Chapter 264: Part of a Thing
Lekina let out a small sigh.
Just looking at the scenery spread out before her, her mood her sank to rock bottom.
There were no houses, no roads, and even the trees were sparse. Even the trees were sparse, and the wilderness continued on forever. The field spread out in the distance as if to intimidate Lechina.
The dirt that stained the earth in mottled patterns was ugly to the eye, and the noxious air that wafted from it caressed her frayed nerves as if to say, “I hate it.
I'm sick of it.
To the north of the Wachold River, one of the continent's seven great rivers, lies a land of mist.
The fields of various sizes are scattered all over the place, and the monsters and beasts that emerge from them sprinkle the filth in every direction. It was the largest unexplored region on the continent of Eluo, which was not easily accessible to humans.
Very few people visit this untamed land. The Blessed Child fled for his life after being targeted by the nobility, the remnants of knightly families who lost not only their lord but also their place to die, persecuted tribesmen, criminals who were forced to leave their lands, and others with difficult circumstances.
I miss the…… Field.”
Lechina lamented, looking up to the heavens. There was a bright blue color, without a single speck.
Compared to the stained speckles, it was a soothing sight. At the same time, however, she was aware of the fact that she was standing in a land of fog.
Her emotions she was gradually disturbed, and she found herself weeping profusely.
She was crying again. Aren't you tired of it already?”
Rekina turned around to face the man who appeared behind her and glared at him with moist eyes.
'I am a follower! I have a hard time with the miasma! I really hate it! ! ! ! “
As soon as she said these words, her resentment of the incessant miasma seemed to outweigh the sorrow of being surrounded by the filth.She clawed at her hair, expressing her frustration with her entire body of her.
'Filth, filth, filth, filth, filth, filth! Everywhere I go, it's filth! Why must we camp here! God, I really, really hate it!
The followers are the most sensitive to the unpleasant atmosphere and miasma emitted by the muck.
This place, where Rekina and the others camped, was relatively unpolluted. However, the trace amount of the miasma that continued to waft halfway through the camp made Rekina even more annoyed now.
'Um, I feel bad too, you know?
The man called “Junior-kun” Speaks up, but it doesn't reach her angry ears very well.
You are a hentai who doesn't care about dirt, aren't you? I'm just a normal girl!
'Ha, are you an idiot, senpai-kun? If you were a normal girl, you would miss your hometown. Saying that a field where leeches spring up is good probably puts you in the category of a queer weirdo, doesn't it ?”
Looking down at the senior girl who is expressing her pouting anger, the junior girl smiles bitterly.
The younger man is about two times taller than the average adult male.
I'm not okay with dirt either,” She said. I have to put up with it. So please don't tell me you don't like it. I'm just getting to the point where my senses are getting a little fuzzy, and you're making me aware of the (supposed) noxious gas.
Then, Rekina, perhaps in desperation, spread her arms wide.
Oh, yeah? You're holding back? …… Look at that, junior! So much filth! Full of pollution! Full of miasma!
She shut her mouth, damaged by her own statement, even before he could respond.The sheer stupidity of it all makes junior-kun feel a little uneasy.
She says jokingly, “I know I've been saying this jokingly for a while now, but do you think that senpai is actually rather marginal?”
'……I've been through a lot since I joined the research team, but right now is probably the hardest time for me to want to go back to the Holy City.'
The most important thing to remember is that the best way to get the most out of your time in the world is to be prepared for the unexpected.
Rekina and junior Kimi are members of a private organization, of which one of the high priests serves as an advisor. The organization's activities are diverse, but the two were involved in a project aimed at exploration and research in the Land of Mist.
In order to efficiently continue their activities in the harsh environment, a strong body is first and foremost required. Of learning. And because they are followers, they are suffering from the miasma.
Um, senpai? If it looks like it's not going to work, I'll check with the leader of the group to see if we can take a break.
The suggestion was irresistible to Lekina.
