Lucia Attempts to Purify the Cristallo Sacro

The three Cristallo Sacro were each named after their locations, as The Cristallo Sacro of Kyriest; The Cristallo Sacro of Foristarn; and The Cristallo Sacro of Maynard. Because monsters were born where the Cristallo Sacro stood, humans never approached them. I couldn’t see any monsters around the tree, but we encountered many on our way here. I don’t think anyone would want to approach it if they had to defeat that many to get here.

This was my first time seeing a Cristallo Sacro; the clear branches of it twisted loosely, spreading as if to pierce the sky, and covered in hard, shining crystal leaves. Here and there, you could see large fruit-like crystals hanging, each with black smoke congealed within... Is that where monsters come from? I wondered. There weren’t any around, but the thought that one could be born at any time sent a chill down my spine.

“What’s that black stuff...?” muttered Miss Maria.

The Cristallo Sacro would have been beautifully bathed in light, but it was currently completely surrounded by a black haze. The ominous atmosphere was enough to make you cower. The haze swayed as if it were a living being — if you looked closely, it flowed toward the crystals holding the black smoke. No, rather than flowing, it looked like it was being sucked in.

“It’s a miasma,” Eric spoke up first. “They say the Cristallo Sacro sucks it in and makes monsters, but even the Academy doesn’t know why the miasma appeared.”

Commander Agliardi turned and said, “Sacred Maiden, please, purify this miasma.”

Before anyone could act, Prince Edoardo cut in, bringing up my name instead. “Lucia is going to try first.”

“Eh? Really!?” I gasped in surprise.

“That’s... Your Highness, but why?”

“What about the Sacred Maiden...?”

“The little lady’s gonna try, huh?”

Everyone was dumbfounded by the prince’s proposal. Yes, of course they would be. I was surprised too. But since Miss Maria was afraid, we needed to do our best. Just watch me, Miss Maria!

“Eric,” I said, turning towards him.

“Yeah?”

“Would I be able to get a mana restorative?” As I asked, I tried my best not to remember what it tasted like. If I hesitated, I didn’t think I’d be able to drink it.

“You’ll drink it? Let’s measure your levels, then.” Accepting my request, Eric excitedly got his measuring device from the pack on his horse. At a glance, it looked like a stick of glass, but you could see a scale carved into the side of it. “What’d they measure your mana at back in the Academy?”

“They told me it was three thousand five hundred.”

“Wow! More than I thought. Let’s see...”

There was both a short and long scale, each displaying something alternately. Maybe it can’t make very exact measurements? As I held it in my mouth, the blue line started to move. How did this thing work?

“You’re between two thousand five hundred and three thousand.” Handing it back to Eric after the line stopped moving, he looked at the scale seriously. “I guess that magic from earlier took a lot of mana.” He was completely different from his usual smiling self.

“Really?” I asked.

“If that amount took a thousand, it looks like it’s pretty inefficient.”

“What does your thousand look like?”

“Mine is... Wait. Lucia, where’s your crystal?” After tilting his head and glaring at the scale, Eric suddenly turned to look at me with wide eyes.

“Crystal? I don’t have one.”

“What? You can use magic without one!? I can’t believe it, but... Maybe that’s why it’s so inefficient. It’s similar to the Sacred Maiden’s, then.”

Now that I thought about it, Headmaster di Vaio was surprised too. I had forgotten completely, but maybe magic without a magical catalyst was rare?

“Then you should be good just drinking one vial,” Eric said, handing me a restorative. “I don’t have many with me, so hopefully you’ll be able to try without drinking one next time.”

Okay, my mind is clear. I won’t think while drinking it! I can’t think! Determined, I closed my eyes and downed the whole thing. As soon as I did, that outrageous taste spread, numbing my brain.

“Here, Lucia, water.” Sir Celes worriedly handed me a bag of water to drink. My eyes were tearing up, so I gladly took it, writhing from that mixture of tastes.

“Thank you... I forgot to prepare first. I would have died without it. I nearly died with it.” As I drank the water he gave me, I secretly decided. Next time, I’ll try to do it without drinking one. I won’t be able to live if I don’t! You can’t get through that taste with just normal willpower!

“Really, I don’t want you pushing yourself,” Sir Celes said, a deep worry in his tone.

“Sir Celes... But...”

“I know, it’s you, so you’re probably trying to take the load off the Sacred Maiden since she’s from another world. I wish I could help, but I can’t do anything about purifying them.”

My heart ached at his words. Sir Celes...so you’re worried enough about Miss Maria that you’d want to help her purify the Cristallo Sacro. As soon as I thought that, I bit my lip. Sir Celes was a Knight—protecting someone must be important to him. Really, I wouldn’t like him if he wasn’t kind. From the start, he wasn’t someone who’d be alright with pushing everything onto Miss Maria when she’s not of our world. With all this in mind, I sighed. Really, what am I thinking about? I’m pitiful. This isn’t the time to be worrying about things like that.

“Lucia, are you alright?”

“Yes, I’ll try my best.”

Looking at it again, the haze around the Cristallo Sacro swayed ominously — part of me desperately pleaded not to get close to it. I turned and looked at Miss Maria, being supported by His Highness. She was looking my way, pale as a ghost, and looked like she’d faint at any moment. Seeing the prince gently holding her shoulder relieved me a bit.

I have something I need to do, too. That thought kept me going. Even if I couldn’t purify it myself, Miss Maria was here. We could definitely purify this tree. Believing in my thoughts, I approached the Cristallo Sacro. The swaying haze was just like a stain on clothes. Getting stains out is my specialty. I’m just doing what I always do!

With a deep breath, I concentrated on the Cristallo Sacro. It’s okay, I’m gonna clean you right up!

“Soap!”

The moment I cast it, that feeling I had at the castle came back and—my consciousness waned. As I fainted, I thought I could see a small white light at the edge of my vision.