Chapter 708 - Chapter Eight: North-South Conference
On the way, we stopped at the Silver Mine in the Northeastern Forest.
When we went to the mountain hut that shouldn't have been there when I came before, the Lich came out. For some reason, Alex was also there.
"I've been waiting. Finally, I can meet the Vice Demon Lord!"
He was ready to jump into the bowl immediately, but he gasped when he saw Wilson-san.
"What's this? You look just like a ghost. Could it be you're possessed?"
Ho-ho, so he saw through that the pale blue flames were because a ghost was involved. He's lived a long time for a reason.
"Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha. I am the evil spirit from a thousand years ago. You man there, shall I curse you to death!"
Honestly, what is he thinking? Such a terrible actor. I can't help but sigh.
"An evil spirit from a thousand years ago? Humph, I am one who became a Lich after receiving a demon's curse about two thousand years ago. If an evil spirit can curse me, then try it!"
"T-Two thousand years ago? A demon's curse?"
Look, he's been overturned.
A senior from a thousand years ago appeared, and his momentum was completely sapped. Moreover, the Lich didn't know of the existence of the Grand Archbishop. That's because he lived before such a hierarchy could be established. Perhaps because his seniority and authority no longer worked, he became disappointed and quieted down.
"Now, now, it's not good to do this here before greetings are even finished, so let's go inside and settle down. There's still time before the scheduled departure."
Eleanor-sama, sensing the atmosphere, mediated, and we decided to go inside the hut and have a quick drink.
Erikson-sama and the Lich were meeting for the first time. They introduced themselves to each other.
"What! You are the advisor to the Henry Party!"
"Indeed."
"Then my apologies. I'm sorry for such a hovel."
"No, no, you are the senior. It is enough that you welcome me like this."
For some reason, Erikson-sama, having saved face, became energetic. Is being the advisor to the Henry Party that amazing?
"More importantly, what about the matter in the letter?"
Eleanor-sama cut it off, so I didn't really understand. I'll have to ask Will or Bonnie next time.
"The New Model Behemoth? I won't know if it will change into the form described until I experiment. However, it's a perfectly plausible story. And I confirmed when I was in the cave that in an environment where the influence of mana is almost blocked, a body that grew large due to the influence of dense mana will become smaller."
"Is that true?"
"Umu. And the mana required to maintain a body that has once become huge is actually much lower than the density required to become large. Even without it, food is enough. However, if sufficient density isn't secured over several generations, some kind of influence might appear, just as problems occurred with the Dragonewt newborns. It's even more so if there isn't enough food. I'm currently conducting an experiment using slugs. The results will come out eventually."
That's good news. If the New Model Behemoth becomes smaller, we might be able to transport it with Teleport. If we can talk things out with the Vice Demon Lord, we won't have to kill it.
"However, that Behemoth thing is quite large, isn't it? It might take time to become smaller."
"We are prepared for inconveniences. It is such a masterpiece. We must keep it alive at all costs."
"Wonderful! As expected of the one I chose to serve."
"Umu. This is indeed coexistence and co-prosperity. It was not a mistake to become the advisor."
The three of them are getting excited, but aren't they going in a different direction? Has Eleanor-sama become like the Vice Demon Lord, making it a hobby while raising mice? Or am I the strange one?
When I looked at Alex, he was slowly shaking his head while sighing. Henry-sama was looking at the distant scenery together with Wilson-san. My sense is the normal one. Good.
After talking for a while, we were actually shown the experimental site using slugs. It was up on the mountain, and since it was the middle of the night, Alex took us there with Teleport. Since there are several undead types, the lighting was torches.
There's a mountain hut on a small flat area below a cliff. It has large windows that are left open. Incidentally, the entrance is also left open. They're probably doing that to prevent mana from accumulating. When we went inside, a stone-built water tank was buried in the floor. There was nothing else.
The water tank has a lid with iron bars. The gaps are about the size for a human, so slugs shouldn't be able to pass through.
I had them hold up a bonfire and peeked inside, and there was a slug. There was only one. As food, I suppose, a handful of cut weeds had been thrown in. The slug was munching on those weeds. Since the amount was small, it surely wouldn't be enough.
