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Chapter 309 – Cathedral Survey
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it’s majestic.”
Entering the cathedral, Isla and Iphrita looked up at the extremely high ceilings, exquisite carvings, and stained glass windows, and both expressed their positive impressions.
“Indeed. But do you have any specific thoughts about it?”
“Hmm, well, maybe I do. But that’s not the same thing. Beautiful things are beautiful.”
“Right. When I think of how much blood, sweat, and tears our people shed to build this cathedral, it’s not that I don’t have feelings, but I respect the craftsmanship that made this building a reality.”
“I see.”
I can’t help but think about it, but the beauty of this cathedral is a different story. Well, I’m talking about the two of them, and I’m sure there are some people who don’t like the existence of this cathedral itself. In fact, there are no subhumans in the cathedral. They probably don’t even come close to the cathedral.
On the contrary, people who seem to be human adherents are sparsely seen. They seem to be watching us. Why are subhumans here? They may be wondering that.
“So, what do you think? Can you find out anything?”
“There is less mana inside the cathedral than outside.”
“That’s true. This is strange since we were told that it would speed up the recovery of magic.”
The two of them are holding out something like a ball of light the size of a clenched fist in their hands and holding it up all over the place. I remember Isla did something similar before when she was exploring underground ruins. It must be the so-called magic of sensing magic power.
“Thin, huh? I don’t understand anything at all.”
“Because Kosuke doesn’t have any magic power.”
“And even if I say it’s thin, you can hardly tell unless you use magic to sense it. It’s like the air is clearer or something.”
“I see.”
The air feels clearer when the mana is thinner. So, if the mana is excessively dense, the air feels sluggish? I haven’t heard that kind of thing mentioned in rear bases with vein holes, though.
“There are magic reactions on some of the walls and pillars.”
“The metal used for decoration. Could it be mithril?”
Isla and Iphrita are paying attention to the decorations, and I take a peek from behind them. I could not see clearly, but it seemed to be some kind of alloyed metal containing mithril. Is it an alloy of mithril and gold?
“It’s plated, but is it a mithril-gold alloy?”
“Maybe, but this is some kind of magic circuit.”
“Hmm, maybe so. Maybe the effect is a diffusion of mana. You could call it purification.”
“It’s not collecting magic; it’s diffusing it. What does that mean?”
The three of us tilted our heads together. High Priestess Caterina was staring at us with a blank expression. She seemed to be a very kind person, even though she seemed to be difficult to deal with.
“High Priestess Caterina. Inside this cathedral, the effects of miracles and the healing power of injuries and illnesses are amplified, right?”
“Yes, it does. I heard that you also benefited from it.”
“Apparently so. I was stabbed in the liver with a dagger coated with basilisk venom, but I survived.”
“Eh? Wait a minute. I’ve never heard of this before?”
“I see. That’s what happened.”
“No, why are you still alive? Basilisk poison is so poisonous that even dragons can be overturned in some cases. What’s your life force like?”
“Maybe a little more robust than most people.”
Just a little, though. If it weren’t for that little bit, I would probably have died of kidney failure before the basilisk poison dagger, so I can’t help but be a little grateful to that delightful criminal for giving me this little bit of sturdiness.
“I think I just realized that Kosuke is the most unusual thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Most people would have died instantly. His life force is as strong as a dragon’s.”
“Why don’t you use his blood as an ingredient for magic potions? It could be as potent as dragon’s blood.”
“I would appreciate it if you would refrain from talking so loudly in the sacred cathedral about such potentially humane matters.”
Good, High Priestess Caterina, say more about it. Isla and others sometimes use me as a laboratory animal. I don’t want you to conduct clinical trials of dubious drugs without my consent just because I’m robust.
After that, High Priestess Caterina led us around the cathedral, and finally, we were taken to a place called the Meditation Room. This is a place used by miracle workers of a certain level of ability to practice miracles and perform high-level miracles, and it is not a place that outsiders are normally allowed to enter, apparently.
“The mana is so thick.”
“But it’s not ordinary mana. It is very light.”
