Chapter 92
Tori’s Magic Stone…?
“I want to personally travel around the various regions and imbue the magic stones with blessings.”
I first proposed this idea to Leo.
Leo agreed with me and said he would discuss it with His Majesty the King.
While waiting for the king’s permission, all I could do was to imbue as many magic stones as possible with the Saint’s blessing, and to brew as many high-grade healing potions as I could.
In any case, as a Saint, I had to do everything I could for the sake of this country.
—That was what I was thinking, when it happened.
“W–What…? Tori’s magic stone broke? Is that true, Lord Marx?”
‘Yes. For some reason, it suddenly shattered. And after that, monsters have been appearing far more frequently.’
“No way…”
Leo and I, having been summoned by Queen Melanie, could not hide our agitation as we listened to Lord Marx speak through the magic mirror.
‘For now, the Third Knight Order is managing somehow, but it would be a problem if the number of monsters continues to increase. That’s why I need you to urgently prepare another magic stone imbued with the Saint’s blessing and send it to Sibel.’
“Of course. I’ll prepare one immediately…!”
“I understand the situation. We’ll discuss things on our end and contact you again.”
“Brother… please.”
As Leo answered, Lord Marx lowered his gaze as if averting his eyes and murmured softly before the communication cut off.
The two of them are brothers by blood, but with their differences unresolved, Lord Marx had left for Tori.
Perhaps because of that, even now he still seemed somewhat awkward.
“To think a magic stone would break…”
“I’m sorry. Could it be because my power was insufficient?”
“No, I don’t think that’s the case. Even so, for a magic stone to break on its own… that’s not something that happens unless something extraordinary occurs.”
“……”
The magic stone sent to Tori had been especially large and high-quality.
It was one I had imbued with blessings shortly after awakening to my powers as a Saint, so I did consider that perhaps my power had been insufficient back then. But judging from Leo’s reaction, a magic stone breaking was no trivial matter.
Leo stood there, deeply serious, hand to his chin in thought. Seeing that, I couldn’t bring myself to ask anything more.
—And then, a few days later, it was quickly decided that I would go to Tori myself.
“Sorry for the suddenness. Rather than having a blessed magic stone transported all the way to Tori, we decided it would be better for you to go there directly and see the situation for yourself. Of course, we’ll be going with you.”
“I don’t mind at all! I’d feel much more at ease that way.”
“Thank you.”
I’m sure the fact that I had just proposed traveling around in person helped push the decision along.
I was glad that His Majesty granted permission sooner than expected.
I had only just awakened to my powers as a Saint and was still very inexperienced, but I wanted to be of help, even if only a little, to the people of this country.
That’s why, if there was anything I could do, I wanted to give it my all.
And besides, I wanted to see with my own eyes why the magic stone broke, and how it broke.
I’m sure Leo felt the same way.
And so, preparations to depart for Tori immediately were set in motion.
Those coming along were Mirko, my guards Yoti and Rick, Elga—and…
“Armin-kun is coming too?”
“I’m really, really sorry…! I’ll make sure to strictly tell him not to get in the way!!”
Although he had come to the royal capital on his own, it wouldn’t be right to send him back to his territory alone again. And since Yoti would be leaving the capital, it would be worrying to leave Armin waiting alone until someone came to pick him up. So it was decided that Armin would come with us.
Then, on the way back from Tori, we’d stop by the Myukke territory to see him home.
It would be a bit of a detour, but we still hadn’t delivered a new magic stone to Myukke.
So while we were at it, I could directly imbue a magic stone with blessings there as well.
“I don’t mind at all.”
“Thank you, Sibel-chan.”
Myukke is originally a region where monsters rarely appear, but Armin’s obvious panic had been bothering me a little.
Maybe it was because he had seen monsters for the first time—but if we could go there ourselves, that would put my mind at ease.
“But please, never act on your own, okay? I think Tori is far more dangerous right now than the royal capital.”
“Got it! I’ll protect you, Sibel, so don’t worry!!”
“Oh my…”
As Armin said that so confidently, Yoti immediately dropped a fist on his head.
“Hey! Watch how you speak!”
“What’s your problem? You talk casually with her too, don’t you?!”
“Don’t lump me together with you.”
“Why not?!”
“Ufufu, it’s fine. And as long as you don’t leave my side, nothing dangerous will happen!”
“Heh, as expected of the Saint.”
Yoti and Armin really are close brothers.
I don’t have a younger brother myself, but Armin is so cute it feels like I’ve gained one.
And while Tori may indeed be a very dangerous place, if I’m with them, everything will surely be fine!
And so, once our preparations were complete, we immediately set out for Tori.
Tori, being a remote frontier region, takes several weeks to reach even by carriage.
We planned to all ride together in a large carriage, staying at inns in towns along the way.
If we had a magic stone imbued with teleportation magic like the one Rick’s master, Lord Wagner, used, we could probably reach Tori much faster.
But perhaps there is no one in this country yet who can use magic as advanced as teleportation.
At the very least, I can’t.
…But my magic power is supposed to be strong, so if I practiced, might I be able to use it someday?
Like Rick, I’d like to study abroad in the Kingdom of Bahand and train.
…Though it’s probably impossible now.
Still, I hope that someday I can meet Lord Wagner again and have him teach me magic.
Thinking such thoughts, I spent the first day of our journey toward Tori.
