Chapter 25 -
Ten years had passed since the floating island relocation plan was set into motion.
Mythical beasts gradually moved into the «Empty Wilderness» alongside the residents of floating islands who built their new homes and shifted their base of activity to the new settlement.
However, there were also some mythical creatures and members of the conservative faction who wanted to stay behind, so we took our time to individually talk to each of them, addressing their concerns and resolving them. For example,
——One resident was worried about Dragon Grandpa.
——Another resident felt reluctant to leave the house they lived in for so long.
——Another resident couldn't bear to leave behind the tree they planted as a substitute for a grave.
——And yet another resident, burdened by old age and illness, preferred death over becoming a burden to the younger generation.
Patiently, we listened to each person, probed the source of their worry, and worked to resolve them.
Sometimes we made compromises, and finally, almost all the residents agreed to move.
And today—
"Seriously, congratulations! This is another year we managed to hold the festival!"
The floating island residents, too, held a festival, albeit a modest one, around the time of the autumn harvest festival every year. And since their relocation to the «Empty Wilderness», there has been a baby boom among the residents due to the presence of vast land and abundant harvest resulting in more vibrant festivals with the improvement in their life.
The festival was held at the former settlement in the floating island which has been almost abandoned. Even Dragon Grandpa made his appearance.
«How joyous. Now I can finally be at ease.»
"You still have to watch over us, Grandfather."
«Well, indeed. I'm also looking forward to the plan Majou-dono has devised.»
Dragon Grandpa lifted a barrel of liquor with one hand and drank it all in one go.
It has only been three years since the residents began to make their own alcohol, so the taste is a bit off, but it was still delicious in its own way and everyone was enjoying their liquor happily.
"It's great that we managed to hold the festival this year as well without any hiccups."
"Yeah, it's great-nanodesu! And the cooking is also delicious compared to the previous years!"
I watched the festival from a place slightly further away from the venue with Teto next to me relishing the dishes she brought.
This has made me vividly feel the passing of yet another year.
Yuishia has also matured slightly in these ten years, now appearing to be around 20 years old, and, under the enthusiasm of the children who remained as fond of her as ever, she has gone out on a food tour.
Just as the settlement was dyed in such a soothing vibe of a festival, a certain person suddenly rushed in, all flustered.
"Majou-dono! It's serious! Sheal, Please save Sheal!"
"!? What happened!?"
The serene atmosphere of the festival instantly took a tense turn, and I pulled out my wand from the Magic Bag.
"She had gone out all alone saying she would come back with fish for the main dish of the festival, and is now being attacked by a school of monster fishes!"
"Understood. Teto, please look after everyone!"
"Got it-nanodesu!"
I immediately straddled my wand and took off.
The main delicacies in the previous festivals used to be the fish captured by the angel race, so Sheal from the conservative faction ventured into the sea despite the high risks in order to evoke memories of their past lifestyle by offering a rare fish.
I immediately spotted Sheal who was being attacked by countless fish monsters leaping out from the sea surface as soon as I flew down from the floating island.
The safety rope required to return to the floating island was bitten off, and while she was battling the fish monsters with her spear, the gradual accumulation of her injuries was slowly bringing her closer to the sea surface.
"Damnit! Be swept away——«Storm»!"
She repelled the fish monsters lunging at her by producing wind blades around her body.
Though, it was hardly a help for her as her hands and legs continued to bear injuries from the numerous water fish monsters shooting out from the sea surface.
"——Hang on, I'm just coming to help you, Sheal!"
"Don't you dare interfere! They're my prey!"
I was about to help her, but Sheal snarled with glaring eyes, even as she continued to get injured.
However, due to that momentary shift in attention, we were late in noticing a presence creeping closer from the depths of the sea.
"No way!? Kraken!"
It must have been attracted to the surface by the school of fish monsters and the smell of Sheal's blood.
It extended its countless tentacles from the sea in an attempt to drag Sheal down.
"——«Thunderbolt»!"
I dropped a thunderbolt on the Kraken's body before its tentacle could coil around Sheal, killing it instantly. All that was left was the body of a kraken floating on the sea, and also the bodies of the fish monsters who suffered the same fate from the aftermath of the thunderbolt.
"Are you alright? Let's go back, I will heal you there. Everyone is worried about you."
"Why did you save me?"
When I lowered my altitude to the same level as Sheal, she feebly lowered her spear and muttered so.
"Yes?"
"I'm asking you why you saved me! You could have saved yourself the hassle of persuading me with my death!"
I suddenly understood what she was trying to say.
Sheal, the last remaining member of the conservative faction, was avoiding any kind of persuasion from me or Dragon Grandpa. And with her death, the relocation plan of the floating island should have been completed.
"I can't accept it! I can't imagine having a life anywhere else, leaving Grandfather all alone! Grandfather's soul is linked with the floating stones just so that the island could continue to float! It will only be him left behind on this deserted island!"
"I know!"
It was something I came to know in the first year, after investigating various things to formulate the relocation plan. I was looking for the source of the mana that kept such an enormous mass of land like the floating island afloat, and that was when I learned about this fact.
"What do you know! The barrier of the gods will lose its effect once we move away from this floating island! Once that happens, all the mana will disperse, and me and the mythical beasts would then be driven into a corner! Grandfather planned to keep the island floating until he could land it somewhere!"