She said, “My sense of magic is getting blurry,…… And it's hard to get used to the miasma from scratch again,…… So I'll just have to be patient,………”
Just as the sense of smell adapts to bad odors, if you are exposed to a noxious air for a long time, your sense of magic will gradually become numb and you will find it difficult to feel the discomfort. Dulling of the senses, which is quickly recovered once you move away from the noxious air.
To numb the magic sensation once recovered, one would have to go through the same pain again. If you want to do that, Lequina thought, it would be better to maintain the dulled sense of magic and continue to suffer slowly.
If that seems impossible, please tell me as soon as possible, okay? It's not normal to be enveloped in a miasma like this for days.
The “Noxious air” Is a natural phenomenon, and it is not unusual for a person to be surrounded by it for days on end.
It is not a matter of time, but being exposed to the noxious air 24/7 will cause a great deal of mental exhaustion.
As he thought about this, Lechina suddenly smiled.
'It was a long time ago, but there was a time when a messenger was sent from the Holy City to the Great Royal Office of Mamshred.
What is it, suddenly?
The first thing that comes to my mind is that I am feeling very sorry for you right now.The same thing happened to the lowly priests who had to go to the forbidden lands even though it was their duty.I'm sure they went through the same hardships and pains. I can't imagine …… Me, I wanted to go there myself. …… “I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
This is a lekina who imagines without permission someone she has never met, and pities them without permission.
Both the Land of Mist and the Mammoth Shred region are known for their pollution.
Nobles and priests refuse to enter these lands because of the miasma and the miasma. The main ancestors do not like the dirt, and the followers are even harmed by the miasma.
It's really amazing that the Levios family would even try to develop such a land. …… I might even admire them a little. I wonder if the Levios knights are struggling too? The Great Northern Expedition, right? Came here, I thought it was a troublesome thing to do, but …… The guardians of the land? I, for one, can honestly admire that pride now.”
If other members heard that, they would beat me up.
Basically, those who participated in the survey team hate the nobility.
I'm not interested in that kind of politics.The most important thing for me is to search for the truth that has been buried in the long history.
For her, the important thing is not the present, but the past.
That her enthusiasm is genuine was evident in the way Lekina worked. She was more knowledgeable than any of the other members of the group, and she was highly motivated to investigate. I don't sense a spark of genius. What interested her, her keen sense of smell, and her concentration were tremendous.
In the past year or so, he has shown his ability as a graduate of an academic institution in the Holy City with the highest honors.
'Whether you are a priest or a nobleman, a good man is one who can provide valuable literature.
'Once again, I wonder how you seniors managed to get into this survey team.
The private organization that runs the survey team is a group based on a particular political ideology. Low-ranking priests who think like Lechina tend to be avoided.
'…… Junior you say that?'
Lechina knows that junior you are not a very political type of person either.
I deserved to be chosen, no matter what was inside me. Well, I wanted to join the second one if I could, but the people from the same facility took my seat. I was the only one assigned to the first survey team.
I was the only one assigned to the first survey team. Everyone at my place has a different job. They are assigned here and there.
The reason Rekina calls her junior colleague junior is because he is from an orphanage in the Holy City. She, too, grew up in an orphanage, albeit in a different institution. In the midst of a research team with no acquaintances, Lechina relies on that commonality as her sole source of support.
She said, “If they took my seat, it means that my seniors must have been better remembered by the higher-ups. I think you juniors are better at flirting with your superiors…….
Is that sarcasm? The most important thing to remember is that the best way to get the most out of your newborn baby is to make sure that the baby is healthy and happy. Most out of your newborn baby is to make sure that the baby is healthy and happy.
Rekina wondered if the goodness or badness of her brain she had little to do with it, but she was even more surprised by the selection criteria.
As far as she could see, the younger man has a very strong resistance to the miasma. She could not immediately imagine that there were many other people who could surpass him.
She said, “At our facility, your future job is decided when you enter the facility. If you are selected as an investigator, you are given a jute bag filled with miasma to build up your resistance to the miasma. Sometimes the contents are replaced , so I never get used to it.I was once brought in a jute bag of untouched earth out of the blue while we were eating.It's the worst, to say the least.But I can't keep up with the other people at the facility, who can continue eating under such circumstances.
