♣Me at Age 12

 

 

 

♣Me at Age 12

 

“WHOA! D-Dad, Nakona, wait up! There are Beous flowers blooming here! Ah, and that’s Mison grass over there! And Tabbycat herbs!”

“Ah, Tina, you shouldn’t move away from the horses!” Dad said.

“I-I’ll be right back!”

This might sound sudden, but we decided to temporarily close the inn and go on a family trip. We’d rebuilt the cottages the centipede monster had ruined so they were better than ever…but our customer traffic ran dry because of that incident, and things haven’t been the same since.

We did tell our regulars to let everyone know we had a monster-repelling barrier set up, so it was safe to stay at our inn. But while monsters had indeed stopped being an issue since, bandits became the new problem. Apparently, they kept attacking travelers heading to our inn. They took advantage of the barrier being there to gain a foothold in our area.

So awful! Especially since the knights were too busy to deal with them. Knights were deployed around the land, trying to fight back the ever-increasing monster menace while also keeping Edesa Kura’s militaristic tendencies in check. Handling highway bandits was the last thing on their minds.

And since an armed conflict between nations could break out at any time, fewer people were traveling in general. Lico’s group stopped coming to visit too.

Adventurers became mercenaries hired to guard the different countries and bolstering their forces. Which meant none of them were coming to our inn, either.

Curse you, Edesa Kura… I hate you guys for so many reasons!

“Sorry I took so long!” I said as I hurried back to Dad, Nakona, and the horses.

“Geez, Tina…” Nakona pouted at me. “What are you even going to use these ingredients for?”

“Heh, heh, heh. Don’t think these are mere weeds!” I boasted. “I can use their oil extract to make cosmetics or pomade. I can also use it to combine ingredients that don’t usually go together, and with larger quantities and a bit more variety, I could make fertilizer. You’d be surprised how useful these can be.”

“Hmm, really?”

I got back up on Dad’s horse. Incidentally, our destination was De Marl. I’d been to Fei Lu a few times for doctor visits, but this would be my first time visiting De Marl. One of the most prosperous, lauded, and proud countries in the continent…

But if I had to pick an occasion for going, I wish it wasn’t this one… Why couldn’t this trip be for Dad and Lico’s wedding or something?!

Sadly, Dad was so hopeless when it came to romance, he hadn’t made any progress in two years. Lico is pretty oblivious when it comes to this stuff, but sheesh! Do either of them actually want to remarry?!

I looked up at Dad, only to find a sad look in his eyes. The closer we got to De Marl, the thicker that sadness became. Neither Nakona nor I even considered trying to take advantage of this trip to further Dad’s relationship with Lico. We were going to De Marl to attend a funeral, after all.

Dad’s former superior and lifelong friend, Dirbleu Edese, had succumbed to illness and passed away. The now-former captain of the Azure Knights had retired due to his ailing health and devoted all his time to fighting his sickness. The tonic De Marl’s alchemists brewed failed to save him, so, in all likelihood, my tonics wouldn’t have saved him, either.

But hearing his story did make me realize I wanted to learn more about alchemy. I could make medicine that cured injuries, wounds, and all sorts of assorted conditions if I had the ingredients, but treating diseases was different. You needed to adjust the cure’s mixture and dosage to suit the patient’s condition, making it extra-complicated.

If Dad were to fall sick, would I…be able to make the medicine he’d need? I wasn’t confident I could. After all, Grandpa and Grandma passed away when I was little…and if I were better at making medicine, maybe I’d have made something that could save them.

Well, I was little at the time and didn’t know how to recover mana… Aaah, but, but…!

I bit my lip. On this trip, I had to meet the state alchemist Elysis! I still hadn’t been able to create another Supreme tonic. What happened two years ago must have been some kind of lucky fluke. I repeated the process, and it only led to high-grade tonics.

There had to be something to it—something I was missing. And so, I’d resolved to have Elysis teach me about making medicine. Of course, meeting a state alchemist and asking them to share their knowledge was easier said than done…but I had to learn more! I needed to know more, so I wouldn’t regret anything when the time came!

“It’s coming into view,” Dad said. “That’s De Marl.”

“Wow…”

At the end of the paved road, at the top of what looked like a hill, and in the center of a plain with good visibility, were the outer walls of a large rampart. The low hills likely surrounded the walls, providing a clear line of sight around De Marl.

Houses were built around the gently sloping hill road. There were mountains in sight—though none of them matched Mount Rofola in size—and several large, castle-like buildings were built into the mountainside.

It looked, I thought, like Middle Ages Europe. I’d never gone abroad, but that’s probably what it looked like if history books were anything to go by. To the right of the large buildings was a small lake, much smaller than Lake Rhiode. Next to that was a green garden.

That must be a rich person’s house or something. I bet it’s a really pretty spot!

“…Ugh, you think Mom’s gonna be there?” Nakona asked.

“Well, I assume Ronde is still on active duty…in fact, he’s probably the oldest, most experienced captain on duty right now,” Dad answered. “Dir and I were his only superiors.”

“And Lico’s below him, and the youngest one back then was the captain of the Ivory Knights, Sir Lavudo…right?” Nakona asked, familiar as she was with De Marl’s knights.

“That’s right. The Azure Knights’ captain is currently the youngest.”

“That’s your favorite pupil, Captain Gildias!”

“I wouldn’t call him my pupil exactly, but… Well, he has grown.”

Gildias would sometimes pop up in their conversations. He sounded like a reliable knight who wouldn’t use monster subjugation missions as an excuse to experiment with new weapons like Lico. Or, well, in Lico and Lys’s case, they always looked for chances to put their inventions to practical use…

The Azure and Crimson Knights were active units that would go out to the front lines to fight. The Ivory Knights were charged with national defense and the security of important people. The Ebony Knights employed offensive alchemists who created and used alchemical weapons.

Since the Ebony and Ivory Knights had fewer members, people capable of using magic were also relegated to the Ebony Knights. The Crimson and Azure Knights were divided by color, but each order had over fifty knights. That was actually probably why they were split into two separate orders in the first place…

The knight orders themselves were divided into numbered units, and the lower a unit’s number, the higher it was ranked…which was to say, seen as more skilled. Units numbered below ten were seen as elite units. And the captain and vice-captain of the orders also served as commander and vice-commander of the first unit.

It really put into perspective just how major Dad’s old job was…!

Also, becoming a captain meant you were involved with national politics. Unlike other countries, De Marl was a democracy. There was a senate of sixteen people who handled legislation and politics, and three priests handled the justice system. The four knight captains dealt with military affairs.

So, being vice-captain meant…that maybe Dad was savvy about politics? In any case, it was impressive.

While I was thinking about how awesome Dad must’ve been, we reached the ramparts. A massive gate towered over the large line of travelers and merchant caravans trying to get in. Except these travelers were dressed rather light and had a lot of luggage.

“Refugees are doubling in number…” Dad muttered. “You had to go at a time like this, Dir…?”

“So, these people are refugees?” I asked.

“Yeah. They probably lived in countries near Edesa Kura and fled here for safety. Countries smaller than Uru Ki and De Lulua—countries established during the last ten years of peace—are probably going to be consumed by the war first. Despite going through all that work to set up…”

“There haven’t been any big military conflicts yet, right?” Nakona asked.

“Who can say? We wouldn’t hear of it that quickly… There have definitely been little skirmishes…”

Dad closed his eyes. We reached the back of the line and got off our horse, Judie, who immediately started eating grass off the wayside. Dad poured some water into a small bucket for Judie to drink from.

The line was pretty long, and there were camps set up just off the road.

“What’re those, Nakona?” I asked.

“Probably refugee camps for people who were denied entry into De Marl. De Marl has limited food supplies, so they have to be careful with how many people they let in. There’s plenty of water in the area, so you can grow crops here, but…with a population this large, families can barely get by. I do feel bad for the refugees, but they’ll have to take care of themselves…”

“I see…”

Their crops…

We had some adventurers we knew—Aaron’s party—watching over the inn in our absence, so we didn’t need to worry about our fields being completely ransacked by bandits. But they were definitely pilfering food from our field and orchard. It wasn’t uncommon for some crops or produce to disappear.

But we’re people, not animals! Stealing the food people worked so hard to grow is terrible!

Stupid bandits!

Aaron’s group said they’d be on the lookout for the bandits, so I really hope they catch them! Their hideout is somewhere nearby for sure, so I hope they stomp them out for us! Please!

“Mm? Crops?” I said pensively as I watched Judie and Nakona’s horse, Jeff, eat grass.

“What’s wrong?”

Grass. Weeds. But these weeds all had names, and if I gathered these weeds and transmuted them…

“I know! Nakona! Help me gather all the weeds around here!”

“H-Huh?”

“What are you scheming?” Dad asked.

“Heh, heh, heh,” I cackled confidently. “We just need to solve their food problem, right? Well, I’ve got a good idea!”

Dad and Nakona both stared at me, their eyes saying “I have a bad feeling about this.”

I started pulling weeds with Nakona and some refugee children who approached us out of curiosity. No matter how much was yanked out, there was plenty of grass left on the plains. I tried to focus on the weeds growing between the road’s flagstones and put them into my pot.

It was the same portable alchemy pot Giyaga gave me all those years ago! And I had my alchemy stirring rod from back then, too. I sneaked the Beous flowers and Mison grass I picked earlier into the mix as well.

“A bit of water, and…let’s get started!”

The nearest refugees started curiously looking at what I was doing. Dad and Nakona wanted me not to do anything that might draw attention.

But I’ll be fine!

“It’s a beginner’s recipe!” I insisted.

Stir, stir. Stir, stir.

