one shot, but it seems that the contamination level was somewhere between low and medium.
In any case, the good news is that the range of effects is wide. If Eve had to use all of her magic to purify a small patch of land, it wouldn’t be of much use.
[Hou. That’s not bad.]
My father had a good reaction. It seems that he recognized the value of learning it despite the cost.
[How do you feel about it? The difficulty of learning it varies greatly depending on whether or not there is a similar magic.]
Similar magics move magic in similar ways, so it’s easy to find commonalities, and the learning process becomes faster.
[I think it’s probably quite difficult.]
[Probably?]
I had her use purification magic on me several times, but the results were not very good.
A glowing mist appeared, but she said she wasn’t sure if it was working properly to purify the corrupted soil. According to Eve, it doesn’t feel quite right to activate it without a target.
Well, I can understand that feeling. Magic that targets something moves magic power on the premise that the target exists, so if the target doesn’t exist, you won’t know if it’s being activated properly.
It’s similar to the feeling you get when you practice swing without holding a bat. I feel like I’m not swinging with the correct form because I don’t have what I should have. And due to these subtle differences, magic may not have the expected effect.
[…However, even the empty purification spell conveyed the difficulty. I don’t think there is any similar magic. The military officer who was present also said that, but it was a movement that I didn’t quite understand.]
[So, it’s not something that can be learned overnight, is it?]
[Yes. First, I think we need to confirm that the purification magic is being activated correctly. I have instructed those who are free to collect more corrupted soil.]
There is no highly concentrated corrupted soil near Newnelly City. However, since immature magic beasts appear from time to time, it is not that difficult to obtain corrupted soil with a low level of contamination.
[Wait, this matter will have a big impact. Any noticeable movement…]
[It’ll be fine. I have delegated the task to the very few people I trust. I’m sure they’ll do a good job of gathering the soil.]
My father then agreed to it. I also received permission to ship the highly contaminated soil that exists in the Arknoa Contaminated Area. All we have to do is send a letter to the knight. It will arrive in a week or two.
[It’s a purification magic, but our top priority is to confirm its effectiveness. Based on the results, we will decide how many people to allocate.]
At that, my father let out a sigh.
[However, I don’t know how many years it will take to learn the spell from one person…]
[Apparently her mother, Raeve, is also capable of using the same magic.]
[That’s good news, but it’s still tough even for two people. However, I don’t think anything can be done about this. …If I recall correctly, those women were the result of the Levios family’s great northern expedition. There might be some leftovers lying around. I think we should try to collect them secretly.]
That’s a really happy decision.
Eve and Raeve were very expensive. If you were to buy people from the same race, it would probably be about the same price. It’s not something I can buy with my pocket money, but it’s a different matter if it comes out of the Quordenze family’s wallet.
Even though I’ll be spending money on expenses, I don’t think it’ll be a problem if I consider it as eating a few snacks.
[Also, check to see what other magic they have learned. If there is any useful magic that we don’t know, we will also incorporate it.]
[Of course.]
It would be no laughing matter if it was later revealed that she was also able to use other legendary magic. I’m such an idiot. For now, starting tomorrow, I’m going to check all the acquired magic with Eve for a while.
[In any case, it will take some time for it to become a thing.]
Eve and Raeve have an important role to play in my arms, so they won’t be traveling somewhere to conduct purification activities. It’s usually enough to get the dirt that the two of them can purify from elsewhere.
Purification magic will only become useful when the number of users grows to 100 or 200. Whether we will use it in our own territory or send them on business trips to other territories, it doesn’t matter if Quordenze’s personnel don’t learn it. And that will be years in the future.
[…By the way, father, how was your meeting with the Zeldomitra family?]
Speaking of other territories, my father just returned. Now that the handling of purification magic has been decided upon, I decided to confirm the original purpose of the summoning.
[Quordenze and Zeldomitra are Noble who conquer other territories, and I would like to continue to work closely with them in the future… To put it simply, that’s what we’re talking about. We’re just reconfirming our relationship. Don’t worry. Compared to purification magic, there aren’t any serious stories.]
My father said in a slightly teasing tone at the end. My father must have been shocked to hear such important news so soon after returning home.
[Baroness Fantel, who provided the venue, must have been relieved that the meeting ended safely. Wilk was also pretty close to her back in the capital.]
[Yes. We had a great time at the evening party.]
Lulu Fantel, Princess Lulu was one of the many Princesses who danced with me in the Royal Capital.
Baroness Fantel, a Royal Noble, is officially the head of the Fantel family. She was a young, beautiful, and vulnerable Princess, so I thoroughly enjoyed touching her. I would like to meet her again one day.
[She extended her greeting to Wilk as well. It would be a good idea to send her a letter.]
[I will.]
The Fantel family is a Noble family belonging to the Quordenze faction, so there is no harm in getting along well with them. Writing letters is very tedious, but if you skip this part, you will likely be in trouble, so I will deal with it carefully. I think it would be better to send it to the younger brother as the next head of the family as well as to Princess Lulu, also known as the older sister.
[Both Marquis Zeldomitra and Baroness Fantel said that the region where the Free Cities are located has been experiencing poor weather from last month to this month.]
If it was me in my previous life, it would have been [So what?], but having lived on the Eruo continent for more than 10 years, I understood the meaning.
[It’s around the time when the wheat starts heading. I hear that if it doesn’t grow properly at that time, it won’t produce more fruit.]
My father nodded.
[Originally, there are many areas in the south where the land is devastated due to continuous wars. Even the slightest bad harvest can quickly lead to poverty. If they are cornered, the conflict will become even more intense. The Fantel family is very wary of this area.]
The Fantel territory is small and has a weak economic base. Even if it was only for a short period of time, setting up a place for Great Nobles to meet must have been quite a burden.
Even so, my father said that the reason they raised their hands is probably because they are predicting a poor harvest in the fall. It would be quite a hurdle for the Independent Noble families of the Free Cities to attack the territory that the Quordenze and Zeldomitra families had just visited.
It’s like paying defense costs in advance. I feel like I’ve been shown the survival strategies of a weak Noble family.
[They said that Zeldomitra territory can expect a harvest as usual, but just in case, they will start stockpiling now.]
[I don’t think we can let our guard down. There are many contaminated areas in Zeldomitra territory.]
[I guess so. I think the main purpose of this meeting is to prepare for famine, that is, to maintain relations with Quordenze.]
The reason why the Zeldomitra family spends all their time in wars of invasion is because they want an area that is not contaminated by corrupted soil. Although the territory is large and powerful, it cannot be said that there is no fear of lacking food.
In case of an emergency, we place importance on our relationships with food-rich territories like the Quordenze family and the Levios family.
[…Purification magic will certainly make the Zeldomitra salivating.]
[That’s right. If only we had discovered it a little earlier…]
It would have been possible to drag them into the Quordenze-Spierzeig war under conditions that were convenient for us. However, given that it has not yet been put into practical use, it is unclear how aggressively a proposal can be made.
My father was glaring at his desk with a stern expression, probably feeling regretful.
[Father.]
So, I called out to my father.
The topic has just turned to the war with the Spierzeig family, so it’s a good time to bring it up.
[I have something to discuss regarding the Spierzeig invasion.]