Chapter 149
Beneath the star-filled sky, I sat on a fallen tree and gave Tsubaki's fire-breathing act a thunderous round of applause. Hiyori returned as if nothing had happened. She showed no signs of injury or fatigue.
"Welcome back. What was the mastermind like?"
"I'm back. It was a small fry not worth mentioning. The Chengdu Concession is peaceful now, and Arthur and Ainsell are safe. I was given an invitation to the coronation ceremony, but..."
"Huh? No thanks."
"Knew you'd say that. I turned it down."
Her answer, delivered with perfect understanding, made me smile. She really gets me, huh? Much obliged, much obliged.
All I want is for Scepter Beifan to be used at the new king's side for a long time, make a name for itself, and become famous. I want nothing to do with royal succession or family power struggles, thank you very much.
But if Scepter Beifan ever needs maintenance, don't hesitate to call me!
Once the trouble in the Chengdu Concession had settled down somewhat, we resumed our journey across the Hontowan Mountains.
The Hontowan Mountains are a rugged range lying between China and India. Travel through them takes time because of the rough terrain, but the monsters living there are weak, making the route safe.
The main trade routes between China and India take a detour through Hanoi or Bangkok. Those routes have more level ground, better roads, and more post towns. On the other hand, bandits, pirates, and dragon bandits appear there in droves, making them dangerous. Safe passage also requires a considerable amount of bribery.
If you don't mind camping out and traveling along mountain paths, crossing the Hontowan Mountains is the safer option.
The one thing I hadn't anticipated was Tsubaki being tormented by insects.
Ever since our first night in the mountains, red scarab-like insects had been swarming around her day and night, leaving Tsubaki wilted and miserable.
"Mimimi... I hate this place. It's the worst. Bugs keep sticking to me."
"This is a problem. Bug repellent doesn't work, either."
Tsubaki trudged along, waving both arms irritably to swat away the insects. Hiyori looked troubled as she killed the Fire-Loving Insects swarming over Tsubaki with silent ice magic.
They didn't come near me, Hiyori, or the tiger monster Dung that we were riding. Tsubaki was the only one they had singled out.
Fire-Loving Insects are Chinese monsters used as an ingredient in traditional medicine. They are classified as Class C4. They parasitize fire-type monsters and have a habit of stealing their heat. When a campfire is lit, they are drawn to it and leap into the flames.
Ordinarily, they were nothing to worry about while crossing the Hontowan Mountains. Apparently, though, Tsubaki's ever-burning flames looked especially attractive to the Fire-Loving Insects.
No matter how many we drove away, they kept swarming toward the flames like moths drawn to a light.
We tried all sorts of countermeasures for several days, but none of them worked. With no other option, Tsubaki used a suspended-animation spell to erase her presence, and Hiyori carried her on her back as we continued.
Since the Fire-Loving Insects were monsters, the suspended-animation spell prevented them from recognizing Tsubaki. She couldn't move while the spell was active, making the journey cramped and boring, but it couldn't be helped.
"When you put it this way, even transcendent beings and demons don't have it easy. Seriously. To me, it just looks like a normal piggyback ride."
"I feel strange, like I'm carrying nothingness on my back."
The suspended-animation spell only worked on magical creatures. It was completely useless against humans who couldn't control magic or ordinary Earth animals that had existed since before the Gremlin disaster.
It was just another difference in common sense between our world and magical civilization. In magical civilization, a gentle-sounding Goodnight spell that seemed to have been used as a lullaby had become a vicious sleep spell against ordinary people. Meanwhile, a suspended-animation spell effective even against Class A1 monsters simply failed against normal humans. Every advantage had its drawback.
Despite the unexpected insect infestation, everything else went smoothly, and we followed the stream along the riverbank with the map we had received in the Chengdu Concession.
The mountain trees were beautifully colored with autumn leaves, and the river breeze carried a soft, sweet scent like caramel along with the fallen leaves.
In the clear river, a shaggy, mop-like monster of indeterminate appearance stuck its snout above the surface to breathe before catching fish. When it saw us, it panicked, dove underwater, and hid, stirring up the mud on the riverbed.
It was peaceful. Of course it was, since we had chosen a peaceful route.
Hiyori had gotten off Dung, put Tsubaki on her back, and was walking at the front. I scratched the tiger monster's back with one hand while looking at the map with the other and giving route instructions.
"We're nearing a fork. The river branches here, so... what's this? We'll take the branch with the mark that looks like a horned Jizō statue."
"Ah, that's Yui-chan's mark—the Witch of Hell's. You see it often when traveling through the frontier."
"Huh?"