Ugh…….
From the point of view of the followers, it was like being served a plate of freshly discharged feces. How could they eat in such a place? Rekina shook her head as if to shake off the worst image she had ever seen on her mind.
I didn't feel as crushed as they did,” She said.
That's a good thing, isn't it……?”
The fact that they were highly resistant to the miasma was something that Rekina envied wholeheartedly, but she did not want to be forced to live like that, even if she imagined it.
'What's with the orphanage at your place, junior, isn't it a little bit that way? The people I met before were a bit that way too…….”
The orphanage in Lechina was strict in terms of discipline, but it had the philosophy of providing a proper education and raising people who would not be ashamed to be low-ranking priests. .
Perhaps because of the irritation caused by the noxious gas, she spoke up and said something that she would not have asked in the past.Although she did not express herself in a straightforward manner, Rekina's point that she was conveyed correctly to the junior staff member .
I understand what you mean. I started at the facility when I was nine years old, so I didn't really get along with the people who had been there since I was ……. So, who is the person you have met before? Is it someone I know?”
“I think it was Deanna Priest,……”
She was from our facility. I don't know what he is doing now.
He nodded a few times, as if the name sounded familiar.
Rekina immediately guessed that they did not get along very well.
'……I don't know what we're doing now, either.'
Rekina looked into the distance with depressed eyes.A field spread out beyond her gaze.
'Why did we decide to move? Why did they bother to discontinue the research they've been doing for over a year ……?
It was only a few days ago that the leader of the group suddenly announced a change of location and a move.
Why,” She said, “The priest Efial gave us the order. Didn't you hear?”
The image of Efial, who had been wounded to the bone, flashed through Lechina's mind her.
Efial was being chased by the Levios army, and by the time he was brought to the place where Lechina and her team had previously been based, he was in a state where he could not even move.
When Efial priest came, it was in May or June of this year, wasn't it? It's September now. How could I possibly remember instructions from that long ago?”
At that time, Lequina was completely unaware of Efial because she was burning with investigative activities.
Efial, who had not lent her a single piece of literature, was nothing more than a stingy high-ranking priest to Rekina. He was nothing but a stingy high-ranking priest to her.
He was just a high priest who didn't lend her a single piece of literature.
He is one of the supporters of this survey team. ……….. Yes, I know. From that day until today, there has not been a time when I have not prayed for his safety. Ah O Great Spirit of the Sun, War Tent Thyrma! Please, please bless our comrade Efial!
Is that your imitation of the other members? You are a lousy actor.”
In response to junior-kun's reaction, Lechina immediately threw off the mask of the faithful.
So? What's wrong with Priest Efial? Maybe he moved to disperse the Levios army's pursuit, or something? Give me a break……”
It is not hard to see why they would move their base then. Until then, the survey team had been operating relatively close to Levios territory.
However, even though it is understandable, it is not satisfactory. She was careful not to say it out loud, though, because it would have crossed the line of what she was not allowed to say as a low-ranking priest.
I heard that priest Efial and his party had made a significant discovery in the capital.
'Discovered? What?'
The way he said it, Lechina reacted with a twitch.
Although it now bears the name Levios, it is a very old city that has existed since ancient times.
Lechina has studied not only ancient languages, but also some of the languages used throughout the continent in ancient times. Therefore, I was unintentionally expecting to find valuable historical documents from before the Zesu cult.
Do you know the lore of the Holy Shrine, senior? It is a fairy tale.”
That is why I was so disappointed when the word “Holy shrine” Came out of my junior's mouth.
There are various anecdotes about Zesu in the Holy City, but the Holy Shrine is one of the least credible legends among them. She let out a big sigh before answering the question.
