Only My Magic Levels Up - Chapter 59



Only Noblemtl

Just before the guests came in.

A little before the time when Lilia was struggling in the waves of virtue.

Damus, who was talking to Galen, opened his mouth about the request.

“It’s a relic problem.”

“Ruins… right?”

“Yes. The place called Ancient Ruins.”

“Huh? Is that real?”

Lilia’s puzzled reaction matched Galen’s inner thoughts.

Ancient ruins.

It’s one of the topics that the rich love to talk about.

An ancient place hidden by mysterious magic. Monsters swarming within. And treasure.

Of course, just like the legends about the horsemen or the rumors about fairies, there is no credibility whatsoever······.

‘···Wait?’

Come to think of it, weren’t both magicians and fairies real?

Then doesn’t that mean that the ruins can also exist?

Damus smiled brightly after seeing the two people’s reactions.

“It’s not often that something that doesn’t exist at all gets talked about. Usually, it contains a grain of truth. How much do you know about the ruins?”

“It’s a place hidden by magic, full of monsters, and treasures to be found. That’s all I’ve heard.”

“I’m like that too!”

“Almost all of them are correct.”

“yes?”

“yes?”

“The ruins are actually haunted by an unknown force, strange beings roam around, and valuable items are often found there.”

Galen and Lilia blinked amicably. Damus continued with a faint smile.

“I’ll give you a detailed explanation later. The important part right now is the last part.”

“Treasures are discovered?”

“That’s right. If you have the power to explore the ruins on your own, you can make a lot of money with just one use of force. That’s why this friction has occurred.”

I heard from Roald that it was called territorial friction.

If we connect this with the explanation that the ruins are a treasure trove.

“Is this some kind of ownership dispute?”

“To be exact, the fight between the earth elves and humans was over whose territory the location of the ruins belonged to.”

“Is this a request to go and help the humans?”

“Not at all. The church is in a position to mediate the fight between the two sides. The conflict that started as a dispute over ownership gradually escalated and almost led to war.”

“then······.”

“As a result of the agreement, both sides agreed to jointly explore the ruins and split the results in half. The church agreed to send a supervisor to watch the process.”

“The entire process of exploration and distribution? Do supervisors even enter the ruins?”

“That way, we can monitor things.”

“It won’t be easy.”

“I won’t deny it. Especially since I have to be stuck between the two sides who are constantly squabbling. I also wanted to handle it within the Archdiocese itself, if possible······.”

Damus let out a soft sigh.

“This time, the situation is tricky. The justification for using force is weak, and the authority doesn’t work well.”

Usually, when we talk about church mediation, we are talking about mediation using authority.

The problem was that this was not a human-to-human affair. The authority of the church could not properly be exercised over the earth elves, who were of a different race.

However, since the earth elves were not completely unaware of the power the church had, an agreement was somehow reached.

Since the conflict was forcibly sealed, there was no guarantee that it would not erupt again during the exploration of the ruins and distribution of the spoils.

To stop this, authority alone won’t do, so ultimately force will have to be used.

The picture was not good for an archbishop or several bishops to step forward, let alone the administrative vacuum that would result.

If we were to put all our efforts into eradicating the devil against the “good” people who have seemingly accepted the mediation of the church, how big would the backlash be? The church would finally openly interfere in worldly affairs and cause all sorts of chaos.

However, if we were to leave it to the local parish, the power of a single parish with only one bishop and a few dozen priests was too shaky to be involved in this matter.

“That’s why I’m sending you. It’s not like the church is going to do a big thing, but it’s actually going to be a massive force.”

“Is it okay for an outsider like me to become a supervisor?”

“It’s okay since Bishop Lilia is here. I plan to dispatch a pilgrim priest and fellow mercenary who will hear about the situation and help out.”

“I don’t think they’ll believe it.”

“Of course you won’t believe me. I’m warning them. The church is paying this much attention, so don’t think about doing anything stupid.”

Galen’s eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly opened his mouth.

“What if, after all, they do something stupid?”

“At that time… I’ll leave it to the judgment of the field.”

“···Is that okay?”

“If you just keep doing what you’ve always done, I won’t hold you responsible.”

Damus gave a bitter, tired smile.

“Because it seems like they are much more likely to make mistakes than you are.”

*

I’ve heard that the mission won’t be very peaceful.

Galen’s worries did not last long.

When did he ever seek out peaceful missions? They were all just journeys to gain experience points.

I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to meet the earth fairy and enter the ruins.

So I accepted the request, and when they asked me to call the people involved, I told them to do so.

“no?”

“Yes, why are you here?”

I never imagined I would meet them here again.

Lilia, who looked back belatedly, also opened her eyes wide.

“Are they spheres?”

Damus, who was the only one unaware of the situation, asked in puzzlement.

Galen, who came to his senses the fastest, answered with a hollow laugh.

“It’s a bit ambiguous to call it a sphere, but… we ran into each other by chance on the street earlier.”

“Didn’t you say you arrived at Messias today?”

“you’re right.”

“What a strange thing. Is there such a thing as fate?”

It was certainly a strange experience to meet again here the people I had previously encountered while taking a walk after eating.

But if you think about it, it was something that could very well have happened.

There’s no way a fairy would live in a human city. The woman herself said she was only staying for a short while.

Then why would you stay?

If it was because I was the person in charge of this request, I could understand right away.

‘But then, doesn’t it seem like the suture is already half-ruptured?’

As expected.

Then the man who had come to his senses spoke in a voice that did not hide his displeasure.

“Your Eminence, Archbishop.”

“Speak, Sir Veron.”

“I came here after hearing that the decision had been made to appoint a supervisor to be dispatched separately from the archdiocese.”

