Chapter 1012 – The Quest Reward Is Excessive!

000

While Cleon was caught up in Zita and the other women, his colleagues, including Kuon, left the mansion and headed toward the temple as previously mentioned.

“You’re back, Kuon. If you’ve come to see Tokoyo, I’ll appoint a guide shrine maiden.”

As usual, when you pass through the entrance guarded by the gatekeeper and go inside, you will see the common dancers and priests bowing their heads towards Kuon.

At the end of the Five Elements Festival, Kuon no longer had to work or practice as a shaman at the Temple of Asteris, but the temple family seemed to recognize Kuon as one of their members.

“That’s amazing, Kuon.”

When Amelia speaks like that to Kuon, who has gained respect from the temple people in a short period of time.

“Well, Kuon must be quite capable~. Even when compared to the Great Priestess, she has a comparable amount of magic power and magic skills. And in addition, she played a big role in purifying the sacred tree.”

For some reason, Lila looked smug as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Layla… Please don’t speak too loudly…”

Why is her shame her own?

Kuon would think so and bow his head.

“What do you think? I have to say that I did a good job.”

Lila just smiled with her hand on her waist with Kuon next to her, but these were her words.

“But where should we go?”

When Sasha asked that question, Kuon raised her head and answered.

“I have to see Shinmok, so I guess it’s the main church… Tokoyo will be there too.”

“Is it really that easy to meet Shinmok?”

When Amelia asks a question as if she is curious, Kuon shrugs and raises and lowers her shoulders.

“That depends on Shin Mok’s mood.”

“What is that?”

Lila will react to Kuon’s answer as if she doesn’t know.

“We, the shamans, are beings who represent the will of the divine tree, and whether we can hear his voice depends on the divine tree’s will.”

“I see…”

“Well, in terms of giving answers, they may be better than the priests of the Saint’s Protection Church. Since they don’t really have a god that they serve…”

Kuon, who is both a priest and a shaman, spoke about the differences she felt as a result of experiencing both faiths.

If you kill time by chatting like that, you will see a young shaman running towards you from a little distance.

However, she was not the Nagi who usually took charge and guided her group.

“Hehe… Hehe… I’m sorry…!”

A girl running in a hurry, her hair matted as if she had been sleeping just a moment ago, her shrine maiden uniform half down, and her mask with its strings undone.

Looking at that girl, Kuon would answer with her bitter smile.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Huh? She’s not the girl you showed me around last time I came here?”

When Lila noticed that the face underneath her mask was different, the girl would say, ‘Wow!’ And she would adjust her mask in great confusion.

“Well, I, Nagi, are currently receiving special training from Tokoyo… Ugh… I was off duty today too…”

Indeed, did she come out of her sleep a little while ago?

“Oh my. Is that so? I’m sorry for us.”

Amelia will respond to that girl’s whining.

But then, the girl seemed to have noticed her own mistake and shook her head with an even more surprised expression.

“Oh, no! It’s our apprentices’ job to deal with customers! Well, I’ll take you to the main hall!”

‘Chewed…”

Seeing the girl so nervous that she chewed her tongue, her companions couldn’t help but smile bitterly at her.

Looking at this, I was able to acknowledge that Nagi had said that she was the most mature of her apprentices.

In any case, even if she is a girl who looks a little insecure, her skills as a shrine maiden are certain.

Like Nagi, she led her companions as they walked through the passageway in the temple made of flower trees.

001

The main hall arrived safely.

Her apprentice shaman who guided her said, ‘Excuse me~!’ She let out something that resembled a scream and then ran towards the passage she had passed and disappeared.

“… What are we afraid of?”

Laila spoke while looking at the back of the girl, but Kuon answered as if he was admonishing Laila.

“I guess he’s just… Nervous. He’s still a kid.”

If there’s one person in the group that’s scariest, it’s Lila…

It was Kuon who didn’t dare say such words.

Then, she stood in front, opened the door of the main temple, went inside, and headed to the place of her ceremony.

