Blessing of the Earth - 1
"Wow!"
The boy rubbed his eyes and shuffled to the window, then let out a squeal of pure wonder at the dazzling sight of the festival street beyond.
"That child, honestly. I wonder who he takes after." His mother chuckled as she watched him, continuing with her housework. The streets had been decorated for days, and the boy’s excited shouts every time he saw them were the only source of energy in their household.
"Mom! Is it the festival today?"
"Of course. Today is the day of the Blessing of the Earth."
The boy’s face lit up. A festival! He beamed as his mother stroked his hair. It was the same event every year, but to a child it never got old. He burrowed into her arms for a moment, then looked up.
"Um… can I go outside and play?"
His mother hesitated. The war that had broken out around the same time had been a terrifying ordeal for the commoners of Muller. No matter how quickly it ended or how little damage it caused, war was still war. The mood in the streets had grown dark, and public safety inevitably suffered. Keeping the boy indoors had been the only choice.
"All right, you may. But stay close by, understand?"
"Yes!"
The boy grinned and tried to dash off, but his mother caught him, dressing him properly while letting out a quiet sigh of relief. After the war, the lord of Muller had changed and many commoners had been anxious. The previous lord had been neither especially good nor bad—just an ordinary ruler who let them live ordinary lives. But when his eldest son took over, taxes suddenly rose and rumors spread that an entire village had been wiped out by monsters.
Everyone had tightened their belts and waited desperately for harvest season. Then came the war, and whispers of a civil conflict among the nobility. People had held their breath and stayed hidden inside their homes. The boy had been just as frightened by the atmosphere. Whenever loud noises rang out he would cry, and his mother would hold him tight, praying for it all to end.
Then the war finished and the territory’s ruler changed again. For commoners, one uncertain future after another kept appearing. Still, the fields had to be tended. After a brief period of peace, rumors spread that a noble from the Franz territory would become the new lord.
That was the day the sun rose.
Even though the sun was already in the sky, the moment they saw him they thought it was the sun itself. They fell to their knees and prayed. The boy, his father, and his mother—all of them bowed their heads without needing to be told. No one had incited them. Every commoner in the area had done it at the same time.
The previous lord hadn’t been unworthy of respect, at least as far as the mother could remember, but the new lord’s dignity had made them forget all that in an instant.
"When the bell rings, you must come straight back. We’re going outside the castle walls today."
"Really?!" The boy’s face brightened like it was his birthday. His mother couldn’t help smiling at how happy he looked. To him, the world beyond the gates was a land of mystery—an adventure waiting to happen.
"Then be careful while you play."
"Okay!"
Watching him sprint off so fast she worried he might trip, the mother began preparing for the ceremony that would begin shortly.
* * *
The ceremony itself ended quickly. It was impossible for all the commoners to view the vast fields beyond the gates, and the true work on those distant plots only began after the ceremonial display.
"Over here!"
The boy, holding his mother’s hand as they walked, spotted his father and thrust his arm into the air. The man who was clearly his father laughed and scooped the boy up.
"Kyaaa! Hahaha!"
The boy laughed with delight as his father ruffled his hair, then looked at his wife.
"All ready?"
"Yes. It’s crowded, so keep a tight hold on him."
"Of course. Let’s go, then. The rest of the family is already gathered."
It was a rare day when most of the commoners inside the castle walls ventured outside. Following soldiers and knights who guided the crowd, they passed through the gates.
Shaaaa.
The fields, stripped bare after the harvest, looked ragged. Countless commoners lined the road, each claiming their own spot. Those from knight or noble families with clear status took places along the castle walls.
"Wooooow!"
Hearing the boy’s awestruck cry from his father’s arms, the family settled into their spot.
"Father, what happens now?"
"What happens? The Blessing of the Earth is about to begin."
"The Blessing of the Earth?"
The father smiled at how the boy had already forgotten the explanation from last year.
"The priests of the Earth will come and till the fields we worked all year, then pray for a bountiful harvest in the year to come."
"Ooooh."
Whether the boy truly understood was unclear. He simply smiled, and both parents laughed warmly.
Thump!
A drum sounded. The father patted the boy’s back.
"It’s starting. We need to be quiet now, all right?"
"Yes!"
Thump! Thump!
As the murmuring crowd gradually fell silent, soldiers and knights appeared and cleared a path. The drumbeats grew faster. The commoners’ movements became cautious and respectful.
Since ancient times, the messengers of the Earth—its priests—had governed the land and its bounty in the form of moles. They would till the soil and bestow blessings.
Slowly their figures emerged.
"Ooooh~"
Priests in brown robes appeared along the cleared path, singing in a strange, mystical language as they advanced. The meaning of the words didn’t matter. The song was meant to focus the mind and emphasize the importance of the rite.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Whoa."
The boy must have finally remembered last year’s event. A hazy memory surfaced in his mind—something brown tilling the earth.
"Wow!"
"Shh. We have to be quiet."
His mother gently calmed the excited boy as the ceremony reached its most important moment.
