Solving Pollution

We arrived at the Elf Nation Anemosgive.

When we tried to bathe in a nearby lake, it turned out to be a poison swamp.

After purifying it for bathing, we encountered an elf girl trying to draw water from it.

We gave her a potion and let her rest for a while.

“Ugh… where am I…?”

“Good morning. Awake now?”

We were on the covered wagon’s cargo bed.

The elf girl slowly sat up.

“! My body… feels lighter… breathing isn’t painful…! What… happened?”

I briefly explained that I gave her a potion when she collapsed.

The elf girl trembled and muttered.

“Amazing… to dispel miasma… just like the Saintess…”

She misunderstood again… but correcting it was a hassle, so I left it.

More importantly, a concerning word came up. Miasma?

“Hey, what’s your name?”

“Ah, yes. My name is Lala, Saintess-sama.”

“Lala-chan then. I’m Seyi. These are my traveling companions.”

The slave girls and maid robot Cherge bowed.

“So what happened? Why were you about to drink swamp water?”

“Yes… the entire nation is in crisis.”

“The whole nation?”

“Yes. Severe pollution has occurred.”

“Pollution…”

That was serious.

Toka tilted her head.

“What is pollution?”

“It’s environmental destruction and illness caused by contaminated soil from workshop wastewater.”

“I see! As expected of Master! So knowledgeable!”

Pollution… my master used to warn me strictly during training.

Be careful when disposing wastewater.

“Are there workshops nearby, Lala-chan?”

“Yes. The royal artificer guild ‘Gourmet of Venom’ built workshops across the nation.”

“Gourmet of Venom… not a guild with a good reputation.”

I remembered they ran shady businesses like artificial organs and life-extending medicine in the royal capital slums.

…Wait? They still existed? For 500 years…

Evil really lingers like mold.

“Since the new king ascended, they built many workshops, discharged wastewater, polluted the soil… now mountains, air, land, and water are tainted by miasma.”

“Big sis, what’s miasma?”

Daphne raised her hand.

“It’s toxic gas produced when making magic tools. More precisely, particles from shaving mana crystals.”

Zenith and Lala stared blankly.

“Huh? Why surprised?”

“Amazing Saintess-sama! You understand miasma!”

“As expected of Seyi-sama… even royal court mages didn’t know.”

The elf girls looked at me with respect.

“Didn’t your teachers teach this? It’s basic artificing.”

They shook their heads.

Anyway, we learned the poison swamp came from the Gourmet of Venom workshops.

Unless the cause is removed, pollution won’t stop.

“Lala-chan. Is your village nearby? Are people suffering?”

“Yes… everyone is suffering.”

“OK. First we help those in front of us.”

“You’ll help!?”

“Yes.”

I’m not helping out of kindness.

I just want a pleasant journey. Can’t enjoy traveling while people suffer.

“Thank you Saintess-sama…”

“Show us the way.”

We hurried to her village.

It was close, so we arrived quickly.

“Ugh… it smells…”

“Yes… quite severe…”

Daphne and Toka sensed the abnormal air immediately.

It really was bad. The miasma was visible.

“Master, atmospheric miasma concentration measured. Harmful levels.”

Cherge reported. I was shocked.

And they still lived here…

“Lala-chan, take me to the chief.”

“Y-yes… but…”

At that moment—

“Lala! What are you doing!”

A handsome elf rushed over angrily.

A young villager?

“Elder.”

E-elder!? He looked in his twenties.

Right. Elves live long.

“Humans! Leave immediately!”

Not welcomed huh?

Do elves hate humans?

“Leave the village!”

He coughed badly from miasma poisoning.

I couldn’t ignore suffering people.

“Nice to meet you — potion!”

Splash! I threw a Purification Potion on him.

It removes dirt, poison, curses.

“You human! What did you do!?”

“Feel better?”

“W-what!?”

He noticed his improved condition.

“You removed the miasma…?”

“Yep. Now gather villagers so I can treat them.”

He stared suspiciously.

But I urged him.

“Hurry or they’ll die.”

“…Understood!”