Chapter 238 - Chapter 6 The Priestess And The Water Dragon
A large wave arose from the center where the dragon was swinging its neck around. When James-sama froze the waves along with the lake surface with Cocytus, Gwyn-sama and Roberts-sama, who were holding spears, jumped off the boat with the soldiers and ran across the ice with spears in hand. The dragon spat a mass of water from its mouth, blowing away several soldiers.
Gwyn-sama and Roberts-sama, this time dodging the flames spat from its mouth, approached the Water Dragon and both thrust their spears into the base of its neck.
The dragon, letting out a death cry, sank into the lake with a large splash of water.
After watching the situation for a while, the dragon's body, lying on its side, floated up in a distant location.
As a result of the two who rowed out in a boat approaching and inspecting it, a signal fire arrow was released.
Mary and I, along with Gladys-sama and Aira, broke into thunderous applause.
Finally, James-sama released Prominence, burning the dragon's body.
"With this, the dragon is also saved."
Watching the smoke rising on the opposite side of the lake, Obaba-sama and the apprentice priestesses knelt and offered prayers, and the villagers who had gathered from the surrounding area followed suit. Beside them, the three Bishops were offering prayers to the Goddess.
The heroes of the dragon-slaying returned in triumph on the boat. The blue-painted King of Finis came out to meet them, and after giving words of appreciation, he turned back to the villagers.
"The dragon, who was the guardian deity of this land, fell into the trap of insolent ones and was afflicted by disease. To protect the lake, we had no choice but to do this. Fortunately, we were able to obtain the cooperation of the heroes who defeated the Demon Lord. Things will surely settle down safely. Everyone, you may be at ease."
The village head and the villagers offered words of gratitude to the King one after another. Their expressions were clouded probably because they had lost the dragon.
"For one week, only the Priestesses will go to the island to offer prayers to the dragon. No one is to approach the lake. Is that clear? We shall do the same. After that, the Royal Army will be dispatched to repair the temple and the fortress on the lakeshore, and a lookout post will be established on the island to tighten the guard. I will have you all cooperate with labor service, so be prepared for that."
The King concluded, and the dismissal was announced.
After sending the villagers back, we all gathered in the temple.
"Will they take the bait?"
"I do not know. However, they must be using someone to monitor us. I think word is reaching them by now..."
The King also sounded unsure.
There, the backstage crew returned.
"We're back!"
It's Beatrix and Dune. Evans-sama and Hughes-sama are also there.
"Good work. It was quite a performance."
"Did it go well?"
"The villagers all seemed to believe it. Some old women were crying."
"I see. Did we do something bad?"
Beatrix's expression clouds over.
"You need not worry so much. After we have successfully dealt with the bandits, I shall speak the truth myself."
The King comforted her. This time, the priests did not speak a single word in front of people. Mary and I making a fuss was applause for the hard work of Dune and the other backstage crew. That's how we played it.
The day after the dragon was evacuated, contact was made with the Royal Capital and a deception operation was drafted. On that same day, the King arrived, and a proclamation for the dragon-slaying was issued. Then, after one night passed, the subjugation operation was carried out starting from the morning.
I created a dragon with Illusion, and on the back of its head, Hughes-sama flew a bowl with Camouflage and Magic Reflection applied, carrying Evans-sama, Beatrix, and Dune. The dragon, while wrapped in bubbles manipulated by Mel, only put its head out from the water surface and let out a cry. Dune livened up the battle with special effects using water. The soldiers who were blown away must have had a hard time, but it seems no one was injured. "Sorry," Dune apologized.
"Why are you apologizing for a mere mass of water? Our hair got singed!"
Gwyn-sama is laughing while comparing his head with Roberts-sama's. The tops of their heads are frizzy. Both of them originally had short hair. They'll have no choice but to shave it all off. "Sorry!" Beatrix said, sticking out her tongue.
"How on earth did you do that? If it were Flame, it would be released from the boat you were on, so the flames should come out from near the water surface."
"Well, you see, the Four Great Spirits were there too."
"I see."
It wasn't a lie.
Flight Magic is only shown to allied nations. Moreover, it seems they haven't told Primordia yet. Anyway, since scouts from various countries must have witnessed it in Nakanohara, everyone probably knows of its existence, but because there are methods to hide one's form and such associated with it, we must remain silent. Dune and Mel have nothing to do with it, but the fact remains that they were there.
While resting in a room in the temple, the King of Finis says, "Follow me."
"What is it?"
"I heard from my son that you can use Anti-Sepsis."
"Ah, yes. But since it's beginner-level, I could only erase a tiny bit of the dragon's spots."
