In The Name Of Ingrad! (2)

I immediately asked Hare and Richard several questions, and after they heard the story I had pulled out of my mouth, I looked at the two of them, who had expressions as if they had been struck, and said,

“If there were such ships, would we not be able to conduct commerce while sailing long distances?”

However, after hearing my words, Hare said,

“To move cargo, an enormous amount of magic power is required. A few top-grade mana stones will not be enough. You know that, do you not?”

There had been a time when we tested the gate before. Moving people had not acted as a great burden. But in the case of objects, for some reason, an enormous amount of magic power had been consumed, and eventually, the gate had collapsed, causing some objects to be lost or destroyed.

Because of that, due to safety issues, gate travel had been prohibited for anything other than people and items light enough for one person to carry on their back.

Even now, because of the recovery of the mana stones, the number of people who could move per day was extremely low, roughly two thousand people per gate.

Well, if we increased the number of gates themselves absurdly, this problem could certainly be solved, but conversely, that was a part where we would be hit by a tremendous bomb of operating costs. So it had to be seen that everyone was limiting personnel so that the mana stones would not be damaged.

However, I had recently heard that with Mia’s magic power, it was possible to produce up to around five top-grade mana stones per day.

With that quantity, if she worked steadily for just one month, I wondered whether we could operate at least about ten medium-sized sailing ships equipped with gates.

Since sailing was not something that could be done instantly overnight, I thought that if there were insufficient supplies, we could save the time needed to travel to and from Ingrad by supplying them in the form of moving small amounts steadily.

“We have Mia. Where is she now?”

At my question, the two said she would be working at the Magic Tower, and I spoke to them as they made pitiful expressions.

“You are looking at me as if I am going to eat someone alive. Is that not too much?”

“I was thinking that actually being eaten alive might be easier on the mind.”

Richard threw out a brave comment for the first time in a while, but when our eyes met, he only then realized what he had said and hiccuped.

It was a situation where I could have said something, but I spoke indirectly.

“Richard, at least I do not force people to work recklessly, do I?”

“T-That is correct!”

Leaving Richard behind as he seemed unable to stop hiccuping, I said to Hare,

“I would like to operate up to ten at most, so let us take the direction of placing fifty top-grade mana stones on each ship and using twenty-five at maximum capacity per day, shall we?”

“….You have made up your mind, have you?”

“It is only that a small number of people will suffer a little so that everyone can be comfortable.”

It was unfortunate in the sense that the souls of that small number would be ground away, but first of all, since it was not my soul, I was probably able to readily order it.

In the end, Hare said she would decide on a direction and make preparations, and I watched the two of them leave the fortress together with the hiccuping Richard before looking around.

‘Certainly, depending on how we decorate it, it will have infinite possibilities…’

I imagined that by applying this, we might be able to make a large structure like an “island” and turn it into a “floating island,” creating a place where people could live, but I thought we still had a long way to go before that and merely stored it away in my head.

Riana, who ended up accompanying Artemisia, felt extremely burdened by the goddess. Perhaps, like the Demon God, she had descended to the surface and intended to do something, but Riana’s heart felt heavy because there was a possibility that the place happened to be Ingrad.

Moreover, her questions about the ring on her finger only continued to grow larger, showing no sign of lessening.

That was because an enormous amount of magic power had begun to flow from the ring into her body. For the moment, it was not causing any problems, but since there was such a thing as “magic-power poisoning,” Riana was clearly worried.

“There is something I am curious about.”

“What is it?”

“By any chance, could you tell me the truth about this ring?”

“The truth, is it….?”

When the gaze of the goddess Artemisia, who looked back and forth between Riana and the ring instead of answering, began to feel burdensome, the goddess Artemisia let out a faint laugh and conveyed the truth Riana wished to know.

“That ring is a ring containing the soul of my older brother, the forgotten god. It is the bond of the soul of a foolish god who sealed himself away in the form of a seal.”

Riana was startled by the fact that it was a ring inhabited by the soul of a god, but the words that followed were even more shocking.

“He loved humans so much that he sacrificed himself, but the problem occurred afterward. His blood began to flow upon the surface. Thanks to that, many things derived from it.”

“….What do you mean by many things?”

“For instance…. That is right. Magic.”

At the word magic, Riana’s expression turned blank, and as she recalled the magic power residing in her own body and the magic power now flowing into her, she cautiously brought up something she had once heard.

“Was it true that magic power… was ‘the blood spilled by a god’?”

“To be precise, it is ‘divine power.’ It flowed out, scattered into the air of the surface, and weakened, becoming magic power. In the end, all magic power spread throughout the world is nothing more than a diluted form of ‘the blood spilled by a god.’”