I applied mana to the mix and stirred some more. Dad and Nakona anxiously watched me as the pot lit up. The mixture was ready!

“What’cha making? Can we eat it?” one refugee child asked me as he peered into the pot.

Hehe. Well, you see…

“It’s fertilizer!”

“F-Fertilizer?” the child repeated.

“Yes, it should increase your crops and make them grow faster. Let’s give this to De Marl’s farmers!”

“Fertilizer? Oh, like the stuff you use for the sugar cane field?” Dad asked.

“Yeah!”

I knew you’d pick up on it, Dad!

Sugar canes take longer than most vegetables to harvest, so I’d used fertilizer on our sugar cane field to increase its yield and shorten the time it took to mature. The fertilizer’s technical name in this world was Puepue, a basic, rudimentary alchemy recipe. I didn’t know why it was called that, though.

“Its quality is ideal… Are you sure you want to give this away? It should cost a thousand colts for every two pounds,” Dad told me.

“Good point. Since it didn’t cost as much to make, I could sell whatever’s left for half-price.”

“Are you really just going to give the majority of it away?” Nakona asked me. “You don’t even know any of the farmers here in De Marl.”

“Erm, well…”

She was right. Hearing that there weren’t enough crops to support the refugees made me think that we only needed to increase the yield and make the crops grow faster. But I didn’t have any way of getting this fertilizer to the farmers!

“My, what a surprise!” a knight watching over the line called out to me. “Might you be an alchemical apothecary?!”

“Huh? Ah…yes?”

He had an interesting white cloak…he was obviously a member of the Ivory Knights.

“And you’re this young? Impressive! Actually, I come from a family of farmers. Could you share some of your fertilizer with me?”

“Ah, yes! Go ahead, take some. Oh, but I don’t have a bag for you to carry it in…”

“You haven’t thought of that, either?” Dad chided me.

“Ugh!”

Yes, I hadn’t considered they’d need bags to carry it away! Dad and Nakona both shot me exasperated looks.

Look, I regret it, so don’t look at me like that! I know I have an impatient streak!

“I’ll go get you some bags,” the Ivory Knight offered. “How much will it cost?”

“Erm…”

“It’ll be 500 colts for two pounds!” Dad chimed in. “And your first two pounds will be for free. And if you come all the way here to pick it up, we’ll make it two hundred colts! If you know other farmers, please tell them about us. We’ll make more in the meantime!”

“Really?! Wow, that’s quite cheap…” the Ivory Knight happily raised his face from my pot, but then his gaze fixed on Dad. “Huh? Wait, you’re…no, you couldn’t be! Are you…?”

The knight’s face then turned red, his fingers shaking as he pointed at Dad.

Huh? What’s wrong?

“You’re De Marl’s Azure Demon Wolf! Marcus Ril!”

“It’s been a while, Gibsun! I see you’re doing well for yourself,” Dad said.

“Aaaaaaaaah, Vice-Captaaaaaain! Vice-Captain Marcus is heeeeere!”

“Ah…” Dad watched the knight as he dashed away, running toward the gate.

I asked Dad if he knew him. Apparently, he’d trained this knight when he was a rookie. This was Dad’s old home, after all, so it didn’t come as a surprise he had many acquaintances here.

“He looked like he’d just found some kind of legendary beast,” I said.

“Yeah. I’ll whack him on the head for old times’ sake later.”

A few minutes later, we were pretty much moved to the front of the line and into De Marl. I was shocked by this sudden development. Dad and Nakona insisted we’d stay in line since it wasn’t our turn yet, but three important-looking Ivory Knights appeared, bowing their heads repeatedly and insisting we come in.

“We’re the ones who invited you over!”

“We can’t let you wait in line!”

“Captain Gildias and Captain Avide told us to usher you in!”

Eventually, they convinced us. We were invited to the funeral, and having the busy captains come to us would have been too much. Lico and Gildias might have actually shown up to do that if we’d kept saying no…

As we resigned ourselves and started for the entrance, I felt scornful gazes from the refugees. My heart ached from seeing the same children who helped me pick weeds look at me that way.

Still, one little boy waved at me and said, “See you later, miss!”

Is that boy an angel? Aaah, now I feel even worse…

“I never expected your daughter to be an alchemical apothecary!” Gibsun exclaimed. “Are you and your family moving back to De Marl?!”

“Of course not, you idiot. You think I can fight with one arm? And I can’t put my girls in that kind of danger… But Dir was my friend. I should see him off, one last time,” Dad said.

“Awww, c’mon, Vice-Captain! Come back to De Marl! The Azures and Crimsons are at each other’s throats, and we have to work extra hard because of them!”

“You shouldn’t bother him, Gibsun,” one of the other knights chided him.

“But Luzon, you had to break up their fight just the other day!”

“Well, yeah. But the Azures and Crimsons fighting isn’t that weird in and of itself. They’re always competing and pushing themselves to the brink! That’s why they were split into two orders to begin with. But I will admit it’s gotten a bit…worse recently.”

…Really?

I guess the division into colors wasn’t because there were too many knights to keep in one unit but to promote friendly competition. Vector and Gawain were an excellent example of this.

Ah, maybe Kunon and Michael married because of that? They competed and pushed each other to be better…and eventually fell in love and got married! That sounds so lovely… Er, well, I guess that’s irrelevant right now.

“Can’t Gildias keep them in line?” Dad asked.

“No…it might not be my place to mention this, but Captain Ronde’s position, well…it’s gotten worse. Ever since he divorced Captain Avide four years ago…”

“Oh, I see. He got in trouble with old Captain Gaudy…” Dad said.

Who?

I sent a questioning gaze in Nakona’s direction.

“The Crimson Knights’ former captain. Lico’s father,” she whispered.

O-Oh. Yeah, didn’t Dad say once that the current captain of the Crimson Knights got his position by marrying Lico…? Now I see the problem…

“So because of that, there’s some discord among the Crimson Knights—honestly speaking, they’re riled up. And to let out that stress, they lash out at the Azure Knights, and that makes fights break out,” Gibsun explained.

“So, Ronde’s the one who can’t keep his men on a short leash…” Dad concluded. “And given his age, I’d bet his vice-captain Melant and the second squadron’s commander Jigil want him to step down already. Good grief…now’s not the time for this.”

“Vice-Captain Melant and Commander Jigil have been competing for Captain Ronde’s spot for years…but yes, now’s a terrible time for this. And Captain Gildias is young, but he has plenty of field command experience. So much so that I hear a lot of the Crimson rookies keep saying they want to transfer to the Azures.”

It looked like things were getting pretty bad. Lico probably didn’t care one bit for these stupid power struggles, and honestly, a kid like me wasn’t interested in them either…

Forget this stuff; where’s Elysis? And when’s the funeral?

Dad hadn’t really specified how long we’d be staying in De Marl.

“So, when are they gonna be holding Dir’s funeral?” Dad asked.

“Tomorrow. We already have a room prepared for you in the cathedral, so you can use it for the duration of your stay.”

“I see. Thanks.”

A cathedral! That sounds kind of impressive! And imposing…

Being an ex-vice captain really was a bigger deal than I’d imagined.

We got on our horses and rode our way up from the gate, onto the main street, and into the inner walls. It was quite the distance… Not that this came as much of a surprise. De Marl was one of the largest countries on the human continent. One could easily get lost without a map.

“B-By the way, Vice-Captain, your daughter—that is, not the young miss, the younger daughter—she’s an alchemical apothecary, right? She makes tonics and the like…?” Gibsun asked.

“Ah, yeah, low-grade ones. Medium-grade ones and higher is a little too much for her.”

“I-I see!”

Excuse you! I might have struggled with those tonics before, but now making them is a breeze for me!

I would’ve said that out loud, but…

“Don’t say anything that might expose you, Tina! Not a word!” Nakona whispered to me with a glare.

“…I know, I know. Lico warned me about it,” I shot back quietly.

My skill as an alchemist was close to a state alchemist’s level. If I wanted to become one, I could probably do so pretty quickly. At least, that’s what Lico had told me.

But this was a bad time to make that decision. Edesa Kura could launch an all-out war at any time, and state alchemists would be expected to make things besides medicine. They’d make me produce toxins and explosives.

After all, De Marl was still a country. They might advocate for peace, but behind the scenes, they were developing weapons. Which begged the question as to what kind of alchemical apothecary Elysis was, since they’d knowingly become a state alchemist…

This was something I couldn’t wrap my head around. So while I was in De Marl, I decided to pretend to be an amateur alchemical apothecary who only dabbled in it. Mister Giyaga also told me point-blank that I was better off hiding my talent.

Oh, and Shida taught me a little magic, so I had to keep that secret, too. Apparently, Sirius was right: I had a talent for magic. But magic was rare on the human continent, so I had to hide the fact that I could use it.

Only five people in De Marl’s knighthood could wield magic, based on what Lys told me. So, if people here found out that I’m an alchemical apothecary who can use magic…they probably wouldn’t let me leave De Marl. Dad and Nakona grimly drove that point home with me, and I certainly didn’t want that.

I had to go back to the inn and research how to make a Supreme tonic. Making toxins and explosives to use in a war? No…that’s not for me. Still, I wanted to meet Elysis so they could teach me how to make disease-curing medicine.

But if Elysis was loyal to De Marl and found out about my talents, they might have me locked up. That was a scary but very real possibility. This was a conundrum. I have to get close to Elysis. Maybe I could use my child-like appeal to say I want to learn and ask for some books?

“But being an alchemical apothecary at your age is impressive!” Gibsun said to me. “If you go to a national school, you could reach a state alchemist’s level before you know it!”

