Chapter 264: Stumbling |
Rekina let out a small sigh.
Her mood sank to the bottom just by looking at the scenery spreading out before her eyes.
There are no private houses and no roads. Even the trees were sparse, and the wilderness continued on forever. In the distance, a Field spreads out that seems to intimidate Rekina.
The corrupted soil that dyed the earth in mottled patterns was ugly to look at, and the miasma that wafted from it irritated her fragile nerves.
[I’m sick of it…..]
To the north of the Wakold River, one of the seven great rivers on the continent, a land of mist spreads out.
There are many Fields of various sizes scattered about, and the demon beasts that emerge from them scatter corruption in every direction. It was the largest unexplored region of the Eruo continent that humans could not easily enter.
Very few people visit this undeveloped land. People with difficult circumstances, such as Blessed Children who were targeted by nobles and barely escaped with their lives, remnants of knight families who lost sight of not only their masters but also their place of death, persecuted tribes, criminals chased from their land, etc.
[…I miss the Field.]
Compared to the dirty mottled pattern, it is a soothing sight. However, at the same time, she became conscious of herself, standing frozen in the foggy land.
Her emotions gradually became disturbed, and before she knew it, she was shedding large tears.
[Senpai*, are you crying again? Aren’t you tired of this?] (TL Note: *Senpai: Senpai/upperclassmen/etc)
Rekina turned around to face the man who appeared behind her, and glared at him with wet eyes.
[I’m a Lord-class, remember! The miasma is painful to me!! I really hate it!!! I’m different from you, Junior-kun!]
The moment she said those words, it seemed that her anger at the never-ending miasma exceeded the sadness of being surrounded by corrupted soil. [Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah], Rekina scratched her hair and expressed her irritation with her whole body.
[Corrupted soil, corrupted soil, corrupted soil, corrupted soil, corrupted soil, corrupted soil, corrupted soil! No matter where I go, there’s corrupted soil! Why do I have to camp in a place like this! I want to go back to the Field without corrupted soil! I had enough! Enough, already… I really hate it!!]
Lord-class individuals are the most sensitive to the unpleasant presence and miasma emitted by the corrupted soil.
This place where Rekina and her friends camped is relatively free of pollution. However, the slight amount of miasma that continued to drift half-heartedly irritated Rekina even more.
[But I should feel the same too, though? I’m also a Lord-class after all]
The man who was called “Junior-kun” timidly spoke, but it didn’t really reach the ears of the furious girl.
[Junior-kun is a pervert who doesn’t care about corrupted soil, right!? I’m just a normal girl!!]
[Haa, are you an idiot, senpai? A normal girl would miss her hometown. If you’re saying that the Field where leeches spring is good, you probably also fall into the category of eccentrics, right?]
Looking down at the Senpai who was fuming with anger, the Junior smiled bitterly.
Junior-kun is about twice as tall as the average adult male. Rekina wasn’t short for an adult woman either, but when the two of them stood side by side, there was a difference in height like that of a parent and child.
[Besides, it’s not like I’m okay with the miasma either. I’m just putting up with it. So please don’t tell me that you don’t like it or that I like it. Even though my senses are blurred, even I am conscious of the miasma.]
Then, Rekina spread her arms wide in desperation.
[Oh, really? Are you holding back? … Look at me, Junior! There’s so much filth! There’s so much pollution! There’s so much miasma! There’s so much discomfort…]
Before he could react, she was hurt by her own words and shut her mouth. Junior-kun was starting to feel a little uneasy at how stupid she is.
[I’ve been saying this as a joke for a while now, but do you actually have a certain reservation as a Senpai?]
[…A lot has happened since I joined the investigation team, but now is probably the hardest time to go back to the Holy City.]
Rekina, who had regained her composure a little after letting out her anger, said so in a serious tone.
Rekina and her Juniors belong to a private organization whose advisor is one of the highest priests. The organization’s activities are wide-ranging, but the two were involved in a project aimed at exploring and researching the Mist Land.
In order to continue working efficiently in a harsh environment, a strong body is first and foremost required. For this reason, the members of the research team formed for the Field survey were all highly learned low-ranking priests and Lord-class. But because they are Lord-class, they inevitably will suffer from miasma.
[Um, Senpai? If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll ask the leader if you can take a break…]
That proposal was extremely attractive to Rekina. However, she gritted her teeth and showed her refusal.
