Chapter 10

BOOOOOOM!!!

Along with the deafening explosion, a blast wave and dazzling light surged toward them all at once.

(Kh… As expected of a divine artifact. What tremendous power.)

Atop Kaō, who raced diagonally upward to escape the blast, Princess Kana could no longer endure it and covered her eyes and mouth with the sleeve of her kimono. She simply waited for the wind and light to subside.

After a while, she finally felt the wind beginning to die down. Kaō gradually started descending, so she decided it should be safe and lowered her sleeve, only to find that the landscape before her had completely changed.

Naturally, all the mana had vanished, and the magical beasts it had been producing were gone without a trace. However, the area where the mana pool had stood had become a gigantic crater, and even part of the nearby mountain had been gouged away, drastically altering the terrain.

“Well, if this is the extent of it, I suppose it cannot be helped. In any case, the purification is complete. ……Hm?”

However, something shining at the center of the crater caught the princess’s eye, so she instructed Kaō to descend beside it. Once they drew close, the cause of the light immediately became apparent. It was the arrow she had just fired.

The arrow had pierced the head of a magical beast that had been placed inside something resembling a broken, enormous barrel. The huge lizard-like head closely resembled that of the magical beast called a 《Wyvern》 in the bestiary William had given her.

“This is… almost like Kodoku…… No, perhaps closer to an Inugami or Byōki?”

All of them were forbidden forms of sorcery. She had heard there were numerous methods of performing such rites, but Princess Kana herself had never been permitted to learn the details. Even so, she searched her memory, trying to recall the little she had been told.

【In Kodoku, one places a hundred venomous creatures inside a jar and forces them to devour one another. The poison of the survivor is then collected and given to the intended victim, harming them through sorcery.

With an Inugami, a dog is buried alive with only its head exposed, and food is placed before it. Just as it approaches starvation, its head is severed. The severed head then bites at the food. It is burned down to the bones, placed in a vessel, and enshrined, supposedly allowing wishes to be granted.

With a Byōki, several cats are confined together and forced to eat one another. The final surviving cat is then buried like the Inugami, with food placed before it. As the cat struggles desperately to reach the food, its head is cut off, and that head is buried on the property of the person one wishes to curse. The cat’s resentment then becomes a Byōki, possessing and killing members of that household. Supposedly, it will even secretly steal property from the victim’s household and bring it back to the one who performed the curse.】

After recalling that much, she looked at the object before her. It truly seemed very similar to those practices. Even though its power had already been destroyed, she could still clearly feel the malice of whoever had created it.

But as the arrow glittered and reverted to its original feather barb, the barrel and everything within it began dissolving into sludge. Eventually, all of it melted away completely, together with the feather barb that had fulfilled its purpose. Princess Kana watched it happen.

“Kaō, there seems to be more behind this. Apparently, simply purifying these things will not be enough.”

“This is troublesome,” she muttered, letting out a sigh.

“Nevertheless, Princess, that was truly an evil thing. Please exercise the utmost caution.”

“I know. Now then, let us return for the moment.”

When she turned toward the territorial capital, that sight too had changed considerably. The earlier blast and light appeared to have blown away even the magical beasts some distance from the crater, and their shriveled corpses now lay scattered around it in rippling circles.

As for the defensive wall, there were no longer any magical beasts in the sky above it, and their numbers near the gate had fallen considerably as well. Seeing silver-white armor darting about near the entrance, it appeared that once Suō had cleared the sky, he had joined Burley and the others.

(Even if I leave them alone, everything should be finished within another half hour.)

Deciding that she should report back first, the princess mounted Kaō again and ordered him toward the same open area as before. Along the way, she gave a small wave to Suō, who was flying around with obvious enjoyment, then landed in the same place as earlier.

Beside the tall building, she saw children diligently plucking feathers from magical beasts Suō had cut down and stuffing them into sacks. As the princess dismounted from Kaō and watched them, Clutchfield came hurrying toward her.

“Saintess-sama, are you unharmed? We saw that tremendous flash along with the explosion earlier, so I was worried about what had happened…”

“I purified the mana pool, though it seems I startled everyone. Well, I may have left a rather large depression in the ground, but the purification is complete, so I do not believe you need worry about any more magical beasts being produced.”

“You purified that?! Ahh, Saintess-sama, thank you. Truly, thank you…… I honestly do not know how I can ever repay you……”

Perhaps overcome with relief, Clutchfield collapsed into a sitting position and continued thanking Princess Kana while pressing his head almost flat against the ground.

Seeing a grown man weeping and thanking her while prostrating himself made Princess Kana feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“I have already accepted your thanks, so hurry and stand up and go inform your subordinates. Everyone is staring over here wondering what happened.”

Her tone became somewhat scolding, but the lord rose, thanked her once more, and ran off with tears still on his face, though now clearly overjoyed. A short while later, cheers erupted from the soldiers after they heard their lord’s report, and then everyone turned toward the princess at once and bowed deeply.

(Those men are every bit as battered as their lord.)

Henry the magician approached her just then, and since Princess Kana had been wondering whether the relief supplies had been sufficient, she asked him about them. He replied,

“Increasing the supplies at Saintess-sama’s suggestion was the correct decision.”

The previous day, the things Princess Kana had requested they bring included medicine and food, but above all, large quantities of water. According to Henry, many of the evacuees were wounded, while both medicine and manpower were in desperately short supply.

