Section 5 "Island Detox"

We've got a small elite force today, huh?

You said there was something we had to check... What did you mean, Scáthach?

Yes. It's due to a report from that one over there.

Me?

...No, the one in your arms.

Oink, oink.

Foou. Foou. Foou.

？！

Maybe he feels like he's been replaced...

Hmm. Don't worry, Fou. That'll never happen.

Here, come sit in my arms.

Foou!

What did this little one say?

That something strange has been happening on this island. I couldn't just ignore that information.

Somehow I always manage to scare the piglets away just by looking at them.

It'd be quite troublesome to have my guide always run away from me, obviously. That's why I brought you here.

I see... You are very beautiful, but you always have this stern look on your face.

I'm sure that's just how warriors and knights are, but you're wearing a swimsuit now. You should smile.

I was thinking the same thing... Somehow she still has a very intimidating look even though she's in a swimsuit.

I guess Scáthach will be the same no matter where she goes.

Also, I think she's still treating the boar piglets like some kind of vermin...

Is that how it works?

Senpai...

Fou...

？！

...You're the Queen of the Land of Shadows.

With the amount of responsibility you have, I think you'd be much better off smiling more.

Oh... Perhaps it's because I've never ruled a nation? Would I be more like you if I did?

It's just who I am... There's nothing I can do. I was, after all, a gatekeeper.

The Land of Shadows gets all kinds of nasty visitors. It was my job to drive them away.

Besides, there are different kinds of queens out there. Medb, for example, is more similar to you than me.

Medb looks like she's having fun every day. I actually quite like her.

But all her talk about love... might just be a little too difficult for me to understand...

By the way, what am I doing here? I mean, if I have a role to play, I don't mind, but still...

Oh, there may be something I want to ask you to do. You might be better suited for it than me.

Better suited for it... Do you mean something that needs bare hands, not a spear?

I see... So someone you want to hurt, but not kill... Yes. We shall not commit murder.

Or maybe it's a holy oil death match, where you're not allowed to use weapons...

Hehe... I can't wait...

...

Oink!

Looks like we're close.

I can smell something in the wind... A pungent, rotten odor. Let's go.

Oink-oink!

I see. So that's it?

？！

Yes, Master.

It's only about the size of a manhole... but it's causing all the plants in the area to wilt.

That's where the stench is coming from, too.

Master, you'll probably be okay, but don't breathe too much in.

That's poisonous ground. The miasma from it could rot a normal person's lungs.

So this is what the boar piglets told us about, huh? But where did it come from?

Oh... There are enemies nearby. Think they're the cause?

No, the miasma probably just brought them here.

Yes. I don't think any of them could have created this poison.

I don't know...

？！

For now, we need to get rid of them before we can look into this.

Let's chase them off, Master!

I see, so that's why you brought me here. You want me to purify this place.

I don't know if it can be done, but let me try. First I'll sprinkle a little holy water...

...Hmm, how about this.

That's amazing! The poisonous puddles are disappearing... The stench in the air is clearing up too!

I can give you as much as you want, but what's more important is faith.

Without faith, the water is meaningless.

？！

Fouu!

Obviously, a withered plant could not be revived. Unfortunate as it is...

But something else will take root again in this place now, and surely bloom.

That poisonous ground was meant to molder the island's land. It was fortunate that we could purify it this early.

I feared that, if neglected, the island would have transformed into a land of death that could not grow a single weed in the end.

At the very least, this island is rich in its natural resources. I cannot see them all gone to waste.

...I can't believe this. Not only are you asking others to take care of the monsters for you, you're even asking the same people to take care of your environment?

I don't know if the ruler has forgotten about this island or just abandoned it, but I just added one more entry to the list of items I want to complain about.

Huh? Where are you going, little one?

Hoink, oink! ...Oi?

Selfish behavior will only lead to your own demise. What are you after? Tell me, look me in the eyes and spit everything out.

