Chapter 178

“Rescuing Maybel’s mother wasn’t all that difficult, you know.”

Honestly, if it were hard, that’d be a problem. Anyway, I had roughly pinpointed her location with dowsing, and once we got this close, I could sense her soul. Simple as that.

Whenever we encountered Jwi beastmen, I just suppressed their spirits, gave their minds a quick sweep, manipulated their perception of me and Maybel, and let them continue what they were doing. Done.

I was a bit concerned about messing with the minds of those Jwi beastmen so casually… but hey, what can you do? Just a little tweak in perception, no big deal.

Thus, without any interference, Maybel and I headed straight toward where her mother was being held.

“Is Mother really here…?”

“Aye, your dowsing rod says so, does it not?”

Maybel kept asking anxiously.

The dark and creepy prison. It’s natural she’d be worried knowing her mother is somewhere like this.

So, I reassured Maybel and we moved forward.

“Hurry up! Let’s get your mother out of this place as quickly as possible!”

“Yes sir!”

And so, we arrived at the supposed location of Maybel’s mother.

“It’s a dead end…”

“Hmm, indeed.”

Unlike other cells, this space was completely walled off except for a small hole at the bottom.

Yet, within it, there was a soul that seemed to belong to Maybel’s mother.

“How can she be inside if there’s no entrance?”

“That’s right, I’m certain.”

I could clearly sense the presence of a soul beyond the wall. There was no way this could be false.

“But… there doesn’t seem to be any way to enter this room.”

“Hmm. Given how the material of this wall differs from others, it looks like they built this section specifically to seal her in.”

The entire room was tightly sealed, except for one wall which was made of slightly different material.

Perhaps… they simply enclosed an existing cell with new walls.

“Why would they go through such trouble?”

“Hmm… maybe they felt it necessary? Perhaps they feared she might escape even in her weakened state?”

“I mean… why would they need to lock her up so thoroughly?”

“For instance… if they wanted to extract information from her while ensuring she couldn’t possibly escape, even if weakened, perhaps?”

Even in her frail condition, it seems unlikely someone could break free from iron bars… but stranger things have happened. Look at those kids who swing giant hammers despite their small frames.

“Maybe they thought your mom could escape if they didn’t wall her in?”

None of the Jwi beastmen we encountered on the way knew much about the situation of Maybel’s mother.

They were merely pushing food through the narrow gap at the bottom of the wall and recording anything she said when prompted.

Though they believed they were doing work for the Jwi, they were actually unaware of the bigger picture.

“So, shall we break down this wall?”

“Your strength and that hammer might work, but smashing it could injure your mother inside. Best not to risk it.”

After all, it’d be troublesome if she got hurt by flying debris after all this effort to rescue her.

Therefore…

“At times like this…”

I raised my index finger and placed it against the wall.

“One does something like this.”

Drawing a large circle with my fingertip on the wall, I lifted it away, and the part I traced cleanly severed.

The broken fragment was neatly removed to our side instead of the room inside. Perfect.

“Neat, huh?”

“Neat?! Are you crazy?! Normal people can’t do that!”

“Can’t they?”

“Yes!”

Well, considering this era hasn’t fully developed the use of magical power yet, that’s understandable. Magic is versatile and capable of all sorts of things if used properly, but humans are still focused mainly on crafting scrolls.

It’s truly a universal tool that can accomplish nearly anything once mastered.

“Anyway, we’ve made an entrance, let’s go in.”

With that, Maybel and I entered the room.

“Mom…?”

A cramped and bleak room. A single slime rolling around lazily. Not exactly grand.

In the corner lay a battered gray-haired Jwi beastwoman, her body sprawled on the floor.

“Mom!!!”

Maybel rushed over and embraced the Jwi woman.

Faint breaths, weak vitality. Like a candle flickering in the wind, barely alive.

“Calm yourself. She’s still alive.”

“But…!”

“If she’s this fragile, how will she fare if you hug her too tightly?”

My words paused Maybel’s movements. I understand her feelings, but…

“Wait a moment.”

I channeled magical power, enveloping Maybel’s mother.

