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TL: ALT
Chapter 60 – Ancient Ruins Shrine, Once More
They traveled from Southern Ship Town to the royal capital once.
Without ever leaving the capital, they moved as a group toward the northern shrine.
If they were split up like before, even if they thought nothing would happen, it would only cause unnecessary anxiety.
Wataru and the others huddled close together and leaped through the gate.
The ancient shrine, which they hadn’t visited in a long time, was as dingy as ever.
No one had used it for a long time. Aside from the footprints that Wataru and his companions had left behind, there were no signs of a recent human presence.
It seemed the mysterious beauty hadn’t visited either.
“It’s still a unique sight, isn’t it?”
“It’s strange that an ancient city exists in such dense, overgrown vegetation.”
“They say that if no one lived there, Osaka, where we live, could be covered in trees within decades.”
“That’s scary.”
Japan boasts some of the world’s highest rainfall.
Plants thrive easily there, and without human intervention, vegetation would apparently overtake and erode everything in no time.
This ancient, ruin-like scene might resemble Japan’s future in the absence of people.
Wataru scraped his shoe sole, checking the ground beneath him.
The footing was terrible—a mixture of dirt, gravel, and layers of mud and leaves.
The shrine itself was covered in vines and mud, obscuring the carved characters.
“All right, let’s divide the tasks. Aire and Cloche, who can leave the shrine, will plant the Storing Grass. It’s a big job, so I’m counting on you.”
“Got it! Leave it to me! And don’t get in my way, Cloche!”
“Why!? I’ll do a splendid job, too, I assure you! Leave it to me!”
“Well, Cloche seems like the type to mess up when you’re counting on her.”
“Well, given how she became a slave, she does seem prone to overthinking things. If anything happens, Mariel and I can’t come to your aid, so be careful.”
“Of course! Do you think I’d make the same mistake again? I’ll show you my flawless work!”
“All right, all right. I’m just worried. Don’t get so worked up.”
“It’s… humiliating, having my past failures brought up again and again. I’ll redeem myself here.”
Aire and Cloche took the bag containing the Storing Grass and a shovel, then cautiously exited the shrine.
The area near the shrine should have a slightly lower magic concentration than more distant locations because it utilizes magic. They were instructed to test it as close to the shrine as possible.
If anything happened, they could call out immediately.
“Mariel and I will—”
“Clean the shrine. It’s filthy, so it should be rewarding work.”
“We gave it a rough cleaning last time, but looking at it again, it’s still completely dirty, huh?”
“Let’s do a proper job today.”
“I wonder how long it’ll take to get it completely clean.”
“Even if you say that, you’ll do it, won’t you, Master? You’ve done it with other shrines before.”
“I owe them, after all. I’ll use the shovel to clear the dirt piled up on the floor. Mariel, you handle the mud and vines clogging the gate.”
“Understood. It’ll be worth the effort!”
Mariel’s breasts jiggled and bounced as she worked hard.
She tied her long hair back so that it wouldn’t get in the way, revealing the nape of her neck. Wataru swallowed hard.
She usually wore her hair down, so he rarely saw it like this. However, it was incredibly alluring.
With a sharp thud, Wataru thrust the shovel’s blade into the dirt and used his weight to dig up the soil.
A crunch against something hard confirmed that the original floor was beneath it.
Careful not to damage it, he scooped up the soil and tossed it near the shrine’s entrance.
Later, the dirt would be discarded outside the shrine.
“Could this soil be used in Grandpa’s field?”
“It probably contains a lot of magic power, but it might have been exposed to too much magic and could contain harmful components.”
“That’s scary. I guess I’ll skip it.”
“I think that’s wise. Land that is naturally rich in magic power usually has benefits without drawbacks. However, land that is prone to magic disasters could cause problems. Who knows what might happen?”
“It’d be awful if the vegetable Grandpa lovingly tends to develop abnormalities.”
“You really care about your grandfather, don’t you, Master?”
“Well, I was practically raised by Grandpa and Grandma. I never knew my father, and I heard that my mother left after giving birth to me and never came back.”
The words about his parents just slipped out.
Most of his memories were from when he was an infant, and he hadn’t had enough contact with them to feel any attachment.
Still, having both parents absent was unusual, unlike having just one missing. That’s why he hated parent-teacher conferences back in elementary school.
Perhaps because he was raised with so much love by his grandparents, he grew up without becoming particularly twisted.
Where on earth are they now? What are they doing?
They might as well be complete strangers now. Wataru didn’t want to know, and he hoped he’d never meet them again.
If they came to see a child they’d neglected for so long, it couldn’t be for a good reason.
Conversely, that’s precisely why he wanted Mariel’s family—who remained close despite circumstances forcing them apart—to be happy.
He wished he could have given Aire and Cloche the chance to meet their families.
“Well, I know this is sudden and hard to hear. Sorry about that.”
“N-no! I’m the one who’s sorry. I brought up such complicated matters.”
“I’m the one who brought it up. It’s nothing for Mariel to worry about.”
Mariel’s face turned pale as she bowed her head. It was probably something Wataru would have wanted to talk about someday.
That’s why it slipped out unconsciously now.
“Don’t worry about it,” Wataru said, driving his shovel forcefully into the ground again. At that moment, Cloche’s pitiful scream echoed.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah! S-save meeeeeeeee!”
“Cloche!”
“M-Master, you must not come out!”
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I guess Cloche messed up again. 😋
Thanks for the treat.
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