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The prismite in Isaac’s arms had a shape like branching coral, as though it split from the base and stretched upward in many offshoots.
Its light was a pale pink—so-called rose color. Warm and splendid hues slowly swirled within its form, which looked as though its branches were reaching toward the heavens.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Here, I’ll give it to you.”
“My…! But something this precious—”

Isaac smiled broadly as he held out the prismite, but Ekaterina hesitated. Given its size, and considering its brightness and beauty together, this was surely a masterpiece beyond comparison even with the prismite that had once been made into a brooch.

“Is it not a sample of great academic interest? Would it not be better for you to keep it, Great-Uncle? Your feelings alone are more than enough for me.”
“You really are a good girl, Ekaterina. It seems to be a rare attribute and of fine quality, so I would be happy if you let me analyze it someday, but I collected it for you, so I’d like you to accept it without worrying. Ah—but it’s heavy for a young lady, so I’ll hold onto it for now.”
“Professor, I will carry it.”
“If it belongs to the young lady, then I will carry it.”

Aaron quickly stepped forward, but even faster than him, Mina snatched the prismite from Isaac’s arms.

“It’s heavy… Ah, but I see. So that’s how it is with you.”

Although he seemed to be the sort who would not let a girl carry something heavy even if she were a maid, seeing how lightly Mina held it, Isaac appeared to grasp her background and nodded.

“Then, Professor, my lady, shall we return?”
“Yes, that’s right. Ekaterina, you must be tired. Please rest well once we’re back.”

Aaron spoke as if snapping back to himself, and Isaac nodded gently.

Aaron’s tone sounded oddly hurried, and Ekaterina tilted her head, wondering if he had another appointment. Then she remembered they were inside a closed-off tunnel. There were surely various issues, such as safety.

Convinced, Ekaterina decided they should withdraw quickly.

.

“Great-Uncle, earlier I felt your magic power heading far, far into the depths of the earth. This prismite… you drew it up from those depths, didn’t you?”

On the way back to the Mining Operations Headquarters, Ekaterina tried saying this to Isaac.

Such unusual magic power. Like “Apport” from her previous life? Was that psychic power?
In this world, magic that pulls matter directly to oneself was almost unheard of. She had seen mention of such cases in research books on magic, but only a few lines at most.
Summoning something from nothing—like fire, light, darkness, or lightning—was one thing. Water was also possible, but she suspected that was actually condensing water vapor from the air into liquid. Bringing a stone buried underground directly to one’s hand was fundamentally different.
Come to think of it, the persecution in this world’s medieval era that she had learned about in the forest people’s settlement—perhaps people with such special magic powers had also been labeled heretics and erased from history.

“When I was little, while searching for stones, rare ones started to feel as though they were calling to me from deep under. When I was called, I just had to collect them, so I used to dig them out with a shovel. But I learned that dirtying my clothes would bring nuisance to others, so I tried hard to see if I could bring the stones with magic instead, and eventually I managed to do it.”

So that was what came from what Raisa had told him!
And instead of thinking, “I’ll stop collecting stones,” he worked toward “I’ll collect them without dirtying my clothes.” Only a genius would think that way…
They say genius is 1% inspiration and 99% effort. That really is true.

“Is your magic of the earth attribute, Great-Uncle?”
“In terms of classification, yes, that’s how it’s labeled. But among earth-attribute magic, there are many types that make you wonder whether that name really fits. It feels strange that someone who manipulates plants and I are considered the same attribute. I think trying to force everything into the classifications from the Astra Empire era is already unreasonable in many ways.”

I see.
Magic attributes include earth, water, fire, wind, ice, light, darkness, lightning, holy, and many others, but these were classified in the era of the ancient Astra Empire. Their authority is dazzling and unshakable. Even things that do not truly fit any category are forcibly pushed into one.
Even Selene, the Maiden of Death, has the magic attribute “Nether,” which should not exist in the Astra classification. So even if someone today possessed “Nether” magic, it would probably be lumped in with something else.

There was something similar in her previous life: Aristotle of ancient Greece promoted the theory that the world was made of four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—and it was blindly believed for a long time, to the point of “no dissent allowed.” His authority was almost divine, according to a manga she once read.

“You are quite right. Perhaps the day will come when magic is no longer classified by attributes at all.”

Keeping in mind how the four-element theory disappeared after atoms were proven to be the smallest units of matter, Ekaterina said this. Isaac widened his eyes, then smiled broadly.

“That’s a bold thing to say. I love ideas like that. I’ll definitely go to the imperial capital someday. I want to see your workshop and have a long talk with you.”

.

The next day, Ekaterina went to worship at the Mountain Temple.
Guided by priests who were captivated by the sight of the young lady, modestly yet beautifully dressed to show her respect to the gods, Ekaterina entered the inner sanctum of the shrine, accompanied by Forli, head of forest agriculture, and Aaron, head of mining.
As for Isaac, whom she thought would come along—

“Well, I think I’ll pass. I don’t really understand the gods’ jokes.”

—he said something equally incomprehensible and seemed to be absorbed in his research again today. Perhaps he was close enough to the gods to be the target of their jokes.

The stone temple, steeped in history, was lined with magnificent statues. Each depicted one of the mountain gods who governed the mountains within Jurnova territory. Some had human forms, others the forms of animals such as wolves or boars, and some seemed to have even more distinctive appearances.

At the center of them stood a god statue in the form of a white-haired, white-bearded old man who looked every bit an elder. As Ekaterina was told that this was the god of the old mine’s mountain, the statue began to glow faintly.
A descent.
Light flowed from the statue and transformed into the form of an old man identical to it. Filled with divine authority, the humans respectfully bowed.
Then a voice spoke.

