Volume 2 - CH 15

After three and a half hours, the group arrived at the mining site to the west.

( There’s an air of misery. ……)

The mood of the group was tense, a complete change from when they departed.

The carriage was stopped in front of the mining site and a hundred soldiers formed an intercepting formation.

“Cover your weapons with holy water! You never know when the miasma will strike! Protect the Great Saint and the stonemasons!”

“Roger that!”

Carlos’ orders flew.

The soldiers quickly set up their positions and readied their weapons.

“Hirune, Holly, take it easy on the purification. I didn’t expect this much either. If we can’t purify it completely, we will retreat.”

Wanda’s gaze sharpens as she looks out the carriage window.

As a former Saint, she was also a user of holy magic. She sensed that there was a lot of miasma.

Holly nodded with a serious look on her face.

“I’ll protect you all with a ward. Hirune, you purify the mining site.”

“Got it.”

When everything was ready outside, a voice called out, “Please,” and Hirune, Jeanne, Holly and Wanda stepped out of the carriage.

“Hirune-sama, the miasma is really bad. Are you okay, ……?”

Jeanne put her hands on her chest in concern.

“It’s–“

Holly began chanting a scripture to ward the camp.

Hirune looked at the mining site and squinted.

(This is …… pretty contaminated, isn’t it ……? This is like what you get when you leave a bathroom unattended for a decade or so.)

The mining area behind the soldiers was a rugged rocky terrain with irregularly stacked stones the size of a house. Instead of digging a hole, they seem to be calling the whole area the mining site.  

(There is a whitish sparkling rock.)

Beautiful stones that look like holy Quartz could be seen here and there.

They were also covered with miasma.

The noxious miasma clung to the stones in the mining area like a black liquid stained oil, wriggling and churning.

(I wonder if old man Pompey was planning to quarry stone from here with gusto. ……?)

Hirune glanced to the side and saw a white-bearded old man with a Buddha’s head on his shoulders, arms crossed, staring at the mining site.

For stonemasons, holy Quartz was an important material. He didn’t seem to be taking the situation well.

“Let’s rescue the sleeping stone. For the sake of the Great Church–“

(And my leisurely house made of stone!)

(Let’s check the area first, then cover it with a ward to prevent miasma from escaping.)

Hirune made a plan to trap the miasma and use purification magic to wipe it out.

She called the troop leader, Carlos, in front of her and asked him to put her on a horse.

“On a horse? Why?”

“I want to check the extent of the miasma. I’ll put a ward on the horse so you can ride in peace. Wanda, is that okay?”

“…… it’s fine. Don’t forget to put up the ward.”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, Holly’s chanting seized, and the warding magic was unfolded to cover the camp. 

A hemispherical ward enveloped everyone.

“Hirune, hurry up and go. I’m afraid the miasma might come this way at any moment.”

Holly said in a prayerful pose.

“I understand. Carlos, do you mind if I ask someone to help me?”

“Then I’ll take you.”

Carlos returned, leaving command to the deputy captain.

Then, please.”

Carlos hesitated for a moment as Hirune held out her hands, but he couldn’t say no to the gleam in her blue eyes, so he pulled Hirune up onto the horse.

(It’s high up on the horse, and it’s surprisingly comfortable being sandwiched between stirrups and Carlos-san. I think I can sleep here.)

“Hirune-sama, please be careful.”

Jeanne said with concern.

“It’s okay. Here–“

(The whole horse is protected.)

Hirune put out a spherical ward to protect Carlos and the horse she was riding.

“Carlos-san.”

“Yes…”

Carlos checked Hirune’s position to make sure she wouldn’t fall, then shook the reins.

“You have to hold on tight.”

“Yes, sir!”

The horse that Hirune and Carlos were riding galloped off.

()

The horse’s hooves stamped on the earth.

Hirune circled around the quarry.

(The horse is rocking like crazy. I can’t sleep like this.)

With that thought in mind, Hirune kept her eyes on the mining site.

(It looks like the miasma is being drawn to the mining site …….Holy magic — magic power sensing –)

She used holy magic on her eyes to check the flow of magic power.

She could see that the miasma was slowly sucking up the magic power from the holy Quartz like a leech.

(I see, you’re attracted to the magical power of the holy Quartz. But that’s the stone for my house. I’m not going to give it to you.)

“The entire area is covered in miasma, a radius of roughly one kilometer.”

Carlos, who was controlling the reins behind Hirune, said.

“Thank you. I’ve got a general idea of what’s going on. Let’s go back.”

“Roger that.”

Carlos pulled on the reins and they returned to the camp.

From time to time, the miasma would hit them and evaporate when it touched the ward that Hirune had created.

Carlos was impressed by this, saying, “That’s amazing holy magic.”

