16: Finding the solution

In the Olympia Empire, people were gathered in front of the main building of the church of light. The reason for this was because the pope himself was about to give a speech.

"People of Olympia! I have some ill news. Recently we sent a scouting party to try and negotiate for a way to end hostilities with the demons. But, in the end, demons can't be reasoned with. They butchered our men. We shall pray that their souls find peace!"

The pope then started some sort of prayer. Everyone present apparently prayed for the lost men. But it was a partial lie. Yes, the humans have been killed, but there was no way the news could reach from Xenovia to Olympia so fast. The pope was lying.

"But this is enough! We won't stand for it anymore! Are we just going to wait until they reach our doorstep? Are we just going to watch our families get killed? We must fight back. The only way to achieve piece is to kill them, before they kill us! We shall send an army so big that they will beg us to spare them! We have the Goddess on our side. We shall be victorious. For the Goddess!"

Everyone started to cheer.

Inside the church, a different scene was unfolding. Archbishop Frederic and Ren Takeda were having one last chat.

"Well, I must say, Ren-dono, you really managed to convince the heroes to follow you. I am impressed."

"It's only because you kept your end of the deal and got rid of Nakano. Kukuku. Shiori is still in her room mourning but at least I convinced her to join my party, now that she has nobody to turn too."

"Well, I am a man of my word. We also have the drug ready."

"Was about time. I really thought you were lying to me about that."

"Would a priest lie? Now that you are going to war, the food rations won't be checked. So each day you can pour a bit into her food. This drug is strong so make sure you don't use too much in one day, or else you'll kill her."

"And will it really work?"

"The drug is designed to target specific brain cells. Given time it will completely turn someone's mind to mush. She will be nothing more than a lifeless puppet."

"Hahaha! Finally, with this I'll win. I'll get my trophy."

"Now then, Ren-dono, let's also go over the gear you shall receive on this quest. You guys will set sail in a few days. Show the demons, what the Goddess blessing can do!"

◇　◇　◇

For the first time since I arrived in this world, I was lost. I tried searching for a way to grow Momoyo's limbs back, but it seems it's impossible. No magic can restore lost body parts or organs. There were beings like me with regeneration abilities, but those were rare and the ability can't be transferred. I even tried to mash up some spells I thought could do the trick, but every attempt I made was useless. As soon as I wanted to merge them, the magic circle formations broke. Maybe it was taboo. Maybe my body couldn't handle the spell. I should mention, forcing a spell can seriously damage the caster. So in the end, against common belief, magic can't solve every problem.

So, since magic was out of the question, I went to see Lorina. She lived for more than 3000. Maybe together, we could think of something. As long as I don't mention her age. Last time I tried that, a vein popped on her head. She really doesn't want to be considered old. Well, she looks young so I can understand the feeling. In case you're curious, the life spans in this world are:

A High Elf can live 5000 years and they can choose when to stop aging physically.

A High Mazoku can live 2500 years. Given that, I still had a long life ahead.

Normal demons like my beastmen and normal elves live roughly the same, around 1000 years.

The dwarves are said to live for 500 years.

And lastly, similar to my old world, humans have the shortest life span at 100 years.

I finally reached Lorina's new shop. It was bigger and better than what she used to work with. She also had helpers now, but was very picky when choosing them.

"Your Highness, I'm glad to see you again. Thanks to you, business is going good and with my new staff I also have more time to work on the designs I want! So, how can I help you this time?"

Lorina was acting cheerful, but I remember how scared she was the first time I entered her shop.

"Lorina, I was wondering, do you know a way to grow a limb? If someone loses it in a battle, is there a way to regenerate it?"

"Your Highness, you do ask some weird questions. You realize I am a blacksmith, right? Wouldn't it be better to ask someone more specialized in such a field?"

"I thought that since you are an elf you might know a secret herb or a spell or something."

"Such a thing doesn't exist. Humanoid beings aren't lizards, so I am afraid that regeneration is impossible. Once it's gone, it's gone for good."

