Chapter 147 : Chapter 147
Chapter 147. Division of Labor
The Count of Staviana looked up at the ceiling of the mirror room and muttered,
“……I feel as though something just flashed past.”
Ilea nodded.
“It was Mapheltan. He likely went to the eastern border region to summon Apostle Beris.”
The count spoke with an expressionless face.
“He must have been in a hurry, seeing as he left without giving us so much as a glance.”
He had not said it because he was particularly disappointed.
Ordinarily, whenever Mapheltan saw the count, he would pass along at least one instruction, but today, he had simply left without a word.
He did not know for certain, but the situation seemed extremely urgent.
Ilea opened her mouth.
“Rather than that, it was likely because of Shaferia. Before she noticed our existence, Mapheltan would have needed to leave the mirror room quickly.”
Shaferia still did not know about the forces Mapheltan possessed.
If she realized that the count or Ilea were Mapheltan’s people, “Yohan’s” position would become quite awkward.
That was because the count and Ilea were “Mapheltan’s” people while also being “Yohan’s” political partners.
If her thoughts reached that point, anyone would have no choice but to harbor doubts about the relationship between Mapheltan and Yohan.
Shaferia would naturally come to question Yohan’s devoutness as well.
If it was that rigid woman, she would surely be swept into quite a shock.
Mapheltan did not want such a development.
For the time being, he intended to hide every truth.
The count crossed his arms and swallowed a faint groan.
“It seems Shaferia still does not know the Watcher’s identity. As long as she is with us, the truth will soon be revealed. Are you prepared for that?”
Shaferia was a promising Holy Knight and a favored child of the moon.
There was no priest on the continent who did not know her name, and Shaferia’s devoutness was already widely acknowledged.
If such a Shaferia came to know Yohan’s identity, a great storm would surely come.
That was how the count saw it.
Ilea smiled gently and said,
“I’m sure Yohan has thought of everything. As he always has.”
The count murmured with a sunken face.
“……I trust the Watcher’s abilities, but for some reason, I feel a little uneasy. I simply have a bad feeling.”
Ilea’s expression became calm.
“Don’t worry. Even if, by some chance, things go wrong, I can resolve them.”
The count nodded.
“Just in case, I will prepare countermeasures on my side as well.”
Ilea smiled with her eyes.
“Good. Let’s stop talking about this now and get moving too.”
To subjugate Apostle Beris, they had to gather the kingdom’s forces in one place.
There was quite a lot to do from now on.
The count moved his feet.
“We will become busy again. Let us depart.”
The two immediately left the mirror room.
“Serin,” who had been hiding somewhere around the corner, cautiously walked out.
Recently, more people have started coming and going from the mirror room.
For Serin, who had lived alone all her life, it was unfamiliar.
The current situation was still awkward for her, but this change was not necessarily bad.
At the very least, there was no loneliness.
Serin drew a faint smile.
***
The eastern edge of the kingdom, the border region with the empire, was covered by a vast desert.
No matter where one turned their head, dry grains of sand filled the eyes.
There was not a trace of life.
The dry hot wind allowed no breath of life, and the cold wind that swept in at night stole even the warmth that had begun to sprout faintly.
Most of the kingdom’s east was dead land.
Only one place was different.
The city, Hazara. Built upon an oasis, this city was the east’s only vitality.
Within the vast dead land, only Hazara held life and vigor.
Around the round oasis, green land spread out.
Giant palm trees had rooted themselves in the greenery, and large and small cacti grew here and there, adding to its beauty.
The ocher buildings rising in various places gave the city a warm atmosphere.
Even during the cold nights of the desert, Hazara overflowed with life and warmth.
There was not even a shadow beneath the sun.
Demons did not exist in the east.
Ordinarily, that was true.
Today was an exception.
From within a transparent mirror, a pitch-black demonic hand stretched out.
A vicious being revealed himself.
A red eye swept over the surroundings.
“A church?”
A prayer room of a familiar style entered his eyes.
A pentagram hung on the dais.
Mapheltan had been teleported into the church of the city of Hazara.
Shaferia, who had come with him, bit her lip.
“……Why does it have to be a church again?”
Blasphemously, she was stepping into a church together with a demon.
The departure point had been a church, and the arrival point was also a church.
Shaferia could not lift her head because of her shame.
She could not bring herself to look at Great Saint’s pentagram.
“It cannot be helped. We can only move through mirrors, and those mirrors are luxury goods. Unless it is a mansion or a church, buildings with mirrors installed usually do not exist.”
In short, it was difficult to teleport to an ordinary place like a stable or a brewery.
There was no mirror hanging in a building used by commoners.
Shaferia let out a scoff.
“Even as an apostle, you amount to little after all. Seeing as you are bound by restrictions here and there, you are ultimately nothing but beings who falsely claim to be gods.”
Mapheltan snorted.
“You seem to have many complaints. Would it have been better to teleport into the room of some noble family’s young lady? Now that I think about it, that would have been better for me as well. I would have heard some shrill screams while I was at it. You may not know this, but women’s wails are quite the delicacy for us.”
Disgust filled Shaferia’s face.
She glared at Mapheltan and said,
“Every time I hear your voice, it feels as though my ears are bleeding. Stop with the nonsense and let’s go do what we need to do.”
Mapheltan shrugged.
“Well, that is what I wanted. First, change into these clothes.”
He tossed some clothes onto the floor.
“What are these?”
