Ch.253The Downward Slope Toward Ruin

Beckya, the Aqua King Tribe’s stronghold across from Riverside.

In the ancient language of the beast-folk, it means “center of the earth.” Thoroughly destroyed in a war some 20 years ago, it now exists only as a small village bearing the same name, nestled in a basin deep within the western forests.

The tough wooden houses decorated with animal bones have been replaced by shabby shacks, and the white lion totem—once the pride of the Aqua King Tribe—has been substituted with a smooth stone taken from nearby ruins and carved with modest designs. With fewer than 100 survivors and a devastating gender ratio of 2:8, had the women of the Aqua King Tribe been as docile and domestic as the White Earth Tribe, they could never have endured this long journey of refuge.

Yet even broken and battered, they lived with the pride of being the strongest among the beast-folk. They believed that given enough time without interference, they would surely rise again, no matter how slowly. Indeed, shortly after settling here, they quickly established their living space thanks to their superior physical abilities.

Though game wasn’t as plentiful as near Riverside, and the land wasn’t particularly fertile nor rich in underground resources, the Aqua King Tribe’s greatest pride was that with their powerful bodies—called the strongest—they could survive anywhere, anytime.

They noticed the anomaly two years after settling. All newborns were female. The following year, and the year after that, no male children were born. But they couldn’t bear the thought of relocating again with infants in tow, so they tried to maintain their way of life while searching for the cause.

Despite their efforts, they couldn’t discover why no male children were being born. To make matters worse, a bizarre plague affecting only men had turned all the tribe’s males into dementia-stricken elders over the past three years. The current Aqua King Tribe village, inheriting the name Beckya, was in a situation where the women were desperately struggling to survive by working together.

“So, you stole food from those pioneers?”

“Well… rather than stealing, it felt more like they offered it willingly.”

“There were two pioneers, plus an elf, a dwarf, a cat-folk from the east, and even a dark elf.”

“If it’s a cat-folk from the east, they might be from Ulinka. But why would they be with pioneers…”

“More importantly, Great Mother, what should we do with them? Should we go with the adults, kill them all, and take the rest of their food?”

Maia, a tiger beast-woman with sharp eyes, stood before the middle-aged woman called “Great Mother.” The two following her—Olga, a black panther beast-woman, and Gashu, a lioness beast-woman—nodded silently, burning with fighting spirit. Though they had failed in their ambush earlier due to their inexperience, they believed defeat would be impossible if they went with the village elders.

“…No, let’s first hear what they have to say.”

“Really? But they’re pioneers.”

“Can we trust them, Great Mother?”

“Of course we can’t. It’s only natural not to trust pioneers.”

The trio, who had grown up hearing that pioneers were untouchable garbage and cowards never to be trusted, tilted their heads at the Great Mother’s decision. But in the Great Mother’s heart, there was an emotion deeper than hatred toward pioneers—fear. The memory of strange tools called “guns” that shot light and brutally defeated the supposedly strongest Aqua King Tribe remained deeply etched in her mind even after 20 years.

However, as the one bearing the responsibility of leading the tribe, even as a proxy, she could never say, “Let’s comply with their demands because we fear the invaders.” Therefore, Great Mother Hatsha Coco Marinda had to pretend to be composed while desperately thinking of ways to act like a wise leader.

“But that doesn’t mean we should attack and kill them outright. If it were just pioneers, perhaps, but the fact that they came with other races suggests they have some scheme.”

“What kind of scheme?”

“Didn’t you say there were not only pioneers but other races too, and all women? What would happen if they were all killed by the Aqua King Tribe?”

“…We would become enemies not just of the pioneers, but of all races.”

“Exactly. Through their sacrifice, the pioneers would gain justification for war, and the alliance of five races would finally try to wipe out the Aqua King Tribe. We cannot fall for such an obvious ploy.”

Of course, this was merely Great Mother Marinda’s groundless delusion. The reason for the potential armed conflict between pioneers and the Aqua King Tribe was the murder committed by Kasim, and there was no possibility that elves, dwarves, cat-folk, or dark elves would form a coalition army if Will’s group were killed. But Maia, Olga, and Gashu were too young to point this out, lacking both experience and wisdom, and they tended to blindly trust the words of the village’s highest elder.

