Volume 6 Chapter 80 Holy Mountain
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
El got a fever.
Is this a chance to run away? No way, could I do that? Also, her fever seems tied to me.
Her fingers look swollen, like covered in thick lacquer.
It’s an allergy to wall barley, not wheat. She touched bread at that merchant’s shop, then the symptoms came later.
Dragon God’s Herb heals most sickness fast, but it can also make cancer grow or make things worse.
I don’t know how it works for allergies—immune system going wild. I can’t just use it.
All giants here seem allergic to wall barley. Even bread is dangerous for them. That merchant selling it must be shady. What was his plan? Maybe he’s a terrorist.
”El will get better by sleeping hard,” El says with a brave smile, but her face shows she’s hurting.
I don’t really get other people’s pain. Wanting to take it away feels like a proud hope from a healthy person.
When sick, pain is less scary than the worry you might not heal. That fear can swallow your mind.
In modern Japan, hospitals are near and most sicknesses get fixed. Seeing a doctor helps calm you down.
The most important thing is feeling safe.
”That’s right. Good night until morning,” I say softly, watching her.
El is a strong girl. If she rests well, most sickness will fade.
But allergies depend on body type, right? I’ve heard about antigen-antibody reactions or something.
The body’s defense gets confused and attacks itself, meant to protect but causing trouble.
I brought many medical books from Japan. Maybe I’ll find answers if I look.
Worry spreads fast, so I must stay calm and act steady. Getting nervous will make things worse.
Pretending to be a doctor with a trick might help. Here, they call that a shaman or magic healer. It’s a low-class priest helping the poor, but magic healing is not perfect, so it’s needed.
I will watch El until morning. If she gets worse, I’ll risk using Dragon God’s Herb.
While El sleeps peacefully, I read a home medicine book.
With this knowledge, I can save many lives even without magic. It’s human wisdom from Earth.
The rulers here keep knowledge for themselves and don’t share it. If found out, it might be banned.
Are El’s symptoms really allergies? Or a curse from Goddess Belzea?
Belzea loves humans and hates Demonfolk. I don’t know if giants are Demonfolk or not.
If it’s a divine curse, that’s trouble.
I know little about Demonfolk or Demon Lords. Not from lack of info, but there’s too much mixed up stories, so I can’t trust anything.
The Hero Management Bureau’s stories sound shady, and local rumors are weird too.
Uno and Schulz’s stories come from real experience, so I trust them more. But dragons hide away, so their knowledge is biased.
They don’t care about things they find boring. That’s why they live long without stress. Elves get tired after living a thousand years.
For now, I’ll make oral rehydration solution. It tastes like weak sports drink but drinking it when thirsty feels great.
It’s not medicine, but it helps with many sicknesses. Even a cold can get better with this and sleep.
Staying hydrated is important when sick.
Old sham doctors in Showa times used to inject glucose when unsure what illness someone had. It worked surprisingly well.
The placebo effect is strong. With a trick skill, you can even heal sickness.
I give El, sweating and groaning, water from a PET bottle. She was so thirsty she drank it all fast.
Then she falls into deep sleep. Good, the worst is done.
”Good morning, dear?” I say as sunlight fills the tent.
El wakes up, looking suspicious. Her cheeks are red, and she fidgets.
”Glad you’re okay. The swelling is gone, so you’re better now,” I say with relief.
”El should go on a small trip,” she says softly.
I’m happy she says that, but she can’t go yet. She still needs rest.
”It’s fine, I won’t leave you. Rest and get strong again,” I say, smiling.
Maybe it’s best to pack and leave now, but that feels like kidnapping. I need to start my journey on my own feet first.
”No, that’s not right! Osamumu is coming!” El shouts suddenly.
Osamumu? That’s a long name.
An old man walks closer. I thought he was just on a morning walk, but now I see he came here.
Even giants don’t hide all the time. I’m getting used to it and can sense their signals now.
