Chapter 284

Translator: Kell | Editor: Weasalopes

The Sage’s Story

Wyza said she could introduce Hikaru to someone studying the contamination of the animals, so he took the offer . He thought they might be able to help with holding back the evil that was running rampant in this continent .

The person’s name was Zahadu, a sage—according to Wyza—though quite different from the sage Hikaru had in his mind .

「Well, hello there . Welcome . You must be Silver Face the meat hunter, hunting down all those animals lately . I’m really grateful for that . Even someone old like me wants to eat some meat . 」

The sage wore a straw hat and overalls stained by mud and grass . He had a tanned skin, and wrinkles lined his bright and cheerful face .

「Oh, sorry if I’m a bit dirty . 」he said . 「I was taking care of some animals out back . 」

「I see… You speak my language really well . 」

「I studied the language back in the day . Though it’s not been taught around lately . Anyway, please come in . 」

Over 180 centimeters tall, he had a long and slender build . He clearly appeared to be more than sixty years old, but he moved in a spry fashion despite his age .

Zahadu’s house was located in Dream Maker’s eastern outskirts, near the mud walls that prevented enemy invasion, where weeds grew vigorously .

Creatures that looked like chicken, but with four wings and blue crowns, roamed the grassy fields .

「I’ll make some tea . 」

Only Hikaru and Drake came, as the girls were immersed in their new home .

Compared to the more modern buildings at the heart of the city, the sage’s house looked more like a farmer’s shed, with its battered walls and windows full of gaps . The only things that differentiated it from a shed were the kitchen and the bedroom inside .

「They call me a sage, but I think they’re just messing with me . 」

「Really?」Hikaru wasn’t sure how to answer .

Zahadu was well-mannered, and Hikaru didn’t really have any bad impressions of the old man . If someone treated you politely, you should do the same as well—that’s what Hikaru believed . All the more so when he was the one who needed to talk to the sage .

The old man served fragrant tea in chipped cups .

「I use tea leaves gathered around this area, so they’re not really the expensive ones . 」Zahadu said .

「It’s fine . I quite like it . So, you raise poultry here?」

「Yes, for eggs . I care for animals too in the process . When a posidonkey is injured, they bring it here . 」

He’s more like a doctor than a sage, Hikaru thought .

「Sometimes animals go berserk . It has something to do with the black magic rock that’s sticking on their hearts . Once they’re stable, I sell them to the Sorcery Department . 」

「Are you talking about the animal contamination?」Hikaru asked, taken aback .

「You came here to ask about that, yes? In that case, you should see this . 」

Zahadu led Hikaru to a shack outside the house, the chickens watching them along the way .

『It stinks! No, no, no! I’m outta here!』

Drake’s sudden yelling caused Zahadu’s eyes to grow wide .

「That creature can talk? Incredible . Are they common on your continent?」

「Ah, no, not really . Actually…」

Hikaru decided there was no point in hiding it and explained the situation to Zahadu . Drake, for special reasons, had to kill anything evil . To the drakon, the black magic rocks were dragon stones . Drake, however, ran somewhere far in the meantime .

「I see… Then I think you would want to see these . 」

Hikaru followed Zahadu into the shack .

「Wow, there’s a lot . 」

Black stones of all sizes lay on the shelves lining the walls .

「The mana inside the black magic rocks seem to stabilize if left alone for a time . I tried pouring water on them and making them react with other rocks, but I eventually learned that leaving them alone was the best method . 」

「What do you do with the stable black magic rocks?」

「The Sorcery Department uses them for sorcery . The ship you were on used plenty of it . Of course, they have to be extremely stable for uses like that . Otherwise, they use natural magic rocks . 」

「So there are natural ones?」

「Of course . We mine them… Oh wait, I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you that . 」

「We have the same mines in our continent as well, but we call them Spirit magic rocks . 」

Zahadu listened attentively as Hikaru explained the difference between Spirit magic, holy magic, and evil magic .

「I see! I didn’t know all that since we can’t really use magic . 」

「But you say you can create magic items using these magic rocks?」

「We’re just using the knowledge passed down by our ancestors . We develop them, of course . 」

Stable black magic rocks were purer and had higher power output . As such they were often used as disposable goods, like a large-scale explosion for construction or mining, or to power huge magic items .

