Volume 4 Chapter 8: Local God

Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”

I understood their surprise after the explanation.

And also realized the level of the danger. Thusー

「So if we remained there we could’ve gotten seriously sick. Thank you for telling us, Michaela-san. 」

When I thanked her, Michaela smiled a bit shyly.

「No, helping each other is only natural. We had sandstorms before, but magic stealing storms began appearing only a short while ago, and our investigation managed to determine its effects even more recently. The archeology guild forwarded this message, and it was up to everyone to relay it to each other. ーThis thing is still subject to further investigation, and the transfer of information is still not perfect『Beware of purple storms. Upon seeing purple-colored sky immediately go inside.』is the only message that we wanted to be spread. …So I just did the same myself.」

I see. So that’s the reason behind the warning at the merchants guild.

Considering that it was due to their investigation that we decided to move faster, it fills me with even more gratitude. And while I thought soー

「So, what brought you to us today despite this purple storm?」

Michaela asked after taking a sip of tea and calming down.

「Ehm… Well. To put it simply, we want materials in possession of the archeology guild…」

Our explanation is also complicated. Soー

「First of all, here is the missive and a letter of introduction that Sidonius from the City of God Tree asked to hand over when we meet the head of the guild, so here they go.」

After all it was specifically for such an occasion that Sidonius arranged this letter. So I handed them over to Michaela.

Seeing those letters Michaela’s expression became a bit brighter.

「Well, this manner of writing…… That’s undoubtedly Sidonius. ーLet me take a look.」

「I think you will find a more detailed account of events there. If you have any questions don’t hesitate.」

「Yes. Thank you. Please wait for a short while.」

It didn’t take even a minute for Michaela to open the missive and the letter of introduction and read them to the end.

「I see…… So you want our cooperation to get materials to repair the spear of…… Axel-san, previously the dragon knight hero. What kind of materials do you need?」

Daisy was the one to reply.

「Ah, I’m the one doing the repair, so I will give you details on materialsーーー The repairs are almost half done. So we’d like rare 『Yang Scale』. And also to borrow the『Ancient Forge』. If I’m not mistaken, the archeology guild did procure one from ancient ruins? So I thought you can lend it to us for a bit. 」

「……Yang scale and ancient forge, huh…」

Hearing Daisy, Michaela frowned slightly.

「That face says that…… It might be difficult for you to cooperate?」

「Ah, no, well, it’s not what I meant. Quite the contrary, since it’s a request from the heroes that saved Sidonius and other denizens of the City of God Tree I would be happy to accept it……Is what I think, but……」

After saying that, Michaela paused, with a little hesitant look, as if carefully picking her next words, then continued.

「Situation-wise it is not possible.」

「Not possible?」

「Yang Scale or Ancient Forge should be kept in a special storage,『Exploration Vault』, and the person with authority to open it is currently missing.」

「Missing? Did something happen?」

When asked, Michaela nodded and began calmly answering.

「Yes… The one with authority to open it is the head of the exploration department, the one in charge of exploring and investigating the desert or archeological sites there…… But he is yet to return since leaving the city a few days ago..」

「Yeah, you can call that missing, or rather, stranded.」

「Yes. Yesterday came an urgent message『Currently in the desert with Snake God, continuing investigation is impossible, return is impossible.』. And nothing since then.」

「So they are alive. Or actually, what is that about the snake god?」

「A local god that is cooperating with the archeological guild. Knowledgeable in many ancient sorceries, they are one of the deities worshipped in this city. Among the ancient sorceries, they are especially knowledgeable about protection magic, and are using that knowledge to protect the city.」

Upon hearing the words 「Local God」, a faint 「Eh」escaped Berzelia’s lips.

「Local god…… You mean one of the phantom monsters original to those lands, that was given blood of gods? And you working with such a being?」

「Yes. Or rather, the cooperation in this investigation was requested by the snake god, who has its domain in the desert. There are strange sandstorms going on, so come and investigate them together with me, is what they said. 」

「Ah, I see. So the request came from the local god’s side. 」

Since local gods have the blood of gods in them, it’s a common thing for them to be more powerful than humans.

I saw a few of them during the war, and also heard pretty much the same from several of them.

Thus, they can perform more tasks than regular humans.

But even so, there are some things that they cannot do, and some might prove extremely difficult with their own strength, at such times they request for humans to help.

…If it’s a local god, they should have established communication with the local human population after all.

「In most cases, local gods tend to acts to protect humans, so this snake god is the same.」

「Yes, the snake god is knowledgeable about the desert, and protects the city of their own volition…… But to put it bluntly, they are a bit too devoted to this. To be honest, I’d prefer if they cared more about themselves…」

Then, showing a little dejected face, Michaela shook her head and resumed.

「Anyway, we can’t just keep relying on the snake god, so a representative of the guild, head of the exploration department, joined the investigation a few days ago. He ーー《Head of Exploration》, has abilities of high tier-job, and until now completed dozens, no, hundreds of surveys in the desert, so we weren’t concerned, but……」

「But judging by the message, both of them are now stuck there, unable to come back.」

「At the moment that is very probable.」

Michaela meekly agreed.

From what I heard so far, they seemed to have plenty of confidence in the abilities of the head of exploration. And looking at her expression now, the shock from the current situation seems to be quite big as the result.

「The reason remains unknown…… But, considering the quantity of stored water and magic power restoring medicine he took with him……… The limit should be either today or tomorrow. So selecting those that can brace this storm from among the guild personnel and hired adventurers we are trying to find them, but…… 」

「Still can’t locate them.」

Michaela nodded.

「The number of people that can withstand this purple storm coming from the desert is way too limited. The emergency message allowed us to narrow the search range…… But we still don’t have enough people…… 」

Saying that Michaela cast down her eyes.

And then, seemingly resolved herself, turned to us.

「……So, Axel-san. The heroes. Sorry if it might sound like I’m trying to buy sympathy while denying your request. However…… With your resistance to the sandstorm, there is something I’d like to ask. ――Please, can you help with the rescue?」