MYHLF Vol. 1 Mission 3 Part 1

Mission 3: Amulets and a Pocket Watch

Bathed in the morning sunlight, Ryublan stirred, and Philz saw him moving from the corner of his eye.

“…Mm…”

His breathing shifted from the gentle rhythm of sleep. He must have sensed the sounds outside. The adventurers’ and knights’ tents were some distance away from here. Faint voices exchanged greetings. Restrained laughter. The sounds of morning. Then Ryublan’s eyes slowly opened.

“…Huh…?”

He had probably never experienced lying down on a carpet before. Ryublan seemed unable to grasp the situation, his thoughts stalled, so Philz called out to him.

“You’re awake?”

“…Eh…”

Waking up and hearing an unfamiliar person’s voice nearby would be frightening. Ryublan froze for an instant as if startled and wary. Then he looked around and quickly seemed to remember where he was.

“Ah… Did I fall asleep just like that…?”

He looked stunned. Hearing that, Philz felt slightly awkward and glossed over it. He did not say aloud that the divine protection embroidery had simply been too effective.

“Guess it was comfortable. Oh, did you people have insomnia too?”

“Insomnia…?”

Apparently, that word did not exist in this world. Ryublan looked puzzled.

“Uh… It means feeling sleepy but not being able to fall asleep, or waking up right after you do. Your companions over there seemed like they were sleeping lightly too.”

Adventurers and knights alike were capable of sleeping when they had the chance. In places like this, they did not sleep too deeply, but even so, they would usually remain asleep until someone woke them for a shift change.

The knights led by the Third Prince, however, were different. Some of them had seemed tense the entire time. Philz could tell from their presence that they had not been sleeping properly.

“I see…”

“If you managed to get some sleep, that’s good enough. How do you feel?”

“Eh…? Ah… Somehow, my body feels light…”

He seemed to feel the change keenly enough to realize just how much strain he had been forcing himself through until now. He tilted his head repeatedly, checking his physical condition. Watching him, Philz once again grasped the effects of divine protection embroidery. Then he handed over the items he had hurriedly made while Ryublan and the other knight, Coran, were asleep.

“These are for you all.”

“…What are they?”

“…Amulets.”

“Amulets…”

What Philz had made were small amulet pouches. Each pouch was decorated with divine protection embroidery.

“They have divine protection embroidery passed down among the nomadic people. This embroidery is 【Physical and Mental Tranquility】.”

In terms of meaning, it was something similar to a prayer for good health. Ordinarily, it would be embroidered on a handkerchief, but one man giving another man a handkerchief felt strange, so the form of an amulet was what had occurred to him.

“Keep it with you at all times. That’s what an amulet is. Give the others theirs too.”

There were 11 of them. Philz had finished making them by morning. The embroidered patterns were small. The cloth, too, was made from whatever he had on hand, so each one was less than 10 centimeters across. One embroidery pattern took roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Turning it into a pouch took five. The whole process had taken less than four hours.

Of course, he had only started after finishing the carving at a good stopping point. For Philz, who could enjoy it as a hobby, it had been an extremely meaningful stretch of time, allowing him to work until he could feel his speed and skill both improving.

“…So many… Ah, they smell nice…”

“Inside, I put cloth wrapped around herbs that also repel insects.”

He had the impression that amulets were generally replaced after about a year, so it seemed perfect. The herbs inside had been dried through a special method so that both the fragrance and the effect would last about a year. It had a calming forest aroma. He had just happened to make them as an experiment, and secretly, he was a little happy that he had found a use for them.

“Insect repellent…? Even though they smell this nice…? Is it really all right for me to accept them?”

“I made them to give them to you. Take them.”

“Thank you…!”

Ryublan broke into a delighted smile, and Philz gave a satisfied nod.

At that point, Coran finally woke up.

“Huh…? I…”

“Coran. You slept well. Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning…?”

Seeing Ryublan’s bright smile, Coran blinked several times in bewilderment.

After that, they began preparing to head for the ducal capital. A knight from the ducal domain came to escort Ryublan and Coran.

“Good morning. You both look much better. Breakfast is ready.”

“Sorry. Thank you.”

Ryublan and Coran put on their shoes and started walking toward the tents. But Ryublan soon looked back.

“Um… Will we be able to talk again?”

“…”

Philz was hesitating over how to answer when the Head Priest arrived and answered in his stead.

“You are under the church’s custody now, after all. Compared to staying with the ducal family, you should have more chances to speak with Fil.”

“Ah, right… Yes. That’s true… Um… Again, then.”

“…Fine.”

Seeing Philz nod, both Ryublan and Coran smiled happily before leaving the area.

“…”

When Philz turned his eyes toward the Head Priest who remained behind, he too was smiling happily.

“Hehehe. It looks as though you may have friends your own age now, Fil.”

“…Why do you look so happy about that…?”

“Because we’re talking about you making friends, Fil. Of course I’m happy.”

“Hmph…”

Somehow, that made him feel embarrassed, and Philz turned his face away quickly without thinking.

