Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc
8. The Saintess’s Work (3)
Translated by: S3
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My hand accidentally brushed against the mountain of books, and they instantly collapsed onto the floor with a basabasa sound.
「Oh, dammit.」
Checking the scene, I saw that the books, which should have been important, were scattered across the floor.
Daniel’s office had built-in bookshelves on two walls, but the books had long overflowed from them, were piled high on the floor, and had completely taken over the desk. This kind of book avalanche was a daily occurrence, and usually, I wouldn't pay any mind to the fallen books.
After all, no one was bothered if a room that no one else entered was messy.
But recently, the circumstances had changed slightly. I got up from my seat, intending to at least clear away the books blocking the pathway.
Just as I was tidying up, there was a knock. I answered, and Lily opened the door and peeked in.
「Excuse me, Daniel-sama.」
「Welcome. Just a moment.」
I hastily and roughly gathered the books, and Lily, after putting down the things she was carrying on the desk, rushed over to help. As I gathered the books, Lily looked at the way I was crushing and stacking the books in my hands and screamed.
「Books are expensive, so you must treat them with care!」
「Ah. Yes. You're right.」
Daniel, who had no qualms about the physical body of a book being slightly warped as long as he could read it and absorb the information, re-stacked the books in his arms.
When he stacked them in an empty spot, behold! The mess had merely moved from the right to the left.
Ignoring the sight, which was already familiar to her, Lily began cleaning up the collapsed books and the other areas as well.
After about thirty minutes, the room was wide enough for the two of them to work in.
「From now on, I will clean this room every day for about thirty minutes before we start our meeting, Daniel-sama. May I have your permission?」
「Yes. I feel kind of sorry, though.」
Since she had been coming to the room every day and starting work after about thirty minutes of cleaning, this was nothing new, but now the cleaning of Daniel’s room was officially added to Lily’s duties.
(It’s not technically a Saint Candidate's job, but it can't be helped.)
「I’m having the room next door converted into a library right now. If we move the books there, they shouldn’t get scattered.」
「Then I’ll help you when you move! Please call on me!」
「Thank you. I think I’ll ask you sometime next week. I might ask Arthur and Noah-kun as well.」
It was not the job of the Crown Prince or his aide. But Daniel only relied on people he liked, so it was certain he would ask them.
「By the way, how is the decursing work progressing?」
About a week had passed since Lily was reported for suspicious behavior.
After that incident, she came up with the idea of casting a Magic Array over the entire adjacent warehouse and performing the decursing inside. The ascending Impure Mist was being sublimated as it hit the warehouse ceiling every day.
「It’s going very smoothly! My job is simply to transport the weapons and armor and release the curses, so it’s become very easy.」
It was easier to repeat one spell than to cast two spells at once. Thanks to this, the work itself was progressing quickly. However, the sheer volume meant there was still no end in sight.
(When I was briefed, I thought it was a job that required Light Magic and was Saint-like, but it’s kind of a simple, monotonous task.)
To be honest, the sorting work in the dimly lit warehouse was mundane and far from the glamorous image of a Saint.
Lily handled this plain work alone in the morning, then had lunch with Noah, and in the afternoon, she moved to Daniel's office to assist him with his work.
Daniel's title was Archaeologist and Researcher. He studied the founding of the Holy Aurum Kingdom, organized the haphazardly stored records and laws, and drafted revisions for disorderly and invalidated laws and management systems.
「Well, as long as I can do my research, I’m fine with anything. But just researching what I like doesn't qualify as work. I have to utilize that content to contribute to the country.」
「So, work isn't just about what you want to do.」
「That’s right. Unless you produce results that others acknowledge and your contribution is recognized, it won't be seen as work. I gather evidence and create proposals, but they are rarely approved.」
The report Daniel picked up was a proposal for reconsidering the magical defense measures of the Holy Aurum Kingdom.
According to his investigation, vast resources with purification effects slept underground, and the land itself had been protected from impurity since the time of the nation's founding. Therefore, the existence of the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, built about two hundred years ago for unknown reasons and with missing contemporary context, was unnecessary and could be safely removed.
Daniel’s idea was that simple soldier patrols were sufficient for the royal capital's defense, and the valuable Light Mages should be reassigned to the military’s medical corps.
「The recent abrogation of the peace treaty has created a need to bolster the defense of the Eastern Fortress. Yet, there's no reason to reduce the defenses of the Western Fortress or the royal capital. We'll likely have to draft more soldiers, but training those soldiers and knights takes time. So, we have no choice but to consider plans to reallocate personnel from where we can cut back. This is one of those proposals. The population capable of using magic is also declining, so replacing jobs dependent on magic with other methods is a truly sound idea.」
Daniel's expression gradually grew sterner.
「But there are so many people who simply don’t understand this line of thinking.」
People, in general, are reluctant to 'eliminate' or 'stop' things.
Since the majority supported maintaining the status quo, Daniel's proposals were continually rejected with reasons that amounted to mere fault-finding.