Even at max skill level, can you still grow? Like breaking a limit?
Once El is better, playing hide-and-seek would be fun and good training.
Osamumu walks into El’s tent without knocking.
Maybe they don’t care much about privacy?
He’s bent like a shrimp but tall enough I have to look up to see his head.
”El is leaving the village where she married the third son?” Osamumu asks bluntly.
He’s honest but should be sneakier.
He gets scolded a lot. A young girl taken by an outsider is serious.
He ignores that El has suffered much. But this is normal for village leaders here. Their idea of human rights is old-fashioned.
Osamumu changes his tone when he learns I can craft things.
El can’t keep secrets or lie. It’s good, but also hard.
* * *
The small tent in the woods is like a town hall and church combined. Weddings happen here too.
A wedding—big event in life—but there’s no ceremony.
If Osamumu says yes, that’s it.
”All second tribe husbands can’t leave until they finish the gods’ contract,” Osamumu says.
That’s a big problem. Ms. Nina is probably waiting.
”Can you explain the gods’ contract?” I ask.
The contract is absolute, but should not be forced without telling the details.
I don’t sense any divine presence. Osamumu just talks nonsense for now.
He says El’s great-grandfather made a deal with gods to deliver a thousand axes for the sacred mountain.
The delivery point is Osamumu’s family—very suspicious.
Delivering a thousand axes sounds impossible, meant to trap blacksmiths here.
But I don’t mind. I will accept the challenge.
”How many axes delivered so far?” I ask.
Osamumu looks surprised and pulls out an old scroll, muttering.
It’s messy for a “divine contract,” but at least he’s not lying, so that’s good.
”Three hundred twenty-six,” he says.
It took almost an hour to count using sticks. I hope no mistake was made.
El looks bored and sleepy; she’s still healing.
”So, six hundred seventy-four left,” I say.
”How do you know?” Osamumu asks.
Simple subtraction, but here, just knowing math can make people feel proud.
If taught as secret family skill, they get even more arrogant.
”The third son can talk with gods. He’s amazing,” Osamumu says.
El, still sleepy, looks proud.
”But no matter how strong you are, the contract is absolute. You must deliver axes to leave. Your children, grandchildren, and future generations too,” Osamumu warns.
So that was their real plan. Without blacksmiths, the village can’t survive.
About six hundred axes could be made in three days if we have materials.
The gods don’t seem real here. Let’s finish this fast to avoid more trouble.
The holy mountain is probably a mine. If they make bronze, they mine copper and zinc—like chalcopyrite.
”El, do you know where the holy mountain is?” I ask.
”Let’s go see,” she says and suddenly runs from the tent.
Oh, she escaped.
I bow to Osamumu and follow her. Even sick, she’s fast.
Not to brag, but I could win a dozen Olympic gold medals with my strength.
Is she not hiding, or can the radar see her clearly?
She’s sitting a few kilometers ahead, dozing again. So fragile.
”El wants sweet water,” she says when I reach her.
Sweet water? Oh, the oral rehydration solution.
She drinks a two-liter bottle in one gulp when I hand it to her.
”Ice?” she asks, twisting the empty bottle.
The clear plastic bottle is strange to her.
It’s light, strong, and good—a waste to throw away.
”If you seal the cap, it becomes a water bottle,” I explain.
”I like this bottle,” she smiles.
Carrying it by hand is hard, so I’ll make a strap with leather cords.
I measure and fix it with rivets. In minutes, the bottle has a stylish cover.
”Handsome third son is handy,” El says happily.
Why do girls love bags so much? I feel a little guilty seeing her so pleased.
”Run! Third son, piggyback!” she orders.
You want me to ride on your shoulders? No way. An injured girl carrying me is weird.
”Hurry up!” she shouts, angry.
She’s scary when mad, just like my sister. I obey and follow.
El standing up makes the view wider. It’s refreshing but makes me dizzy.
