CH 114

After that, we managed to clear up the guard’s misunderstanding through my and Reil’s desperate pleas. In the prison, we were alone again, and Reil bowed deeply to me.

“I am truly sorry ….”

“Hah~ …. well, yeah. I’m glad we managed to work it out. … Well, on to the rest of the story.”

“Continue.. Huh!? No way my butt…”

“No!? N-no, it’s not that. Anyway, let me talk, or rather, ask you a question.”

“As long as it’s not ero, go ahead.”

“Gghhh …………’

I clenched my fists involuntarily, but I managed to suppress my emotions. That Reil had such a clumsy side to her? I’d traveled for six months with her and I had no idea. …. Let’s leave that aside for now.

“So, once again, …, what is the nature of the gem, or rather, the contaminated magic it was emitting after all?”

At my question, Reil’s expression, which had been gloomy, suddenly tightened. While I was slightly perplexed by her sudden change from warm and friendly to cold and imposing expression, Reil slowly opened her mouth and began to speak.

“Contaminated magic is, as the name implies, magic that has been contaminated. You know that all people in this world, not just people, have mana in their bodies, right? Then what do you think happens when they use magic or otherwise consume mana?”

“Huh? If they are consuming it, it decreases?

When I was asked a question that didn’t make sense, I answered in a dumb voice, but Riel quietly shook her head.

“No, it’s not. When most people think of mana, they think of it as a leather bag filled with water or blood that circulates throughout the body, but in reality, mana is like dropping a dye called oneself onto a large lake. The world is full of mana, and by being born into it, one dyes the surrounding mana in one’s own color. Only the water thus dyed is the mana that one can handle, and the used mana loses its color and returns to the original water again. After that, over time, the surrounding water will again be dyed in one’s own color. … So the limit of how much water can be dyed in this way is the upper limit of a person’s mana. In other words, mana does not increase or decrease, but is omnipresent and circulates throughout the world.”

(T/N: This is an interesting take)

“Eh, Is that so!”

I exclaimed with great admiration, having never heard of this concept before. Whether it was true or not, or whether it was true only for this world or for all worlds was something I had no way of knowing since I couldn’t use magic in the first place, but I see, this is a new interpretation.

“But the problem there is the contaminated mana that I mentioned earlier. This mana does not naturally return to environmental mana, nor can it be dyed back into one’s own mana. In other words, the world is effectively losing that amount of mana. No matter how huge the world is, if pollution that cannot be removed continues to spread, eventually all the lakes will become contaminated. And even if it does not go that far, if the minimum mana necessary for survival cannot be secured, all life on this land will be lost. I’m sure you can understand how frightening that would be, can’t you?”

“…… Yeah,. Well, that sure is a lot of work.”

Listening to her story, I could tell how dangerous the gem I had brought in. Of course I would be immediately detained, and there was no way I could be beheaded without being questioned, even for a horrendously serious crime.

“Hmmm? Then why were you so concerned about my health when you broke that thing?”

“That is because, there was a path of that contaminated mana from the gem connected to Ed-san. This is a secret, but if you carry contaminated mana in your body, you can become stronger for a short term. Of course, there is a heavy price to pay for carrying more power in your body than a person can handle.”

“Ehhh!? Hey, eh, is that okay!?”

“No, it’s not. That’s why I asked Ed-san, ‘Is it really okay to break it?’. I thought that if you’re self-aware and accepting that contaminated mana, you’d somehow stand your ground to keep that gem from being destroyed. ….”

“That’s what it is!? B-but, nothing special happened?”

“Yeah, It’s very strange. I’m not saying that it’s not impossible to get your hands on a source of contaminated mana without being aware of it, so I had made arrangements to treat it immediately in that case, but I never imagined that you would really be fine. … What in the world is going on?”

“That’s probably what I’d like to hear the most. …”

“……………………”

I gave a wry smile, and Reil also tilted her head with a puzzled expression. Yeah, what is it!? Why am I having health problems without knowing it!?

“Ah!? Right, Tia!? Um, is my companion okay!?”

The source of that gem was still unknown, but if it was in the [Stranger Box] it could have affected Tia. As I raised my voice in a panic, Reil softened her expression a little and answered me.

“Are you worried about your companion? I think she’s fine. There was only one path extending from that gem.”

“Well, good. ….:

“…It doesn’t look like you brought that dangerous item intentionally. So that means it really was forced on you somewhere, but by any chance do you have any idea where?”

“Ah, … … sorry, but I really don’t.”

It was in another world, but as long as I cannot prove it or find it, there was no point in talking about it. It would not be called just a falsehood at that point, but it would also deepen suspicion in a bad direction, such as memories being tampered with by some means.

Of course, if I could solve the problem by simply saying I don’t know, I wouldn’t be here. As I bowed my head lightly, Reil’s furrowed brow deepened as she said,

“Fuuu… I’m in trouble, I’m really in trouble. The only source of contaminated magic in this world is the Demon Lord. That is precisely why we must be absolutely certain of the source of that gem.”

“Demon Lord…As I expected…”

It was just a small slip of the tongue. I was a little careless because we kept talking in the middle of the night and also because I had lost my mental fortitude to some stupid thing along the way. I blurted out, and Reil’s eyebrows rose again.

“As expected? What do you mean, “As  I Expected”? Is there something that you haven’t told me about yet?”

“No, no!? That’s…”

“Ed-san!”

She gripped the bars tightly and brought her face close to the bars. As a result, her large breasts were also squeezed into the gap between the bars and …… no, no, that’s not important right now.

“Now, speak! I won’t do anything bad!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about…”

“Then why are you hesitating!? You don’t want to sell out your friends?  Or are they holding someone close to you hostage? Or…I-I get it, if it’s just a little ero requests….”

“No! Don’t do that!”

“No need to be shy! Please enjoy the eroticism of rubbing me to your heart’s content! If you know the secret concerning the Demon Lord, I’m willing to sacrifice myself ……”

“Stop it! Let me go, seriously!”

Reil grabbed my hand and pulled it close to her chest. I was resisting rather seriously, but the God’s blessing that she had made it impossible for me to remove the restraint.

“……… what are you doing Ed?”

“Hiiii!?”

Suddenly, I heard a familiar but unheard voice from the other side of the prison … aisle. With all my strength and determination, I turned around …. and there she was, my partner with a very nice smile on her face, looking very healthy.