“A school, hm,” Dad murmured. “I would like to send her to get an education. But since we got offers from Saikorea and Forestria, if I send her anywhere, it’d be one of those two.”

“Whoa! Th-That’s amazing!” one of the knights escorting us said.

“Saikorea and Forestria?! Aaaaah! She’s a genius!”

When the knights reacted with enthusiasm, Dad had on the embarrassing face of a father gushing about how amazing his daughter was.

Dad, could you please not expose me after everything you said?

But then…

“Mm?”

“What’s wrong, Tina?”

“Dad, can you stop for a second?”

“What’s the matter?”

I had Dad stop Judie and jumped off, running ahead. Nakona took off after me.

“Tina! What if you get lost?!”

“How would I get lost? It’s a straight road… Excuse me!”

“Aaah?!”

“Eep, yes! Hello…?”

Nakona was a bit of a worrywart. But more importantly, this roadside stall! It was a pharmacy that sold herbs, remedies, and dried leaves! Standing in front of it were three people in cloaks with hoods. One of them was holding out shriveled purple grass. The vendor was shaking his head, saying, “I’m sorry, I can’t buy this off of you.”

I peered closer and confirmed my suspicions.

“Wow! It’s a Tanan vine, complete with the leaf!”

“W-What’s that?! Yuck…” Nakona gagged, catching up to me and looking at it, too.

How can you say that?! This is such a precious, rare herb!

“How much for this?!” I asked the hooded man.

“Huh? What, kid, you know how much this thing costs?” one of the hooded men responded. “This guy says they don’t need this creepy thing.”

“Really? I thought this was a pharmacy, though…”

“I-It is,” the merchant said, a bothered expression on his face. “But I only buy from certified merchants, so I can’t buy ingredients from them.”

“Really? Mister, please let me buy this Tanan vine! Its quality is…”

Appraisal!

I learned Appraisal magic when Shida taught me magic, and now I could manage medium-level Appraisal. That means I’m better than Dad!

Hmm! So it’s good quality.

“How about this much?”

“Mm.”

From under their hood, I could see red hair, red eyes, and…sharp teeth?!

What a strange man. Is he a demi-human?

But if he was a demi-human, it explained how he had something as rare as a Tanan vine…except these vines only grew in the eastern jungle. And demi-humans lived on the western continent.

Maybe he’s just an adventurer?

“Hey, Eure…how much is this?” the red-headed man asked.

“I believe it’s 5,000 colts, Master Vireus.”

“Is that cheap or expensive, Master Renge? Huh? Where’s Renge?”

“He stayed glued to the sweets stall we passed by earlier.”

“Oh no…”

“Mm?”

They looked like a pretty strange party. There were two other people wearing hoods, their bodies completely covered by robes. The man called Eure had white hair and thin, narrow eyes. He put a hand to his lips, apparently contemplating what to do. He probably didn’t want me to convince him to sell it to me for cheaper than it was worth.

But as far as I knew, Tanan vines cost 2,000 colts, maybe a bit more depending on quality. I gave my price thinking we could start negotiating from there, but maybe they don’t know how much Tanan vines are worth?

Oh, no! This makes me look like I’m trying to cheat adventurers who don’t know any better…

“G-Give us a minute,” the red-haired man said. “We’re not quite sure how much it’s worth.”

“I’m surprised you tried to sell it, then!” I said.

“No, it’s just, er, an estimate. Yes, we had an estimate. We went through a few stores, trying to sell it, and…”

“Oh, I see… Well, I should tell you the value of medicinal ingredients has gone up recently. I could buy it off you for another four thousand colts.”

“Wh-What? The prices fluctuate that much? Mm, what do you say?” the red-haired man turned to the white-haired man.

“Sh-Shinsen, what say you?” the white-haired man asked the third hooded figure, who had light-gray hair.

“I-I don’t know…!” he said, visibly confused.

M-Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken to them…but I kind of want the vine now.

“What are you even going to use it for?” Nakona asked me.

“Well, I’m researching a composite concoction that should heal both assorted ailments and restore stamina. I figured a Tanan vine might work for it.”

“O-Oh. I did think you were really focused on medicine making recently…”

The healing salve could heal injuries, but it couldn’t recover stamina. Holy magic was faster when it came to recovering that. I assumed a potion that would both heal ailments and recover stamina might be better for fighting off illnesses, and it might be useful for combat too.

I also wanted to make a potion that helps recover mana. Video games often have these potions that heal everything. I remembered how when I was in grade school, boys would talk about recovering “empee” using magic potions.

I was interested in making those kinds of magic potions! If I could make those, even amateur alchemical apothecaries could drink them and keep on brewing! It would help everyone!

Though to make something like that, you needed to know magic. And Shida did teach me a little holy magic…

The gray-haired man hurriedly left, deciding to bring their leader. As he departed, Dad and the knights approached me. I explained what happened, and Dad simply sighed, said, “Fine, fine, how much?” and took out his wallet. But I refused, insisting I’d buy it with the money I earned by myself, which prompted him to drop his shoulders.

What’s that look for? I think I’m doing the proper thing. You’re paying for our travel and hotel expenses, so I can’t take more from you. We need to keep money for the important things!

“What now? I told you to handle this on your own.”

“M-My apologies, Master Renge.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that? I don’t like this self-deprecation.”

The man who came over with the party member who’d left to fetch him wore the same robe as the others, his hood pulled deep over his face. The one thing he had different was a muffler that hid the bottom half of his face. Aside from that, I could only tell he had black hair and eyes.

“So, uh…” he said, turning to look at me.

“Ah, could you sell me that Tanan vine for 7,000 colts?”

My earlier exchange had made it clear these people didn’t know the first thing about the prices around here, so I added up the normal cost with the price jump and came to that figure.

“That’s honest of you. You realized they don’t know the first thing about trading and came up with that price, right? You’re a kind girl.”

“Huh? Ah, not really…”

He saw right through me. So, this person does understand. His black eyes narrowed as he looked at me…

Wait, those eyes… Where have I seen them before…?

“Incidentally, I also have some powdered Shinan Teras shell. How about I sell you both this and the vine for a total of 20,000 colts?”

“I’ll take it!”

“You said yes, right off the bat?!” the pharmacy owner’s eyes widened in surprise.

“And, 20,000?! Your daughter’s rich, Vice-Captain!” Gibsun marveled.

Powdered Shinan Teras shell! It’s powdered! And my Appraisal says it’s ideal quality, too! Of course I’ll buy it!

“Do you have anything else?!” I asked.

“Yes? Well, I have an Izumi Flint Spark…” he started.

“I’ll take it!” I said at once. “Do you have any more on you?”

“I have two more.”

“I’ll take everything! For 20,000 colts. How about it?”

“Mm. Could you go higher?”

“21,000 colts.”

“Maybe 22,000?”

“Mm… Fine. I’ll pay.”

“Thank you. I think this was a good deal for both of us,” he said, chuckling from behind his muffler.

I took the coins out of my wallet and handed them over, receiving the Tanan vines, Powdered Shinan Teras shell, and Izumi Flint Sparks in return.

Watch and learn, amateur adventurers. This is true bartering!

“No, thank you! This is some wonderful merchandise.”

I found a good deal in an unexpected place. I bowed my head, and the corners of his eyes softened into what might’ve been a smile.

I bet he’s a really good-looking guy under that muffler.

Wait…a good-looking guy…?

“Excuse me, you mentioned something about a sweets stall?” I asked.

“Hm? Ah, yes… Ahaha, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit it, but I have quite the sweet tooth,” he said.

“If you ever head west, stop by an inn called the Rofola Lodge! I make all sorts of sweets there!”

“Hm? Sweets? Ah, the Rofola Lodge…yes, I’ve heard of you. Rumor says you can eat delicious sweets for quite cheap there. But I’ve also been warned to stay away since bandits are infesting the area.”

Ugh! That’s a rumor now?!

“But you’re the one who makes the sweets?” He squatted down, looking at me at eye level. He really was a good guy! He treated me as an equal, despite my age.

---

---

“Yes! They’re homemade, but people like them a lot.”

“That’s an interesting little proposition. I’ll make sure to stop by sometime.”

“We’ll be waiting. Ah, but we won’t be back for two weeks, so come after that.”

“Haha, good point. If I go there while you’re here, I won’t get any sweets out of it, now would I?”

I knew it!

The more I talked to him, the more I got the impression I knew him from somewhere. I’ve spoken to him before! But where? If it was the inn, he’d have said he’d been there before. But he said he only heard rumors of it…which means he wasn’t a past guest of ours…

“Um, excuse me?”

“Yes?”

“Have we…met somewhere before?” I asked him.

“Mm? I don’t believe we have?”

“R-Really?”

Mm, b-but, but I get the feeling we have?

“Oh, right, I’m Tinaris,” I introduced myself. “I make sweets at the Rofola Lodge. So if you pass by, say hello. I also work as an alchemical apothecary, so let me know if you come across any other rare ingredients. We can make another deal!”

“I’ll remember that. Farewell, then.”

“Goodbye.”

Darn. He never gave me his name.

But I did hear them call him “Master Renge.” Master, though? One of the other adventurers, the red-haired one, was called Master Vireus. It was an odd name, though. Renge sounded like a distinctly Japanese name.

“Vice-Captain? What’s wrong?” one of the knights asked.

“What’s the matter, Dad?” Nakona asked, having stopped calling him “Daddy” in recent years.

I turned around to look at Dad, prompted by their questions, finding that he was staring in my direction with a serious look in his eyes.

Wh-What happened? Don’t tell me he…

“Tina…” He said.

“Y-Yes?”

“I think it’s too soon for you…!”