“Your appearance does not suit this place. It is perfect for attracting unnecessary suspicion.”
Shaferia was wearing light armor.
No one dressed like that in the eastern desert.
Shaferia laughed dryly.
“As expected of a demon. You’re thoroughly meticulous.”
She began taking off her clothes.
She removed her plate armor and loosened her underclothes.
Her white bare skin was revealed.
Mapheltan cleared his throat and turned his eyes away.
“You strip with impressive abandon. Do you have any awareness that you are a woman?”
Shaferia snorted.
“Do you feel ashamed to show your naked body to a beast or an object?”
To her, Mapheltan was no more than a brute beast.
There was nothing to be embarrassed about at all.
Mapheltan cackled.
“Interesting. That one landed.”
Shaferia frowned.
“Your laughter is unpleasant, so stop laughing and guide me to this Land Dragon or whatever it is.”
She had already finished changing.
She was wrapped in clothing made of thin cloth.
‘As expected of a soldier.’
Soldiers were fast at changing clothes by nature.
Shaferia was far quicker than the standard.
Mapheltan inwardly admired her and opened his mouth.
“To be precise, we will retrieve the Land Dragon’s egg. Let us meet again at the city center, in front of the oasis.”
The two immediately left the church.
As soon as he stepped outside, Mapheltan vanished.
He had hidden himself inside Chimya.
That was because he could not stroll through the city with the body of a demon.
***
Under the moonlight, the enormous oasis was swallowing the surroundings.
The transparent lake reflected the moonlight and scattered a brilliant radiance.
Shaferia stared forward with a slightly dazed face.
The scenery before her eyes was far too beautiful.
Just as she was momentarily lost in thought, an eerie voice ruined the mood.
“So even a tomboyish fellow like you possesses sentiment.”
At some point, Mapheltan appeared.
Shaferia said with an irritated face,
“Stop saying useless things and explain why you told me to meet you here.”
“Because that lake was created by the Land Dragon’s egg.”
“What do you mean?”
Mapheltan calmly explained.
“Originally, the east was a dead land where humans could not live. But around six hundred years ago, the situation changed when a dying Land Dragon laid an egg here. The dragon’s egg breathed vitality into this dry land. It conceived the oasis, and that moisture spread greenery again. Naturally, people gathered, and they built a city. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the sight you see now is all the Land Dragon’s grace.”
The Land Dragon was a divine beast that cultivated soil.
The egg it laid also possessed a similar power.
Shaferia quietly chewed over Mapheltan’s words.
“……The Land Dragon’s grace.”
Mapheltan snorted.
“Why? Do you perhaps feel respect toward the Land Dragon?”
The Great Saint Church denied all divine beings except the moon.
To them, even divine beasts were no different from magical beasts that used wrongful power.
They could never become objects of reverence.
Shaferia hardened her expression.
“Grace is a miracle that only the moon can bestow. It is not a modifier that can be attached to a magical beast.”
Mapheltan snorted.
“Well, I thought a fanatic like you would say that.”
Shaferia said with a cold face,
“So what is the point of what you’re saying? Are you telling me that the magical beast’s egg is lodged at the bottom of that lake?”
Mapheltan let out a small sound of admiration.
“Almost. In fact, until not long ago, the Land Dragon’s egg was sleeping in that lake.”
Shaferia looked puzzled.
“Until not long ago?”
Mapheltan nodded.
“By now, a fisherman should have pulled the egg up.”
In the original work, the Land Dragon’s egg was discovered by an ordinary fisherman.
The egg was immediately put up for auction, and a certain noble bought it at a high price.
As a result, the city of Hazara gradually withered away.
The oasis dried up, and the greenery turned into dry dead land.
That was how things would have gone according to the original development.
Shaferia opened her mouth.
“Then we need to find that fisherman.”
Mapheltan swallowed a groan.
“The problem starts from here. The egg’s whereabouts are not clear.”
“Didn’t you just say the fisherman pulled it up?”
“He may have already sold it off. The value possessed by the Land Dragon’s egg is…… Well, even if I explained it a hundred times, it would only wear out my mouth, so let us skip that for now.”
Even Mapheltan, who had read the original work, did not know the egg’s current whereabouts clearly.
The fisherman might still have the egg.
Or perhaps he had already sold it.
There was, of course, also a chance that the egg had crossed into the empire and was being put up for auction.
Even as a reader of the original work, he could not grasp that detailed timeline.
After thinking for a moment, Shaferia said,
“We need some information. As soon as the sun rises, I’ll have to ask around about the egg.”
Mapheltan drew the corners of his mouth into a long grin, as though satisfied.
“You have a fairly good head for work. That is exactly what I intended to instruct you to do. Starting tomorrow, you will look into the Land Dragon’s egg.”
Shaferia narrowed her brow slightly.
“By myself?”
Mapheltan nodded.
“I have something else to do separately.”
He could not act together with Shaferia.
When the sun rose, Mapheltan would turn into Yohan.
It was difficult to show her that sight.
Mapheltan’s form gradually began to fade.
He was about to disappear again.
“W-Wait!”
To leave her alone in the unfamiliar east and vanish by himself. From Shaferia’s perspective, it was bewildering.
Mapheltan looked up at the sky.
“The sun will rise soon. You do what you need to do. When night comes, I will come find you again.”
His gloomy voice scattered into the dim dawn.
Shaferia stared at the place where Mapheltan had been with an expression of disbelief.