The Head Priest looked once more at Ryublan and Coran as they walked away, then turned back to Philz.

“By the way, what did you give them? They were holding onto something very carefully.”

“…”

As expected, he had good eyes.

Since hiding it felt like too much trouble, Philz frankly handed the Head Priest the first prototype amulet he had made.

“It’s something like a scented pouch embroidered with the divine protection of 【Physical and Mental Tranquility】. I gave them these to carry as amulets.”

“Divine protection embroidery… Amulets… They smell nice too…”

“They’re insect-repelling herbs, though.”

“…Insect-repelling…”

The Head Priest turned it over and examined it for a while. Then, after some thought, he asked for confirmation.

“Can other people make these too?”

“If they can pass mana through thread.”

“…That sounds difficult.”

“Not really. With practice, they should make it work. In the end, it’s all about concentration. Also, if they use a needle made of magic iron and thread from a magic insect, I think even people with little mana could do it relatively easily. Well, they probably won’t be able to make that many…”

Divine protection embroidery had originally been known not only among the nomadic people, but throughout the wider world. However, as countries declined, new countries rose, and cultures changed. As a result, it had gradually been forgotten.

The nomadic people had picked it up and continued passing it down. That was why even people with little mana were not necessarily incapable of doing it. However, the strength of the effect varied depending on the maker. They were praying for divine protection. The mana infused into the embroidery changed depending on their concentration, so it was only natural for differences to appear. With training, they would likely become able to adjust that mana as well.

“Apparently, it was originally a culture widespread among common people. They probably just stopped having time to make them. There were easier ways to earn money that took less time, so it faded away.”

“…In that case…”

Whether as a result of his own thinking or not, the Head Priest looked into empty space and nodded several times.

“Let’s revive it! As handicraft work! With an exclusive sales contract through the church!”

“…Saul?”

“You noticed? Yes.”

Apparently, the Gods sent their voices to the Head Priest from time to time. When Philz had heard this fact from the Gods who visited him, he had thought it was practically the same as always having someone help him cheat.

This time as well, Saul, the God of Commerce, had probably whispered an idea to him.

It seemed the Head Priest had also received the notice that Philz would be coming through this method. Philz felt a little relieved that it had not been some strange personal sensor of his.

“Well, amulets being connected to divine favor and the like does feel natural. Sounds fine, doesn’t it?”

For that matter, even when disposing of old amulets whose embroidery threads had broken and whose power had faded, it would be best to designate the church as the proper place for that. They were items filled with people’s feelings. Careless disposal would feel wrong.

“Then I’ll report to headquarters as soon as we return. If possible, please make several as samples.”

“…Fine…”

It was not as if making them was a hardship. Clarus would probably say she wanted to try too.

They agreed that Philz would bring them over once they were finished. After that, they had a light meal and cleaned up. Then the knight commander, Villans, arrived.

“Fil, kid. You go on home first.”

“Why…?”

Villans told him this with a somewhat restless, awkward air. Philz could guess the reason, but he asked anyway.

“A report came in. Apparently, the duke is on his way here. Running into him would be a pain, right?”

“That would be a pain indeed…”

He had expected as much. According to the schedule, the duke who was Philz’s father and the Chancellor should have reached the domain last night. The vice commander remaining in the domain was sharp, and since he also understood Philz’s circumstances, it seemed he had sent advance notice to inform them without arousing suspicion.

“Luiri had the adventurers casually warned not to talk about you. They all know firsthand what a pain it is to attract a noble’s attention, so they’ll accept it readily enough. The Head Priest should have told the princes too.”

“…Understood… Sorry…”

“What for?”

“Ah…”

With a laugh, Villans roughly ruffled Philz’s hair.

“You want the church to protect you too? You may have already heard, but those fellows are going to be put under church custody. Knowing that Head Priest, I don’t know how he’ll do it, but word’s probably already reached the church’s side by now. The application may already have gone through, for all we know. When I said the duke was coming, he gave me a very loaded smile.”

The means of communication was probably God. Through God, reports likely reached headquarters in an instant. Not a carrier pigeon, but a carrier God. His father, who was on his way here, would end up dealing with that Head Priest. Facing that schemer had to be harder than managing an entire kingdom.

“Serves him right.”

“Fil, kid… I thought the same thing, though.”

“Hmph.”

Surely, his father would end up wishing he had never come. He would wish he had simply stayed put and waited for the report. But as a noble, he had to present the image of “rushing over out of concern for the Third Prince, who had been attacked by Ogres.” Philz was thoroughly reminded of what troublesome creatures nobles were. He wanted to sever ties with them as soon as possible.

“Then I’ll go back first. Also, there were a few things that caught my attention. I’ll summarize those in a report for you too.”

“Seriously? That helps. Reports and all that… I forgot.”

“…Hey…”

Philz had expected as much, so he did not criticize him too harshly, but he still sighed at what a hopeless adult Villans could be.

And so, Philz mounted Biz and returned to the estate in the ducal capital while taking a slight detour.

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