Chapter 24
We, whose departure was delayed due to the unforeseen rain, exited the town under the eyes of the townsfolk.
The blessed rain had restored not only the vitality of the farms and the surrounding trees but also turned nature more vibrant and lush.
“Chise-chan, Teto-onee-chan. Don’t forget us.”
“Of course, I won't forget the time we spent in this town.”
“We won't forget-nanodesu! Our time here was fun!”
Arim-chan gave us a tight hug and parted with us while crying.
There was no such thing as a guaranteed reunion for traveling adventurers, so I didn’t make any half-assed promises. Though we did promise to not forget each other and to always remember the time we spent here.
We walked some distance away from the town after the farewell and took out the flying carpet.
“Alright, we'll complete some requests in the nearby adventure guild, and eat seafood while aiming for the royal capital.”
“Yes-nanodesu! Also, let’s have Baretta learn new dishes if we chance upon new ones!”
We rode on the flying carpet and flew over the highway.
I gazed at the scenery on the ground below while Teto snacked on the mana stones of the insect monsters we had killed in the mines like candies.
“Mother's effect on the earth vein by absorbing its mana was really not something trifling, huh?”
I gathered my ever-growing mana into my eyes and adjusted the amount to see the earth vein deep in the ground.
By increasing the amount of mana I gathered in my eyes, I was able to see the flow of mana on an even deeper level, incomparable to what I could do before.
The green thick veins were pulsing underground when I looked down at the earth vein with my mana sight ability which was now already on the level of being called magic eyes.
The original set-up was making the ores deep down the mine absorb the mana which later changed their properties. However, Mother made her entry and fed on the residual mana. But she didn't just stop there, she he also began to absorb the earth veins' mana, effectively reducing the amount of mana that could flow down through the earth veins. After what we did though, it seemed to have returned to its former state.
"I hope this will solve the poor harvest that's been plaguing the Lovile kingdom recently."
I muttered so, recalling the bandit group that had escaped as far as Gard Beastkin Nation.
With the hopes of the earth veins returning to their former state one day and thus reducing the bad harvest, we advance on our way.
In the middle of the journey, we built a small room using earth magic on a location situated away from the main road, set up the barrier, and temporarily returned to the «Empty Wilderness».
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……
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«Welcome back, Master, Teto-sama.»
"Baretta, I have a request, do you have time?"
«What is it, Master?»
"I have a huge monster corpse that I want to be dismantled."
«I understand. I'll immediately gather the maids to help.»
"Thank you. Also, do release these creatures into the forest."
Unsurprised by our sudden homecoming, Baretta left with several pairs of wild rabbits and pigeons that we found and captured on our way.
"Alright, I'm beginning!"
I took out the corpse of the parent body we had defeated in the mine , then sliced into several parts 一 to make it easier to dismantle given its huge size ー by Teto's magic sword and then each part was handed to maids.
«Master, We found an extra-large mana stone.»
"Got it. 一一«Psychokinesis»!"
I dragged out the purple mana stone from the severed body part with gravity magic and then cleaned it with water magic.
My estimation is that the mana stone of Mother, a gargantuan monster, should be S-rank.
"It has such a beautiful color, I want to eat it."
Teto, who was done with dismantling a part, looked at the floating mana stone.
She was drooling at the sight of the mana stone that was twice as large as the mana stone we collected from the 30th-floor dungeon but, unfortunately for her, I already had an idea as to where I am going to use it.
"You can't have it, Teto. I'm going to use it to control the earth vein of the «Empty Wilderness»."
"I see, that's a pity."
Teto pulled the mana stones of the insect monsters from the magic bag after showing her disappointment and chewed on them.
If it was just comparing the weight, the mana stones of 50,000 insect monsters we had taken down in the last two months far surpassed the giant monster so she would have to be satisfied with just them.
The mana released by the flora and fauna was filling up the air and the reforestation was also slowly progressing well on the surface of the wilderness. However while the mana in the air was being gradually filled, the flow of mana in the earth vein was so far still in a stagnant state.
I'm sure the mana would continue to fill up the ground surface and then that mana would gradually begin to seep into the ground, naturally restarting the flow of the earth vein even if we didn't do anything.
However, there was always the danger of a monster or dungeon outbreak occurring due to the stagnant mana so giving the process a push to restore the flow would be faster and more stable in that case.
"In any case, we might as well control and guide the earth vein first."
The first step was to pour mana into the mana stone which would be the control unit required to restore the earth vein and spread the center of it.
Once the earth vein order is restored, we will have to then follow with the reverse order by absorbing and storing the surplus mana that was accumulated in the earth veins.
"Time to start. «Creation» Earth Vein Manipulation Tool!"
I used a total of 1.5 million unit mana 一 both the mana I had and the stockpiled amount in the magic crystal 一 and created the magic tool.
Now the management magic tool or, to be more precise, the controlling magic tool in the shape of a pedestal with the mana stone as its centerpiece was ready.
"Baretta, can you tell me which place is suitable to install it?"
«The annex behind the hall would be a good place to install it. Later, we can link it to the other controlling magic tool I am managing so I can also monitor it constantly that way.»
"Thanks, Baretta."
I was really really thankful to have the control and management of the magic tool under the care of Baretta who used to be a service doll in the past.
The earth veins, when we observed its state through the management magic tool after a quick installation, were in devastated state. They were cut off into red dots-like shapes.
That being said, they were also showing signs of recovery as the mana generated on the ground surface seeped into the ground and was helping out in regrowing the severed lines.
"Finally. I guess now we just have to guide the earth vein through the control magic tool to let it regenerate and then suck the extra mana to stop it from unnecessarily connecting different veins and causing a stagnant mana situation."
Not only can we spot the stagnant mana that was the cause of mana disasters and prevent it from happening, but we could also use that mana to advance the recovery of the earth veins.
The presence of mana exerts a positive effect everywhere however if too much mana has been stagnated somewhere, then it’ usually a prelude before a disaster.
"This should do it. Let's tidy things up."
I understood from the dismantling of Mother's corpse with the service dolls that it didn't have any useful parts except the mana stone since it was a monster specialized in egg-laying so I burned its body with fire magic and cleaned up its ashes using cleanse magic «Clean».
Then I took a bath with Teto since the smell from dismantling Mother's corpse was bothering me, had our evening meal, and stayed in our home in the wilderness for that night.
In between, I also poured my mana into the mana stone used to control the earth vein before heading to sleep, which for a moment turned the purple magic stone into a green one before reverting to its original color, maybe the mana was sucked away soon after and was used for the regeneration of the earth veins.
After confirming the slight growth of the earth veins under the guidance of the magic tool with our residence as the center, I went to sleep with Teto.
