kscans

Chapter 14 - Little One's Delivery Service

"Magic stones?"

The Little One, who had come to discuss the pilgrimage she had forgotten about amidst the salamander commotion, stared in amazement at the large gemstones in Romel’s office.

"These are originally the same as the crystals used in the Baptism. They’re just bigger."

The colorful array of gems. It was hard to believe they were the same as those needle crystals. Romel then brought out a large crystal, about the size of an adult’s fist.

This was, indeed, a needle crystal.

As Chihiro watched intently, Romel placed his hand on the crystal and poured his magic into it. The crystal began to glow faintly, and in an instant, it took on the luster of a deep red ruby. Romel gave the dumbfounded Little One a faint smile and lifted the crystal.

"These are the magic stones used in magical tools. I’ve told you before, right? Magic can be stored in gems and used repeatedly."

It’s not often we use one this size, though. With that preface, Romel lined up a dozen or so needle crystals on his desk.

"How about you fill these with your magic and have them delivered to the Lords of the borderlands? It’s a temporary measure, but it’s better than nothing. Even if you and the honeybees fly at full speed, it will take several days to reach the border. To visit them all, it will take months no matter what you do."

Romel explained while opening a map.

The map Chihiro had studied before was an inland map showing the various countries. This one was a world map left behind by the first Golden King, who had traveled the globe. It marked the forests of every Lord, and the forests with red tags were the ones that had been lost. This must have been what Melitta meant when she said Frontier knew the locations of the forests. But the map was covered in red tags.

".....So many?"

Romel looked at the Little One with his gaze slightly lowered. The Little One was stunned by the sheer number of lost forests. Even if the will of the gods was at work, this was far too merciless. Arcadia had seventeen countries, large and small, and each country had two to four of the Lords’ forests. Almost all of them had tags. A quick glance suggested about forty locations.

Romel took the hand of the Little One, who couldn’t tear her eyes from the map, and gave it a light pat. He looked at her with a reassuring gaze.

"I know you’re surprised, but can we save that for later? Right now, we have to save the living forests. Okay?"

Living forests.

The words brought Chihiro back to her senses, and she stared hard at the map again. Borderlands existed all around the inland region. Much of it was wilderness or desert, but a faint green line connected the scattered Lords' forests. Romel pointed to it and added a brief explanation.

"The closest border forest to Frontier is in the mountainous region southeast of Flowers. It’s about ten days by a normal carriage. Even for the honeybees, it would take three days to fly there."

To circle the world from there and return to the mountains of Flowers would take over two months by a rough count. And that was at the honeybees’ flying speed. If Chihiro were to accompany them, it would take even longer.

"So, let’s try sending them your magic first, shall we? It will take several months at worst either way. So let’s give it a shot, just in case. Okay?"

There were thirteen border forests. If they only had the honeybees deliver the magic stones to all the forests, it would take just a few days. If it proved effective, it would serve as a stopgap until the Little One’s pilgrimage. No matter how much they tried to shorten the time, it would take months. Some forests might not make it in time.

"Okay, let’s do it. If it doesn’t look like it’s working, I’ll fly there myself!"

She huffed determinedly, grabbed a crystal, and poured her magic into it. The crystal lit up, emitting a soft light like the sun. A warm, flickering glow. She set it down and immediately began pouring her magic into another crystal.

"Huh? W-wait a sec."

Ignoring a flustered Romel, the Little One continued to pour in her magic. Just as she finished the seventh one, she suddenly collapsed.

"Argh, I knew it!!"

Romel, who had been watching nervously, cried out. He rushed to catch the Little One and laid her down on the sofa. Utterly spent, the Little One was sound asleep, breathing softly. Romel couldn’t hide his exhaustion, but from her condition, it seemed she hadn’t overdone it. The unfamiliar magic manipulation had likely caused magical exhaustion and flipped her switch off. As Romel patted his chest in relief, he heard his confidants murmuring. Their voices trembled slightly.

"She’s terrifyingly powerful...."

In their hands were the magic stones in question. Chihiro had filled seven of them in one go, stones so large that even Romel could barely manage to fill one in a single day. Her magical capacity was unbelievable.

You really are in a league of your own, aren’t you?

Chihiro slept soundly and was taken home by Romel, but it goes without saying that she returned the next day and did the exact same thing.

Romel brought the Little One home after she fell into a deep sleep two days in a row. It also goes without saying that the stares of the Count's family grew as cold as absolute zero.

Despite shouldering this unnecessary burden, Romel worked himself to the bone to grant the Little One's wish. He knew that if he didn’t, the rampaging Little One would only make matters worse. The icy glares of Drago and the others were nothing to him. Such things were a part of daily life for Romel, who lived in the royal court and managed the nobility.

Romel, who had survived a world of constant strife, taught the Little One the finer points of magic control and its delicate sensations while sealing the magic within the stones to be transported to the forests.

"Is it done?"

"It’s done."

The magic stones looked like quivering masses of light. Left as they were, the magic would slowly leak out and dissipate, so Romel had cast a sealing spell on them.

They placed each one in a ten-centimeter square box, tied it with string, and gave them to the honeybees with directions.

"Southeast from here. The border forest of Flowers is in the direction I’m pointing. Head slightly to the left, and when you see the budding greenery, turn right, and you should find the forest."

Melitta and the honeybees listened intently to Romel’s explanation. He gave similar directions to the other honeybees, and he and the Little One watched until the groups of three flew out of sight. The honeybees, led by Melitta, flew off in perfect formation.

"I hope it goes well."

"Yeah. Please, Gods."

Romel held the Little One as she squeezed her eyes shut and clasped her hands in prayer, then took her home to the Drago family as usual.

The answer came a few days later.

"Yaaahooo!"

The Little One was racing around Romel’s office.

Ukyaa, she squealed, waving her hands and bouncing up and down. The magic stone operation had been a success. The golden magic, even in small amounts, was tremendously effective. The Lords of the border forests who received it were revitalized in no time, and the greenery and monsters in their forests were reinvigorated. This was the report from the honeybees who had accompanied Melitta.

《They were extremely grateful. Also, it seems the simultaneous delivery of golden magic created a pseudo-connection between the border forests.》

"Heh?"

Melitta smiled fondly at the Little One’s quizzical sound and explained that she had heard a nostalgic resonance. It was the clear, melodic hum of magic when the Golden Ring was complete. It was only a pseudo-link, so it lacked the original’s power, but even the faint connection caused the forests to resonate with one another, further promoting their revitalization.

Hearing this, Romel let out an openly large sigh.

"This should allow us to maintain the status quo."

"That’s great, really. Abyss and Chaos should have told us sooner, though."

"Abyss and Chaos?"

Romel tilted his head. Seeing this, the Little One’s mouth formed an ‘ah’.

"They’re the names of the Creator God. The one with long, wavy hair is Chaos. The one with straight hair down to the shoulders is Abyss."

"What? The Creator God’s names?"

Romel’s eyes widened in shock. Come to think of it, I probably never mentioned that I named the gods in my explanations before.

The Little One, realizing this, told him again about how she had named the gods.

"You named the gods..... You should have told me something like that sooner."

Romel scowled, and the Little One gave him a playful grin, relieved that the border forests had been saved.

This bought us some time. Now we can take our time and plan the circuit.

The Little One gazed out the window, smiling serenely. However, it was practically a given with her that this would later cause a huge uproar.

Only Romel sensed a fragment of this premonition, and he gazed at the Little One with an indescribable expression.

Flying, running, collapsing. Something happens every day. But today, the Little One is doing great♪