[Even with this, my sense of magic is starting to fade…and it’s hard to get used to the miasma all over again…so, that’s why…I’ll be patient…]
Just as your sense of smell adapts to bad smells, if you are exposed to a miasma for a long time, your magical senses will gradually become numb and you will not feel any discomfort. However, this was only a temporary dulling of your senses, and you will lose the resistance as soon as you leave the miasma.
In order to numb the magical sensation that had already lost its resistance to miasma, it is necessary to overcome the same pain again. Rekina thought that if she was going to do that, it would be better to maintain her dull sense of magical power and continue to suffer slowly.
[If you think you’re already reaching your limit, please let me know as soon as possible. It’s not normal for someone to be surrounded by a miasma for so many days.]
Junior-kun thought that Rekina’s mental turmoil was probably caused by things that have accumulated over time.
Even if you get used to the miasma, your body will continue to show negative reactions. It doesn’t matter if it’s only for a short time, but if you’re exposed to the miasma all the time, you’ll experience great mental fatigue.
As he was thinking that maybe he should set aside a certain number of days to rest, Rekina suddenly smiled.
[It’s a long time ago, but there was a time when a messenger was sent from the Holy City to the Great Royal Palace of Mammushred…]
[What’s that, all of a sudden?]
[You know, right now I feel a lot of sympathy for the low-ranking priest who had to go to the Great Forbidden Land. I’m sure they must have gone through similar hardships and pain. That’s what I hoped for…fu, fufu…fu…]
Rekina imagined people she has never met and feels pity for them. All the Junior could tell was that she was emotionally unstable.
Both the Mist Land and the Mammushred region are known for their severe pollution.
The reason why nobles and priests do not want to enter these lands is because of the corrupted soil and miasma. Lord-class individuals despise the impurity of the corrupted soil, and even the Highlord can suffer actual harm from the miasma. It was a very unattractive land for them.
[It’s really amazing that the Levios family is trying to cultivate this kind of land…I might have a little respect for them. I wonder if the Levios Knights are having a hard time too? It was a Great Northern Expedition, when they first came here. I thought they were being troublesome, but… protector of the earth? Now I can honestly praise that pride.]
[Senpai, if the other members ask about that, you’ll be beaten to death.]
Basically, the people participating in the investigation team hate nobles. And even among the nobles, the Levios family, who were the bosses, were thoroughly hated.
[I’m not interested in that kind of political talk. What’s most important to me is the search for the truth that has been buried in a long history.]
What is important to her is not the present but the past.
It was clear from Rekina’s work style that her enthusiasm was genuine. She was more knowledgeable than any other member of the Order and had a strong desire to investigate. She doesn’t have any spark of genius. However, her greed for things she was interested in, her keen sense of smell, and her ability to concentrate were amazing.
Over the past year or so, she has clearly shown off her ability to the Junior, having graduated from an academic institution in the Holy City as the top student.
[A good person is someone who can provide you with valuable literature, whether it’s a priest or a nobleman.]
[When I think about it again, I guess it’s a good thing that Senpai joined the investigation team.]
The private organization that operates the investigation team is a group based on a specific political philosophy. Low-ranking priests who think like Rekina tend to be shunned.
[….did you really just say that, Junior-kun?]
Rekina also knows that Junior-kun is not the type of person who is very politically inclined. Otherwise, the two wouldn’t be able to talk so easily.
[I am a person who was raised to investigate the Mist Land in the first place. Regardless of what was inside, it was only natural that I would be chosen. Well, if possible, I would have liked to have joined the second one, but it is the same facility. My seat was taken by these guys. I was the only one assigned to the First Investigation Team.]
[Hmm, your Junior colleague also works for the investigation team. At my place, everyone’s work is different. They’re assigned all over the place.]
The reason why Rekina calls him Junior-kun is because he is from an orphanage in the Holy City. She also grew up in an orphanage, although the facility was different. Among the members of the research team who didn’t know anyone, Rekina relied on that common ground as her only source of strength.
[The fact that you were forced to take your seat means that your classmates had a better understanding of what the higher ups said. I think Junior-kun is better at flattering your superiors…]
[Is that sarcastic? The selection criteria for the Second Investigation Team is simply resistance to filth and miasma. Idiots with insensitive magical powers are chosen. Unfortunately, I was sensitive and smart.]
Rekina thought that having a good or bad head didn’t really matter, but she was even more surprised by the selection criteria.
As far as she can see, Junior-kun has a very strong resistance to miasma. It was hard to imagine that there were many other people who could surpass him.