Without horseback experience, it was almost dangerous.
Running on two feet is faster than a horse. I survived Ms. Claire’s fast dashes and near-death runs.
Is it just practice? No, El’s strength is just crazy.
We leave the woods. A grassy plain opens up.
It’s rare to see plains without wall barley here.
That’s probably the Sacred Mountain. I recognize it fast.
It looks like Ayers Rock, or Uruu in native tongue.
Its cliffs are almost vertical, making it look strange and majestic.
If you said gods or spirits live there, I’d believe it.
”Eh! Wow!!” El gasps and starts climbing the cliff easily.
Many holds help, but climbers usually use ropes on cliffs like this.
She climbs fast, barely using her arms.
”Give me sweet water,” she says, holding an empty PET bottle.
Thinking she’s thirsty, I give her a new bottle. She pours the water into her bottle, then drinks.
It’s an extra step, but she looks happy, so it’s fine.
This must be the summit. The peak is flat, like a giant chopped tree stump.
Looking down nervously, I see land beyond and the sea far away.
The breeze is soft, but the sea has big triangular waves like Hokusai’s ukiyo-e.
Is this the open sea no one can sail? Hokusai’s art shows small boats fighting big storms.
We can’t leave the village, so this mountain must be inside its borders.
The name comes from the mountain’s shape, but I don’t feel any sacred power.
”Treasure here,” El says, pointing.
I’m speechless. Huge pieces of chalcopyrite lie on the ground.
This is amazing, I want to laugh.
El’s family has mined here for generations, making tools from this ore.
They probably melt it in kilns and make bronze. The other world is full of strange things.
No way, Earth in old days might have had many pure resources lying around.
Pulling myself together, I dig underground. What is this place? I almost lose control and want to smash things. This mountain alone has more deposits than the old Duke Mineley Territory… and the gold amount is strangely high.
It’s not just chalcopyrite; there is lots of platinum and iridium too. When I scrape layers with my pickaxe, shiny silver crystals fall out. Platinum is worth more than gold on Earth among precious metals.
This mountain is weird. It’s a treasure chest of resources. Should I worry about trading thousands of axes for this? That Osamu probably doesn’t understand its value at all, I think.
El looks bored, so I take out some rare gadgets I brought from Japan. I pull out a magnifying glass for checking minerals… maybe a bit small for El, I say.
Chemicals don’t interest El, so I shine a black light on the ore. Some minerals start glowing green softly.
”Beautiful! Is this magic?” El asks, eyes wide.
”Some minerals glow under ultraviolet light,” I explain, looking through a mineral guide.
Many stones glow under UV light. The green one must be phosphoruraninite, maybe? I say. Uranium? I add with surprise.
I put batteries in a Geiger counter and bring it close to the ore. The number keeps going up. It’s not instantly deadly but over 100 times the normal radiation.
I check with another device and it reacts too. So it’s not broken. Maybe I should have bought better tools, I wonder.
Please, no uranium. I really wanted mithril instead.
”Let’s go home, El. This place is dangerous,” I say, starting to pack.
This is no holy mountain. It’s more like a demon’s mountain.
There are ideas that small doses of radiation can be good — like radium hot springs. But using amateur tools only causes trouble.
Back in El’s tent, I check the axe’s radiation. Good, normal.
I hope I didn’t mix any ore by accident.
Uranium in a fantasy world feels disappointing. But there are many radioactive minerals here.
The book says some natural gems are also dangerous. Maybe medieval Europe had these cursed jewels too.
For now, I pretend I didn’t see uranium. I already have enough materials in my magic bag from Duke Mineley Territory.
Maybe I should craft ore from the holy mountain, but no contract rules say otherwise, so it’s fine.
I decide to make just one axe first and deliver it with El to Osamu.
”Is this okay?” I ask El, holding the finished axe.
