Chapter 14: The contaminated Vilge?

  As usual, I used Holy Mist and stepped into the miasma.

  Perhaps the miasma was widespread and shallow, or perhaps there wasn't that much of it to begin with, it wasn't blocking my vision, and although the sand was contaminated, it wasn't giving off a putrid smell. I wasn't attacked by a horde of monsters the moment I walked in. There were occasional attacks, but we were able to repel them without suffering any serious damage.

  ?

  "... It's a lot better than when we fought Zephyrus, isn't it?"

  ?

  "Yeah, I guess. But let's not let our guard down."

  ?

  Regulus' voice was shaky, probably because he was remembering the devastation that was that time. Really, that time was really awful... I don't really want to remember it either, but it passed by my mind and made me frown.

  Feeling a little down, I continued on, and in what seemed to be the center there was a particurly rge building, surrounded by several other brick buildings.

  Unlike when we fought Zephyrus, many of the buildings remained, perhaps because not much time had passed since people left, or perhaps the materials used were highly durable. However, when I touched them, they easily crumbled away, probably due to miasma, so it was likely that this pce too would crumble to dust before too long.

  ?

  ... Will they disappear from this world, one by one, like this?

  ?

  Even if the miasma hadn't been present, there's no such thing as eternity. I know that in my head, but it still makes me feel helpless.

  No wonder the creator god always has a hard time. Everything is eventually lost and little is created.

  Well, it's possible that the former residents of this pce are surviving and doing well elsewhere... Or rather, it seems that there's a miko far to the east. Of course, it'll be fine there.

  ?

  This will be the first local miko that I will meet. I hope it's a nice person.

  According to the Creator God, she won't take away someone's powers as long as they aren't too inclined towards destruction... Which means that even if the personality is a little bit fwed, it's not a problem (Well, it could be a problem for me, though.).

  Hmm... I feel a mix of excitement and anxiety.

  ?

  "Rion-sama?"

  ?

  "... Oops."

  ?

  My thoughts had wandered so far that Fricka had to call me back to reality. Even though we need to be careful because we were in miasma.

  I spped myself lightly across the cheek to pull myself together.

  ?

  "For now... let's go to the center, it seems to be an important building."

  ?

  Without any objection everyone nodded at my suggestion.

  We walked along the open road that must have been the main street. I took a peek at the buildings on both sides along the way, but couldn't see anything obviously suspicious. A monster jumped out from under the rubble, but it just happened to be there and there was no particur significance to it.

  ?

  "Hmm... A temple of the Earth God?"

  ?

  "... If it's so broken, even I can't tell."

  ?

  Looking at the central building up close, it looked like a temple. Since it was an area managed by the Earth God, I thought it might be a temple dedicated to her, but the pce where the statue must have been pced was broken and the style of the building was subtly different to what I was familiar with, so I can't say for sure. Fricka doesn't seem to know either.

  Should I ask the Earth God next time?... No, if it was the Earth God's temple, telling her "It was broken" would probably hurt her. Let's stop.

  ?

  Well, st time the Earth God was sealed away beneath an abandoned church, so I wonder if something simir will happen this time too.

  ?

  "... There doesn't seem to be anything there."

  ?

  "There doesn't seem to be anything there either."

  ?

  Uru is tapping on the floor with her foot, and Liese was tapping with the butt of her spear, but there was no indication that there was a basement.

  I looked not only below but also above, but the roof had colpsed and there was clearly nothing there either.

  It appears that the source of the miasma has nothing to do with this pce. I guess that a situation like Zephyrus won't happen so soon.

  Disappointed by our high expectations, we went outside the temple and walked around looking for any other suspicious pces. Then...

  ?

  "Rion, isn't that it?"

  ?

  "Hmm?"

  ?

  In the pce Uru pointed was a brick-made well. Perhaps it was drawing water from an underground water vein. The sight of the broken rope swaying slightly in the wind was somehow mencholic.

  And now that she said it, the miasma around the well was indeed thick... No, it was overflowing from underground...?

  ?

  ... If the entire underground water vein is contaminated, the situation is far more serious than we might imagine.

  ?

  After all, people need water to survive. If miasma begins to bubble up from the wells like in this vilge, it will be no longer possible to live there. Even if the area is purified, the miasma will continue to bubble up forever as long as the source remains contaminated, so it will require a huge amount of effort to clean up all the contamination.

  I wonder if the miasma that could be seen here and there when looking from the sky was because it was coming from underground. If they were not just scattered miasma spots, but just tip of the iceberg originated by the same source, then it must be quite deep-rooted...

  ?

  In any case, there's no point in imagining the worst. For now, I'll just have to concentrate on what's in front of me. Even when I peer into the well, the miasma makes it impossible to see inside. So first, I drop a stone into it to see if it's a dry well.

  ?

  "Uru, did you hear the water?"

  ?

  "Umu."

  ?

  Hmm... If only this pce was a dried-up well that was contaminated, there would have been hope. But now it seems more likely that the entire underground water vein is the problem.

  ?

  "I'll go down and see what's going on first. Lend me a rope and a ntern."

  ?

  "Please. Be careful."

  ?

  I took out a rge stone block and tied a rope to it, making sure that it would not come undone and that it would not move under Uru's weight, before entering the well. Uru went down smoothly like a trained soldier rappelling, and in an instant she was swallowed up by the darkness.

  The rope was moving smoothly, so she must be safe, but I feel uneasy about letting her go alone to a pce which may be dangerous where she can't be seen.

  But it wasn't long before Uru popped her head out of the well.

  ?

  "There's a big cavity below. The miasma is a little thicker, but there are no monsters or traps nearby, so it should be safe to go down."

  ?

  "Hah, what about the water?"

  ?

  "... It looked deep."

  ?

  "Hmm... I'll go down and get a foothold."

  ?

  I cautiously climbed down the rope, and sure enough, there was a rge cavity. It's amazing that it hadn't been filled up with sand. I guess the ground is solid around here.

  As I dropped stone blocks to make a foothold, they sank with a loud spsh... Even though it's a desert, the water is about two meters deep. Ah, but isn't it true that greening the desert is difficult not only because of the water problem, but also because the sand shifts?

  No, no, this is not the time to be brooding. It's dark, there's a current, and it would be extremely dangerous if I fell. Let's get on with the work.

  Using the stone blocks I'd dropped as a starting point, I made a simple bridge to a pce without water, then called everyone over.

  Uru, carrying Fricka on her back, came down first (yeah, it looks like she'd be unable to do it alone...), then Liese, and finally Regulus. Unlike me, they moved without any worries.

  ?

  Once we'd all safely reunited, I looked around the cavern once more. There was a rge hole along the water flow, and several smaller holes in the walls. Most of them were formed naturally and probably not dug by humans, but some of the holes might have been dug by monsters.

  It was hard to see because of the miasma, but then I finally noticed something.

  ?

  "Ahh... This pce is turning into a dungeon."

  ?

  "Mu, really?"

  ?

  If we can find the core and purify it, this whole area might improve.

  With this wish in mind, I decided to head in the direction of the core's presence - where the water was flowing.