Chapter 567 - Chapter 9: Ice Island Exploration (2)
About thirty members of the civil engineering squad arrived. After that, supplies were jumped in one after another. Since there is a weight limit, it seems stone materials are impossible, but that's for the future. Leaving the base construction to them, we set out on the usual high-speed medium-sized bowl by Eleanor-sama and Wilson-san. The people who boarded were the eight members of the New Henry Party and me, merged with the Wetlands Priestess.
The target volcano is on the peninsula in the southwestern part of the island. As we headed south, we came out exactly at the base of the peninsula. The base of the peninsula is a corner of a large bay, but there are also many small islands, and it seems just right for a port. There's also a river, and toward the east, a flat terrain with almost no undulations spreads out considerably. If people were to live in large numbers and build a town, I think it would be here. However, because there are no mountains on the east side, the wind is strong. Moreover, the forest is pressing close to the sea. I somehow understood the reason why the drifters didn't land here.
From there, there's a mountainous area to the south. That said, it's not that high. It's a hill. However, it seems to be a volcanic area, and strange-shaped rocks are scattered on the mountain surface, and no trees are growing. On the upper part, even grass is not growing. As you get closer, it's somehow warm. Smoke is rising from near the top of the mountain at the tip of the peninsula. Maybe there's a Fire Dragon.
「Jeanne, you can't call out the Four Great Spirits, right? I wonder if you can call a Salamander.」
The Wetlands Priestess is saying so, but it's impossible. Before setting out, my companions at the farm held a send-off party. The Henry Party also participated, so I called all four of the Great Spirits and asked them. The answer was that all four were no good.
「I was told by the spirits themselves that it's impossible once I leave the White Island. All four of them.」
I show the Three Great Stones, which have completely lost their brilliance and have become mere stones. I also asked Will and Bonnie to look at all of them, including the earth one.
「Hmm, I see. But this island seems to be overflowing with the power of spirits.」
I felt that too. Will and Bonnie didn't notice. Additionally, Price-sama and Eleanor-sama didn't notice either.
「Somehow, I think Jeanne is being given special treatment. The other two are acquaintances or friends, and Jeanne is family? Maybe a parent and child. That's how it feels.」
Is that so? When I asked Will and Bonnie, they nodded emphatically.
「Look, at the regular banquets, Mel's Stone glows brightly, right?」
I'm certainly prompted.
「Mine doesn't glow~!」
Was that so? I didn't know that. But I haven't heard that the Gnome's one glowed.
「The Gnome's Stone doesn't glow, but when called, it goes straight to Jeanne. It greets me, but it shouldn't have talked much.」
Is that so? Mostly, I call them in the order of Dune, Mel, Salamander, and Gnome. When I call the Salamander, I have Dune and Mel stay away. And when I call the Salamander, it perches on my shoulder. So, I thought it was coming toward the Salamander, who is a drinking buddy.
「Do you not understand how rare it is to obtain the protection of the Four Great Spirits? There are many who would want it even if they had to spend a fortune that could tilt a country.」
I was told so by Harold-sama too.
But I'll probably never have a fortune that could tilt a country in my life, so there's no way I can spend it.
In the end, Eleanor-sama said that things are fine as they have been, so that talk ended just like that. Pulling ourselves together, it's time to explore.
As we flew from the base of the peninsula toward the tip, there was a crater in the middle of a huge depression. However, it's not sending up smoke. It might be an extinct volcano.
「It's worth seeing. A volcanic crater really has a hole.」
The Priestess is glued to the crater she's seeing for the first time.
「Hey, hey, enlarge the crater a bit more.」
She's prompting me like that.
「Shall we go inside?」
When Eleanor-sama asked, the Priestess nodded her head vigorously. In other words, it's my head. Because it was in the form of being caught off guard, I feel dizzy. I reflexively staggered.
「Eh? Jeanne, what's wrong? Do you feel sick?」
It's your fault.
Just in case, when I cast [Sense Living], there's no particular reaction. That said, the crater where the Fire Dragon was was quite deep, and in the end, we couldn't reach the bottom. Since I don't know what's in the very depths, we decided to go inside just a little.
The wide and large crater becomes narrower and narrower. The smell of sulfur stings the back of my nose. It's quite a strong stimulus, so I reflexively took out a towel and put it to my nose.
Compared to the volcano where the Fire Dragon was, it's much narrower, and it's just barely enough for a bowl to pass through. While passing through that narrow passage, I continue searching, but there's no reaction at all. It seems to be turning in the middle, and even with the Priestess's eyes with [Sight] cast on them, the very depths cannot be seen. Only the rugged reddish-brown and yellow rock surfaces can be seen. As we slowly descended, we came out to a wide place.
「Heh—, so the inside of a volcano is like this.」
The Priestess, for whom there is no day or night, looks around restlessly. Previously, when we entered a crater, it was glittering and shining. However, the image transmitted from the Priestess is only rugged bright yellow and brown rock surfaces.
