Only My Magic Levels Up - Chapter 137
Only Noblemtl
Episode 137 Traces (5)
After replenishing their supplies for the journey, Galen and Lilia headed to the church as soon as the sun rose the next day.
“Are you here?”
Diana had already prepared the carriage.
It is not a church carriage. It is plain on the outside, but on the inside, it is a luxurious, unobtrusive piece of work. It is most likely supported by the upper ranks of Kalia.
Her appearance had also changed a lot since yesterday. Of course, her face hadn’t changed in a day, but it was because her clothes had changed.
The atmosphere was bound to change completely just by replacing the neat white robes with dull gray robes.
Galen wasn’t surprised to see that. He had already heard the story yesterday, and Lilia, who had come with him, wasn’t wearing a robe either.
“I apologize for asking you this, Bishop Lilia. However, it would be best if we move as secretly as possible… … .”
“It’s okay! I’ve done this before.”
“Is that so?”
“Did you buy these clothes back then too?”
It was clear that for an ordinary clergyman, the robe was a precious garment, a source of pride.
Diana was indifferent, as the Knights Templar, who often acted covertly, often walked around without their robes.
Lilia also didn’t feel much discomfort because she had previously taken off her robes while investigating the black market in the northeast. It was inevitable that she would feel slightly awkward.
“Please take good care of me.”
“Yes. Leave it to me.”
“I will work hard!”
Varga gave the two bishops a brief word of encouragement. Galen, who was standing a little way away, met his gaze and exchanged a brief nod.
The carriage soon departed.
The direction of movement is west.
The Southwestern Archdiocese was located west of the Southern Archdiocese, so it was natural.
Diana explained the destination inside the carriage with three people.
“Bishop Lilia, you know this well, since it’s your hometown. There isn’t much usable land in the East. Except for the coast, most of it is mountainous.”
“that’s right!”
“The Southwest is similar. The difference is that it is not mountains but forests. The area called Daesurim covers most of the Southwest.”
Just as the great mountain range that starts in the southeast, covers most of the east, and rises to the northeast is called the Great Mountain Range.
The vast forest area that covered almost the entire southwestern region was called the Great Forest.
To be more precise, it was inevitable that it would turn out that way, since the boundaries of the Southwestern Archdiocese were originally set to Daesurim and its surroundings.
“The Great Mountains have basins here and there and are rich in buried resources, but the Great Forest doesn’t have any of that. It’s just… a land of death.”
“Huh? It’s a forest?”
“It’s probably a bit different from the forest Lilia imagines.”
Galen, who had never been to the Southwest but knew from his past life how dangerous the jungle was, added:
“It’s hot and humid, the plants are so dense that it’s dark even during the day, there are all kinds of poisonous plants and insects, and there are unidentified plagues… … .”
“Eek.”
“You know very well. Brother, you are right. There are also evil species that only live in the Great Forest, so at least by human standards, it is a land of death.”
Although there was still plenty of wood to be obtained, and the area was being cleared little by little from the outside, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the entire area of the Great Forest.
Along with the north, where it was so cold that few people could live, the southwest was the region with the lowest population and the poorest economy.
“In fact, the southwest and east suffered greatly during the great plague seven years ago. The southwest suffered much more, but that was due to the difference in population between the two regions, not because the disease was less severe.”
“Huh? Brother, didn’t you say earlier that there was an epidemic in Daesurim?”
“It’s not like it’s guaranteed, but I know there’s a high risk of it happening.”
“Then, is it possible that the disease that came from the Great Forest could spread through the southwest to the southwest?”
“It’s not impossible. If it weren’t for the traces discovered by the Archbishop, we would have considered it the same and passed it over.”
Diana nodded to Lilia’s question.
“In fact, we cannot be certain of the existence of magic because it was only discovered once. Plagues of all sizes are very common all over the world, so we cannot assume that all of them are caused by a single culprit.”
“Right.”
