Chapter 537 - Episode 3: Primordia's Wetlands VII
(Even if I know it's okay, it's still scary, isn't it?)
(Umu. To be honest, when it was activated, I didn't feel like I was alive.)
The Queen and the lord are embracing each other. Fiona is clinging to the Queen's back, and McGuire-san is behind her. With the Queen and Fiona in the middle, the lord and McGuire-san on the outside, the two men must have protected the two women in an instant just in case. Even though they were surrounded by a wall of Light, they were right in the middle of a barrier that destroys evil spirits. Since Fiona is a good spirit, she should be fine, but I don't know about the other three. If the wall of Light hadn't been there, they might have been destroyed. Especially the lord and the Queen, who were as notorious as they come as malevolent evil spirits. I can understand their feelings.
But still.
(Um, could you please do that after you've unmerged?)
In other words, Sianya and Harrison-san are embracing each other. Both are priests. Aren't they both blushing and looking down?
(Ah, sorry. It seems it was too stimulating for you. Ho-ho-ho.)
Honestly, pick a time and place.
Anyway, we won. Everyone rejoiced in the victory together.
In terms of numbers, it was a desperate battle, but with two former heroes, two current heroes, two top-class ghosts of the north, the director of a national strategy research institute, and a line-up of combat experts, we weren't going to lose to an opponent that just pushed blindly with force and numbers.
Wait, huh? Where's Wilson-san? He's still flown off somewhere in the bowl.
(Um, where is Wilson-san?)
He doesn't seem to be in the sky.
"That's right. It might be about time for him to join us."
Eleanor-sama took out a magic circle for sending letters.
When we turned off the Light and waited with two torches held up in front of the hut, Wilson-san returned in the bowl.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"How did it go?"
"It was as the border lord and the Queen-sama speculated."
Eleanor-sama asked, and Wilson-san answered. The border lord and the Queen are both crossing their arms. Their expressions aren't very bright.
"Jeanne, it's as you predicted."
"Which means..."
"In terms of magic, there's someone manipulating the ghosts using what you call Forbidden Magic."
Just as I thought. But if that's the case, it might become a bit complicated.
While we were fighting, Wilson-san was investigating the high ground. After all, he's a Revenant. If he were in the middle of holy water arrows, silver weapons, holy magic, and evil-breaking barriers, he'd be destroyed. He can't merge with a ghost either. And because he's already dead, he's not possessed by ghosts and is hard to detect. If he covers himself with Magic Reflection, he reportedly won't be found easily. Taking advantage of those characteristics, he had been investigating the two high grounds from the air.
"Before you all started the battle, when the graveyard... or should I say the altar ruins... when the graves there glowed pale blue, a single ghost came out of a gravestone. From her attire and appearance, I think she might be an old priestess."
A priestess... if it's the priestess in the legend, she'd be the aunt of the lord of the fortress.
Apparently, when the priestess went to the altar and chanted something, ghosts came out of four graves. The ghosts were reportedly men in white tunics. When the priestess held up her right hand, something like a mysterious shadow came out of her hand and reportedly covered the men. The men's appearance changed immediately after that; they had been drifting fluffily, but they became strangely sharp and knelt on one knee before the priestess. When the priestess gave some kind of instruction to the men, pale blue flames rose from the ghosts' bodies.
Next, when the priestess held her hand toward the wetlands, the ghosts drifting in the wetlands reportedly gathered in droves. The men led those ghosts and raided our fortress.
"There seems to be no mistake. The one manipulating the ghosts of the wetlands is that priestess."
Not only did she turn the rich, fertile land into a wetland, but she's also protecting the wetland itself.
I wonder who she's protecting it from. No one would cultivate a wetland. If it's made into a wetland, there's no need to go out of the way to use ghosts to protect it.
Thinking from the legend, it's been two thousand five hundred years... The time when those who brought steel from the mainland and invaded settled was three thousand years ago. It's also the time when Dune became the master of Nakanohara Lake. In the same period, silver was discovered in Primordia. The wetlands back then might have been fertile farmland...
