Chapter 87

Fairies came in great numbers. Well, the forest is vast, so I don’t think they’ll have trouble finding places to live. Please, feel free to live wherever you like. Welcome.

When I told the fairies that they were welcome, they became very excited. ...I don’t understand their language, but their voices sound very small.

It seems the fairies are all chattering about something, and to my ears, it sounds like the rustling of leaves in the forest or the sound of thinly sliced shells touching each other, many layers of such sounds overlapping.

"That’s great. You can live here!"

I wonder if Ange can clearly hear their words. She’s smiling and saying, "That’s great, that’s great," to the fairies. ...I’m a bit envious that she can understand their language.

"Still, so many came... What does it mean that the spirit veins have been blocked?"

When I asked the fairies, they all started to tell me something... or rather, I think they are trying to tell me, but...

Sorry, I don’t understand the fairy language...

Then Ange listened hard to the fairies and translated for me.

...However, hearing through Ange, who is still small and doesn’t have a large vocabulary, leaves a lot of unclear parts.

But there are things I understood.

Apparently, if this continues, the entire area of land around here might be in danger.

I hurriedly called for Fay. The phoenix flew and brought the news, and Fay arrived in about two hours.

"What’s going on!? What do you mean the fairies moving in is causing trouble in the Redgard territory!?"

...I wrote the letter in a hurry, so Fay was confused. Sorry.

I explained to Fay again.

The fairies have evacuated in large numbers. The reason they evacuated is that the spirit veins, which have been blocked, have led them to the place with the most magic in this area. And the story goes that the land around here might be in danger because the spirit veins have been blocked.

...As we talked, Fay’s expression became increasingly serious.

"...I see."

After hearing the whole story, Fay folded his arms and started to worry.

"...Hey, Togo."

Then he asked me.

"Can you do anything about this?"

...Well.

"To be honest, I don’t even understand what’s happening..."

I must be the only one left out of the loop!

"Anyway, how much do you understand?"

"Well, just that something serious is happening."

When I answered, Fay started laughing. No, it’s not funny. I don’t understand at all.

"Then, let’s start with an explanation of the spirit veins?"

"Sure. I heard from Rian that they are like rivers of magic."

"Right. That’s a good way to put it. The lines of magic that flow through the land are called spirit veins. Naturally, the land where magic flows is rich... and it’s said that spirits live there. Of course, they flow through our territory too. This forest is right above one of those spirit veins."

...Yeah. Spirits live here. We take care of them.

"Land with more magic is better for growing crops and for living creatures. Naturally, humans want to live there, so major cities are often built on spirit veins. For example, the capital is where multiple spirit veins converge."

I see. So, the capital has a lot of crops and is very comfortable for living creatures... That might be why there were many fairies in the capital. I always thought fairies didn’t live in cities, but now it makes sense.

"...So, when spirit veins are blocked, it means the magic stops flowing. If the spirit veins under the Redgard territory are blocked, it means something happened upstream."

"Um, what happens if the magic stops flowing?"

"It’s winter now, so the impact is less, but if this continues, next year will be a series of bad harvests. That means less tax revenue, and honestly, it’s quite tough. We have some reserves, but if the spirit veins don’t return, we’ll have to think of something. By the year after next, we might not be able to pay the country."

...In other words, it’s a disaster. Crops will fail, and it will be difficult to manage the territory.

And if this continues, Fay’s family will be in danger. ...I don’t want that.

"Also, the fairies definitely came here because they can’t survive without magic."

"Huh?"

"Creatures like magic beasts and fairies are strong and smart because of magic. So, they can’t survive without it."

That’s... That’s terrible! The creatures in this forest are all smart, but does that mean if the spirit veins are blocked, the creatures in this forest will die? Horses, birds, and others.

"Well, the fact that fairies have evacuated to this forest means there’s a lot of magic here. Probably thanks to you!"

...Then, that’s good. Horses, birds, and fairies are all safe for now.

But... This isn’t just a problem for this forest. If the entire Redgard territory has bad harvests and all the creatures are in trouble, well...

"Alright. There’s nothing we can do about what’s already happened. I’ll go back and discuss it with my father and brother."

Fay said that and nimbly jumped onto the red dragon.

"Thanks! Because of you, we can take early action!"

It’s not me, but the fairies and Ange...

...Yeah. Finding out early might be a silver lining. If the fairies hadn’t moved here, we might not have known the spirit veins were blocked.

Fay then rode the red dragon and left. ...I hope a good solution comes up.

"Spirit veins... Is someone trying to use large-scale magic?"

After Fay left, I consulted with Celia and Laocles. Celia said something like this.

"Large-scale magic?"

"Yes. When multiple mages gather and use magic, they can borrow magic from the land. Sometimes, they temporarily block the spirit veins to store magic and use it later."

