The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 50
Bea Westwind was an outsider. It was natural for the people here to be hostile towards her, given that she was from an enemy nation and, on top of that, an alchemist.
Alchemists were not welcomed anywhere, and this place was not one to easily welcome others either.
However, the attitude of those who had been suspiciously watching Bea when she first stepped forward claiming she could find survivors quickly changed. Those who had thrown stones and hurled insults now simply watched her actions in silent awe.
As Bea walked atop the mound of earth, she suddenly lay down on the ground. She didn’t care that her white coat, obviously made from expensive material, got dirty with mud.
Digging through the mud with her hands and scraping the ground, Bea didn’t mind the dirt on her face or wiping the sweat from her forehead.
“Over here.”
The people following Bea screamed out.
“Over here!”
“Here! Please proceed here!”
“Quickly! Quickly!”
Without confirming that the rescue operation had begun at the location she had pointed out, Bea moved on to the next spot and lay down on the ground again, digging through the mud with her bare hands.
Digging a part of the ground and using an old-fashioned magical device allowed for the detection of materials other than soil and stone. Bea had never imagined that a device intended for grave-robbing—or rather, for sifting through piles of corpses—would be used in a situation like this. Yet, it proved useful.
The structural operation of the mine was time-consuming. Identifying the location of survivors was the first major challenge. Moreover, a large enough hole had to be drilled to allow rescue teams to reach them, and until that task was completed, it was necessary to send down relief supplies to ensure their survival.
In any case, drilling a hole was indeed necessary. Water flowing from above to below was inevitably going to be an obstacle.
And because the search operation was being hindered for this reason, it was not possible for Aseph to render all the magical stones in the area useless.
While they were struggling to clear the mud, Bea handed Aseph a spherical magical device she had previously made.
“Use this.”
“Bea, what is this…?”
“It will absorb the moisture around. It was originally used in the desert, but it should be fine to use now.”
The device was designed to absorb and compress as much moisture as possible for storage. It was created to manage water scarcity, allowing for the collection and long-term preservation of water.
It was one of the items Bea always carried, not having forgotten her life in the desert.
After just hearing the explanation, Aseph immediately had someone use it, and Bea watched blankly for a moment.
Her homeland was a place where people died from the absence of water. Ironically, here, water itself had become a calamity.
However, the small spherical device, initially made to quench thirst in the desert, quickly reached its capacity in this situation.
“Bea, could you make several more of these?”
“No.”
Bea sighed.
“The capacity needs to be modified first before more can be made. I’ll teach someone how to make it, so call a suitable technician.”
“I’ve already put in a call. People will arrive soon.”
Bea didn’t wait for the people Aseph had called and continued searching for the survivors’ location.
Looking at the mine, her rough estimate seemed correct. It was fortunate that soil and rocks had first poured into the mine pit. If water had hit at the same time, there would have been even fewer survivors. But as more time passed, the situation would become more severe.
Everyone in the mine was exhausted, yet no one suggested taking a break. This was because Bea, who must have been the most tired after having moved around all night without regard for her small body being covered in mud, didn’t stop either.
She dug the earth with her bare hands during the day and sat down to make new magic artifacts at night.
Without sleeping a wink, Bea kept working non-stop. Aseph watched her tirelessly.
The homunculus, on the other hand, was more exhausted and had gone to sleep early, and the miners had rested for tomorrow’s search. Only the sound of the crackling campfire and Bea modifying the artifacts resonated in the temporary shelter.
As Aseph stroked the hair of the sleeping Homun on his knee, he spoke.
“…It’s like magic.”
“It’s not magic.”
Bea denied it, but Aseph shook his head, not listening.
“You might say it’s technology, not magic. But… in terms of causing miracles when needed, it’s no different from magic. An alchemist working in Vilkanos once said, if technology is advanced enough, it’s indistinguishable from magic.”
“…I see.”
“And now I understand why the mages felt threatened by alchemists.”
Bea tilted her head.
The war between mages and alchemists was a well-known fact.
“I thought that was common knowledge.”
“Seeing it with my own eyes made it clearer.”
Mages are those who can use magic innately. Magical artifacts were devices designed to let non-mages handle magic after one round of refinement, created by alchemists studying how to harness magical power.
There were numerous human experiments on how mages’ bodies respond to magic and how non-mages can use that power. Many sacrifices were made, not just mages but also common people.
That was the biggest reason alchemists were ostracized.
But here’s the result. The magical artifacts created by alchemists were being used to save lives.
Were alchemists mad killers, or were they heroes saving lives?
At least in this place, they were not murderers.
“…If it were a mage, they would monopolize that power to dominate others.”
If Bea had somewhat ignored the sacrifices and declared herself the savior alone, she could have been revered just like many mages in the past. But Bea, being an alchemist, didn’t hide that technology and offered to teach it to those who followed.
This was different from mages who had lived monopolizing money and power with just their ability to use magic.
It was only after seeing it with his own eyes that he understood what aspect of the alchemists that mages felt threatened by. It wasn’t just about their capabilities.