Moreover, because more than twice the city’s original population was now sheltering there, they were also short on water, so the large barrels of water had apparently been received with tremendous gratitude.

Apparently, from around the time the mana pool appeared, the wells had gradually begun drying up. By now nearly half of them were unusable, leaving them without enough water even for drinking, much less washing wounds.

Princess Kana had suggested bringing water because she believed it was the most essential resource during a siege, but it seemed the reality had been even more severe than she expected.

“Is there no one capable of treating the wounded? Surely you have physicians and apothecaries?”

“There are several of both, but there are simply too many patients for them to manage. The priests at the temple can also use healing arts, but there is a limit to how many people they can treat in a day, and they charge extremely high fees, so apparently anyone without a certain degree of status cannot receive treatment……”

As he spoke, he glared at the tall building towering immediately beside them. Apparently, this was the temple he had just mentioned.

“A harsh world indeed.”

As she said that, Princess Kana looked over the battered lord, soldiers, and townspeople and fell into thought.

(Even if I use a healing rite, chanting a mantra here would affect only a small portion of them. What should I do…?)

She wanted some way to apply the technique across a broad area, but no particularly clever solution came to mind, so the princess decided on a straightforward, expedient method.

“Kaō, forgive me for asking when you only just returned, but will you lend me your power once more? I shall perform a healing rite from above, so I want you to transform its power into snow and make it fall over the city.”

“Of course, Princess! But will snow suffice? I can make rain as well.”

“I think something that falls slowly would be better, so snow will do.”

“As you command!”

“Now then, should I chant Bhaiṣajyaguru’s mantra, or perhaps the Ōharae Prayer…… No, the Hifumi Prayer would be best here.”

Deciding that this was the most suitable choice, she took out a golden set of Isuzu bells and mounted Kaō. The fox, with the floral pattern upon his forehead, immediately raced upward until the entire territorial capital was visible below them.

“Quickly, quickly, by imperial command—Purification of the Six Roots!”

After purifying everyone with a talisman, she bowed deeply twice, then clapped her open hands twice.

(I am seated, but there is no helping that.)

“Now then, Kaō, let us begin.”

Riiing, riiiiing,

‘Hifumi—yoi munaya—koto mochiro—ra—ne—’

Princess Kana began chanting the prayer while ringing the bells. The distinctive melody produced by the clear, high voice unique to a young girl mingled with the tones of the Isuzu bells, sounding almost like refined music.

Kaō leaped and bounded as though dancing, weaving the divine power within her chant into the snow he created and sending it drifting down across the territorial capital.

‘Shikiru—yuitsuwanu—so o tahaku—me—ka—’

At the chiming sounds of sharan and ring, the townspeople and soldiers looked upward and saw Saintess-sama riding leisurely upon the back of a white fox, ringing bells while singing some strange song. Before long, glittering particles began falling around them.

‘Uoe—nisarihete—no masu aseweho—re—ke—’

“Snow? No, it is cold, but…”

It fell upon wounded people sitting or crouching on the ground. The instant it touched them, it gave off a soft glow and began healing their injuries.

“Oh! Wherever the glowing snow touches, the wounds are healing!”

Those who noticed the snow’s effect raised joyous cries. Prompted by their voices, the injured began turning their wounds upward toward the sky as though offering them to the falling snow.

“It’s true! It doesn’t hurt anymore!”

“My leg moves!”

‘Hifumi—yoi munaya—koto mochiro—ra—ne—’

“Hurry! Bring the wounded beneath this snow immediately!”

“Set out every container we have! Do not waste a single flake!”

“Saintess-sama…… Saintess-sama is healing us…”

‘Shikiru—yuitsuwanu—so o tahaku—me—ka—’

“Anyone who can use wind magic, come here immediately! Direct as much snow as possible over the wounded!”

“And carry word of this on the wind! Tell everyone!”

‘Uoe—nisarihete—no masu aseweho—re—ke—’

Naturally, because it was snow, it melted into the ground as soon as it landed, but even the devastated earth itself was healed by it. A faint layer of grass appeared, and slowly, greenery began returning to life.

“Ah! Flowers!”

A little girl cried out happily.

‘Hifumi—yoi munaya—koto mochiro—ra—ne—’

Those whose wounds had healed and who could move again lent their strength, helping bring in the next injured person.

“Give me a hand! Hurry! The snow will probably fall only while Saintess-sama is singing!”

“Anyone who can move on their own, come outside yourselves! The sick too—everyone who can come out, come out! It may heal you as well!”

‘Shikiru—yuitsuwanu—so o tahaku—me—ka—’

The snow also fell into the dried-up wells. Containing both the princess’s healing power and Kaō’s ability to control water, it drew underground water veins back toward them.

Plop, burble-burble,

“Water sounds from the well?! Ah, look, the water…”

“Water is welling up! Hurry, draw as much as you can! We can boil it now. Use vegetable scraps if that is all we have—just make soup!”

“Hey, can we drink the water?”

“Yes, you can!”

‘Uoe—nisarihete—no masu aseweho—re—ke—’

Now every person’s gaze was directed toward the sky, toward the Saintess and the white fox. Some had naturally dropped to their knees and clasped their hands, as people might before something divine.

‘Furube—yura yura to—furube—’

Riiiiiiing…………

The instant the final resonance of the bells faded away, a tremendous cheer powerful enough to shake the ground erupted throughout the territorial capital.