Although they were not dependent on mana like mythical beasts or require that much mana like them, races defined as demonic races still need sufficient mana, or else they can't be active for long in a low-mana environment.
When it came to the exceptional physical and peculiar abilities they possess, they required an equally high amount of mana to maintain themselves, but the mana they produce is only a meager amount. Hence, they needed to take in mana from the air or food.
"In the end, he will die, vanishing together with the floating island his soul has been linked to, and return to being an egg. So is the plan he confessed to me."
The undying trait, in Dragon Grandpa's words, was that he would turn into a new egg, and be reborn again with only his wisdom being inherited.
In other words, the reborn ancient dragon would have a different consciousness, making him a completely different individual.
You could say he was the second generation of the Ancient Dragon of Verdigris.
"Then why, why didn't you let resistant members leave on their own accord?! If the flourishing of the races is the wish of Grandfather, even half of the residents should have been enough for it!"
'Don't push Grandfather to solitude,' with those barely audible words in the end, power left Sheal's body, and I quickly held her in my arms.
It seemed like a combination of blood loss and agitation had resulted in her losing consciousness. In addition, during the attack by the school of fish monsters, she was scratched by their sharp fins and seemed to have been inflicted with a mild poison.
"Anyway, let's return first, everyone is worried about you.——«Teleport»!"
I touched the body of the Kraken and teleported above the floating island. And once we were there, I slowly lowered the floating body with psychokinesis.
"Sheal seems to have captured it alone. Everyone, let's give her a heroic welcome. And can I also ask you to dismantle it?"
"No, I di—"
" " "Woaaaah! Amazing!" " "
I announced that the one who subjugated the Kraken was Sheal amidst the cheery voice of the floating island's residents.
"I'm going to heal Sheal. Teto, please help them out in handling the Kraken's body."
"Roger-nanodesu!"
Sheal, who was suspended in mid-air with my magic, tried to deny her involvement in taking down the Kraken and resisted when I carried her, but due to her injuries and the poison, she couldn't muster any reaction from her weak body.
I transported her to our mansion through the «Transfer Gate», put her on a bed, and proceeded to heal her.
"——«Heal» «Antidote», your injuries are healed and the poison is also cured, but let your body rest, okay?"
"......It's a soft bed. Could this be one of the tools you create to corrupt others?"
A bitter smile appeared on my face after hearing the overly dramatic words of Sheal who was impressed by the softness of the bed I laid her on.
"I have asked someone to bring some festival dishes here later, so take a proper rest for now."
It was just her and me in the room.
Neither of us said any words for a while, and as the thread of silence continued between us, Sheal spoke.
"Kuh, me being injured, and then moved to your base for recovery. So is this your plan, closing the gate to the floating island once there are no more residents left there after the festival, which means your relocation is complete!?"
Goodness, she sure was capricious and prejudiced. I was slightly astonished by her words. But thinking about it, maybe the cause of all this was the title 'kin of gods' that they had taken upon themselves.
"I'm asking you again. Why didn't you leave the people of the conservative faction on their own?"
"Well, you see. There's also my personal interest in it."
"Kuh, sure enough, so you want all the mythical beasts and residents of the floating islands, don't you!? Or else, you're after the remains of Grandfather!? Because if he chooses to die together with the floating island, his body would still remain! You greedy Witch!"
Indeed a capricious and prejudice-harboring girl. I ignored her words though a punishment would have been due if Teto or Baretta were here to hear her.
"What I want is the mana Dragon Grandpa exudes."
"Mana......"
"The amount of mana he generates can not only sustain a floating island, but it can also cover the growth of mythical beasts as well. It's quite fascinating, you know."
More accurately, the amount of mana he could generate was equal to a fully grown world tree.
Even if he couldn't fill the wilderness to the brim with mana, just his existence alone was helpful to the world.
There was no way I could ignore his plan of disappearing together with the floating island.
"Wait, hold on! Witch, you! What are you scheming!"
"......I just plan to teleport the floating island here."
After saying that, I took out the monitoring magic tool of the «Empty Wilderness», and displayed the map of the whole region.
Excluding the untouched northern region, I focused the map to the southeast, where the settlements of the angel and demon-dragon race were. There was a massive depression in the north of those settlements.
"It's going to be an unleveled landing if the floating island was to be lowered just like that, so we have expanded a hole there to match the bottom of the island. Once we lower the floating island on top of it, we can slowly disconnect the link between Grandpa's soul and the floating stones."
Though Dragon Grandpa couldn't accomplish it on his own, untying the connection with the help of a third party was theoretically possible. This was supported by both Baretta's calculation and Dragon Grandpa's experience.
"It's not safe to facilitate the landing if we don't evacuate the residents and the mythical beasts."
Well, calculating the required amount of mana for the landing of the floating island was more troublesome than filling up the necessary mana with "Magic Crystals" and placing them throughout the island.
"I don't know how long it's going to take but I will definitely free him."
"Witch...... You, you have been taking care of our feelings to that extent, and I......"
Not knowing what to do, I just hugged Sheal who lowered her head in dejection as she recalled her actions.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner, but I didn't want to give you false hope with uncertain information."
"...I understand. If the grounding of the floating island is successful, I'll move there too. So, when will it happen?"
"We can do it anytime. But it would be perfect to do it right after the festival."
When I said that playfully, Sheal, who had been wearing a stern expression all this while, had an impish smile on her face alongside me.