I glared at Dad for a moment before saying, “Let’s get going.”

“Right,” Nakona said, shrugging.

“H-Hey!” Dad called after us.

I don’t want to hear that from a man who took ten years to realize he’s in love with someone, only to make no progress since!

Besides, that wasn’t what happened here… I just got the feeling I’d met him somewhere before. Where, though? It wasn’t recent…

♣♣♣

“IT’S this way.”

Led by two knights, we got on our horses and rode up a hill road. It wasn’t that steep, but upon passing through the second gate, we found ourselves in a level, cavernous passage. Maybe they excavated it to get through the hill, or maybe they used it as a tactical tunnel.

Defensively speaking, only a few people could cross through at any given time, so it was a good spot for defending against invading armies.

“Right now, we’re in the Second Dominion. Once we cross through here, we’ll be in the First Dominion, where the cathedral is,” Gibsun said.

“…It’s very heavily guarded,” I noted.

“Yeah, it is… The First Dominion is where De Marl was founded,” Dad explained. “A short distance from here, there’s a small mountain called Mount Shifo. Their ancestors cut down the rockface of that mountain, and the land they cleared out became De Marl. Once the population grew, they built the second wall to house the new citizens. After the population grew even larger, they built the third wall. That’s why De Marl has three layers of walls.”

“And with the new refugees, we’re considering building a fourth wall,” Gibsun added. “But paving the roads is difficult work… The builders predict the fourth wall will only be completed after twenty years.”

“We have many crop fields within the second and third walls, but recently, monsters have started rising from underground…” the second knight chimed in.

Oh, like that nasty earthworm monster…

Thanks to the barrier Shida set up, I hadn’t seen a monster in two years. But apparently, quite a few bug, viper, and earthworm monsters were slithering around the inn’s vicinity, off the edge of the barrier. Killing them wasn’t an option, so there’s not much anyone could do about it, but it was a real problem…

“There it is. That’s the first wall,” Gibsun said, pointing ahead.

“Wooow,” I exclaimed.

It really was different from the other walls. It looked sturdier and had more of an embellished design. The stone used for it was bluish, and it was actually kind of pretty. Windows filled the walls at set intervals, equipped with glass panes or bars… I could see lace curtains fluttering out of some of them.

“The first wall also doubles as the knights’ station and barracks,” Gibsun explained. “The Ivory Knights are to the east, the Crimson Knights to the west, the Azure Knights to the south, and the Ebony Knights are to the north. You can’t really see the northern walls, though, since they’re on the opposite side.”

“It’s so big…!” I said, marveling. “Wow!”

“It is,” Dad agreed. “Inside are the estates of the Foremen who established De Marl. And then you have the Cathedral, the courthouse, the Senate, the bank… It’s the heart of the country.”

“Wow,” I said again.

“You girls will be staying in the temple, which is a part of the Cathedral,” Gibsun said.

Apparently, the funeral would take place in the Cathedral, which made sense for a person who helped lead the country…

Elysis will probably attend it. Hopefully, I’ll be able to see what kind of person they are during the funeral.

“How long will we be staying here, Dad?” I asked.

“The funeral is tomorrow, so I suppose it’ll be two days,” Dad replied. “Me staying here for too long might cause trouble.”

“Th-That’s not true! We want you to come back!” said Gibsun, a pathetic whimper in his voice.

As his daughter, I was proud to see my father being depended on and sought-after like this. But I didn’t want to stay here too long either, for my own reasons. We’d had to cross three heavily guarded walls just to get this far. As a defensive measure, it was very encouraging, but it also meant that getting out of here would be hard. Put another way, this place could become a prison with three layers of walls keeping me in.

I could understand now why Dad and Nakona looked so nervous. This was an impressive country, and I certainly had a high opinion of it compared to Edesa Kura…but they might not have been so different in terms of ulterior motives.

“I’ll call a priest to show you to your room,” Gibsun said.

“Thanks for showing us around when no one asked you to,” Dad told him.

“Well, you’re guests in our country, Vice-Captain.”

The two Ivory Knights left the temple, probably going back to their guard duty.

Since I bought some nice things, might as well Condense them right now. The Tanan vine is fresh, so I wouldn’t want it to go bad. It might lose some of its effectiveness…

“Can I do a little alchemy once I’m in my room, Dad?”

“I don’t mind, but keep the curtains closed.”

“I will!”

Dad called out to a white-robed man standing outside the temple. He was a young man sweeping leaves with a broom. A clergyman, I assumed. He was covered entirely in white except for his face. His outfit looked like a nun’s.

The young priest leaned his broom against the wall and showed us into the temple. It looked like a church inside, with stained glass, rows of benches, and an altar in the middle.

And there was this really impressive carving… It looked like a large stone sphere—like a…ball of some sort…?

“Say, Nakona, is that the main god of De Marl?” I asked.

“No, it’s above it.”

“Above it…?”

Above the ball? Whoa, is that a pyramid?!

A large, triangular object was hanging upside down from the ceiling. It was a bit too thin to be a pyramid, but I could see something like a face above it.

It’s kind of creepy…

“Mm? Is this your first time in De Marl, little miss?” the priest asked me.

“Y-Yes.” I nodded.

“Would you like me to tell you about it?”

“E-Erm…”

Should I?

Honestly speaking, I wasn’t too interested. Like, at all. It was creepy, so I was curious as to why they put something that weird up. But Shida had told me with steely eyes that all the gods the humans “made up” were basically the Camilla, so I couldn’t view it in a positive light.

Wisty Air had only one god—the creator god, Air. Every other god was only Camilla. Humans twisted that truth, creating gods that suited their purposes and used that faith and piety to create countries. And faith, in and of itself, might be a good thing, but…

“I-It’s fine. My father worships the gods of De Marl, so…”

“I see. Then I’ll show you to your rooms.”

“Yes, if you could, please,” Dad said.

Wow, Dad’s being polite. I guess he feels obligated to treat a priest well.

We passed through a door to the right of the altar and entered a long, white corridor. It extended so long, I couldn’t see the end of it. We ascended a staircase into another corridor made of white stone with black carpet. The right wall was decorated with blue flags, while the left had red flags. The stones used for the walls, ceiling, and floors were all white.

Does this represent De Marl’s purported harmony? It does cover all the colors of their knight orders.

“Over here.”

To the right of where we climbed up the stairs, there was a black door.

Oh, is that Blackwood? That’s really expensive lumber!

“Oh!” I let out a cry.

“Wh-What’s wrong, Tina?” Dad asked.

“Th-This door!” I pointed at the door enthusiastically. “Blackwood is really expensive on its own, but this smell and sheen! It’s got Susuri varnish applied to it! A Blackwood door with Susuri varnish… And this doorknob’s craftsmanship! Is that the Sasui engraving they use in De Moph?!”

“I’m surprised you noticed that,” the priest said, visibly impressed.

“Y-Yes, well, we had the inn we run renovated recently…” Dad explained.

I’m so jealous! I really wanted to decorate at least one room with Sasui engraved ornaments!

The delicate gold craftsmanship reminded me of a Japanese shrine, invoking memories of home. But between the cost of the material and the elaborate craftsmanship, they were far too expensive.

But a doorknob…yeah, I didn’t think of that! A doorknob might be good…!

“Give it up, Tina,” Dad told me. “Remember those…what do you call them? De Moph burned Shunshu plates? You promised you’d give up on the ornaments if I get you those plates.”

“Uuu… I know, I know… But…”

Traditional De Moph burned Shunshu plates… Those were plates roasted over a fire using a traditional technique, resulting in precise, special patterns!

Serving food and sweets on that is pretty exciting in its own way!

Ah, if only this world had Instagram…!

We have these pretty plates, but only people who don’t know their value can eat off of them! Can’t one person comment ‘Ah, these are burned Shunshu plates’?!

“Hm. Well, make yourselves at home.” The priest bowed and left.

“Thanks,” Dad said as he ushered me into the room.

I cast a sidelong glance at Dad and Nakona, who started unpacking their bags. Then I took out my pot.

All right, time to pull myself together and Condense that Tanan vine!

♣♣♣

THIS was the first real funeral I’d be attending in this world.

When Grandma and Grandpa died, Dad made a big bonfire and cremated them. I’d thought that was just how De Marl handled funerals, but apparently, I was wrong.

In this country, people don’t wear black for funerals. Instead, they wear white. And so, I made my way to the Cathedral in a white conservative dress.

I can’t believe the ceremony’s being held the day after we got here…it’s a miracle we made it in time.

Dad and Nakona were wearing white formal attire and sat in the back row of the cathedral. I thought Dad could probably sit in the front row, but that’s where all the important people were…

The front row was full of old men who had medals decorating their vests. I wasn’t good with people like them. They were the kind of people who’d boss around employees whenever they visited a store. They reminded me of these women who went into a restaurant I’d worked at during my past life and demanded the most expensive meat like they owned the place.

…That said, it was a fast-food joint and “the most expensive meat” only cost a thousand yen a plate, which is pretty cheap. If these women were trying to show off, they could have chosen a better place.

“Marcus, Nakona, Tinaris!” a familiar voice called out to us.

“Ah, Lico!” I recognized her approaching us.

“Lico, it’s been so long!” Nakona called back.

Oooh! Lico’s in a pretty white dress! Dad, why aren’t you saying anything? Compliment her!

“H-H-H…Hi… It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah. And it’s been even longer since I saw you cleaned up all neat and trim like this,” Lico said, a thin smile on her lips.

“H-hey, what is that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you only ever dressed nicely like this when you went to parties. Not like I’m one to talk. I don’t go to parties, either.”

