Juu Sai Madoushi Chapter 30 (Patreon)

Chapter 30 Earth Vein Devouring

The next morning, when the sun had not yet fully risen, Ferris, Alicia, and Jeanette left the villa.

They boarded a boat prepared by a servant at the villa and headed for the volcano. They had already had a simple breakfast, but since they didn't know how long it would be before they returned, they also had waffles and tea on the boat as their lunch.

"Let's go!"

Ferris gripped the oars on both sides and rowed as hard as she could. She was trying so hard that her face turned red, but the boat was not going very fast because she was not strong enough to start with.

Alicia asked worriedly.

"Ferris... don't you think it would be better if I rowed?"

"No problem! I'm the one who suggested we go to the volcano, so I'm the one who has to do it!"

Ferris insisted, but perhaps the limits of her slender arms were slowing her down even more. She soon collapsed and had to lie down on the boat, groaning.

"Oh, it can't be helped! I'll take over for you!"

Jeanette happily took over the oars, and the boat began to glide smoothly along the surface of the sea. Ferris half-raised herself, heaving a breath as the scenery flowed smoothly by.

"Wow, Jeanette, that's amazing!"

"Am, am I? Of course, I'm amazing!"

Jeanette puffed out her chest.

"You're so strong! You're so muscular!"

"No, I'm not!"

For the sake of her honor, she had to say it.

"Well, pretty much..."

Alicia muttered admiringly as she touched Jeanette's arms.

"Don't trouble yourself to check!"

Jeanette exclaims, her cheeks burning.Such humiliation was unbecoming of a daughter of the Rheinzlich house. However, it was hard to get really angry when Ferris and her friends did that.

In the meantime, the boat approached the volcano off the coast. Thanks to the magic Ferris had used yesterday, the eruption had stopped. But there was still a hint of smoke coming out of the crater, and a dull rumbling sound was coming from underground. The air was unsettling.

"First, let's go around the volcano and see what's going on. Depending on the situation, we might have to climb the volcano to find out what's going on, but I don't want to go near the crater if I can help it."

"I suppose... It would be a disaster if it exploded at close range."

Jeanette maneuvered the oars and drove the boat along the perimeter of the volcano.

Just as they reached the opposite side of the beach, the "it" became apparent.

"What the? What is that thing?"

Ferris let out a scream.

Alicia and Jeanette were both stunned and looked towards the volcano.

There was a huge mosquito-like creature stuck to the middle of the volcano. It was much larger than a carriage or a house, and it was slowly wriggling its purple wings. The stinger from its mouth pierced the volcano and was constantly sucking up something.

Alicia whispered.

"I've read about that creature in the Magical Creatures Dictionary... Serginus Prorontenus... aka [Vein Eater]."

"Vein-eaters?"

Jeanette tilted her head.

"Yes. It's a parasite that lives in the earth's veins and sucks up magic power. It's an artificial creature made in an alchemy workshop, so it shouldn't exist in the natural world, but..."

"In other words, it means that someone created it and went to the trouble of parasitizing the volcano... and when there wasn't enough magic power to flow into the volcano's Seal Magic, it erupted..."

" That's no way..."

Ferris turned pale. I have no idea why any sorcerer would do such a thing. So many people were about to fall victim to the eruption during the day.

"Well, the investigation is complete for now. Let's report it to the country's sorcerer corps and have them take it down."

"Well, I don't think we'll be able to get there in time then... If another eruption happens, it'll be a big problem..."

"Earth Vein Eaters are S-ranked targets to defeat. We don't know what will happen if we mess with them."

Alicia reminded herself, she knew Ferris was strong, but she didn't think she should dare let this little girl take the risk. Such things are the responsibility of adults.

"But...I can't leave it alone! Someone might be in danger, and I can't just leave like this...!"

"Ferris..."

Alicia was troubled by Ferris's complaint, for she could not help but understand her feelings.

"This is no time to argue, you two! It's coming!"

Perhaps sensing the presence of the enemy, the vein-eater snarled its wings and flew towards the boat.

"Raging flame, enemy of all things, burn this one down--Dragnard Flame!"

Alicia held up her wand and chanted the words.

