Chapter 160 - Chapter Eight: The Flatlands' Grave
He wasn't just a troublesome old man.
He was a person who understood proper etiquette.
"But then, Captain Lewis and the others, and Beatrix, are the same, aren't they?"
The share should be divided into four.
"We can't receive it. It was during a mission."
"But that's not right..."
Fiona interrupted.
"Um, Captain Lewis and the Adjutant were in a state where their souls were half-gone. And Beatrix, during the snake complaints, she was sometimes sleeping while standing..."
I looked at Beatrix, who had a face like she had bitten into a bitter bug.
"I was outsmarted. Is that why he pretended to be a slave? If it had been a king's story, I definitely wouldn't have missed a word."
Apparently, he wanted to exclude the greedy ones.
After everyone laughed for a while, we decided to take our leave.
Today was already nearing dusk.
Tomorrow, the Archbishop himself would go to inspect the grave.
We would also accompany him as escorts and transport King Griffith's donated items in the bowl.
Happy New Year.
The next day.
I was to assist in the grave chamber investigation. To be precise, I was an assistant to the assistant secretary, serving as a lighting technician, but it was a rare opportunity for an ordinary person to be involved. I gratefully participated.
Adolf-san also attended as head of security, and the guard corps participated. Ten burly men from the two specialized charge squads. Unfortunately, it wasn't Beowulf's squad.
Five other priests came, including young ones, besides the secretary. Three of them were apparently record-keepers.
First, holy water was sprinkled around the entrance hole, and the Archbishop performed a purification prayer. Standing next to the secretary, who chanted while sprinkling holy water from a small bottle, I joined in the chanting and sprinkled holy water. Beside me, a record-keeping priest was drawing a picture of the grave.
When that was finished, it was the magic users' turn.
The work was contracted to the Marcelo Company.
Angelica-san and Paul-san.
They widened the entrance hole to allow easy access.
From here, the investigation would begin.
We then entered, and another purification prayer was performed in front of the burial chamber. This was followed by a prayer praising the Goddess, and the ritual concluded.
As the Archbishop continued the purification prayer, the secretary chanted, and I illuminated with Light, Paul-san and the others gradually removed the soil mounded on the floor. After about half of it was cleared, a stone slab appeared. It was probably the lid of the stone coffin. When Paul-san lifted it with magic, it was filled with soil.
The stone coffin seemed to be constructed by setting four stone slabs on the front, back, left, and right to create a space, laying round stones on the bottom, filling it with soil, placing the body and grave goods, then burying it further with soil, and finally covering it with a stone slab lid. It was different from what was commonly known as a coffin.
The Archbishop seemed to know this, and after explaining it to the young priests and me, he instructed Paul-san and Angelica-san to use magic to dig out the soil little by little.
As expected of high-ranking magic users. They excavated only the soil cleanly, so the grave goods wouldn't be damaged.
Bronze shields and swords emerged, and finally, a skeleton adorned with jingling necklaces appeared. The skeleton also wore bracelets and rings.
The record-keeping priests drew pictures and meticulously copied the patterns on these items. They measured their size and wrote it next to the drawings.
After everything was excavated and recorded, the excavated soil was returned to the stone coffin and reburied. The grave goods were also returned to their original positions and all buried. The stone lid was replaced, restoring it to its original state.
Next was the excavation of the treasure.
A hole was dug directly beneath the foot of the remains, being careful not to damage the stone coffin.
Angelica-san dug the hole, and Paul-san inserted a cylindrical Wind Barrier into the hole to prevent it from collapsing.
As they dug out the soil, a black box became visible. It appeared to be made of iron and was quite heavy.
The strongmen of the guard corps were called, and two of them went inside, working with the three above to pull it out with great effort.
After digging to a certain extent and confirming there was nothing else, they solidified the soil as they threw it back in, and finally restored the mound of the grave to its original state.
"King Griffith. This burial chamber will be preserved in the name of the Archbishop of the Nakanohara Diocese of the Sertoria National Church. Its management will be handled by this church. Rest assured."
He had ascended, so he wasn't there, but it was for the atmosphere, I suppose.
When the Archbishop's words ended, everyone offered a prayer.
Finally, the entrance to the burial chamber was sealed with earth, and stones were piled up to prevent easy human access, concluding the investigation.
It had taken quite some time to record the grave goods. Looking at the candles, over two hours had passed.
Just as I thought, phew, it's over, and extinguished my Light, switching to a torch to exit.
Something white and fluffy descended from the ceiling.
"Jeanne. I am pleased you kept your promise. I am Griffith, the king who ruled this land."
Um, you were still here?
I heard the voice of the ghost from yesterday.
