Chapter 22 -
«Yaho, Chise! And that person with you must be Teto, right? Thank you.»
"Nice to meet you! I always hear about you from Majou-sama!"
"How... did you appear here? We shouldn't be able to meet outside of the dream oracle."
I just finished using up all my mana in one breath so I was sitting on the ground from exhaustion after finally defeating the huge monster that had made its nest deep underground and purifying the deadly poison and murky mana that it had birthed.
In contrast to me who was looking at Lariel releasing a green aura in confusion, Teto replied to the goddess delightfully with a lively smile on her lips.
«This place is under my jurisdiction, after all. I can descend for a bit as long as the situation and conditions permit.»
«Well, this time was just possible because I used the mana that was leaking out from the earth veins», Lariel smiled while saying that.
"There are a lot of things I want to ask. To begin with, why did you want us to defeat the monster here?"
I had been asked to take back this place that had been turned into the home of monsters for several tens of years but Lariel had hardly talked about a specific deadline, the subjugation method, or even the goal.
She might have had her own circumstances to consider as a god but I do think we had the right to hear in detail about the threat of monsters using the mana of the earth veins.
«Well, it's a long story. I already told you about how the earth veins were thrown out of order by the mana experiment runaway 2000 years ago, right? I opened this road in the underground of this mountain to put back the chaotic earth vein in order.»
"And I assume the dwarven miners dug up this hole here in the earth vein and the leaked mana then simulated the insect monsters."
«You're right. I opened this path so that the ores in the underground of this ore-rich mountain could absorb the leaking mana to prevent situations like floating stones or dungeon formation from occurring, but... It's just that I never thought that they would dig the place out, especially for the altered magic metal.»
'People's greed really amazes me', she said as she laughed strangely.
She was a goddess who had been looking after this world for tens of thousands of years. She must have seen people's stupidity and their failure firsthand.
And the altered magic metal, she should be talking about how silver transformed into Mithril, copper into Orichalcum, iron into magic steel, and quartz into magic crystals.
Even Teto's magic sword was originally an alloy of iron mixed with magic steel but its property gradually changed over time as she continued to channel her enormous mana into it.
"But I think I'm going to take it easy again. I've been doing requests for more than a decade and even I was baffled at the number of monsters here. Lariel too, you really don't have a sense of danger."
«That was force majeure. I can only hope people will realize the danger on their own and deal with it. So I have to rely on you guys to stop the worst-case scenario from happening.»
I couldn't help but think how the thought process of Gods is wired differently from us as Lariel smiled cheerfully after saying that.
Well yeah, there's no doubt either we or Lariel could easily eliminate the problem and prevent damages from occurring. However, that would be counterproductive to humanity's growth and development.
«Besides, that monster was unable to survive anywhere except this place. So you can say there wouldn't be any danger on the surface as long as no one approaches this place.»
It had been 30 years ever since the mines were abandoned, and, as of now, the current situation was that people only took down the monsters that appeared outside.
"Then what was the worst-case scenario you were talking about?"
«Every monster has a finite lifespan, that is to say, their limit as a creature. Even the Mother of the insect monsters would have died naturally in around 20 years or so. But then, there was the danger of the deadly poison that had accumulated in the giant hole flowing back through the body of the monster and contaminating the earth veins.»
Had Mother died due to her reaching the end of her lifespan, the contaminated mana and deadly poison would have flowed back through the tube-shaped body which she used to suck mana, and then pollute the earth veins. Then the polluted earth veins would have stimulated the monsters in the southern land where the earth veins flow due to the fierce poison it contained.
«Poison and curse would have come to plague half the land of the Lovile kingdom in its wake, polluting the sea and then eventually, the eastern part of this continent would have been a hell for the people to live on. Later, the aftereffect may reach other places under my management and could even trouble my little sister, the sea goddess Luriel.»
So this was the worst-case scenario in Lariel's words.
Indeed, a nation reduced to nothingness due to pollution was really the worst possible scenario out there. In a sense, it was helpful that there wasn't an urgent deadline so there was still some time to handle it.
At least, we managed to solve it in time before it could reach anyone's ear and spread unrest among the people.
«Either way, you have completed my request with this. As for your reward, there, dig up the hole in that wall.»
"Alright. Teto, please."
"Yes -nanodesu!"
We then looked for the place pointed out by Lariel. Then behind the lump of soil and stones Teto pushed aside, we found lumps of ore shining with silver and scarlet glow.
There was even a green crystal among them.
"Lariel, this is?"
«These ores are the floating stones, Mithril and Orichalcum that had formed after absorbing the leaked mana from the time I pulled earth veins here in the past.»
"The floating stones, wait, don't floating stones cause a floating island to form?"
«That size is far from enough to cause a floating island! At best, it can be used to make a floating ship!»
A floating ship 一 I couldn't help but think that I may have found another amazing ore.
Many monsters pose a threat from the sky in this fantasy world like dragons, wyverns, and gargantuan birds.
The present countermeasures against those threats were the deployment of anti-air Ballistas that fired from the ground, powerful magicians intercepting them flying in the sky, and trained dragon knights fighting using the monsters like wyverns as their mount.
However, air supremacy could be further secured by using these floating stones and lowering the standard where you need specialized individuals to general individuals.
But their use wasn't just limited to that. If used properly, they could be a boon for faster transportation and, if greed overtook people's minds, it would further aggravate the conflict in the sky.
"Haa, Lariel. You're just saying this is our reward but aren't you just pushing troublesome matters to us."
«Hehe, you got me, huh? Well yeah, this thing is still too early for mankind to find. Even the ancient magic civilization had developed «Teleportation Magic» as a means of transportation before they got to fly in the sky and the transportation method in the sky was just limited to a very small scale so it hardly mattered back then.»
There will come a time when people will discover and research them one day but now isn't the right time.
"Alright, I have already recovered so I guess it's time to go back. I'm just going to enjoy my time in the Lovile Kingdom now that your request is complete."
"I'm looking forward to it! There's so much to see; the sea, the royal capital, and the items of another country! Then let's travel to another place!"
From fishing villages facing the sea to the royal capital situated at the coastline and then the trade harbor 一 My plan now is to slowly enjoy all these places.
All these were places that would have vanished without us clearing out the monsters so I was more excited to visit the scene.
«That's the spirit, enjoy the world to your heart's content. Also, take care of the flow of time.»
"Hmm? The flow of time?"
Leaving behind that remark, Lariel vanished from our sight.
Teto and I retrieved the corpse of Mother while being enveloped in a hazy feeling due to the mysterious parting remark from Lariel in the mine where all that was left was the deafening silence. We also collected the barrier magic tool and teleportation gate that I had set up to make safety zones and slipped out of the mine.
However, when we left the mine and went outside, the scenery there was一一
"What's, that......"
"It seems like the fields in the town and the nearby forest are losing their color."
The vast land spread outside with this mine as the center was losing its color as far as we could see from the entrance of the mine located at a high altitude.
There wasn't any particular change in the forest or fields. However, I understood from my experience of forcing trees to grow using plant magic in the «Empty Wilderness» that the mana had begun to flow away from the surrounding vegetation. It was the prelude before every single plant here withered away.
