Blessing of the Earth - 2
Kneeling. Bowing my head. Submitting to divine majesty. Humans are frail creatures who cannot stand alone and must lean on something greater.
“Haha. Look at that.”
The Duke of Earthrain stroked his chin as he gazed up at the dazzling sun. He had given guidance, yet the boy had put it into practice immediately. There was talent there.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
—Indeed. Earth, the massive brown mole that tore through the land, also glanced upward.
—It shines. Bright enough to blind.
“Well, it is the sun.”
—Ahem.
The Earthrain family. The name passed down through generations. Rain closed his eyes and felt the lofty, radiant light of the sun pouring from the sky, along with its mana.
“I can feel the surging vitality.”
—I feel awful. It’s like my body is drying up.
“Because you’re a mole.”
—Oh, for—
The mana flowing from their bloodline—Rain. The guardian deity that protected the family alongside that bloodline—Earth. That was why the two were combined into Earthrain. Only by inheriting both could one truly claim to be the head of the Earthrain family.
The current Duke, Rain, narrowed his eyes.
“Overflowing with energy. The solar energy in his mana is being absorbed without any resistance.”
—This side feels like it’s blinding me. We really don’t get along.
“Still, the power dwelling in the earth has grown richer.”
—Mm. It’s not just that the soil is overflowing with nutrients. The grains grown here won’t be ordinary crops.
“The animals raised on them will improve as well.”
They shared what they sensed. Speaking with the partner who had been with him since the succession allowed for a more objective confirmation. That was why they had come here.
—But this confirms it.
“Yes.”
As expected, one element alone was not enough. Mana—especially earth mana—required a counterpart. And…
“Hmm. Why did our ancestors choose a mole as their symbol, of all things?”
—Are you blaming me now? A bewildered voice echoed in his mind. Well, it was a joke. Thinking that, Rain looked out over the land.
“The earth. The origin of life. If something floats high above, then there must be land to support it. There must be something buried even deeper.”
—That sun god, perhaps?
“It could be. Or perhaps……”
Nothing was certain yet. That was simply the nature of mana research. Earth spoke in a playful tone at the sight of Rain’s amused smile.
—Oh? Does that mean you’re going to start studying from now on?
“Absolutely not. Why would I do something so bothersome?”
At first it had been person to person. Once the family grew large enough to be called a house, it became endless records. The Duke’s head ached just thinking of the research documents kept in secret storage.
“Enough. If that son of mine wants the throne, he can figure it out himself.”
Even now there was endless talk of second or third in line. As culture developed and time passed, the era when sheer mana alone earned respect was over. The Duke could feel it. Of course, overwhelming force could force submission, but it was far too troublesome, and cleaning up the aftermath was irritating.
—My workload is going to increase again!
“When I retire, you retire with me. You can just leave a clone behind, can’t you?”
One of the family’s ancestors had actually gone into seclusion together with their lifelong partner.
—No! Watching humans bow their heads is rather pleasant. Even for a mole.
Rain chuckled at the sight of the mole proudly declaring how good it felt to receive bows from humans. The Duke looked up at the sky.
“Still… you’re right. Simply handing everything over to the Boran family doesn’t sit well with me either.”
The old man’s scheming face came to mind.
—The winged one? I don’t like him.
“I agree.”
Perhaps because they had lived their whole lives bound to the earth, anything that flew through the sky never appealed to them. Especially when the ever-smiling face of Count William Boran flashed through his mind, his mood soured further.
“Unfortunately, I only have one son… and my younger sister is far too old, isn’t she?”
He thought of his much younger sister. A spinster who still couldn’t marry because of her vicious temper. At the Duke’s words, the mole also made a reluctant face.
—She’s not getting married?
“Don’t even mention it. Our parents gave up and let her live freely.”
Even the mole had been terrified of that foul temper. The memory of being attacked while asking what mole meat tasted like had become trauma.
—Now that I think about it, you’ve obtained something precious infused with the land’s power. Why not put in some effort like our predecessors?
“……Ugh.”
The Duke shot the mole a genuinely disgusted glare, and the creature quickly burrowed into the earth to hide its laughter.
—Rumble, rumble!
Recognizing his partner’s antics through the strange vibrations, the Duke sighed.
“Says the one who’s never even had sex.”
—What did you say?
—Boom!
The ground shook as if advertising its anger at the Duke’s words. Not that it mattered. In the end, it was merely a being born from bloodline and mana. Since it wasn’t an ordinary mole, it naturally had no mate. Living its entire life as a virgin while showing excessive interest in the opposite sex, the mole had given the Duke countless pieces of advice during his youth when he was courting his current wife. He should never have listened to a beast’s advice. Frowning at the black history, the Duke’s brow creased.
“I’m going to die.”