...I still don’t fully understand the magic in this world. I know there are various types of magic. I’ve seen Celia’s enchantment and Rian’s ice magic, and I use magic to materialize drawings... But... Is it like beavers storing water in a dam to create a pond of magic?

Hmm, maybe the forest, which is known for having a lot of magic, is like a beaver dam, storing magic in a pond. ...Maybe I’m a beaver living in this forest.

"...Can spirit veins be blocked artificially?"

Then, Laocles suddenly said.

Indeed, if, as Celia said, spirit veins can be blocked by gathering multiple mages, it’s possible someone did it intentionally.

"Argent?"

"I don’t know... Even if it was the Argent family, proving it would be difficult. I doubt they would do something just to harass us, and if the Argent family is really involved, complaints would come from a wide area."

...What does that mean? As I tilted my head in confusion, Celia drew a simple map on a piece of paper.

"Here is the capital. The center of the country. It’s where the spirit veins converge or start."

So, it’s like a lake where many rivers flow in or a source. I get it.

"Then, this is the Argent family."

Celia drew the Argent family’s mark next to the capital on the paper.

"Probably, this area is the Argent territory."

"...It’s big."

"Yes. They are the second-largest family after the royal family."

The Argent territory is large. If you draw a large circle around the capital and take about a third of it, that’s roughly the Argent territory. Yeah.

"Then... the Redgard territory is over here."

Celia drew another mark on the paper.

...With the capital at the center, the Argent territory extends from about 9 o'clock to 1 o'clock.

And the Redgard territory is around 5 o'clock. ...Yeah.

"I see."

"Do you understand? In other words, the spirit veins that pass through the Argent territory and flow into the Redgard territory... would follow this path."

Celia drew two lines.

One line from the Argent territory through the capital to the Redgard territory.

The other is a curved line from the Argent territory, looping around to the Redgard territory.

"If the spirit veins passing through the capital are blocked, it will affect the capital. Since other spirit veins also pass through the capital, the impact won’t be fatal... but the Argent family wouldn’t want to do that. They wouldn’t want the capital to become an enemy."

"Right."

"But, blocking the curved line doesn’t seem likely either. If they did, complaints would come from many other territories, not just the Redgard territory."

The curved line also passes through Saphire’s Ouskaia territory. Yeah. It’s too large to be just harassment against me or Fay.

"So, if someone is doing something, I think it’s in the capital. The royal family, of course, can do the largest-scale things."

"Argent also has considerable power. They might be able to do something if they want to."

"Yes. Argent might be doing it. ...But, I still think the royal family is involved. It’s likely they are using the Argent family’s land and spirit veins."

"...Is there a need to do something outside the capital?"

"Yes. If they did large-scale magic on the spirit veins converging in the capital, it would be a big problem. It could change the country significantly."

I see. So, it’s unlikely they did something in the capital, and it’s also unlikely Argent did it just to harass us.

"...If someone is doing something, is there no way to stop it?"

"No."

But Celia shrugged.

"Even if they are doing something, they are probably doing it secretly underground. Finding and stopping them would be difficult, even for me. If they are doing something on such a large scale, they wouldn’t be set up to be found by a single spy."

I see. When a professional says that, there’s nothing I can do.

"Well, someone might be doing something, but it could also be a natural disaster?"

"Yes. That’s why it’s hard to confront them. It’s difficult to question them."

Hmm... It would be better to know the cause, but I kind of hope it’s just a natural disaster.

It would be more comforting. ...Maybe this way of thinking isn’t good, but...

The next day, Fay returned to the forest.

"Hey."

"Fay. How did it go?"

When I ran to the slightly tired-looking Fay, he sighed deeply.

"...I checked with Saphire’s family. It seems they are also affected. Saphire’s wife said the fairies that moved into the garden are restless."

I see. ...So, the spirit veins passing through Saphire’s territory are also blocked?

"Our territory has two main spirit veins. One loops around from the Ouskaia territory. The other comes straight from the Argent territory through the capital."

"Right. I heard from Celia."

I showed Fay the diagram Celia drew.

"Right. ...If we add the Ouskaia territory’s spirit vein, it looks like this."

Another line was drawn on the map, a line passing through Saphire’s territory toward the capital.

"From what I can see, the spirit veins around Saphire’s territory don’t seem to be in such bad shape. At least, it’s much better than ours. The red dragon says so, so it’s not wrong."

When Fay pet the red dragon, it chirped proudly. I see. The red dragon can sense such things.

"...So, the two major spirit veins passing through the Redgard territory are both blocked?"

"That’s right. My father and brother also checked. Downstream from us, it’s bad, but not so much elsewhere."

I see. So, it seems the spirit veins passing through the Redgard territory were specifically targeted.

...In other words.

"Is it artificial?"

When I asked, Fay nodded with a serious expression.

"Yeah. ...Based on our investigation, this is what we think."

"The royal family is trying to dry up our spirit veins. Even if Argent isn’t directly involved, they have given permission. That’s how we see it."