However, if this wetland had been hindering the invasion of mercenary units from the mainland, or rather, against Engrio, it should be after a thousand years ago when the use of Revenants, which was Forbidden Magic, was prohibited. By then, the influential nobles who lead to the present were already prospering. They were purged in a coup, though.
Wait a minute. If they were purged, then the descendants of those who deceived the lord here are mostly dead, aren't they?
As I thought, it might be better to talk to the ghosts of the wetlands.
The next morning, we decided to go to the high ground where the altar is in two bowls. The vanguard was operated by Wilson-san, with the ghosts and the priest group on board. The rearguard was far up in the sky. Since I cast Sight on everyone, they should be able to see our situation clearly. Eleanor-sama was operating it, with the ordinary human group on board.
We've identified the gravestone of the priestess who was manipulating the ghosts of the wetlands, thanks to Wilson-san. I want to talk to her somehow. Since I got everyone's agreement, we all set off.
When we arrived at the high ground, the bowl became a plate.
Harrison-san, Bishop Phillips, Sianya, and I got off in that order. Then, we unmerged.
Taught by Wilson-san, we gathered around the gravestone the priestess had come out of.
The gravestone isn't that large. No letters are carved on it. It's a stone of a size that an adult man could lift if he felt like it. The shape is also irregular, as if a rock from around there had been broken and brought over.
For a moment, my back felt cold. There's no mistake. She's lurking in the gravestone and watching us.
"This is the grave of the priestess who protects the wetlands."
The Queen, with her face painted blue and many blue strings hanging from her hair to be in formal attire, said. The border lord, McGuire-san, and Fiona are also painted blue.
The priest group is in white priestly robes. I'm also wearing a white priestly robe, not Green Marble.
Sianya poured water from a canteen and wiped it clean with a hand towel. After offering wine and flowers picked on the small island, we all joined in the prayer to mourn the dead that Bishop Phillips offered.
Bishop Phillips, I, Harrison-san, the border lord and Queen, McGuire-san, and Fiona introduced ourselves in both the current language and the ancient language. When the opponent is a ghost, one doesn't easily give their name. Because you'll be possessed. Regarding our birthplaces, we conveyed not just the current country names but also the general positions on the White Island. For example, the border lord and Queen identified themselves as those living on the border between the northern mountains and the plains.
Next, Henry-sama, Eleanor-sama, Wilson-san, Beatrix, Will, and Bonnie introduced themselves while still in the bowl. Eleanor-sama translated for those who couldn't speak the ancient language. Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama didn't hide the fact that they were royalty of the Kingdom of Sertoria. Well, that's always the case.
Finally, it was Sianya. After identifying herself as a priest and princess of the Kingdom of Primordia, which rules the area west of this wetland, she gave her name.
After her self-introduction, Sianya explained the current territory of Primordia and the origin of the Primordia Royal Family. In typical Sianya fashion, her tone was calm and indifferent.
North of this wetland is a mountainous area that continues to the northern coast. Roughly from that line west is the current Primordia territory. Those in the west prospered greatly after obtaining the silver mine in the mountains near the current Capital, and their descendants became influential nobles in the country that was the predecessor of Primordia. And new people from the mainland came to the eastern plains as mercenaries. The mercenaries encroached on the surroundings greatly and expanded their territory. The western nobles took a policy of reconciliation, and the current Kingdom of Primordia was established. And during the previous war that broke out across the entire White Island, a coup led by the royal family occurred, and all the influential great nobles were executed along with their families. She explained such things in general.
After Sianya's explanation, Harrison-san began to speak. Unlike Sianya, he sounded cheerful and like he was making small talk. The content was about the legend passed down in the wetlands. After explaining the legend in general, he began to talk about the Forbidden Magic he had investigated with Cadogan-sama and the others. In essence, it's the art of manipulating ghosts. In fact, it was roughly the same as what the Queen had noticed. If a magic user becomes a ghost, they can exercise the same magic as a ghost's art. However, for example, holy magic like Heal would only cause damage to themselves.
