Ch.55Heavy Relationship (3)

The engineer only lent her body to Miyo for three hours a day.

It wasn’t because the younger sister didn’t trust her older sister.

Survival was the priority.

The engineer’s crafting skills were helpful in many ways.

Meanwhile, the magic that her sister Miyo was trying to learn was nothing more than a way for her and me to bond.

That’s not to say Miyo hadn’t made any progress. On her 20th day of practicing mana circulation, she accomplished the task I had assigned her.

[“Mage, look at this?”]

Miyo grinned as she showed me a stone through which she had circulated mana.

Considering her limited time, she had learned faster than expected.

[“How is it? Pretty decent, right?”]

She has talent.

It would be satisfying to teach her. I hid my true thoughts and said:

[“This is just the first step. Practice doing it faster.”]

[“Phew, that’s boring.”]

Though she grumbled, Miyo’s tail wagged happily. Being a fox, she was quite perceptive. I had no intention of teaching her carelessly.

[“Now that you know how to circulate mana, practice accumulating it. You’re not ready to use magic yet. If you don’t know how to store pure mana, you won’t be able to handle mana depletion.”]

[“Got it. But hey, if I store lots of mana in my body, can I transfer it to you when needed?”]

[“Yes.”]

[“Then I could help you when you experience mana depletion?”]

I nodded for now. I didn’t have high expectations. Someone who had just grasped mana circulation typically needed another three months to become familiar with Mirkil.

[“Great, let me practice then.”]

[“Work hard.”]

In any case, the engineer just needed to fulfill her role properly for now. Like she did by making the crossbow.

“This is really useful.”

The structure of the wooden and stone crossbow was simple. The loading mechanism was intuitive, and it was powerful despite its size. Though it took time to reload, that was a problem that could be overcome with practice.

After firing a few test shots, we packed our gear and entered the forest.

We passed through the bamboo forest and reached the pale forest.

The cold was still present. Everyone except the Holy Maiden, who was already dressed warmly, was feeling the chill to some degree.

The Holy Maiden frowned as she looked around.

“Isn’t something strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t see any Dryads.”

Dryads were beings native to this island, spirits who managed the forest. They had been corrupted by the Alraune but were purified again by the Holy Maiden.

Yet now, there was no sign of these forest caretakers.

“Something might have happened. Let’s go deeper.”

I had a bad feeling. But we had to move forward. To leave this island, we needed to find and kill the real leader.

I didn’t know how strong the leader would be.

Still, we should be able to handle it.

After all, I had the Magic Stones obtained from defeating monsters.

Particularly, the Magic Stone from the Ghoul was extremely useful. If we could coordinate well with the female soldiers, a quick victory wasn’t impossible.

With these thoughts, we were exploring the pale forest when:

“Grrrr.”

The engineer lowered her voice. As previously agreed, we hid in the bushes.

Rustle, rustle.

Five or six plant monsters were coming our way.

They were about the size of large dogs, with strawberry-like heads and potato-like tubers growing like tumors on their legs.

[‘Strawberry and potato.’]

[‘So they’re straw-tatoes, I suppose.’]

The monsters were dragging something tied with rope. It was a dead Dryad. They were hunting the forest spirits.

[‘They have fruit. These are different from the plant monsters we’ve seen so far.’]

[‘Yes, I sense unusual magical power. Considering the growth stages of plants, it makes sense.’]

Plants start as sprouts and end with fruit. Until now, we had only encountered monsters with leaves or flowers.

These were clearly different.

They would be strong.

But we could win with good teamwork.

I whispered to the Holy Maiden.

“If we follow them, we might find the leader.”

The Holy Maiden nodded. She relayed my intentions to the Valkyrie and the engineer.

We carefully followed the monsters, making sure not to be detected. Fortunately, they never noticed us trailing them.

My prediction was correct.

Sitting on a stump of an old tree where sunlight couldn’t reach was a humanoid monster.

It appeared to be three times the size of an adult man. It had long limbs and three heads.

Branch-like antlers extended from its heads, with fruits hanging abundantly.

[‘Those don’t look like ordinary fruits.’]

Upon closer inspection, they weren’t fruits but stones.

[‘A wooden humanoid monster that bears rocks instead of fruit? Did such a creature ever exist in this world?’]

[‘If such things exist, why aren’t there horses with horns?’]

The monsters placed the Dryad’s corpse before the wooden humanoid. It extended its root-like hands, grabbed the spirit’s legs, and stuffed it into its mouth.

Crunch.

The Holy Maiden and the engineer couldn’t bear to watch. Only the Valkyrie and I kept our eyes fixed, trying to understand the monster’s behavior.

After devouring the Dryad, the wooden humanoid’s tree trembled. Flower buds burst open, and fruits grew. The ripened flesh gleamed like jewels.

[‘That’s…’]

[‘A Magic Stone, I presume.’]

I had been hearing murmuring sounds for a while. I focused my auditory nerves. The voices became clearer.

Help me, save me.

I don’t want to be taken by the demon.

It’s too cold here. Someone get me out.

