Chapter 538 - Episode 3: Primordia's Wetlands VIII
"I would like to ask one thing. For example, if a unit of over fifty mercenaries capable of using Holy Magic were to invade, how would you repel them? Assume the soldiers are equipped with anti-demon gear... silver or white silver... and the force consists of five hundred archers, the fifty magic soldiers I mentioned plus ten more, four hundred infantry, and forty cavalry. The cavalry may dismount and fight on foot. The main camp is the small island where we have established our fort. They will invade the high ground of the fort ruins by boat from the river. Let's say... let's calculate the time the boat reaches the high ground as noon."
Eleanor-sama suddenly threw out a tactical theory. What was she planning?
"Fufufu, boats can't get near the fort. I have ultra-high-level mages among my retainers. We'd just cause a flood with Maelstrom and wash them away."
"What if they use Magic Break or Magic Reflection?"
"Oh? We're lurking inside the water, you know? I wonder if such magic would work?"
If the opponent is lurking in the water, the only thing that could counter them would be Water Magic, but that would likely just be dispelled. In the first place, living beings cannot manifest or chant while underwater.
"Then, what if they invaded from the sky like we did?"
"That's it, that! Just how are you flying? It's Wind Barrier, right? But I don't understand how you can fly through the sky while carrying humans. I was startled when I first saw it. Both when you came before and today as well—I've been watching you today because I wanted to know that. Hey, tell me?"
So she was watching us intently during the battle? Well, I suppose so.
"I would love to tell you, but it is a military secret."
"Ehh. Is that so? But I guess it makes sense. After all, being able to attack from the sky while protected by a Wind Barrier would be quite advantageous."
"Can't ghosts fly freely through the sky?"
"That's true, but then there's nowhere to hide. If the enemy is protected by Magic Reflection or a simple barrier, any attack from above would be nullified, and since we can't get inside, we can't attack. Conversely, we'd get hit by counterattacks like Overflow or anti-demon arrows."
That was certainly true. Since they can vanish, they wouldn't be easily defeated, but if the enemy retreated into a simple barrier, it would result in a stalemate that allowed the enemy's advance. In the end, they would be exorcised by a Barrier of Evil-Breaking. It was much better to attack from within the water. Being a seasoned battle maniac, she understood this. Of course, the expenses and losses for the attacker would be proportional. To counter the opponent's powerful magic—in this case, the ghost's techniques—an overwhelming majority would be necessary.
"Hey, how are you flying?"
She was pleading with upturned eyes. Being a princess, she was quite cute. If her opponent had been a young man, he might have been possessed.
Oops, I've been glared at by a ghost. Her intuition is quite sharp.
"Very well. We have become acquaintances like this. I suppose I could tell you."
"Really!"
"The secret of Flight Magic is..."
"The secret is?"
The ghost swallowed her saliva (T/N: Though a ghost, the text uses the expression for gulping in anticipation).
"There is a condition for me to tell you."
"What, what? If it's something I can do, I'll do it. Ah, but I don't want to ascend. If I ascend, I won't be able to use the Flight Magic you teach me, and I want to fight more."
It seems she's fallen for it. As expected of Eleanor-sama. To catch a fox, use a fox, as Phillips-sama once said. It takes a battle maniac to handle a battle maniac.
Oops, now I'm being 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. If she did, she would be a member of an allied nation. Then, we could teach her Flight Magic.
"How about protecting this land as a direct subordinate of the Western Church and becoming the guardian spirit of the epidemic prevention facility we plan to build?"
If the person herself says she won't ascend, we cannot force her. The condition Eleanor-sama laid out was reasonable. In truth, we would need permission from Cadogan-sama, but Sianya, who is deeply trusted by the King of Primordia and Cadogan-sama, is here. Since she isn't saying anything, it should be fine. Knowing Eleanor-sama, she might have been aiming for conciliation from the start and had discussed it beforehand.