"This water tank has a double structure for the floor and sides. It's basically stone-built, but to prevent mana from passing through, we provided a layer of slug mucus between the stones. Mucus can be applied to the surface, but this way is easier to maintain."
Alex explained. It's quite an elaborate construction.
"It's a guess, but I think it's the same principle as what's supplying mana to the New Model Behemoth I heard about."
"Can the blocking of mana be adjusted by the thickness of the stone and the thickness of the slug layer?"
"Yeah, if the mana density is high, we'd need to make it thicker or stack several layers of stone walls and mucus, but it should mostly work."
Since it just started, it hasn't affected the size yet, apparently.
"How is it? It's a good piece of work, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's perfect. I will give you the reward as promised. Since we're going north this time, I'll buy some new sake on the way back."
"Oh, I'm looking forward to that."
"In exchange, can I ask you to observe while the Lich is away and take care of the Dragonewts? I'll add another barrel."
"Alright, leave it to me."
And so, the Lich joined the trip to the Ice Island.
We flew northwest through the pitch-black darkness, and just as I thought I could see something like the sea, we landed in front of a certain mansion. The mansion was surrounded by a wooden fence and a row of trees, so even if we landed, it wouldn't be seen by people. Judging from the scale of the mansion, the owner would be fairly well-off even for a commoner. They might be a noble.
"Mountain!"
Eleanor-sama said the password.
"Are you still using that? I recommend changing it to something new soon. Besides, this is my private residence, so no password is required."
A voice was heard from the darkness. A person carrying a lit lantern came out from the shade of a tree in the garden.
"The atmosphere is ruined."
"I invited you to my private residence. I didn't tell you to infiltrate it."
The owner of the voice illuminated his own face with the lantern.
"Archbishop Price!"
"Jeanne, good evening."
"G-Good evening."
Private residence? Hmm. So this is what it means that Church executives in countries other than Sertoria are from good families.
The reason we were guided to Archbishop Price's private residence became clear when we entered the guest room we were guided to. It was because the Grand Archbishop was there. As expected, it seems they couldn't call Erikson-sama to the Medioland Royal Capital Great Church. There are too many eyes. Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama, and even Wilson-san and Erikson-sama, seemed to have been informed in advance, as they weren't surprised when introduced by Archbishop Price.
"Erikson-dono of the Southern Church. You have done well to come to Medioland."
"Umu. I thank the Northern Church Head for providing such a place. The other day, I received a polite letter through Archbishop Price. I wish to thank you for that as well."
Since Erikson-sama has mastered the sticking technique, they are smoothly shaking hands and embracing each other. It's a meeting of the north and south leaders across a thousand years. Watching them makes me feel nervous unintentionally.
"Henry-dono, Eleanor-dono, I thank you two as well. You have exerted yourselves in various ways along with Archbishop Price."
After both of them bowed their heads in silence, they knelt and kissed the ring the Grand Archbishop held out.
"And Bishop Jeanne, right? I have heard about you from Archbishop Price. Good of you to come."
"Yes!"
Suddenly being addressed, I unintentionally straightened my back.
I hurriedly knelt.
When I kissed the ring held out, he blessed me.
The Grand Archbishop is wearing white priestly robes. Since they aren't ritual vestments, does that mean it's not treated as an official event? And he was a younger person than I thought. In his fifties, perhaps? He looks much younger than Archbishop Price. I believe Archbishop Price was the second youngest among the heroes of Henry-sama's generation, after the Headmistress. Would he be of the next generation?
After the greetings were finished, we each sat in the chairs arranged around a round table as invited. A household staff member distributed the drinks they had prepared. Since the early morning prayers were already finished, it became like a sit-down talk just like that.
As for the content of the talk, in short, it was about the handling of the Forbidden Magic that was the source of the ancient conflict. Currently, debates are being held in Great Churches all over the island. The Grand Archbishop said that if a decision were to be made at this point, they would have no choice but to keep it as Forbidden Magic.
"After all, the battle with the Revenant army actually occurred, and not many years have passed since the Morandine Kingdom army fell into a state of destruction. There are many who resist."
