Today, Iām heading to the forest with Gizel and Shibi to supply the living Ortem with magic.
My home-made incense leaves are not keeping up with the production at all now.
However, Iāve given the Chief my own allegorical description of the cultivation of incense leaf.
Once the Chief has perfected my method of cultivating the incense leaf, he can call out to the entire village and ask for help, and weāll be ready for mass production at once.
ā¦ However, I said, āI didnāt think that I needed precise magic up to this pointā¦ā, It seems that itāll still be a long way for that to be possible.
The Chief had said that he wanted to use this as an opportunity to make the magic ore coinage more permissible now.
If this can be achieved, this village will be much easier to live in than it is now.
Thanks to the fact that many people are now able to afford the low price of the incense leaf peeps, the atmosphere in the village seem to be better than before,
If the mass-production system is implemented, Iām sure leftovers will keep coming to me.
I donāt have to worry my father telling me what to do anymore, I can carve Ortem all day long.
Iām happy, everyoneās happy.
No one has any loss.
Karlco? I donāt know that name.
āHey! Abel!ā
We had just reached the incense leaf field deep in the forest when an angry voice shot up at our backs.
When I turned around, Noswell was there.
I thought he wouldnāt get involved with me anymore because heās been quiet for the past few days, but he showed up.
What, do you actually like me?
Noswell glares at me with a wrinkle in his face.
I look around.
Oh, uhā¦ where are the two followers?
I thought that it would be the same even if theyāre here or not, but I still feel lonely when theyāre gone like this.
I wonder if they stopped following him because the influence of the house was gone.
I have no end of grudges against Noswell.
It started when Mr.Mountain was severely snapped off, then you tried to take Gizel as your wife, at the end, both parent and child rained bodily fluids all over me, Iāll have no end of grudges with you.
I still donāt like this guy. I donāt like itā¦but somehow Iām starting to feel sorry for them.
āā¦ Not really, I donāt really have business with you anymore.ā
āI, well I have! Donāt joke, Donāt joke with me! Father, you know, he looks like that but his heart is delicate! After that heās been in bed because of the shock! Itās your fault!ā
uh, ohhhhhā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦
even if you tell me thatā¦
āThen what? Is it good if I go to apologize? Come to think of it, thereās a magic that makes you excited, but Iāve heard it works for therapy when youāre depressed. Thatās what the book says. If you want, I canā¦ā
āStay back! Itās going to get worse when you get here! Heās been wrapped up in a blanket all day and Abel is making a nightmare out of him!ā
I didnāt know if he was that mentally weakā¦
The Chief also said, āThe Karlco family has been eerily quiet, I wonder if theyāre up to somethingā, but he hadnāt yet fully recovered from his mental damage.
Apparently, the last ruckus was too much for him.
āIf I can no longer cultivate incense leaf, then Iā¦ what is the Karlco family supposed to do now! Youāve got to be kidding me!ā
āEven if you say thatā¦ Youāve been having too many good times. Since the Chief should be able to expand the size of this incense leaf field, why donāt you also help supply the living Ortem with magic?ćOr you could go hunting like the othersā¦ā
āYou, you, you want me or Dad to be the Chiefās lackey! My dad is a lot better than that guy!ćAnd hunting is only something a fool would do! Iām not one of those guys, you know!ā
Grumble, grumble, grumble, grumbleā¦ā¦
Doesnāt the Karlco family have enough assets to live and play for the rest of their lives?
ā¦ No, maybe most of the assets they possess are incense leaves.
Thereās no way the Karlco family is saving up magic ore coinsā¦
Whatās more, because of this, we have a lot of unsalable garbage on top of that.
Now Iām seriously feeling sorry for him.
āā¦ the incense leaves that are in your house, should I trade some of it?ā
āā¦ now that you are in advantage, youāre now feeling full of yourself! Youāve really, really made me angry! Iāll show you the power of the Karlco family!ā
This is not good.
I believe Noswell was touting that he could beat the Greater Bear.
Heās desperate now.
You never know what heās going to do.
āOh light, Drawā
At the same time of Noswellās yell, a bullet of fire was shot from the magic circle.
ā¦ on the Noswellās side.
āAhhhh! Hot! Itās hot!ā
The fire-battered Noswell stumbles around, screaming.
A magic circle is like a blueprint that you give to a spirit.
If it is completed late, a third party can thus alter some of it and change the outcome.
It seems that Noswell was just going to get stuck and make a threat.
The magic itself wasnāt very powerful.
It was a level that would be quelled if Noswell rolled around.
Thatās good.
I could have just scratched out the base of the magic circle, but I gave it back to Noswell impatiently because I was on the spur of the moment.
This is where we would have been in big trouble if Noswell had used magic to try to kill us in earnest.
Noswell fell to his knees in dismay after the fire was out and stopped moving.
His shoulders shaking slightly.
āwhyā¦ why thisā¦ whyā¦ā
Ah, this, heās going to cry.
āIāmā¦ Iām sorry.ā
āā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā
But that magic circle didnāt look like it had been built very well.
The power was definitely toned down, but the details werenāt very clean.
The fact that he could beat the Greater Bear may have been just a pretense.
In the first place, if it was encrypted, there would be no easy way to redraw the magic circle.
When I use magic, I make sure to encrypt the battlements.
I donāt knowā¦should I leave him alone now?
Just then, there was a clunking, clunking, clunking sound behind me.
When I turned around, I saw Mr.Mountain No. 2 and No. 3 standing up.
It is the Guardian Ortem of the incense leaf field.
Those two bodies have large, articulated legs attached to them.
It was quite intimidating when theyāre standing up.
This is not good.
It seems that Noswellās use of fire magic was taken as a hostile action.
I know that Mr.Mountain No. 2 and No. 3 are moving with the least use of magic but, because of itās small amount of magic, itās hard to give it orders from the outside.
āNo-, Noswell! Come on, stand up! Hurry!ā
Noswell waved away my outstretched hand.
āAnnoying! Stay back! Go away! Donāt look, donāt look at me! Looking down onā¦ me?ā
Heading to Noswell, Mr.Mountain No. 2 and No. 3 make a mad dash.
It was as if they were trying to avenge No. 1.
āStop! Stop!ā
I scream, but it doesnāt listen to me at all.
Maybe I should remake it after all.
Noswell staggered up and rolled away several times.
Afterward No. 2 and No. 3 followed.
You canāt replace your belly with your back.
It may interfere with the detailed functions, but the only way to stop it is by overriding the magic and forcing it to take a different move.
I waved my wand towards Mr. Mountain and the others.
āDance, Puppetsā
Two lights hit Mr. Mountain and the others.
Mr. Mountain No.3 stopped in his tracks, turned around, and leaped to the light.
He covered for No. 2 and received two lights.
No. 3 stopped moving as the order to stop was overridden.
No. 2 cheerfully went after Noswell, and soon he was out of sight.
I donāt think I can keep up with them on my own two feet.
We, wellā¦ā¦ Heāll be okay, yeah.
Mr. Mountain No. 2 and No. 3 only have the ability to protect other Ortems with their bodies, and the ability to relentlessly chase after external enemies.
He went after them leisurely, but when he caught up, he could only wave his arms exaggeratedly and threaten them.
Mr.Mountain is harmless to humans and animals.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!