Only My Magic Levels Up - Chapter 152
Only Noblemtl
Episode 152: The Shadow of the Great Mountain Range (1)
The ordination ceremony was held with such grandeur that it was almost like a city-wide festival, but it did not last as long as a festival.
The reason was simple: the archbishops and bishops of the central archdiocese who participated in the ordination ceremony were all of great status.
The church in this world is not simply a collection of religious people. It also takes on the role of taking responsibility for some of the functions of government offices and the grassroots of society, such as hospitals and daycare centers.
The bishop’s role was to manage such churches, so it would not be good for him to be absent from his post for a long time.
The archbishop added, because he had his own diocese and also had to manage other bishops.
Therefore, as soon as Lilia’s ordination ceremony was over, the priests quickly left the city.
Unlike the bishops who were from the same central region and had to travel a short distance, the archbishops came from a completely different region and had a longer way to go, so they had to hurry even more.
Ernst headed northwest, Miriam headed west, Varga headed south, and Anton headed southeast.
By the way, Michael also went to the Southeastern Archdiocese with Anton. It seems like he had some kind of request, but I wasn’t close enough to ask him about it in detail.
Damus eventually decided to accompany Galen and Lilia and stay a little longer. Since they were both leaving soon anyway, there was only a day or two difference.
The night before departure, Galen was invited alone by Julian.
“To be honest, I thought it would take at least ten more years.”
“If it’s ten years… … .”
“That’s how long Bishop Lilia predicted it would take to realize the eighth miracle.”
In fact, Julian’s prediction was quite reasonable.
From prestigious families, there are occasional geniuses who become golden in their twenties and leave their names in the history of their family, but they are by no means always jewels.
How many geniuses have blossomed much earlier than others, but ended up stopping there for the rest of their lives?
Silver could be obtained through hard work, but gold was never granted without the right talent, and jewels required luck as well.
The moment of enlightenment that comes when absolute, unwavering self-confidence is clearly established in the consciousness is that much harder to come by.
“I say fanaticism half-jokingly, but in other words, I’m half-serious. Whether it’s a warrior, a magician, or a priest, the realm of the jewel comes the moment they fully acknowledge their fanaticism. And that’s usually… something that can only happen after they’ve reached a sufficient level of mental maturity. That’s why I’ve been thinking about it for at least ten years.”
“It is similar to philosophy in terms of academic disciplines,” the Pope added.
“Of course, there are excellent young philosophers, but as time goes by, the depth of thought tends to become more profound. The younger you are, the shorter the time of agony you have to be physically.”
“Well, that’s probably why Sir Michael didn’t want to acknowledge us. He probably thought we were immature and therefore lacking in some aspects.”
“It may be unpleasant for you to hear this, but the other Gems probably have the same prejudices. They know how they became Gems. Of course, you will understand it easily after meeting you. You definitely don’t look like a twenty-four-year-old. You can’t lie about your age for decades.”
“haha…….”
Galen laughed it off.
If you include my previous life, I’ve lived for almost sixty years, so it can’t be helped.
I may not have lived a great life, but I am proud to say that I am at least an adult who has firmly established and defended my convictions. That seems to be what the old man saw.
“but.”
Julian kicked away the rather soft atmosphere. The oppressive feeling from his golden eyes became a little stronger.
“Archbishop Lilia is a little different. I could tell from talking to her. How would you describe her personality?”
“It must be purity.”
“That’s right. She still maintains a purity that would normally be impossible. She’s just as special as you.”
Lilia is not stupid, but she is very intelligent and is not ignorant of the ways of the world. Nevertheless, she still has a childlike innocence.
“She was not born with a pure spirit that was never tainted from the beginning, unlike ordinary people who went through numerous successes and failures and became hardened. In a way, this is madness.”
If something that is different from ordinary people is called ‘crazy’, then Lilia’s innocence also falls into that category. It is an abnormal innocence that ordinary people cannot have.
“And, coincidentally… you became her god.”
“yes?”
“It means that I have such strong faith in you that I trust your judgment more than my own. When those two things come together, it becomes fanaticism, and that’s how Archbishop Lilia became a jewel. It’s almost impossible to trust someone to that extent… Maybe it was possible because I was pure.”
