NOVEL NEXT Episode 11: Lady Tamaya
Episode 11: Lady Tamaya
The conference among representatives from various countries continued for several days, discussing topics such as invasion routes and the post-war distribution of territories.
As a result, it was decided that Alteria, Mishinela, and Melnier would advance from the north, while Hartelia and Almira would advance from the west. Almira seemed particularly motivated, especially due to the incident with the orcs. …Sorry about that.
Oh right. Ever since the incident, the ‘Sword Saint’ has been extremely irritable. He hasn’t picked fights with anyone, but it seems he’s channeling all that built-up stress onto Miltia. Perhaps it would be good for him to vent it out.
Next was the handling of Miltia’s territories. To avoid future disputes, decisions were made at this stage. For countries recently absorbed into Miltia where royal families still survive, plans were made for their revival. However, there seemed to be considerable controversy regarding the treatment of other areas. Well, considering Hartelia’s manpower shortage and Mishinela’s state structure, disputes were inevitable over which cities would they govern. The other three countries would become enclaves, which would complicate their management.
In the end, it was decided to form several countries around local leaders and have them join the Mishinela Federation. Well, problems are bound to arise, but it seems each country will cooperate in resolving them.
With the general direction set, the king was to return to Hartelion. I was to accompany him. We will be taking a separate route from Alteria’s when invading, so I no longer serve as a decoy against the ‘Sword Saint’.
There’s another troublesome matter to settle, though.
—
And so, I arrived at Sasha-san’s orphanage. It seems Sylphietta, who had come to the royal capital, drops by frequently. Well, Lumina is also here.
“Hello~”
“Oh, Mine-kun, welcome back. You returned the day before yesterday, right?”
“Yes, I came back then.”
“…That child is here today.”
“Oh, that’s good timing. By the way, what did Sasha-san think of her?”
“Well, she doesn’t seem like a bad child… Anyway, she seems to really like the ‘Miko’ and the ‘Spirits’.”
“Is that so…”
Why did I say that with a wry smile? Well, let’s meet her for now. I want the spirits to check her magical power. She might have magic like Gladiol’s.
—
“Nice to meet you, I’m Mine.”
“……”
“……?”
“Ah, um, nice to meet you. I’m Sylphietta.”
Sylphietta is a girl with long green hair. We’re about the same age, I think? She looks cute and doesn’t seem like a bad person. Well, I can’t judge just by that, considering Olivia’s example.
…But why is this girl staring at me so intently?
[[[Only lightー]]]
“Huh…!?”
“――!”
This person reacted to the voice of the ‘Spirits,’ right? Is she a holder of [Spirit Sense]? If it’s [Spirit Eyes], the ‘Spirits’ would react even more strongly. I smell trouble coming…
“Um, excuse me! It might be rude to ask someone I just met, but…”
“…What is it?”
“Mine-san, do you know ‘Tamaya’?”
“Hm? Tamaya? Of course I know.”
I’m the one who spread Tamaya, after all. But why suddenly talk about Tamaya? Do you like fireworks?
“I knew it! Then Mine-san must also know about the ‘Spirits’, right?”
“Huh? ‘Spirits’?”
“I strongly feel the presence of the ‘Spirits’ around Mine-san.”
“Presence…?”
“Oh, I have [Spirit Sense].”
Hmm? How does it connect to ‘spirits’ from ‘Tamaya’? It’s true that the ‘spirits’ like Tamaya, though.
In any case, she casually revealed [Spirit Sense]. Judging by her demeanor, she doesn’t seem like the type skilled in hiding things…
“Actually, I love stories about ‘miko-sama’—”
Ever since she was a child, she’s loved stories about ‘miko’ (shrine maidens) so much that she would always pester her grandmother for such tales. One day, while listening to a story about ‘miko,’ she noticed that the presence of ‘spirits’ became stronger. This led her to think that there might be some connection between ‘miko’ and ‘spirits.’
Later, as a candidate for saintess, she went to the main temple to investigate legends in detail. She discovered that several events related to ‘miko’ were similar to phenomena known as the power of ‘spirits.’ This made her think that there might indeed be a connection between ‘miko’ and ‘spirits.’
I wonder if there are records like that at the main temple. I’d like to dispose of them before anyone else notices, if possible.
But I still can’t see any connection between ‘spirits’ and ‘Tamaya’. Could ‘Tamaya’ mean something different to church officials? But Lumina didn’t say anything like that…
Oh well, that’s not important right now.
“Did you tell anyone else about this story?”
“No, I haven’t told anyone except Lumina-san. It seems the higher-ups in the church only see ‘miko-sama’ as tools for proselytizing… Oh, but Olivia-san—”
Olivia? The original saintess, right? Here, she’s supposed to be… um, currently in the middle of a controversial… I mean, a passionate elopement.
