episode_0077

I thought Julia would warm my shoes by the fire, but that wasn’t the case. As soon as I lifted my hand, the moisture on my shoes evaporated.

Squeak!

The same went for the gourd that Jules tried to fill with water.

The water that appeared in the air began to flow into the gourd. ······Why does Julia’s magic seem more magical than Grace’s?

“This is mosquito-repelling medicine. I can give it to you every time I come. It’s easy to make and we have a lot in stock.”

“Thank you.”

Julia held out a mint-scented ointment.

“The moment they smell the medicine, the mosquitoes will become addicted and stumble to death. It is highly volatile and catches fire easily, so do not place it next to a fire and keep it closed when not in use. If the medicine splits, its effectiveness has expired. It has a strong smell so rats may not like it.”

Jules ears flutter.

I am a person with a sensitive sense of smell. I guess the smell is too irritating even for Jules. ···I should only use it sparingly when I go out.

“I will write well.”

When I heard that they were going to kill mosquitoes because they couldn’t be chased away, the corners of my mouth went up without me even realizing it. The feeling of life was as strong as spring water. It was a long time of humiliation and persecution, you bastards!

” Take a shower. What does that look like?”

“If you wash your face with wetland water, you will get sick.”

“That’s right.”

Julia manipulated the water droplets and wiped my face. But even such pure kindness only seemed like a youth hunter to me.

“After you left, I experimented with fish using the remaining pepper, but the fish lasted only about three days.”

What’s even more amazing is that the fish lasted for three days after being taken out of the water.

If it was smoked and peppered, it would have lasted a really long time. You can assume that regular meat can be stored for about 10 days.

······I have a lot to ask this person.

“···Is Amor really a person from 800 years ago?”

Amor is 512 years old.

I can’t get the words from Julias and Amphitier out of my head. They say that Amor will never die, or that they do not know the weight of the name Amor. Even the sadness that felt like it would break my heart.

But now Amor is a person from 800 years ago?

Amor is 512 years old and was reduced to powder before my eyes and scattered across the entire continent of Pangea.

“Amor was literally a saint. While helping people here and there, ironically, I was branded a devil and had my head cut off.”

······devil?

“I guess anyone who was injured was treated. Even serial killers and criminals. In response to questions from angry people, ‘I only treat patients.’ That’s what I said, and that’s the result. Beheading.”

Julia pretends to slit his throat.

I’m curious about Amor, but now I’m also curious about the devil. Maybe it’s the information I need the most.

“Is there a devil on Pangea?”

“It’s the devil, right? I think it’s a discredited legend. Still, there’s a devil among the servants, so I’m just guessing that there is.”

I heard this from Jules here before.

Dantalian, the demon of goodness and generosity. One of the thirteen servants. Yes. There are devils in this world too. But why the devil? Wasn’t it Maal who created Dantalian?

“The devil is bad. Why make something like that?”

Julias’ eyes glance at me.

“What is the devil?”

Definition of devil? Simple.

“A monster that corrupts people and takes them to hell.”

“That’s right. Even the sacred nation of Romaria interprets it that way. Even in most cultures. When we die and ascend to heaven, in order to go to Maal’s side, we must act against the devil.”

In other words, the reason God created the devil was as a warning.

If you’re thinking about dying and being buried next to me, be good.

“The devil is closer to a judge than to bewitching people. It punishes people who are not good and tolerant. It’s not that the devil has bad tendencies.”

In some ways, the devils here are similar to the devils of hell believed on Earth. Isn’t the role of the devil on Earth to cruelly capture the living and drag them to hell?

But why force goodness?

“But Dantalian has never shown himself until now. That’s why he’s a taboo servant. If Dantalian was doing his job well in the first place, would the world work like this?”

While watching TV on Earth, I often wondered why the devil doesn’t catch people like that, but in reality, I am one of the people that the devil will catch.

Because I killed someone.

The same goes for Julias and Jules. All living creatures are selfish, all are intolerant, and all are not good. Not only the people gathered here, but more than half of the people in the world may have to see the devil’s face.

What next? In memory of those dragged to hell, only those who live their lives bowing to the devil will remain. So then, isn’t Dantalian a philosophically wrong servant?

“···Isn’t the devil interfering in people’s affairs like God’s reign of terror? It’s scary to even think about it.”

“That’s what they say. So you’ve never shown up?”

Julia crosses her arms and turns around.

“Jwiyul. Are you going to sleep today?”

Jules shakes his head.

“No. We have to go back to the village and dig a drain. The skybridge also needs to be lifted.”

“Other people say they can’t do that? Why do you go through so much trouble?”

“Because we can walk on the overpass only when we return. And no matter how many drainage ditches we make, they are not enough. Especially this time.”

“Well…yeah. It’s been almost 100 years since we had a rainy season like this.”

Julia: Others don’t seem to agree.

If I sort it out with magic, it will be over.