In this case, the question is the type of art used. They likely used Psycho and Necromancy. Regarding these, a living human cannot learn them. Because their brain would break. In other words, the priestess learned them after becoming a ghost. It conflicts with the legend.
Next was my turn. I was told to say it myself since I was the one who thought of it.
"Um, this is just a possibility, but did you learn the arts to manipulate clones and other ghosts after becoming a ghost and protect this wetland from invaders from the east?"
I conveyed that, for example, if there were a road connecting east and west on top of the embankment along the coast, Primordia would likely have been annexed by Engrio. The invasion from the east wasn't just the previous war. There must have been others before that too. At least, there must have been such opportunities many times since the time steel weapons were introduced to this island. It has been protected by this wetland and the steep terrain to the north. In an era when navies weren't developed like now, the movement of armies must have been by land.
"This is something I've imagined on my own. Please tell me if I'm wrong. Also, as the priest and princess from the west said just now, the descendants of those who deceived your nephew have already been executed and are no longer in this world. Of course, that's assuming the legend we explained earlier is correct."
With that disclaimer, I spoke what I had thought of.
The priestess died about a thousand years ago. She must have been using Forbidden Magic. After all, the Ancient Priestess was also using Forbidden Magic. In other words, it's a characteristic of the land. I don't know what kind of magic it was, though.
When the Great Southern Church was subjugated, the Western Church tried to protect it. Because they themselves recognized and used Forbidden Magic. That remained in the old records of the Western Church. However, unfortunately, the Great Southern Church was subjugated, and Forbidden Magic was made taboo. In that case, the problem is the Forbidden Magic users of the time. If they continued to use it, they would be targets for subjugation. Perhaps, to prevent being attacked by the Great Northern Church, they said there were no users. In other words, the existence of Forbidden Magic users themselves becomes a nuisance. Furthermore, they must also prepare for the subjugation army from the east, just in case. What should they do?
They were likely killed. No, there's a possibility they wanted to be killed. Because of the Goddess's teachings, one cannot commit suicide. They were killed as a formal execution, with much weeping. And they became ghosts guarding the land. They learned magic that couldn't be learned while alive and finally became a great force guarding the wetlands. They fabricated legends to deceive other countries. They might have reshaped them according to the era. I don't know who made the current legend in what era, but it must have been common that this land was a cursed wetland where many ghosts welled up.
"We didn't come to this land to build a road connecting east and west. Of course, we didn't come to suppress this land either. It's so the Western Church can lead the construction of a facility to treat plague patients using the Anti-Sepsis I use on the island beyond the beach. We will only use sea routes for transportation and will not build a road. The King of Primordia also said that. The princess here promises it."
I said that much and looked at Sianya, and she affirmed that it was as I said. On top of that, she explained again that they plan to build a treatment facility for plague patients from the mainland, including soldiers dispatched from the White Island.
"Could we talk once? We didn't come to fight you; we want to have a discussion."
I said only that much in both the current and ancient languages and decided to see the reaction.
The ghost did indeed come out. However, it's not an old priestess.
"You, the light magic user. Is what you just said true?"
She suddenly pointed at me.
From the sound of her voice, she also seems quite young. Is she in her teens?
"Yes. I am a priest, so I do not tell lies."
It's the ancient language, but she's not painted blue. She's wearing a white tunic with a yellowish tint. The sleeve cuffs, collar, and hem have red and yellow embroidery borders. It's from one end of the White Island to the other. There might be something like a school of style.
"You can use Anti-Sepsis. High-level?"
"Actually, I'm Ultra-High level."
In fact, the humans who use magic are all Ultra-High level, except for Sianya. Oh, there was one Revenant too.
"Incredible, isn't it? No wonder my people couldn't win."
By 'my people,' she must mean the main bodies that raided the hut.
I feel like she resembles someone for some reason. When I glanced at Beatrix, she also seemed to be conscious of it, as she noticed my gaze and glared at me with her arms crossed and a grumpy face.
I had her introduce herself. The other party also doesn't give her name. The teenager who replaced the old priestess was the daughter of a certain noble who lived a thousand years ago. She was reportedly nineteen years old when she died.