“That’s why this mission is so important. Our current destination is in the north-southwest, and the damage is spreading very quickly, similar to the Great Plague.”
“I hope the church’s judgment is right.”
Galen muttered softly.
“I don’t know why you did something like that, but once you get over it, it won’t happen again.”
And learn new magic while you’re at it.
This one looks a bit evil so I’m not that interested, but if I learn it, it might come in handy someday.
For example, if the target is not a human but a monster, mass killing would not be considered a problem, and at least it could be used as a defense against similar magical enemies.
Outside of Oceanis’ sphere of influence, the name of the jewel had not yet spread in earnest.
That was fortunate this time. The culprit wouldn’t have hidden first.
* * *
There were only three people in the carriage leaving Baljam, but there were other people in the group who were not accompanying them but were invisible.
“The assistants were sent first.”
Diana said.
“This mission requires gathering information quickly over a wide area. There’s no reason for us to move around in groups.”
“Are we perhaps taking it too leisurely?”
“It’s okay. The carriage isn’t that slow, and it should take more than enough time to gather information.”
No matter how good Galen and Lilia are, they only have one body. They cannot handle the plague spreading across such a wide area.
At least for information gathering, it was much more efficient to rely on the collaboration between the Kalia upper class, which had numerous sources of information, and the church, which had strong influence in the local community.
Also, even if the method of conveying information as quickly as possible was to change horses and run, it was possible to make it on time by riding a carriage.
“The reason I invited you two in the first place was not to ask you to do small things. Please leave those things to us.”
“All right.”
However, neither Galen nor Lilia had the conscience to go and have fun leisurely.
The slightly hurried carriage crossed the southern and southwestern borders ten days later.
“Chief.”
In a nearby small town, a Samjowon was waiting for them.
“Were you waiting here?”
“Yes. The situation seems to be serious, so I would like to report to you quickly.”
“Are things really that bad?”
“Here, here is what has been reported so far.”
Diana, who received the information from Jo Won, read it carefully. Her expression gradually worsened.
She put the materials aside for a moment and rummaged through her bag. A thick piece of paper, folded neatly, came out that was quite large.
The identity of the paper spread out on the table in the inn was a map.
The lower part shows the Great Forest, and the upper part, above the roughly drawn line, is the Western Archdiocese. The left end is the sea, and the right end has the name of the city they are currently in.
In short, it was a fairly detailed map depicting the northern part of the Southwestern Archdiocese.
Diana, holding a pen, made small marks on the map indicating the damages in the data. Even Galen and Lilia, who had not read the data themselves, could roughly understand the situation just by looking at the numbers on the map.
“Umm… … .”
“oh my god…….”
Galen sniffled and Lilia covered her mouth. Diana, who had finished transferring the data, let out a heavy sigh.
“It has only been a little over a month since the Church became aware of the outbreak of the plague. In that time, it has spread this much. Even at this very moment, new reports are coming in… .”
“We are gathering as much information as possible, focusing on villages with churches or informants from the upper ranks. However, in villages that have suffered great damage from the plague, it is difficult to accurately determine the situation, as even these people die. In the case of remote villages, there are even cases where they are completely wiped out before they can ask for help.”
Jo Won added his explanation gloomily. Lilia, who had been deep in thought with a serious expression, opened her mouth.
“I think we should make sure of that first. Whether there are any traces. Let’s stop by the nearest town and check.”
“Good idea. This is the direction the plague is currently spreading, and considering that, we should go this way… … .”
Opinions quickly gathered.
Jo-won immediately went back to get more information, and the party sent the groom back out of fear of an epidemic.
Although it was not the bishop’s job, Diana volunteered to be the coachman.
After two more days, the carriage arrived at its destination village.
When outsiders visit during a plague, the atmosphere is not always good, but in times like these, the priest is like a magic key. When he briefly shows them the stigmata, the villagers instantly become friendly.
The village church was a small place with only a deacon and no priest. Fortunately, the village was not in a serious condition.