Upon hearing Eleanor-sama's proposal, the ghost hummed and crossed her arms. After thinking for a while, she went to the altar. We had no choice but to follow. Without even glancing at us, the ghost held her right hand over the ground.
"Everyone, come forth!"
As she spoke, male ghosts wearing chainmail and helmets surged out from all over the place. They carried swords at their waists.
The altar was near the center of the rows of gravestones. In other words, we were completely surrounded. Not just surrounded, they were right under our noses. If they were human, I would have been able to hear their breathing. The ghost soldiers all had strangely serious faces. When I instinctively raised my staff, Harrison-san grabbed my hand.
"These people have no killing intent. Let us observe for a while longer."
Since the expert in exorcising evil spirits said so, it must be fine. I decided to do as I was told.
The ghost soldiers gathered toward the Priestess ghost. Inevitably, they passed through our bodies, and each time, my body felt a chill.
We decided to distance ourselves from the ghosts for a moment and watch what happened. There were over a hundred ghosts, all surrounding the Priestess ghost. The soldiers all knelt on one knee at once.
Furthermore, people appeared regardless of age or gender. Their clothing was varied. There were even several children mixed in. It seems it wasn't just soldiers who were buried in the graves. Their numbers were about the same as the soldiers.
The Priestess seemed to be talking to a ghost soldier directly in front of her. The soldier looked elderly and had decorations on his helmet, so he was likely commander-class. I could hear the Priestess's voice, but not the soldier's. Being a member of the clergy, the Priestess cleared the communication barrier easily, but the other ghosts were likely not used to talking to humans.
"I want to hear everyone's opinion. What do you think?"
The Priestess ghost asked. Come to think of it, she described them as retainers, but would they be subjects? In the past, priestesses and priests were leaders. She was of noble lineage and was likely the leader of the wetlands ghosts. However, I had thought she was manipulating ghosts who couldn't ascend, but it seems that wasn't the case.
The Priestess listened to each person's opinion in turn. Since the Priestess repeated the soldiers' replies, I could understand the content of the conversation. Listening from the side, they generally seemed to agree with Eleanor-sama's proposal. Most of them seemed to have died of the same epidemic at the same time as the Priestess, and they felt great significance in protecting a facility for epidemic prevention. However, since high-ranking priests had come all the way to the graves, there were some who wanted to ascend then and there. The Priestess didn't complain; she simply nodded and repeated their words.
Eventually, several people in tunics gathered around the Priestess. The Priestess also began whispering while looking our way, so we decided to move away from the altar.
"I can tell there are ghosts, but there are two types. I wonder if there's a difference?"
Beatrix asked, but I didn't know.
"They are likely families. On the small island where we built the fort, there were foundation stones in places. They probably lived there normally and retreated to the fort if something happened. Since there's the sea, they probably didn't struggle for food."
It was Eleanor-sama.
"More importantly, did you see the swords? Those wearing plain clothes carried ones with different mountings than those wearing armor. If the armored soldiers are from a thousand years ago, the plain-clothed soldiers must be from an even older era."
"That's right. Probably over two thousand years ago. The era of legends."
The Queen agreed with Eleanor-sama's words.
If there are ghosts from the era of legends, does that mean the betrayal really happened?
As if the ghosts' discussion had ended, the Priestess came over to us.
"I've heard everyone's thoughts. Protecting the Western Church is fine, but some said they hate the idea of being used by the King of Primordia. Does the fact that someone from the mainland has become King mean our battle was meaningless? Besides, since they hold the silver mine, they're the enemies of the old folks here, right? But I heard the high nobles were executed. Could you tell us more about those circumstances? Also, there are some who want to ascend, so could you offer prayers at their graves?"
It wasn't a difficult request. We left the history of Primordia to the Priestess and Sianya, and the other priests split up to offer prayers for those who wanted to ascend.
When we listened to each person's wishes and had them line up, Phillips-sama was the most popular. He gained support mainly from the elderly. As expected, the title of Bishop of the Royal Capital Cathedral is not just for show. Harrison-san and I had about the same number. Harrison-san gathered the soldiers and boys, while I gathered the girls and adult women.