"Well, you see. My family wasn't blessed with boys. So my older sister was to take a husband and succeed the family. So, I, the second daughter, entered the priesthood and started training to learn magic."
In most noble families, one of the sons from the second son onward enters the priesthood. Since there were no boys, it was a girl. Primordia tried not to let girls learn magic, but in the case of royalty and nobility, especially for priests who don't raise children, there are exceptions. Sianya is one.
She seems to have worked hard because she was originally interested. And she managed to become a high-level magic user. And she learned the Forbidden Magic she had longed for. That was reportedly Necromancy. Even though she's a priestess, she was originally a princess of a family in high feather. Her tone is like that, but she was probably able to practice magic relatively freely.
Necromancy is magic to manipulate Revenants if it's a human. Since she's a ghost, it's ghosts... in this case, clones made from parts of spirit bodies. The priests of Primordia at the time participated in war. Because of her good family background, she was appointed a bishop and placed on the front line. That place was the fortress in the wetlands.
"But then, you know—even though I worked so hard to learn it, they told me not to use it. It makes you lose your motivation, doesn't it?"
"What happened?"
Was it execution after all?
"No way! I was just told not to use it openly. Well, this place is an impregnable fortress, so there was no one who came to attack while I was alive anyway."
If it's an impregnable fortress...
"That's right, this was originally a wetland. You can get to the sandy beach if you go through a place only the locals know. Apparently, it was built in a hurry when there was talk that those who came from the mainland were acting high and mighty in the center. Its role was to intercept them with a surprise attack using that place if they came."
"Then, why did you become a ghost..."
"I died of a plague. Apparently, wetlands aren't good for the body. So the plague spread and many people died. In the end, everyone was gone. So, I was so frustrated! I didn't fight even once. Even though we all trained so hard."
Don't tell me she became a ghost because she wanted to fight?
"That's right, so what? And then, listen. After the fortress was demolished, people came several times. We repelled them all. Serves them right. But I never thought a light magic user would come. On top of that, there are four priests of high-level or above. You certainly gathered them. Four of my retainers were taken down too. And you flew in the sky with strange magic. I was surprised. When you came before, and today too, I was watching to find out how you do it. Hey, tell me?"
Was she fighting with all her might during the battle? Well, I suppose so.
"I'd love to tell you, but it's a military secret."
"Ehh. Is that so? But I guess so. Because if you could attack from the sky while protected by Wind Barrier, it would be quite advantageous."
She's a battle maniac who has been at it for years, so she understands. Of course, the expense and damage for the attacker would also be corresponding. To counter the opponent's powerful magic... in this case, the ghost's art... an overwhelming majority would be necessary.
"Hey, how do you fly?"
She's begging with upturned eyes. Being a princess, she's sufficiently cute. If the opponent were a young man, he might have been possessed.
Oops, I got glared at by the ghost. She's quite sharp.
"Well, then. We've become acquaintances like this. I could tell you, but..."
"Really!"
"The secret of flight magic is..."
"The secret is?"
The ghost gulped.
"There's a condition for me to tell you."
"What, what? If it's something I can do, I'll do it. Oh, but I don't want to ascend. If I ascend, I can't use the flight magic you teach me, and I want to fight more."
Apparently, she's fallen for it. As expected of Eleanor-sama. To catch a fox, use a fox, as Bishop Phillips said once.
Oops, I got glared at by both of them. I'll just look at the clouds and try to predict tomorrow's weather.
Eleanor-sama's proposal was for her to become a member of the Primordia Royal Family and the Western Church. Then she'd be a member of an allied nation. We can teach her flight magic.
"How about becoming the guardian spirit of the plague countermeasure facility planned for construction and protecting this land directly under the Western Church?"
If she says she won't ascend, we can't force her. The condition Eleanor-sama offered is reasonable. Actually, we need to get Cadogan-sama's permission, but Sianya, who is trusted implicitly by the King of Primordia and Cadogan-sama, is here. Since she's not saying anything, it should be fine. Knowing Eleanor-sama, she might have been aiming for winning her over from the start and had talked about it beforehand.