[When we enter the facility, our future jobs are decided. When we are selected as research personnel, we are given a jute bag containing corrupted soil to build our resistance to miasma. Sometimes the contents are… It’s hard to get used to it no matter how long it takes. There was also a time when I was suddenly being brought in corrupted soil while I was eating. To be honest, it was the worst. However, the other people at the facility were able to eat normally even in that situation. I can’t keep up with it because I can keep doing it.]
[Uwaa…]
From the perspective of Lord-class, it was like having freshly squirt feces on a plate. Is it possible to have a casual meal in such a place? Rekina shook her head as if to shake off that awful image.
[I wasn’t as numb as those guys.]
[That’s still a good thing, I guess…?]
From Rekina’s point of view, she was truly envious of his strong resistance to miasma, but she wouldn’t even imagine being forced to live like that.
[Isn’t the orphanage you’re working at, Junior-kun, a little like that? The person I met before was also a little like that…]
Although the discipline at Rekina’s orphanage was strict, there was a philosophy of providing proper education and developing human resources who would not be embarrassed to serve as low-ranking priests. However, Rekina feels that what Junior-kun’s facility is doing is similar to animal training.
Perhaps due to the irritation caused by the miasma, she ended up saying something that she had not asked before. Although it is not a straight expression, what Rekina is trying to say is accurately conveyed to her Junior.
[I understand what you’re saying. I entered the facility at the age of nine, and I just couldn’t get along with the people who were there from the beginning…And then, there were people that Senpai had met before. Who is it? Is it someone I know?]
[I think it was Priestess Diana…]
[Oh, that person is from our facility. I don’t know what she’s doing now though.]
He nodded a few times, perhaps finding that name familiar. But, he didn’t want to talk about anything beyond that.
Rekina immediately guessed that they probably weren’t on good terms. She decided not to delve into this topic further.
[…I don’t know what we’re doing now, either.]
Rekina looked into the distance with blank eyes. A Field spread out ahead of her line of sight.
[I wonder why they decided to move. They went out of their way to end the investigation that has been going on for over a year…]
That was just a few days ago, when the group leader suddenly informed them that the survey location had changed and they would be moving. Ever since then, Rekina had been enduring the miasma and moving through the Mist land without knowing her next goal.
[Why, it was Priest Ephial’s instructions. Didn’t you hear about it?]
In Rekina’s mind, the image of Ephial, whose entire body was covered in wounds, came to mind.
It seems that Ephial was being chased by the Levios army, and by the time Rekina and the others were brought to the place where they were previously based, she was already unable to move.
[Priest Ephial came around May or June of this year, right? It’s already September. There’s no way you remember those old instructions.]
At that time, Rekina was busy with research activities, so she didn’t have any contact with Ephial at all. In the first place, it was difficult for her to get close to Ephial, who was seriously injured since she belonged to a different faction, and more importantly, she had no interest in him.
To Rekina, Ephial, who didn’t lend her a single document, was nothing more than a stingy high-ranking priest. There was no intimacy whatsoever.
[Senpai, Priest Ephial is one of the supporters of this investigation team…]
[……Yes, I know. From that day until today, there has never been a time when I did not pray for the safety of that person. Ah! Great Spirit of the Sun, Wartentsama! Please, please, our comrade. God bless Ephial!]
[Are you imitating the other members of the group? Your acting skills are crap.]
In response to Junior-kun’s reaction, Rekina immediately threw away her religious mask.
[So? What’s wrong with Priest Ephial? What did he do, that the Levios army chased him like that? Give me a break…]
If that’s the case, it doesn’t make sense to move the base. Until then, the research team had been operating in a location relatively close to Levios territory.
However, even if she understands it, she cannot accept it. She’d rather Ephial escape on his own than obstruct the investigation. She was careful not to say it out loud, as it would have crossed the line that she shouldn’t say as a low-ranking priest.
[Instead, it seems that Priest Ephial and his entourage have made an important discovery in the Royal Capital.]
[Discovery? What?]
Rekina reacted sharply to that statement.
Although it now bears the name of the Royal Capital Levios, it is originally a very old city that dates back to ancient times.
Rekina studies not only ancient languages, but also some languages that were used in various parts of the continent long ago. Therefore, she couldn’t help but hope that valuable historical materials from before the Zeth era would come to light.
[Senpai, do you know the Legend of the Holy Shrine? Isn’t it just a fairy tale?]
That’s why she was so disappointed when the word Holy Shrine came out of Junior-kun’s mouth.
There are various anecdotes related to Zeth that remain in the Holy City, but the Holy Shrine is one of the legends with little credibility. She took a deep breath and then answered the question.
