Maneriat, Oh My God...
"Kreeeeeee!!"
I jolted awake not to the chirp of sparrows, but to Hugin's thunderous cry.
I got myself together and stepped outside the village, only to find... no one around?
Blanc and Hugin, who had been sharing my room, settled onto my shoulders.
I went looking for where everyone had gone and found a wooden platform raised in the village marketplace, the townsfolk gathered and waiting for something.
Standing up on that platform was... Priest Martin?
"By the grace of the divine we have succeeded in purging the monsters and even the demons that summoned them. However, some monsters may still linger, so for the time being you must not enter the forest."
What? It had only been about six days, and they had already wiped out the demons too? I couldn't help but admire how capable these priests were.
"K-kree..."
For reasons I couldn't guess, Hugin on my shoulder was trembling violently, spitting out nothing but the same word over and over: F-fuck...
Ah! Right—he had said there were so many monsters he had come to fetch me. Hugin was probably pissed that someone else had cleaned them out instead of him and me.
After all that hardship last time, for it to mean nothing... well.
I stroked under his beak to calm him down a little.
"You may all return to your daily lives now. Thank you for your hard work, everyone."
A great round of applause rose, and the people began to disperse.
"Huh? Sir Haren!!"
"Hello!"
At the sound of the greetings I turned and found Bel and Mani.
"So it's you two. Have you been well?"
"Yes! Hehe, we couldn't even leave the house, after all."
"I nearly died of boredom..."
During the monster crisis only adults had been allowed outside, so of course the kids had been stir-crazy...
Both of them looked bright and happy just to be out again after so long.
"Oh? Miss Bel and Miss Mani? And Sir Haren is here as well."
"Hello, Priest Martin. You've been through a lot."
"Hello, Priest!"
"I'm glad to see both of you so lively. Ah, Sir Haren—would you care to visit the church today? I would like to offer you a reward for what happened last time."
"Right now? That would be fine with me."
"Ah! Can we come too?"
"Mani... that's rude."
"Hahaha, of course you may—you're the ones involved, after all."
"I don't mind either."
"Oh!!! Thank you!"
"Thank you, Priest."
"Ah, Brother Tenby said he would be staying in the village a while longer, didn't he? If you find either of the girls' parents, please tell them they went to the church with us."
"Yes, Senior Priest."
Since I was heading to the church as well, I needed to call Hati over.
"Hugin, go fetch Hati—he's over there playing with the kids."
"Kreeee!!"
On the way to the church I asked Priest Martin about the things that had been on my mind.
"Does divine power possess healing strength? Many people make that mistake... We treat people with medicine, not the power of the gods."
Priest Martin let out a sigh and wore a look of mild embarrassment.
"Seeing us at work sometimes piles up the misunderstanding that we heal with divine power."
"Ah... I see."
"Heh heh heh. In exchange, the holy arts we wield with divine power make the body strong and tough. Truly the grace of the gods."
So these priests reduced damage to their allies by removing the source of the attack directly.
"Then there are no priests with healing powers at all."
"That is correct. However, there is a place called the Order of the Lake that does possess healing abilities."
"Pardon? You just said there were no such priests..."
"They are heretics who idolize spirits. Specifically, the water spirit you keep with you, Sir Haren."
"And you just leave heretics alone?"
"There is much debate even within the Papal Court... but they are few in number, cause no particular harm, and do not even engage in missionary work. Besides, their unparalleled healing abilities are worth acknowledging."
"I see."
"Spirits are originally genderless—asexual or neutral."
Martin glanced at Blanc as he spoke.
"Yet they revere the water spirit as the Lady of the Lake."
"What?!"
"They even claim to have married those ladies."
What is this, spirit-husbando stuff...?
Good heavens—looking at a cute little slime like that and getting lustful ideas...
The world is wide, and full of weirdos.
Mani and Bel seemed fascinated by the story as well.
"Heeh~ There really are all kinds of strange people."
"So the water droplet flying around Sir Haren was a spirit! That's amazing."
"Heh heh heh. Once you two young ladies become adults, it would do you good to travel a bit. The world is a broad place."
What else to ask... Probably about the demon they just purged.
"What kind of demon summoned the monsters this time?"
"Ah! Of course you would be curious—after all the trouble you went through last time."
"Haha, true enough."
"The demon summoned this time is called the Proliferator."
The Proliferator... Given the sheer numbers involved, the name fit perfectly.
"Was it a dangerous demon?"
"Do you remember those bipedal tentacle monsters?"
"Ugh... Now I remember again..."
"When Mani got hurt it was so scary..."
"It was truly fortunate you met Sir Haren's companions.
At any rate, that demon settles in one place and continuously produces copies of itself."
"Huh? Then that means—"
"The main body is identical to the tentacle monsters you encountered in the forest."
At those words Hugin began trembling violently and letting out little kree-krees.
Aigoo, Hugin... You really did suffer for nothing...
Watching him curse up a storm in pure rage, the importance of information really hit home.
If you don't know, you get screwed...
Come to think of it, the fact that each demon has a unique name suggests that even after one is purged, the same type of entity can appear again.
Chatting about this and that, we arrived at the church. I told Hugin and Hati to play freely around the grounds.
Blanc refused to leave my side, so I simply took her along.
We entered the church office, where Priest Martin prepared herbal tea and handed cups around to us.
Oh no... I can't take off the mask or the hood—what do I do? It would look rude if I didn't drink the tea he just poured...
