Unruly Summon Chapter 38: Success (Patreon)

I was distracted by the parents/daughter joint bawling session by a knock on the door. "Sorry to intrude, but we need to get going," came Tony's voice from behind it.

"Go without me," said Daniel. "I'll stay with Mary."

I opened the door to see Tony frowning. "I know this is an emotional reunion, but after you pushed so hard to get onto this mission, I can't give you permission to drop out simply because you decide you no longer need the money. It's too important for that."

"Oh, no, it's not that at all," said Glenda, looking up with puffy, bloodshot eyes.

"Oh, you too?" asked Daniel.

"Of course. How could I not understand Thomas's point about injustice and anger after that?"

"Huh?" I asked, not understanding what they were getting at.

Thankfully, I didn't need to work it out.

The pair of them held hands, placed their other hands atop Mary's head, and together uttered, "Parvus Miraculum."

It was obvious to everyone that the spell had worked. The ringing in my ears left no doubt.

There was also the way Daniel stumbled, suddenly sweating, while Glenda outright collapsed.

"Mum!" shouted Mary, catching her before she hit the floor.

I caught Daniel by the arm, helping him to a chair, while Tony stared slack jawed. It was a good ten seconds before he finished processing what had just happened, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. "I see, but that just makes it even more important that you come with us. An explanation from one who has learnt the spell will be a great aid to the rest of us."

"Go on, Dad," encouraged Mary, who had stopped crying and reverted back to her usual smile. Somehow, it looked brighter than before. "I'm fine now. I'll look after Mum. You go and show off."

"Fine," he said, but despite his legs wobbling, he didn't stand up. "Uh... I may need some help getting to the carriage. That was rather mana intensive."

"Here," sighed Tony, taking a green potion out from a pocket in his robe. Daniel gratefully drank it, his breathing quickly easing and his pallid complexion clearing back up. It took less than half a minute before he could stand and walk again.

"I still have no idea what those mana potions actually do," I commented as the three of us made our way back to the carriage, but if anyone heard, they didn't feel the need to enlighten me. If we ever reached the point where time ceased to be so pressing, I really wanted to attend that magic academy.

Wendy stood outside the carriage, desperately struggling to escape from Christine's iron grip. She sagged in defeat as she saw us. "You made me miss the whole thing!" she complained at the knight.

"You've already seen Thomas cast it," sighed Christine. "And I'm sure he'll cast the lesser version for you later if you want."

"Yes, but that was its first ever ritual casting! Dammit, I'm coming with you today, in case anyone else casts it."

The sullen mage turned around and pushed back past Christine, planting herself in the carriage with arms crossed.

"... I suppose we have a free seat, since Glenda's staying behind," acknowledged Tony, trying to excuse Wendy's behaviour.

Before long, the carriage was trundling down the road, carrying our group of eight. Christine had replaced Johanna as driver, and I joined her. There were only six seats inside the carriage, and me and Christine were the only two not desperate to listen to Daniel's experience of casting the spell.

I found myself more preoccupied with Mary. What had her parents' spell done to her? Had it 'fixed' her completely? Given the shared breakdown the three of them had, had she already been fixed before then?

And the most important question: was she going to stay or return to her family?

Obviously, she should return to her family. She wasn't a prisoner. I wasn't even paying her; I had nothing to pay her with! If her mind recovered completely, joining the church as an apprentice healer was practically a no-brainer. By the time we got back that evening, she'd probably be gone, and that was kinda sad. I'd grown attached to the poor girl.

Well, that much was obvious when I went on the warpath for her, back when they'd tried to kill her.

"Are you okay? You're grumbling to yourself," pointed out Christine.

I peered at her. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, she'd tried to murder Mary, and yet here I was, sitting next to her, completely unconcerned. And if she vanished, I knew I'd miss her, too.

... Mary probably wasn't the only one of our group who'd gone slightly insane trying to cope with her personal circumstances. I'd been kidnapped, and then my kidnappers had tried to mislead me into joining a war on their side. Yes, they had their reasons, but I was fairly sure the fact I empathised with those reasons was a sort of Stockholm syndrome. How I'd stayed so calm when they first summoned me was a mystery.

