Smiling, Fasleen looked to where Tiriya was sitting and asked, “Has Tiriya been learning a lot as well?”
“Of course. His strengths lie in mathematics and military strategy, where Shumar struggles a bit. A man with his talents could easily become a general or prime minister one day. He also does his best to ensure the prince is beloved by all.”
Shumar was so skilled that I worried our diplomats might struggle when dealing with him in the future.
“They’re both splendid students, and I’m honored to teach them.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Knowing that the Black Werewolf King’s students will lead Kuwol in the future is truly heartening.”
While I appreciated that Fasleen trusted me so much, it felt a bit overwhelming. On the other hand, no one had expected anything of me in my past life, so I didn’t dislike the feeling. Still, I was terrified of betraying her trust. However, I’d learned recently that my personality was the reason everyone came to trust me in the first place.
“If anything, they’ve taught me more than I’ve taught them. I’m sure both Shumar and Tiriya will surpass me soon enough.”
In fact, I hoped they would. Once they surpassed me, I could fade away as a relic of the past without worry. My retirement depended on them becoming worthy successors.
Tears of happiness welled up in Fasleen’s eyes, and without thinking, I said, “The two of them will continue to grow from here on out. While they’re at Meraldia University, I’ll do my best to look after them, so rest easy.”
“Thank you so much... The royal family owes you everything. If I hadn’t met you that night, we...”
Overcome with emotion, Fasleen burst into tears. At this point, I could hardly add, “Though I’m not sure how often I’ll be around with how busy I am,” so instead, I simply took out a handkerchief and offered it to her. This meeting might have had more diplomatic importance than I’d initially realized, and I felt a little guilty for promising something I might not be able to deliver. But there was nothing I could do about it now, so when Fasleen finally calmed down, I decided to ask her about Mount Kayankaka.
“Prince Shumar is doing just fine, so let’s discuss more pressing matters. What exactly is going on with the werecats at Mount Kayankaka?”
“It’s a rather serious situation. Word of this cannot get out to the nobles or commoners, so please keep what you hear a secret from those not part of your group.”
If it’s that bad, I wish you’d called me over sooner. Hell, is it all right that we just let this sit for a few months?
Fasleen gave me a troubled smile and said, “In truth, we weren’t sure we should call you at all, but...”
Fasleen explained that Kuwol’s prosperity depended entirely on the Mejire. In that sense, it was much like ancient Egypt. Mount Kayankaka was the source of the river, making it extremely important. Strictly speaking, Mount Kayankaka consisted of surrounding mountains that fed into the Mejire River. The mountains received an exceptional amount of rain and snow, which turned into the Mejire, eventually returning to the sea.
Thanks to the abundant precipitation, the mountains were lush with foliage. Forests acted as natural water reservoirs that could hold large quantities of rainfall. The ancient people of Kuwol seemed to have realized that they worshiped the mountain as much as the river. As a result of that reverence, the forest and river remained protected, and no land development occurred on Mount Kayankaka. However, even without human involvement, there seemed to be trouble with the mountain ecosystem.
“According to the werecats, the southern forests are starting to wither away.”
The forests kept the soil fertile, and the soil needed to remain fertile to retain as much water as the mountains received. If they were receding, that posed a huge problem. While it wasn’t the kind of issue I would typically be called in to handle, I imagined there was more to the story.
“Was an investigation conducted?” I asked.
“The werecats looked around the area, but since this is outside their field of expertise, they couldn’t learn anything substantial. However, their mages claimed that the mana in the area was unusually low, so we thought an expert mage like you might be able to understand more.”
In that case, we should have sent Kite... There were various fields of magic, and while ordinary people probably couldn’t tell the difference, Kite was the best at this kind of work. As a master of strengthening magic, I understood living creatures better than most, but climate, soil quality, and such were outside my wheelhouse. Asking me to investigate was like asking a cardiologist to fix someone’s bones.
“Did the royal family conduct its own investigation?”
“Everyone’s too scared to go.”
No one in Kuwol knew what lay on the other side of the mountains, and most Kuwolese were quite superstitious. It was commonly believed that the source of the Mejire was also where the world ended. And legends stated that if you ventured past that point, you would lose the blessings of the Mejire and find only death. This superstition likely stemmed from the more reasonable fact that Kuwol was too hot and dry for people to survive far from the river, especially since Kuwol had historically been at odds with the nomadic tribes roaming the desert.
“I see. No wonder you’re having so much trouble,” I said.
Historically, Meraldia had been a country of magicians, so people were less superstitious. I really wish you guys had told me this sooner though... Of course, Kuwol probably didn’t want to leave such an important task to a foreigner, but even so, they needed to take their work more seriously. I understood how important this was for Kuwol’s royal family, especially, and why Fasleen probably still had some reservations about mentioning it to me.
Unfortunately, I was not the right man for this job. I debated returning home and having Kite come here in my place, but from the sound of it, months had already passed since the forests started withering. I wasn’t sure I’d learn much if I went, but I could at least buy Kuwol some more time until a more suitable researcher arrived.
“All right, I’ll go take a look. But we’ll need an epoch mage to draw any definitive conclusions, so I’ll ask Meraldia to send one over. We won’t be able to conduct a thorough investigation until he gets here.”
“I’ll leave the details to you, Veight. I’m sure the werecats will be relieved to know you’re the one coming.” Fasleen smiled and sighed in relief.