Chapter 16: I Reincarnated as a Villainess…and Ended Up Stranded (15)

Spirit Manifestation.

It is a term used by the public to describe the phenomenon where life forms other than humans, possessing mana, become spirits.

More accurately, it refers to demon beasts and animals, which prioritize instinct over intellect, becoming spirits.

In reality, no cases of non-demon beast life forms achieving Spirit Manifestation have been observed.

Until now.

The exact principles by which they evolve into spirits, or what conditions they must meet, have not been clearly identified.

As is the nature of the academic ecosystem, the most credible and plausible writings among the numerous speculations of scholars tend to gain trust.

Countless stories about Spirit Manifestation have circulated like established theories since ancient times, but in the present day, two universal truths are accepted.

As for what these two universal truths are,

The first is a somewhat religious belief that it is merely a coincidental natural selection, an evolution guided by a god.

The second was that it occurs probabilistically when a certain amount of other demon beasts, magic stones, or spirit trees—referring to certain trees rich in mana—is consumed.

The nobles of the Empire, where religious authority is strong, believe the first, while mages, alchemists, and magical scholars, who pursue practicality over faith, believe the second truth.

Of course, numerous speculations other than these two truths continue to be exchanged even at this very moment; in short, no one knows the exact cause.

However, there was one immutable truth that no one dared to deny.

It was the fact that only ‘life’ born from the Creator who made this world could achieve Spirit Manifestation.

But…

Fwoosh…!

Dinavel and Exia, who were merely dolls, were clearly undergoing Spirit Manifestation.

Dinavel, who achieved Spirit Manifestation the fastest despite only receiving prey like a child, without any direct hunting.

Exia, who, unlike Dinavel, directly hunted and devoured trolls indiscriminately, yet for some reason, later than Dinavel, suddenly underwent it while routinely refining her aura.

As had been the case in several great discoveries of the past, their existence was enough to bring a great storm to the academic world.

And that storm now,

Raised a burning sword towards the King of Trolls.

“Flames… from aura?”

“Is that… possible?”

“…My apologies. Even I, who have lived for many long years, do not know about that one.”

“So there are things even the old master doesn’t know.”

“However… one thing is certain: that doll of our Count’s Young Lady possesses immense power, far surpassing that of an intermediate spirit.”

Somewhere between an intermediate spirit and a high-ranking spirit.

Even being able to summon just an intermediate spirit guaranteed a level of success unimaginable for an ordinary person.

Considering the majesty of a high-ranking spirit, which only a tiny fraction of blessed nobles could summon, it was not a power that a mere toy doll could possess.

Considering Exia had just been born as a spirit, her strength was clearly far beyond the standards of common sense.

“I shall purify you.”

Exia’s sword drew a wide semicircle.

By the time the shimmering haze, like an afterimage, brushed the King Troll’s earlobe, one of its arms had already been severed.

“Uwoooooargh…!”

The King Troll, now one-armed, squeezed its eyes shut.

Whether it was due to the pain of amputation or because the scorching air stung its pupils, only it knew.

“It hurts…! It’s hot…!”

Despite being a troll species accustomed to pain, the King screamed and shuddered violently.

Unlike the King, a nearby attendant, expecting the arm to grow back soon, snickered imagining the despairing faces Exia and the adventurers would soon make.

“King, hurts! But, okay. King’s arm, grow back!!”

However, contrary to expectations.

The King’s arm remained severed as it was.

‘Why?’

Even an ordinary troll would have regenerated half of it by now.

The King Troll’s arm, which should have possessed even stronger regenerative power, was not regrowing but rather burning away further.

“Flames…! Flames, King, burning!”

“Troll, fire, scary…! Since earlier, keeps, falling…!”

KABOOOOOOOM─!!

As if on cue, Lin’s cannonball fell again.

The exploding flames engulfed the trolls.

Furthermore, Exia’s flames were consuming the King’s royal body, growing from the severed surface of its arm.

The trolls knew best that their strength came from regeneration.

Seeing the desperate sight, the subordinates panicked and wailed for their King.

“These flames of hellfire.”

Fwoosh…!!

Exia’s sword burned even hotter.

As if their lungs were parched, the surrounding trolls clutched their necks with pained faces, unable to dare breathe.

“Kugh…! What is this heat…!!”

“Quickly, a barrier to protect everyone!”

The mages, who had mostly been providing minor support due to the nature of the troll subjugation battle.

Poured all their overflowing mana into creating a barrier to protect all the adventurers and Lycan Wolves.