“Did you tell her?”
“No, I didn’t tell her anything, but…”
“By the way, Lumina-san mentioned that a saintess candidate with that name went missing…”
“…”
“Do you happen to know anything about it?”
“Well…”
“Huh? Do you really know? Could it be her doing? She doesn’t seem like it though…”
“Um, aren’t you angry?”
“I won’t know until I ask…”
“Right. …Understood. Actually—”
It was after I set up [Land Mine] at Count Vingul’s detached house, she apparently heard the voice of ‘spirits’ near the teleportation magic circle connected to Vingul territory in the main temple. She could barely make out the mysterious words ‘teleportation’ and ‘Tamaya.’ She started thinking that there might be something called Tamaya at the destination of teleportation. However, as a mere saintess candidate, she didn’t have the authority to use teleportation freely.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t give up and frequently visited the location of the teleportation magic circle. Olivia, who was also a saintess candidate, became suspicious of her actions. Although Sylphietta tried desperately to cover it up, Olivia was convinced that something lay beyond that. Under the pretext of searching for Gladiol, Olivia teleported to Vingul territory and never returned.
—
“‘I have thought about it—I believe that if she did not return, Tamaya would be something special to the spirits. And I re-examined all the books related to the ‘miko’ and the ‘spirits’ in the library. However, I have not been able to find the word Tamaya anywhere. So I’m sure! Tamaya is something that spirits are trying to hide—a beloved child!.'”
“…”
“That’s when I heard there was a person spreading the word Tamaya in this country. Ha-ha, that’s a great idea. If many people use that word, no one will think it means ‘beloved child’!”
“…”
“So, Mine-san. If you are spreading Tamaya to the public, you are indeed a beloved child, no, Tamaya-sama!!”
“Huh…”
Sylphieta pointed at me, proud of herself. She suddenly spoke quickly. I didn’t expect her to connect all of this with just ‘Tamaya’. And to reach this answer. I wonder if she’s scatterbrained?
“Well, just stop pointing your finger for a while.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Is she obedient?
“Well, what are you going to do when you find a beloved child?”
“Huh?”
“…”
“…What do we do?”
“…?”
“Well, you see, I was just investigating about ‘miko-sama’ and ‘spirit-sama’ because I wanted to know more… So, it’s not like I have any plans…”
“Using ‘spirit-sama’ to improve your own position or something—”
“That’s impossible! Using ‘spirit-sama’ for such purposes is unforgivable!”
“O-Okay…”
“But, um, if possible, I would like to see their appearance once. According to legends, it’s said to be like a lovely dwarf or a formidable beast…”
After this, ‘spirits’ were discussed endlessly… Yeah, she’s definitely a ‘spirit’ otaku. Well, just because she’s one doesn’t mean I’ll introduce her to Seira right away. Her energy levels are scary.
—
So, for now, it seems like the church hasn’t caught on to Seira and ‘spirits’ yet. Well, there might be others who think like her, but at least organizationally, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.
That being said, this time the girl was just a ‘spirit’ otaku, so it wasn’t a big deal, but if information about ‘Seira’ or ‘Beloved Child’ had been shared within the church, that would have been bad. And as long as such documents exist, there’s always the possibility that someone else will notice in the future… Oh well, can’t be helped, I guess.
“So, I’ve decided! Let’s destroy the main temple of Miltia!”
[[Hooray!!]]
[[We won’t forgive anyone who bullies the young lady!!]]
[[Tamaya? Kagiya?]]
Until now, I’ve been hesitant, but if there’s a possibility that ‘Beloved Child Seira’ might be targeted, it changes things. And now, thanks to the Allied Forces, it seems easier to do.
And if the Allied Forces manage to take down Militia, there’s a high chance that their documents will fall into the hands of other factions. If that happens, other people might notice the relationship between ‘miko’ and ‘spirits.’
However, religious organizations seem quite troublesome. Especially Miltia’s church, which had enough power to establish a country. There might be those who seek to exploit that power might plot for a revival. Since there are teleportation magic circles there, some might try to escape.
So, it’s not just about destroying them; it’s about shaking the foundation of Miltia more profoundly or breaking the hearts of their followers.
Come to think of it, would it be okay from the perspective of the ‘spirits’ to destroy the Miltia Church? Setting aside internal matters, it’s supposed to be an organization protected by the ‘miko’… But since they don’t seem interested in anyone but the ‘miko,’ I think it should be fine…
“It’s strategy time!”
[[Yay!]]
[[Let’s do it!]]
[[Tamaya? Kagiya?]]
…Yeah, doesn’t seem likely at all.
And hey, you guys, stop referring to Tamaya and Kagiya as if it’s about destructive acts. You’ll get in trouble.