A Powerful Martial Artist Reincarnates as a Nun Knight

Suppressing her aura as much as possible, Sophia cautiously addressed the will-o’-wisp:

“I apologize for intruding into this forest uninvited. However, we have come to make a request of the druid commanding you. We will pay compensation, so could you relay this to your ‘masters’?”

A will-o’-wisp was a summoned being that could only be commanded when a druid and an alchemist joined hands. The alchemist would use alchemical crystallization to sculpt the will-o’-wisp’s physical form, which the druid would then imbue with the will of nature to command it.

So if there was a will-o’-wisp here, there was undoubtedly a druid present, and possibly traces of an alchemist as well.

This was why Sophia had said “masters” in the plural – while the will-o’-wisp’s spirit and will fell under the druid’s domain, maintenance of its physical form was the alchemist’s realm. A will-o’-wisp without an alchemist was essentially an expendable summoned being with a limited lifespan.

After hearing Sophia’s words, the will-o’-wisp made a droning sound, flickered a few times, then came and went in front of Sophia before starting to move elsewhere.

[……?]
“Yes, it seems to be telling us to follow.”

Sophia followed the will-o’-wisp as it led her through the forest.

The will-o’-wisp showed no hesitation in its path, sometimes moving straight ahead, other times sharply turning right or making wide left turns, and at times even seeming to spin in circles in the same spot.

However, Sophia did not point out any peculiarities. She too could discern that the path the will-o’-wisp took was the correct one.

As she followed the will-o’-wisp, Sophia inwardly thought:

‘I can understand why a druid or alchemist would settle in a forest like this.’

In a sense, it was an abundant forest. Not in the ordinary meaning of plentiful flora and fauna for rural villagers to live off, but rather abundant in mystical terms. Any practitioner of the mystic arts would find spellcasting far more comfortable in this forest than usual, requiring fewer resources and lowering the difficulty of accessing higher-level spells.

The forest was also materially abundant. Rare curative herbs, trees inhabited by spirits, and veins of mica and jet used as catalysts for spells poked through the surface in sloped mounds.

Sophia was truly impressed. For a practitioner of the mystic arts, this could be considered a veritable paradise. If she were not a member of the Order’s clergy but a mystic practitioner instead, she might have coveted ownership of such an abundant land.

After some time, the will-o’-wisp suddenly stopped before a cliff face – their destination.

Examining the cliff the will-o’-wisp halted before, Sophia discerned it was an intricate illusion formed by a druid’s mysticism. The druid she sought was likely beyond this illusion. As Sophia expected, the will-o’-wisp vanished through the cliff, signaling her to pass through the illusion as well.

As Sophia approached the cliff, the projected illusion rippled, revealing the landscape beyond.

There was a considerably wide clearing with an enormous oak tree in the center and a small hut beside it. As Sophia stepped into the clearing, a man and woman emerged from the hut to greet her.

The two had quite exotic appearances.

The man had a robust build, wearing trousers below the waist while a cloth was draped over his bare, muscular upper body. Blue tattoos composed of ogham and strange patterns adorned his skin, with red and blue pigments painted around his eyes. On his head was a headdress woven with vines and tail feathers resembling those of a quail, while a bearskin robe was draped over his shoulders.

In his hand was a staff made from an oak branch, its tip decorated with a deer’s antler. From the tattoos on his body and the staff in his hand, Sophia could sense considerable mysticism.

The woman was not as tall as the man but had a good figure and attractive features for a female. Her attire was not particularly exotic, consisting of a clean, bright outer gown over her clothing and a wide-brimmed bright hat atop her neatly arranged hair.

Upon closer inspection, the gown and hat bore splotches that seemed to be stains from spilled reagents or soot.

“Welcome. You must have had a hard journey coming all this way into these remote woods. From what I see, you seem to handle similar mystic arts as us druids despite being a Paladin knight. A rare connection indeed.”

The man greeted Sophia courteously, his gentlemanly manner contrasting his wild appearance. This allowed Sophia to speak more comfortably than expected. She realized the “similar mystic arts” he referred to were the Celtic geass, and nodded in acknowledgment that he had discerned it.