"Strictly speaking, how many are there?"
Beatrix asked for the exact numbers. When I asked why, it seemed she was making a bet with Henry-sama and the others. Honestly, how sacrilegious.
"The three of us from the Class of 175 all bet on you!"
"I don't care. Besides, you can tell just by looking, right? Phillips-sama is number one."
"Phillips-sama belongs to the Church. No one bet on him."
Just then.
"Beatrix, I won!"
Bonnie said. It seems she had been counting.
"Really! Yes! Thanks, Jeanne!"
I see. So I had more. Well, even if I look like this, I'm ultra-high-level, so our rank is the same. Besides, a young female priest is bound to be more popular than a bear that smells of garlic. Normally I should scold them, but I'll overlook it just this once.
"It looks like you had one less person. We were betting on who would be the least popular, and thanks to that, I beat that Eleanor-sama."
In the direction of Beatrix's smirking gaze, Eleanor-sama was twitching. Seeing Henry-sama and Wilson-san consoling her, she might have been dragged in just to make up the numbers.
"Don't blame me if the Church gets mad at you!"
Honestly, how utterly irreverent. You'd better treat me later.
Setting aside the transgressors, I had to offer prayers for those wishing to ascend.
Since I didn't want them to have any lingering regrets, I had the Priestess translate and listened to each person's story. It turned out they were all people who had died of the epidemic and were the families of the soldiers at the fort.
Those who died in the early stages of the epidemic were buried properly, but as people began to collapse one after another and the death toll rose, that was no longer possible. As a result of inquiring with the Western Lord, they were told to abandon the fort and flee. Afterward, the fort was demolished and burned, but the Priestess had already contracted the disease. It seems there were quite a few corpses that were merely buried in the graveyard. It's no wonder they became ghosts.
Since children were mixed in, I consulted with the ghosts and decided to let one woman ascend first to reassure the frightened children, and after that, let them ascend in order of youngest to oldest.
By the time everyone had safely ascended, it was already noon. Harrison-san was finished, but Phillips-sama was not. I called out to Sianya and the Priestess, and we decided to gather at the altar to eat together. I asked the Henry Party and Beatrix to refrain, just in case.
Phillips-sama's charge was a veteran soldier who could be described as middle-aged. Being deeply devout, he had requested a priest belonging to the Church. While eating surrounded by ghosts and listening to their stories, I learned something. It was related to the legends.
Originally, there was a fort on this high ground in the wetlands. It seems to have been there for a very long time, and no one knows when it was built. Come to think of it, Finis had a castle floating on the sea, and in terms of being impregnable, this place was just right. Since it's along the river, as long as you board a boat, you can go there from the shore at any time. And the Lord was in the plains across the Western Mountain. In other words, it was the final stronghold in case they lost a 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 regions. The outcome of the war was as the legend says. The Lord was betrayed by the leader of the Eastern nobles, but the males of the family, starting with the eldest son, managed to escape and holed up in the wetlands fort with a handful of subordinates. However, the numbers were simply too different. Surrounded by an enemy tens of times their size, they finally died in battle, using the fort as their pillow. It was not 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."
In the legend, it has a much more dramatic development.
"It's a made-up story."
The Priestess admitted it bluntly. She pointed to a young soldier wearing a tunic. With black hair and brown eyes, he was quite handsome.
"He says it was a bit of revenge."
The surrounding soldiers smirked. Through their conversation with Sianya, they seemed to have become more expressive.
I bet this man is...
"This guy is the son of the Lord who was betrayed long ago."
I thought so. But how...
"He was a ghost wandering the graveyard at night. Back when I was still alive. When I heard his story, I felt pity. My family wasn't that wealthy because we didn't deal in silver. So, I thought I'd publicize just how wicked the people profiting from exorbitant prices were. We consulted and exaggerated the story a bit."