The ghost who heard Eleanor-sama's proposal went "fumu" and crossed her arms. After thinking for a while, she went to the altar. I had no choice but to follow. The ghost ignored us and held her right hand over the ground.
"Everyone, come out!"
As she said that, ghosts of men wearing chain mail and helmets welled up from all over at the same time. They have swords at their waists.
The altar is near the center of the rows of gravestones. In other words, we were completely surrounded. Not just surrounded, but right under our noses. If they were human, I'd be able to hear their breathing. The soldier ghosts all have strangely serious faces. When I instinctively held up my staff, Harrison-san grabbed my hand.
"These people have no killing intent. Let's watch for a while longer."
Since the evil spirit extermination expert says so, it must be okay. I decided to do as I was told.
The soldier ghosts are gathering toward the priestess ghost. Inevitably, they pass through our bodies, and each time my body feels cold.
We decided to keep our distance from the ghosts for a while and watch what would happen. There are over a hundred ghosts, and they are all surrounding the priestess ghost. The soldiers all knelt on one knee at once.
Furthermore, people came out regardless of age or gender. Their clothes are also varied. Several children are also mixed in. It seems not just soldiers were buried in the graves.
The number is about the same as the soldiers.
The priestess seems to be talking to the soldier ghost right in front of her. The soldier looks elderly, and since he has decorations on his helmet, is he of commander class? The priestess's voice can be heard, but the soldier's voice cannot. Being of the priesthood, she must have cleared it easily, but the other ghosts are likely not used to talking to humans.
"I want to hear everyone's opinion. What do you think?"
The priestess ghost asked. I wonder if they are her subjects, even though she described them as retainers? In the past, priestesses and priests were leaders. She's of noble family, and she must be the leader of the ghosts in the wetlands. However, I thought she was manipulating ghosts that couldn't ascend, but that seems to be wrong.
The priestess is listening to opinions one by one. Since the priestess repeats the soldiers' replies, the content of the conversation was understood. From what I can hear, most of them seem to agree with Eleanor-sama's proposal. Most of them seem to have died of the same plague at the same time as the priestess, and they felt great significance in protecting a facility for plague countermeasures. However, there were some who said that since high-ranking priests had come to the graves, they wanted to ascend after all. The priestess is just nodding and repeating without saying this or that.
In the meantime, several people in tunics gathered around the priestess. Since the priestess also started whispering while looking this way, we decided to move away from the altar.
"I know there are ghosts, but there are two types, aren't there? I wonder if there's some difference between them?"
Beatrix asked, but I don't know.
"Most likely they are families. Regarding the small island where we built the fortress, there were foundation-like things here and there. They probably lived there normally and took shelter in the fortress if anything happened. Since there's the sea, they probably didn't have trouble with food."
It was Eleanor-sama.
"More importantly, did you see the swords? Those wearing plain clothes were carrying ones with different mountings than those wearing armor. The soldiers in armor and helmets are from a thousand years ago, but the soldiers in plain clothes must be from an even older era."
"That's right. Most likely, over two thousand years ago. The era of the legend."
The Queen showed agreement with Eleanor-sama's words.
If there are ghosts from the era of the legend, does that mean the foul play really happened?
The ghosts' discussion seemed to have ended, as the priestess came over here.
"I heard everyone's thoughts. It's fine to protect the Western Church, but some say they hate being used by the King of Primordia. Does the fact that those from the mainland have become kings mean our battle was meaningless? And if they have the silver mine, they are the enemies of the old people here, aren't they? But the great nobles were reportedly executed. Could you tell us more about those circumstances? Also, there are those who want to ascend, so could you offer prayers at their graves?"
It's not such a difficult request. Leaving the history of Primordia to the priestess and Sianya, the other priests decided to divide up and offer prayers for those who wanted to ascend.
After having their wishes heard and having them line up, Bishop Phillips is the most popular. He gained support mainly from the older generation. After all, the title of a bishop belonging to the Capital's Great Church is not just for show. Harrison-san and I had about the same number. Harrison-san gathered soldiers and boys, and I gathered girls and adult women.
