Chapter 67: The Priestess’s Filter Device ✨

The well water was unusable.

It was more than just the water turning black; a fishy stench emanated from the mouth of the well.

The stray cats and dogs that used to drink there now gave the well a wide berth, their fur standing on end if they got even remotely close.

“Lady Celia, the water by the river is starting to turn murky as well. Grandpa Bagla just said that people in the village have already started suffering from vomiting and diarrhea because they drank unclean water.”

Lynn spoke with a face full of worry.

‘Tsk.’

Without water, there was no way to cook, no way to bathe, and certainly no way to make Happy Water.

This had seriously affected the quality of her retirement life.

“Let’s go. To the well.”

Celia decided to fix the well water first. As for the source, she would deal with that later.

……

A crowd had gathered around the old well at the entrance of the village.

The villagers’ expressions were even more unsightly than the well water itself.

“Make way, please.”

Elent pushed through the crowd, clearing a path for Celia.

Celia walked to the edge of the well and peered inside. Black water churned within, looking like a pot of boiling asphalt.

“Priestess, this dark aura is very dense. Even with a High-level Purification Art, I’m afraid it will be difficult to clear it all at once.”

Purification Art?

Celia curled her lip. Using such a Mana-draining and laborious divine art just to purify a well? What a waste.

What should one do when there are foreign substances in the water? Filter them out, of course!

As long as she used a scientific method to create a filtration device and supplemented it with a little bit of help from the Saint Light, it would be much more efficient.

“Iris,” Celia called out.

“Present!”

“Go get some charcoal. Grind it into a powder—the finer, the better.”

“Eh?” Iris froze for a moment. Although she didn’t understand why charcoal was needed, she obediently went to do it.

“Elent, go move that pile of sand over there. Also, find a few pieces of clean cotton cloth.”

“Yes!”

Celia issued instructions to everyone.

Although the villagers didn’t understand what the Priestess was trying to do, her established prestige over time made them all believe in her.

Soon, the materials were ready.

Celia followed the memory of a filtration device from her previous life and created a simple one-to-one replica.

“This is it?”

The surrounding villagers looked at each other in confusion. Could a bucket of sand and charcoal really turn this black water clean?

Celia signaled Elent to draw a bucket of black water.

“Pour the water in. Now is the time to witness a miracle.”

Elent poured the foul-smelling black water into the filter.

While the color of the black water lightened slightly, it still retained its fishy stench.

It was a failure.

“Priestess, this…?” Elent looked at Celia, hesitating to speak.

“Ahem, this is a trial run! Do you understand what a trial run is?”

“I’m testing to see if the general direction is correct!”

Celia quickly improved the filtration device.

“It should be fine this time.” She had carefully refined it based on the knowledge in her memory. There should be no problems now.

Elent poured the water into the filtration device once more, then stared tensely at the outlet until clear droplets hit the bottom of the wooden bucket.

Only then did he dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

The water, which had been as black as ink, flowed out as pure water after passing through the layers of filtration.

“It actually turned clear?!”

“The water is clear!”

“It had to be the Priestess!”

The villagers praised her without restraint.

Celia caught a cup of water and held it up to her eyes to examine it.

While it looked clean, it was far from enough. Filtration could only remove impurities and odors.

Even with the blessing of the Saint Light, it would only stop diarrhea for one or two days at most; the bacteria in the water were still there.

“Iris, come here. Give me your hand.”

“Ah?”

“Don’t dawdle. Reach out.”

Iris extended her hand.

“Use a bit of that.” Celia pointed to the water cup. “Just like when you made that Abyssal Cold Noodles before, release a bit of cold air.”

“Cold air?”

“Yes, freeze it.”

Iris didn’t understand why, but she still channeled a sliver of Mana. A purple frost enveloped the water cup.

The water in the cup froze rapidly, then melted again at Celia’s signal.

“Elent, heat it up.”

A weak Fire Element ignited in Elent’s palm, bringing the water to a boil.

After this cycle of freezing and boiling, even the stubborn bacteria of an Other World should be dead.

“There.”

Celia handed the cup of water to Grandpa Bagla.

“Have a taste.”

Celia was actually a bit unsure whether the water was truly drinkable.

The components of an Other World were different after all. However, with the Saint Light added as a fallback, it at least wouldn’t kill anyone.

Grandpa Bagla took the cup, hesitating for a long time, not daring to take a sip.

“…Fine, Iris, you taste it.”

Celia shoved the cup toward Iris.

“Eh, me?” Iris instinctively took a sip.

“It feels no different from the water we had before, just a bit sweeter.”

“Then the purification is complete.”

Celia breathed a sigh of relief. Subsequently, the villagers scrambled home to grab buckets, preparing to line up for water.

Elent stood to the side, looking at Celia with eyes full of admiration.

“As expected of the Priestess. I don’t know the principles behind it, but it seems incredibly impressive!”

‘Could this be the highest realm of Lifestyle Magic?’

Now that the water was purified, Celia wanted to see exactly what had been left behind by the purification process.

Celia leaned her head over the filtration device and saw a layer of viscous black substance adsorbed onto the originally clean cotton cloth.

The substance did not dry out under the sunlight; instead, it wriggled slightly, emitting an unsettling aura.

Good. She had absolutely no idea what it was, but it looked very bad indeed.

“This is only a temporary solution. If we don’t find the source, the well water will just fill with black mist again,” Celia warned everyone in advance.

“I see…”

After Iris finished tasting the purified water, she was curious about what kind of device could actually purify the black water.

So, she also leaned in, wanting to witness this miraculous invention.

She was shocked by what she saw.

Iris trembled as she looked at the mass that had been filtered out.

This was the Source of Corruption of her sister’s Plague Legion, a terrifying existence capable of bringing about a plague!

But what was the Lady Witch doing?

She was actually poking at the poison with an ordinary twig, as if she were poking a piece of chewing gum that had fallen on the ground.

‘Did you see that?’ Iris seemed to hear the Witch’s heart mocking her. ‘The plague you are so proud of is nothing more than trash from the sewers in my eyes.’

“Iris.” Celia’s voice interrupted Iris’s shivering.

“Burn it. Remember to burn it thoroughly. Don’t leave any ash behind. If it drifts into my Happy Water, I’m not finished with you.”

Looking into the Witch’s calm eyes, the fear in Iris’s heart dissipated quite a bit.

Perhaps the Lady Witch had seen through everything long ago? Was she simply using this method to demonstrate her power to the Abyss?

It had to be!

As long as she clung tightly to this powerful person, she might actually survive!

“Yes, Lady Witch! I guarantee the task will be completed!”

“Quite energetic, aren’t you? Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Celia sneezed and turned to walk toward the Church.

“Elent, is the water ready? I want to drink hot Happy Water. My cold hasn’t fully cleared up yet.”

“Hot?” Elent froze for a moment. “Will there still be bubbles then?”

“Oh, right.”

Celia fell into deep thought.

This was a serious problem.