'I don't know if it's the same story you know, junior, but I know it. It is a legend that the founder Zeth, in his later years, collected all the wisdom he had gathered and kept it in a shrine somewhere, isn't it? It is said that the shrine contains weapons, tools, gold, silver, jewelry, and other items that Zeth the Firstborn loved. Like that. It is the kind of story that boys who are interested in adventure stories like.
The younger man affirmed what Rekina had said and added, “It's a story I heard when I was a child.
When I was a child, I heard that among the wisdom of Zeth, the founder, there was some terrible knowledge that was considered forbidden.There was a sermon that if a careless person inadvertently opened the shrine, he or she would release the great wisdom as well as the great calamity.
That's the first time I've heard that punch line, but it sounds like Pandora's Box. I wonder if it is based on the legend of the Holy Shrine? …… Oh, junior, you don't know?”
Rekina recalled the books she had read when she was in the Holy City. She wondered if a new volume of the series had been released by now, but now she wanted to hear the rest of the story about junior-kun.
'So? The Holy Shrine is just a myth, isn't it? There is no mention of it anywhere in the scriptures, and I don't remember seeing anything about it in the literature of the Holy City. There is a special treasure left by the founder Zeth in the old house.
Because Rekina came from an orphanage, she did not have many connections to high-ranking priests. For this reason, he was confident that he was far better versed in the traditions of the past than most people.
She said, “…… But since you went to the trouble of telling me that, junior, you must have something to tell me, right?”
But she would not be stubborn and dismissive of her own ideas.She was also flexible enough to listen to any interesting literature or new discoveries about past traditions.
I don't know what it is, but I don't know what it is.
Huh?
The staff of wisdom is one of the items that are said to be kept in the holy shrine.
However, there is no reliable information about what kind of tool it is.Since it is an item from a fairy tale to begin with, its contents can be completely different depending on the narrator.It can be rearranged as much as one likes.
Sometimes it appears as a weapon rather than a tool, sometimes it is used as a key to open a holy shrine, and sometimes it is not stored in the first place.
In short, no one knows the details. Naturally, its shape was also unknown.
How did priest Efial know it was the staff of wisdom?
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I guess there must be a document or two in his family's archives, and maybe it was written in one of them.
Damn……! What an enviable environment……!
The first thing to do is to find out what the problem is.
I've been collecting information about the staff of wisdom for a couple of months now. It seems that for the past two months or so, you've been hiring traveling adventurers and gathering all sorts of gossip.
The results of this investigation were compiled just the other day.
The staff of wisdom is a tool that may have been housed at the shrine,” He said. That's why I thought that if we traced it back to where it was unearthed, we might be able to find something that would lead us to the holy ……
Say that quickly!”
Excitement welled up inside of Lekina, blowing away even the discomfort of the miasma.
She had been presented with the possibility of being the first discoverer to access a source of information that would normally be absolutely inaccessible. She nudged junior-kun as if she were about to start running at any moment.
'How simple ……. Um, senpai. There is a tradition that if you carelessly open the holy shrine, a terrible disaster will flood the world, you know?”
Don't worry! I've heard nothing like that in the fairy tales I've heard! And it was Efial who gave the order, wasn't it? Then, isn't that enough? Lowly priest's lowly wisdom. I didn't do anything wrong.”
There was absolutely no malice in Lechina's expression her.It was obvious to the junior that all she wanted to do was to investigate as soon as possible.
'Well, yes,…… That's what the high priest said.'
Seeing Rekina, who was going straight ahead with pure curiosity, a question arose in the junior's mind.
It was a question he had been trying not to think about.
He was afraid of the priest Efial from the bottom of his hearthis.
The madness that made him run without hesitation when ordinary people would have stopped, the fanaticism that made him willing to sacrifice in order to realize his own ideas his, were things he could not understand.No, his instincts his refused to understand.
Would it really be all right to be led by Efial's words his?
Would it be all right to follow the priest whose eyes seemed to hate everything in the world?
Are his words his really true?
When will we be following the footsteps of a fallen demon?
The holy shrine awaits me! Let's go! Junior-kun!”
Lequina ran with great joy, and Junin-kun just stared in amazement at her back.