At a gesture from the brown-robed priests, every field around Muller city began to turn over. But as the mother watched, she noticed something different from previous years.
Wasn’t it usually just one person?
No—there were two. Leading the priests were a figure in a robe embroidered with a brown mole and another wearing a pure white robe.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound wasn’t coming from the drums anymore. The earth itself was trembling.
"Oh my?"
The tremor only lightly touched the road where the commoners stood, but others began to notice one by one. The ruined fields were shaking as if struck by an earthquake. Cracks spread across the ground.
"W-was it always like this, dear?"
"No… it couldn’t have been…"
People began murmuring as they realized this was nothing like what they had seen before. Then a massive drumbeat rolled across the land.
BOOM!
The Earth Mole of the Earthrain bloodline
A colossal mole emerges from the earth, tilling the exhausted soil and raising rich, fertile ground from deep below. The ancestral power of the Earthrain family reshapes the land itself.
* * *
Impressive. The admiration came naturally.
The amount of magic power consumed was tiny, yet it affected every single field and paddy surrounding Muller city. All the farmland within my senses began to tremble. Yet not a single tremor reached the road where the commoners stood.
"The important thing is imagination. And an unshakable center," said Duke Earthrain, wearing the robe embroidered with a brown mole. He raised his magic power. "I shall give one piece of instruction to my talented junior."
Magic power that has reached its peak can change the surrounding environment… even reality itself. Just as it does in Bahn.
"But that isn’t true for everyone. In the end, what matters is the goal. The ultimate objective your family, your bloodline, seeks to reach."
Franz means victory. It means prosperity and success. Its symbol is gold, and the golden lion that once ruled the region long ago. Bahn offers its magic power for the sake of the king and the nation. That power is the sea. They rule the sea to face its enemies and protect the kingdom.
And Earthrain…
"Watch carefully and think it over. As the progenitor of your bloodline, the choices you make from now on will be crucial. I will show you one of those goals."
The duke gave me a friendly smile, like a neighborly uncle. Yet the overwhelming magic power he raised within his body was anything but casual. For the first time, I involuntarily took a step back.
The quality was on a completely different level.
My father’s magic power surpassed mine in both quantity and quality, but I had always believed I could eventually reach it. Princess Amelia’s quality was certainly different, yet I had never felt I would lose to her. But Duke Earthrain…
Rumble!
"This is the origin of the magic power passed down through our family for generations—the brown mole of Earthrain."
With a bizarre sound, the fields split apart.
BOOM!
A giant mole appeared.
"Good heavens."
This was no mere materialization of magic power. It could not even be compared to the golden lion of Franz, which was formed by condensing magic power into shape. Its form, the way the magic power was woven together, the pressure it gave off, the sheer presence—it all declared one thing.
This was real.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble—
As the mole moved, it tilled the earth at its center. The ruined soil was dug deep, and earth from within the ground—filled with abundant power—was brought back to the surface. It literally overturned the land and restored its environment.
"Are you reconstructing the entire natural ecosystem? That’s terrifying."
"Not to that extent. Hmm. Our family has always focused solely on the earth and its abundance. From what I know, beyond the Great Mountain Range in the Trindel Kingdom there is a family that specializes in natural ecosystems. I believe their nickname was the Leaf Fairy?"
Fairy…? Elf?
"Hm? Why is your expression like that?"
"It’s nothing. Ahem."
I had gotten my hopes up for a second. I quickly changed the subject. Duke Earthrain gave me a strange look, then continued the ritual.
"Then let us breathe life into the earth."
The giant brown mole was already tidying the soil. Normally the priests would divide the work among themselves. They gathered together at first for the ceremonial display, but afterward one group would till the land while another infused magic power into soil whose fertility had been exhausted.
Yet Duke Earthrain began pouring power into the earth with a single gesture.
"Then…"
"Yes."
This time was different. I removed the hood of my robe and slowly began raising my magic power. The golden energy swelled, then transformed into pure light. The radiance rising from my body began to illuminate the entire area.
The important thing is imagination and a firm pillar. Do not be swayed by the magic power; maintain a clear sense of self as the standard and remember that magic is ultimately nothing more than a tool. As he said, I am not the type to worship magic power.
"Then I shall begin."
This time, instead of what I had been doing recently, I would try it the way I did at the beginning. I focused the swelling magic power. It was the same as shaping it into a golden lion, but I made the structure far denser and more precise.
Above my raised arm, a newly born golden sun revealed itself to the world.
The form was complete. There was only one purpose: to radiate light and energy, the origin of every living thing—not just humans.
A golden sun is born above the earth, pouring forth light and warmth—the origin of all life. The blessing of the sun descends upon the land.
"May a blessing be upon the earth."
"May eternal glory be upon the sun."
As the commoners’ prayers echoed throughout the city, I felt the quality of my magic power rise by one level.
The man laughed hollowly, wondering how one even withdrew from the organization, then slipped his body into the shadows of the alleyway.