「Right now, the Sorcery Department is planning to construct a large-scale clean water facility . They’re wondering if they can use the black magic rocks for that . I think it’s bad idea . 」

Use the stones that made animals go berserk in producing potable water for humans? Yeah, they should definitely not do that, Hikaru thought .

「The Sorcery Department sustains the livelihood of the people, you see . They’re more influential than the Construction Department . 」

「Are leaders of the nine clans involved?」

「Yes . Rudendo has absolute confidence in the plan . People are also complaining about the low supply of potable water from the wells, so no one opposes it publicly . The current magic rock output from the mines is just enough to support our everyday lives, so they turned their eyes to black magic rocks instead . 」

Man, life in this place sounds tough . It doesn’t sound like they’re completely self-sufficient .

Black magic rocks sometimes ignited, so they were kept away from the residential areas and stored here in this shack . Hikaru and Zahadu left soon as the sage said staying too long was dangerous .

『Ow, ow, ow! Help!』

Drake was being chased and pecked at by the chickens after trying devour their eggs .

「Sorry about that . 」Hikaru said .

「It’s fine . 」the sage said, laughing .

Hikaru learned a few things from talking with Zahadu . Except for the animals going berserk, nothing really changed otherwise; the quality of their meat remained the same . In fact, they tended to be more tender and flavorful, which the people loved .

Eiichi’s notes didn’t mention any black magic rocks as they were only discovered about a hundred years ago, which meant the study on them was fairly new . Before Zahadu studied them, no one really paid attention to these objects .

「I’ll let you know if there’s something else . 」Zahadu said .

「Thank you . I’ll come visit as well if something comes up on my side . 」

As Hikaru started walking, Drake breathed a sigh, wrapped around Hikaru’s neck .

「People here rely too much on magic rocks to live, huh? What about you? Did you learn anything?」

『Let’s throw all those dragon stones away . 』

「That reminds me . I thought for sure you’d say something about eating them . 」

『Are you serious? Even I don’t eat rotting dragon stones . But even when rotten, they’re still dragon stones . It’s best if you throw them all out . 』

「So for you, stable dragon stones are rotten . What about that huge one I got? You know, the one where you slept for a long time after eating it . 」

『That one was completely different . Normally, dragon stones won’t go bad even after decades . 』

「So the black dragon stones are sort of “defective”?」

『Yup! That’s it! Yes, of course it’s defective . It’s a dragon stone that’s not found inside an actual dragon . 」

Hikaru suddenly stopped . 「That’s it . 」

Dragon stones not found in dragons . Hikaru almost brushed Drakes words aside like it was just his usual pointless ramblings . They’re just like dragon stones, but not really the real thing .

『What’s wrong?』

「Tell me . What purpose does a dragon stone serve for a dragon?」

『Isn’t it obvious? It’s proof that the dragon is evil’s pawn and that it’s an enemy of drakons . It’s also their source of power . 』

「Who gives dragon stones to dragons, then?」

『Hmm… their parents?』

「I’m talking about a long time ago . Where did the first dragon received a dragon stone?」

『Oh, you meant that . It got the stone from the evil that lurks within the very foundation of the world . A being that wishes to destroy God, one who governs the laws of the world . It’s an entity that sees drakons, the world’s mediator, as enemies . 』

Drake was surprisingly fluid in his speech .

『The elders mention it all the time . 』

「So can dragons give false dragon stones to other animals?」

『I’m… not sure . I never thought about it . 』

「They probably can . If a dragon gives birth, it would give a dragon stone to its offspring . 」

『Hmm, I guess . 』

「It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that someone or something out there is trying to provide artificial dragon stones . 」

『I’m not sure I follow…』

「I’m talking about false dragon stones . Those who received fake stones will create more stones to gather more followers . Gradually, the stone becomes more and more impure . 」

Pyramid schemes popped into Hikaru’s mind, something that was illegal in Japan . Those on the upper layers would earn more without doing anything as more and more followers were recruited . The schemers would whisper sweet words into people, saying “The more people you recruit, the more you earn” .

Why do people create pyramid schemes? To make money . What about monsters, then? Dragons? The evil creatures?

『What’s wrong? Why the serious look?』

「This is just a theory . I think those with black magic rocks are subordinates of the evil being lurking in the north . Gradually the network expands . It’s basically a slow invasion . 」