I could hear the ghosts, who had been silent until now, laughing loudly. It seems they've become able to speak. The content of the conversation is what it is. Their trust in Sianya must have shot up all at once.
"Because I came along, before I knew it, the story had expanded to include a Priestess. I had no choice, so after I died, I matched the story and dressed as an old woman."
No, 'no choice' my foot, 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 disposed of the descendants of our enemies. Let me thank you again."
The eldest son of the former Lord bowed to Sianya. The soldiers in tunics followed suit, offering their thanks one after another. The current King of Primordia had wiped out the high nobles who had been greedy for vested interests.
Wait? Does that mean the silver mine was controlled by the high nobles who were disposed of?
"That's not it. The Primordia Royal Family was granted one-third of the mine's interests at the time of the nation's founding. Of the remaining two-thirds, the family that was the State Chancellor held one-third, and nine other families held the other one-third. That was the ratio."
Sianya answered for me.
In other words, the lineage of the former State Chancellor would be the direct descendants of the person who committed the betrayal.
"And now?"
The ghost who forged the legend asked.
"The Royal Family has a monopoly."
Hearing the answer, the group in tunics all clapped their hands and burst out laughing. Their long-standing grudge had been settled.
"That's what they get for inciting betrayal out of self-preservation and stabbing us in the back. It's poetic justice. My, my, one really shouldn't do bad things."
They seemed quite amused. Honestly, just go ahead and ascend already.
In the end, the ghost soldiers, both old and new, mostly decided to stay with the Priestess. Those who died of the epidemic wished to become guardian spirits of the epidemic prevention facility, and those who died from betrayal wanted to repay the King of Primordia for avenging them.
As a priest, I wanted everyone to ascend, but I suppose this is acceptable in its own way. After all, Engrio is to the east. And prisoners from the mainland will be coming. It might be fine to leave it as a cursed wetland where ghosts drift.
There are two things I don't understand. It's about Necromancy. It's a bit different from the knowledge I gained from investigating the mountain or what I've heard from others. The Priestess said she learned Necromancy while she was alive. However, I'm sure Phillips-sama said that Necromancy cannot be learned by a living human. Since there's a Vow of Silence, I can't talk about the details, so I asked her how she actually learned it.
"Hmm. When I was alive, I paid money to someone who could use the magic I wanted to learn and had them teach me. I'd actually watch the magic many times for about a month to learn it. If I couldn't learn it in a month, I'd give up and learn a different magic."
That method is actually written in the textbooks. As expected, a precise image is important.
"Also, I heard that Forbidden Magic like Necromancy can't be learned easily."
"You're well-informed. Then, I'll tell you. You see, when I was alive..."
It seems it was a golden age that produced many excellent mages. At that time, they were considered a generation chosen by the Goddess and were pampered. It was an era that produced extremely excellent priestesses and mages who were said to be successors to the Ancient Priestess. The Wetlands Priestess also didn't quite stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those famous people, but by mastering Dark Magic, she apparently received a very high evaluation. The fact that a teenage Priestess could treat ghost soldiers as retainers was due to that background.
In terms of timing, it was a thousand years ago. In other words, it was a period when the swell of magical power was growing. It's frustrating, but it must have been different from now.
As for the other thing, the Queen asked before I could.
"Priestess, in terms of magic, you must have used Necromancy, right? Why?"
Wilson-san witnessed it. There's no doubt. Even though we're being so friendly, there should be no need to cast a spell.
"Ah, that. Earthbound spirits can't move from the places they're connected to, right? In other words, these guys can't leave this graveyard. But if I use Necromancy, they're 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 resist."
"Is such a thing possible?"
The border Lord and the Queen were surprised. The Queen cannot use Dark Magic. There probably aren't many living humans who are users of Dark Magic themselves. That's why even the Queen didn't know.
"I still need more training."
"Umu. Let us devote ourselves."
The Priestess laughed at the two who spoke with sighs, saying, "Good luck."