How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 75

Purification of the Demonic Realm

“Purification of the demonic realm?”

“Yes. The far side of the valley has been part of the demonic realm for a long time, ever since the evil dragon was sealed. Before that it used to be part of the kingdom with people living there in prosperity.”

After the witches had sealed the evil dragon again, 800 years ago, they had worked together with the survivors of his reign to purify the lands affected by miasma by gradually widening the barrier between the demonic realm. 

The land that was currently part of the kingdom was overgrown with dense trees that had mutated due to the miasma. They had cleared up the forest to make the land livable for people and animals.

However, there was a limit to how much they could do. It required a great amount of magical energy to purify the miasma while keeping the seal on the evil dragon, and maintaining the barrier between the demonic realm and the kingdom. They would have no problem if they were just to maintain the seal and the barrier. But the so-called ‘purification’ was a problem. 

Purifying such a large expanse of land would inevitably lead to the barrier or the seal to weaken. If the seal became weak, it would leak more miasma. And if the barrier weakened then it would release miasma front he demonic realm into the kingdom. They had come to an impasse. They had thought long and hard about how to solve this but couldn’t come up with any suitable plan. Moreover, they had already cleared up a considerable amount of land for people to live, and so the status quo had been maintained for many years.

“The number of people and animals living here have increased greatly in the course of the past 800 years. It’s not a problem right now, but if we look at the long-term there will eventually come a time when this space is not enough. We need to clear more land for living, for agriculture. It’s necessary for survival.”

“I see… I hadn’t thought that far.”

“It’s okay. You can start learning about things slowly.”

Emilio snaked an arm around Miriam who was sitting next to him. He tried stroking her side with his hand but Miriam swatted it away.

“We’re in the middle of a conversation Prince Emilio! Honestly!”

‘Ahhhh! I got scolded! So cute! I have no regrets! Ah my heart is having palpitations because of 

Miriam watched in surprise as he covered his face with his hand and rubbed his heart while mumbling something. 

“Sorry, I lost control for a moment.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“As I was saying, although the current status quo regarding the size of the kingdom has been maintained for many years, there have been a lot of discussions over the years about whether or not we can purify more of the demonic realm. And now, there is a possibility of breaking the status quo.”                                                          

Emilio paused for a bit as he glanced at Miriam, then let out that name.

“That possibility is Gilbert Dala de Feline.”

Miriam thought back to the silver haired man she had met the other day. He was the so-called living god of the True Salvation religion, the one who abducted her sister. But he had also rescued her. She had only interacted with him for a short period of time, but she didn’t think he was a bad person. But if she said that out loud both Emilio and her family would be outraged…

“The first time we really got to know the extent of his power was when we were attacked at Prodotti da Forno.”

“That was when Lady Eleonora got injured, right?”

“Yeah. Lady Eleonora saw the same magical energy in Gilbert that is flowing through herself; the magical energy of the Holy Dragon. He has the same power as the grand witches. That’s why, it is possible for the witches to keep maintaining the seal on the evil dragon, as well as the barrier with the demonic realm, while Gilbert purifies and clears more land in the demonic realm while constructing a new barrier around it.”

“I see. But, it’s quite dangerous to do such a task isn’t it?”

“It is, that’s why we can’t force him to take on the task. However he was the one who contacted us first after the kidnapping incident.”

“He… contacted you?”

Miriam tilted he rhead to the side as she asked the question. Emilio patted her cheek as he spoke.

“Yeah, he wants to negotiate.”

“Negotiate…”