"Strictly speaking, how many are there?"
Beatrix asked something detailed. When I asked the reason, she said she was making a bet with Henry-sama and the others. Honestly, how sacrilegious.
"All three of the Class of 175 bet on you, you know."
"I don't know about that. First of all, you can tell by looking, right? Bishop Phillips is number one."
"Bishop Phillips belongs to the church. No one bets on him."
That was when.
"Beatrix, we won!"
Bonnie said. She must have been counting the numbers.
"Really! Yes! Thank you, Jeanne!"
I see. So I had more. Well, even though I look like this, I'm Ultra-High level, so the rank is the same. Besides, a young priestess is bound to be more popular than a bear that smells like garlic. Normally I should scold them, but I'll overlook it just this once.
"It seems you had one less person. We were betting on who would be the least popular, and thanks to that, I was able to beat that Eleanor-sama."
At the end of the smirking Beatrix's gaze, Eleanor-sama is twitching. Seeing Henry-sama and Wilson-san soothing her, she might have been dragged in for the sake of matching the numbers.
"Don't blame me if the church gets mad at you!"
Honestly, how extremely impious. Treat me later.
Impiety aside, I have to pray for those who want to ascend.
Since they shouldn't have lingering regrets, I decided to have the priestess translate and listen to each person's story. Apparently, they were all people who died of the plague and were families of the fortress soldiers.
The early deaths from the plague were properly buried, but as people started falling one after another and the number of dead increased, that was no longer possible. As a result of inquiring with the western lord, they were told to abandon the fortress and flee. After that, the fortress was demolished and burned down, but the priestess had already contracted the plague. There were quite a few dead bodies that were just buried in the graveyard. Then they'd become ghosts.
Since children are also mixed in, I consulted with the ghosts and decided to have one woman ascend first to reassure the scared children, and after that, have them ascend in order of youngest age.
By the time everyone had safely ascended, it was already noon. Harrison-san was finished, but Bishop Phillips was not. I called out to Sianya and the priestess and decided to have a meal together at the altar. I asked the Henry Party and Beatrix to refrain, just in case.
Bishop Phillips's charge was a veteran soldier who could be called middle-aged. Because he was deeply religious, he wanted a priest belonging to the church. While having a meal surrounded by ghosts and listening to their stories, there was something I understood. It's the connection to the legend.
Originally there was a fortress on this high ground in the wetlands. It seems to have been there for quite a long time, and they don't know when it was made. Come to think of it, Finis also had a castle floating in the sea, and in the sense of being impregnable, it might have been just right. Since it's along the river, you can go from the shore anytime as long as you get on a boat. And the lord was in the plains across the western mountains. In other words, it was the last fortress in case they lost the battle in the plains.
As a result of silver being discovered, a conflict broke out between the west, which monopolized the silver, and the central and eastern parts. The result of the battle is as the legend says. The lord was deceived by the leader of the eastern nobles, but the eldest son and other males of the family managed to escape and holed up in the fortress in the wetlands with a very few subordinates. However, the numbers were too different. They were surrounded by enemies dozens of times their number and finally died in battle with the fortress as their pillow. It wasn't impregnable. The bodies of the dead were buried on the high ground where the altar is. And they became ghosts.
"It's a bit different from the legend, isn't it?"
In the legend, it has a more dramatic development.
"It's a fabrication."
The priestess admitted it flatly. She's pointing at a young soldier in a tunic. He has black hair and brown eyes, quite handsome.
"He says it's a bit of a payback."
The surrounding soldiers are smirking. They seem to have become expressive after the conversation with Sianya.
Wait, this man...
"This guy is the son of the lord who was deceived a long time ago."
I thought so. But how...
"He was drifting in the graveyard at night as a ghost. Back when I was still alive. When I heard his story, wasn't it pitiful? My family wasn't that wealthy because we didn't handle silver. So, I thought I'd publicize how villainous the people who were making exorbitant profits were. We consulted and exaggerated the story a bit."