“Y-Yeah, you never did frequent them, did you…? Yes, well…I guess you could say that…”

“Hm?” Lico looked puzzled by his stuttering response.

…He’s hopeless, I sighed to myself.

Then again, telling someone they look good in what they chose to wear to a funeral wouldn’t have flown in my past life, either. The timing was just bad.

But c’mon, Dad! Couldn’t you come up with something else? Something better?!

He was saved by the bell when three familiar guys walked up to us—the tricolored, slightly dumb beefcake knights.

“Hey, young miss. You’ve gotten prettier,” Gawain said to Nakona.

“You really did! First time I’ve seen you in a dress with that color,” Vector added.

“How about you wear a wedding dress instead of an evening dress? Any way you could put it on for me?” Lys asked, a sly smile on his face.

“Lysteinn!” the other two knights shouted at him as one, each of them grabbing one of his shoulders.

The three of them attended the funeral clad in their armor. It did look more polished than usual, though, and there were some extra ornamental pieces. Their armor probably doubled as their formal wear.

In terms of behavior, though, they hadn’t changed one bit. They might have polished up their armor and were as handsome as ever, but they obviously hadn’t cleaned up their act.

“Huh? Why would I wear a wedding dress?” Nakona asked, directing a dubious gaze at Lys. “I’ve got no one to marry! Do you think I’m some kind of dress-up doll, Lys?”

“Ugh…you really haven’t changed, young miss. You still don’t get it!” Lys said, frowning.

“Don’t get what?” Nakona cocked her head, oblivious.

Apparently, all three of them had a thing for Nakona. And somehow, Nakona failed to notice three guys were hitting on her at once. She brought being unaware to whole new levels!

You don’t have to dodge this kind of attack, Nakona! No need to counterattack, either!

Lys was especially on the nose with his courting attempts. Even I could tell what he was doing, and it still went over Nakona’s head somehow!

“Are you guys on guard detail for the funeral?” Dad asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s been a while, Vice-Captain.”

“You can rest easy,” Gawain said. “Or, well, I guess this isn’t the occasion to tell you to sit back and relax…but you can see him off with an easy heart.”

“Yeah…”

It looked like they’d just come to say hello. Lico moved back to her seat, which was relatively close to the front, while the knights went back to guarding the entrance. The funeral had an ostentatious air to it, what with all the important figures in attendance, but once the procession itself started, it felt like none of that mattered.

The archbishop uttered some words of prayer as the casket was carried over to the altar and encouraged the audience to do the same.

I didn’t believe in the Gods of De Marl, but faith was important. And offering up a prayer to the dead wasn’t worship, so it wouldn’t generate any Camilla. So, I could earnestly and honestly pray for his soul to rest in peace.

Though I’d never had the chance to meet him myself, Dad, Nakona, and Lico told me a lot about Sir Dirbleu. I thought he sounded like a wonderful man from the stories. The sobs and saddened whispers of the people who saw him off supported my impression of him.

“Captain Dir…” I could hear sorrowful voices speak his name respectfully.

I glanced at Dad, who was eyeing the casket with a pained look. He had a fist clenched in front of his chest, likely his way of seeing his captain off respectfully. Dad didn’t need words or tears to say goodbye to his one true friend and brother-in-arms. He probably felt that not making a scene was the least he could do.

And so, with this grave, solemn air, the funeral came to a close without any incident. Dirbleu’s soul had already left his body, and he was cremated, so there would be no chance of Camilla occupying it.

In my old world, cremations were a matter of tradition, but here, bodies really could rise from the dead like zombies. Only family members and close friends were allowed to attend the cremation.

“I’ll be going then.” Dad rose to his feet to attend the cremation. “You girls don’t stray too far from the knights, you hear?”

“Suuure thing,” Nakona said.

“We won’t,” I promised.

Dad and Lico were invited by Sir Dirbleu’s bereaved family to the cremation. I’d never met him, though, so naturally, I couldn’t go with them. Instead, I waited at the reception area, where they served drinks and finger foods. I had a lot of free time during the funerals I’d attended in my past life too, so this was nothing new to me.

Not many people attended my father’s funeral in my past life. Still, since it’s seen as a place to think of the dead as they depart to the afterlife, funerals have a tendency to become a social gathering of sorts. And this was no exception as people moved from the cathedral into the reception area.

“It’s pretty disgusting when you think about it. Here’s all this food we couldn’t finish off if we wanted to, when there are refugees camping out in front of the gates, starving,” Nakona remarked, crossing her arms grumpily.

“…Yeah,” I agreed sadly.

She wasn’t wrong. The refugees I saw the day before were dressed in rags, with large groups surrounding one small pot of food. And the children that helped me gather herbs were so thin and emaciated…

But here at the funeral, there was so much food. Quality, elaborately decorated food served with full bottles of alcohol!

“What do you wanna do, Tina?” Nakona asked me. “Grab something to eat and go back to our room?”

“Yeah, there’s nothing but strangers here…” I said.

I wasn’t used to these kinds of places, so I wanted to go back to my room as quickly as possible.

Ah, but maybe Elysis is here.

I wondered where the knights were. Nakona said she never met Elysis, but I couldn’t exactly walk up to some important-looking old men and ask. So I figured the trio of knights might point me the right way.

“My, young lady, might you be Sir Marcus Ril’s daughter?” someone called out to Nakona while we were looking around.

“Huh? Erm, yes…” Nakona said awkwardly.

After one person spoke to her, other people also joined in on their exchange.

H-Huh?! Why is there a crowd forming? I’m gonna get separated from Nakona!

“Whoa!” I yelped as I was pushed back by the crowd of people.

“Are you all right?” a familiar voice asked as they caught me before I fell over.

“Ah, Vector…”

I wasn’t used to the thick heels I was wearing and slipped, but Vector supported my back. I turned around, only to see the three knights standing there!

“Ugh, they’re so shameless. This isn’t an evening party,” Vector said, eyeing the men speaking to Nakona with a grimace.

“They’ve actually been restraining themselves at evening parties, so they probably thought this was their chance,” Gawain said, shaking his head in disapproval. “Still, I can’t overlook this. As a knight. In the interests of chivalry, of course.”

“In the interests of chivalry!” Lys nodded vigorously.

Their attitude seemed to scream, “Get away from our young miss. You haven’t tried half as hard as we have, you rich kids!”

But while Vector and Lys had last names and were active knights, the men hitting on Nakona right now were dressed up in expensive suits…so the knights had my sympathy in this particular instance.

“I’ll be waiting by the wall. I’m counting on you three to save Nakona from those guys!” I told them.

“By your will, ma’am!” All three of them saluted me at once.

I feel bad thinking this way, but I’ve seen panes of glass less transparent than those three! I saw them off with a smile anyway.

Still, it’d take the three of them a while to scatter a crowd that size. I leaned against the wall as I watched them approach the group.

Why is Nakona so popular, though?

The first guy called her “Sir Marcus Ril’s daughter.” Was it because she was Dad’s daughter? I knew Dad was a famous knight, known as De Marl’s Azure Demon Wolf. But that was over a decade ago. I also knew some people recognized him even after all those years, but…did he still have the authority he had back then?

“Excuse me, little lady?” someone called out to me.

“Who, me?”

“Are you Sir Marcus Ril’s daughter? I saw you sitting with him.”

Three men dressed in formal attire approached me.

What do they want with me?

I looked in Nakona’s direction, but the crowd of people around her hadn’t been cleared off yet. Did they really approach me, specifically?

“Would you mind speaking with us for a little while?”

“If it’s about my father…”

“No, we’d like to talk about you, actually. I’m quite curious about you.”

“E-Erm, no, I’m, uh…”

C-Curious about me?! N-No, cut it out, I’m scared…! What do I do?!

How do I turn someone down at times like these? I’ve never been to this kind of party! If someone hit on me, I’d ignore them until they went away, but this isn’t like that! I can’t just ignore them! I don’t think so, at least!

And they’re so much older than me… What do important-looking grownups want with me?! N-No, stay away from me…!

“Tinaris, there you are!” As I held my shivering hands over my chest, a warm hand grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me along.

“Huh?”

Pulled ahead by this single, smooth motion, I didn’t understand what was going on for a moment. It was someone clad in a white suit. His hair was black with a diagonal cut along the right side and braided at the back. He had black eyes, a gentle smile, and a soft tone of voice.

“Do you know these people?”

“N-no.”

I glanced at the young man standing between me and the three men who’d talked to me. He had a serene air about him, but something in his silent gaze didn’t leave any room for argument.

Oddest of all was how the men who walked up to me gazed at him, stupefied, with their cheeks flushed.

I can’t say I don’t understand why… He’s very…handsome.

And he seemed to be naturally overflowing with a sort of…charm? Whatever it was, it was intense. And he smelled really nice, too.

“If you don’t have business with her, would you mind if we left?”

“O-Of course!” the three men said at once, nodding with blushes on their cheeks.

They saw me off silently as the man led me away, holding me by the hand.

Wh-What’s with them? A-Actually, forget that…

“…Over here.”

He led me to an exit on the other side of the hall. As we passed by the vibrant celebration, he seemed to stand out and draw the attention of the other guests. The women were sending especially passionate gazes his way…and even the men saw him off with a blush.

Wh-What’s with this cute guy…?

We entered a corridor, and the sounds of the reception grew quieter as we walked. It was then that he stopped and let go of my hand.

“Erm… A-Are you possibly…?”

He knew my name, and I recognized those black eyes and hair…

“This is my thanks for helping my friends yesterday…” he said, pointing down the corridor.

“Hm?” I peered in the direction he pointed.