The magic detection ball floating in their hands was reacting intensely. The mana in the meditation room and the surrounding rooms at the back of the cathedral seemed to be very thick, and the closer they got to the meditation room, the stronger the detection magic was reacting. It seems that the reaction was at its peak here.
“A strong magic reaction is coming from the glowing cross.”
“This is made of mithril. It’s as if the magic of the entire cathedral is concentrated here.”
As I listened to the two, I also considered the mechanism of this cathedral in my own way.
The cathedral is probably a kind of magic power concentration facility. However, its structure is by no means simple. In the main hall of the cathedral, which is the largest space, a magic circuit that diffuses and purifies the magic of the space is in operation, so the density of mana is rather lower than in ordinary space. And only the important compartments―that is, this meditation room and the surrounding rooms―have a density of mana that is unthinkable under normal circumstances. The room where I was once nursed by Ellen and others seems to be in the immediate vicinity of this meditation room.
“It is not a magic tool.”
“Right, I don’t see anything that corresponds to a magic circuit. It’s just a plain mithril glowing cross.”
Isla and Iphrita, who were examining the glowing cross―the Holy Symbol of the Adol religion―which is said to radiate dense mana, began to roar in agreement.
“It’s going to spark something
”
A large space that is intentionally diffusing mana and thinning it out is what caught my attention. Basically, energy and things like that try to maintain equilibrium. Just like hot water will eventually lose its heat and reach room temperature if left untouched. Just as the ice melts and becomes water. If mana is artificially diluted, it will flow in from the surroundings to maintain equilibrium.
In other words, by artificially diffusing and diluting the mana in the atmosphere―in this case, in the cathedral – isn’t mana being drawn in from the cathedral’s surroundings? It may be that they capture it by using mithril alloys with high magic conductivity and form a circuit by utilizing the high and low magic conductivity of pure mithril and mithril alloys to collect mana between these meditations.
In other words, the glowing cross that radiates magic power between these meditations may be the end of the circuit composed of the entire cathedral, or rather, the output destination of the mana collected.
“I just came up with a hypothesis.”
“Hmm, let’s hear it.”
“Let’s hear it.”
The two people who had been racking their brains were now groaning when they heard the hypothesis I had just come up with.
“I can’t say it’s impossible. I’ve never heard of such a large-scale magic circuit.”
“I’d like to talk to the craftsmen who built the Adolian cathedrals.”
Iphrita looked at High Priestess Caterina, but High Priestess Caterina shook her head with a stern expression on her face.
“Aside from small churches, the only craftsmen who could build such a large cathedral are in the home country. Considering the current relationship between this country and the Holy Kingdom, it would be difficult to invite them.”
“Mmm.”
“Can’t you at least get the blueprints for the cathedral?”
“I don’t know much about it myself, but I think it would be difficult. I will do my best to get it, but please don’t get your hopes up.”
“Please do something about it.”
I bowed my head and expressed my gratitude since she said she would do her best to help. It is important to show gratitude in words and attitude at times like this.
“I wonder if Kosuke can take apart the cathedral and examine it?”
“There is a possibility that it can be done, but if the cathedral is adversely affected by it, it would be unthinkable. If the entire cathedral is operating as a single magic circuit, it is better not to do anything bad. And above all, it would be a bit of a problem to disassemble and examine even a part of the cathedral, which is the stronghold of the Adol religion.”
“Hmm, that’s a big problem.”
“That’s true.”
Iphrita obediently nodded in agreement with my and Isla’s opinion. Or rather, I’m scared of high priestess Caterina, so please don’t say anything. You see, the corners of her eyes are lifted. We have no intention of doing anything so outrageous, so please calm your anger.
“Anyway, I think we have a guideline. We’ve learned how to use deviations in mana concentration, and we’ve got a sample of a magic circuit that diffuses mana. Aren’t those two great things?”
“I agree. We should be satisfied with that. All that remains is to repeat the experiment.”
“Hmm. I will transcribe the sample of the magic circuit.”
This will help us make some progress in the development of the mana trap. We then proceeded to investigate the reaction of the mithril alloy running in the walls and pillars of the cathedral and the magic circuits that have the effect of spreading magic power, and left the cathedral after thanking High Priestess Caterina for taking the time to guide us through the process.