「Jeanne. Sorry, but could you turn on the [Light]?」
「Ah, yes. Sorry.」
I was requested by Henry-sama. Since I can see through the Priestess, I completely forgot.
There's no reaction to [Sense Living]. I deactivated it and illuminated the surroundings with [Light].
「Hoho. This is sulfur.」
It's Harold-sama. Unfortunately, it wasn't glittering. Of course, this is spectacular in its own way, but it was different from the image.
「It's different from the Finis volcano.」
「Yes. It's fundamentally different from that one. Is it because there's a Fire Dragon?」
It's Gwyn-sama and Eowyn-sama. Eowyn-sama has recently been participating in the hunting Gwyn-sama is doing with the Fire Dragon. Since the Fire Dragon's weapon is a spear, and it's better suited for the heavy infantry Eowyn-sama than the light infantry Gwyn-sama, he's having him act as a teacher. The Fire Dragon's skill must have improved that much.
While we were watching, the smell of sulfur became strong and I started to feel sick.
「It's better not to stay long.」
Eleanor-sama said, and everyone nodded. Will and Bonnie are pinching their noses with their fingers. Wilson-san and the Priestess don't seem to mind, but it's unbearable for the living. We wanted to explore as far as possible, but it's unavoidable. We decided to ascend and escape just like that.
Even when I switched to [Sense Living] and searched, there was still no reaction. Next time we come, we'll need measures against the smell.
「?」
It was when we came out to the entrance and I took the towel away from my nose with relief. The Priestess is looking at the crater.
「What's wrong?」
「Hmm,」 she tilted her head.
「Somehow, there was a place I was curious about for an instant. I can't say what or how, though.」
「Come to think of it, you were curious about something inside.」
There was no reaction to [Sense Living]. If there's something, it would be in a quite deep place, but...
「No, even when I enlarged it with [Sight], I couldn't see anything in particular, so there must be nothing.」
In the end, it seems it was just her imagination.
When we went west at high speed from the crater of the extinct volcano, there was a second crater. This time it's sending up smoke. It must be an active volcano and is alive.
「Let's fly right over it. Please look closely at the state inside.」
Eleanor-sama said so, and after raising the altitude a little, she stopped right over the crater and slowly lowered the altitude.
Because the wind is strong, the smoke is trailing toward the west. The bowl is sending wind downward from the bottom to float. Unexpectedly, visibility could be secured, and when I enlarged it with [Sight], I could see as far as the depths of the crater through the bottom of the bowl.
「What? That red thing. It looks like it's burning.」
Lava can be seen in the depths of the crater. If I recall, the Fire Dragon was swimming in that.
「It's lava, rock melted by extreme heat. When a volcano erupts, that lava erupts in large quantities from the crater.」
「If that much comes out, it'll cause a fire.」
「Yes, that's why trees aren't growing around the crater, right?」
「I-I see. Then, those black and dark brown strange-shaped rocks are...」
「Yes. It's said that when the erupted lava is exposed to rain and wind and cools back into rock, it becomes like that.」
「Awesomeeeee!」
While listening to Eleanor-sama's explanation, she is intently watching.
Certainly it's amazing, the height is not much at all, but the range is wide. Moreover, because it's a peninsula, it's surrounded by the sea on three sides, but it's covered by strange-shaped rocks all the way to the coast. Surely, the erupted lava must have cooled back into rock with the momentum to fill the sea.
「Maybe this peninsula was created as a result of lava cooling.」
「Hie—! If that's the case, it's really amazing.」
Melted rock at high heat erupts from a volcano and fills the sea to create land... Salamander and Gnome should have good compatibility.
Further west, when we went near the tip of the peninsula, there was a pond sending up steam.
In front of us, there is a pond filled with pale blue water.
The color of the water in the pond is different from the translucent hue of the blue pond managed by Stephens-san at the foot of the mountain. It's like white mist is dissolved into blue water, and it's warmed and becomes steam, drifting on the water surface. Is it fantastical? A person like me cannot even imagine its existence until I actually see it. It was such a sight.
「I want Beatrix to draw a picture of this.」
Even Will, who doesn't usually say such things, says so.
「But it's a precarious place, isn't it?」
It's just as Bonnie says while knowing it's beautiful. There's something. It's such a sight.
「Hey, hey, by any chance, is that a hot spring?」
The Priestess bit.
「Most likely.」
「Let's go in. Can I try going in first?」
At Eleanor-sama's words, she's in a state where she's about to undo the merger even now. She might like reality more than fantasy.
「We don't know the temperature, and something might be lurking in the water.」
「That's why I'm going. Even if it's boiling water, I won't get burned, and if there's an Amphisbaena, I'll slip through it. There's no Holy mage, right?」
I see. She doesn't just want to go into a hot spring.