I heard the ghosts, who had been silent until now, burst out laughing. They seem to have become able to talk. It's the content of the story. Their trust in Sianya must have risen at once.
"Because I came, before I knew it, it had expanded into a story about a priestess. I had no choice, so I was pretending to be an old woman after I died."
No, what do you mean 'no choice,' you're completely an accomplice. Or rather, weren't you the one who spread the legend?
"That doesn't matter. More importantly, it seems the current King has disposed of the descendants of our enemies. I'll let me thank you again."
The eldest son of the former lord bows to Sianya. The soldiers in tunics follow suit and offer their thanks one after another.
The current King of Primordia wiped out the great nobles who were greedy for interests.
Wait? Does that mean the silver mine was controlled by the great nobles who were disposed of?
"That's not it. The Primordia Royal Family was granted one-third of the interests in the mine at the time of the country's founding. Of the remaining two-thirds of the interests, the family that was the national chancellor had one-third, and nine other families had one-third. They held it in that ratio."
Sianya answered for me.
In other words, the family of the former national chancellor is the direct descendant of the person who committed the foul play.
"And now?"
The ghost who fabricated the legend asks.
"Monopoly by the royal family."
Hearing the answer, the people in tunics all clapped their hands and started laughing. Their long-standing grudge has been cleared.
"That's what they get for enticing betrayal out of self-preservation and deceiving us. I suppose you could call it poetic justice. My, doing bad things doesn't pay, does it?"
They seem quite happy. Honestly, just go ahead and ascend already.
In the end, most of the soldier ghosts, both old and new, decided to stay with the priestess. Those who died of the plague wanted to become the guardian spirits of the plague countermeasure facility, and those who were killed by foul play wanted to repay the Primordia Royal Family for taking revenge for them.
As a priest, I wanted everyone to ascend, but I suppose this is acceptable. After all, Engrio is to the east. And prisoners from the mainland will come. It might be fine to leave it as a cursed wetland where ghosts drift as it is.
There are two things I don't understand. It's about Necromancy. It's a bit different from the knowledge I gained from my investigation of the mountain or what I heard from others. The priestess said she learned Necromancy while alive. However, I'm sure Bishop Phillips said that Necromancy cannot be learned by a living human. Since I can't talk about details because of the Vow of Silence, I asked how she actually learned it.
"Um, you see. Back when I was alive, you'd pay money to someone who could use the magic you wanted to learn and have them teach you. You'd watch the magic actually being used many times for about a month to learn it. If you couldn't learn it in a month, you'd give up and learn other magic."
That method is actually written in the textbooks. As expected, an accurate image is important.
"Also, I heard that Forbidden Magic like Necromancy cannot be learned easily."
"You know a lot, don't you? Then I'll tell you. You see, when I was alive..."
Apparently, it was a golden age that produced many excellent magic users. At the time, they were treated as a generation chosen by the Goddess and were made much of. It was an era when extremely excellent priestesses and magic users, said to be successors to the Ancient Priestess, appeared. The fact that the teenage priestess could treat the soldier ghosts as retainers was because of such a background.
The period was a thousand years ago. In other words, it's the period when the swell of mana was becoming large. It's frustrating, but it must have been different from now.
The other thing, the Queen asked before I could.
"Priestess, you must have used Necromancy, right? Why?"
Wilson-san witnessed it. There's no mistake. Even though they are so harmonious, there should be no need to cast the art.
"Ah, that. Earthbound spirits can't move from the place they are connected to, right? In other words, these guys can't leave this graveyard. But if you use Necromancy, they are released from that yoke. Because the caster is ordering them to go through the wetlands and attack the humans on the island beyond. They can't disobey."
"You can do such a thing?"
The border lord and Queen are surprised. The Queen cannot use Forbidden Magic. There probably aren't many users of Forbidden Magic among living humans. That's why even the Queen didn't know.
"I still need more training."
"Umu. Let's devote ourselves."
The priestess laughed and said "Good luck" to the two who spoke with a sigh.