Huge Holy 40

40 - Josiah and the Herkovara wand

RAW

“Does someone live here?”

This is Midia's reaction to seeing the exterior of the building at the address.
The building is an isolated house made of stone.
Covered with moss and plants.

Plants are growing vigorously in the garden. It looks like it's growing in a chaotic mess but... at least, it's all plants that can be used as raw materials for medicine. There are also small trees that could be used as wands grown in flower pots.
...At least, it’s probably being controlled.

I ring the chime several times, but there is no response.
I knock on the door, but I suddenly realize it's not locked. I open the heavy door――
Unusually, Randy shouts.

“Oeehh! It's so disgusting!!”

There are other stenchs than from medicine, but it’s certainly better to ventilate once.
Since it can't be helped, I decided to wrap us with a veil of [Clear] even just to cut off the stench.
A large number of boxes are also piled up at the entrance.
When I check the inside of just one of them with [Scan]――I find that there are wands inside.
Does he make wands with various designs and then neglect them?

The entrance hall with its crumbling chandelier hanging down just beyond the front door was also almost entirely filled with a large number of wands, magic crystals and grimoires.
The quality of the grimoires seems to be of a level of quality that makes it a waste to leave it covered in  dust.

When I use [Scan] to find the room where the researcher is, I find that every room is filled with wands and the like, and the storage of valuable materials and research data is protected against crime with a magic circle barrier.
Somehow, there is a contradiction of being guarded and unguarded in strange areas.

So, the important researcher is holed up in a laboratory that seems to be his own room.
I knock and shout “Excuse me”, but there is no response.
Whether he is sleeping or immersed in research, what’s important is that there is also a magic circle here for crime prevention.
Midia holds up the sword she had borrowed and declares “I’ll break it”, but I stop her. I take a deep breath and look at the technique formula.

I search the entire laboratory with [Wand Flower], and notice countless thin magic circles covering the surroundings.
Is this the elves' speciality multi-chain magic circle?
It's a famous formation where if a single magic circle is destroyed, a chain of traps is triggered from the rest of the magic circles.
The countermeasure for [Magic Circle Breaker] itself is probably in place, so no matter how much we don't get a response, we can't just break the magic circle.
A classic... It's a trick that even a child could come up with, but let's try it. Precisely because it's a crime-prevention magic circle, it should also react to external magic...

From the [Wand Flower] that I move outside the building, I first release a powerful non-aggressive [Holy] light, only light.
I thought that I can wake him up with a dazzling light if he is asleep, or he will react to a huge amount of magical power even if he is immersed in something――

Then I heard a loud sound effect of something falling down.
I weaken the light and once again raise my voice and knock.

“Excuse me. I'm Josiah and I was told to come here about the Hercovara Wand.”

[A, aah...! Yes, yes!! Sorry! Wait a bit... uwaaa!!!]

I hear the sound of things collapsing from inside, followed by a boisterous sound effect that continues for a while, and finally the door is opened with a great force by the elf (about 300 years old) from yesterday who hasn’t taken a bath.
Before I manage to apologize for the light I released earlier.

“Yatta―! It’s Herkovara wanddd~~~~~!!! I’m so glad~~~~~!!”

He is overjoyed.

☆

Anyway, the laboratory was so bad that there was no place to step, so I mobilized the cleaning magic circles and prepared a space where we could all calm down.
Thanks to [Clean Water] and medicinal herb powder that has a deodorizing effect, the elf's... Umm, his name is a bit troublesome, it's long and confusing... anyway, this guy’s stench has finally subsided, he then smiles wryly and scratches his head.

“As expected of light magic. The lab has become so clean that I myself wondered if my own lab looked like this. Hahahaha...”

“I’m sorry I surprised you earlier. Um, Giamba...”

“My real name is Giambattista, but it’s hard to call me like that, so feel free to call me [Giam].”

Oh, yeah.
His real name is Giambattista Dogomick-something. Most of the elves seem to have confusing names.
From now on, I'll call him Giam, but I immediately asked Giam about the [Wand Flower].
He opened his eyes wide and groaned with an unfavorable expression.

“This is not good. No, more like, it's so good that it becomes not good... Yes.”

Midia immediately asks.

“What? For senpai, is it dangerous to use the wand? That’s a problem.”

“No, no, no! Danger is, well, it’s there but. Umm, let me explain from the beginning. The condition Josiah-kun is experiencing isn’t because of Herkovara's characteristics, but because your compatibility with Herkovara is too good.”

What do you mean ‘too good’?

“Is it true that you're constantly maintaining the flow of magic power to it? That’s why that happened... Ah, sorry, sorry. I just came to a conclusion on my own. ...The fact that you can see and hear through the [Wand Flower], means that Herkovara wand is interfering with your senses, I guess.”

“I see. I can mostly imagine the rest. It's connected to my nerves, so if something happens to Herkovara wand or the [Wand Flower], I might find myself in a bad state.”

“It helps that you’re perceptive. But to put it the other way around, if your compatibility is bad, you won’t get that kind of condition. You can take pride that this wand is definitely your wand, and no one else’s!”

Is that a compliment?
According to Giam, it's not a problem as long as I don’t continue to pour magic power through it, but...

“What would you do?”

I turn to Randy and speak.
Randy, who had been listening as if it was someone else's problem, had a stupid expression on his face, saying “Eh?” at the sudden question.

“There is a demerit of being too compatible with the wand, but are you still looking for a compatible wand even taking that into account?”

“You said it too, right? old man. As long as the wand and the wand flower don't break, it's fine, right?”

“Since mine is a Hercovara that has durability, I think the demerit is low, but I have no idea what your wand will be like…”

“You just have to be careful, right? That's why, elf old man! Will you sell me a wand that has good compatibility with me?”

“No. Giam-san isn't running a private shop, he's a researcher――”

I tried to stop Randy, but Giam enthusiastically said, “Nay!”

“It certainly exists! Right! Hmm... but you shouldn’t confuse a compatible wand with the once-popular true love or destined love. Because people have been saying that a destined meeting did happen.”

“In other words... among the wands that Giam-san made, one of them might be the destined wand?”

“That's right! After all, the one who decides which branches to cut and what shape to keep is the craftsman. For the time being, I'd like you to tell me your element, Job, and personality. As I thought, personality is the most important thing when it comes to compatibility with a wand.”

When asked about his personality, Randy groans until his eyebrows wrinkle, leading him to say, “My social disposition is good, man.”
Midia says, “Selfish, childish,” while stroking the familiars, so I clear my throat and correct it, saying, “He is a person brimming with curiosity.”

Giam also enthusiastically said “Alright!” full of motivation.

“Let's start by testing which ones have good compatibility with your Job and element! Ah, Josiah-kun!! I want to get information about the Herkovara wand, so can you place it on top of this magic circle!! Also――this is the one!”

Giam rushes over to the dog familiar Midia is teaching to [hand] and [sit].
Just when I think ‘it can’t be’, Giam's eyes sparkle.

“Is, isn’t this a grimoire!? This is a familiar made by incorporating complex technique formulas into a grimoire, isn't it!?”

“...Giam-san is a wand researcher, right?”

“Grimoires too! I'm also making grimoires!! Won’t you show me the technique formula~~! I'm begging you~~~!!!”

So, in the end, you're doing magic-related research in general!

――――

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