Volume 2: Chapter 016: Lepis: A Truly Good Thing
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: … from now on, I’m going to electively delete most of the ‘…’
… It’s… probably meant to be dramatic pause, or… an emotional statement. However… like most things… such as the apostrophe… overusing it would just… make things… tedious…
“Cough, cough,”
After disabling my Magic Fortress, I collapsed to my knees in the rain, coughing up blood. My entire body was hurting, it felt like something was eating at me from the inside.
Rain from the outside world had affected my Magic Fortress, proving that my powers had reached their limits. Even though the space I created was 100% illusory with no physical elements, I cannot hold it for long.
“… Ugh.”
I got up and dragged myself back to the store.
“Oh my, looks like rumours that you people dabbled in the Black Demon King’s Magic turns out to be true.”
“If not for the Magic Fortress… we would not have survived…”
“That would be unimaginable… Hihihi, well, I don’t dislike such magic. I have personally contributed an eye to my clan, after all.”
The Madam laughs as she stares at my prosthetic leg, visible through the slit up the black robe.
“So, what happened to the demon?”
“Madam… you knew when demons arrived?”
“I saw a few when I was younger. Now… I have some painkillers if you need any,” she said as she handed a medicine bottle.
“…I killed the demon.”
“Oh my, what a scary young girl.”
“There is no reason to allow these assassins to live. They must have tracked down the Green Shrine Maiden through her magic and came here for her.”
The medicine I received had an odd greenish tint to it. However, Grandfather said that all medicines made by the Madam work very well, so I took it without hesitation.
Suddenly, the pain in my body subsided.
“It’s just a pain reliever. It won’t help you completely recover, do keep that in mind.
“…that’s good enough for me. The part that had been gnawed away will heal with time.”
I breathe slowly and deeply, adjusting the flow of magic through my body. The medicine from Madame really helps, as expected of White Magic power. Making such intricate medicines must be a special skill.
“…any changes to the Green Shrine Maiden’s condition?”
“Aah… thanks to your protection, she remains safe in her dreams.”
“… …”
I took off my wet robe, leaving me in my thin one-piece dress. I generally don’t take off my robe in public, and the Madame is kind enough to lend me a towel.
“…a prosthetic arm and a leg? It’s difficult to imagine that on a young girl’s body.”
“I… am doing better than most others. I have been taken off the frontlines of Fesir’s battlefield.”
“… …”
Water is dripping from my hair even as I wipe myself down with limp hands.
“My older brother had already lost half of his body, yet he still endures the pain and activates his Magic Fortress every day on the battlefield. He believes that as the Head of the Clan, he should be the one who endures the greatest risk. That, by doing this, he could save other clan members captured by the Hermedes Federation. It’s a… crazy obsession of his.”
“… …”
The Madam turned to look at me, “Speaking of which, what happened to Yanhan? He was the Clan Head two generations ago, wasn’t he?”
“Grandfather Yanhan was killed by the Federation.”
“… I see… Well, he was a good man. Good looking and talented.”
“Grandfather used to talk about Madam as well, he said you were a… beauty.”
“He said that, eh? Well, that man dumped me for his fiancee.”
For someone who is not good at talking, the conversation was going along fairly well. The Madam laughed a lot. Her presence seemed very large and her body, like many serious practitioners of magic, had eroded with time. Seeing her gives me a sense of nostalgia and comfort as many of my clan members have suffered for the sake of magic as well.
Zaaaa—
The rain is coming down very hard now and the sound of rain striking the rooftops echoed within the store. Come to think of it, Makia and the Lord are very late. Were they stuck in the rain?
“It should stop raining soon enough. Sudden showers are the norm here.”
“The earth should be quite moist.”
The Northern lands are often covered in snow and ice nearly all year round, and the land is practically dead.
A poor land with a bad climate.
The majority of the Eastern Continent had turned into large swaths of desert. As for the South, if anything has changed here, well, it has only become more fertile.
Such is the Blessing of the Sanctuary.
And the symbol of this Blessing, the Green Shrine Maiden, has yet to wake up.
“Excuse us!!”
Looks like Makia-sama and Tooru-sama have arrived. The Madam had gone out to greet them.
The two of them were dripping wet from the rain. The squelch of their footsteps as they enter the store confirmed this.
“Percelis is here, isn’t she? Lepis is here too?”
“Aa… well, the two of you are really late, the girl had already gotten rid of one uninvited guest.”
“…?”
The two of them entered the back room with towels around them. Their tense shoulders lowered when they saw the Shrine Maiden. However, the relief soon changed to anxiety when they noticed that she did not wake up from the noise they were making.
“Hey, what’s going on here?”
“The Green Shrine Maiden is travelling in her dreams, visiting distant memories. Hihihi, by the time she wakes up, she may no longer be the Shrine Maiden you know.”
“Madam, you’re saying that…”
The Madam is grinning at them, but not saying anything else.
Makia-sama finally notices me sitting on a bench.
“Lepis… you were also caught in the rain?”
“Ah, no… I…”
As I stutter, Tooru-sama walks towards me. After a brief but serious once over, his expression becomes very complicated.
‘Oh no’, I thought, ‘he saw my prosthetic arm and leg’.
“Lepis… are those… the result of using the Magic Fortress?”
“… …”
“Just now, you activated a Magic Fortress, didn’t you? I can feel the distortion in the space. Were you… devoured?”
“It’s fine, it’s the result of long use of Black Magic.”
“But…”
Tooru-sama was holding his head, as though he was thinking deeply about something. Makia-sama looked worriedly between Tooru-sama and I.
“Even for me, the price of using Magic Fortress is steep. Are you telling me that… everyone in the Twilight Clan practices this magic too…”
“Indeed, we researched all the Magic Fortresses and studied the ones that match our style best. We are fully aware of the risk. Also… please do not misunderstand us, Black Demon King.” I look up at Tooru-sama. His face is similar to my brother’s. Or, I should say that my brother looks very similar to him.
It is a face that brings out feelings of nostalgia and resentment within me.
“We survived thanks to the magic you left behind. Though the cost is high, it is magic with the greatest potential to save us. We are… very fortunate…”
“… …”
“To escape the Federation requires great power. To survive we desperately researched the ‘Magic Fortress’ you created. We could all use it because we are of your blood… it is our greatest fortune.”
I am repeating what my brother had said to me. No matter how much I begged my brother to stop, he refused to stop taking risks to achieve greater power. Tooru-sama’s face is exactly like my brother’s. There is a complicated expression on his face. He must be searching for an excuse to stop us from using this power.
“There’s no need for you to sound so indifferent. A part of you is literally being chewed away. It must hurt a lot. You are all different from me… you could be torn to pieces and devoured, you know that, don’t you?”
“… Yes. Even then, we have no choice.”
Plop, plop.
Drops of water dripped from Tooru-sama’s hair to the floor. I focused my eyes on the spreading puddle and said nothing. I could not look him in the face.
“Lepis…”
Makia-sama sits down next to me, her hair in a towel.
Tooru-sama remains silent.
In this dark, incense-filled room, the pattering of rain and clashing of distant thunder could be heard. We all sit silently, listening to the rain, lost in our own thoughts.
Before I knew it, the sudden shower had passed and a faint orange light was shining through the window.
The Green Shrine Maiden sleeps on.
[Gumihou: Ooh, drama]
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