Had he overdone it? It was the power of mental concentration. Suppressing the fatigue throughout his body, he maintained a strict, dignified, and serious expression as he entered the castle from the city. With people kneeling and praying every time he passed, he couldn’t afford to let his face relax.
“Well done, Lord Müller. That was magnificent.”
“Your Grace the Duke has worked hard as well, offering blessings to other places afterward.”
“Hahaha. The people of the Earthrain family have been doing this since childhood, so we’re used to it. The remaining farmlands will be handled by the other priests.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
The festival was only beginning, but the work afterward would be handled by his subordinates. Now he could finally rest a little, but…
“If you have no urgent matters, we will hold a banquet next week. It won’t be on a grand scale, but……”
“Hmm…… No. Once this matter is finished, I must return immediately. Even now, I postponed many schedules to come down in haste, so I need to head back right away.”
“Oh. I see.”
……Hmm. This wasn’t good. Having a guest of ducal rank visit without holding a proper banquet would tarnish his honor. In truth, preparations had already been underway. Originally, a small banquet had been prepared for the Earthrain ducal family who had come for the Blessing of the Earth. It was only because the guest turned out to be the Duke himself that they had to prepare again.
Seeing my expression, the Duke of Earthrain smiled.
“From what I hear, the young lady of the Boran family is holding her coming-of-age ceremony here.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
I nodded immediately at his words. Since the story had been openly discussed at my own coming-of-age ceremony, it must have already spread throughout high society.
“I will attend that ceremony as well. Leaving like this would be discourteous as a guest, and I know that well. It would be better to meet again then.”
“Oh! Thank you.”
Heh. As expected of Duke Earthrain! Thank you. In truth, I wouldn’t care if only my own honor was tarnished, but thinking of my subordinates below me, I couldn’t just let it be. Moreover, since this was still treated as Franz’s territory, Franz’s honor could also be damaged. In the worst case, it could even become a matter of justification.
“Hey, doesn’t it seem like Franz’s second son isn’t properly fulfilling a noble’s duties?”
“Oh? Then he’s not qualified to be a lord, is he?”
Surrounding territories might use that as a pretext to declare war.
“Then I shall see you again at Lady Boran’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Mm. Good. Let us meet again then.”
The Duke of Earthrain said so and departed immediately. I hadn’t expected him to leave right away. Fortunately, I had already spoken with the priests of the earth who had come with him, and they worked diligently, so the ritual itself ended without issue.
“Ah, I’m exhausted.”
I collapsed onto the soft sofa and closed my eyes. Still, feeling the quality of my mana improve somehow lifted my mood.
“I hope nothing else happens from now on.”
“Duke Earthrain? What in the world happened!”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t know anything about that either. As you know well, information about nobles is difficult for us to obtain.”
“Ugh! Damn it!”
The slightly overweight man in luxurious clothing shouted and hurled the wine glass he had been holding. The glass, enveloped in blue light, struck the wall and embedded itself there.
“Agh! That damn Leoric! Leoric!”
The Müller territory had no particular specialties, but most of its land consisted of rice paddies and fields.
“If you were going to cause internal strife, you should have raised an army right away!”
“Franz noticed far sooner than I expected. That part was also unexpected for us. I apologize.”
The man in the robe bowed immediately. The man watching him snorted and sat down on the sofa.
“Enough. I don’t know what connections that brat has with Duke Earthrain, but this is the southern region. No matter how much of a duke he is, a capital noble can’t carelessly extend his hand here.”
“That is correct.”
The robed man readily agreed, though it seemed more like an attempt to calm the other’s anger than genuine agreement.
“Now what? How can I take that land?”
The man muttered anxiously, biting his nails. Watching him, the robed man spoke quietly.
“Shall we try worsening public security first?”
“Public security?”
The man turned his gaze at the robed figure’s words.
“We still have agents in the city. And while the results of our research are still in the testing phase, they’re somewhat complete.”
“Oh?”
“How about using the results to worsen the city’s security first, then declaring war on the grounds that duties weren’t fulfilled?”
“Hmm.”
The man closed his eyes and fell into thought at those words.
“That won’t be enough. Can’t we lure monsters from the mountains instead? I heard there’s something similar.”
“If it’s that… the side effects are still too severe, so we’re still researching it, but……”
“Do it.”
“However, the possibility that the farmlands we’re trying to obtain will be ruined……”
“We can fix them after we get our hands on them. You know what’s important, don’t you?”
“……Yes. Understood.”
At the man’s words, the robed figure bowed and carefully retreated, opening the door.
—Click!
With the sound of the door closing, the robed man stared at it with cold eyes before walking down the dark corridor.
“I need to contact the agents hiding in the city first.”
Unfortunately, that agent had decided to resign not long ago—an fact this man did not yet know.