Chapter 73
Chapter 73
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: How a Shaman Influences War (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Has anything come up?"
"No. Since night has fallen, don't you think there might be some changes?"
I had been watching the spirits all day long.
What on earth had bewitched them?
Even after sitting on the ground and observing them all day, I couldn't quite get a sense of it.
"What do you all think?"
At my question, Aluerd, who was sitting beside me, gave an awkward smile.
"...Honestly, I have no idea. We can't see spirits, after all. There's no trace of dark mana or magic."
"Serena?"
"...Something feels off, but I don't really know either."
I had deliberately kept them by my side.
I knew they wouldn't be able to see anything or sense it, but it was all necessary.
Perhaps curious about the reason, Aluerd asked me.
"May I ask what you're aiming for, Chris?"
"Hm... You have to learn to understand. Broadly speaking, shamans can be divided into two types."
"Two types?"
Since Astor Closel had stepped away, curiosity sparked in Parmon's eyes and the others'.
"People like me, who became shamans because a god descended due to strong spiritual power, are called possession shamans. But you don't have to become one this way."
"You're saying it's possible to become a shaman without hosting a god directly in your body like you, Chris?"
Aluerd and Serena leaned in close.
Especially Serena, the high elf—her eyes were sparkling more than usual.
"Not fully a shaman... It's similar, but... even without talent, if you learn the rituals I perform well, it's not impossible."
Parmon nodded as if he understood something.
"So, even without being born with it, effort can make it possible? Like swordsmanship."
"...Weren't you born with it, old timer?"
"When those two combine, a Sword Master is born. Effort is most of it, really. Since you're curious, please explain more."
If what the old man said was true, it might be quite different from swordsmanship.
In that case, innate talent takes up most of it.
"Anyway... You don't need to receive a divine descent or dance on a blade like me."
"Th-That's... very different."
"Instead, they play instruments during rituals. They're usually passed down in families, so they're also called hereditary shamans..."
At the mention of playing instruments, Aluerd glanced at the rattle placed nearby.
"I get the idea."
I secretly glanced at Serena.
I hadn't explained it, but men and women born into hereditary shaman families are treated differently.
Usually, the man becomes a musician who plays the instruments.
Both learn shamanism steadily, but it's very different for women.
A woman born into a hereditary shaman family can't learn about it until a certain time comes.
They don't teach her even a single verse.
Yet, amusingly, only women from those families can become full shamans.
And in a very unique way.
"You said they were matched..."
The method is...
Marriage.
"Wow... I thought hereditary shamans only married among themselves..."
It was custom, but who could complain?
Especially when the matched god was a major one.
"......?"
I waved my hand at Serena, who was staring blankly at me.
Looking at it calmly, it was quite a fateful connection.
A woman from a tribe that worships the sacred tree spirit.
A high elf, no less.
If you nitpick, the sacred tree spirit of the sacred grove has another name...
"A family that serves the Holy Emperor God...?"
Anyway, a woman born into a hereditary shaman family can only learn about shamanism after marriage.
Since rituals differ slightly by family, she learns from her new household.
"Can I even teach her this...?"
Usually, it's learned from the mother-in-law.
But in this situation, what was the point of fussing over minor customs?
I organized my thoughts roughly and brought the teacup from the floor to my lips.
Slurp—
Aluerd seemed sick of tea now and showed no desire to drink more.
"Chris, you've only had tea all day. You don't usually drink much, so why..."
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped me naturally.
How was I supposed to teach all this?
There was a mountain of things to teach.
"It's called divine manifestation."
"...Pardon?"
"When a god inhabits your body, your tastes change too. Seeing divinations, walking on blades... Hm... All the traces of the god showing are divine manifestations."
"Divine manifestation... Divine manifestation..."
Aluerd murmured it several times, chewing over the words.
But was it okay to teach this to Aluerd...?
Strictly speaking, it was a different line of work.
My thoughts were neatly resolved by the babbling from my back.
"Aboo!"
"Luna has talent, so she can do both. Saintess and shaman."
"Muda?"
Since the saintess of that world was my little sister, it could count as a collaboration.
"Chris... If it's hard, I can take Luna for a bit..."
Whoosh—
"...?"
As Serena reached out, Luna turned her head.
Swish—
Like she was voicing dissatisfaction, Luna turned her head again.
"She wants to stay on my back."
Soon, babbling burst out.
"Bauu!"
I handed the squirming Luna the rattle, and a familiar sound came from behind.
Chomp—
"Luna... That's not candy..."
A saintess growing up eating a mudang's rattle...
This felt wrong.
"It's really confusing..."
I took another sip of tea and turned to the old man, who was smiling faintly.
It was getting clearer now, so it seemed okay to say.
"No battle tonight, so everyone can rest."
"Like rain after drought. I'll let the soldiers know."
"Hmm..."
From earlier, my mind had been remarkably calm.
Truly the leisure of enjoying a cup of tea.
The old man seemed to sense something different about me too.
"You're a bit different today."
"Like an intermission rest. More importantly..."
The spirits that had returned were heading back to the gates.
Eyes chasing something diligently.
And movements like they were entranced.
"It's very different..."
I didn't know much about necromancers, but this was too different.
As far as I knew, they toyed with the dead and made them familiars.
But the spirits now didn't feel like that.
"Less like magic, more like our methods..."
It wasn't harmful; they were just lured.
Of course, spirits led to the mountains would face misfortune, but the luring was gentle.
Slurp—
"I've seen something like this before, but..."
"Got a hunch?"
One face kept coming to mind.
No, not a person.
The being surfacing now was a monster.
"Old timer, any orcs around?"
"No reports from scouts."
No orcs nearby, so why did that guy keep coming to mind?
The first divination after my official divine descent.
The bastard who shamelessly ran off without paying the offering fee.
"That fucker wouldn't..."
"Come to think of it, there are suspiciously few orcs."
The old man stared at me intently.
"Didn't you mention orcs in the elves' forest too?"
"...Nothing big. Just an orc that stiffed me on the offering fee and ran."
"Hah, you read fortunes for orcs too? Living long, I've heard every story."
The experienced old man might know something.
"Do orcs have any magic or such?"
The old man made a face like he'd heard the funniest thing.
"Magic isn't that easy for monsters. Orcs are basically dumb..."
"...Right?"
Not knowing was frustrating.
I needed to uncover the cause to prevent repeats...
I couldn't leave the entranced spirits be, but waking them without clarity felt off.
The good news: no harm to the spirits yet.
They were forgetting their grief for a moment, spared from struggling.
"I'll wake one healthy elder to check. Everyone, head back now."
"Alright."
"Aluerd and Serena, come watch too."
The old man spoke with relief.
"Gotta tell the soldiers quick so they can rest. They'll be thrilled. They're exhausted."
As I adjusted Luna on my back and shook her a few times, a strange voice reached me on the way to the gates.
"Wh-Why...? It's not time yet!"
A young spiritist being dragged by elderly mages.
His arms gripped like he was under arrest, pulled along.
"Shift isn't over yet...!"
"Ahem... That friend passed out a bit early today, didn't he?"
"Then ask the priests to recover...!"
The mage dragging the spiritist clicked his tongue.
"Mana doesn't refill with holy power. No more chatter—come on."
"Pl-Please... My mana hasn't fully recovered either."
"Mana comes out more if you squeeze."
The spiritist cried out unjustly.
"Squeeze that friend instead of me!"
Words that would wound his comrade if heard.
But the spiritist who said it soon had to shut his mouth.
"That friend ain't producing anymore."
"...Pardon?"
"All squeezed out."