“That’s right. These two.”

“It seems like one of them isn’t even a monk?”

“If they have the right criteria for a supervisor, what could be the problem? I have known them for a long time, and I believe they are both capable and trustworthy. I have no ties to either of you, so I will maintain a completely neutral position.”

“Neutral, you said?”

The corners of the mouth of the man named Veron, who had been listening to Damus’ explanation, twitched.

“Excuse me, Your Eminence, Archbishop. Those two are already leaning towards each other.”

“What does that mean?”

“I had a minor quarrel with that dwarf… the earth elf just now.”

The fairy woman’s eyebrows twitched at the words she had half-said, whether by mistake or intention. Veron paid no attention and continued speaking.

“They kicked me out without even trying to find out the circumstances. Can such people really play a neutral role?”

“Hmm, is this true?”

“Well, if you ask whether it’s true or false, then it is true.”

Galen answered Damus’ question with a chuckle.

“But I never thought you would bring that up here. Are you saying that you are not neutral because you didn’t take my side there?”

“what?”

“I don’t know since when telling someone to stop fighting and go their separate ways became a biased statement. Oh, and if you beat them both up fairly, you’ll acknowledge that they’re neutral?”

“How dare you―”

“Stop it.”

Damus cut off Veron, who was about to burst into tears.

Damus remained calm, whether Veron looked at him with tearful eyes or not.

“I understand that Sir Veron may have suffered some injustice. But what does it matter?”

“yes?”

“Does that mean I shouldn’t send you as a supervisor because you had personal friction with me? I’m worried about how things will turn out if there’s friction on the ground.”

“···I was just worried. That they would unilaterally defend the earth elves.”

“I don’t think that will happen, but if you really do, let me know. I will investigate it thoroughly and hold you accountable if it turns out to be true.”

Veron remained silent, speechless.

It was because he was pressured by Damus’ authority, but it was also because it was an established opinion and could not be refuted.

It had already been agreed that the church would supervise it, and the selection of the superintendent was within the church’s authority. It didn’t matter whether Veron was dissatisfied or not.

If the supervisors in the ruins really side with the earth elves, it would be a big problem, but what can you find fault with when it hasn’t even happened yet?

Damus, who had made Veron a scapegoat, looked back at the others.

“I understand there will be no problem with the personnel matters. Let’s at least exchange names.”

The atmosphere was awkward because of the argument from earlier. Lilia immediately recognized the wink from Galen.

“I’m Lilia! I was recently ordained a bishop, but I’m currently on a pilgrimage, so my affiliation is undecided!”

“My name is Galen. I am a gold-ranked mercenary who mainly operates in the East, and I am currently serving His Excellency Bishop Lilia.”

Veron’s eyes twitched slightly at the mention of bishop and golden rank. He spoke in a low voice.

“···I am Baron Steelwall, the second son of the Steelwall family.”

“Akanksha of the Red Rock Federation! Nice to meet you!”

On the other hand, the earth fairy woman greeted him with an excited voice. It was fate that they had met earlier, but it was also because she had been in a good mood after seeing Veron, who had been unable to move at the hands of Damus just before.

“The supervisors have arrived, so there’s no need to wait any longer. We can leave tomorrow.”

“We’re always okay!”

Lilia immediately picked up on what Damus had added. It was something that had been discussed earlier.

Since I didn’t come here to play, I could leave right away. I could do sightseeing and such after I got back from work.

“I like it too.”

“···I’m fine with that too.”

Akanksha was the first to agree. Then Veron, who shared the same opinion, asked Damus.

“Are we done introducing the supervisors now?”

“It’s finished.”

“Then I will take my leave now. We don’t have to go back together, so I will go back separately.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll go check it out.”

Veron, who got up first, bowed his head to Damus and left the office without even looking at the others.

“The first human I ever met was someone like that, so how can I have a positive view of humans?”

Akanksha, who was grumbling while glaring at the closed door, turned to look at Damus.

“I would like to rent a carriage just like I did when I came. Is that possible?”

“As much as you want.”

“But these guys are also church members, right? So do they ride in the church carriage too?”

“It’s up to you. If you want, you can lend it to me, and if you have something else, you can ride it.”

On the surface, they look like they are close relatives, but the way they speak to each other in a casual manner is strange.

Galen, who had been listening awkwardly, spoke quickly.

“I would appreciate it if you could lend it to me. It would be a hassle to get it separately.”

“I guess so.”

“Good. Do you want to go together?”

Akanksha suddenly said.

“yes?”

“We’re going to the same destination anyway. Is there any need to go separately? It’s boring to go alone.”

Galen looked at Damus. Damus nodded slightly.

“As long as we don’t ride in the same carriage. That could be a cause for gossip. Just accompanying someone is fine.”

“Is it okay to eat together?”

“We’re companions, so can’t we do that?”

“Okay! Then I’ll come to the church tomorrow at sunrise. See you tomorrow!”

Akanksha also left his office, saying that he had to clean up the forge.

After a while, Galen’s mouth opened.

“Is it possible that the nonsense you spoke of was not about the elves but about humans?”

“It is still in the realm of possibility. Of course, I do not deny that Sir Veron’s attitude is insincere.”

Damus responded calmly.

“But don’t make the mistake of thinking of the earth elves as your allies. If all the earth elves were like the Akankshas, ​​we wouldn’t have come to the brink of war.”

“Well, I know that much. So I guess you asked me to judge it on the spot.”

Galen had no intention of thinking in such a dichotomous way.

The important thing was that, no matter what happened later, right now I was on good terms with Akanksha.

‘I made a good first impression, enough to be asked to accompany you first, and the troublemaker named Veron got out of the way.’

It’s time to explore the earth elves.