"If you don't mind, could you show it to me as well?"
There's no problem in showing him. Last night, Obaba-sama and Aira stayed up all night to make a magic circle, so I had chanted and activated it for one use. The dragon's spots should also get smaller little by little.
I called Flora as an interpreter.
When we went to the dragon, it had become completely attached to me and offered its neck. This morning, too, I had erased part of the spots with magic several times. When I gave it the fish I got from Obaba-sama, it ate them. They were brought by Dune from the upstream river along with water, so they aren't affected by the curse. Since they are in a dedicated crawl, they should last for a while. A riverboat commissioned by the King of Finis is scheduled to deliver fish caught in other rivers. Until then, we just need to make them last.
"[Anti-Sepsis]!"
Since I've become an intermediate-rank magic user, I can chant it without an incantation. Only a little, but part of the spots disappeared.
"Could I ask you once more? This time, try showing it to me while holding this against your skin."
It's a Black Stone. It's triangular in shape.
"This is, perhaps, from the ruins the dragon was protecting..."
"Yes. Only those recognized by the dragon can take it out. Currently, it is only me, my son... Gwyn, and Obaba."
While holding it in my hand, I had him press it against my arm, and when I chanted again, the range that disappeared expanded to many times the previous area!
Kuon, kuon, the dragon rubbed its head against me. Since it's huge, I almost fell over, but I somehow held my ground and stroked it with both hands.
"Muu. As I thought."
"This is, what on earth... could it be that holding the stone changes the rank?"
"Presumably, yes."
I thought that by becoming an intermediate-rank magic user, the power of Light and Thought Communication had increased, but that wasn't all.
The amplified versions of the first King's series of magic due to the Black Stone effect had increased in effect to some extent, but for example, there were no additional effects like being able to talk even with distance like in Thought Communication.
"I already mentioned that there are five of these Black Stones. And that the five Ancient Priestesses who left these stones possessed five powers."
"Yes. Then, are the five powers... magic?"
"Presumably so. You, an intermediate-rank magic user, have learned five magics and are wearing two types of Black Stones. That is why only two types rose to intermediate rank. Then, for example, what would happen if you obtained all five? Wouldn't all the magics rise to intermediate rank?"
I see. The first King of Sertoria hadn't obtained the Black Stones. That's why he could only use beginner-level magic for the five magics. Consequently, he didn't know about the additional effects when the rank rose. It wasn't that he didn't use them; he couldn't use them.
"I entrust this to you."
I was handed the triangular Black Stone.
"Even if you leave this land, you may take it with you. Use it for investigation in cooperation with James-dono and Harris-dono. And if you succeed in sealing the Demon Lord, return it to this land. I shall entrust that stone to you until then."
When Flora conveyed the King's words to the dragon, it offered its neck, kuon, kuon.
I stroked its snout.
"It says if it's Jeanne, it's okay to take it out."
The dragon looked at me with its diamond-shaped eyes. When I said thank you for recognizing me, it let out a cry as if it understood.
After releasing magic several times and completely erasing one of the dragon's spots, I parted with the dragon and returned to the temple.
The King explained to Gwyn-sama, who had shaved his singed hair and become bald, and Obaba-sama, and my possession of the three Black Stones was approved. Both of them didn't particularly object, saying that if the dragon had recognized me, then it was fine.
Somehow, it's a heavy responsibility. I hadn't thought deeply about it until now, but even just having beginner magic become intermediate power should have immense value. There are even those who would go as far as to curse the Water Dragon to death to get their hands on them. Is it okay for me to have them? If I'm attacked, they might be easily snatched away.
"Priest Jeanne. I shall give you this."
Obaba-sama presented a round piece of tanned leather with one hole on each side, reinforced with iron or some kind of grommet. The tanned leather was doubled, and the Black Stone could be placed inside. The second layer had a round hole in the middle, so the Black Stone was visible. If you press it against your skin, you can get the effect. It's finished by sewing the place where the stone was put with thread.
I had the Black Stone dropped by the Demon Lord also put into tanned leather in the same way, connected with the blue string used for hair, and made it so it could be wrapped around my stomach. That way, there's no worry about people seeing it when I'm wearing clothes. I've had King Griffith's stone from before. It would be unnatural for it to disappear, and since Eleanor-sama went to the trouble of making it for me, I just took the container and kept it on my wrist as it was. That way it's useful in an emergency. The number of stones I can amplify became one person's worth, but it has been that way until now. It should be fine.
"This is how we used to do it when taking stones out of the ruins."
"Thank you very much. I will be careful not to lose them."
"The dragon also seems to have taken a liking to you. Surely, you will have the protection of the Priestess-sama."