“The geass, you mean. The practice of imposing constraints upon oneself through oaths and vows, and gaining power in return.”
“Hmm. Asking what oath you took would certainly be an unpardonable discourtesy.”

The man nodded in understanding and struck the ground with his staff. Between Sophia and the couple, a table and chairs formed from stone and living wood materialized.

“Please, have a seat first. I do not know what business brings a Paladin of the Order to seek out a lone druid hermit in these remote woods, but let us hear it. Cali, could you perhaps prepare some tea?”
“I’ve already prepared some, Setanta.”

As the druid named Setanta took a seat at the table, the woman called Cali brought out a clay teapot and stone teacups, setting three places.

Sophia also took a seat and picked up the teacup before her, briefly smelling the aroma before taking a sip. She then let out a soft exclamation.

“A rare tea indeed. At first sniff, it seemed to have almost no aroma, but taking a sip reveals the rich, concentrated fragrance.”
“Fuffuh, it’s my own blend. While my main expertise is alchemy, I do enjoy enriching tea time as well. Personally, I find brewing tea and alchemy have much in common, don’t you think?”
“I am no alchemist, but I can appreciate that sentiment to an extent. Accomplished tea practitioners and alchemists do show quite a few similarities.”
“Hmm. As I’ve never met another alchemist besides Cali, I can’t really say. But Cali’s tea time preparations do have a certain fulfilling quality, distinctly different from a druid’s tea time.”

Thanks to the alchemist’s personally blended tea, the atmosphere between host and guest relaxed considerably. Finally, Sophia explained to the two the reason she had come to seek them.

As she spoke, their expressions grew increasingly grave. When Sophia finished, the druid said with a heavy look:

“So a plague has broken out across the local villages due to aquifer contamination. This is truly grave news. If mishandled, it could even affect this forest, could it not?”
“Most likely. To be frank, the aquifer running beside that castle is a waterway that extends its influence to the northeastern Frangian territories, the Briconewi Principalities, and the Duchy of Viazen in the western Holy Griffon Empire. This forest would be difficult to remain unaffected. If mishandled, it could become a quite troublesome calamity.”
“A serious matter indeed. Truly a difficult situation?”

Sensing an odd atmosphere, Sophia cautiously asked them:

“I came to request aid regarding that very waterway issue, but might that be difficult?”

The druid Setanta responded with a troubled expression:

“The truth is, Cali and I are currently unable to leave this forest.”
“What matter is that?”
“This ‘Ogma’s Forest’ is a sacred land for druids, runemasters, and alchemists. And as you know, such lands…”
“…have resident spirits that protect the land and prevent its mysticism from being depleted. Did something happen to that spirit?”
“Precisely. You see, originally that role was performed by this great oak of Ogma, but recently the oak’s spirit has fallen into a deep slumber for some unknown reason.”
“Setanta and I were temporarily dispatched to guard and maintain the forest in its stead. It’s been 15 years already…”

As it turned out, Setanta was originally a druid dispatched from the northern island nation of Erin, while Cali was an alchemist from the southern Kingdom of Rotharingia.

The two had been assigned as forest guardians by their respective druid and alchemist factions, meeting in this forest for the first time. 15 years had passed since then, and the two, originally youths, were now approaching middle age.

“But what about the runemasters?”
“Well, Cali and I both have some mastery of runes as well. We were associated with the Runemaster Society too.”
“While we first met here in this forest, we had heard of each other’s reputations as runemasters.”

Which was why, as Cali smiled, they had gotten along quite well since first meeting despite different backgrounds. Hearing this, Sophia felt even more regretful – by her exceptionally capable standards, these two fell into the highly skilled category. If she could have their aid, the aquifer issue could likely be resolved easily.

Inwardly agonizing, Sophia half-resignedly asked them:

“So then, how old is this child Conra you speak of?”

To her question, Setanta answered proudly:

“He is eleven years old this year.”
“What did you say–?!”

As expected…
Conra, the son the druid and alchemist couple wished to entrust to Sophia, was barely an eleven-year-old child.