“First, let’s inspect the food they brought. If there’s no problem, we’ll all eat our fill and then go meet them. We can always kill them and take the rest later.”

“Yes, Great Mother!”

“Yay! Meat party!”

As the three girls noisily left the house, Great Mother Marinda sank into her armchair with a long sigh. Never before had the position of tribal leader—which she had taken not because of talent or leadership, but because there was no one else—felt so heavy.

“Damn pioneers… just leave us alone already…”

With so many men killed during the war, the surviving men afflicted with disease and rendered incompetent, and now no male children being born, the tribe was slowly heading toward extinction. What more could they possibly do?

Great Mother Marinda could not think of any way to save the tribe’s future, which showed not even a single ray of hope.

~ ~ ~ Ancient Ruins, Camping Wagon ~ ~ ~

Even after the Aqua King Tribe warriors left, we thoroughly searched around the ancient ruins but couldn’t find any traces of Arcane Words or anything else. I had hoped that Arcane Words might be hidden on nearby trees or rocks like at the Great Sage’s villa… but reality wasn’t so accommodating.

Five buildings, with unknown creators, age, or purpose. For ordinary adventurers or scholars, further investigation would be impossible without completely overturning the surrounding land, but we have a reliable helper for situations like this. For that reason, it’s time to seek Professor Anastasia’s help again.

“Are you treating me like some kind of walking encyclopedia?”

“I can’t deny it.”

If the ruins themselves are damaged and no other records can be found, our only option is to ask someone who experienced Grantis long ago.

“…Fine. You said there were traces of five narrow buildings with square floors clustered together? Those were probably sites where curse spirits were sealed.”

“Curse spirits?”

“They refer to curses that have gained souls and begun moving with their own will. They are dangerous magical beasts that exist solely to spread the curses that constitute them, rather than acting on animal instinct or grudges.”

“…But everything’s collapsed, with only traces remaining?”

I don’t know how dangerous these curse spirits are, but given that the ancient ruins have completely collapsed, shouldn’t we assume they’ve been released from their seals?

“There’s nothing to worry about. The sealing of curse spirits isn’t just about containment—it’s a mechanism that depletes their spiritual bodies and leads them to extinction. Any curse spirits that were sealed there would have perished long ago, without even fragments remaining.”

“That’s a relief.”

“However, the curse formula itself might remain in the sealing medium, so don’t touch any cube-shaped stones with marble-like smooth surfaces.”

“Smooth stones?”

“Yes. The one placed in the center of the floor in the middle building. If you infuse it with magical power, the absorbed curse formula might activate incompletely and have negative effects on the surroundings. It wouldn’t be nearly enough to activate the curse unless you continuously pour in a significant amount of magical power, but there’s always that small possibility.”

So the smooth cube-shaped stone in the center building is the medium that sealed the curse spirit, and although the spirit itself has perished while sealed, the curse formula that constituted it might remain in the medium. Since formulas engraved in mediums activate when appropriate magical power is supplied in Grantis’s magical system, he’s warning us to refrain from infusing magical power into that stone to avoid activating the curse, even by the slimmest chance. The problem is—

“…We didn’t see any such stone.”

“What’s that?”

“In the ruins we discovered, there were only flat floor tiles remaining, no smooth cube-shaped stone.”

“Well, that’s strange. Anyone who handles magic would have sensed it was an ominous object just by touching it, so they wouldn’t have carelessly moved it or tried to infuse it with magical power.”

“Was it destroyed by someone… Would the curse activate if it were broken?”

“No such thing would happen, so rest assured. That stone is essentially like the magical tools you use. Just as damaging a magic circuit formula plate doesn’t cause its effects to go haywire.”

“That’s somewhat reassuring…”

Even as I said this, I couldn’t shake off a sense of unease. If the sealing medium had been destroyed, that would be fortunate, but I worried that it might have been moved somewhere by someone and would return as a great calamity.