Come to think of it, there are various types of Priestesses, but what exactly are they? Mary's mother and the older sisters at the brothel were Priestesses serving the Goddess. Oracles are also Priestesses, but I don't know the details.
It's an impolite question, but I tried asking.
"A Priestess is one who serves something specific. Unlike a priest, we do not spread teachings, but simply convey the words bestowed by the one we serve to the people. The Oracles who teach magic to the people are those who serve the Goddess of Art and Scholarship, who is the eldest daughter of the Goddess. They are the ones who convey the magic chosen by the Goddess to the Oracles. And we serve the souls of the five great Priestesses who served the Goddess. We mainly receive oracles about the resurrection of the Demon Lord and the activation of monsters. Originally, men were priests and women were Priestesses. Now there are female priests like you, but Priestesses are women only. You probably know the reason why. However, just because one is a Priestess doesn't mean they sell their favors. They are merely those who serve the Goddess, who is also the Goddess of Children."
The first report of the Demon Lord's resurrection is said to be issued from Finis to each country. That content is conveyed through the churches of each country and brought to the King. Since it becomes the most important matter for the entire island, everyday wars and such don't matter. Even if they are in the middle of a war, it seems they enter a state of temporary truce as soon as the report of the Demon Lord's resurrection comes in.
"We received the oracle of the Demon Lord's resurrection this time here as well. We were quite surprised to be told that the Demon Lord would be resurrected for two generations in a row, and in the same land."
"Is there a reason for the place where the Demon Lord is resurrected?"
"We do not know. What we are bestowed with is only when and where he was resurrected. We are never told why, how, or in what manner the Demon Lord is resurrected."
Well, if that were known, Harris-sama and the others wouldn't have to struggle so much.
"Obaba. I heard that when the heroes went to subjugate the Demon Lord, they had an opportunity to exchange words with the Demon Lord. At that time..."
It was actually something I said, but he spoke while skillfully blurring the details.
"Why the Demon Lord—no, why the Demon Race and monsters fight with humans. I do not know that either. Since it is a battle from ancient times. However, even monsters are among the living things of this island. Might it not be possible to live together?"
Obaba-sama said so and looked at the lake. At the end of her gaze, a single island was floating.
The Water Dragon was once a monster rampaging in the lake, but after being defeated in a battle with the Priestess who came to this land to subjugate it, it seems it followed the Priestess like a monster would. When the Priestess came to live on the island, it grew fond of her, and even after her death, it has continued her will and protected the ruins.
"Unlike dragons that attack humans who approach without question, it is a kind-hearted creature. It has saved villagers many times when they accidentally fell into the lake, and it was an important existence for the villagers as well. It might be that humans arbitrarily feared it and tried to subjugate it, even though it was originally living quietly in the lake. I believe the Priestess who visited for the subjugation lived on the island to teach the villagers that it was not a creature that would harm humans."
If the human side was the one to unilaterally launch an attack, then the humans are in the wrong.
If attacked, even a dragon would get angry. The lake should have been the dragon's territory.
"Priest Jeanne. Such thoughts of yours are not very common. But if a world where that becomes common should come, the relationship with monsters in human life might change greatly. It is passed down that the Ancient Priestess I serve challenged the Demon Race to battle. However, I cannot believe that the Priestess simply went for subjugation. Exchanges similar to the conversation between the heroes and the Demon Lord that the King spoke of might have taken place."
After Obaba-sama said that, she knelt on one knee toward the King and bowed her head.
"Your Majesty. The dragon is now the guardian deity protecting this land. Please see to it that this matter is handled so that insolent ones who think of harming the dragon never appear again."
There, James-sama arrived.
"King of Finis. Just now, we have located the house of the person who used a magic circle to contact somewhere regarding the subjugation of the dragon. Presumably, they are those aiming for the ruins."
"You've found them already? That was quite fast."
"Gladys and Fiona found them. Gladys marked those who showed suspicious attitudes while watching the dragon's subjugation scene, and Fiona followed them. As you know, Fiona is a ghost, so she is invisible to ordinary people. She followed them to the house and witnessed the scene of transmission and the text of the letter."
"Have you not captured them?"
"Currently, Hughes is monitoring from outside and Fiona from inside. They won't be able to escape, so let's let them run for now. I expect there will be contact in the near future, but since Fiona is there, everything will be leaked, so please be at ease."
As expected of Fiona. A great achievement. Just in case, I handed crystals to Hughes-sama and Fiona. They should be able to evacuate even if something happens.
"As expected of a hero. You are skillful in everything."
Gwyn-sama laughed and smoothly stroked his bald head.