Chapter 210: Chapter 210 - Delegating is the hardest task of a leader
As I surmised, the thing didn’t have any other trump card to pull, so the ending of the fight was rather anticlimactic.
And the fact that it was a being of pure elemental energy, without a physical body, meant that we didn’t even have anything to show for it.
Except for Yawarete, who gained a very nice sword from my mother.
"Are you thinking the same as me, Lovelace?"
We are all convened in a room at the central office of the hidden army, doing a briefing about the battle we just fought.
Lovelace assents with her head and says the words that were in my mind.
"It was probably sent by Juno with the intent of transforming our lands into a new Barren Wilds."
I nod, as all points to that hypothesis being the truth.
"It caused great havoc in Altenfeld, but I’m glad that we managed to stop it before it reached the capital. I was planning to hunt it in the Wilds anyway, so its coming actually made things easier for me. Now we need to find a way to repair the damage to the environment."
"Wait, wait. Please explain the thing about the Barrens thing. What exactly does it mean?"
It was Yawarete who raised the question. The High Priest didn’t say anything, and her acolytes are just standing there, behind her. But just as I was going to answer, Lovelace speaks.
"It’s an elemental being made of pure dark elemental energy. The Dark Element is the concept of ending, which includes consuming. That being was hovering over the Barren Wilds, sucking the mana out of the environment, since... well, since that place became the Barren Wilds. Because it is the cause that the place is like that."
"Incredible... I heard the old stories about the area originally being a rainforest, but I never thought that a monster like that was the cause. Wait. Does it mean that the Barren Wilds will now stop being barren?"
"Ehh... Yesn’t. I mean, it will, but not overnight. There was a millennium of draining. It will take time for the land to recover. It’s easier to harm than to heal, after all."
I was the one answering Yawarete’s last question. It will not be an easy task, cleaning the area and turning it into a thriving environment again. But it is possible.
But what concerns me more right now is the damage to the domain under my jurisdiction.
And exactly as I was musing about it, Ledda raises her hand.
"Excuse me, Your Arch Holiness. What happened to the mana the being was consuming after we killed it?"
"Any excess mana it was consuming was being siphoned to the Adventurer System of the goddess Juno. Yes, it only exists and works by draining the energy of the planet itself. That’s the only reason that the thing was weak enough for us to kill."
"I see... So, there’s no way to recover that energy."
"No... the System processes that energy into skills and stats to strengthen the humans."
I have a lot of stuff from Lovelace’s memories to work with, but I still didn’t have enough time to sit and devote myself to it.
Wait.
"Lovelace." I ask her out of the blue. "Do you think that she knows that you are with us? That you are actually working against her?"
"I think that she knows. That’s the only reason I haven’t brought up the plan to sneak into the other places with my memories. As a direct attack to her temples, she would be able to defend it personally, and I don’t think that we can win that battle yet."
"Most definitely not... Just thinking about what Mom did in the battle of Steelgarden is so above what I could accomplish myself. And Juno is an older deity, with more power and more geared for combat than my mother. There’s no way we can win there."
Damn, we lost the window of opportunity. There’s no way to recover those memories now.
The High Priestess is looking confused by our talk, but she keeps silent. She wouldn’t dare to impose on the Saint’s daughter’s secrets.
"There are so many things to do!!! As the Duchess, I need to put my place in order. There are too many documents to review and analyze. And then there’s the whole thing with the Adventuring System. Ugh."
And I want to set up a Research Institute for Magic. And I also have to accommodate the beastkin that would come from the Barrens. And then I need to solve the issue of the drained mana.
I haven’t rested a single day since coming back from the war!
"I can dispatch some priests from the Temple to help you with the bureaucratic things of the ducat while you settle into the position."
"Yeah, and I can try to help with the Adventuring System as well. I might not be as bright as you, Aurea, but maybe my insights could be of some help."
"Agreed. I can lead the efforts on the mana recovering side."
Ledda, Ingela, and Yawarete pushed forward their desires to help. And I have to say, I know it’s humanly impossible to do all those things at the same time. I will have to delegate. But one of the proposals is worrisome.
"Thank you all. Just the thing with the bureaucracy... I don’t think that I want to involve the Temple with the organization of the ducat. We’ve just started separating state and religion in Wesgoth, and I don’t want to go against my grandfather’s policies."
"That is a valid concern, Your Arch Holiness. You are indeed wise for your age, but that’s to be expected from the daughter of Saint Lily. Then, I will make the Temple available to help with the mana issues."
"Yes, that would be better, Ledda. I think that the priests will be able to provide great assistance, with the help of my mother. She does have a way to restore a person’s mana, so I think that she will be able to pull off some sort of recovery ritual."
I say that with optimism, but deep inside I’m worried. Mana, also known as magical energy, doesn’t come from nothing.
From what I surmised, there is a finite and fixed amount of magical energy in the world. So, to recover a place from the loss of mana, it has to come from another place.
The same way that the mana drained went to the adventuring system, which in turn fed the skills and stats of the humans, the mana to restore the province will have to come from somewhere.
That somewhere can be Mother’s mana reserve, but I think that’s a bad idea, as we are in the middle of a conflict with Juno.
Another option... Oh. I see now.
"Lovelace, Ingela. Can you two help me find some suitable candidates to work as officers so I can delegate the bureaucracy? I think that I have an idea on how to deal with all that stuff."
Ingela’s face lit up immediately at the request.
"Of course! We can also work with Yaci, as she’s been recruiting people for the city guard as well. We can employ beastkin because they aren’t tied to any corrupt nobles in the country, which makes things a lot easier. And public employment will also help them with adapting to our society."
Ingela, brilliant as always.