She could not understand it. Then what was Magic Power Mountain?

To Riana, who was confused because everything was full of things she could not possibly understand, Artemisia said,

“The truth usually makes something difficult and painful. What now fills you completely is the power of a god. Because you are compatible with the god who loved humans, that much power can freely enter, leave, and reside in you. Moreover… being able to withstand blood close to ‘true blood’ rather than weakened blood is a privilege only for those who are qualified. You may enjoy it.”

After she finished what she had to say, Riana closed her mouth, and Aksik, who had been behind Riana, quietly approached and said to Artemisia,

“But, Goddess, why must even we move together?”

Artemisia turned her head at the question, looked at Aksik, and said,

“You indulged your greed. Therefore, you are paying the price. Give a portion of your near-infinite lives to this child and receive punishment. It will be less than a mere hundred years. If you refuse….”

Artemisia raised her hand and pulled at something within Aksik’s body. Seeing the hazy afterimage being drawn out from her body and Aksik enduring the pain with difficulty, Riana hurriedly stepped between them and said,

“She is someone who will help me. O Goddess! Mercy…”

Only then did Artemisia withdraw her hand with a faint smile, and Aksik, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed onto the ground just like that.

“We will soon reach the territory of the Demonic Tribe. My younger brother will welcome us warmly… so you had best prepare.”

While Riana did not understand what she meant by saying he would welcome them warmly, Idsel and the others stepped forward and said to Riana,

“If the guide commands it, we shall open a path with blood!”

When they had first come here, nothing had happened thanks to the token given by the Demon God, but Riana did not understand why it would not be the same now. However, she came to know the reason before long.

There were many. An absurdly vast number of demons filled the broad plain, and in a wide open area visible at the center, the Demon God stood alone, just like us, and looked this way.

As Riana grew tense while watching the distance to the Demonic Tribe narrow, and while watching the demonic army open up in accordance with us walking toward their forces, she then became tense as she saw the goddess Artemisia quickly walk ahead alone.

By the power of the goddess Artemisia, who raised her hand into the air and used her power, a splendid pattern appeared, and an indescribable condensed mass of power formed.

And then it began to spread into the surroundings. The moment that power touched them, everything came to a halt as if time had stopped, and as everything was stopping, Riana saw the wave approach right before her eyes.

With a breath drawn in fully from fear that felt as if it would stop her breathing, the wave swept over her whole body, but unlike the others, there was no change in her body.

However, when she turned her head because she realized there was no presence of someone who should normally be felt right beside her, everything, including the True Dragon Tribe and the Behemoths, had stopped.

“That is… impossible…?”

Her hands trembled with fear and her heart pounded, and it was then.

“Did you think you could interfere with me by doing this?”

The Demon God’s shout rang out. Was it not, rather, the Demon God who was interfering with the goddess Artemisia?

It was when Riana thought that.

“With your method, you cannot revive ‘him.’ Rather… even if he is revived, he will feel antipathy toward you. You know, do you not? What he truly loved…”

They were too far away for her to see in detail, but Riana could tell that the Demon God’s expression had clearly twisted. Still, it was not a situation for Riana to step forward, so she only watched with bated breath.

“I will make him return, no matter what method I must use. I will make you understand… why I am doing something that has led me to be called the Demon God and drive my followers down the path of death!!”

The contents were so confusing that Riana wanted to ask what on earth he was talking about, but the voice of the goddess Artemisia flowed into Riana’s ears.

“You foolish thing. Nothing will change through your efforts. Moreover… even the followers blocking my path now will all be torn to pieces.”

“Surely you do not think you can do something about this many demons with mere beastkin?”

“It seems you think I am as stupid as you… Endure it. As for what will happen… you will know if you watch.”

Then the goddess Artemisia lowered the hand she had raised, as if withdrawing her power, and at that moment, Riana saw the power that had stopped everything as if encroaching on the surroundings be drawn into the goddess Artemisia and return to its original flow.

It was a phenomenon she could not understand, and Riana’s head was complicated as to why she alone had been able to move in the midst of that, and it was then.

The magic power that had been faintly flowing in from the ring felt somewhat more alien, and it began to push magic power into her body with an intensity different from before.

“Kh…”

Pain as if her whole body were swelling tautly and about to burst could be felt, and her vision gradually turned red. Sensing something, the goddess Artemisia approached Riana as if teleporting and grabbed the hand wearing the ring.

Then she frowned deeply and opened her mouth as if speaking to the ring.

“It is not time yet. Please… stay asleep a little longer…”

When her words ended, the rampaging magic power truly calmed down as if it had understood her words. Riana, breathing heavily, sank down, and the goddess Artemisia looked down at her with displeasure.