NOVEL SIMPLE Then, Maybelle and I teleported directly to the village underground.
It seems the existence of this village was unnoticed by those above in Armen. How did they manage to create this village while evading the eyes of others?
It must have required no small amount of cost and effort.
"So, where should we start looking?"
"Hmm... Let's see."
There were quite a number of people wandering around... Hmm...
Alright.
"Let's try using this here."
I created two L-shaped metal rods and simply cast a spell on them. Holding these rods in both hands and concentrating my mind, I could use this simple tool, dowsing, to find the location of what I was thinking about.
"What's this?"
"It's an item I made by casting a simple spell. If you hold these rods in your hands and focus your mind strongly on something, the ends of the rods will point towards what you're thinking of."
"Eh? Is this a magical tool to find what you're looking for? You made something like that in an instant?"
"Yes. It's not that difficult of a spell."
Maybelle spoke with a slightly dumbfounded expression.
"If you can make things like this, why didn't you do it sooner? Wouldn't it have made things easier?"
I didn't voice the thought that simply solving everything with a snap of my fingers would be boring.
"It can only point in the direction of what you're looking for, not tell you the exact location. If what we're looking for isn't in this village... it will only indicate the direction, nothing more."
"But..."
"And even then, it can only point horizontally. If we were searching for your mother above in Armen, it would only indicate the direction directly above us."
In other words, it can find the X and Y coordinates, but not the Z coordinate.
This dowsing method is incapable of three-dimensional tracking.
"I see."
Well, that was just an excuse to hide the truth that I wanted to experience the process of searching.
"Here, give it a try."
Maybelle grasped the dowsing rods I handed her.
"Like this?"
"A little lower than that. If you hold it too high, it will get caught on your hands and not turn properly."
"Ah, I see."
Even if it turns, if it gets caught on the hands, the direction won't be properly indicated.
With that, Maybelle closed her eyes while holding the dowsing rods I had given her.
After a short time passed...
"Kkeueueung..."
The dowsing rods in Maybelle's hands slowly began to move.
"Phew... This isn't easy."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. It's not easy to clearly imagine Mom, and continuously concentrating is difficult too."
I see... Is it that difficult? I didn't make it that complicated.
Is the mental power required to use it different for each individual? Or is Maybelle just a bit... poor at concentrating?
Well, it doesn't really matter.
"For now, it seems to be pointing in the right direction. It's staying fixed in one direction when I move, which is good."
As Maybelle moved around, the dowsing rods continued to point in the same direction.
"Alright, let's head out then."
"Yes."
Cloaked in magic, we set off.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Hmm... This village feels familiar, almost like it's imitating a dwarven village."
"Huh?"
My muttered words caught Maybelle's attention.
"This village. It has a similar feel to the dwarven villages I've seen before."
When I used to sneak away from Sagarmatha, I would go explore the dwarven villages.
The layout of this place is quite similar to the villages I saw back then.
Looking closer, the mushrooms and moss here are almost identical to the ones I had gifted to the dwarves.
"A dwarven village!"
"They used to carve out villages deep in the mountains, in large cave systems. Well, it was more than just a village, really."
Dwarves, being strong and sturdy, were excellent at digging into the earth to find valuable metals.
To find ores, they dug into the caves, and then utilized the created spaces to build residential areas inside the caves, repeating the process of digging deeper and creating more living spaces. In the end, a complex dwarven village resembling an ant's nest was completed.
In that sense, this village... the village full of rat-people could be considered a derivative of the dwarven village.
"A dwarven village, huh... I'd like to visit it once."
"It does feel a bit cramped, but it was a nice place."
"If I meet Mom... I'd like to go on a trip with her."
"Yes, first we need to meet your mother."
Cloaked in magic, we proceeded in the direction indicated by the dowsing rods.
"It seems to be pointing to that building."
We arrived at a building with an armed guard at the entrance. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Hmm... Let's see..."
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There are about five rat-people inside. Not too many.
But the heavy guard posted here makes it seem suspicious.
"What should we do?"
"First, let's take a peek into the guard's mind."
"His mind?"
I nodded slightly.
"If we can understand why your mother is imprisoned here, and why you were left in that rural village, it might help us solve the problem."
"But, wouldn't it be better to just ask Mom directly?"
At Maybelle's words, I paused for a moment.
"It seems we can't speak to her directly right now."
"Huh?"
I looked at one of the rat-people inside the building.
The rat-person's life force was dangerously low, resembling Maybelle's soul.
"Your mother is in this building, but she seems to be too weakened to speak at the moment."
"Then we have to hurry and rescue her!"
"I said 'at the moment,' didn't I? Her life is not in danger, and as long as her life is sustained, we can revive her, even if she's been dead for a short while."
Maybelle finally realized who I was.
"The Dragon's Priestess who can revive the dead..."
"That's right. As long as your mother's life is sustained, I can do something about it. Let's focus on gathering information first."
"Okay."
We cautiously approached the guard.
"But how will you subdue him? Should I hit him with a hammer?"
"If you hit him with a hammer, his head will be crushed and he'll die, so don't do that."
On our journey here, I had seen the power of crushing monsters' heads, so I knew the force of that hammer.
And I didn't want this child to commit murder.
So...
"Hup."
A small magic flowed from my fingertips, touching the guard.
It was a technique to temporarily hypnotize and subdue the mind.
Could this be called magic? It's just a crude skill of mentally dominating others, but since it uses magic, let's just call it magic.
"Subdued."
"Already?"
"I don't want to bother with such trivial matters too much."
It's enough to flick my fingers like a green dinosaur. Whatever.
T/N: Wut?
"Alright, then come this way."
At my words, the guard approached us with a slightly dazed expression.
Good, he's properly under the hypnosis. Of course, anyone who isn't a god-like being wouldn't be able to resist my mental control.
"Now then, let's see what the rat-people are up to."
I began delving into the guard's mind.
"The name of this village is 'Rat Hole Village,' quite a fitting name."
"Rat Hole? It does seem like a place where rats can live without any problems."
"Hidden from the eyes of others, it's a suitable place for the rat-people to plot something."
At my words, Maybelle looked at me with an uneasy gaze.
"Plot something?"
“I’ll read some more and then tell you.”
In that way, I began to delve into the guard's mind completely.
"Hmm... Let me see."
I clicked my tongue slightly at the things the beastmen were planning.
"Huh? Why are you doing that?"
"Ah, no. I just didn't expect them actually try to do something like this, so I was a bit surprised, you could say."
"What kind of thing were they planning to do?"
I looked at Maybelle and spoke softly.
"These rat-beastmen It seems they were planning to create a new gods."
"Huh? A gods?"
"Yes, a new gods. A gods for the rat-beastmen."
I didn't expect the beastmen would use the method I had used, so it was really unexpected.
"Was it possible to artificially create the existence of a gods?"
"It's not easy, but it is possible."
By manipulating public opinion and incitement, and gathering the faith of many people, a gods can be created.
The method of creating and changing gods. The method I had used.
Somehow the rat-beastmen had noticed that, and they were trying to do it for themselves.
And it was to be a gods for the rat-beastmen, their own gods.
After the original beast, the guardian deity of the pantheon, Sirius, had changed, they were trying to create a new gods to fill that void.
"But that's just..."
"First, let's rescue your mother, and I'll explain it to you later."
At my words, Maybelle nodded slightly.
What's important now is not some rat gods, but rescuing Maybelle's mother.