It was a long, white corridor that seemed to extend toward a place where a light shined. That was all I could see…

“There’s an alchemist’s workshop there. You are an alchemical apothecary, right?” he asked.

“Ah, erm, yes!”

“Then why don’t you check it out? I’ll tell your sister for you.”

“Ah, b-but…”

Why is he doing so much for me…?

“It’s too soon for you to be in that den of snakes,” he said simply, a hint of displeasure in his voice.

“…Right.”

“I’ll be leaving then,” he said, regarding me with a smile. “I’ll be looking forward to your sweets.”

“Ah, please do…”

That irresistible smile and his words left me incapable of saying anything more.

I knew it, I…I’ve met him somewhere else before. But where? And was it that long ago that I can’t remember?

Black hair was one thing, but black eyes weren’t a common color in this world. And he was so handsome…

Wait… A handsome young man?

If I’d met him a long time ago, wouldn’t it have been when he was much younger? He looked to be about seven or eight years older than me and slightly younger than Aaron… And while there were other handsome men in this world, comparing them to him and Aaron made me feel like Air was awfully unfair with how much they blessed those two with good looks. Anyway, he probably wasn’t much older than Nakona.

So maybe he was younger when I met him, more of a boy…? Was there someone like that? If he grew up to be so handsome, he must have been a cute kid. Doesn’t feel like someone I’d forget…

It’s driving me bananas… Where was it? Where did I meet him?

It kept bothering me, like a splinter in the back of my mind. I walked down the corridor in the opposite direction of the hall, pinching the bridge of my nose in an attempt to remember.

Where could it have been? I know I met him somewhere…at least, I’m pretty confident I did. It wasn’t just yesterday, it had to have been before that. Probably a long time before. Black hair and eyes…

Where did I meet such a cute guy…?

“Mm?”

I was suddenly distracted by a breeze. The scent of the wind made me let go of the bridge of my nose. It smelled like greenery. Herbs, vegetables, fragrant grass…

Wow!

“This smells like Walpurgis! I can’t believe it! Someone actually managed to cultivate it?!”

Surprisingly, I’d found myself in a small garden overflowing with an abundance of different herbs. Plants that couldn’t coexist with other plants in the soil were grown in pots, and all of them happily extended their leaves toward the sun.

Plants that couldn’t coexist together were the kind that could only be found in the wild, but there were so many rare plants being cultivated here. Besides the pots, there was a small glass greenhouse, a vegetable field, and even an aquarium.

Despite being jammed into one tight space, it felt like there was a specimen of whatever plant I could ask for always within reach!

There was a fence on the left side of the garden. Beyond the fence was a body of water, likely the lake I saw from the outside. We must be pretty high up, then…

“Who’s there?”

Someone’s here?!

“Is anyone there? I’m letting you know now, I won’t make any explosives or poisons. If you’re here on behalf of Gonzorel, you can turn back now—mm?”

“E-Erm…”

Th-This is bad…

I reflexively tried to hide, but in my panic, all I really did was pick up a potted plant and hide my face behind it.

---

---

This only makes me look more suspicious! What’s wrong with me?! This is embarrassing! I’m such a dummy!

“What’s this? A kid? Oh, ahaha! You probably wandered in here from the dance hall.”

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry…” I muttered. “I just noticed you were cultivating rare alchemical plants, and I couldn’t help but look…”

The person who spoke to me was an old lady. She wore pink clothes and an apron with a floral pattern on it. For how cute her clothes were, she had a very scary face.

Her collection of plants impressed me, though. She had Lilith, Duana, and Solan flowers, which were easy enough to grow, but her greenhouse was meticulously divided into sections. It struck me as absolutely genius.

With a garden like this, I could brew all the medicine I’d want without ever needing to go out to collect more!

How come I didn’t think of making a greenhouse before?! Am I really that much of a dummy?!

But what made this really impressive was that she was cultivating rare plants like Walpurgis, Napola, and Walkure! I never knew it was possible to grow those. I was so shocked, I couldn’t even begin to hide my surprise!

If she can raise these plants, she must be amazing!

“Hm, you can tell these are alchemical reagents at your age? Who are you? A new whelp who joined the knights?”

“Ah, erm, no…”

What do I tell her? I mean, I’m definitely here without permission… I guess I should use the fact I’m a child, introduce myself, and explain how I got here. What if Dad and Nakona won’t be able to leave De Marl because of me?!

“Well, I…”

Of course, I’m going to keep my talent as an alchemical apothecary secret! But I don’t have to lie about everything else.

“I see,” the old woman said after hearing my explanation. “So, you got lost.”

“Ugh!”

Does this count as getting lost?! I mean, I do know how to get back; it’s just…

“I’d like to go back to my room without passing through the reception hall…” I confessed.

“I see. Your eye and hair color are extremely rare… And you have a substantial amount of mana, though most people in this country won’t be able to tell. You’re no ordinary human, are you?”

“Wh-What?!”

I felt a chill run through my body. This must be what having all the blood drain from your face feels like. It was an entirely different sense of fear and tension from what I’d experienced surrounded by those men in the reception hall.

“E-Erm, how do you…?”

“Are you that Tinaris girl Licorice told me about? The girl Marcus adopted…? I’m called Elysis. Licorice said you wanted to meet me, but…”

“Huh? Huh?!”

All the heat that drained from my body skyrocketed all the way back up to the top of my head.

Elysis?! This is Elysis, the state alchemist?! Huuuh?!

But that explained this garden and all its rare plants. This is a state alchemical apothecary’s garden!

“Make me your apprentice!” I said at once.

“No,” she replied flatly, shooting me down as soon as I asked.

Turned down this fast?! Aaah, I might’ve been a little too excited. Calm down. Chill. Don’t talk in the heat of the moment…

“I make it a point not to take apprentices. If you want to learn alchemy, there are national schools for that.”

“Ah, er, I’m sorry… But your garden was just so lovely, I couldn’t help but say it…”

“Huh? What does that have to do with apprenticeship…? My garden, you say? My garden, mm… Heh heh. I see. So you can tell.”

“Tell what?”

I can tell? About the garden? What does she mean? Of course, I would know its value. Any alchemical apothecary should be able to tell how amazing this garden is with just a glance!

“Come, come,” Elysis beckoned me. “I can at least treat you to some tea. It’ll be a while before the reception ends, so take your time. I’ll hear you out.”

“Th-Thank you!”

She looked a little scary, admittedly, but Elysis was as kind as the flowery apron she wore suggested. She turned around and entered what looked like a little hovel painted in white. It looked like it was covered by creeper vines, and the paint had crumbled off the walls in a few spots.

But on the inside, the hovel looked fine. It was cramped, though, with ingredients and books filling the shelves and hanging from the ceiling. In that regard, it was just like the garden. And there was a huge mountain of books on the floor.

“Are you bad at tidying up?” I asked.

“It becomes too much of an effort once you hit a certain age,” Elysis admitted, shaking her head.

“…You said you don’t take apprentices, but an apprentice could clean up for you…”

“No, I don’t want that. Any apprentice of mine will become the next state alchemist. No, I think I’ll be fine being the only one who has to bear that title.”

“……”

So, that’s what she meant.

I turned my eyes toward her pot. It was a large, black cauldron that looked like it’d been in use for a long, long time. There were other pots of different shapes and sizes hanging from the ceiling. This was what a professional alchemical apothecary’s workspace looked like.

Different pots served different purposes. I wish I knew what they were all for. The shallow pot was likely for making seasonings, while the deeper, larger one was for brewing medicine, since the size helped produce more. Meanwhile, the one with the round bottom was likely for making powders.

Elysis also had various alchemical rods for different purposes. Wooden ones, iron ones, long ones, short ones…

Did I go to heaven or something?!

“Here you go,” Elysis said, handing me a cup of tea.

“Ah, thank you!”

She ushered me to a small table by the window. There were bottles lined up on the windowsill, full of dried newts, snakes, frogs, lizards, centipedes, and the like.

Are these ingredients for potion-making…?

She put cookies and a teapot on the table and urged me to take a seat on the stool opposite hers. But the sheer dissonance of delicious cookies being set in the same place as dried reptilians and bugs—an attack on one’s sense of vision if ever there was one!

“These are all ingredients for a cure to Dragonmatch disease. They’re used to make a powder to treat it,” Elysis explained, noticing that I was looking at the bugs.

“I-I see…! Actually, I’ve been meaning to research cures for diseases recently. Can you recommend a good recipe book for those?”

“No, because there really isn’t one. Oh, you can find plenty of books with medicine recipes, but the only real, effective medicine can only be made by an apothecary who treats a patient over time. You won’t find a cure for a disease that works on everyone in any recipe book.”

“…Oh, I see…but I’m still a novice, and the only things I can really make are tonics to heal wounds…”

Medicine to cure assorted ailments purge the body of foreign substances. Antipyretics work similarly, but how effective they are depends on the person. Some people have physiologies that resist them naturally, and even a high-quality one won’t be very effective.

When I was little and dabbled in alchemy for the first time, the recipe for Grandpa’s powder already had the dosage written on it. It wasn’t just a recipe for a respiratory disease—it was adjusted to the particularities of Grandpa’s body and lungs. That was something I hadn’t really considered until now.

What if, heaven forbid, Dad developed the same illness Grandpa did? He’d probably need a dosage that would be more effective for him. But put conversely, giving him the wrong dosage might be ineffective or even make his condition worse.

I shared these concerns with Elysis, and she cracked a smile.

“That whelp Marcus raised a good girl in you.”

“Umm…”

“Listen here, Tinaris. Just like you said, medicine is a poison of sorts. And the reverse can apply, too. Poison can, at times, serve as a cure…depending on how they’re brewed. Sometimes, either one can kill a patient. I’ve made mistakes that have cost someone’s life before.”