I was set up again.
The atmosphere was somehow different, probably because he was a king today.
Unfortunately, Fiona was outside during the investigation because we were using Light magic.
It was a shame I couldn't see his face, but he was probably still painted blue like yesterday.
"Do not say that. I took a liking to you, so I wished to offer a word of greeting. You defeated the snakes, protected the Alraune with whom we lived, and purified this burial chamber. I thank you. I am also indebted to the priests."
In our doctrine, they are bishops, not priests, but oh well, the Archbishop didn't interject.
"King Griffith. Your preserved records will become a treasure for the church, no, for the world. I, too, offer my gratitude."
The Archbishop bowed respectfully, and everyone followed suit.
"Indeed. I had much time, so I wrote them. It would be good if they prove useful to those people."
After that, he endlessly explained how he came to write those records. In short, since he couldn't write them while alive, he wrote them after becoming a ghost.
The Archbishop, being experienced, kept interjecting with "Oh, really?" and "That's amazing!" which only encouraged him to talk more. The candles were even replaced.
Finally, one of the guard corps members suddenly collapsed.
Foam was coming from his mouth.
Everyone except the priests was swaying unsteadily. Beatrix was even sleeping while standing.
"Oh, are you alright? My apologies. It seems those unaccustomed could not endure it."
Seeing his hurried reaction, he seemed to be a kind person.
"Well then, Priest. It seems we must not overstay. One last thing. Jeanne, I shall give you this."
He took out a leather pouch from his robe and handed it to me.
The Archbishop nodded, so I gratefully accepted it.
"Now then, Priest. I wish to ascend soon. I entrust it to you."
"Understood. Then, shall I assist you with your ascension, King Griffith?"
"Oh! May I?"
There was no way I could refuse.
"If I am worthy, I will assist you."
Since he looked satisfied, I performed the ascension prayer before he changed his mind.
The Headmistress would use Ascension.
To my surprise, the Archbishop chanted along with me.
"Farewell then. Jeanne. You have been a great help..."
The white mist became a ball of light and slowly moved outside.
As I chanted and followed it, it ascended high into the sky and eventually disappeared from sight.
"Priest Jeanne. Good work."
"No, Archbishop-sama, you too."
"We were completely deceived by that person, weren't we?"
Truly, the nature of old men never changes, no matter the era.
When I asked Fiona later, it seemed she had also been deceived. The Archbishop, for some reason, praised him, saying he was quite a person to be able to pretend to ascend even to a ghost.
"Well, it must have been a good experience for our young priests."
I looked and saw two of them staring blankly, as if their souls had been sucked out.
Weaklings, despite being men.
"You are the admirable one. Fiona the ghost aside, you listened for two hours yesterday and two hours again today. Thank you."
I was thanked.
Now, for the treasure. It was an offering to the church, but there were things I could receive, so I was allowed to open the box and see them.
When I chopped off the wrapped chains with an axe, it seemed unlocked, so it opened easily.
"Ohhh!"
"S-So amazing, truly, treasure..."
It was dazzlingly golden.
Bracelets, goblets, rings, and some unknown figurine-like lumps.
All gold. As expected of a king who built such a large tomb.
He must have been wealthy.
According to Flora, the tribes that ruled this area were primarily hunter-gatherers, so they must have had considerable combat power. As evidence, there was a golden statue of a god, probably an object of worship, but it clearly depicted a male deity.
It is said that tribes who worship male gods are often rough. They might have fought and plundered.
For example, the people at the northern tip of the island are like that. They apparently constantly challenge neighboring countries.
I don't know why they perished, but perhaps that's just how nations are.
I heard the Archbishop rattling something, and then several leather pouches emerged. Inside, I saw gold grains.
"Then, Priest Jeanne. This is King Griffith's thanks to you."
When I held it, it had a considerable weight.
"Roughly thirty gold coins' worth, I'd say."
Paul-san said, weighing it in his hand.
"Is it okay?"
"These are King Griffith's own words. Your use of it will be a memorial to him."
I gratefully accepted it.
"And one more thing, this."
I opened the leather pouch handed directly to me.
Inside was a black stone.
It was a flat, circular shape, as if a sphere had been crushed from above, with one side flat.
Its size was about that of a silver coin.
There was a hole near the edge.
I didn't quite understand it, but it must have been an ornament.
Black is quite a subdued taste.
Neither the Archbishop nor Adolf-san seemed to know what it was.
However, it was a precious gift. I immediately threaded a leather cord through it and put it around my neck.
"I apologize, but I do not know what that item is. However, Bishop Catherine, your friends, and the elderly woman who occasionally visits from the Royal Capital might know."
