The following morning began before the sun had even fully risen. As soon as I left the mansion, I found Liriel already prepared to begin the work. Her assistant was organizing some scrolls and small magical crystals that would only be used to record the purified areas. Elara, Lyannis, Vespera, Scarlett, and Rai'kanna were also already awake. They had all decided to accompany the mission, both to help and to get to know other regions of the Dragon Kingdom better.
Shortly afterward, the Dragon King arrived accompanied by some officials and several workers. He had a confident expression, different from the previous day. For the first time, he seemed to believe that those lands could truly change.
"Let's start with the nearest region."
I agreed.
"The sooner we finish, the better."
We traveled through the mountains. The path was made up of huge stone cliffs, narrow rivers, and trees resistant to the cold climate. Even though it was a beautiful landscape, it was easy to see that many areas remained practically without vegetation. In many places there were only stones, dry soil, and small bushes.
After almost an hour, we arrived at the first region.
It was a large plain surrounded by mountains.
The king pointed toward the land.
"For generations, we have tried to grow something here."
"We never succeeded."
Liriel slowly walked toward the center of the area.
She closed her eyes.
She took a deep breath.
A huge amount of mana began gathering around her body.
Her assistant watched everything attentively.
"She can control this amount of magic without effort..."
She said it almost as if she were talking to herself.
The next moment, Liriel raised her hand.
An intense white light spread throughout the entire region.
The energy traveled through the soil like small waves of light.
The stones lost some of their dark coloration.
The earth became softer.
The air seemed lighter.
Even some dried plants slowly began to regain their color.
The dragons present remained completely silent.
The king took a few steps forward.
He crouched down.
He picked up some of the soil.
It was no longer hardened as it had been before.
"Again..."
He smiled.
"It happened again."
The workers began talking among themselves.
Many of them had never seen such a rapid transformation.
Some even touched the ground to confirm that it was real.
We moved on to the second region.
Then to the third.
The process repeated itself, but the result never stopped being impressive.
Liriel maintained a steady pace.
She always took short breaks to recover some of her mana before continuing.
I remained attentive to her condition.
"Are you okay?"
She smiled.
"I'm fine."
"My mana recovery has improved greatly over the past few months."
I was pleased to hear that.
While she rested for a few minutes between one region and another, I took the opportunity to talk with the local farmers.
They explained which foods they had tried to grow over the years.
Almost all of them had failed.
Some had managed small harvests, but they were insufficient to support a family.
That showed just how much this transformation could change the lives of thousands of people.
Liriel's assistant also took advantage of every stop to talk with the residents.
She asked about the dragons' customs.
About their food.
About how they lived.
She seemed fascinated by everything.
At one point, she found some children playing near a small stream.
They became curious when they saw humans walking through their lands.
They soon began asking questions.
She answered all of them patiently.
The children ended up showing her some places in the region that even the soldiers did not know very well.
When we returned to the group, she commented with a smile.
"Dragons are very different from humans."
"But children are still children."
Scarlett laughed.
"That's true."
By the end of the first day, we had already purified a large portion of the planned areas.
Since the work had taken longer than expected, we decided to spend the night in a small nearby village.
The villagers insisted on welcoming us.
They prepared a simple meal.
Most of the dishes were made with meat, exactly as the king had explained days earlier.
Even so, they also served some fruits produced on my property.
The villagers tasted food grown within the Dragon Kingdom itself for the first time.
Many were impressed.
Some had never tasted an apple.
Others had never seen a wheat plant up close.
As I watched that scene, I realized that small events could completely change the daily lives of an entire people.
The following morning, we resumed the work.
Only a few regions remained.
Liriel used her magic again.
The light spread across mountains, plains, and small valleys.
With each new Purification, the environment seemed to gain more life.
Small streams became crystal clear.
Vegetation appeared more easily.
Even the animals began appearing more frequently.
The dragons themselves commented that it had been a long time since they had seen so many signs of renewal.
During a break, the Dragon King approached me.
"Takumi."
"Yes?"
"These two days will change the history of my kingdom."
I looked at the surrounding lands.
"The true change still depends on the work of your people."
He smiled.
"And they will work."
"In the past, there was a lack of hope."
"Now there is a reason to believe."
I continued looking at the horizon.
It was gratifying to realize that all that effort would produce results far beyond my own lands.
By the end of the afternoon, we completed the final planned Purification.
The king gathered all the workers.
When they looked at the various transformed regions, many did not hide their emotions.
Some celebrated.
Others simply remained silent, admiring the completely different landscape from the one they had known throughout their entire lives.
Liriel's assistant approached her.
"I learned a lot during these two days."
Liriel smiled.
"And this is only the beginning."
As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, the Dragon King took a deep breath and gazed upon the entire renewed territory.
The transformation had been completed.
Now it was time to officially thank us for everything we had done, something he intended to do the following morning before all his people.