"Then is it no good?"
"Currently, we are holding off on reaching a conclusion and waiting for the time to ripen. We believe that our not reaching a conclusion early on will itself serve as a way to raise the issue to the people."
"Humph. In other words, there are some who show a certain degree of understanding, right?"
"Yes. If anything, the northern half of the White Island is opposed, and the southern half is in favor, so to speak."
"Humph. Do we have no choice but to wait patiently? However, regarding the petitions from various churches that were the source of the conflict a thousand years ago, what were the reasons?"
"As expected, it is resistance against having one's own corpse handled freely after death by practitioners... that is, the rulers and wealthy people who hire practitioners. For example, if it were to protect one's own hometown, it might still be fine, but since it can be operated by people from other countries, if it were to be used as a weapon to attack the land one should originally protect..."
"Indeed, the people in the north would surely oppose it."
"Yes."
There must have been such wars in reality. If one's own corpse were treated that way, the former lords of the north with strong local patriotism wouldn't just be furious.
"I heard you are also considering lifting the ban while limiting its use?"
"Yes. The Church would manage it. It would never be used for war or labor, and if such a case occurs, the Church's monster extermination unit will head out to subjugate it. However, if there is a powerful nation behind such a case, things will not be settled so easily. Therefore, we have no choice but to be cautious."
Regarding such cases, there was one in actual combat just the other day. Nakanohara was also attacked. Siege battles aside, in the case of field battles, there is a possibility of quite serious damage. Moreover, since the Ruined Town was involved, even if we say priests handle it, we cannot be careless.
"Why not simply encourage cremation among the populace? If one's corpse becomes ash, it won't be turned into a Revenant, so they won't have to worry about their physical body after death."
"Cremation?"
"Ah, I don't know about now, but before, the person or the bereaved family could choose between burial or cremation. What the Goddess saves is the soul, not the physical body."
Regarding that, there was an explanation from Archbishop Price. There is no particular distinction between cremation and burial. However, successive Grand Archbishops and famous priests have some kind of preservation treatment applied to their corpses, and the bodies are placed in the basement of the Great Church. On the other hand, heavy criminals are cremated without question. From such processes, the populace prefers burial. Of course, there are cases where they desire cremation of their own accord. In short, it seems to depend on the feelings of the populace.
By the way, Erikson-sama was treated as a criminal and cremated.
"What do you think, Archbishop Price?"
The Grand Archbishop sought Archbishop Price's opinion.
"It depends on the views of the various Church Heads. It might be good to inquire once."
"Is that so. Then please gather information in time for next year's Council of Lords."
"Understood."
Erikson-sama, hearing the exchange between the two, smiled. The Grand Archbishop is clearly a proponent of lifting the ban on Forbidden Magic.
While we were talking about the restoration of Forbidden Magic, dawn broke. The sea could be seen from the window, and a single ship was floating there.
"Is it already this time? Erikson-dono, that is the ship going to the Ice Island."
"Oh! To go on such a large ship! The gap of a thousand years is indeed large."
He's delighted like a child. He's a person from inland, after all. Perhaps he's only ever ridden on river boats.
After that, we had breakfast and the sit-down talk with the Grand Archbishop ended.
A carriage was prepared for the Grand Archbishop. It's apparently a dedicated carriage that only the Grand Archbishop can use. It's a six-horse carriage, and all are white horses.
Below the household staff of Archbishop Price's private residence, the servants lined up to see him off. Presumably, the owner would be away for most of the time, yet there were more than ten of them. It's like a villa of a great noble.
We also went out to see him off. The Grand Archbishop and Erikson-sama, although their positions as religious leaders were different, promised to join hands to think for the good of the White Island.
"Ah, Bishop Jeanne."
"A-Ah, yes!"
Just when I thought he was getting into the carriage, I was suddenly called.
"The Master of the Ice Island was looking forward to meeting Bishop Jeanne."
"Eh?"
After saying that one thing and smiling, he got into the carriage.
"Well then, everyone. Please be careful."
Saying that, he left while waving from the carriage window.
Could it be that the Grand Archbishop has been to the Ice Island?