Vol. 2 - Chapter 66 - Katariona Is Going to Meet the Owner of Light Magic
I’m now flying on the back of a golden bird with Leon in his small beast form. This golden bird is Flare-sama, who has transformed to about the same size as Leon’s lion form.
We are headed for the Duke of Lioness’s, which is located south of the royal capital, on the opposite side of the Marquis de Grandeur. This is the dukedom that Chris was supposed to receive in her previous life, meaning it’s currently under the direct control of the royal family.
This is also the place where the person to whom Flare-sama gave Light Magic two hundred years ago is said to be located.
Flare-sama’s proposal to ride Leon on the way out here was rejected.
With Leon saying, “It was your own carelessness that caused this, so take responsibility for it,” which caused Flare-sama to cave in.
It’s commonplace in this country for phantom beasts and holy beasts to be flying in the sky. Nobles who protect holy beasts and those whose occupation is a tamer sometimes ride out on phantoms, so it’s not too unusual.
“Rio is fine since she’s light, but Leon is so heavy!”
“Gods don’t care about mass. However, I have made sure that I have some weight.”
“Leon’s so mean!”
So gods have no mass. I had thought that Leon in his little beast form was quite light, but perhaps it was because he didn’t want to overload me. Does that mean that I might be able to lift Leon in his lion form? No, it’s impossible. Leon in his lion form is bigger than me, not to mention his mass. I wouldn’t be able to hold him.
“Even though it will soon be spring, it is still cold in the sky. Rio, aren\'t you cold?”
“I\'m not cold, I\'ve got my winter clothes on.”
“When you get cold, you can just wrap Leon around your neck!”
I see. Leon\'s fur looks warm. It’s fluffy, so it would probably keep the neck area warm. As I stared at Leon, his body twitched.
“Flare! Don’t say unnecessary things.”
“Mmm!”
I assume it was her payback for Leon\'s mischief. But, I like the idea of a fluffy muffler.
◇◇◇
The Lioness dukedom is warm and pleasant all year round. But despite the mild climate, for some reason, crops don\'t grow here. Currently, it is under the direct control of the royal family, but I have heard that they receive very little income.
We landed at the top of an inconspicuous mountain and steadily made our way along the mountain path. We were told that the owner of the Light Magic lives in the middle of the mountains around here.
There are almost no trees, so the mountain\'s surface is exposed. Thanks to that, we could see the monastery clearly, so we didn’t get lost.
“This territory doesn’t grow crops, so most of the food is bought from other territories.”
“It’s probably because the stupid lord who ruled this land in the past angered Kikuno.”
He offended the mild and gentle-mannered Kikuno-sama? What a frighteningly ignorant lord he was.
“If you lose the blessings of the earth god, the land will become impoverished. That\'s why crops don\'t grow.”
“What will happen when Chris may eventually rule this land?”
“Chris has the magical attribute of Earth Magic. If it’s that princess, I’ll give her my blessing again. Kikuno won’t have any objections.”
Come to think of it, Chris also had the Earth Magic attribute. I had forgotten about it because she has such a strong Wind Magic attribute.
“What a relief.”
If Leon can give his blessing, the territory will be able to develop. That’s good, Chris. I’m happy for her, even though she hasn’t decided whether to rule yet.
I can see the building we were aiming for as it came into view. It stood out in the wasteland. Although it was in ruins, it still retained the shape of a monastery.
“Umu. This is it! It’s filled with her magi power.”
I knocked on the door of the convent. After a while, a nun dressed in a white nun\'s uniform came out. When she saw Flare-sama, her eyes widened.
"Oh! You must be the Goddess of Light. I never thought I\'d be able to see you again."
“Umu. I am glad to see that you are alive and well! But after more than a hundred years, you still look so young.”
The nun knelt down in front of Flare-sama and clasped her hands together. I suppose it\'s a way to thank the gods.
“My ancestors were married to elves. It is said that in rare cases, a long-lived person like me will be born.”
I knew that she had the blood of the long-lived elf race in her veins. But I can’t believe the nun in front of me, who looks so young, is over a hundred years old.
“Is that so? I\'m surprised you have elven blood in your veins!”
Even though she knows, she\'s still blurting it out.
“I can\'t have the gods standing here talking to me. Please come inside.”
She said, completely opening the door to invite us in.
When we entered the monastery, a room with the appearance of a chapel with simple chairs lined up was revealed.
We were taken to a room further in the back, where we were prompted to sit on the sofa.
After leaving the room, the nun brought out a pot of tea and some cups which she placed in front of us. In the cup was a round piece of substance, that when hot water was poured into the cup from the teapot, a flower blossomed.
“Wah! It’s beautiful. What kind of tea is it?”