“Daughter of Jurnova, raise your face. The rest of you may be at ease as well.”

It was an immeasurably ancient, gentle voice.
Ekaterina raised her face.

“I am deeply honored to be permitted to behold you. I am Ekaterina Jurnova.”
“A pretty girl, indeed. You are welcome.”

The god of the old mine laughed ho ho, giving the impression of a kindly old man, yet with an unassailable dignity—like a far gentler version of the gray wizard from a Hollywood blockbuster in her previous life.
Then light appeared in another statue as well, and two more gods descended.

One was also in human form, but in stark contrast to the god of the old mine, she had the appearance of a small girl. She looked like an elementary school child, but was of a level of cuteness Ekaterina had never seen with her own eyes in her previous life. Like an angel. A god, yet an angel. Her long, soft-looking hair was the color of young grass, and she wore a flower crown woven from many kinds of blossoms. A lovely, fragrant princess goddess, like spring mountains in full bloom given form.

The other was a gigantic wolf. Even larger than Regina and the other hunting dogs.
Moreover, it was wreathed in flames.
Its mane and the tip of its tail burned with bright orange fire. Its golden eyes were like molten gold, and flames overflowed even from its great mouth. And yet, no heat was felt—perhaps the god of the old mine was protecting them.
The mountain this god governed might be a volcano. It looked even more fearsome than a magical beast.

Amazing. So fantastical and fantastic!

A priest who had glanced at Ekaterina in concern, thinking she might be frightened, noticed that she was instead brimming with excitement and made a complicated expression.

They reported Aleksei’s succession to the ducal title to the three gods and apologized for his absence.

“What? I thought that boy had long since become the head of the house. Ever since he came often with the previous lord when he was small, he has visited frequently and fulfilled his duties well.”

Ah—the god of the old mine does not recognize Father. The “previous lord” who brought my brother must be Grandfather.
Okay, I won’t correct him on purpose.

Ekaterina read out the list of offerings to be dedicated to the mountain gods: the customary liquor, food, ornaments, and so on—all of the finest quality. They were accepted, and the worship proceeded without incident.

Next, Ekaterina consulted the gods about the territorial governance of the House of Jurnova.
Specifically, about reforestation.
Since it directly concerned mountains and forests, it was better to inform the gods.

“Reforestation, you say. Ho ho.”

The god of the old mine smiled gently.

“Compared to trees, humans are short-lived creatures, and yet you now speak of restoring forests that were cut down. You have become patient indeed.”

Then the wolf god, wreathed in flame, spoke.

“If you preserve the forest, magical beasts will live there. Do humans not wish to eradicate magical beasts?”

It was a deep, powerful voice. His molten-gold eyes fixed squarely on Ekaterina.
Ekaterina bowed.

“If I’m allowed to be honest, magical beasts are frightening. Humans, each one of us, are weak. If we encounter one, we will lose our lives without much foa fight. I believe many wish for them to cease to exist.”

The one-eyed bear. The great king bees. For ordinary people without magic, both were utterly unstoppable. The old man who could only watch as a one-eyed bear entered his field and devoured all his crops would surely feel only relief if magical beasts were to go extinct.
Even in Japan in her previous life, people living in areas where wild bears appeared often wished in their hearts that bears would go extinct. If you could be killed, it was only natural to think that way.

From the perspective of people living under threat from magical beasts, the attempt to preserve forests and ecosystems would seem like selfishness on the part of those living safely far away from them.

“However, the great Black Dragon of the North appears displeased that humans continue to cut down forests. If we were to incur his wrath, it would be humans who would be exterminated. Therefore, we have chosen to preserve the forests through reforestation, and to seek a path where humans and magical beasts may coexist.”

We have no choice, or the hidden boss character, the Demon Dragon King, will camp here again—that’s a very convenient excuse, really. Thank you very much, secret capture character.

“Moreover, the blessings of the forest are precious to humans as well. If we clear forests into farmland and wipe out magical beasts, it will remove one worry from human life. But what is lost in exchange will be gone forever, irretrievably.”

She knew that in her previous life, delicious bread had been made from yeast discovered in the Shirakami Mountains, and medicines had been developed from research on tropical plants. Destroying forests meant destroying such possibilities.

“We shall not make pretty claims, such as magical beasts should live because they are also living beings. Humans simply believe that, for the sake of humanity’s future, we should refrain from doing things that cause something to be lost forever… However—”

She remembered the final cry of the one-eyed bear.

“When humans take a life, we feel pain in our hearts. Even if it is a being that would kill us. It is strange, isn’t it. I wish that everything—magical beasts or otherwise—could live, could exist, as much as possible.”

It was probably a naive way of thinking.
Ah, no. I just spoke completely in my own words to the gods.

“…”

The wolf god looked at Ekaterina with an expression hard to describe.
After a moment, he said:

“You possess a strange soul.”

Gyaa!
Selene, the Maiden of Death, had said the same thing, but do other gods also see a reincarnated soul from another world as strange?

Forli, Aaron, don’t look this way—don’t smile at me!

“Well then, have you changed your mind? Have you decided to desire a human bride as well?”

The princess goddess with the flower crown said something outrageous in a cute voice, and Ekaterina screamed internally once more.

“Do not lump me in with you.”

The wolf god snorted.
The goddess turned her gaze to Ekaterina and said:

“By the way, were you not together with my bride yesterday?”