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Chapter 131 – Day 23 of the Strategy Life
Today’s breakfast was steak. Apparently, Sylvia had hunted a wild boar before dawn and fed it to the rock crocodiles at the crocodile ranch, so the leftover meat became breakfast.
“Even crocodile leftovers are delicious.”
“It’s too delicious.”
Thanks to the wild herbs on the side, it didn’t weigh heavily on my stomach.
“Isn’t it unusual for Sylvia to go hunting?”
“N-n-no, once we built the crocodile ranch, I figured we’d have plenty of leather and meat, so I couldn’t just sit around. Besides, I wanted to adjust my weapons.”
“That’s okay. I went with her, and she handled her weapons well.”
Hel praised her as well. The weapon she used was a spiked mace with paralyzing poison on the spikes.
“That’s impressive.”
“Th-That’s what I should say. I saw Arachne’s thread.”
Currently, Arachne’s thread was piled up like a mountain in the cave’s storage room.
“There seems to have been a massive outbreak. I heard a bit about it from Chel.”
“Yes, I’m glad Lipa noticed. Look, that’s where the false mangroves grow.”
“There? Isn’t that where the village was buried?”
“Yes.”
Previously, we had followed a ghost dog monster from the temple to the south.
“Should we try to drain the water again like we did with the swamp? Since it’s a river, we have to change the current.”
“Is the village buried at the bottom of the river?”
Ka-Ryu asked while constructing a golem body. Lately, she has been experimenting with transforming into small animals. She said it uses less magic power.
“Ah, look. There was a temple in the south, right? That’s the village that worships that god…”
“The goddess of fertility? If so, it must be an agricultural village.”
“You mean farmers lived there?”
“Yes, it was a village where they grew crops on the floating island, taught farming all over the country, and produced alcohol.”
“So they were the people who ran the floating island before it was swallowed by the giant magical beast?”
“That’s right.”
“Then they were the people who used the flying brooms?”
As usual, Lipa was drenched in sweat from the morning and asked Ka-Ryu while chewing on a steak. He never misses his morning training.
“That’s right. There should also be a ‘holding mountain’ on the floating island.”
“What is a holding mountain?”
“Isn’t the floating island connected by chains now?”
“It is.”
“It is the place where the chains are connected. It’s like a station used to move the island when the chains are removed.”
Come to think of it, when we searched under the desert, we found chains extending from the floating island and connected to a pyramid. Can those be removed?
“I don’t know the details, but I think they moved it because the wind direction and sunlight change with the seasons.”
“So there might be a holding mountain near the ruins of the village?”
“Yes. If it wasn’t destroyed by the giant magical beast…”
With Ka-Ryu around, the things we discovered started to fit together.
Originally, we had planned to go back and get the thread from Arachne in the morning, so we decided to go to the mangrove swamp where the false mangroves grow.
Chel and Jennifer, who had already finished breakfast, were making nets out of vines and had prepared wooden sticks and monster bones to help wind the thread.
“That’s thoughtful.”
“Arachne’s thread from the demonic land smells like money, after all.”
“I heard from Jennifer that they have bread with cow’s milk in it. Please exchange the thread for milk… And sugar too…”
Chel looked me in the eyes with unusual seriousness. There was no accent. Surely even the Meiju Kingdom had milk bread, right?
“I understand that you’re blinded by money and food. Anyway, we’ll leave first. Join us when you’re ready.”
“Got it.”
I carried Ka-Ryu on my back while Lipa carried Hel on his broomstick, and we left the house. Sylvia followed behind, saying, “I-I’ll run!”
We made our way to the place and were attacked by monsters along the way. Hel fired her crossbow from the broomstick, hitting all the monsters in the head. She must have practiced secretly at night.
“Not bad. Is this the result of your daily practice?”
“No, it’s not. I increased the power with a magic circle, so now they fly straight.”
Maybe she didn’t want to be seen practicing too much, or maybe it was really thanks to the performance of the crossbow. Either way, she was able to defeat the monsters, so there was no reason to complain.
When we arrived at the location, we immediately got to work.
Using the roots of the mangrove trees as a foothold, we began wrapping Arachne’s threads around wooden sticks and bones. For those that stuck to the bark and couldn’t be peeled off, we tried wetting them to weaken the adhesive. If that didn’t work, we cut them off with a knife.
