Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

25. Purification Magic (2)

Translated by: S3

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In the early morning, Olivia was jolted awake by a messenger on horseback from the castle and hurried to prepare. She managed to catch a ride to the castle in the carriage of her brother, Dylan, who was just setting out for work. The messenger who arrived from the castle had only said, 「We urgently need to confirm something regarding the Impure Mist you successfully dealt with the other day,」 before rushing back to the castle. (Honestly! If they wanted to ask so suddenly, they should have just come to thank me immediately after it was over!)

Coupled with a maiden's desire to have spent ample time preparing to meet Arthur, Olivia was inwardly annoyed. 「Olivia. Did something go amiss?」 Her brother, Dylan, seated across from her, looked worried, but his question only further soured Olivia's mood. 「Brother. It is impossible for me to have made such a blunder.」

She maintained a serene smile without changing her tone, nodding as if to confirm everything was fine, without the slightest hint of displeasure. Just in case, she glanced up at the sky outside the carriage window. Today's royal capital sky was clear and blue, so there was no problem.

「Then, that's fine, but...」

He thought that if Olivia said it was fine, it probably was, but Dylan’s heart felt unsettled. The carriage they were in turned a corner to enter the main street leading to the castle. At that moment, a white dog dashed past them at an incredible speed. The coachman instinctively pulled the reins and made the horse swerve, but the dog was faster, leaping away to avoid them.

「What was that?」

Its rear view looked only like a dog, but its speed was extraordinary. A dog running at such a high speed, without hesitation, on a heavily trafficked road—it felt utterly unnatural. However, that was all it was.

The coachman followed after it, quickly driving the carriage toward the castle.

When Olivia arrived at the castle, she was, for some reason, guided to the rooftop terrace. Dylan, feeling a sense of unease about the destination, also accompanied her, climbing the long flight of stairs. Finally reaching the top and opening the door, a view of the castle's numerous towers and turrets came into sight. In front of them was a courtyard, and far in the distance spread the royal forest park. (This is the opposite side from the balcony used for ceremonies. What on earth are we doing in a place like this?)

The rooftop terrace, which she rarely saw, might be a space used personally by the royal family. She quickly looked around and found Arthur, the man she had longed to meet. She was deflated, however, to also see Daniel, Noah, and even a familiar Light Mage. 「I apologize for the delay, Your Highness. I have brought Olivia.」 Following Dylan, she approached Arthur and noticed an unfamiliar boy. As she focused on him, she was astonished by his non-human, excessive beauty. 「Lady Olivia. Though you have just arrived, let me be direct. Has the Impure Mist you handled the other day truly vanished?」「Yes. Thanks to that, the blue sky still stretches over the royal capital today.」「But from the outside, it seems different. What kind of magic did you use on the inner layer?」「Magic on the inner layer? I merely created another wall following the existing Protective Barrier: Protect Wall.」「Hmph. And how was the Impure Mist purified?」 Daniel narrowed his eyes and curled the corner of his mouth as he questioned Olivia. 「Purification was achieved by sandwiching it with the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall and crushing it.」「Crushed it... So you didn't use Purification Magic? Interesting.」「However, I used a spell with an established track record, so there is no problem with the magic itself.」「Lady Olivia. Are you familiar with the structure of the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall magic? It's finished by combining multiple spells. Are you aware of the details?」「I know that multiple spells are used. However, I am not familiar with the exact breakdown.」

She had judged that using a proven spell meant it was safe, even without knowing the contents. What she created was also perfect, so there was no issue.

Olivia's statement severely trampled on Daniel's cherished principle. 「I despise fools who don't verify or understand things for themselves and arrive at conclusions through easy rationalizations.」

He muttered in a low, rapid voice, then gave an instruction to Oliver, a veteran Light Mage who was standing by. Oliver stepped forward, bowed, and gave a brief explanation of the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall. 「The Light Magic Protective Barrier alone would only create a translucent wall, so it incorporates spells that allow natural phenomena necessary for life, such as beautiful sky and rain, to pass through.」 It permits only those things deemed necessary for a comfortable human life. This protects the city by not allowing in destructive strong winds or heavy rain. It is layered with intricate workings to allow only specific necessary elements, such as moderate rain and pleasant wind, to enter the inner side.