... Unless that was part of my divine blessings, too? Was something mucking with my personality, keeping me calm? I'd been told summoned heroes were immune to any sort of mind control, but perhaps the reason for that was that a god had got in first.

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm just feeling a bit disillusioned," I replied.

Christine raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry about me. I was just thinking it's time I saved your kingdom and went home already. I'm not cut out to be a hero."

"You want to go home?" she asked. "Historically, most heroes have wanted to stay longer by the time they get sent back."

"Really?"

"Maybe they just don't want to leave their harems behind."

"Ha. Maybe."

... Actually, she was probably closer than she thought. This was the first time I'd found myself thinking that I wanted to hurry up and go home. And it just so happened that it was right after Mary rediscovered her family and would be leaving us. It was obvious I cared for her, but did I care that much?

I continued wallowing in doubt as Christine drove us south from Odimere, towards the corrupted lands. The crops here were in noticeably worse condition than yesterday, when we'd headed the same distance north.

"Presumably when Odimere was built, the corrupted lands weren't so close?" I asked.

"Certainly not. It's not a pre-dragon settlement—no towns or cities survived the war against the dragons and then the demon lord—but it was built soon after the war ended, and at that time, the border of the corrupted lands was a couple of hundred miles further south. Frankly, if it wasn't the kingdom's capital, the city would have been abandoned long ago, but moving the royal palace is not exactly easy. Thankfully, the proximity of the corrupted lands works both ways. As close as it is, scrying it from the capital is easy, and slayers can respond rapidly to information, so keeping the monster population down has proven trivial. In the event of the slayers being overwhelmed, the army or even royal guard can be quickly deployed, too."

"Not right now," I commented.

"It's true that our scriers and army have been largely based in the north of the country over the past few months, but the capital's slayers are more than up to the task of keeping the monsters under control. Anyway, I think this is sufficient distance."

Christine stopped the carriage, pulling over on the dirt track that ran between the fields of crops. I was no botanist, but since all I could see were yellowed leaves, I guessed some sort of root vegetable. Given that most of the crops had been wheat—and indeed, I could see taller crops on all sides of us—the position had likely been chosen for improved visibility.

The priests, Wendy and Minoru piled out, all looking thoughtful. Hopefully, whatever Daniel had shared would prove useful.

"How strange," said Minoru, a distant expression on her face as she clutched at her belly with one hand. "How can a spell become so clear even before I've cast it? I know I'm capable now. And all it took..." Her ears drooped, her tail hanging limp behind her. "Well, even if I didn't exactly volunteer, it's not as if I strongly opposed it. The injustice is the simple fact that the world makes that sort of thing necessary in the first place."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering what sort of conversation I'd missed.

"Nothing that's your fault," she said, turning to me. "I'm going to need healing after this, though," she added before closing her eyes. "Mirac..."

I didn't have mana sight active, but I didn't need it to know that she'd at least partially succeeded. The first syllable of the spell blasted into the world with enough force to knock me a step back. Hearing someone else cast it was a completely different experience to doing it myself, but was just as awe-inspiring.

The second syllable was weaker, with none of the strange harmonics that denoted a magical spell. The rest of the word didn't happen at all. Minoru simply fell limp, blood streaming down her face from eyes, nose and mouth. Her ears were obviously bleeding, too, staining her pink hair red.

I instinctively activated body strengthening, rushing in before she could fall and catching her. "Maius Sanatio!" I chanted, which at least stopped the bleeding, but wasn't enough to wake her.

"Don't think I've ever seen anyone overdraw on mana to that extent before," commented Wendy. "It wouldn't surprise me if she's out cold for a week. Normally, a spell so far beyond one's abilities would completely fail to activate. She must have had a really strong grasp of the image."

"Maius Omnia Visus," I chanted, activating my mana sight. Regular sight was sufficient to confirm the surrounding crops hadn't been healed, their leaves still an unhealthy yellow, but mana sight showed the miasma was still present, too. Despite the partial success, she hadn't achieved anything. Still, it was probably enough to take back to demon territory with her and spread around.

