Chapter 177

“So, like that, Maybel and I instantly teleported into the underground village and blended right in.”

“Seems like the folks up in Armen haven’t noticed this village’s existence yet… but seriously, how did they manage to build a whole town without being spotted?”

“It’s clear a fair amount of resources and effort must’ve been spent…”

“Hmm, where should we start looking?”

“Hmm… Let’s see…”

“The number of people walking around is quite significant… Hmm…”

“Alright.”

“Here, let’s give this a try.”

I conjured up two L-shaped metal rods and cast a simple spell on them.

“This simple tool will help us find the location of something when I concentrate hard while holding it in both hands. It’s called dowsing.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an object with a simple enchantment. When you grip it with both hands and focus your thoughts strongly, the ends of the rods point toward whatever you’re thinking about.”

“Wait… Is this a magical tool for finding things? Did you just create this in the blink of an eye?”

“Hmm. It’s not such a difficult magic, really.”

Maybel looked slightly dumbfounded as she spoke.

“If you can make something like this, why didn’t you do it sooner? Wouldn’t things have been easier if you had prepared it ahead of time?”

Meh, if I just solved everything with a snap of my fingers, it’d get boring, wouldn’t it?

Though I didn’t voice that out loud.

“It only points in a general direction, not giving exact locations. If it’s not in this village, it’ll just point vaguely towards where it might be.”

“But still…”

“It only points horizontally too. For example, if we were above ground in Armen trying to locate your mother here underground, it would just point straight down.”

So, to put it simply, it can pinpoint X and Y coordinates but not Z.

Dowsing can’t track in three dimensions.

“That makes sense…”

Well, truthfully, I just wanted to enjoy the process of searching! But I kept that excuse to myself.

“Alright, give it a try.”

Maybel took the dowsing rods from me with both hands.

“Like this?”

“A bit lower there. If you grip it too high, it won’t turn properly because it’ll get stuck on your hands.”

“Ah, okay.”

If it gets caught on your hands, it might not spin correctly.

With that, Maybel closed her eyes and gripped the dowsing rods I gave her.

After a short moment…

“Ugh…”

Maybel’s dowsing rods slowly began to move.

“Hoo… This isn’t easy at all.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. Clearly imagining mom isn’t as simple as it sounds, and keeping my focus steady is tough too.”

Hmm… Is it really that hard? I didn’t make it overly complicated.

Could the required mental effort vary depending on the individual? Or maybe Maybel just struggles with focusing her mind…

Whatever, doesn’t really matter.

“Still, it seems to be pointing in the right direction. Once it moves, it locks onto one spot, so that’s reassuring.”

Even as Maybel moved around, the dowsing rods stayed fixed in one direction.

“In that case, let’s head out.”

“Yes.”

And so, cloaked by magic, we set off.

“—”

“Hmm… This place feels familiar, almost like a mimicry of dwarven towns?”

“Huh?”

At my muttering, Maybel tilted her head in confusion.

“I mean this village. It has a similar vibe to the dwarven towns.”

Back when I used to sneak out of Sagarmatha to explore dwarven settlements…

The layout of those villages was strikingly similar to what I’m seeing now.

The abundance of mushrooms and moss scattered around here also mirrors the dwarven towns. On closer inspection, it’s even the same kind of moss and mushrooms I once gifted to the dwarves.

“Dwarven towns!”

“They dug deep into the mountains and built their homes inside caves. Well, calling it a ‘village’ might undersell its scale—it was more like a sprawling city.”

The dwarves, with their immense strength, were experts at digging through earth and rock, always searching for precious metals.

They would dig tunnels, creating space, then repurpose that space into living quarters, repeating the cycle endlessly until…

They crafted these complex tunnel networks resembling intricate ant colonies.

In many ways, this mouse beastman village could be considered a lesser version of a true dwarven settlement.

“A dwarven town, huh… I’d love to visit someday.”