Squeak, squeak, the sound of the floor resonating under your feet every time you take a step.

At first, the noise created by the construction method, which is unique to the Eastern countries, was something that bothered her in many ways.

I’m used to it now, but I will rarely have to visit this place in the future.

Feeling a little disappointed, when you arrive at the ceremony location-

“Okay! Let’s try one more time! This time, try against this shikigami!”

“Yes, yes…!”

There, as Tokoyo excitedly unleashed her magic power, she unleashed the gigantic crow-shaped shikigami she had created and unleashed her power against Nagi.

And, while facing Tokoyo, Nagi was dealing with her shikigami using a bending barrier that resembled the tail of a fox.

The crow would fly up into the sky with something like electricity wrapped around its entire body, and then fall straight towards Nagi.

The black lightning looked like the mana shock used by Cleon, but it was just lightning of that color, and its magical properties were not black magic.

Puzzle! Then, as the wings spread wide and the lightning strikes, Nagi uses a defensive barrier with his left hand and an offensive barrier with his right hand to protect his body, and at the same time grabs the shikigami’s wings and slams them into the ground. I will try.

“Good…!”

Nagi spoke a line that seemed confident of victory by capturing the wings, which were the key to the opponent’s advantage, air superiority.

But-

“Ugh – 70 points.”

“Eh?! Bwaaaaah!”

The next moment, when the captured wing sparked once again, magic lightning flowed through the barrier that was holding the wing.

Lightning that instantly thrills your arms.

Thanks to this, the strength in his arms was loosened, and Nagi’s mental strength was greatly shaken.

The barrier technique, the strength of which could be said to be mental power, was not maintained and was canceled.

“Ugh…!”

Nagi tries to get up while letting out painful sounds from his mouth.

However, the crow shikigami, whose wings were freed, waved its large wings once and attacked Nagi from above, forcing him to fall face down on the ground.

“Kya…!”

When her sharp claws pressed down on her arm, she could not help but let out a pitiful scream of pain.

“Okay, that’s it -“

There, Tokoyo, who confirmed that Nagi could no longer fight, clapped his hands once and returned the shikigami he had materialized to the form of a medium.

Then he would turn towards the group who were watching the scene at the entrance.

“Ah, you’re here, Kuon. Seeing that Shinmok has been happy since yesterday, it looks like the work regarding adamantite has been completed safely?”

“Yes… But what is this?”

While Kuon was answering Tokoyo’s question, she was also asking Tokoyo about what she had just seen.

Then, Tokoyo will see Nagi lying down from exhaustion and put her hand on her waist.

“Huh? You know it when you see it, right? I’m giving Nagi special training.”

“Is this special training?!”

For some reason, when Sasha gets a little excited and her eyes sparkle, Nagi, who was lying down, gets up.

“Yes… I asked you for a favor…”

In response to Nagi’s response, when her group’s eyes turned towards her once again, Nagi, unusually, was not even wearing the fox mask she usually wore on her head.

“Huh. Nagi, you’re not wearing a mask?”

When Lila pointed out that part, Nagi nodded and answered.

“Yes… She has become an official shrine maiden, so she does not need to wear a mask inside the main shrine…”

“Oh, you mean you got promoted?”

Laila congratulates her on her success, and Tokoyo makes a humming sound and adds her own explanation on Nagi’s behalf.

“That’s right. Since I followed you to Fairy Village, Nagi’s magic skills have improved tremendously. To the point where I’m wondering what kind of training he did.”

“Ah, ahaha…”

Nagi smiled as if he was a little embarrassed by Tokoyo’s words.

“And above all, that bending barrier technique! There are only a few people who can use a barrier like that. I thought I needed to train this myself, so after a simple test, although a bit unusual, I promoted her to an official shrine maiden. “

“I thought I was still lacking in many aspects, so I asked Tokoyo for special training.”

As Nagi said that, her gaze was directed at Kuon.

Kuon may have tilted his head at her gaze, but she thought of Kuon as her target just as much as Tokoyo.