"You'll understand faster if you see it. There, you can already see it, can't you?"
I looked in the direction Hiyori indicated with her chin and understood what she meant.
Several decaying, moss-covered huts stood on a bank raised slightly above the riverbed.
Beside those huts was another half-collapsed shrine. Through its partly detached double doors, I could see a stone statue of a horned woman holding a ringed staff.
"What? That's the Witch of Hell. Why is she here?"
"People living in places this far from civilization are often helped by the wandering Witch of Hell. The farther into the countryside you go, the more likely people are to enshrine her handprints or stone statues. It's not unusual for her to appear in local legends, either. People must have lived around here once."
We approached the shrine, got off Dung, and carefully examined the statue.
The roughly half-scale statue sat cross-legged in a pose reminiscent of a Buddhist statue, its face calm and serene. It had grown thoroughly old, with lichen crawling over it and dirt forming mottled patterns. Yet someone had carefully dressed it in a faded, moth-eaten haori, giving me the impression that it must once have been deeply cherished.
I traced the statue's outline with my hand and studied it from every angle. Somehow, I could feel the sculptor's intentions. Something stirred deep in my chest.
"Hiyori, let's clean this place up. It's sad to leave it in such a sorry state."
"Yeah. Yui-chan probably wouldn't like it, either."
"That's not what I meant. The person who made this statue was terrrrible at it, but their passion was anything but ordinary. They must have been heartbroken to put so much soul into it, only for it to be left to weather away like this."
The hand not holding the ringed staff had been worn down. When people still lived in the huts, they must have grasped that hand and prayed every day.
Anyone could tell without asking.
The Witch of Hell to whom I had given the Chain-Ring Staff Hariti had traveled far and wide, saving the people of small villages and settlements all over the world that were on the verge of disappearing unnoticed in remote places.
She must have given them such profound salvation that even an utter amateur who had probably never held a tool in their life was inspired to create a stone statue with this much passion.
I wanted to pay my respects to that nameless, utterly unskilled, long-ago stone sculptor who had expressed their feelings more strongly than anyone.
We carried water from the riverbank, washed the dirt from the statue, and scrubbed it clean with a scourer made from bamboo growing nearby.
Hiyori tore down the huts and brought over their lumber to replace the broken double doors. We took a little of Tsubaki's Abyss Gold, covered the shrine's roof with it, and improved its durability.
It could withstand the rain and wind now. It should last for another few decades.
Tsubaki stared at the gleaming shrine and statue for a while, then disappeared briefly and returned carrying a piece of charcoal that was still hot enough to glow.
"I'll make an offering. Hope something good happens. Mim-mim-mim!"
Hiyori smiled at Tsubaki, who rolled the charcoal to the statue's knees and clapped her hands three times energetically. Hiyori also took several coins from her pocket and offered them, but she didn't pray.
When Hiyori noticed me looking at her, she gave me a wry smile.
"I'll tell her in person. We'll probably meet again."
"Then you don't need to make an offering either, do you? Give it to her directly."
"No, anyone can take offerings left for a statue of the Witch of Hell. Someday, a traveler short on money will pass by and take these coins. Then that traveler will leave behind whatever they can spare."
"Oh..."
It was like an unattended exchange station. Calling it an exchange station felt a little too crass for something so kind, though.
I sensed in it an ideal of what charity—and prayer—should be.
Has the Witch of Hell really been going around the whole world spreading this kind of heartwarming feeling all this time? I made a staff for a much more amazing witch than I had realized. I'm proud of myself.
Since I had the chance, I decided to contribute too, so I made a magic staff from whatever materials we had on hand and offered it.
I didn't engrave a name on it, nor did I add the fire-lizard mark that proved it was a 0933 brand magic staff.
This offering wasn't about any of that. I just wanted someone to find the staff and be happy to have it. Hopefully, it would reach someone who truly needed it. To reduce the chance of it being sold as a valuable item, I left off the brand mark.
Once we had finished tending the shrine and set out again, a nice thing happened.
The Fire-Loving Insects stopped coming near Tsubaki even without the suspended-animation spell.
Tsubaki innocently rejoiced, thinking her prayer had worked, but we had probably just left the Fire-Loving Insects' habitat. Bugs weren't going to retreat because of a prayer.
When I tried to correct her misunderstanding, Hiyori swiftly clapped a hand over my mouth and made me watch as she smiled and gently stroked her daughter, saying, "Good for you, Tsubaki."
It didn't sit right with me, but since my pet and Hiyori were having fun, whatever—good enough!
I really don't need any more aristocratic messes full of plots and schemes.
From here on out, may this remain an easygoing journey filled with little enjoyable moments like this.