Chapter 13. A New prayer

　In the time before supper, Mr. Dolph unfolded a large piece of parchment and began to draw what looked like a blueprint.

　With the help of the other craftsmen in the village, he will spend the whole day tomorrow building the carriage. I’m really impressed by this village of craftsmen.

“Hey… Old Man Dolph, Barbara, Flora, listen to me.”

　Gilbert, who had been silent since then and had been looking distressed for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

“The person I said I wanted to help was… the Commander of the Knights of the Kingdom,……, or rather, the former Commander, Lionel Olias Viniadel. He’s  taken care of me since I was a child so I owe him”

　Mr. Dolph stopped drawing and looked up.

“Lionel has resigned from the Order, ……?”

　I could tell from the way he spoke that he knew him as well. I also knew his name. I have seen him from a distance at ceremonies and other events, and I remember him as a middle aged man with a brave and imposing presence.

“Apparently, the triumphant return the other day was a forced return order by the king. I’m an outsider now, so I couldn’t ask him too much about it, but he said that the subjugation of the undead magical beasts in the northern part of the kingdom, is un…completed…So he disagreed with the king and quit the Order on the spot. ……”

“They didn’t eradicate them completely? The king did a very foolish thing.”

　Mr. Dolph sighed with an exasperated look on his face and his shoulders slumped.

　I was struggling to follow what they were saying, Gilbert kindly smiles and explains everything to me.

“The undead are a troublesome thing, and if we don’t defeat them, they’re going to be a lot of trouble if left alone.”

“Is that so ……?”

“Did you know that the wounds inflicted by them will decay if they are not purified?”

　I nodded and Mr. Gilbert proceeded.

“Then, what do you think would happen to non-humans, such as forest-dwelling beasts and ordinary magical beasts, if they were wounded by undead beasts?”

“With no one to purify them, the corruption will spread… and they will die, I believe?”

“Most birds and animals do, but powerful beasts and magical beasts are different. If the decay spreads throughout the body, they don’t die, instead, they become new undead magical beast as it is. That’s how those things multiply.”

　What Mr. Gilbert is trying to say is that the undead beasts that remain halfway in the northern part of the kingdom will multiply again, which would defeat the purpose of the expedition.

“How could his Majesty make such a decision?”

“Well, I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking, but it’s not something we can just ignore. I hear some of the clergy are staying in the north and putting up wards to keep the damage from heading toward the human settlements, but it won’t last long. …… so former commander Lionel is heading there.”

　Then Mr. Gilbert sat up straight and looked Mr. Dolph, Mrs. Barbara, and me in the eye. His expression was very serious.

“…And so, I’m heading to the northern part of the kingdom. I’m going to fight the undead demonic beasts.”

　Gilbert took a deep breath and bowed his head.

“Even though Old Man Dolph already said those things, it still makes no difference that I’m taking you to a dangerous place. ……But there’s only so much I can do on my own. So once again, I’m asking you, please help me.”

　Hearing this, Mr. Dolph lets out a hearty laugh.

“you truly are an honest person but don’t be so reserved. I’ll go with you if I have to, even if you don’t want me to, don’t worry.”*

　Hearing this, Gilbert laughed again with a troubled look on his face. It seems that he is a very honest person.

　As the sun went down and we started preparing dinner, other craftsmen and their families from the village gathered round.

　There were more people than I had expected, and I was worried whether the duck soup I made would be enough, but strangely enough, even as I kept serving it to people, the contents of the pot hardly decreased at all.

　As I was checking the pot again and again with my eyes wide open, Barbara-san laughed and said

“Oh, that pot.  you see, when I had my husband make it for me, I put a magic spell on it. But it’s so lazy, you know, it rarely works, but it seems to be in a good mood today.”

“What, magic ……?”

　Dolph, who was listening to the conversation, did another one of his hearty laughs.

“I guess you haven’t told Flora yet. It’s not like I’m hiding anything. my wife might look like this, but she’s actually a magician. “

“Wow!　So, Barbara-san, you were a court magician!?”

　There are only a few people in this country who can use magic, and because they are so rare, most of them serve as court magicians. I was surprised because  it was something I had no connection with. Then Barbara-san smiled.

“I’m a bit different from them. Well, I’ll teach you slowly on the road.”

　Barbara-san said in a good mood and went back to serving dinner.

　I had never had the chance to see magic before, so I examined the pot many times and from many different angles.

　Gilbert seemed to like the duck soup and kept coming back for seconds.

　It felt like it had been a long time since I had had such a warm and enjoyable dinner.

　After dinner, we all went to the cathedral in the corner of the village to offer prayers and give thanks to the Goddess for the day.

　There is no building big enough to be called a church, but in the small cathedral, there is an old statue of the goddess that shows that it has been cherished for a long time.

　According to an old teaching, the humble prayers of the people come together and form the foundation for the blessing of the goddess.

　When I was in the capital, I prayed only for my ex-husband’s safety, but that is over now.

　Well, then, starting from today…

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