？！

...Ugh! How base of me. I still have the notion that boars are vermin. Well, they actually are, but...

Oi...oi!

Fouu. Fou, Foou!

Oh no... Not you too, Fou! I'll go after them.

Fou!

...? Oh, I see.

Judging from Fou's behavior, it doesn't look like the boar piglet was trying to flee.

It seems there's another place the piglet wanted to take us to. In other words, another place plagued by the poison.

Fou!? Fou... (Blech)

Ugh... What's going on here!? The miasma has spread wider than the previous place.

The entire area has been completely transformed into a poisonous swamp!

How terrible! The air in the Palace of Versailles was considerably poisonous, but this is even worse.

To accumulate this much poison... What!? Ya wanna mess with a holy maiden!?

...Keep your voice down. Be cautious, we are not the only ones here.

？！

Oh, take a look over there, Master.

I can see something rolling in the swamp. Could it be some animal that was affected by the miasma?

No, that's not it...

Oink!?

A demon boar! They're still around!

That must be a mud bath. Something boars do to remove the dirt and parasites from their bodies.

That place is called a marshy field. Those conditions are said to be the etymology for the expression "writhe in agony" in the Far East.

？！

If the poisonous swamp created the marshy field for that thing... Wait, it's the opposite. It was that rolling around on the ground that created the swamp.

The puddle we ran into earlier was a mere coincidence.

This is the real thing. That monster will come back here again and again. I guess you can call this place its favorite bathtub.

Either way, poison is produced from that thing's body right?

In that case, the true culprit behind this land of poison, the one the boar piglets wanted to show us was...

Grr... Grrrph!

It noticed me!

Hmm, a demon boar that releases poison from its body...

I won't say anything if you catch prey or do something else with that.

However, I cannot overlook how you've ruined and eroded this island, since that is an act that violates our lives here.

Grr, grrrph!

Ghhhaa...!

It could be problematic if there are more boars like that who can produce miasma and corrupt this island...

Eventually we might have to do this all over again.

Oinkkyy...

All right then. First let's do something about this impure swamp first. Here's some holy water, then...

What!? I can't purify it!? My prayers haven't been heard, hmm!?

...

...Ahem. Sorry you had to see that. It seems I didn't pray enough to prove my faith.

I'm sure it's because I was using the coastal rocks as punching bags to train myself...

And ended up changing the landscape a bit because I was going at it too hard... Please forgive me...

In other words, you can't make this place beautiful again?

The previous one was rather small in scale, but this one's corrosion is too severe... I can't get rid of it.

If it's impossible for Martha...searching for a different way isn't going to help...

Hmm... Yes, it will be difficult, but it's better than doing nothing. Here, let me help.

I happen to have these ash tree seeds with me. I'll make it so that they grow by absorbing the poison in the ground.

Those seeds will clean up the surface, you say? How wonderful!

Oiiink!

The effects won't be immediate, though. As Martha said, the poison is deep.

Plants also take large amounts of time to grow strongly. If you rush things, they will lose to the miasma and quickly wither away.

They need to carefully absorb each drop of poison, slowly but surely. It'll take a long, long time...

Exactly how long is a "long, long time"?

Well, roughly 1,000 years?

？！

But, in that case, the land will eventually be able to return to its original state.

Only the next best strategy can be taken if nothing can be done immediately.

If we combine her holy water with these seeds, we'll at least be able to prevent the poisonous swamp from expanding any more than now.

Right. It's better than doing nothing, surely. We may not be around anymore at that time though.

Since we're guests here, it would be a form of giving back to the island, no? To take back its future, so to speak.

Yes. I think that's a wonderful prospect.

Fou, fou.

Then, let's get to work. It'll be our first job; one worth commemorating later.

Hmm. It would be safe to say that there are still demon boars around.

Fortunately, however, we still have a few ash tree seeds.

If we find more poisonous swamps like this, or more other demon boars that produce them,

we'll need to deal with them in the future too. Try not to miss any, Master...!