Her body was utterly ravaged. Her limbs’ muscles were shredded, malnourished, and extremely weakened.

She looked like she was barely clinging to life.

“Hmm… let’s see…”

First, I’ll restore her frail body using magical power, repair her damaged muscles, and rejuvenate her weakened spirit.

Even in a half-dead state, with magic, she’ll soon be good as new! Though calling a human “new” feels a bit odd.

Anyway, now that she’s healthy, mission accomplished.

“Are we done?”

“Yes. Now let’s awaken her consciousness.”

And thus, I awakened the consciousness of Maybel’s mother, Ella.

Ella’s tightly shut eyelids slowly began to move.

Then…

“Mom…?”

“Maybel…?”

Their eyes met.

“Eh, Mom…”

“My gods… why did you send this child to me…?”

Hugging her mother, Maybel buried her face in her embrace. In response, Ella slowly stroked Maybel’s head and began to sob.

“My gods… why have you sent this child to me…? I wasn’t afraid to die myself, but I wished only to protect this child… Why… why have you taken this child from me…?”

Ah, I see. She thinks both herself and Maybel are dead.

Not only herself but also her daughter Maybel. She believes both are deceased.

“Eh, Mom?”

“Don’t speak… poor thing… how much pain must you have endured… though I wanted to keep you safe, even if we had to part ways…”

“But, Mom?! We’re meeting after 10 years, why are you saying this?! I’m not dead! I’m not dead, I tell you!”

As Maybel screamed, Ella’s gaze finally cleared, snapping back to reality.

“Eh? I… I’m not dead…?”

“Yes! I’m not dead! I’m not dead, I tell you!”

“…”

Realizing what she had just said, Ella…

“Um… forget what I just said…”

Just covered her bright red face with her hands.

—

For quite some time, Ella couldn’t lift her head. She seemed incredibly embarrassed.

Even Maybel appeared flustered.

“As touching as this reunion is, let’s move to another location for now.”

Honestly, staying here wouldn’t matter much, but she’d likely stay embarrassed for hours.

All the Jwi beastmen inside this building currently have their spirits suppressed, but newcomers from outside could change the story.

Suppressing more minds is trivial, but to have a calm conversation, we should relocate.

“To another place?”

“Hmm. Let’s see… first, let me fix this wall…”

I reattached the piece I had cut out, melted the edges with intense heat, and secured it firmly.

“Good. This way they won’t know what’s happened inside.”

“Maybel? Who exactly is this person…?”

“Explanations later. For now, just know that this person is helping us.”

At Maybel’s words, Ella nodded slightly.

Hmm… looking closely… Ella appears quite young. Must be a feature of beastmen. They look more like sisters than mother and daughter.

Oops. No time for idle thoughts. Let’s move elsewhere.

Let’s see… back to the inn where we stayed earlier?

With a flick of my finger, the dim space transformed into our familiar inn room.

“What… what is this?!”

Having experienced spatial movement for the first time, Ella looked bewildered, whereas Maybel, already accustomed to it, calmly comforted her mother.

“Don’t worry. It’s just this person using magic to transport us elsewhere.”

“Teleportation? That’s not magic; it’s a miracle…”

Ella finally had a moment to examine me closely.

“Could it be… the Dragon Priestess…?”

“Hmm, sharp of you.”

By now, anyone should recognize me after witnessing such miracles, especially from a girl with large horns performing them.

“Honestly, experiencing actual teleportation would make anyone figure it out. Even more so with a horned girl performing such wonders.”

“Hmm… as expected.”

Perhaps I should seal these abilities to conceal my identity…

But that sounds troublesome. Hmm.

“How on earth did you manage to attract the attention of the Dragon Priestess?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. How did this happen…?”

Just a series of coincidences stacking up.

Almost as if someone planned it all along.

“While I’d love to let you two reunite after ten years, we’ll have to save that for later.”

I turned to Ella.

“I’ve grasped the general idea of what the Jwi beastmen are trying to do—creating a new deity—but I’d appreciate it if you could fill me in on everything you know.”

Including why they targeted Maybel and why Ella herself was imprisoned in such a place.