“Is that so… …?”
Galen groaned.
Since Lilia awakened to the Miracle of Selection, I have felt that the distance between us has become even closer.
I never thought there would be such a reason for the awakening itself. Are you really that trustworthy?
“Archbishop Lilia has been influenced by you more than I thought, and perhaps more than you thought. It’s not just a matter of love between a man and a woman. It’s a more fundamental matter of trust between humans. I hope you will be aware of that and act accordingly.”
“…All right.”
Galen’s mouth, which had been frozen for a while, slowly opened. He shook his head and muttered.
“I guess I should live more properly from now on. If I go astray, Lilia will go astray too.”
“If you just live the way you are living now, you are living righteously enough.”
“Are you just living the way things are?”
“I told you before. You are not an ordinary person, but you live like an ordinary person. The things you have accomplished are great, but your underlying way of thinking is ordinary enough for anyone to sympathize with.”
Julian smiled faintly.
“That’s what’s great, and that’s why you’re a special gem wizard.”
“If Your Majesty so wishes.”
Galen smiled brightly.
“I will try harder to live a more ordinary life.”
“Please take good care of me.”
There was no subject attached, but both Julian and Galen knew who was being asked to take good care of.
* * *
The next day.
The carriage carrying Galen and his party passed through the eastern gate of Chroma and continued east.
There are four people in the group.
Galen and Lilia sat side by side, opposite them sat Damus and a priest named Larry. Larry served as the archbishop’s secretary.
“Did you come like this the other time?”
“So it’ll be like this when you go back.”
“You’re too short.”
“We don’t have enough people, so why would we bring more? It might be different if it were a short distance away.”
It was impossible to travel from Messia, where the Archbishop of the Northeast resided, to Chroma in a straight line on the map, because the Great Mountains blocked even the northeast.
You had to go up north, almost to the northern archdiocese of the Northeast, then circle the Great Mountains and come back down south.
It was a journey that took over a month one way by carriage.
Not only did it not suit Damus’ personality to have so many subordinates accompanying him on such an arduous journey, but there was also the practical reason that if many priests were absent, church work would be paralyzed.
“Actually, it’s not like there’s no problem at all just because I’m away for this long. No matter how well I delegate, work is bound to pile up.”
“I feel sorry for nothing.”
“No, not at all. It would be even more absurd not to go to the ordination ceremony.”
Damus flatly denied Lilia’s words.
It was equally important to congratulate the new archbishop and exchange greetings with the Pope and other archbishops whom I was meeting for the first time in a long time. If not at this time, there really is no chance to meet them. Even if work piles up, it is okay to suffer a little.
“Rather, if you do it your way, you’ll save a lot of time, so you’ll have a lot more leeway than you expected. But, will it really work?”
“Didn’t I tell you this before?”
“I heard that they used it for reconnaissance during hunting competitions.”
“I’ve used it many times, even if it’s not just that time. Its performance is truly certain.”
“I’m not denying its performance. Is the Wyvern an ordinary evil species?”
When Galen first suggested crossing the Great Mountains, even the great Damascus was terrified.
Of course, there is no evil spirit that can trouble him, who is a jewel. If there were such an evil spirit, the world would have been taken over by that evil spirit long ago.
But being able to defeat all evil spirits one-on-one and breaking through the Great Mountains were two entirely different things.
If you ask in terms of the dichotomy of possibility and impossibility, it may be possible, but there was no need to imagine how tiring the process would be.
Fortunately, Galen didn’t suggest ‘walking’ through.
But the idea of ’flying’ over was also beyond the realm of ordinary imagination.
“Honestly, even if you tell me that I’m crazy, I can’t help but feel wronged. If you’re a wizard, you’re a wizard… … .”
“Excuse me, but… the one who suggested we cross the Great Mountain Range on a wyvern was Lilia.”
“Was that so?”
“You were the first one to suggest riding a wyvern, weren’t you, brother?”
“I just suggested a passing idea. The specific method of beating her up was decided by Lilia.”