After that Martin and I made small talk for a while, yet the real topic never quite surfaced.
Martin and I kept stealing glances at each other as time slipped by.
"Mm..."
"Uh..."
"Hm? Why are you both acting like that?"
"Ahaha... You two suddenly got all awkward."
Countless question marks bloomed above the two girls' heads.
Priest Martin seemed reluctant to speak first because he thought of me as a mage, so I decided to take the lead.
Besides, I was already being treated like nobility—no reason to hide it.
"Ahem. Priest Martin, have you figured out what I am?"
"Heh heh heh. My, it seems I made it far too obvious."
"?!?!?!"
Bel... Mani... aren't you underestimating Priest Martin a little too much...
Even if he looks kind-hearted, he is a senior priest who has spent decades fighting demons for the church.
"You are a mage, Sir Haren."
"That is correct."
"Eeh! Priest Martin already knew Sir Haren was a mage?"
"Ah, so that's why he said we could come along..."
The two girls chattered as they stared at me.
"Did you sense the mana flowing from my wooden sword?"
"Not only the wooden sword—I could feel traces of mana in various places. Your clothes, your mask, and so on."
Residual mana in the clothes and mask...
Does using Crafting Mastery leave residual traces behind?
"And finally, I once felt an aura similar to the mana that clings to you, Sir Haren. Namely, the wooden cube in Miss Bel's possession."
Similar? So each person's mana has distinctive traits that can be told apart.
That would mean if different mages cast spells, you could tell who cast what from the residual mana traces.
"Sir Haren... there is one thing I would like to ask, if I may?"
"Of course, ask whatever you like."
"Why exactly was a wooden cube bearing residual mana similar to yours discovered inside our church's storage cabinet?"
Ah... wait a second.
"Moreover, according to the other brothers and sisters, every single item inside that storage room vanished completely."
"Why was the cube there?!"
"M-Mani, calm down."
Mani was showing enormous interest now that she could finally resolve the mystery from back then, while Bel tried to restrain her yet still stared at me with sparkling eyes.
With the priest and the two girls all looking at me, cold sweat poured down my back.
Ah haha;; I snuck peeks at the storage cabinet because I couldn't read or write the language, and that's how I learned...
How was I supposed to say that in this situation?!
Claiming I was a disgusting pedophile who spied on the children during their lessons would actually have more narrative coherence!!
In that instant a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
"Ahem... The truth is, I failed while researching magic."
"Failed, you say?"
"Embarrassing as it is, yes. The reason I came to this village in the first place was because of that wooden cube..."
"Pardon? You mean the tiny wooden cube Miss Bel has? What could you possibly have done with something so small?"
"Spatial leaping."
"Spatial... leaping? That is absurd—no, wait... you are a mage, so I suppose you could."
"Do you happen to have any scrap wood nearby I could use and discard? Two pieces would be enough."
"Pardon? Ah, just a moment."
Crack!!
Priest Martin seized firewood from the hearth with both hands and smashed it into fragments.
"Will this do?"
"Ah, thank you. Please give me a little time. About five minutes will be enough."
Magic Knife
Location Short Jump
I used Magic Knife to carve the two pieces of wood into cubes, then inscribed them with the spell I had used before.
Having the two girls watch me work with such focus felt nice, but the middle-aged man staring as well made it a bit awkward.
"It's ready."
I stood up from my chair, set the two wooden cubes a short distance apart, and positioned myself near one of them.
To make this truly convincing, I needed them to experience it firsthand.
"Bel, Mani—could you come over here for a moment?"
"Us? Us?"
"Ooooh!!! Yes! Hurry, Bel!!!"
The two girls excitedly came to my side.
"Now then—let me show you something amazing."
"Huh?"
"Ooooh!!"
I snapped my fingers. In that instant the two spaces overlapped, and the girls and I were transferred to the opposite cube.
"Maneriat, oh my god..."
Priest Martin wore a look of pure astonishment as he made the sign of the cross and called upon his god.
"Whoa!!! That was awesome!!! Can we do it one more time? Please?! Can we?!"
"Uwaah... I'm dizzy... but still... incredible!!"
"Calm down, kids. I'll do it a few more times for you."
For the excited girls I retrieved the wooden cubes, reapplied the spell, and used it several more times.
This is what you call showmanship.
"Uuuugh... my head... spinning..."
"Eh? Bel, are you okay? You look pale."
After experiencing the magic a few times Bel flopped into a chair, and Mani gently stroked her head.
She got motion sickness from this? Pretty sensitive, I guess...
"Pong~~"
Just then Blanc dropped her invisibility and settled onto Bel's head.
"Uwah... I feel a little better than before..."
"Looks like this water droplet healed you."
Mani poked and squished Blanc's body, then let out a sound of pure admiration.
"Wow~ She's so soft and squishy~"
"Pong~"
Seeing how happy Blanc looked, I figured "soft and squishy" must be high praise for a water spirit.
"That is the kind of magic it is."
"It seems the world still holds more wonders than I knew."
"I was researching how to use this spell over long distances when the cube vanished somewhere, and in its place various materials appeared."
"Aha, so that is why the items in the storage cabinet disappeared."
"And that they were mere goods... I am truly sorry. If something had gone wrong, a person could have been caught up in it."
"Not at all. There is no need to feel guilt over something that never happened."
Priest Martin composed himself as he spoke.
"In any case, every mystery from that incident has now been solved."