Since Julia is an alchemist, I thought she would ask me many questions about Amor, but I don’t think she has any intention of doing so. His calmness made me want to tell him something more.

“Do you have any questions about Amor?”

Julias smiles and shakes his head.

“Nothing in particular. ah! Can you tell me how he died? No, how could he die?”

“Amor asked me to do it, so I stabbed him in the heart.”

Julias took out a fountain pen, a small inkwell, and a notebook, as if he was carrying them around now.

“Was there anything unusual?”

I asked him to think of it as something for himself.

… Now that I think about it, something strange was flowing from Amor’s heart.

“No blood came out when I pierced the heart. Instead, clear water with a sweet smell flowed out, and only after that did the blood flow out.”

“······Transparent water? good. And what else?”

“That’s all I know.”

Julia scribbled something down in her notebook, then made a funny face and looked down at me from her notebook.

“What is the weapon that stabbed the saint?”

“It was a sword made of glass. I said it was a sword that wouldn’t hurt even if you stabbed it… and it was very beautiful.”

“It’s an executioner’s sword. I have that too. The glass sword is not that special of a weapon.”

I thought it was rare, but I guess that’s not the case.

Julias’ strange eyes, which were looking at his notebook to write down, turn to me again.

“Well, then the outlier is you.”

me? ······Am I a singularity?

“It was stabbed the same way no matter who stabbed it, what difference is there?”

“In general, it is true, but the saint was immortal. The accepted opinion is that his existence is close to something supernatural. Magic is strongly influenced by the caster’s mind. Especially the unconscious. The saint must have felt something from you, so he asked for his final moments.”

······Julias is right.

Why did Amor say that only I could kill him? What did you see in me?

“Unless the weapon is great, it means that you have met certain conditions to kill the saint. If only I could use proper magic, I’d be checking your head.”

impossible.

Because even Grace, a real Dragonian, couldn’t confirm what was in my head. However, this does not mean that magic disappears when it touches my body.

Thanks to magic, I recovered, and thanks to magic, I survived. The only thing that is locked is the mind.

“Isn’t it possible that the heart is simply a weak point?”

“Actually, that is the most credible. Everything I just said is just speculation, so don’t think too much about it.”

Julia answered in a dull voice, folded the notebook and put it in her pocket. It seems she decided that there was nothing more to find out. The ink from the fountain pen gathered neatly into a single drop and slowly fell into the ink tank.

“It’s over now, right?”

“It’s over. I will find out about the Precious Blood and visit in person.”

Julias, who responded to Jules, looks at me.

“But if my hypothesis is correct, the wounds you inflict on others may not be healed with Precious Blood. I don’t think there will be an accident, but it’s better to be careful just in case. Got it?”

I just remember Amor’s words.

Please think that killing yourself is the right thing to do. I won’t stab anyone or anything, but just keep this in mind.

“Yes. Thank you for your advice.”

“I have to go soon.”

“Okay. Take a look. Good luck to you too.”

“See you later.”

“See you next time.”

When Julia held out her hand, the bag on her back got slightly wet.

“What did you do?! I heard a bell here!”

“It’s a waterproof magic. You guys, it’s obvious that it’s going to rain. Go!”

······It’s obvious that it’s going to rain?

Jules’ steps leaving the cave were very steep.

“Why are you suddenly in such a hurry?”

“It smells strange. Even the sound.”

smell? sound?

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Dark clouds were visible between the collapsed ceiling.”

Jules’ face was horribly frozen.

“Maybe it will rain starting today.”

That can’t be possible.

There are still a few days left in the rainy season that Grace predicted?

“······!”

Just as Jules said, outside the cave, dark clouds were approaching at incredible speed. Is that possible naturally? Lightning flashes within the dark clouds.

Several Lexias were also looking at the sky with devastated expressions.

No matter how fast the rain-filled clouds are, they are not this fast! In other words, if it rains earlier than scheduled, it is normal for there to be a certain amount of rain clouds.

Even though the rainy season has been postponed for a few days, what on earth is that amount?

The non-ideal speed of the clouds moved beyond a natural disaster movie and felt like the end of the world.

“···I really want to come. Rain.”

“I have to go back right away. We may not have even properly prepared the drainage ditch yet, and if we are late, the village may retrieve the viaduct before we return.”

There are two entrances to the ogre’s nest.

“There is also an entrance below.”

“That’s the entrance that gets locked first during the rainy season.”

ah! Come to think of it, the abandoned house where Shir’s gang hang out was also an abandoned house that had been flooded.

The entire square may be submerged in water.

“Then, you can’t go into the village…?”

“That’s right. You have to hurry.”

ruined!

The rainy season basically lasts from a week to two weeks at the very longest. Meanwhile, camping out in the rain? Absolutely not. In the southern rainy season, the world is completely submerged in water. If you take that for a whole week, you might die! Even more so when it’s the record-breaking rainy season for the first time in 100 years!

Jules picked me up and carried me.

“You might bite your tongue, so shut up from now on.”