“They both look the same to me, so stop. But I’m still genuinely curious.”
Actually, in theory, it was a very good method.
The reason Lilia went east was because of the tradition of a priest who was ordained as an archbishop to visit and pay his respects to the mentor who first ordained him.
The teacher who ordained her, skipping the subdeaconship and starting straight as a priest, was Myra.
So they were on their way to Abaca, the westernmost city of the Eastern Archdiocese.
The ‘normal’ route would have you going from the Central Archdiocese up to the Northern Archdiocese, then back to the Northeastern Archdiocese, then south to the Eastern Archdiocese, and then all the way west again. It’s dizzying just to hear it.
On the other hand, the ‘extraordinary’ route is simply a route from the eastern part of the Central Archdiocese, just crossing the Daesan Mountains, to the western part of the Eastern Archdiocese.
Even if you hike on foot, the distance is overwhelmingly short, so there is no reason not to use it.
At the point where he thought that even though walking might be awkward, flying wouldn’t be so bad, in fact, Damus wasn’t all that normal either.
Larry, the only sensible person on the carriage, was a mere priest and could not disagree with the opinions of the two archbishops and the jewel wizard.
After a three-day carriage journey, they reached the easternmost point of the central region.
“Excuse me, you want to go into that mountain?”
“It’s dangerous, priest!”
“Hehe, that’s okay.”
Although he did not reveal his identity, everyone knew he was a priest because he was wearing a robe.
The three priests and one wizard, who easily ignored the dissuasion of the simple-minded villagers, began to climb the mountain.
Even the priests, let alone the archbishops, were much more physically fit than Galen.
Instead of continuing to receive miracles of vitality from Lilia, Galen used a different method.
Sssssss!
The ground Galen was standing on slowly rose upward. A clay doll rose from the ground and carried Galen on its shoulders.
“… I think I’ve heard this somewhere.”
“These guys appeared in the ruins of Oklanne.”
“How do you use that?”
“I saw it and learned it then. I practiced it whenever I had time.”
“no…….”
If it were possible to learn magic by ‘seeing’ it, there would be no talk of the transmission of magic being closed.
Damus was better than Larry, who could barely speak with his mouth open.
At least he had heard reports in Cairo that Galen used magic other than water magic.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the scene before my eyes was easy to believe. Does this make sense?
“Can I try it too?”
“Let’s check the magic power consumption. I don’t know how much it would cost since I’ve never used it like this before.”
“…Okay, let’s go.”
There was much to say, but Damas wisely decided to hold back.
The clay doll wasn’t particularly fast, but even if Galen himself climbed the mountain, it wouldn’t be fast anyway.
“The ride isn’t all that comfortable. It’s better than having sore legs, though… … .”
“Then, for the sake of your brother’s health, how about you start walking now?”
“I’ll build up my stamina in a different way. Well, that’s not what I’m saying, but this is actually kind of like practice. Controlling a doll on a slope so it doesn’t fall.”
Unfortunately, the wyvern did not appear that day. Since we had set out from the village, it seems that a strong evil species like the wyvern does not appear that close to the village.
However, after spending a night in the mountains and setting out again the next day, we were able to find the wyvern quite early in the morning.
“You can hold it like this!”
“Oh, indeed.”
Of the four wyverns that flew in without knowing what was happening, two died instantly and two were captured.
How could a guy who was easily caught by Lilia during her time as a bishop not be caught when two archbishops come forward?
Lilia carried Galen, and Damus carried Larry.
The four people flew quickly toward the east.
A distance that would have taken at least ten days to cross on foot only took about ten hours on a wyvern.
Having captured the wyvern in the morning, they managed to cross the Great Mountain Range before the sun had completely set.
“Oh, right.”
Damus burst into laughter as he looked at the walls of Abaca in the distance.
“That’s an unbelievable speed.”
“Wasn’t it a good thing we came this way?”
Lilia smiled brightly. Perhaps it was because she was back home, but her smile was brighter than usual.
But as she got closer to the wall, her expression gradually darkened. So did everyone else.
“…Why is the city atmosphere like this?”