”That looks good. For second tribe, you’re skilled,” El replies, nodding.
”Six hundred seventy-three more like this,” I say, sighing.
”Keep working. If you do, your future descendants will be free from the contract,” El encourages me.
I’ll deliver all in 3 days and finish. The axe Osamumu keeps is for himself. That’s fine.
”That’s a fine axe. Some second tribe folks match our cyclops smiths,” Osamu says, inspecting.
Cyclops… isn’t that a one-eyed giant? Oh, so he wears an eye patch. He’s pretending to be a cyclops, I think.
”El said you are humans, right?” I ask.
”Of course. Cyclops are the ancestors of all things,” Osamu say.
”El knows Grandpa’s grandpa was in the Two-Eyed Tribe,” El says.
Is this strange talk because of the Mind Communication skill? Osamu and El speak their thoughts freely.
In fantasy stories, cyclops are good smiths. Osamu is proud of this.
Still, the village lost its smith skills. Maybe the leader is bad at it.
Back in El’s tent, I starts making axes fast.
No steel core, no magic marks. Just like what I gave Osamu.
Lucky, cast products fit mass production.
With Salamander’s help, I melts bronze and pours it into the magic bag many times.
I uses the magic barrier in the air as a mold, pouring into it.
Cooling takes time, so I casts ten axes at once. This are a common method for arrows and parts.
When done, cut them from the runner like model kits.
The tent gets hot, but El pulls a string to open the ceiling a bit and let warm air out. The tent doubles as a forge. Smart design.
”Next, I’ll try 24 axes at once,” I say.
El watches a floating axe carefully. Good she doesn’t touch it. That’s a blacksmith’s daughter.
I think El’s dad had more trouble refining bronze than making axes. Refining copper and zinc is tough.
Some rare ores can be used as bronze directly, but they’re very rare. If El only had those, no wonder it took long.
I can choose elements in my magic bag. That’s pretty cheating.
One gross is 12 dozen, so 144 pieces. Casting so many at once is hard.
Better to go slow and not push too much. That’s smart.
Still, I’m foolish for trying.
Inside the small tent, casting 4 dozen in 3 layers at once.
”Wow, so many! Amazing!” El says happily.
Seeing El so joyful makes me happy too.
She knows Salamander and Pii-Pii well, not scared of spirits at all.
If I finish one gross, maybe two? No, I’m tired now. Can’t keep focus.
Wait, did I need 673 axes? I might have made too many by mistake.
Looks like I’ll have over 100 left. I’ll check and remove bad ones to avoid complaints.
It was supposed to take 3 days but I finished in one. Easy.
I forgot to wrap leather cord on the grip of the axe I gave Osamu today. I better do it now.
Wrapping takes longer than casting. Even with El’s help, it’s tough.
Making boxes and packages is hard too, so I skip fancy packing. Just simple wrapping. Bare, really.
”Tomorrow morning, I’ll deliver everything to Osamu and then start the journey,” I tell El.
El looks fine, so we’ll move fast. If we wait, someone might complain.
”I understand. I’ll pack my things,” El says.
The tent folds and fits in the magic bag. The tent will be last to pack.
I toss aside furniture except the bedding, pile it up.
El knows what the magic bag is and separates travel items before packing.
Because it’s magic, no need to explain more. That’s the nice thing about another world.
That thought stops questions but also stops science progress.
Morning comes. The weather is good again. Time to go.
In front of Osamu’s tent, I line up ten new axes neatly. It helps with counting on the abacus.
Six hundred, 7 tens, and 3 left.
By the time we finish, a crowd gathers. Everyone wears eye patches, though some only have strings around heads. Seems like a loose custom.
”What’s this noise! This is a sacred place!” Osamu says, walking in with a staff.
”Hyaa!!” He looks shocked at the pile of axes.
”I delivered 673 axes. Let the gods see, the contract is done,” I say firmly.
”That’s not right! I decide that!” Osamu shouts.