That said, it would be a problem if the Vice-Demon Lord came out suddenly. Even if she's a ghost, it would be a disaster if something happened after coming all the way to this farthest land. I decided to at least do an investigation with [Sense Living].
The pond is not that wide. It shouldn't take that much time to search.
While the steam was drifting in a mwa-mwa way, I cast [Anti-Sepsis], but there was no reaction at all.
「Then, can I go?」
「Wait a moment. I'll deactivate [Magic Reflection].」
As soon as I deactivated [Magic Reflection] and Eleanor-sama deactivated the bowl for acceleration, the Priestess undid the merger as if she were sliding out of my body and flew off, saying, "I'm off." During that time, I kept [Anti-Sepsis] on and searched.
「Hmm. It's good water. Just the right feeling. It's no problem at all even if a human enters.」
Is that so? Everyone is sweating from the civil engineering work. If the people at the base take turns entering...
Dobo!
Suddenly, a waterfall went upstream from behind.
Water is erupting from the ground while sending up strong steam. It's good that there's a certain distance, but if it were close, I might have been covered in the erupting hot water from my head.
「W-What is that? Is it that?」
Did a volcano erupt? Only hot water is coming out, though.
「It's a geyser. It's quite high. Isn't it erupting more than thirty strides?」
「Humph. It's a splendid thing.」
Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama seem to know, but what on earth is it?
「Hoho, so this is a geyser.」
Harold-sama seems to be seeing it for the first time.
「What is that?」
「Jeanne, you've seen the source of a hot spring, right? You should think of it as a large-scale and intermittent version of that.」
I-I see. The hot water in the hot spring pond is being replenished from here. I thought rainwater was being warmed, but it seems it's the opposite.
「It's amazing. There's something like this.」
「What, Bonnie, had you never seen one?」
「I don't know. There were no volcanoes.」
「Will, did you know?」
「Yes, I saw one once when I was on the continent. But it's been since then. It's called a geyser here, then.」
Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama also saw it on the continent. On the other hand, Gwyn-sama and Eowyn-sama seem to have seen one in Finis.
「Awesome! Awesome! Do it more!」
The Wetlands Priestess is completely a tourist.
The hot water that erupted, when it gushed down onto the flat rock just like that, flowed as if washing the rock surface, and about half of it flowed into the hot spring pond.
「Jeanne! Something's coming! The place where the hot water erupted. It's coming up!」
The Priestess shouted. She flew toward the bowl just like that.
When I reflexively changed the direction of [Sense Living], there was a reaction.
It's long. And both ends are rounded. I know this reaction.
「It's an Amphisbaena parent!」
As soon as I said it, the Priestess appeared and merged with me. I deactivated [Sense Living] in a hurry.
「Jeanne! Do you understand?」
「Yes! [Light]!」
「[Wind Barrier]!」
As soon as I and Harold-sama chanted, the two heads jumped up along with the erupting hot water.
The two heads' forms are revealed even if they hide their forms. So, I illuminated the wall with all my might. It seems it went well, and the two heads twisted their bodies in the air to avoid the light, and fell to the ground with a splat. They sent water—or hot water—flying just like that.
When Harold-sama operated the [Wind Barrier] with the wall attached, he brilliantly repelled the double [Maelstrom].
「I've opened a hole in the middle. Counterattack with magic!」
Eleanor-sama released [Glaciate].
In front of the nose of the two heads that were trying to crawl into the hot spring pond, an ice wall appeared as if to interfere with their escape.
Skillful. She aimed to stop them without trying to finish them off by force. Because I'm using [Light], I cannot release [Holy].
Eleanor-sama stacked three more shots and completely surrounded the two heads.
「Eleanor-sama, let's try that thing.」
「I understand. I'll try it.」
This time she chanted [Wind Barrier]. A disk-shaped wall of air is completed. The edge is yara-tally thin.
「Jeanne. Deactivate [Light] and release eight volleys of [Holy Lance] at my [Wind Barrier]. Two consecutive shots.」
Reinforcement of the [Wind Barrier]? It'll just become hard. Is there a meaning? No, no, this is not the time to be thinking about such things. If it's [Maelstrom], we can endure with Harold-sama's [Wind Barrier]. Let's believe in Eleanor of Tactics.
I deactivated [Light] and held the staff with both hands.
「[Holy Lance]! [Holy Lance]!」
As requested, eight volleys, two consecutive shots.
「[Holy Lance]!」
I released one more shot from my mouth.
The surface of the reinforced [Wind Barrier] began to release several small lightnings. Eleanor-sama used both hands to make it rotate. The rotation speed keeps increasing.
Somehow, like this, the disk that was making a high-pitched sound that echoed in the back of my ears flew toward the two heads that were failing to climb the [Glaciate] wall, which had become slippery from the surface melting from the heat, and cut off both heads with a span, span.