“It looks like everyone’s safe within Holly’s ward.”

“She’s also an amazing saint.”

Miasma was hitting the ward covering the camp, but it was evaporating from the places it touched.

It seems that the wards will still last.

“Then, I’m going to use purification magic from horseback.”

“What? As it is?”

“Yes. It will take some time to purify, so it will be better to stay on the horse.”

“All right.”

(Fufufu… …… If I stay on the horse, Wanda won’t get mad at me and I can doze off! What a great idea.)

The great saint just wanted to sleep during the purification.

Unaware of that, Carlos put his strength into the reins.

Hirune chanted the scriptures in her brain and kneaded the magic power. First was the warding magic.

“Warding.”

Hirune murmured, and stardust flew out and danced.

A magic circle appeared at Hirune’s feet, and the mining site was enveloped in a hemispherical warding magic.

“Oh!” “The Great Saint has used holy magic!”

Voices rose from the camp, and Holly, Jeanne and Wanda looked at Hirune.

‘She’s using magic there?’ That was the look on their faces.

(Okay, it worked. The miasma is trying to escape, but it’s no use.)

The sludgy miasma, perhaps realizing the enormous magical power of the Great Saint, began to stir.

It jumped at the ward like a tethered bullet, undulating violently and evaporating, as if in anguish over the power of the ward.

(Keep going–purification magic!)

When Hirune held her hand, stardust erupted in a spurt and flew into the ward as if dancing.

It was like a wave of stardust flowing into the mining site.

“This is amazing …….”

Even Carlos, who had seen many a number of saints, was tongue-tied by Hirune’s extraordinary holy magic.

(Yes, now that that’s no longer a problem. I’ll send out some of my alter egos as well.)

This was  Hirune’s automatic purification holy magic.

Wanda and Holly both think it’s an insane amount of holy magic.

(Go for it.)

When she pointed her finger, the stardust gathered and took the form of Hirune.

Roughly a dozen of them swooped down and flew into the mining site.

“Oh, the holy magic we saw that day!”

Carlos exclaimed excitedly on his horse.

All the mini-hirune flew away, but one of them started to sleep while floating.

“I wonder if it’s because I’m using it. There’s an alter ego that’s sleeping. ……”

“Looks like it.”

Hirune snorted and Carlos gave a small laugh.

Carlos moved the reins slowly and brought the horse’s nose under the sleeping mini-hirune.

The mini-hirune swooped down to the tip of the nose and rolled over, sighing in its sleep.

The horse whinnied and fell back quietly.

Stardust streamed incessantly into the ward of the mining site, and mini-Hirune’s purification magic banged away. The miasma was like an insect that had boiling water poured into its nest, screaming.

(It’s going to take an hour. Let’s go to bed.)

Hirune attached her back to Carlos’ leather armor with holy magic.

It’s not going to fall off.

(Yes …… comforter …… Carlos’s cloak is fine ……)

Moving on the horse, Hirune pulled Carlos’ cloak and wrapped it around herself.

Carlos didn’t notice.

“This is what a great saint is capable of. …… is it possible for an ordinary saint to purify a tenth of this in a day ……” 

(Thank you, Carlos. …… There’s no danger of getting a big scar on your face anymore. …… please Don’t worry. ……)

From the first time Hirune had greeted him, she had imagined Carlos’ bravery from the large scar on his face.

He must have been protecting the city for years. She couldn’t help but think about that.

“…… Suu …… suu…”

In a few seconds, Hirune was asleep.

Carlos was riveted by the sight of the sludge-like miasma evaporating.

Within the ward of the mining site that Hirune had set up, stardust was bursting forth, miasma was evaporating, and the overall coloration was changing from black to white.

The soldiers in the camp were cheering.

“Hirune-sama, at this rate, …… Hirune-sama?”

Carlos finally noticed that Hirune was asleep.

She was wrapped in his cloak and her mouth was open. Her long eyelashes casting a shadow.

If you looked closely, you could see that she was drooling a bit.

“The …… Great Saint is also a …… normal girl.”

Carlos smiled at the thought that if he had been married, he might have had a child of this size. He gently put his arms around Hirune’s stomach to keep her from falling.

“……Great church……Munya……”

He wondered if she was dreaming of the completed Great Church.

“No. I’m on a mission.”

Carlos’ expression sharpened and he became alert of his surroundings just in case.

Neither he nor Hirune had noticed it at the time.

Stardust spilled out of Hirune’s back and was being sucked into Carlos. Maybe it was because they were attached at the back by holy magic.

–Bururu

The horse let out a breath.

The mini-Hirune at the tip of the horse’s nose was asleep in a sloppy pose, arms and legs thrown out.