“All of you…!”

Soon, Exia’s sword rose high into the sky.

“Shall be judged and burned by fire!!!!”

The flames, falling like a guillotine, split the King of Trolls in half.

Furthermore, the heat that collided with the ground spread, burning all surrounding trolls, and thus the troll subjugation battle ended.

“Exia… is a bit of a cringey type, huh?”

“Yes. Dinavel thinks so too.”

“………….”

Lin and the other two dolls had unintentionally heard all of Exia’s faith-filled lines.

Despite the considerable distance, Exia’s final shout had been so loud that they couldn’t help but hear it.

“D-Did we get them…?”

“Wait! If you say that…!”

An adventurer cautiously raised his head to confirm the situation had ended.

Another, startled by what seemed like the incantation for an ultra-high-level divine magic, quickly covered his mouth.

…

…

“…We got them.”

Fortunately, the incantation seemed to have no effect.

Come to think of it, there was no way a mere roadside pioneer could use divine magic, which was granted only by the blessing of a god.

“Everyone! Is everyone alright!”

Presently, Lin descended from the sky on her personal broom to the scene.

The people, well aware that Lin’s artillery magic and Exia had subjugated most of the trolls, roared with applause towards the girl in the sky.

“Young Lady!”

“Milady!” 

“Young Lady!”

“Well, everyone seems to be alright. …But could you please unify the titles you use for me?”

“What would common folk like us know? Hahahat!”

Lin landed on the ground with light steps.

She looked around at the top-grade potion ingredients strewn everywhere and swept her chest in relief that everything had ended smoothly.

“Thank you.”

Amidst the people shouting with the joy of survival, the Guild Master approached Lin.

“Thanks to you, Young Lady, we were all able to survive. How can we ever thank you enough for this….”

She patted the Guild Master’s shoulder as if it were nothing, trying to act smug, but couldn’t reach due to the height difference.

When he, noticing the young lady’s predicament, tactfully bent down, Lin finally patted his palm with a satisfied expression.

“Fufufu, that’s exactly right.”

Simultaneously, she very proudly affirmed the fact that she had saved people’s lives.

“How I should collect the price for the lives you all owe me…. It’s truly a dilemma, isn’t it?” 

“If you just say the word, anything….”

“Perhaps you know this? Troll blood is a top-grade alchemy ingredient. And, because of this subjugation mission, the potions I’ve been diligently stockpiling and making have decreased considerably, so I think I need to replenish them…”

“…I see.”

When she gave an order that anyone could easily understand, the Guild Master stood up again and clapped his hands loudly a few times.

“Everyone, attention!”

As the savior of their lives wished, people filled empty bottles with troll blood from the corpses.

The Young Lady of the Rosegarden family watched the heartwarming scene, smiling broadly with satisfaction.

“Oh? Is this all you could gather?”

“We ran out of empty bottles…. I-I’m sorry!”

“Hmm….”

However, since they hadn’t aimed for subjugation byproducts from the start, the amount they could collect was small.

Lin expressed disappointment at the smaller-than-expected harvest.

She looked around for something suitable to use as a container for the top-grade alchemy ingredients.

“Ah.”

She then spotted the brass pipes she had brought.

“Then, put it in these pipes. Fill all four of them completely!”

She handed the four pipes to the people and ordered them to resume work.

One side of the pipes was closed, so they could function sufficiently as containers, but…

“H-Here…?”

“All four of them…. Fill them completely?”

“Yes.”

Even if they added up all the blood everyone had collected in bottles so far, it was a colossal size that would barely fill half of one of those pipes.

Furthermore, at the command to fill all four completely, people momentarily lost their minds wondering when it would ever end.

“…? Is there perhaps a problem?”

“Ah, ah, ah, it’s nothing at all…! We’ll start working right away!!”

When Lin tilted her head as if asking what was wrong, they assured her it was fine and resumed their work.

“Fufu, everyone’s working hard!”

“Indeed they are. Well, since it’s for the Young Lady who saved our lives, it’s only natural.”

“Oh? Have you already finished your quota, Mister?”

“…Eh?”

Lin naturally directed a question mark towards the Guild Master standing beside her.

It was a habitual action from always playing the role of a leader in the village.

However, now someone of higher status was involved.

The Guild Master, realizing this belatedly, quietly took off his outer armor and set it down.

“Captain. This…”

“…Yeah. I’m coming now.”

And so, under the equality completed by Lin Rosegarden,

It is said that everyone worked hard with one heart and one mind to fill the troll’s blood.