“It’s called Flowering Tea. I made it using the only flower that can be grown in this territory.”
When she strung the tea leaves with string and wrapped them around a flower, she named it Flowering Tea because it looked like a flower blooming. I wonder if I could do this with roses. When I get back to the mansion, I’ll experiment with it.
“By the way, Goddess of Light. Who is the young lady over there?”
I forgot to introduce myself. When I was about to stand up and greet her, Flare-sama stopped me with her hand.
“This is my friend and her companion, Fluffy!”
“Oh, you’re a friend of god? A cute young lady and her fluffy friend, aren’t they? My name is Therese. I come from a family of commoners, so I don’t have a family name.”
Therese-san smilingly looked at Leon and me and greeted us.
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Rio, and this Fluffy here is Leon.”
“Rio-san, are you perhaps the daughter of a noble family?”
“......our family fell into ruin, so I don’t have a family name.”
I’m not lying. In my previous life, I was……., but……. Now I thought it was best to reveal as little of my identity as possible.
“The way you carry yourself and talk about yourself has a certain elegance to it, so I was wondering if you were ...... How can I say ...... I\'m sorry for your loss.”
Therese-san shook her hand and looked down apologetically.
“No, no. I’m honored to be called a friend of the Goddess of Light, and I’m very happy to be able to enjoy my fluffy life.”
We came to visit Therese-san because we realized a certain danger.
In the event that Charlotte\'s plundering magic is activated, the target will be those who have light or dark magic. Of course, there is also the possibility that she has more than one magic attribute.
She was fifteen years old when she activated her Light Magic in my previous life. It’s possible that Charlotte, who somehow learned of the Forbidden Magic that was passed on in her family, robbed someone other than me of their Light Magic.
Why didn’t she rob me of my magic?
She was unable to take it from me.
If Charlotte has the same personality as before, she will probably take Light Magic from Therese-san. We have to stop all possibilities of this happening.
Last night, Flare-sama, eon, and I discussed it and decided to protect Therese-san.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Goddess of Light, but what business do you have with me?”
“Umu. It’s been a long time since I’ve bestowed my magic upon you, and so I was wondering if you were well. And, I came to give you this.”
Flare-sama gave Therese-san a pendant with a shining white charm. The white charm was made from Sylphy-sama’s scales. Laura delivered it to us in a week as promised.
Today\'s objective was to give the scales to Therese-san so that she could ward off the Plundering Magic. More than anything, I wanted to meet someone who had the same Light Magic as me.
“It\'s a beautiful pendant. Is it a good luck charm?”
“It\'s something like that. It should be kept close to the body. Especially beware of the girl with flaxen hair and brown eyes!
Flare-sama talked in great detail about the characteristics of Charlotte\'s appearance. There are a lot of women with flaxen hair and brown eyes, but you can never be too careful.
“You’re being very specific. Can the Goddess of Light seem my future?”
“That’s right! I am the Goddess of Light. Also, you must not tell anyone that we have come to visit you!”
Therese-san is a nun. She listens to people\'s problems and confessions. In addition to that, she is the one whom Flare-sama has given Light Magic to. I\'m sure she\'ll be tight-lipped about it.
“Of course. It\'s not easy to convince people to accept that you\'ve seen god.”
When she was a young girl, Therese-san was given Light Magic by Flare-sama and told the priests at the temple and her parents that she had received the magic from the Goddess of Light. However, they did not believe her.
When Therese-san was a child, there was no ritual to determine magical attributes.
In this country, there is a custom that women with light or dark attributes are welcomed into the royal family, regardless of their status. Despite this, neither the temple priests nor her parents believed her words, so it is reasonable to assume that the royal family was not informed.
After receiving Light Magic, Therese-san went into the mountains farther away from the temple to train her skills and stayed there for a long time. Because of this, the royal family was unaware of her existence.
Living deep in the unexplored mountains was so relaxing that before she knew it, a hundred years had passed. Thanks to her elven blood, she was able to live a long life, but in her later years, she returned to her hometown from deep in the mountains to help people.
But when she returned to her hometown, what she saw was a very different scene from what she remembered.
The land was dry and no crops could be grown, and the only thing that was thriving was the cultivation of Arabian Jasmine, a plant that could not be called wealthy.
Therese-san repaired the monastery where she met Flare-sama and took up residence there. It was there that she began to heal the injured and the sick using Light Magic\'s healing properties.
She has not told anyone that she is a possessor of Light Magic.
“Thank you for this wonderful gift.”
On our way out, Therese-san bent down deeply in front of the door and thanked Flare-sama with tears in her eyes.
“I\'ll be back, so stay safe!”
Flare-sama was also in tears, waving until she was out of sight. The guardian deities of our country are truly a tearful bunch.
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