Ka-Ryu and Hel began to search the area for any signs of the holding mountain.
“If any mosquitoes come out, light a fire.”
“Got it.”
The big mosquitoes from yesterday weren’t a problem, but swarms of small ones were a nuisance.
Once the string was rolled up and the stick was as thick as a large barrel, we put it in the net Chel and the others had made.
All the monsters caught by the Arachnes and their eggs were burned.
Since there was a river flowing beneath our feet, crab and catfish monsters also appeared, but we dealt with them by stepping on them or kicking them. With little interference, we repeated the same work until noon.
Thanks to our efforts, the Arachne’s nest was completely gone, and the area became a cluster of leafless mangrove trees.
Wiping the sweat from our bodies, we ate lunch on the shore.
A delicious roll filled with wild boar meat and wild herbs. Seasoned with Sansho pepper and salt, it was gone in no time.
Hel and the others returned, and we took a break together.
“How was it?”
“There were a few hills, and I’m not sure which ones. Makyo, check the ground later.”
“Got it. Did you not recognize it?”
“With so much magic, it’s hard to tell. But Makyo, Hel might be a reincarnation of the Magic Sealing Clan.”
“What is the Magic Sealing Clan?”
“It’s a clan that produces skilled magic tool craftsmen. I heard that she made Chel’s bracelet and that she used a stick-like weapon to keep monsters away.”
The Magic Sealing Clan must be a clan that seals magic.
Hel rolled up her sleeves to show her tattoos and laughed, “That’s not true.” But Ka-Ryu couldn’t see them.
“Most of the magic circles are things I learned in the Elf Kingdom and experimented with using P.J.’s notebook. This stick is just a replacement for the magic circle used to cool the cups. The magic stones I put in it are small.”
“If it can protect Ka-Ryu, isn’t that impressive?”
“Hmm, no, I was just observing. I don’t do anything particularly difficult. I observe monsters, determine the location of their hearts, and then freeze them instantly…”
So their hearts shrink?
“That’s what Makyo always does. I think everyone here can do it.”
“I-I-I guess my observation skills have improved since the old days.”
“Ah, I thought the same thing when I returned to the Meiju Kingdom. Other people don’t really observe monsters much, do they? Or rather, maybe we didn’t observe them much before we came to the demonic land.”
“So being in the demonic land automatically improves your observation skills?”
“If you don’t observe and judge, you might die.”
“But this stick could be useful for training. Let’s take it.
We should give them to people who have come from other places. Let’s make some more later.
“Speaking of the Magic Sealing Clan, does that mean that people who can’t use magic are better at drawing magic circles?”
Hel asked Ka-Ryu.
“Of course. Since accidents are less likely, the research goes smoothly. The Magic Sealing Clan was the one who flew the floating islands, and they’re probably involved in almost everything related to magic circles…”
“I heard that the Cliff Garuda created the floating islands, but is that not true?”
“Even among the dragonfolk, each clan has its own strengths and weaknesses. Those with more magic power probably think they can solve everything with magic, don’t they?”
“That’s probably true.”
“If you keep looking for what you don’t have, you will come up with ingenious solutions and methods, and before you know it, you will have acquired superior technology. Just like everyone in the demonic land now…”
“W-w-where is the Magic Sealing Clan now?”
“They should be in Midgard by now, but I don’t know what’s going on. If I were part of the Magic Sealing Clan, my approach to exploration would be different.”
“I see. If there was someone who could draw a magic circle to send land into the sky, I’m sure there would be a lot of trouble.”
“Jennifer is smart. Over a thousand years ago, there was a lot of debate about which land to send up into the sky regarding the floating islands. I’m sorry, I’ll have to pass.”
“Yes, I’m glad you’re not too strange.”
“That’s a relief. So, what do you think? I wish I could pull a cooling stick out of my arm, but I guess that’s not possible, is it?”
She was strange, after all.
In the afternoon, I went back and forth to the cave several times to carry Arachne’s threads and explored the hill near the false mangrove colony. I discovered a square pyramid-shaped building in the middle of the hill.
This appears to be the holding mountain.
Once again, a question arises.
“This huge chain was used to move the floating island, right?”
“I’m sure it was.”
“But how do you pull such a chain?”
“Sure, even a giant monster would be unable to do that, but…”
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