「'How will you take responsibility if something happens after you remove it!'—that's all they say. The history of its construction is unknown, and there were no invasions from impurity both before and after it was built. Of course not. It's because the purification effect is coming from underground to begin with. When I decursed things in the royal capital, the impurity didn't fall to the ground, but rose up to escape!」
Lily silently listened to Daniel, who had become heated midway through his explanation.
Since this topic would start at the slightest trigger, she had actually heard it many times before.
「AND. The decursed Impure Mist is being blocked by the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, and is accumulating above the royal capital! For two hundred years! What an utterly ridiculous story.」
The true nature of the substance floating in the sky was now revealed, showing that the royal capital was sitting on a ticking time bomb.
「It’s true that it's only floating and hasn't caused any harm yet. However, if it continues to accumulate, a method for its resolution is necessary. If we keep the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, the maintenance cost of purifying that mist will be added to the budget.」
Daniel was infuriated that the maintenance cost for something that served no purpose would only increase further.
He wanted to abolish it immediately because it was no longer needed.
「Even if you remove it, you'll need to erase what has accumulated, correct? That’s what we were discussing how to do.」
「Yes, exactly. And about that method. I’ve been gathering materials since yesterday because I thought the array Lily uses might be adaptable.」
Before she knew it, Daniel’s temper had subsided, and he spread out materials on the desk and began his explanation.
Accustomed to his erratic behavior, Lily started working according to Daniel's instructions.
The materials were sacred diagrams, said to be the prototypes of the arrays.
「The basics use circles, ellipses, straight lines, triangles, squares, and hexagons. There are some very complex ones, so I thought we’d try each of them out.」
Lily hadn't known the origin of the arrays, so Daniel explained the solution while sharing the fundamental concepts and knowledge about arrays. This was knowledge she had never encountered before, and it utterly captivated Lily.
「So, the Hexagram: Makaba I use was a diagram for healing and warding off evil? How else is it used besides purification?」
「For smaller things, there's an annotation that people would cast the array onto an amulet, infuse it with defensive or recovery magic, and carry it around.」
「I never thought it could be used that way.」
The magic Lily knew was simply used as she was taught. While she could widen or narrow the range, or adjust the power, she had never thought of changing the way it was used.
「Magic is both lost and evolving daily. If you understand the characteristics of the attribute and the origin of its usage, you should be able to use it effectively.」
In other words, it was possible to devise new magic.
To Lily, that sounded like a miracle holding infinite possibilities.
「This isn't easy. Combining it with an array that has little effect will still activate it. Conversely, sometimes having too high an effect can be problematic. Just knowing why this particular diagram is used for a Magic Array takes a considerable amount of time. Devising a new usage will be difficult without first knowing all this and absorbing a vast amount of knowledge.」
「You’re right. I feel that way too.」
Reality seemed harsh, but knowing it only filled her with an overwhelming sense of excitement.
「I want to study it. Where can I learn?」
「Oh? If you’re interested, I recommend you first attend the school in the royal capital. You should be able to choose from basic courses up to vocational courses. You can enroll from the age of fifteen.」
「School… fifteen…」
Normally, she would have looked forward to turning fifteen, but Lily had the noble goal of going to the Eastern Fortress, which complicated things.
「Well, I’ll research the knowledge around that and come up with a plan, and Lily will be the one to execute it. Today, I want you to test this diagram.」
The diagram he presented was called the Fruit of Life, which consisted of many interconnected circles.
「The ones specialized for purification are a superior version of this diagram, but they are complex. You would use those for smaller things, but trying to draw them over the entire Protective Barrier: Protect Wall covering the whole royal capital doesn’t seem practical.」
The diagram he pointed to was indeed complicated, drawn with intricate triangles, hexagrams, and circles.
「After you try this, I want you to test all the diagrams modeled after life forms. There are a few others, too.」
Following Daniel's instructions, Lily began drawing the array in the air, conceptualizing it as being drawn on the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall overhead. When she poured purification magic into the finished array, the diagram emitted light, and a beautiful pattern emerged.
「Good, it’s taking shape quite well.」
「Yes, it seems this method could work for purification alone.」
Once the array candidates were compiled, the next step would be to create a miniature version of the royal capital with a Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, prepare the Impure Mist at the ceiling, and proceed with testing scenarios to sublimate them.
By repeating this process, the pattern to be used for the array was decided, and Lily and Daniel's work should have been finished—
「Actually, I have other things I'm researching. I’ll clear it with Noah-kun myself, so would you be willing to continue working with me?」
Daniel, who had completely taken a liking to Lily, asked for an extension of her assistance.
Lily hesitated for a moment, but she still had no plan to go to the Eastern Fortress and would be continuing her work as a Saint Candidate for a while, so she couldn't find a reason to refuse.
Furthermore, a workplace where she was given the opportunity to learn about Light Magic in ways she had never used before was extremely appealing.
「I think it would be fine if I have Cousin Noah’s permission.」
「Understood. I’ll get his permission.」
With that, Daniel rushed into Arthur’s office and quickly secured permission from Noah.
*****
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