Chapter 39

A week has passed since the Tobacco Leaf War.

Today, I am heading to the forest with Giselle and Sibyl to supply the living Otem with magic power.

My homemade tobacco leaves are still not being produced in sufficient quantities.

However, I have given the chief a summary of my tobacco cultivation methods written in Aley script.

Once the chief fully grasps my tobacco cultivation methods and calls for volunteers from the entire village, we should be able to enter mass production.

...But, he said, "I didn't think such precise magic circles would be necessary..." so it seems that it will still be a while before that becomes possible.

The chief said he wants to take this opportunity to further spread the use of magic ore currency.

If it can be realized, life in this village will become much easier.

Thanks to the prospect of tobacco leaves becoming cheaper and people having more financial leeway, the atmosphere in the village seems better than before.

If mass production is achieved, I should also benefit.

I won't have to listen to my father's nagging anymore and can spend all day carving Otems.

I'll be happy, and everyone will be happy.

No one will lose.

The Kalko family? I don't know that name.

"Hey! Abel!"

Just as we reached the tobacco field deep in the forest, a shout was directed at my back.

I turned around to see Noswell.

I thought he wouldn't bother me anymore since he had been quiet for a few days, but he showed up.

What, does he actually like me?

Noswell is frowning and glaring at me.

I look around.

Oh, those two lackeys, where did they go?

I thought it wouldn't matter whether they were there or not, but now that they're gone, it feels a bit lonely.

They probably stopped following me because the family's prestige has declined.

My resentment towards Noswell is endless.

It started with him breaking Mountain, and he kept getting in my way, even going so far as to claim he would marry Giselle, and finally, both he and his father splashed bodily fluids on me.

I still hate this guy. I hate him, but... I'm starting to feel sorry for him.

"...Actually, I don't have any business with you anymore."

"I, I do! Don't, don't joke around! My dad, he may look tough, but he's actually very weak! He's been in bed, shocked, ever since! Because of you!"

Oh... I see...

"Um, what? Should I go apologize? By the way, I heard there's an exciting magic that works as a therapy when you're depressed. It's written in a book. If you want, I can..."

"Don't come! If you come, it will only make it worse! He's been wrapped in a blanket all day, muttering 'Abel, Abel' in his sleep!"

I didn't know he was that mentally weak...

The chief was suspicious, saying, "The Kalko family is unusually quiet. They must be up to something," but it seems the mental damage hasn't fully healed yet.

The last incident must have really taken a toll on him.

"If we can't cultivate tobacco leaves anymore, what are we supposed to do? What about the Kalko family? This is a joke!"

"What can I say... You've had it too good until now. The chief will likely expand the scale of this tobacco field, so why don't you help with supplying magic power to the living Otems? Or, like others, you could go hunting..."

"Wha, what? Are you telling me and my dad to become underlings of the chief!? My dad is much more important than that guy! And hunting is something only fools who can't do anything else do! I'm different from those people!"

Blah, blah, blah...

The Kalko family must have enough assets to live comfortably for life, right?

...No, maybe they had most of their assets in tobacco leaves.

They probably didn't have much magic ore currency saved up...

Plus, because of this, they ended up with a lot of unsellable garbage.

I'm starting to feel genuinely sorry for them.

"...How about I exchange some of the tobacco leaves your family has for something else?"

"...You're getting cocky now that you have the upper hand! You really made me angry! You'll see the power of the Kalko family!"

This is bad.

I remember Noswell boasting that he could defeat a Greater Bear.

He's acting recklessly now.

There's no telling what he might do.

"Pret aankha"

Noswell chants and points his hand at us.

A magic circle slowly appears at the end of his arm.

"Zisel, get back!"

Hearing my voice, Noswell smirks.

Is he really going to attack Zisel too?

I fumble in my pocket and grab my small staff.

"Hey, you'll be kicked out of this village!"

Noswell ignores my attempts to reason with him.

He's completely lost his cool.

Fortunately, Noswell's magic circle construction isn't that fast.

I quickly draw a line across part of the magic circle with my small staff.

"Shikha ei haat"

As Noswell shouts, a ball of fire shoots out from the magic circle.

...But it heads towards Noswell.

"Aah! It's hot! It's so hot!"

Noswell, engulfed in flames, screams and writhes on the ground.

A magic circle is like a blueprint for the spirits.

If the construction is slow, a third party can alter part of it and change the result.

It seems Noswell just wanted to intimidate us and couldn't back down.

The magic itself wasn't very powerful.

It was at a level where rolling around would extinguish the fire.

Good.

I could have just erased the root part of the magic circle, but in a panic, I redirected it back to Noswell.

If Noswell had really tried to kill us with magic, it would have been a big problem.

After the fire was extinguished, Noswell fell to his knees and stopped moving.

His shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Why... why is this happening, why..."

Ah, he's crying...

"Um, I'm sorry..."

"..."

...But that magic circle didn't look like he was used to making it.

The power was indeed suppressed, but the details weren't clean.

His claim of being able to defeat a Greater Bear might have been just boasting.

If the magic circle had been encrypted, it wouldn't have been so easy to alter.

I always encrypt my magic circles when I use magic.

What should I do... Maybe it's better to just leave him alone.

At that moment, a creaking sound came from behind.

I turned around to see Mountain Two and Three standing up.

They are Otems guarding the tobacco field.

These two have large, jointed legs attached.

They have a considerable presence when they stand up.

This is bad.

They seem to have interpreted Noswell's fire magic as a hostile action.

Mountain Two and Three are designed to move with as little magic power as possible, but because I tried to save magic power, they are a bit slow to respond to external commands.

"Noswell! Stand up! Hurry!"

Noswell swats away my outstretched hand.

"Shut up! Don't come near me! Go away! Don't look at me, don't look at me! Don't look down on me... Wait?"

Mountain Two and Three charge at Noswell.

It's as if they are avenging Mountain One.

"Stop! Stop!"

I shout, but they don't listen at all.

Maybe I should rebuild them.

"Wa, wa, wa-aa-aa-aa!!"

Noswell jumps up and rolls away, fleeing.

Mountain Two and Three chase after him.

There's no choice.

The fine functions might be affected, but I have to overwrite the magic and force them to stop.

I wave my small staff at the Mountains.

"Putul dokhil"

Two beams of light hit the Mountains.

Mountain Three stops and turns around, lunging at the light.

He took the hit to protect Mountain Two.

Mountain Three stopped moving after the stop command was overwritten.

Mountain Two, however, happily chased after Noswell and soon disappeared from sight.

I don't think I can catch up with my legs.

Well... it should be okay, right?

Mountain Two and Three only have the functions to protect other Otems and relentlessly chase after intruders.

They will leisurely chase after him, but if they catch up, they can only wave their arms dramatically to intimidate.

The Mountains are harmless.