A magic circle spread at the tip of her wand, and flames erupted in a storm. However, the vein-eaters evaded the attack with their amazing mobility and attacked the boat.

Ferris and the others narrowly avoid the attack, but the Vein Eater crashes into the boat. Ferris tumbles from the tilted boat into the sea.

The water rushed into her lungs, and Ferris struggled desperately. She managed to pull herself out of the water, but he soon sank again. The boat was moving quickly away from him.

Invaded by the cold, dark water, Ferris plunged to the bottom of the ocean. In pain, despair, and regret, she felt sorry for herself for not listening to Alicia's words and trying something so reckless.

--I'm sorry, Alicia, Jeanette....

Ferris muttered in her mind and weakly tried to close her eyelids, but then her hand was grabbed forcefully, and her body was pulled closer. Before he knew it, Ferris was being carried out to sea.

"Puh-ah!"

Ferris breathed in the fresh air with all her might. The sun was shining brightly, and it was Jeanette who was swimming with Ferris in her arms, holding her tightly.

"Jeanette, you're not supposed to be able to swim!"

Alicia was surprised.

"Oh, eh!? That's right!"

She was even more surprised.

"Ferris, I now know how to swim! I can swim!"

"Ye, yes! That's great! Thank you so much! I'm really sorry for causing you trouble..."

Jeanette does her best to support Ferris, who is devastated.

Instead of being annoyed, Jeanette wanted to thank her for having the chance to help Ferris like this.

Now, no matter how hard she hugged Ferris, there was no problem and no shame. The feeling of having a small body protected in her arms was one of bliss.

"Don't worry about it! Now, Ferris, we're going to take down that big monster Mosquito!"

"Yes!!!!."

Yes, now is not the time to be reflecting, Ferris reminded herself. The Vein Eater knew that if it could destroy the boat, it could kill the three of them, and it was about to charge the boat again.

Ferris, still held by Jeanette, stretched her arms above her head. She then commanded loudly.

"Magic-saaaan! Please exterminate the vein eater!

A large number of tornadoes blew up from the sea and attacked the vein eater.

A whirlpool of seawater slammed down and tossed the demon's body around.

The vein-eater tried desperately to escape the tornado, but there was nothing it could do.

Immediately, it was pulled into the sea and sank to the bottom.

The tornado disappears and the calm sea returns. The vein eater shows no sign of floating away.

"Phew. It's safe now, isn't it, Burgh Burgh..."

"Jeanette-saaaaaan!"

Ferris desperately hugged Jeanette's body as it began to sink, as if it had run out of strength. Jeanette was happy to be in such a situation.

She realized that she had only been able to swim temporarily because she had tried so hard to save Ferris, and that she hadn't been cured.

As the two of them were about to disappear into the sea, Alicia hurriedly approached with the boat. She stomped her feet on the deck and pulled them both up to the boat.

"Ha...ha...it's so disappointing..."

Jeanette propped her hands on the deck, breathing hard. The droplets of water dripping from her hair and chin were shiny, and Ferris found Jeanette to be beautiful once again.

"You did a great job, Jeanette, it's not normal to jump into the sea without thinking in order to save Ferris."

"Is that a compliment...?"

"Of course, I'm complimenting you."

Alicia smiled.

Now that the vein eater was out of the way, Ferris still had some work to do. Shivering from the cold, she raised her wet arms and shouted.

"Magic Element! Please seal up the volcano so that no one can ever get near it again, and so that it will never erupt!"

A huge halo appeared above the volcano.

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A certain cathedral.

The robed man who had been watching the magic circle on the floor in the darkness suddenly tilted his head.

"...Hm?"

"What is the matter?"

The sorcerer next to him asked.

"Funny. The magic power that was being sucked in by the vein eater is no longer flowing into the magic circle."

"Isn't there some part of the magic circle missing?"

"No, there is no problem with the magic circle. Perhaps the vein-eaters have been erased."

"That demon...? I'm sure it had powerful defensive magic built in, so that it would never be destroyed, even by the magic corps of the government..."

"I heard that a very high-ranking mage is interfering with our mission. I'd like to meet them once..."

The robed man muttered as if possessed, staring at the magic circle shining in the darkness.