Inside the necklace were some murmured words Mifein had recorded.
More precisely, they were memories he had lost long, long ago at the Earth Mother Goddess Church-a fragment of a song:
"The rider on the black horse, bearing scales..."
"Accompanied by winged insects."
"Devouring every fruit and seedling upon the earth."
After reading the passage, which sounded rather like a ritual from some demonic faith, Kroya's heart lurched.
Because this song... or, more precisely, this prophecy foretold an approaching famine, locusts blanketing the earth, and the death that would follow.
His intuition was now screaming warnings. Clearly, this prophecy was highly credible, and it would definitely come to pass.
Famine and locusts... even the ancient dynasties of his former world would have struggled terribly to cope with those, even with capable ministers and wise rulers.
What about this world, then?
A moment's thought was enough to reveal just how unbearable the situation would be.
He considered it for a while, then shared everything from the necklace that he could disclose.
"The situation now is..."
After hearing him out, Oak and Semir spoke in unison:
"When Earth Academy was being built, we encountered the earth suffering from hunger!"
"Why didn't we pay any attention to it then?"
Both the man and the tree were deeply frustrated. Something so important had been right before them, yet they had dismissed it as nothing more than a slightly unusual occurrence.
It was Mifein who spoke up. "That must have been the influence of divine power. Concealment and obscuration have always been among the Earth Mother Goddess's authorities."
Hearing this, Kroya suddenly recalled the Sea God Barley he had once modified. An idea stirred, and he asked, "Does the Mother Goddess's power repel mana?"
Mifein silently nodded. "Yes."
"The power of the earth embraces and