Calamity Mandate

"Cleanse the Wailing immediately? Preposterous!" Hearing these words, Naomi's cool composure broke as she scoffed, "If it were that easy, Yuima would have done so. Are you claiming to have more power than the Goddess of Nature herself?"

Naomi had just expended a great deal of her own Nature power to temporarily cleanse the Wailing from just one person, to the extent that she was even feeling somewhat exhausted. Yet, this skinny, obnoxious girl had just casually stated she could cleanse the entire village.

How could the problem be solved so simply?

It only followed that Yuzu was trying to make her look bad by passive-aggressively suggesting that such a thing was possible. From the look in Chief Kagami's eyes, he was already wondering if such a thing were possible— and if it were, what did that say about Yuima's strength versus this visiting stranger?

Even if Yuzu were then to fail to solve the Wailing, with the right words she could still ensure the Chief's faith in Yuima would still be shaken.

Naomi's face turned livid as she quickly came to this conclusion after analyzing Yuzu's words.

"I'm sure Yuima is doing everything in Her power. Times are tough everywhere." Char Char piped up with a soothing, though somewhat hurried tone. Hearing the growing fury in Naomi's voice, Char Char knew immediately that Yuzu had completely offended their guide. She stepped over to the still-sitting Yuzu and put her hands on the latter's shoulders, "Maybe we could help with the ritual over at the cleansing pool? Surely with both Yuima and the White Maiden working together, something good can be accomplished."

"We don't need to look around." Yuzu said calmly, "We can cure the village right here without Yuima's help."

"C-cure it right here?" Chief Kagami uttered in surprise.

"Nonsense!" Naomi couldn't help but exclaim, but then realized that her tone had come out too antagonistic. Calming her frustration, the priest spoke, "You keep claiming this, but the Wailing is not such a simple thing to cure, how do you intend to do this?"

During the previous evening, Yuima had spoken to Naomi through a vision. She was already aware of the general power level of each member of their group.

Of the Chaos Exalted, Firuzeh and Kai were only Apprentices and Char Char was a mere Candidate. They were basically nothing to be concerned about. Even more than just knowing their Domain, Naomi knew their path as well — Rebel, Cheater and Saboteur, and she had an artifact that could counter their powers and give her the edge in combat, if the need arose.

In short, Naomi was not concerned about these three in the slightest.

Yuzu, on the other hand, was an enigma. She was suspected to be a Disciple of Fate, but further than that it was unclear what the extent of her powers were. Naomi's main task was to observe and probe Yuzu to gather information for Yuima, but frustratingly, even up to this point Yuzu had not shown even a hint of her powers.

Even in their hike through the valleys on the previous day, Yuzu seemed weak and slow. Had she not known Yuzu was a Disciple, Naomi might even have assumed that the girl was just a regular human.

But for Naomi, handling a Disciple wasn't an issue for her. If the entire group were to attack her at once Naomi was confident she could win decisively. She was confident that even a surprise attack wouldn't phase her.

The problem lay in the power supporting them. Yuzu and Char Char were the blessed of the White Maiden. The exact identity of the White Maiden was unclear, but even if She wasn't the Goddess of Fate, She was at minimum an extremely powerful Angel under her, and Akahi was the arch enemy of Yuima.

Therefore, whatever it was that Yuzu tried to do, it was Naomi's task to counter it while gathering as much information as possible.

"All I need are three candles and some offerings." Yuzu said, "Whether it's simple or not, I suppose we will see."

"Three candles and offerings… You mean to set up a ritual?" Naomi frowned.

"Yes, would that be acceptable?" Yuzu nodded.

"A ritual?" Chief Kagami's eyebrows knit in confusion, "Does this mean you are a priestess as well?"

The identity of these outsiders had never been clearly established, and with Naomi, a Priest of Yuima, watching over them, Kagami had avoided asking too many questions. Still, this young girl was not dressed in formal robes, nor did she have any talismans or holy symbols on her.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"The ritual should only take a short while, an incense time at most. If it's not effective, then we won't trouble you further." Yuzu said, avoiding the question, "But I am confident that we will see a good effect. After all, this is why Yuima asked us to come here."

If Yuzu's ritual was successful at cleansing the whole village, what did that say about Naomi, who had expended so much effort to just help one person? Furthermore, even the cleansing ritual that Naomi had agreed to attempt was not foolproof. Even with the spirit crystals, she couldn't guarantee that it would be enough for Yuima to completely cleanse the Wailing— not to mention, it would only chase off the Wailing for a short while before it would inevitably return.

Noami was well aware that the whole point of the task entrusted to Yuzu and her entourage was that it was supposed to be impossible. The Wailing was a disease that had plagued Huan for centuries. Even Yuima's long term efforts had not been able to cleanse it completely or stop it from worsening. If this ritual worked, what did that say about Yuima?

To invite a foreign domain to come into their lands and outperform their Goddess, what kind of message would that send?