It was coming from the direction of the wooden humanoid’s heads. The source of the sound was the Magic Stones.

[‘Our situation is similar.’]

[‘Were we created like that too?’]

[‘Similar yet different. Listen carefully. They’re not using incantations.’]

The enemy female soldiers were also hearing their cries. They were shaken. The Holy Maiden’s eyes turned red with anger, the engineer trembled, and the Valkyrie gripped her spear tightly, grinding her teeth.

We exchanged hand signals. Each of us loaded arrows into our crossbows. The arrowheads were made of Magic Stones, designed to activate as soon as I recited a spell.

Just as we were preparing for a volley:

[“There are rats hiding.”]

The wooden humanoid stood up from its crouched position.

[“Find them.”]

[“Where are they?”]

[“Over there, the mana flow is strange.”]

At this rate, we’d be discovered soon. Actually, we should consider ourselves already discovered.

We needed to move before it was too late.

The Valkyrie, the most combat-proficient among us, waved her hand. It was the signal to attack. I summoned all my magical power.

[“Explode.”]

Bang!

The four arrows we shot simultaneously hit the wooden humanoid’s torso. Then the arrows exploded. The shock wave sent nearby monsters flying helplessly.

First strike for victory.

The Valkyrie charged out first. I followed right behind her.

We aimed to strike straight through to the leader.

The Valkyrie’s spear pierced through monsters as she advanced. Her holy power, drawn to its limit, wailed. I also gathered all the mana I could to prepare the maximum fire magic I could use.

We can do this.

The Fire Sea Stone I used to defeat the Alraune last time.

I had successfully synthesized it with Magic Stones obtained from defeating Dryads and Alraunes, increasing stability while greatly enhancing firepower.

Since it was fire derived from trees, I decided to call it the Pine Flower Stone.

[“Light, charge forth.”]

I used all my mana to strike at its groin.

Simultaneously, the Valkyrie, having completed her run-up, leaped into the air. She swung her spear toward the wooden humanoid’s three heads.

A coordinated attack from above and below.

[“Urrrgh!”]

[“You rats!”]

[“How dare you!”]

It seems they didn’t expect us to suddenly appear and attack. Of course. Would it be a surprise attack if they knew? The wooden humanoid’s defeat was predetermined after allowing two critical hits out of nowhere. Just surrender and produce Magic Stones.

[“What are you all doing?”]

[“Hurry and drag them out!”]

[“It’s too late! We have to handle this ourselves!”]

The subordinate monsters had long been dealt with by the Holy Maiden and the engineer. The wooden humanoid swung its hand. It seemed to be trying to strike the Valkyrie who was in mid-air.

I won’t allow that.

I took out the Magic Stone obtained from defeating the Ghoul and recited an incantation.

[“Leap.”]

The Valkyrie’s form disappeared. The monster’s hand slashed through empty air. In the blink of an eye, she was behind the wooden humanoid.

[“When did she—!”]

[“Ugh!”]

[“Gak!”]

The Valkyrie took out a hand axe and embedded it in the wooden humanoid’s spine. The monster staggered forward.

Everything was going smoothly.

Prepared for mana depletion, I unleashed the Pine Flower Stone once more.

The wooden humanoid’s lower body was torn off and burned to ashes.

Finally, the monster collapsed.

Still, to be safe, we needed to finish it off. I left that task to the Valkyrie. She used her axe to cut off the monster’s three heads and both arms. The wooden humanoid’s corpse was burning and gradually disappearing.

“Mage!”

The engineer came hopping like a rabbit. The Holy Maiden followed behind.

“This was easier than last time.”

“Indeed.”

I never dreamed it would end so anticlimactically.

“Are you alright?”

“No.”

With those words, I sat down. My legs gave out. It was undoubtedly mana depletion.

Fighting back nausea, I pointed to the wooden humanoid’s torso.

“Would you look at that?”

There was a symbol engraved on the monster’s back. The Holy Maiden and the Valkyrie narrowed their eyes upon seeing it.

The engineer began to tremble and back away.

“T-this is…”

A silver ring.

With eight inverted crosses drawn on it.

It was the mark of the cult of pseudo-mages that had traumatized the engineer sisters.

The engineer recoiled in horror. Though it was the older sister who had told me about it, the younger sister would naturally know as well.

“Haa, haa.”

The engineer collapsed. She crawled like a dog, gasping, and grabbed my uniform. Her pupils contracted to pinpoints, and she began drooling like a rabid animal.

“Sister, I’m sorry, sister, I’m sorry.”

Seeing the engineer in this state, the expressions of the Holy Maiden and the Valkyrie darkened dramatically. My face probably looked similar.

Whether it’s war or anything else, anyone who experiences something shocking suffers psychological trauma. The Valkyrie did, I did, and the Holy Maiden likely did too.

The engineer had it particularly bad. Knowing her circumstances and understanding her feelings, I stroked her head.

“Sister, don’t go. Yes, I’m here. Sister, is it really you? Of course, I told you I didn’t die.”

Perhaps it was the effect of learning the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s language from the Holy Maiden, but I could understand everything the engineer was saying.