Near noon, Megumin finally accepted the fact that Shichen had seen her contract mark, and the two of them headed back to the inn.
To their surprise, Aqua's group had already returned—and looked sulky.
"Shichen, you finally came back!" Aqua puffed out her cheeks the moment she saw him. "I was bullied. Go get revenge for me."
"Bullied?" Shichen laid the still-wobbly Megumin on the bed, then asked Yunyun, "What happened?"
"Why not ask me?" Darkness cut in.
"Step aside."
"Mm~ Being treated differently like this… kind of nice~" Darkness perked up.
"Heh…" Yunyun gave an awkward smile and explained, "We weren't bullied. The attendants at the hot-spring source just wouldn't let us in."
"Isn't Aqua a high priestess of the Axis Church? Even so, you couldn't go in?"
"The attendants were those hateful Eris believers!" Aqua said through clenched teeth.
"There's that too? So there really are Eris followers here," Shichen chuckled.
"Hmph! What's so great about Eris? Why would anyone worship her?" Aqua grumbled.
"You really don't get why?" Shichen shot back.
"Get what?"
"Forget it…" He shook his head and continued, "So what did you do after that?"
"W-we just soaked in a hot spring for a bit," Yunyun admitted.
"Soaked?"
"Yeah. Aqua said she wanted to check the other spring sources, so we tried one…"
"No harm in that. Soaking is good for the skin."
"Too bad Aqua purified it almost immediately."
"Haha—since that's the case, I'll go with you and check the main source."
"Can you even get in?" Aqua asked.
"I definitely can't. But Darkness can. Did you forget who she is? Dustiness Ford Lalatina."
"S—! Don't call my full name like that!" Darkness blushed.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot Darkness is nobility. With her around, we can go anywhere!" Aqua finally remembered Darkness's real status.
"Hold it… my status isn't for you to abuse like that."
"Abuse? We're stopping the Demon King's army from doing something evil," Aqua declared righteously.
"It's not even confirmed…"
"Ugh! Even if you don't believe me, don't you believe Shichen?"
"This…" Darkness looked to Shichen.
"Believe me. This time it really is a Demon King general. Use your status and smooth the way."
"A Demon King general? Really?" Darkness grew serious.
"Yeah. I wouldn't joke about this."
"…Got it. I believe you."
"Good. Let's split up first. You go notify the Adventurers' Guild. I'll hop back to Axel to check something."
"Shichen, why are you going back to Axel?" Yunyun couldn't help asking.
"To ask a certain lich a few questions," Shichen said with a slight smile.
…
When Shichen returned, he regrouped with Aqua's team on the back mountain behind the inn; the hot-spring source was there.
Megumin and Frieren weren't present.
Aqua's side had already informed the guild. With Darkness vouching in her noble capacity, the guild didn't dare dismiss it.
"Shichen, what did you even go back for?" Aqua asked.
"I asked Wiz about that general."
"And?"
"I've figured out what he really is—pretty nasty, actually: a variant of the Deadly Poison Slime."
"What? A Deadly Poison Slime!" Yunyun blanched.
Everyone knew slimes were weak—when they were small. But once a slime grew to a certain size, it was terrifying: physical attacks barely worked, magic resistance was high, and it would devour anything. If it latched onto you, you were basically done for. Armor didn't help either—slime seeped through the gaps, clung to the body, dissolved prey with digestive fluid, or blocked the mouth and nose to suffocate its victim.
"A Deadly Poison Slime? No wonder it can contaminate the springs!" Aqua wasn't scared—just furious.
"Shichen, I don't think I can defend against a slime," Darkness admitted.
"It's fine. I'm here. It's just a slime," Shichen reassured her, ruffling Yunyun's hair. "Let's go."
"Move!" Aqua led the charge up the mountain.
This time the caretaker knights didn't stop them. Darkness flashed the necklace proving her identity, and the knights let them through. Aqua didn't bother to brag; worried about the springs, she pushed on in silence.
They didn't know exactly how far they'd gone. Normally Aqua would have complained she was tired long ago, but she kept a stern face and didn't say a word.
There was only one path, so there wasn't much chance of getting lost. To bring hot spring water from the source down to town, six massive pipes had been built along the mountain. To find the source, you just followed the pipes.
As they neared the destination, Shichen remembered that when he'd drunk Artoria's blood he'd awakened a new familiar—he could've flown them straight to the summit. He himself had gained the familiar's power and could fly freely now. Still not used to just taking off whenever… If you can fly, why walk?
"What is that!?" Aqua stopped at the end of one pipe, anger plain on her face.
Ahead of the pipe lay the spring source, bubbling nonstop—but the water was black.
"This looks poisoned, right?" Yunyun said, unable to hold back.
"So it really is poisoned! Unforgivable!" Aqua thrust her hand straight into the inky spring. "Tss—! Hot! Waaah, that's boiling!"
Even so, she didn't pull her hand out.
"You idiot, what are you doing?" Shichen hurried over and yanked her hand free. Her fair arm was red all over.
"Heal."
Heart aching, Shichen cast healing magic.
"B-but…" Aqua's voice quavered; she still wanted to plunge her hand back into the murky dark and purify it.
"Dummy, I'm here too. Ever think to ask me for help?"
"Shichen… sniff~"
"Don't rush. I've got this." He rubbed her head.
"Okay…" Aqua nodded, aggrieved.
"Freeze."
Shichen used a basic ice spell to cool the source. With his huge mana pool, the temperature dropped quickly.
"Mm~ Thanks, Shichen."
"Don't thank me."
"Hehe~"
Aqua grinned, then reached into the black, muddy water again. Before their eyes, the spring turned clear.
"That should do it—but this source probably can't be used for a while."
Even after purifying it, Aqua didn't look happy—if anything, she seemed dejected and heartsore. When she took responsibility, she really was earnest; she was, after all, a genuine goddess.
She went on to purify the other pipe sources. With her power, purification was easy, but as she said, these sources would need a considerable amount of time before they could be used again.
Of the six outlets, five were purified quickly. The last one was at the summit. When Shichen followed Aqua to the top, he noticed a lone figure.
A closer look, and he recognized the man—the same guy they'd seen at the mixed bath yesterday.
"Wait," Shichen stopped Aqua.
"What is it?" she asked, puzzled.
"Look over there."
"Huh? There's someone there," Yunyun spotted him too.
"I see him as well. What's he doing by the source?" Darkness frowned.
"That guy must be poisoning it! He's definitely the culprit!" Aqua didn't hesitate—she charged over in a fury.
Shichen and the others rushed after her.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Aqua confronted the man directly.
"Doing what? I don't follow," the man said, looking genuinely baffled—but he did give Shichen a glance. He recognized him too.
"Hmph! Drop the act. Sneaking around like this—you're the one poisoning the springs, aren't you?"
"Ridiculous. Why would I poison anything? I'm here to investigate."
"Investigate?" Aqua looked to Shichen.
Shichen patted her shoulder and stepped forward. "Hans, you can drop the disguise. I've already pegged you—Demon King Army general, a variant of the Deadly Poison Slime."
"…"
~~~
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