Volume 3, Chapter 25 – The Road to Jinsha

The morning after we finished dealing with the wolves, we went to report to the village chief.

“And so, we’ve taken care of the gray wolves shrouded in that black mist.”

“Oh my, thank you so much!”

“However, I don’t quite understand why those wolves were attacking this village.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

“Well, the villagers attacked by those wolves were under a curse that made them unable to remember the wolves, correct? But the wolves we defeated didn’t seem to possess the kind of intelligence required to cast a curse on humans.”

“In other words, we were cursed indiscriminately?”

“That may be the case, or there may be someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes. So, I think it would be best to conduct a proper investigation.”

“An investigation… do you mean investigating us?”

“Yes. I suspect the culprit is an outsider, but for the sake of caution, such a measure would be necessary.”

The village chief stared thoughtfully for a moment, and then he rejected our offer.

“I appreciate it. However, as a village, we have absolutely no idea why anyone from the outside would target us. And if the culprit is one of our own, then it is a matter that should be resolved among the villagers. Anything beyond this is…”

Ah, I see. He doesn’t want a bunch of outsiders poking their noses into their business.

Well, if the chief says so, it’s not something we should force our way into.

“I understand. In that case, we shall set off for Jinsha.”

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“Oh, you’re heading to Jinsha? In that case, there is a shortcut from this village.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you have no business in Chi Tien, I believe it would be better to head straight for Jinsha.”

“How long does it take?”

“Let’s see. About a week on foot? You’ve been a great help to us, and we were actually thinking of heading to Jinsha soon to sell some goods. If you’d like, I can have someone guide you?”

“Would that be alright?”

According to our plans, it should have taken another five days to reach Chi Tien from here.

I had heard it was another week from there to Jinsha, so this shortcut was a very welcome surprise.

“Of course. Everyone is grateful to Fiene-sama and her party for saving the villagers.”

“I understand. Thank you as well. This is a big help.”

I was still worried about the village’s defenses, so I figured I should leave behind weapons imbued with the power of purification.

“Oh, right. Since there’s no guarantee that beasts like those won’t appear again, I’ll enchant everyone’s weapons with a blessing—I mean, Purification Magic. If they’re copper or iron weapons, I think the effect will last for about six months.”

“Oh, thank you. For everything.”

And so, after enchanting the weapons of the entire village with Purification Magic, we set off for Jinsha.

Rеаⅾ οn ΚаtRеαԁіոgСαfе

◇ ◇ ◇

“It really was a good idea to bless the village’s weapons.”

I murmured to myself. In truth, I was simply applying Purification Magic, but since everyone called it a “blessing” because I was doing it like a celebrity signing autographs, I kept accidentally calling it that.

Now, we’ve been walking along the mountain path for about an hour since leaving Fu Yie Village, and we’re currently being attacked by a giant bear shrouded in black mist.

“Lu Diu-san, you’ll stay here with me inside this Barrier. The other three will take care of the beast for us.”

“Y-Yes! Dammit, hey, calm down!”

Lu Diu-san is the village chief’s son from Fu Yie Village, the man who volunteered to be our guide. Right now, he is desperately trying to hold back a donkey that is panicking and trying to bolt.

“There, there, it’s okay~ Calming.”

I cast Calming Magic on the donkey to soothe it. When I patted its head, it crouched down on the ground and began to relax.

“Huh? This little guy is surprisingly clever. It seems to know that this is the safest spot.”

“Eh, y-yes. He’s not usually this calm. I guess clerics are liked by donkeys too, huh?”

“Hmm, I wonder?”

I glanced over at the battle. Since it was such a giant bear, they seemed to be struggling quite a bit.

Lu-chan fired an arrow, but it bounced off the bear’s hide without piercing. Chris-san’s sword and Shizuku-san’s katana were cutting through, but even if they brought it down with their blades, this bear shrouded in black mist would simply revive.

Rеαd оո КatReαⅾiոɡСαfe

Incidentally, it seems Sesrumnir and Kirinagi are specially made, since I couldn’t apply Purification Magic to them.

So, the two of them were repeating a rather roundabout attack: creating a wound with their own weapons and then stabbing that wound with the knives I had enchanted.

“Um, Fiene-sama, do you not need to go help?”

“I’d only get in the way if I went over there. If Purification Magic doesn’t work, I’ll just stay quiet and… oops, Barrier!”

I manifested a Barrier right in front of the bear as it charged toward Lu-chan and stopped it in its tracks.

“See? I just need to provide support like this when things get dangerous.”

In that opening, Shizuku-san carved a deep wound into the bear’s back with her katana, and Chris-san slashed into that wound with the enchanted knife.

With that, the bear finally fell.

“Fiene-sama, sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Good work.”

Once the three of them returned, I helped them clean off the grime and provided care.

I didn’t forget to replenish the mana stored in the two knives.

Naturally, the Mana in the enchantment decreases by however much is used.

If I don’t perform regular maintenance like this, they’ll be useless when it really matters.

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By the way, there are “Magic Items” that can be used indefinitely by automatically gathering mana from the surroundings.

However, those aren’t something an Enchanter can make; they fall under the domain of an Alchemist.

According to the Complete Guide to Classes, becoming an Alchemist is an upper-tier class among the upper-tier classes, requiring an absurdly high hurdle: Skill Levels of 5 in Alchemy, Enchant, and Medicinal Enchantment from the Magic Apothecary class, a 3 in Smithing from the Smith class, and a 3 in any one Attribute Magic.

The hurdle is far too high, so I have no plans to aim for the Alchemist class for the time being.

We left the bear as it turned to dust and continued our walk toward Jinsha.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Fiene-sama, everyone, that’s the town of Jinsha.”

“That’s it? We’ve finally arrived.”

It took us nine days to complete the journey to Jinsha, which was two days longer than we had planned.

The reason it took so long was, of course, because those beasts shrouded in black mist attacked us with considerable frequency.

They attacked roughly once every one to two hours, regardless of whether it was day or night, which was quite exhausting on the nerves.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just wolves and bears; the variety was extensive, centering on relatively large beasts like boars and cattle.

“Now, let’s get to town quickly and rest in some fluffy beds.”

At my words, everyone must have imagined the beds, for they hurried their pace toward the town of Jinsha.