“Heh, then I’m looking forward to how much it will grow in the future. Well, that’s right.”

Lyla looked back at her Kuon as she answered, and this time Kuon nodded, as if she knew what he meant.

“Yes, Tokoyo. Can I borrow a place for the ceremony to meet Shinmok? I want to tell you about what happened at the adamantite mine.”

“Of course. I’ll get out of the way now, just wait-“

Tokoyo grins and takes her steps to get out of the way of the ceremony.

But right then.

When she thought that a light green magical fire had spread beneath her feet, Tokoyo’s body stiffened in an upright position.

“Eh? What is it!?”

Embarrassed, Lila raises her voice, and Sasha cries her nose.

“It’s a sign of great magical power…”

“This is…”

Kuon looked at Tokoyo with a nervous expression, probably thinking it was the magical energy he had felt before.

Surprisingly, Tokoyo’s body slightly rose into the air.

“Wow!? Tokoyo suddenly took flight!?”

Even her Nagi lets out her voice in embarrassment, but Kuon calms her down by saying ‘shh’ and putting his index finger to her mouth.

And after a while-

As I thought the tips of Tokoyo’s hair glowed with a strong emerald color, her mouth opened quietly, and her eyes also glowed the same color.

“Kuon… And the rest of the group…”

Tokoyo’s voice seems to echo somewhere.

Obviously, it was not the usual Tokoyo, but the voice of a slightly higher level… A more noble being.

And, there can only be one being that can use Tokoyo’s body as a vessel.

“Shinmok.”

When Kuon quickly kneels on the spot and shows his respect, the other party members also take the same stance in confusion.

Of course, Nagi, who was sitting down in her seat, hurriedly adjusted her legs and adjusted her sitting posture.

Shinmok looked at the group and told them to ‘stay at ease’, but when they did not relax their posture, he continued talking.

“Last time, I was able to appear in person thanks to the overflowing magical power of the spirit vein… But now that the Five Elements Festival is over, I lack magical power, so I had no choice but to borrow the body of Tokoyo, the Great Priestess of the time.”

“Well, I see…”

A sacred tree that politely explains why Tokoyo’s body is being used.

“And… Kuon. I confirmed that the adamantites have completely disappeared from their roots. The fact that they are quietly staying in their home… That mine is all thanks to your actions.”

“Yes… Actually-“

Then, Kuon explained to her what had happened in her mine.

Regarding Zita, there were adamantites who rebelled against Zita, but they have calmed down now.

“… Indeed, that’s what happened.”

“If there is Zita, the adamantites will not indiscriminately expand their mines in the future and reach the roots of the divine tree.”

At Kuon’s explanation, the divine tree nods its head once again.

“… You did a good job. As expected, entrusting the work to you was the right thing to do. This repayment is to provide you with the compensation promised in our previous meeting.”

As Shinmok spoke, he held out both of Tokoyo’s hands.

Then – a flow of magical power began to gather on her hand.

A golden fruit appeared on her bare hand.

Lila’s eyes widened when she saw it, and Kuon’s heart skipped a beat.

“… That.”

“Yes. This is the fruit of life. A ‘piece of evolution’ that even Adam is aiming for along with the crystal of perfection.”

In response to Kuon’s question, the divine tree slowly moved the fruit and placed it on Kuon’s hand.

“I will entrust the fruit to you. I trust that you will use it for the right cause.”

With that said, if you think that the magic power is slowly disappearing from Tokoyo’s body-

“Huh? Wow!?”

Tokoyo returned to his original state in the air, then fell to the ground with a crash.

“It hurts…! W-what happened…”

Rubbing his butt, Tokoyo would frown his face.

Then, she saw her fruit that Kuon was holding, and she also looked surprised.

“Quon! That…!”

“Yes. Mr. Shinmok gave me the reward he promised.”

So said Kuon, and the fruit held in her hand

Perhaps, it was a look of concern at a collection of vital forces that could greatly shake the fate of the world.