“It can feel a bit claustrophobic, but it’s a good place.”

“When I meet mom… I’d like to travel together.”

“True. First, though, we need to find your mother.”

Under the cover of our magical disguise, we followed the direction indicated by the dowsing rods.

“It seems to be pointing towards this building.”

We arrived at a building guarded by armed guards at the entrance.

“Hmm… Let’s see…”

There are about five rat beastmen inside. Not many.

But given the heavy security, something suspicious is definitely going on.

“What should we do?”

“Let’s take a peek inside the guard’s mind first.”

“Huh? Inside his mind?”

I nodded slightly.

“If we understand why your mother is imprisoned here and why you were sent away to that countryside village, it might help us solve this problem, no?”

“Well, sure, but… couldn’t we just ask mom directly?”

At Maybel’s words, I paused briefly.

“Unfortunately, it seems we can’t hear her story directly right now.”

“Huh?”

I glanced at a beastman inside the building.

His life force is fading, leaving him in a precarious state.

A rat beastman whose soul bears a striking resemblance to Maybel’s.

“Your mother is indeed in this building, but she’s weakened to the point where she can’t speak right now.”

“That’s terrible! We need to rescue her quickly!”

“I said ‘right now.’ Her life isn’t in immediate danger, and as long as there’s still a spark of life… well, even if she’s recently passed, I can still bring her back.”

At that, Maybel seemed to remember who I truly am.

“Reviving the dead… Dragon Priestess…”

“Exactly. As long as there’s still life in her, or even if she’s been gone for not too long, I can manage somehow. So, let’s focus on gathering information first.”

“Yes, yes!”

With that, we approached the guard cautiously.

“So, how will you subdue them? Shall I smash them with my hammer?”

“If you hit them with your hammer, their heads will crush, and they’ll die. Don’t do that.”

“Ah…”

During our journey, she’s already shattered the heads of several monsters with that hammer. Its power is undeniable.

And I don’t want this child to become a killer.

Thus…

“Shwoop.”

A small flow of magical energy from my fingertips brushed against the guard.

Suppressing their minds temporarily into a hypnotic state—can this even be called magic? It’s more like brute-force control using raw magical power.

Eh, since it uses magic, let’s just call it magic.

“Subjugation complete.”

“Huh? Already?”

“Don’t wanna waste time fussing over trivial matters like this.”

Heh, like some green dinosaur saying “Hoyt!” and flicking his finger. That’s enough, ain’t it?

“Alright, come over here.”

At my command, the guard, with a slightly vacant expression, walked towards us.

Good. He’s completely under my influence. After all, who could resist my mental domination?

At least, no one below the level of a god could withstand it. Whatever.

“Well then, let’s see what schemes these rat beastmen are plotting.”

And so, I began delving into the guard’s mind.

“Ho ho… Look at what we’ve got here.”

I chuckled softly upon discovering the plans of the rat beastmen.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Not what I expected… I’m somewhat surprised, actually.”

“What exactly are they planning?”

I turned to Maybel and spoke quietly.

“These rat beastmen… seem to be attempting to create a new god.”

“Huh? A god?”

“Yes. A new god. Specifically, a god for the rat beastmen.”

I didn’t expect the beastmen to attempt the same method I used. Truly surprising.

“Can a god even be artificially created?”

“Not easy, but possible.”

Through manipulation of public opinion and clever propaganda, gathering the collective belief of many people to forge a new deity.

The method of creating and reshaping gods that I once employed.

Somehow, the rat beastmen figured it out and decided to use it for themselves.

For a god exclusive to the rat beastmen.

To fill the void left after the original beastman god—the First Beast—transformed into Sirius, the guardian deity of the Divine Hall.

“Wh-what does that even mean?”

“First, let’s rescue your mother, then I’ll explain everything.”

At my words, Maybel nodded slightly.

Right now, rescuing Maybel’s mother is far more important than worrying about some rat god.