I gritted my teeth and hung my head. It was a terrible thing to imagine.

“But there were still patients who begged me to make them medicine. Even when I felt like I never wanted to brew another vial of medicine in my life, people came to me. ‘It hurts,’ they said. ‘Help me. Make it better.’ The one who taught me how to make medicine was this country’s former state alchemist, who was another alchemical apothecary. He loved this country very much… He worked hard to save even just one of this country’s people, praying all the while.”

Praying all the while… Praying while making medicine…

Come to think of it, when I made the medicine for Grandpa, I prayed too. I was anxious since it was my first time, and seeing Grandpa’s suffering weighed heavily on me.

I wanted to save him. To do what I could to help him. He was the father of the man who adopted and raised me. I wanted to help him, to repay everything he’d done for me…and with that devotion in heart, I’d…

“Being afraid is natural. It’s necessary, even,” Elysis admitted. “And I can see you understand that perfectly well. Then let me ask you this. What do you think of when you brew medicine? What motivates you?”

“…I might have forgotten. When I first made medicine, I wanted to save my sick grandfather. But recently, all I’ve been fixated on is quality and how to produce more of it. It’s like all I’ve been thinking about is producing rare medicine…”

“I see. But still, you were worried about what might happen when Marcus gets sick and wanted to learn how to cure illnesses.”

“Yes. I mean, Dad only has one arm. He’s more likely to get infections than most people. Dad adopted me and raised me. I owe him so much… To be honest, I wish I could make a Supreme tonic to restore his arm, but…”

“Right.”

She picked up her cup, took a sip, and placed it back down on its saucer. Elysis’s expression was gentle and calm. Even now, the Supreme tonic was still an illusory concoction. I still haven’t made another one! It frustrated me because I couldn’t remember how I made it the first time.

If only I had that, I could restore Dad’s arm…!

“A Supreme tonic, eh…?” Elysis said upon my mentioning it. “If you ask me, I’d say you might be able to do it.”

“H-How come?”

She sounded so confident about it, but then I remembered she said I wasn’t a normal human earlier. And that made fear surge up in me again. Still, Elysis didn’t look like she wanted to use me in any way…

I then realized that not drinking the tea or eating the cookies she served me would be rude. Still, I couldn’t help but be suspicious and fear for the worst…

“Tell me, did Licorice never say anything to you?” Elysis asked.

“Say anything? Like what?”

“Mm. I suppose that lass was always too fixated on using alchemy for combat… Perhaps she just wasn’t that interested in it to begin with.”

S-Stop leading me on! What is it?! Did you realize something?! Did you…realize I’m one of the Spherit Folk?!

“Alchemists and magic users are falsely similar. They are similar in that they both draw on the Air, and the Air I feel coming from you is exceptionally pure…! That’s not something that can happen with normal people.”

“Ah…!”

She mentioned purity!

After I realized that I was probably one of the Spherit Folk at the age of ten, I’d looked into them and learned some astonishing truths. The Spherit Folk were a unique people, capable of infusing ordinary stones with their uniquely pure Air and turning them into Spherit Stones.

Humans typically use the Air in their body to perform techniques, and demi-humans have larger reserves of Air than humans do. But while the Spherit Folk were considered demi-humans, they didn’t rely on the Spherit Stones to use magic, like the elves do.

That’s because Spherit Folk were considered to be similar and close to the Spherits themselves. While elves and humans had to rely on the aid of the Spherits and the Spherit Stones to use magic, the Spherit Folk could forgo the process of calling on the Spherits to draw on the Air.

It kind of feels like cheating…

It was said that the Spherit Folk were created long ago through the intermingling of humans and Spherits. They were a wondrous race skilled at magic and alchemy, capable of handling the Air better than even the Mythical Beasts.

But much like how the Spherits were considered part of nature and an aspect of the world’s natural providence, the Spherit Folk saw themselves as part of the mechanism that kept the world alive. As such, they were seen as slightly emotionless.

An entire race of people with terrible communication skills!

To that end, they were estranged from both mankind and the demi-humans and lived quietly in a forest on the human continent’s westernmost tip.

Dad told me about the adventurer his brother was friends with, Jinray. I suspected he was my real father, and based on hearsay, he fell in love with the Spherit Folk’s princess at first sight!

He courted her aggressively and indeed won her heart! Humans are an emotional race, and his feelings triggered emotions within the princess as well. Said princess was probably my mother. The woman who cried for me back then…

“…I don’t really know why myself,” I told Elysis, shaking my head.

“Well, maybe so. But either way, I think you can concoct medicine I could never make. And by that, I mean you could probably successfully produce a Supreme tonic.”

“You think so?”

“Well, it’s hard to say for sure. But if nothing else, you’re much more likely to make one than I am.”

“Is that because the Air’s purity is degrading?”

“Yes, it is. The Air on the human continent is considered to be rather impure. Demi-humans and mages draw on the Spherits and the Spherit Stones to cast magic, so they’re very sensitive to it.”

“But isn’t alchemy also impacted by the purity?” I asked.

“Well, you see, I don’t know much about the techniques knights use for combat, but the impurities in the Air don’t impact alchemy as much. Especially things like the alchemical weapons Licorice uses. Those can operate so long as they have access to the Air, no matter how impure it is.”

“Alchemical weapons…”

I wondered if the Air Gun Lico used was officially called that, or if that was simply a colloquial name, since it drew on the Air. Either way, I’d have preferred it if alchemy was used for more peaceful purposes. Like to make an oven or a stove or a light bulb.

“A half-elf scholar I met once told me it impacts the quality of the things you produce,” I said.

“Well, yes, it would. Imagine if you used dirty water for a concoction. It would fail, right?”

“O-Of course it would.”

“That’s why, sooner or later, alchemical apothecaries will be gone from this world,” she stated blandly.

“They will?!” My eyes widened in shock.

“…I can still make do for the time being, but the quality of my medicine has been going down with every passing year… The way things are going, this profession will die out without ever achieving a Supreme tonic.

“Everyone’s fixated on establishing the method, but if you ask me, I think the Air’s purity is the greatest factor in its creation. That’s why I think you’ll be able to make it. You’re free to believe me or ignore me, but…if you do, you should believe in yourself too. Try to do it. You want to restore your father’s arm, right?”

“…Yes!”

She didn’t ask about my past. I didn’t think she’d just give me free advice like this…

“Erm, I’ll have some tea, then!”

“Go ahead; drink it.”

I took a sip from the teacup.

Mm! It’s good!

“It’s delicious! This is herbal tea, right?”

“Right you are. I dry herbs to make it.”

“Ah…!” My eyes widened in realization.

“Mm?”

I can’t believe I haven’t thought of that sooner… How could I have overlooked it all this time? I can make tea leaves with alchemy…and what goes with tasty sweets? That’s right: tea!

“There’s something I need to ask you!” I exclaimed, leaning forward.

“What’s gotten into you, girl…?” Elysis asked, taken aback.

“Could you teach me the recipe for these tea leaves?! And if you could, how to grow herbs, seedlings, and tea leaves?!”

“Hm? Well, if it’s just cooking-related, I don’t mind. Very well, wait a moment.”

All riiiight! Thank you, Elysis! If we sell a set of sweets and tea for a thousand colts, our customers might come back!

Elysis was a surprisingly nice person. I could talk to her naturally, even though I’d only just met her.

Oh, that’s why…

She reminded me of my Mom from my past life. Her husband died before she did, and she had to raise a daughter who was in the most sensitive phase of her life. It made her strong-willed.

I miss you so much… Are you all right without me…? I can’t remember your name or face, but don’t worry! I’m doing well here.

“Will this do? Also, you mentioned seedlings, but do you have any idea about how to raise them?”

“Yes. I think I’ll be fine. I’ll read up on it again, but we already have a field and an orchard at home. Tea leaves need to be planted on high ground though, right?”

“Yes. The three high-quality blends grown in De Marl are…” she started saying, but I quickly finished her words.

“Zedara, Kanima, and Riputo. Zedara are bitter and need to be raised away from direct sunlight, so they’re not as tasty, but they’re good for recovering stamina. Kanima can be grown in the lowlands, and since they’re rich in fiber, they’re good for treating constipation. Riputo is a strong strain that can be raised even in bad environments. They’re good for relaxing the mind and have a strong, distinct aroma.”

“Oooh…? So you do know about teas. Very well, I’ll give you a sample of each.”

“Really?!”

Oooh, Elysis is so generous!

I wanted to raise my hands and cheer, but I gave up on that idea, given how cramped this hovel was. My gaze then fell on a bottled snake sitting on the windowsill. Even if they’re used for medicine, I have some pretty bad memories of snakes and centipedes…

“I see you’re knowledgeable about ingredients…no, about plants. I like that. You can have this, too.”

“Huh? Wait, is this…an Eve flower?!”

Eve flowers are a legendary type of flower made by crossbreeding Lilith, Duana, and Solan flowers. It’s said a single Eve flower exhibits the properties of all three of those flowers at once. It was very rare…so much so that no one would dare use it to make medicine.

Elysis handed me a flower pot, though. And while it was small, the fact it was planted into a pot meant I could collect its seeds if it grew well. And with seeds, I’d be able to plant more Eve flowers!

“This is the only one I have. Sadly for me, growing it in this state would take all my time, and I have the other plants to tend to… So, could you take it off my hands and grow it for me?”

“Ah, ah, a-are you sure? It’s very rare, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m sure… The alchemical apothecary apprentices in the national school all trample over this garden without a second thought. But you realized the meaning behind the grass growing here as soon as you saw it.”