Well that's a bummer. I should have known something so convenient wouldn't exist. But I still had one hope. Come on fantasy novels, don't let me down now!

"How about a prosthetic limb then?"

"Lady Milla, do you realize what you are saying? Although it is possible to create a prosthetic arm or leg, the degree of injury you described is the problem. I am not an expert in humanoid anatomy, but I do know that there are thousands of nerves and muscles. If you wish for the prosthetic limb to function exactly like a real one, it would be necessary to link all the nerves and mana circuits to the limb. Linking thousands of nerves and circuits is impossible."

Fuck! I really wanna punch all those light novel authors back in Japan. They made it look too easy. Just slap a metal piece and it would work.

"I am sorry, but the root of the problem is too big. Please give up on…"

"WAIT! Say that last part again!"

"Ugh… the problem is too big?"

"Not that, the beginning!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Nono. In between those!"

"The root?"

Bingo. That's it. Root.

"Lorina, if the nerves and mana circuits can be connected, then it can work, right?"

"Umm… yes. But, lady Milla, it really is impossible to…"

"That's all I wanted to know. Lorina, I want to start working and craft a pair of arms and legs."

It's not impossible. There is nothing impossible. I just need to change my way of thought. I read a lot of books in search for an answer so I also learned stuff that was supposed to be useless. But turns out, everything can be used in a certain way.

"Make sure to make them light, but also sturdy."

"Something like that… I would need to use obsidian. But it is a rather expensive ore…"

"Just do it. Make sure it has all the joints a humanoid body has. Money isn't an issue."

When the Blood Ball ended and Ornis kicked Vacheron out, he never came back to claim those 10,000 gold pieces. So right now I had money to spare.

"As you wish, Your Highness!"

Good. Now on to the next step.

------

I took Fenrir and we went to one of the villages in my territory. I didn't like riding him, but I somewhat got used to it. Fenrir really is fast and he seems to enjoy me taking him around. He probably doesn't get that much exercise with Odin. Oi, you do realize you're not my dog, right? I'll have to send you back home when this is over.

Anyway we approach the village. The first thing we saw were farmers working the land. And then, a small green girl rushed to greet me.

"Welcome, Your Highness! Did you come to check up on Teri's work? Teri did her best. Teri wants to be praised!"

The dryad Teri. For some reason she speaks of herself in the 3rd person, but I don't mind that.

"Yes, you did good, Teri. I am proud."

"Teehee! Teri got praised!"

Teri was in charge of managing fields and growing food. The rice fields were a huge success and the beastmen really valued more food.

"Teri, I came here to ask you something."

"Teri shall answer if Teri can!"

"You are connected to nature. Can you sense… let's say all the roots of a tree?"

"Yes! If Teri focuses hard, Teri can sense and connect to every inch of a tree no matter how big it is."

"Could you also extend roots?"

"Teri can. But, does Her Highness want to create a new tree?"

It's exactly the answer I wanted.

"No. Teri, can the same process be applied to a humanoid? Could you sense all the nerves in the body and reconnect them to say… a lost arm?"

"Umm… I don't know. But if a human or a demon was a tree, no matter how many nerves or circuits, Teri can feel them. And just like a fallen branch, Teri can put it back."

Teri, you really are amazing. When I created you, I had no idea you had this much potential. I wanted to use Momoyo's original limbs but… when I stepped in to stop Tengu, me and Fenrir made quite a shock wave. Her limbs were sent flying somewhere. And since the battlefield was a mess with body parts scattered everywhere, I couldn't find them. It might have been different if Momoyo was the only girl in the party, but she wasn't. And using a limb that wasn't hers, felt too… Frankenstein. Too gross. So robot limbs are better.

"Teri, you and I are gonna combine our powers."

"Working with Her Highness is a dream for Teri. What must Teri do?"

"Come with me for now back to my home. I need to take care of one more thing first. As for what we are going to do… It will be something truly insane!"