CH 48

The village looked very dreary and desolate even after looking at it again. It was completely different from the rich and beautiful scenery of the capital.

All the places used by nobles, including the downtown area, were peaceful and perfect as if they were drawn in a dream. However, the atmosphere in the village where the poor commoners lived was so different. Looking at this place, I was able to clearly realize that the worldview of <God’s Play> was a dystopia.

I murmured in a complicated way as I looked at the black-contaminated soil. “The erosion has already progressed a lot.”

That’s why people didn’t live in this area. No, they couldn’t live here.

The Squire family couldn’t feel the peculiar smell of the Magi, which was so gloomy and creepy. Now I was fine too. In other words, it meant that ordinary humans felt those things in the eroded land. My heart was weighed heavily.

“Grrr.”

Startled! I could hear the cry of an animal from a distance. When I raised my head, the black eroded form of the monsters was reflected in the sunset light.

What? Doesn’t it still take more time for monsters to appear?

“Hiiing!”

The horse, startled by the monsters’ presence, convulsed. In the game, the horse was fine, but in reality, it wasn’t like that. God damn it!

“Ugh! Calm down!”

“Hiiiiiing!”

At this rate, I would be more seriously injured by falling off the horse, so I came down safely using magic. The horse ran away as soon as it was out of my control.

The monsters excluded black Magi, and their red eyes glittered, giving off an illusion of leaving afterimages depending on movements. I quickly sent the magic telegraph and slowly retreated. It was only five minutes from here to the temporary base.

I just need to hold out for five minutes. A cold sweat ran down my back.

First battle. A real battle that might cost my life.

Will the magic I’ve learned work in practice?

I stared at the pack of monsters with nervous eyes. Just in case, I studied how to purify magical creatures until I was worn out. I also learned a few battle magic in my spare time. However, when I faced monsters in front of me, I felt that it wasn’t enough, which made me feel deep regret.

I should have studied more!

Then the monsters roared threateningly.

“Uuung!”

“Kwaang!”

The monsters didn’t come close, but I was startled and poured purification magic over a wide area.

“O eroded life, be purified! Be purified! Be purified! Be purified! Be purified! Be purified!”

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Professional Instructor’ has sponsored 10,000 coins.]

[Stop it. Everything is purified.]

“What?”

Was it all purified so easily? Because the purification magic was spread over a wide area, the power must have been extremely weak.

I looked at the wolves with bewildered eyes. The wolves, which had been eroded by the pitch-black Magi, were running toward me as if they were in a good mood. …Does it really work?  

“Am I stronger than I thought?”

Just in time, I saw new monsters approaching with menacing growls. I was no longer nervous. Crack, crack. I tilted my head from side to side and warmed up lightly.

“Let’s have a time of purification.”

* * *

I was running until I was about to throw up.

I’m running away? No.

“Hey! You there! Stop?!”

I ran to catch the running monsters.

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Romance Pass’ has sponsored 10,000 coins.]

[I didn’t expect to watch a romance broadcast and end up seeing violence.]

I shouted in resentment. “Gasp! Gasp! What is this! There’s no such setup where the monsters run away!”

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘Fact Is Violence’ has sponsored 10,000 coins.]

[They also don’t expect to be unilaterally purified by you either.]

Ding!

[The Constellation ‘As Long As It’s Not Me’ has sponsored 10,000 coins.]

[That’s right!]

Even though the purified wolves helped me drive away the monsters, the purification process wasn’t easy.

At that time, people on horseback rushed in. They were the guards.

“Look there! The monsters are attacking the princess…!”

“Be purified! Be purified!”

“Attacking…”

“Please stand still! Be purified!”

“H-help! The monsters are running away! Stop it!”

Then Damian broke through the guards and quickly blocked the retreat monsters in an instant.

“Be purified!”

Thus, I finally finished the purification of the last monsters. I sat down on the ground, gasped for breath.

“Gasp…! Gasp…!”

Professor Ilya was right. The core of a wizard is stamina. Stamina is more important than mana.

The purified wolves came up waving their tails and licked my face as I lay there.

Slurp, slurp! I was on the verge of being crushed to death by as many as 20 wolves flocking to me.

It was Damian who saved me. Damian raised me up and asked anxiously, “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Uuh… I’m not okay… I’m dying…”

“Thank god, you’re fine.”

By the way, when I saw in the book, it was said that they definitely needed a recovery period. Still, even though the wolves had just escaped from erosion, they weren’t suffering and were playing very lively. It was to the point where anyone would think that I was the one who had been eroded and purified.

Damian’s gaze slowly scanned me as I stroked the wolves who were turning my school uniform into furry clothes with an exhausted look on my face.

“I think I’m seeing a lot of unfamiliar things from you these days.”

I looked at him, asking what he meant.

Damian smiled lightly. “Were the magical creatures always good at following you?” He knew better that it couldn’t be like that.

“No, they suddenly became like this.”

I didn’t say any more. I thought giving less information would be better than lying in response to open questions. Because they will continue to have doubts about the fact that I’ve changed a lot from the original Theresa.

Then one of the guards said with a flushed face. “They’re not just following well. This is an unprecedented phenomenon!”

The guard’s clothes had a badge belonging to the Wizards Association. That meant he was a fairly skilled wizard.

By the way, doesn’t this person know who I am?

Theresa was such a celebrity that only a few people in the capital didn’t know her. Even in modern times, if you’re a famous villainess of the upper class, it would be a daily issue, but how stimulating and interesting would it be in this area when there is an absolute lack of things to enjoy?

However, this guard looked at me excitedly as if he wasn’t afraid of Theresa’s notoriety. He almost looked at me like I was a hero.

“It’s very difficult to purify magical creatures that have been eroded by Magi. There’s a high probability of failure. But Princess succeeded effortlessly as if to show off!”

As he said, I succeeded in purifying with a 100% probability.

“Even though the purification intensity was so weak, it didn’t make sense! Perhaps one of the Squire family’s predecessors was a heavenly tribe?”

“Well, they were all human.”

During a somewhat absurd conversation, Clyde appeared with the guards.

Magical creatures didn’t like humans very much. To be precise, they ignored humans. It was because they regarded humans as a lower race than themselves. That’s why people didn’t find it strange to see magical creatures approaching me to avoid Clyde. Because I was the odd one.

“Hoo, magic creatures sometimes follow people.”

“Even they all look healthy. The wolf we purified is not in good condition.”

Clyde clenched his fists as he looked at the magical creatures, who clearly looked uneasy about him. He knew that he would be ostracized because he was a half-demon. It was the moment when he realized once again that he was a cursed being who shouldn’t stay on this earth.

Phew. I spoke to Clyde, who had sunk darkly with a sense of inferiority. “Do I have something to do with this?”

I should have treated him as an invisible man, but I made an exception for now. Otherwise, his face would be endlessly gloomy like that.

Clyde looked at me with a face pretending to be calm, loosening the strength on his fist. “We have to write a field report, so follow me.”

“Okay. Ah, wait a minute.”

I stroked the wolves before following him. “Guys, now go back to where you lived. If it’s eroded land, move to another place.”

“Huk, huk, huk!”

“Once purified, magical creatures become resistant to Magi and will no longer be eroded. Be careful though.”

The wolves were wagging their tails, feeling good about my worries, and suddenly started howling one by one.

“Auuuuu!”

The holy magic of the magical creatures permeated the village, spreading in all directions. Then something surprising happened.

“…! The eroded land is being purified!”

Obviously, the contaminated black soil began to give off a healthy brown color.