「This beautiful sky is due to Projection Magic that displays the scenery outside. I will now remove this Projection Magic in accordance with Lord Daniel's instructions. Is that acceptable?」「I grant permission. Do it.」

With Arthur's permission, Oliver began to deactivate the Projection Magic. Immediately, a small black circle appeared on the ceiling of the royal capital, gradually spreading. The blue sky and morning sun vanished from the city, and a dark abyss unfolded. 「Wh-what is this?!」

While the sky could be seen in places, something black appeared to be plastered over everything. Daniel did not relent in questioning the astonished Olivia. 「Tell me, Lady Olivia. How were you so convinced that crushing it would make it vanish? I genuinely don't understand. Explain it to me in detail.」「Uh, well, if you crush it...」

She had thought that if it was crushed, it could be exterminated.

「Hmm? Are you suggesting that if you crush something, its mass simply becomes zero? Is that it?」

Upon understanding Daniel's implication, Olivia slumped down where she stood. After realizing the truth, she could no longer explain why she had thought her chosen method would succeed.

「So. What do we do? Lady Olivia is in shock, so Dylan will do. What kind of responsibility do you, as the Gold family, plan to take?」「That is...」「Uncle, dealing with the situation is the priority now.」「Yes. Which is why I'm asking for the opinion of the Gold family, who stepped forward, overriding my plan. You must have had tremendous confidence, right? Since you pushed me aside.」

Regarding this Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, Daniel had advocated for its abolishment for years but gained no support. Now he had finally identified the existence of the object overhead and devised a solution after numerous experiments. ――I simply cannot forgive them for usurping my years of research and then failing.

「Well. What will you do?」「D-Daniel-sama's plan... can't we just use it for the purification?」

As if she had just thought of a brilliant idea, Olivia said this to Arthur. 「Then go ahead and try it. If you can, that is.」

Daniel, now making no effort to hide his emotions, spat out his reply. 「I have never used a Magic Circle / Array, so please ask Lily for help. Please, Arthur-sama!」「Lily has been missing since last night.」「My! At such a critical time! What an ill-timed girl she is.」

Olivia attempted to frame the failure to solve the problem as Lily's fault due to her absence. Since she couldn't handle it herself, someone else had to. She pleaded with Arthur to find Lily quickly. Arthur used his eyes to restrain Daniel, who looked about to explode again. It also gave him a headache to see Noah, standing beside him, watching the whole affair with a cold gaze. 「Be silent, Olivia. Dylan, both of you may leave now.」 Arthur gave the instruction to Dylan and let out a small sigh. At the instruction, Dylan supported Olivia, bowed, and departed. Daniel and Noah both looked unconvinced and seemed like they wanted to say something, but Arthur ignored them and walked over to the railing. (It's the usual thing. I don't have time to worry about it.)

Yes, it was always the same.

Stepping forward and pushing others aside to claim the achievement. Doing as much as they could, and when they failed, throwing the problem back to others, ultimately to Arthur, to somehow fix. Everyone behaved similarly. Yes, it was business as usual—

In the courtyard below, soldiers were gathered in the garden, running around for some reason. Shouts, screams, and a dog's bark could be heard, and Arthur instinctively looked toward the source of the noise and froze.

A large, shining white dog was running around inside the grounds.

「――This is not business as usual.」

「Could that possibly be... Excuse me for a moment—it seems to be an acquaintance, so I'll go check.」

No sooner had he spoken than Elliot stood on the railing and grew wings from his back. The next moment, he swooped down to the ground. After a while, he returned to the rooftop terrace, holding a small white dog

「As I thought, it was an acquaintance. It seems to have business with you all.」

It had seemed large moments ago, but the white-furred puppy Elliot held in his arms was quite small.

「Um. What was it again? Oh, right, Lord Daniel! Is Lord Daniel here?」「I am Daniel. Who are you?」 Daniel did not have any acquaintances who were talking dogs. Perhaps because of the utterly unbelievable events that had just transpired, the dark surroundings seemed to brighten slightly. 「Lily is purifying the source of this evil slime, but she said her magic power isn't enough, so I was told to ask Lord Daniel for help! So, please help us!!」 The puppy spoke clearly and energetically, then dipped its head in a bow.

「Only the source? Those pseudo-slimes are wandering everywhere, and they're attacking people by getting into animal carcasses, aren't they?」

「Right! I got rid of the ones nearby, but if I don't get back quickly, they'll gather again. That stuff is seriously bad!」

Elliot remained standing on the railing, checking the situation with the puppy—Gin—held in his arms. Behind him, a light could be seen rising from the ground, moving higher and higher. The motif of a Flower of Life pattern, with multiple overlapping circles, stood out sharply and glowed faintly, as if gold thread had been embroidered on black fabric.

Understanding what that meant, the blood drained from Daniel, Arthur, and Noah's faces instantly.

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