He was smiling.
Everything had been revealed.
After seeing off the Archbishop and Adolf-san, who carried the treasure in their bowls, we ate our bento and returned to boar hunting.
Angelica-san said she wanted to try it too, so she joined in. She had specially set bait in three locations.
First, she showed us an example.
"Glacio!"
All seven boars, along with several surrounding trees, were frozen solid in a single mass.
It was still incredibly powerful.
This was even with her output severely restricted.
"Could you try it with intermediate magic next?"
Leaving the ice mountain as it was, we moved on to the next location.
"Ice Cube!"
After chanting three times, alternating left and right, six blocks of ice were created. Again, total annihilation.
Beatrix could also use Ice Cube, but not so continuously. She could freeze one boar whole, but the second one wouldn't be a surprise attack, so it would escape.
"As expected. You all need to be able to do this much soon."
"By what age should we learn high-level magic?"
"Twenty is the guideline. If you want to be like Eleanor-sama, you need to be a master of one super-high-level magic by then."
"Another three and a half years, huh..."
Beatrix furrowed her brow, hmm.
Eleanor-sama aside, Paul-san and Angelica-san had apparently mastered one high-level magic by the age of nineteen.
"Magic isn't a slope, but like climbing a long staircase. One day, you suddenly go up a step. And even basic magic can be powerful depending on how you use it. As Eleanor-sama said, you need to have a strong image."
I tried to imagine myself at twenty.
Wielding a mithril staff and chanting Holy Overflow at a dragon, I might look a little cool.
No, no. It's not good if I imagine myself at twenty, even matching outfits.
At the third location, we decided to do our best.
I used Holy. I had become able to target and defeat one boar by chanting it together with Beatrix's lightning magic.
"Same as always. First, Ice Cube. Jeanne, Holy, then Energy Bolt for the finishing blow after stopping its movement. We're aiming for the big one on the far right."
The bait must have been scarce in winter. As we crept up above the herd, which was eating single-mindedly, Bonnie's arrow was the signal, and I first attacked with Holy.
It was with both hands, at full power.
The moment I released it, my arms tingled, and the shock went up to my shoulders.
A thick beam of light shot from my raised hands, piercing the boar. One hit.
Huh?
"What? Did you learn intermediate magic?"
No, that's not the case.
"What happened to you? It's like Marcelo-san's Holy!"
"Jeanne. That's amazing."
While everyone was surprised, Angelica-san's face became serious.
"Paul. Let's call it a day. Let's go to Bishop Catherine's place."
The Headmistress's place?
"The black stone!"
"That's right. I heard Marcelo mention it before. It's about magic stones that increase magical power. If the stone Jeanne received from the ghost is one of those, we need to confirm it properly, or Jeanne could be in danger."
Dangerous...? Was it that serious?
"Of course, it might be a safe item that purely increases the user's magical power, but if it forcibly uses magical control, it means a beginner magic user is being forced to use intermediate magic. At worst, Jeanne's brain could be damaged."
That old man... no, I thought King Griffith was a good person, but...
"Jeanne. Let me borrow that stone for a moment."
I took it off my neck and handed it to Beatrix.
"I'll hold it, so try chanting Holy again. Not at full power, but with restricted output."
I see. If it has no effect when I'm not holding it, then I just shouldn't carry it.
"Holy!"
Good. It was normal.
Even when chanting at full power, it was the same as usual.
At least, I seemed to be able to choose when to use it.
"It doesn't seem to be a curse. That's good. But we should still head back today."
As Angelica-san said, we decided to collect the boars and quickly head back.
After returning to town, I explained the situation to the Headmistress, and she examined me.
"Hmm. Basic magic becoming intermediate magic, huh...?"
She tilted her head.
"Jennifer. Do you know anything about this?"
Jennifer-sensei didn't know either.
However, it wasn't a curse. That was good.
She stared at it, then suddenly unleashed Holy.
It was incredibly thick.
"It hasn't changed."
What?! Was that basic magic?
For someone of the Headmistress's class, the effect seemed to be doubled even without a stone.
"I'd like to try high-level magic and such, but it's impossible here."
It would undoubtedly cause a commotion.
And Fiona would be in danger. She might be destroyed.
"I'll keep it for now. Angelica. I want to show it to Marcelo when he gets back. Tell him to come here."
"Understood. He should be back by the weekend, so I'll tell him."
"If Marcelo doesn't know, I'll ask Eleanor."
"Yes. Please do."
The Headmistress and Jennifer-sensei knew that Henry-sama and the others frequented the Ghost Mansion. And if they came to Nakanohara, they would probably stay at the orphanage. I decided to leave it to them.