Rat Hole Village (2)
Just like that, Maybel and I teleported into the underground village and blended in. It seemed the folks up in Armen hadn't noticed this place at all. How on earth had they managed to build a whole village right under their noses without getting caught? It must have taken no small amount of money and effort….
"So, where should we start looking?"
"Hmm… Let's see."
There were quite a few people milling about… Hmm… Perfect.
"Let's use this here."
I created two L-shaped metal rods and cast a simple spell on them. They were basic dowsing rods—if you held them in both hands and focused your mind on something, the tips would point toward it.
"What's this?"
"Just a simple magic tool I whipped up. Hold them in both hands, concentrate hard on what you're thinking of, and the ends will point right at it."
"Huh? So it's a magic tool that finds whatever you want? And you made it just like that?"
"Yeah. Not a tough spell or anything."
Maybel stared at me with a dumbfounded look.
"If you can make something like this, why didn't you do it sooner? Wouldn't it have made things way easier?"
Well, if I just snap my fingers and solve everything… it'd get boring, wouldn't it? I didn't say that out loud, of course.
"It only points in the direction something's in—it doesn't tell you where exactly. If it's not in this village… it'd just point that way and that's it."
"But…"
"Plus, it only shows horizontal direction. If we were underground like now, it'd point straight up to right above your mom in Armen."
Like, it works on the X and Y axes, but not Z. This kind of dowsing can't track in three dimensions.
"Yeah… that makes sense."
Hey, it was just an excuse to hide the truth that I wanted to go through the searching process myself!
"Alright, give it a try."
Maybel took the dowsing rods I handed her.
"Like this?"
"A bit lower. If you grip too high, your hands get in the way and it won't turn properly."
"Oh, got it~."
It'd turn, sure, but your hands might block it from showing the right direction.
Maybel gripped the dowsing rods, closed her eyes, and after a short moment…
"Nngh…"
The rods in her hands began to move slowly.
"Phew… This is trickier than it looks."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. It's hard enough to picture Mom clearly, but keeping your mind focused the whole time? Tough stuff."
Hmm… That bad, huh? I didn't make it that complicated. Does the mental effort vary by person? Or is Maybel just… not great at concentrating?
Eh, didn't matter much.
"At least it's pointing the right way consistently. Once it locks on, it stays fixed in that direction—no matter how I move. That's a relief."
Maybel shifted around, but the rods kept pointing the same way.
"Then let's get going."
"Okay!"
With our forms cloaked by magic, we set off.
"Hmm… I knew it felt familiar. Are they imitating the dwarves?"
"Huh?"
Maybel tilted her head at my muttering.
"This village. It gives off the same vibe as a dwarven one."
Back when I was hanging out with Sagarmatha, I'd sneak away from him sometimes to check out the dwarven village. The layout here was strikingly similar to what I'd seen. The mushrooms and moss everywhere were almost identical to the ones I'd gifted the dwarves, too.
"A dwarven village…!"
"They carved it deep into a mountain. Though 'village' might be underselling the scale."
Dwarves were strong and sturdy, masters at digging. They'd tunnel for good ore, then repurpose the spaces for homes, dig deeper, make more homes, repeat—and end up with an ant-hill-like maze of a settlement.
In that sense, this Ratkin-packed village was like a downgraded version of a dwarven one.
"I'd love to see a dwarven village sometime…"
"It's a bit stuffy, but it was a nice place."
"Once I find Mom… I wanna travel there with her."
"Sure. But first things first—finding your mom."
Hidden by magic, we followed the dowsing rods' direction.
"Looks like it's pointing to this building."
We arrived at a structure guarded by armed sentries at the entrance.
"Hmm… Let's see…"
About five Ratkin inside. Not too many. But with guards this heavy… suspicious as hell.
"What should we do?"
"First, let's peek into that guard's head a bit."
"Huh? His head?"
I nodded slightly.
"To figure out why your mom's locked up here, why you were left in that rural village… Knowing that would help solve things, right?"
"Well, yeah, but… can't we just ask Mom directly?"
I paused to choose my words.
"Doesn't look like we can hear it from her right now."
"Huh?"
I gazed at one Ratkin inside the building. A fragile one with a flickering life force, soul strikingly like Maybel's.
"Your mom's in there, but she's too weak to talk at the moment."
"W-what?! Then we gotta rescue her quick!"
"I said right now. No danger to her life. As long as she's still breathing… or even if she's just passed recently… I can bring her back. Don't worry."
Only then did Maybel seem to remember who I was.
"The one who revives even the dead… Dragon Priestess…"
"Yeah. As long as her life's hanging on, I can handle it. Priority one: gather info."
"O-okay~."
We crept closer to the guards.
"So, how're you gonna take 'em down? Smash with the hammer?"
"One hit from your hammer and their skull's mush. No."
"Aww…"
I'd seen her pulverize plenty of monster heads on the trip here. Power proven. And I didn't want this kid committing murder.
So.
"Yap."
A wisp of mana flowed from my fingertip to the guard. Overwhelms the mind, induces hypnosis… Magic? Eh, more like brute-forcing with mana. But since it uses mana, magic it is.
"Subdued."
"Huh? Already?"
"Don't wanna waste effort on boring stuff like this multiple times."
A quick finger-poke like some green dinosaur? Good enough.
Of course.
"Alright, come over here."
The guard approached with a blank expression. Perfect—fully hypnotized. As if anyone could resist my mental grip. Unless you're god-level, anyway.
Of course.
"Now, let's see what these Ratkin are up to."
I began reading the guard's mind.
"This place is called Rat Hole Village, huh. Fitting name."
"Rat Hole? Yeah, perfect for Ratkin to live in."
"Hides from prying eyes, ideal for plotting something."
Maybel looked anxious at my words.
"Plotting?"
"I'll tell you after I dig deeper."
I ransacked the guard's mind completely.
"Hah… These guys."
I clicked my tongue softly at their plans.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Nah, just… didn't expect them to actually go for it. Surprised, that's all."
"What were they even doing?"
I glanced at Maybel and said quietly,
"These Ratkin… look like they were planning to make a new god."
"Huh? A god?"
"Yeah. A new one. For the Ratkin."
Didn't think beastkin would try the method I'd used. Truly unexpected.
"Gods can be… made artificially?"
"Not easy, but possible."
A god born from manipulating public opinion, stirring the masses, gathering beliefs into one. The way to create or alter gods. My method. Somehow, the Ratkin had figured it out and planned to do it themselves—for Ratkin only. Their own beast god, to fill the void left when the original Beast God became Pantheon guardian Sirius.
"How in the world…"
"I'll explain after we save your mom."
Maybel nodded faintly.
Right now, saving her mom mattered more than any rat god nonsense.