Ah, trouble again.
”Why not?”
”That’s not enough! You can’t make 100 axes in one day!” Osamu says.
The giants around nod, agreeing.
Why do they believe that?
”Count properly! Osamu, you’re good at math,” El says, almost crying.
Osamu reluctantly pulls out an abacus.
He places it down seriously. The crowd watches like it’s a sacred ritual.
Ah, maybe it is.
The axes are lined up for easy counting. The abacus uses decimal. Osamu seems bad at math, but he won’t make a mistake here.
Slowly, Osamu’s face turns pale. He repeats counting from the start.
If he wanted, he could find any fault. But he looks serious.
”See? The numbers match,” I say.
”No, even if numbers match, it’s wrong!” Osamu yells.
Damn old man. Maybe I should gift him a copper-uranium pendant. He’d die keeping it close. No, I won’t fall to dark science.
Osamu sighs deeply, calming down.
Villains like him are many in this world. I must stay calm.
”A contract binds both sides. Are you try to break it alone?” I ask with a slight tease.
Be careful with gods. Saying wrong things can trigger trouble. How will they answer?
”Oh yes. My clan is the gods’ representative!” Osamu says proudly.
Ah, he said it out loud. But nothing happens? Miracles are rare, so this is no miracle.
The giants nearby suddenly look nervous. I hear faint thunder — do they have sharp hearing?
Timing is perfect, but no divine power feels near. Just coincidence. Natural lightning.
Count seconds from flash to thunder. Sound travels about 340 meters per second.
If ten seconds pass, lightning is about 3,400 meters away.
A huge lightning bolt strikes from the sky. No danger here.
When I was a kid, I feared lightning without knowing why. I’m still scared but safe places are safe.
If I stay inside the forest, trees work as lightning rods. But standing too close is risky. Position matters.
”Apologize, Osamu! Apologize to the gods!” El says, nearly crying after seeing “divine punishment.”
Osamu slumps down. That’s smart. Making yourself smaller helps avoid lightning.
”Mercy! I serve the gods as servant!” Osamu pleads.
Thunder fades. No rain, just strange weather. Unstable atmosphere on leaving day is annoying.
”Is a servant different from a representative?” El asks curiously.
”Simply put, a servant is less important than an envoy,” I say.
”Oh, Osamu got arrogant so gods got angry,” El says, surprisingly understanding.
Osamu descends from a family who does summoning rituals. He is the village leader. He has grown arrogant.
The god idea is convenient. Thanks to it, the problem solved quickly. It was just natural weather anyway.
Maybe Osamu’s conscience saw gods in lightning.
I just went along. I didn’t pretend to be a god, right?
”The contract is done… The sacred mountain belongs to your clan,” I say. “But that mountain seals the King of Terror. No one should go near it.”
Not a lie, just a metaphor.
If he won’t respect uranium’s danger, I’ll warn him to stay away.
Anyway, warning given.
”I’m going on a journey — going on a journey —” El sings a silly song happily.
Ah, I will leave now.
Travel isn’t fun. Mostly hard and annoying.
Ah, Uncle loved traveling a lot.
For now, it’s just El and me. I hope the trip is fun.
Notes:
• El – She is a giant woman, appeared as Saburou’s captor, living alone in a large tent, skilled in hunting and cooking, proposes marriage to Saburou.
• Schulz – A male dragon who collects human women and holds the rank of Duke within the Anti-Magic Alliance.
• Osamu – He is an old giant, appeared as the village head, overseeing El’s marriage contract, and enforcing the divine axe delivery obligation.
• Ms. Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Ms. Claire – 22-year-old centaur attendant to Joa, with a chestnut horse body and wavy hair. Level 18 mounted archer. Recently enslaved, retains her own will. Her bow skills are sealed due to subservience. Bought by the protagonist as a companion, alongside Joa
• Uruu – The wolf.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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