Episode 53: Closing the Village
“””We, as one! Pledge our loyalty to Cladfield-sama!!”””
“Yes, I already knew that…”
The fifteen Beastmen who emerged from the medical capsules. Everyone in the village is now healthy.
That poison or curse from the Earth Beast. Well, it seems it was poison, but it’s completely cured. The Unified Space Force’s medical capsules are fully capable of dealing with unknown poisons and curses. I don’t know how they work.
“Uoooooh!”
“Waaaaaah!”
“Why are two of you shouting?”
Barbatos and Beatrice-san are also very excited.
By the way, I released the Oath Magic on these two and Asahi once. Because there would be restrictions when talking with the people of this village, such as keeping my secrets and not divulging anything.
But they said they would use the Oath Magic with me again, and swore their loyalty to me.
I honestly hesitated to use Oath Magic, you know? But they underwent physical enhancement treatment because of the poison cure. The result… the person with the highest growth had three hundred and six percent. I was a little scared to let them run wild.
“First Knight!”
“Captain of the Guard!”
“Stop it, you’re making me self-conscious.”
Right now, those two are practically just hunters.
“Then Houryuu, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes, Father, please rest well.”
The village chief’s son, Houryuu, has been released from the medical capsule, so it’s the village chief Ryuga’s turn next.
Like the other members, his missing leg will be healed and the poison will be gone. I want him to work hard on his treatment so that he can continue to work as the village chief in the future. Although he’s just sleeping.
“Well, since everyone who’s going to wake up has woken up, let’s go clean up.”
“””Ha!”””
I told them in advance, but we’re going to close their village.
There are not many, but there are lands where people can no longer live for some reason. The former site of the Highgrand Principality is exactly like that.
What takes place there is an act called village closing or town closing, instead of store closing.
We erase the traces of people as much as possible and release the barrier.
When people disappear, there will be no one to maintain the barrier, and it will weaken. And eventually the barrier will disappear, but one of the reasons is that we must not let the monsters learn that the monsters can attack the weakened barrier.
Also, not providing a dwelling for monsters.
Monsters live in the remains of villages. Monsters also want to protect themselves from the rain and wind if possible. If there are stone walls or outer walls, it will be easier to fight against enemies, and if they continue to win, the monsters will live longer and become stronger and smarter.
In order to prevent such a situation, we are going to close the village.
“Houryuu, Grandma Hotaru, and the warriors. That’s all, right?”
“””Ha!”””
The houses have already been demolished and gathered together, and most of them have been burned. The farmlands have also been destroyed, the stone walls have been buried, and the traces of people have been erased as much as possible.
I activated the Spatial Jump magic circle and created a doorway in space. I took everyone who wanted to come with me to the village.
Those who had been receiving treatment were stunned by the changed appearance of the village. They had just woken up today. It must be shocking that the land where they were born and raised is no longer recognizable.
Even in such a situation, Houryuu stood at the front, expressed his gratitude to the village, and set fire to the gathered houses.
“…I am grateful to have been given this time.”
There was a small tower in the place where the communal cemetery was. A fire is lit there.
“You should pray until the fire goes out. Because you can’t come here anymore.”
Grandma Hotaru and most of the village warriors were heading to the cemetery.
All the conspicuous things like tombstones and trees have been moved. What remains are their ancestors sleeping under the ground. After all, there was no talk of digging up the graves and taking them with us.
There were lives lost in the battle with the Earth Beast, and life in the dangerous forest was a daily occurrence. It was not uncommon for bodies not to be found.
Even so, their ancestors are sleeping here.
That’s why they are offering prayers here. Because we came to the village to erase the traces of people as much as possible, we can’t leave many offerings. We can only leave flowers that will wither soon, or stones that can be found anywhere.
So this is the last prayer, a farewell. They will be serious.
I also put my hands together with them.
“Your Majesty?”
“I’m not Your Majesty. Besides, it’s fine, right?”
Offering prayers to their ancestors. I’m also a hunter’s child, so I know the hardships of living in the forest. However, I have never lived a life that was completely self-sufficient in the forest.
But they have been doing it for hundreds of years.
Moreover, in the Black Forest. They are truly a strong clan.
“Thank you.”
“I see. Everyone, please guide them back, Houryuu-san.”
“Ha! And there’s no need for honorifics.”
“Ah, okay.”
Because it was solemn.
The Magic Item that serves as the linchpin of the barrier is often only known to the powerful people of the village or town.
Because if something happens to it, the village could be destroyed in the worst case.
This village is no exception, and it is managed by the village chief and his family.
“I was surprised. That the key to the barrier is placed in a position that looks normal in the center of the town.”
“That’s because it was before everyone came. Besides, there’s a barrier to prevent people from touching it, so I didn’t really care.”
The key to the barrier of the base is placed right in the center of the town. I wonder if I should make a monument around it later.
“I was also surprised by the story that there is no need to offer Magic Stones.”
“Well, that’s just for now, though.”
Barriers consume a lot of Magical Power. That’s why larger towns often require higher-ranked Magic Stones. The reason why Magic Stones from A-rank and S-rank monsters are expensive is because there is always demand for them.
However, this place is located near a land where Magical Power from the stars overflows, so the barrier can be covered by the Magical Power supply from the Magical Power Charging Device. Rather, supplying it excessively increases the load.
Of course, the flow of Magical Power is not uniform, so eventually we will not be able to rely on it. Well, I don’t know if it will be in a few hundred years or a few thousand years.
We can start offering Magic Stones when that happens.
Originally, it was the place where the village chief’s residence was located, and there was a straw mat laid out there. When Houryuu lifted the straw mat, a stone door appeared. It seems to lead to the basement.
Houryuu opened the door and guided me inside. However, it’s a straight path and not that deep.
A stone altar surrounded by low ceilings.
What was placed there was a large key to the barrier.
“It’s magnificent. I wonder where you can get a Magic Stone of this size.”
“I don’t know the details, but it seems to be from a monster that lives in a large lake. They say there is a lake with no end in sight where many giant monsters live.”
“Oh, the sea.”
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen the sea. I might want some seafood.
“The sea, is it? If something happens to this key to the barrier, there is a legend that you should aim for there. If you cross the mountains surrounding this forest and travel for several months, you will find it.”
“Even if you find a new key to the barrier, the village will be destroyed in the meantime…”
If anything, before you find it.
“Well, let’s collect it. But as expected of a barrier that protects human territory, it’s close to a Magic Core.”
“A Magic Core, is it?”
“It’s a technology that cuts Magic Stones, processes them to regulate the flow of Magical Power, and further improves their abilities by sealing in a dedicated magic circle.”
It’s not cut, but the magic circle has been transcribed. If the same Magical Power flows into the Magic Stone for a long time, it will gradually be transcribed like a brand, so it may become a semi-Magic Core.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve seen the key to a barrier on this planet.
“Well then, let’s stop the function of the foundation…”
It’s a system where Magical Power is supplied from the foundation. I’ll stop that and put it in the Spatial Storage. I’ll also collect the Magic Stone of the key to the barrier and that’s it.
“Let’s remove the surrounding stones as much as possible while we’re at it.”
“Huh.”
“This is also underground, right? You have to collapse it.”
“I see!”
Leaving the stone pillars, I collect the walls and altar parts. Will it collapse if I collect any more?
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Ha!”
I go up to the ground and apply Overweight Magic as much as possible from above.
With a bogon sound, the underground part collapsed. Just in case, I telekinetically gather the nearby soil and that’s it.
“You’re very efficient.”
“Well, yeah. More importantly, let’s go home quickly.”
Because the monsters that noticed that the barrier is gone will definitely come to check the situation.