Chapter 170 - What is a Spirit's Blessing?
"Phew, I guess this is good enough?"
“Yes. It’s gotten quite clean.”
I returned to the place where I had exited the ancient ruins, probably the observation deck, and started weeding.
Thanks to the ken-nata, weeding was easy, but for serious work, I should bring a hoe.
"~~~♪"
"Woof~"
Both of them were diligently carrying the cut grass, and their figures were just adorable.
Lupi didn't seem to be dwelling on her mother's passing, which was a bit of a relief...
"Now, where should I put it? I don't want it too close to the landslide area."
“Why don’t you ask Lupi-chan?”
"Ah, right. Lupi~?"
She came running happily and sat down.
"Mom, where would be a good place?"
"Woof."
I see. A spot at the southern tip with a panoramic view of the island.
Lupi started digging the soil with her front paws, so I helped her.
I could use [Excavation] magic, but I felt it was better to dig by hand properly.
"Now, rest peacefully..."
"Woof..."
I carefully placed each bone and gently covered them with soil.
Finally, I made a mound of earth so I wouldn't accidentally step on it.
"~~~♪"
"Thank you."
Sweee, who had found them somehow, placed white flowers at the base of the mound.
I thought she was asleep the whole time until we left that cave, but she was actually listening properly...
I put my hands together and bowed, but our religions are different here, right?
Lupi's Managarm was a messenger of the Blue Sky Goddess, so she must have gone there.
"Woof."
"Ah, let's go home."
It must be past 4 o'clock, so it's about time to log off and prepare dinner.
Returning through the widened shortcut... will it be okay? I should probably cast [Compaction] magic just in case.
I wriggled through the hole and returned inside the ancient ruins.
I can take that elevator back, right?
“Can we only go beyond this collapsed area from here?”
"Ah, that's right. In the end, I haven't been to the Control Room yet. But I don't think I can do anything about this collapse... not right now."
I wonder if I'll be able to do something once my Civil Engineering Skill levels up?
No, if it causes a secondary disaster, no one will help me, so...
“I think it’s better to look for other routes.”
"Probably. At worst, if I excavated from the observation deck, I might be able to get to the other side of the collapse site, but there are still other places to go."
For now, I'll think about it when there are no other places left to go...
...
..
.
*
Tonight's dinner was pork chop.
Simply put, it was like 'ketchup-flavored pork sauté.'
"Mmm, delicious!"
"Good to hear. Make sure you eat your cabbage too."
"I understand."
It was nice that she ate so deliciously, but the ketchup sauce around her mouth made her not look like a middle school third-year...
"Speaking of which, did you challenge the ancient ruins again during the day?"
“Well, the members couldn’t gather properly...”
According to Miki, it was canceled today because Leona-sama wasn't available.
Apparently, she was participating in the qualifiers for a Full-Dive fighting game tournament.
"What about countermeasures for the poisonous dust?"
“That too... Gold Onee-sama seems busy, so there aren’t enough healers.”
"Oh dear."
“With the long holiday in May, Okinawa is apparently packed with tourists.”
Miki sighed and drank her consommé soup.
She runs an inn, so the long holiday is peak season for making money.
"Other healers at Silver Manor... Season-san was a healer, wasn't she?"
“My sister is dragging her around, and it seems she’s currently doing all the quests in the Capital one after another...”
Mashiro-nee...
"Ah, Iincho... What about Polly-san?"
“Hm? It’s fine to have Polly-dono participate, but would that be a countermeasure?”
"No, I had a feeling that Spirit's Blessing could probably prevent poisonous dust."
This time I made it with pork loin, but maybe I should use tenderloin too. I'll use tenderloin when I treat Mion.
...Hm?
"What's wrong?"
"What is a Spirit's Blessing?"
"Eh? When you get a Spirit's Blessing, you get a buff, right? Today, I got buffs from the Light Spirit and Tree Spirit and was able to easily defeat the undead."
The shredded cabbage, mixed with the pork chop sauce and mayonnaise, was quite good.
Then, Miki suddenly started shoveling down her rice.
"What's wrong?"
“Brother, the Ancient Iris-Colored Divine Scripture is missing!”
"...I kind of get what you're trying to say, so calm down and eat."
*
"Evening."
“Shou-kun.”
"Again, you've... found something amazing, haven't you?"
It was 7:30 PM.
It was earlier than usual, but Mion greeted me as always, and across from her was Bell-bucho with half-closed eyes.
"Brother! Show me the video quickly!"
Seth (Miki) dashed to her seat, urging me for something.
"Mion. Could you show them the part where I fought the skeletons today?"
“Yes.”
She pulled up the afternoon's archive and started playback from the moment I opened that 'unlock code' door.
After Sweee's hint, I asked the Spirit Stone for aid, and a faint green light enveloped my entire body.
The combat itself felt monotonous, but looking at it now, Lupi supported me precisely.
“I’ll skip to the end.”
Mion said that and skipped until the end of the battle.
Finally, she paused it where I checked my stats and the Spirit's Blessing was displayed.
"That's how it was, I guess."
Ah, Bell-bucho is frozen.
As for Seth (Miki), she was groaning and deep in thought.
"Is Spirit's Blessing that rare? I feel like Light Spirits and Tree Spirits would be common for elves."
Iincho, for example, is like that.
"...At least, I've never seen it."
"Eh?"
Bell-bucho, revived from her freeze, stated that with a sharp look.
“Nobody has noticed?”
“That’s right. Furthermore, it may require a combination of two or more spirits.”
Seth added.
Ah, so it's impossible with just one type of spirit.
There are people who have more than one type, but they just haven't realized how to use it as a blessing.
"This requires verification. First, brother has the blessing of the Light and Tree Spirits, and it's undoubtedly effective against the undead.
Another point is MP consumption. It's highly likely that your brother's mantle allows him to maintain it."
“Shou-kun’s mantle is amazing, after all.”
"Indeed, I think it would be tough without that."
Thinking about it, there was a possibility that the spirits got too excited and I'd run out of MP and collapse. I need to be careful...
"In any case, it feels like the effects of Spirit's Blessing would differ depending on the spirit. I think that would be more natural."
“Indeed. Fortunately, Polly-dono can use the same spirits as brother. So, we’ll ask her to cooperate with the verification.”
"Yes, that's right."
Then I guess I can leave the rest to Iincho.
I'll just ask her for the verification results.
“It’s not the same. Shou-kun also became able to use the Water Spirit after this.”
Ah, that's right...