Lilia visited the seriously ill and performed miracles, while Galen, together with Diana, looked after those in relatively mild conditions.
After the action was over, the three gathered back at the church.
Lilia’s face was not bright.
“I can’t feel any traces.”
“I did the same.”
Galen’s expression wasn’t very good either.
They say you can’t get full on the first drink, but this is a bit different. I thought there would be traces of it, of course.
Diana asked cautiously.
“I apologize for the inconvenience, but is there any chance that you misunderstood something?”
“Well, I don’t think so.”
Galen took the bottle out of his bosom and tilted his head.
The blood of the Droey I brought for comparison still had that faint unpleasantness to it.
“Is it because you have the blood of a wizard? The villagers are just ordinary people?”
“I don’t know. But if there was such a difference, I think the Archbishop would have noticed… … .”
“Well, I don’t think he would only treat wizards.”
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind.
They had to leave the village with a heavy heart.
After that, I visited several more villages, but the situation was the same. I couldn’t find any special traces.
Meanwhile, reports continued to come in from the crew members, and the plague continued to spread with no sign of losing its momentum, so one day, as he was becoming more and more anxious.
“oh!”
In a large town that had a population of over a thousand before the plague struck, Galen and Lilia were finally able to find traces.
It wasn’t just one or two people. Traces were commonly found in the patients’ blood.
The anxiety that everyone, including the archbishop, was just walking on empty legs disappeared in an instant.
Lilia, who had been feeling weak for the past few days, regained her energy, and Galen, who had been quietly looking over the data he had collected up until then, pointed to a part of the map.
“Let’s go here next.”
Traces were found again in the next village, the next village that Galen had visited.
Three consecutive wins can’t be considered a coincidence, Diana asked with sparkling eyes.
“Have you found any clues?”
“I don’t know if this is right… but you can see the state of the villages we failed to win and the villages we won.”
“What’s the status?”
Diana, who had been looking through the data for a while after hearing Galen’s words, opened her eyes wide as if she realized something.
“What is the status of the damage ratio?”
“Yes. It is natural that there are many deaths in large villages, but the rate is particularly high compared to other villages.”
“If the reason isn’t a simple coincidence, then it’s because the culprit passed through that place himself… …!”
“I don’t know how they spread the plague, but they can’t possibly go around this vast area and spread it everywhere. They probably only deal with certain areas and let the rest spread to the surrounding areas. The villages we haven’t found traces of are probably places where it spread naturally, and the villages we found are probably places where it was spread artificially.”
“Brother, after hearing what you said, is there something else?”
Lilia, who was reading other materials beside Diana, said.
“These are places where the village itself was destroyed. They’re not that far from the larger towns, right? If you put your mind to it, you could probably get there in a day.”
“What you say is plausible, Sister. Remote villages are not easily reached by news, so they cannot ask for help and sometimes suffer disasters. On the other hand, since outsiders rarely go there, the probability of an epidemic spreading is low.”
“It may be a coincidence in one or two places, but if this overlaps, it is definitely suspicious.”
The three of them looked at the map again. Diana had carefully transferred the data so far, so it was easy to see at a glance.
I selected only the villages that had a high damage rate and where disasters occurred not too far away.
A single, continuous, crooked line appeared, running vertically across the map.
“Could this be the path the criminal has taken so far?”
“If we investigate closely, won’t we find something?”
Lilia and Galen exchanged words. Then Diana groaned.
“I have to hurry.”
“yes?”
Galen asked, wondering why he was saying such an obvious thing again.
Diana extended the path drawn on the map with her finger.
The upward pointing finger stopped almost at the end of the map.
“If this line is the path of the criminals, then if we go up a little further, we will arrive at Cairo.”
“Cairoan?”
“It is the largest city in the Southwestern Archdiocese and serves as the gateway to the Western Archdiocese.”
Diana said heavily.
“If this place is breached, the west will be in danger as well.”