... Was Minoru going to be leaving me now, as well as Mary? I'd only met her yesterday, and yet I was already at the point that I kinda liked the girl. At least I could be fairly confident Wendy was going to stick around. Christine... I honestly had no idea what she was thinking. As long as no-one ordered her otherwise, she'd probably stick around out of simple inertia, even after the priests successfully learnt to cleanse the corrupted land.

"I'm glad we didn't bother embedding this spell in any magical items, though," added Wendy.

"Why?"

"No-one would be able to use it. Remember, I described such tools simply as a way of casting spells you lack affinity for, but that they don't do anything to negate the need for an image, hence why they were useless for you. Rather, they're harder to use, and take more mana. From the experiences of Daniel, and observation of Minoru, I can say with certainty that such an item would be useless."

"Then it's a good job we have a bunch of white mages who are starting to pick it up."

"Indeed, and I can hardly let myself fall behind and still call myself a bishop," declared Tony. "Let's all aim for a successful cast today."

"Yes sir!" declared Jane, getting caught up in the wave of enthusiasm.

Johanna looked far less energetic, but even she managed a small smile. "Can't let the demons master this spell before us," she muttered, before taking on a look of concentration.

"And to think I was feeling a little pessimistic after yesterday," I commented as I carefully placed Minoru back in the carriage to sleep off her mana exhaustion. "This is going great."

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"Fuck," commented King George Ricousian, succinctly summing up his thoughts on the report he'd just received.

"Shall I give the order to evacuate?" asked Minister Serge.

"... Not yet. This is based on the word of a single slayer. We must confirm it. What the hell are our scriers doing?"

"There are only a few left in Odimere, and of those that are, you had most keeping an eye on the hero," answered Minister Dennis.

"Are you saying this is my fault?" demanded the king.

"Not at all. A horde building up to the reported size in only a few months is unprecedented, and I didn't say there were no scriers keeping their eyes on the corrupted lands. I can't imagine them overlooking a miasmic flood. I share your suspicion that the report is mistaken."

"Well, get the scriers to check it right now!"

Dennis went running out of the room.

"Speaking of the hero, I believe their party travelled south today," commented Serge. "If the report is accurate, there's a good chance they're standing right in the path of the flood. I suggest sending a cavalry detachment to retrieve him."

"That won't be necessary," sneered the King. "After all, he's already successfully passed on his spell."

"Oh? But even if so, aren't the priests with him?"

"Not all of them. As Dennis remarked, I've been keeping them under watch, and the watchers reported that one of them stayed behind. The mother of that slave Dennis donated to the hero. We can be rid of the hero and his party, along with the demon we were forced to accept, all without losing Miraculum."

"Odimere is a large price to pay to satisfy a grudge."

"As much as I despise Thomas, please don't assume I'm letting that grudge cloud my judgement. Assuming the accuracy of that report, do you believe that retrieving the hero would be enough to save Odimere?"

"... No."

"Me neither. As much as I despise him, I'm not going to sacrifice my kingdom for revenge. This isn't a trade; removing that hero is merely a consolation prize. Besides, given this report, I'm not convinced there's time to stage a rescue. And, coward or not, he's still a hero. He'll fight to the last to protect the people with him. Even if he fails, he could delay the horde enough for us to evacuate, or damage it enough that Odimere is not overrun."

Serge frowned, but he had to admit the king was right. They didn't know exactly where the hero was, nor where the monsters were. A rescue attempt would be a gamble, while leaving him to face the horde would increase the chances of the capital surviving. Still, to abandon such a powerful game piece as the hero sat somewhat ill with him.

"The final element of my reasoning is that we were warned something was coming for the hero," continued King George.

"What?! You knew this would happen?"

"Not this, nor were we expecting it so soon. We simply knew that something was coming for the hero. It's possible that once the hero dies, the horde will turn back."

"Okay, then there's nothing more we can do," agreed Serge, a position that was only reinforced when Dennis returned with a preliminary response from the intelligence division of the court mages. The horde was not only every bit as big as feared, but it had already left the corrupted lands.