[I don’t know if it’s the same story that you know, but I do know it. It’s a legend that in His later years, Founding Father Zeth gathered all the wisdom he had collected and stored it in a shrine somewhere, right? The weapons and tools that Founding Father Zeth loved. The other story is that it contains gold, silver, and jewelry. The person who finds it will be able to obtain the wisdom of the ancestors along with the treasure. If anything, it’s the favorite story for boys who admire adventure stories.]
Junior-kun affirmed what Rekina said and added to the story.
[According to a story I heard when I was a child, some of the wisdom of the Founding Father Zeth was considered taboo and horrifying. There was a sermon that said that even a great disaster would be released.]
[I’ve never heard that punchline before, but it sounds like Pandora’s Box. I wonder if it’s based on the Legend of the Holy Shrine?…Ah, don’t Junior-kun know that?]
Rekina remembered a book that she read when she was in the Holy City. She was wondering if a new volume of the series would have been released by now, but now she wanted to hear the continuation of Junior-kun’s story.
[So? Holy shrine is just a fabrication, isn’t it? There were no such descriptions anywhere in the scriptures, and I don’t remember seeing any such descriptions in the literature of the Holy City. It is said that there is a treasure specially left behind by the Founding Father Zeth in the old family. The story is still more believable. There are some old documents that hint at that…]
Since Rekina was born in an orphanage, she doesn’t have much to communicate with the high-ranking priest. Even so, she has made full use of her title as a senior graduate and her past achievements, and has scoured as many historical materials and documents as possible. For that reason, she was confident that she was much more knowledgeable about past lore than most people.
[…But since you went out of your way to talk about that, there must be something going on, right?]
However, she does not stubbornly deny his ideas. If there was any interesting literature or new discoveries about past folklore, she had the flexibility to listen.
[That’s the thing. I don’t know much about it, but it seems that Priest Ephial witnessed something that looks like a staff of wisdom in the Royal Capital Levios.]
[Haa?]
The Staff of Wisdom is one of the items said to have been kept in a Holy Shrine.
However, there is no concrete information about what kind of tool it is. Since it is an item that appears in fairy tales, its contents can be completely different depending on the storyteller. You can arrange it as you like.
Sometimes they appear as weapons rather than tools, and some patterns are not stored in the first place because they are used as keys to open Holy Shrine.
In short, no one knows the details. Naturally, its shape was also completely unknown.
[How did Priest Ephial know that it was the Staff of Wisdom?]
[I don’t know the details. It seems like she has one or two of her treasured documents lying around at his parents’ house, so I’m guessing it was written there as well?]
[Damn…! What an enviable environment…!]
The Junior continued speaking, stunned by Rekina’s writhing body.
[So, she decided to gather information about the Staff of Wisdom. It seems like for the past two months, he’s been hiring adventurers to travel and collecting various rumors. About its source.]
The results of that investigation were compiled just the other day.
[Just for preamble, isn’t the Staff of Wisdom supposed to be a tool that may have been stored in the Holy Shrine? So, if we trace the location where it was excavated, we might be able to discover something that connects to the Holy Shrine…]
[You should’ve said that quicker!]
An excitement welled up within Rekina that even dispelled the discomfort of the miasma.
It showed her the possibility of being able to access information sources that would normally be inaccessible as the first person to discover them. She approached Junior-kun as if she’s about to start running.
[It’s so simple… Umm, Senpai. There’s also a legend that if you open the Holy Shrine carelessly, terrible disasters will flood the world, right?]
[It’ll be alright! There was nothing like that in the fairy tales I heard! Besides, Priest Ephial gave the instructions, right? Then, isn’t that enough? The low-ranking priest simply follows the instructions of the high-ranking priest. There’s nothing wrong with that.]
There was absolutely no shame in Rekina’s expression. It was obvious to Junior-kun that all she was thinking about was wanting to investigate as soon as possible.
[I-I see… those are the words of a high-ranking priest.]
Seeing Rekina trying to move forward with pure curiosity, a question arose in Junior-kun’s heart.
That’s a question he’s been trying not to think about until now.
He feared Priest Ephial from the bottom of his heart.
He couldn’t understand the madness of running without hesitation when a normal person would stop, the fanaticism of being willing to make sacrifices to realize their ideas. No, his instincts were refusing to understand.
Is it really okay to just follow Ephial’s words?
Is it okay to just follow that priest whose eyes seemed to hate everything in this world?
Are those words really correct?
Before they know it, they may be walking on the feet of a fallen demon.
[The Holy Shrine is waiting for me! Let’s go! Junior-kun!]
The Junior just stared dumbfounded at Rekina’s back as she started running with great joy.