"Since you are so confident, go ahead." Naomi said calmly, "But if this fails, I will not only make you to kowtow to the Chief three times in apology, but also pay compensation for your empty words."

"If Naomi-shi agrees to it, I have no objections…" Chief Kagami said hesitantly, not knowing exactly what was going on.

"If I'm honest, I doubt whatever you have in mind will work. However, if it does then you will of course gain our sincere gratitude." Naomi even managed a supportive nod as she crossed her arms in a natural manner, "Please prepare your ritual. Perhaps I may learn a thing or two."

Though her tone was amicable, as she was speaking her hand subtly reached into a hidden pocket in her robes and felt the smooth glass form of a vial, and silently popped the cork off.

~

"Chief Kagami, I'll have to bother you to help me gather the items for the offering."

Sitting in the chair facing away from the door, Yuzu kept a calm expression as she sipped casually form her tea cup. Although she wasn't looking in the direction of Naomi she kept her eye on the occupants in the room by observing the tapestry.

The actions of Chief Kagami and his daughter were completely clear to her, but Char Char, Kai and Firuzeh appeared blurry. As for Naomi, her white thread was as clear as ever. Even the subtle act of opening the cork was obvious to Yuzu. The spiritually charged contents inside invited in another white thread into the room as Yuima's gaze quietly descended upon them.

It was so much simpler to make everything go her way, now that she could read Naomi's string. Pix had vanished from the scene, or if she were still around she had hidden herself well enough that Yuzu's careful examination of the tapestry didn't find her. Even the presence of a Goddess wasn't enough to cause Yuzu to worry.

Clearly, Naomi and Yuima were planning to sabotage Yuzu's ritual and stop her from succeeding. Because of that, even if Yuzu were to succeed in saving the village she was fairly certain that they would find some way to criticize the result.

However Yuzu's primary goal in Huan wasn't to appease Yuima. It was to fulfill Lord Noga's request to help Lord Matsuhara and gain his approval. In this way, she would be able to freely access the White Maiden's shrines in Kumin and even develop a mutually beneficial relationship with Lord Noga.

Lord Matsuhara was the ruler of Huan, and saving him would also grant her another powerful leader as an ally.

As for Yuima, who was She?

Just some busy-body who couldn't keep her nose out of other people's business!

Putting it into business terms, Yuzu had been contracted by Lord Noga to solve Lord Matsuhara's problem, but for some reason this Nature Goddess was acting as an unreasonable office secretary, not letting Yuzu onto the premises. Unable to influence the situation Yuzu's client could only ask her to appease the secretary's demands so that she could do her job.

Lord Noga's business was important to Yuzu, so she was willing to go a bit out of her way to try to make things work, but if Yuima wanted to make life harder for her Yuzu didn't mind looking good at Her expense.

Who cares if you're the Nature Goddess? You can't complain if I can fix a problem that you can't.

"Firuzeh, can we use your candles? Please arrange three on the table in front of me in this layout. We'll need several bowls as well, the ones on that shelf will do, thank you." Yuzu instructed, "All that's left are the offerings to align the energies in the room and appease the spirits. Chief Kagami?"

"Yes of course, whatever you need." The elder said.

"I'll warn you in advance, these offerings might be a bit strange. But please be assured that they are critical to the success of this ritual." Yuzu said.

Hearing this, the elder frowned. He'd heard of elaborate rituals to Yuima requiring rare herbs and other ingredients, but the problem was they were just a small village without any dedicated shrines or religious backing. "I can't promise we have exactly what you need, but I will do my best."

"I also have a few ingredients on me." Naomi said, curious as to what kind of offerings the White Maiden would need. She had no idea what kind of items Fate might require, either, that also would be reasonably found in Huan. Bones, pearls or shells? Holy beads made of stone or wood? Perhaps metals or expensive spices? "If needed I can also supply them."

Giving such a promise posed no risk to her at all. After all, if Yuzu asked for anything too rare or expensive she could just claim to not have them.

"That's good to hear." Yuzu said with relief, "Although these offerings might sound strange, I believe there shouldn't be an issue with finding them."

"What we'll need are fifty silver talents, twenty gold crowns, a pair of women's boots for travelling… and seven Spirit crystals."

"…" A silence fell across the room as Yuzu listed the requirements.

This… What kind of ritual offerings were these? Why did this list sound like she was asking for payment?

Also, everyone was aware that Yuzu's only footwear right now were sandals. Was this offering requirement for herself?

Naomi's eyebrows twitched as she heard the final requirement. Seven Spirit crystals, wasn't this the exact amount of the Chief's life savings that she had procured as an offering to Yuima? These were the only Spirit crystals in the village, and everybody knew that she was in possession of them. And she had said she would offer any items that were needed as long as she had them… And what use would a Fate goddess have for Spirit crystals anyways?

"I'll be troubling you for the materials." Yuzu said, bowing deeply, "Once we've gathered all of them, I'm sure we'll be able to cure all the villagers!"