I fell silent as Elysis got up and opened the window. The scent of nature wafted into the hovel. Outside this window was a treasure trove of a garden. I picked up the potted plant and stood next to her.

There are alchemical apothecary apprentices that don’t see the value of this garden? That’s possible?

“It’s the way the wealthy think…” Elysis said pensively. “The young ones in the national school seem to think you can get ingredients like these with money, but that’s not true.”

“Why won’t you teach them yourself, Elysis? If you just explain things to them, I’m sure they’ll—”

“I suppose the biggest reason is that I’m simply too busy. Especially now, when we’re preparing for war. They keep asking me to make them gunpowder… Actually, I should be making some right now. But I can’t neglect hospitality when I have a guest, now, can I?” she added with a wink.

“Y-You were in the middle of work?! I’m sorry!” I apologized profusely.

I can’t believe I’ve been such a bother to her! But…huh…?

“Elysis, aren’t you going to Sir Dirbleu’s funeral…?”

“No. Even if I don’t go, there are plenty of people to see him off. I love De Marl as a country, but I don’t worship the Gods of De Marl. I don’t care about their stupid rituals!”

“Huuuuh?”

I didn’t believe in the Gods of De Marl either, but still! A funeral—or rather, the cremation was necessary so he wouldn’t become a zombie. I asked Elysis about this, and she gravely nodded.

“Cremation is important; that much is true. If you ask me, I don’t want a funeral. Just burn me and be done with it.”

“Th-That’s wild…” I said, marveling.

“They’ve worked me to the bone. I shouldn’t need to play along with their ego in the afterlife. I’ve told this to Licorice plenty of times, too… All she tells me is to just live long.”

“I agree with her! Please live long!”

“Haa… Awful, awful. Cracking the whip on an old hag like me, are you?”

“Ah, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Hmph, I was joking… Well, either way, when I die, I’ll be leaving this place to Licorice. If you find a book or an ingredient you want, feel free to take it. Assuming you come to this country again.”

“Elysis, what do you…?”

How much does she know?

“Tinaaaa! Huh? This is weird; what is this place?”

“Oh, Lady Elysis’s workshop should be that way. Lady Elysis?”

“Lady Elysis, are you there?”

Ah, that voice…!

“Nakona!”

I left the garden, the potted plant in hand. Nakona was in the corridor leading to the garden, clad in her white dress and accompanied by the three knights. Spotting me, Nakona grinned and waved.

Wait, this is kind of crazy.

I always knew Nakona was pretty. She had pink hair and violet eyes. She was petite and baby-faced, which made people mistake her for my age at times. There were a few times people thought I was her older sister, actually.

But now, Nakona was heading toward me with three beefcake guys in tow. Two guys who were diametric opposites of each other and one prankster. Now, I wasn’t savvy when it came to video games, but I remembered seeing a commercial just like this when I was flipping through my phone—an ad for an otome game!

“I’m glad I found you,” Nakona said. “I guess that guy from earlier was right.”

“Ah, yeah. That man helped me!”

The cute guy with black hair and eyes. I still didn’t ask for his name, come to think of it…

“I see someone came to pick you up,” Elysis said, having followed me out of the hovel.

“Yes! I’m sorry I intruded on you in the middle of work…”

“Don’t worry about it. The only thing they’re having me make is explosives for the war. Isn’t that right, young Lys?”

“Ahaha,” Lys chuckled wryly. “We do need those, though. Edesa Kura’s mechanized troops and their mechanical dolls are heavily armored. Nothing but your explosives could penetrate their defenses.”

“My word,” Elysis huffed at him. “You and Licorice are alchemists too! Why don’t you two learn how to make explosives! Young alchemists like you ought to know how to do it, I dare say!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll study hard,” Lys said wearily. “I’ll remember everything you teach me about blowing things up. Explosions are entertaining.”

“You know what? Maybe you shouldn’t learn anything,” Elysis said, glaring at him.

“Aw, that’s mean.”

I-I’m inclined to agree!

“What do the lecturers even teach in that school of ours…?” Elysis grumbled, scratching her head. “If only they taught you how to use alchemy to make life better for the people…”

Lecturers… Right, this country has a school that teaches alchemy. School… Lecturers…

Those words clicked together in my mind.

“Hey, Elysis! You mentioned lecturers, so that means there’s a school in this country too, right?”

“Ah, yes, there is. There are academies that teach you how to use a sword, a shield, a spear, a bow, magic, or alchemy. Knights have to pick one field to specialize in. That limits what knight order and profession they can join, though. That said, once they learn, they’re technically free to quit the knighthood,” she explained.

“I know this sounds like a different topic, but refugees are lining up outside the country. I hear De Marl lacks the food to welcome them,” I said.

“Mm? Yes, that’s right. Monsters are invading from underground, making it harder to farm…”

“Can’t you have De Marl’s alchemists make fertilizer?” I asked.

Elysis stared at me for a moment, an odd expression on her face. Lys then clapped, as if to say, “Oh, right, that was an option!” Gawain and Vector exchanged confused looks. Elysis’s strange expression soon changed into a smirk.

“Might be a good idea. Whether you’re an alchemist or an alchemical apothecary, fertilizer is a novice’s recipe. Even they could make it. It might even teach them to distinguish between herbs. It’d make for some good field study! And with fertilizer, we’ll have more food to go around. I’ll send a message to the knight’s academy right away.”

“Thank you!”

“Still, I can’t promise you there’ll be any fewer refugees. There’s still no housing to accommodate them.”

“Ah…”

R-Right.

Food wasn’t the only issue. And I thought it was a good idea…

“Then there’s no problem at all,” Lys said. “With the preparations for the war, the knights, the blacksmiths, and the farmers need extra hands to go around. I can ask my foster father to prepare some workplaces for the refugees. I’m sure they won’t struggle to find work; everyone’s looking for extra help.”

“Don’t be stupid, Lysteinn,” Gawain said. “That might work for the men, but there are women, children, and elderly out there. What about them?”

“House Mashid manages a few temples,” Vector offered. “I can ask if there’s room for them there. The temples can offer shelter for whoever worships the Gods of De Marl, so if they’re willing to convert to the faith…”

“Yes, I’d imagine temples will welcome the young, old, and women,” Lys said. “Hm… So yes, that just leaves food. I suppose women can also work the fields. We can try to see how that works.”

“Ah! Thank you!”

Thanks to Lys and Vector, the refugees are going to be let into De Marl! That’s great! Even the children who helped me gather herbs will find shelter in the temple. Though the idea of them having to convert to another faith didn’t sit that well with me…

But still, it was better than camping outside, where monsters might attack at any time.

“Isn’t that great, Tina?” Nakona asked me.

“Yes! I’ll go make some fertilizer right now!”

“Yeah, but shouldn’t you change out of these clothes first?”

“O-Oh, yeah.”

I’d forgotten I was in my formal white dress.

♣♣♣

THE day after I met Elysis, we packed our things for the trip back home, picked up our horses from the stable, and began the ride home.

Finally, we’ll be going home! It was a relief. But…going back home, huh? It wasn’t that long ago that I wanted to study so I could live on my own. But by this point, living with Dad and Nakona felt like a given. And the Rofola Lodge was home. They were my family.

It was an odd feeling but not an unpleasant one.

The young captain of the Azure Knights, Sir Gildias, came to see us off.

“See you,” Dad said.

“Yes! Come visit us whenever… Or, well, I suppose given the state of things, maybe that’s not the right thing to say.” Gildias smiled sheepishly. “But I’ll come see you once everything settles down.”

“You work hard, Gildias. But not too hard, you hear? At least when you don’t have to.”

“I won’t, Vice-Captain!”

Gildias had ice-blue eyes and short, spiky dark-gray hair. He wore a long cloak and impressive armor with blue fringes.

…Are the Azure Knights an idol agency or something?

All the knights that saw us off had fine features and gave off this sparkly aura.

What is this aura of radiant youth…?!

“Young miss, can I write you letters?” Gawain asked Nakona.

“Me too!” Vector chimed in.

“Huh?” Nakona uttered, confused. “Um, sure? But I don’t like writing letters, so it might take me forever to write back to you.”

“I’m fine with that!” the two knights said as one.

“I’ll be writing you a love letter, then,” Lysteinn said.

“Lysteinn!” Gawain and Vector barked at him.

“Ahaha! Oh, Lys, you and your jokes,” Nakona said, waving her hand dismissively.

N-Nakona!

How many times have I seen this conversation already?! Why isn’t there any progress in this whole affair?! Is this what it’s like to watch a reverse harem forming in real life?!

Vector was the only one of the Crimson Knights to see us off, and he definitely did it to see Nakona… I kind of felt bad for how smoothly she ignored him.

“Going home already?” a voice called out to us.

It was Lico!

“L-Lico! H-Hey!” Dad sputtered, clearly flustered.

Did she come here to say goodbye to Dad? Doesn’t look like it…

She was clad in full armor and had a large, bulky contraption on her arm. Apparently, this was her new Air Gun. Lys’s Air Gun looked different, too, upon closer inspection.

“Mm?” Dad furrowed his brow. “What, are you going on a sortie?”

“Yeah, we got a request for aid from Lost Regalia. Lys, you stay in De Marl and help keep it safe.”

“I don’t want to…” he grumbled.

Lost Regalia? Regalia is like, the authority of the king, right?

Lys looked displeased with having to stay in De Marl. Apparently, the appeal for aid was urgent. What looked like a group of Lico’s subordinates approached us on horseback. It was a mixed unit of Ebony and Azure Knights.

“Just Azure and Ebony Knights?” