9-22. Pests Extermination (2)
Satou's here. Curry is great. You can make curry as long as the vegetables you put with the sauce made from curry powder are falling apart while you cook them. Even if the potatoes melt into powder-like thing, the curry is still curry nanodesu.
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"I want to confirm if you have investigated some things, is it fine?"
"Yes, we're fine with any opinion, so please."
Jia-san is glancing with eyes full of hope from below.
Ah, it's hard to say vague things in such atmosphere.
"Has anyone tried gathering them on one place and then shoot them with magic with great power from afar?"
"Yes, the Biroanan clan on the different continent did so, however, during the engagement the jellyfish kept propagating, while the world tree was counterattacking, so when every one of them had been defeated, half of the world tree's branches and the majority of the elves' life were lost."
Looks like there are world trees on another continents. Seems that Biroanan clan is a clan that's skillful with fire magic and quick to start a fight despite being elves. This might be a prejudice, but they don't really seem like elves~
"That clan is a bit different from others..."
"Jia, you shouldn't talk bad of other clan."
"I'm sorry, elder."
Aialize-san is nodding, "yep, yep", while folding her arms beside the elder.
That reminds me, she was here.
"What happened to that Biroanan clan and the world tree afterward?"
"They've defeated all of the jellyfish (Evil Jelly), but the mana that are sent to the earth from the world tree have decreased so much, nearly 30% of the continent become deserts or wastelands."
The damage is quite serious.
If we consider the indirect damage, isn't it worse than even the demon lord.
No one knows the detail about the long-distance attack that has been used by Biroanan clan, so the elder is going to inquire them.
"Then, the second point. Have you researched ways to capture the evil fish or such? It might be worth it to search for their elemental weakness, repulsing materials, or attracting materials (Pheromone)."
"Yes, both the Beriunan and Burainan clans should have researched them. The evil jelly elemental weaknesses are fire and heat. On the contrary, they seem to resist ice and darkness. I've never heard something like attracting material."
"Umu, I'll go ask about it from both clans."
"Yes, please."
The elder fluently makes a promise without putting an air to Jia-san who answers my question. Aialize-san is only nodding, 'yep, yep', beside the elder. Is that alright, high-elf.
"The third and the last, the world tree is going to counterattack if we harm the evil fish externally right, but do you know just how far it can be injured before the counterattack comes?"
"We've checked this with analysis skill, and it seems the world tree will counterattack if the evil fish health is decreased by 30%."
Then, I wonder if it's possible to debuff or neutralize it?
If it's possible to use long-range attack magic, shouldn't it also be possible to use long-range status magic?
"Have you tried putting the evil fish to sleep, then pull them away from the world tree, and massacre them?"
"It should also be in the reports from both Beriunan and Burainan clans--ah, there is. It's possible to make them sleep, but it seems that the evil fish are monitoring each other, and once one of them is pulled at a certain distance away, the other evil fish will hinder it."
Jia-san turns the page of the paper file. It's surprising to see such low-tech things while we're in such a futuristic room.
Fumu, isn't fine if we just put them all to sleep?
I ask Jia-san so, but--
"That's impossible."
--it's rejected immediately. It says that once you've put the hundredth one to sleep, the first one will wake up. Moreover, they have high resistances against sleep and paralyze, it's hard to put them to sleep. The elves seem to have tried letting them absorb the mana from the sleeping potion, and it didn't show any noticeable effect.
They've tried to use water and wind magic, but magic can't penetrate the mana absorption zone around the evil fish if it's not at least intermediate level magic or above. Although, in case of the users whose magic penetrated the zone, even their elementary magic showed some effect on the evil fish, so their mana absorption zone probably isn't perfect.
For now, I ask elder-san to find out the details for "Hindering the evil fish."
The problem is their number and the distance.
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There are two cards in my hands that I can use to defeat the jellyfish before they can explosively propagate; [Meteor Shower], and [Laser]. I do have other techniques with high power, but these are the only two that can defeat 10.000 enemies on vast area in one shot.
First, [Meteor Shower] is out of question. The world tree is probably going to get destroyed along.
That means it's [Laser], but even if I shoot it as pulse laser, it has trajectory of line no matter what, so it'll end up felling many world tree's branches. If I do it carelessly, I could even damage outsiders even if it's not of the elves.
I also think about massacring them by myself by using sky drive and ground shrink, but the range is too vast, it'll take a long time to defeat them by hands. I'm envious with the shounen manga protagonist who can move at light speed. It'll be a cinch if I have teleport magic.
Looks like my own power isn't enough.
I feel regretful to say that I'm of no use after I brace myself.
Elder-san, and Jia-san say, "No need to apologize", and, "I'm quite thankful for the attracting material idea", but I can't help but feel that I've overlooked something.
She's patting my shoulder as if comforting me, but you haven't done anything right? High elf-sama?
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Now then, rather than satirizing Aialize-san, I should come up with something instead.
"What are you groaning about?"
"Ah~ there's a bit."
The day seemed to have got dark while I was brooding over without any good idea. Looks like everyone has come back from the training ground.
When I reply half-heartedly to Arisa's question while turning my eyes, not only Arisa, everyone is looking at me with worried looks.
No, Tama is doing things at her own pace, she's curling up like a ball on my lap.
Nana is like the usual too. She's playing with the pixies that she's caught by using cookies.
"Ah, sorry to make you worry. I need something to consult--"
I consult them about the jellyfish while leaving out the details.
"Fuhn, exterminating pests at an orchard huh. Can't you do it straightforwardly?"
"They've tried it already, it's no good."
"They'll be driven away if you make some noise~?"
"When you 'washa washa' they will run away nodesu."
Tama forms her hands to look like cat's paws, and spreads her arms wide.
Pochi looks as if she's scared of Tama's hands, she's gesturing like she's running away in fluster. They're probably trying to show how bugs run away?
It seems doable if I can use [Fear] from mind magic, but there's no one that can make the scroll. I have [Bell of Fear] among the magic tools in my hand, I guess I should try its effect in some remote place. Ah, tools that make use of sound wave are useless in space huh.
"Magic."
"Ah, the insect repellent magic that was used before right. Master, if you use that magic, won't it be simple to exterminate the pests?"
Those are Mia and Lulu. It's the story about when there were a lot of small flying insects at the camping ground making them unable to sleep.
There's barely any elves that can use life magic, so it might be unknown to them unexpectedly. There are many derivatives of [Bug Wiper] magic, maybe I should go and get them in the duchy capital. If it's effective, I'll consider it lucky.
"You open an insect cage, and then put a delicious meat inside nodesu."
"Using traps is a good idea. However, I suggest that the bait to be something sweet."
Nana revises Pochi's suggestion.
Traps are a good idea, but it'll be difficult to prepare traps for 10.000 jelly.
"I think using smoke to smoke them out is a good idea, but I don't think master will be troubled if that can settle it. How about unleashing birds and small animals that eat those insects yet don't harm the plants?"
Liza's suggestion is quite good, but unfortunately, I can't think of anything that can be the natural enemy of space jellyfish. The [Great Monstrous Fish (Tovkezeera)] from the other day seem like they will eat the jellyfish happily though.
"How about asking a puppeteer that become an insecteer, and have the insects leave the plant on their own to be exterminated?"
Arisa seems to be tired from the training today as she answers with some random idea.
"Ah, and also, this hit me from when Pochi talked about it earlier, but if you can't separate the bugs apart from each other, can't you just put them in the insect cages, and then take the cages away while they're like that~?"
When you consider just how many insect cages will be needed.... Oh?
Perhaps, this idea might be good?
Step 1: Put some to sleep and into the cage, then leave them alone.
Step 2: When we have caught them all, pull the cages away all at once from the world tree.
Step 3: Annihilation.
Looks good.
Step 1 looks like it'll need outrageous amount of works, but we can somehow do something to strengthen the cages. I don't have to worry about materials if I just use magic anyway, I'll look for something that's good against the [Absorption] racial ability of the jellyfish.
I can see the light somehow.
Let's consult various things with Jia-san tomorrow.
I go to Lulu who's gone head to prepare for dinner. The elves are going to eat together with us, so many married elf women have gathered in the spacious kitchen.
I've decreased the fat and increased the meat on the hamburg steak today.
I've made different kind of hamburg steak with the soup for Pochi and the others, but beside that, Mia eats the hamburg steak with meat while saying, "It's more delicious than usual."
Fufufu, the next one will not be tofu hamburg with meat inside, but hamburg steak with tofu.
"Today is also peerless and wonderful nanodesu."
"Three consecutive hamburg steak~?"
"Delicious."
It's popular with the beastkin girls too.
"It's no good to always have the same menu, so I guess I'll make something different tomorrow."
"I, it's not not good nodesu!"
"Nn."
"The sauce and the garnish are different, so it doesn't feel like the same menu you know?"
"Everyday is hamburg steak."
As expected, I don't want it to be everyday.
"I want to eat omelet rice or curry!"
A request comes from Aialize-san who has slipped into the dining table before I knew it. Lua-san wipes the sauce on her cheek. Beside Mia and her family, the elves who come to the banquet is alternating everyday, but Aialiaze-san has the perfect attendance.
Nea-san told me that Daisaku-shi had always wanted to eat either of the dishes, but they couldn't reproduce it until the end. There's no tomato in the elf village huh. Let's share some and have Nea-san stock it.
Curry huh, I haven't eaten it in a long time. Arisa has also began singing a strange song, "Harahara, hara perape nyon, karakara karu da mon". That seems to be the song of curry.
Fortunately, I've acquired the recipe, so I'll just need to ask Nea-san if she has the required spices.
It's beef stew tomorrow. I'll see if Mia can detect the little bit of meat texture and fat on her share tomorrow.
I also need to prepare for the jellyfish extermination, tomorrow will be busy.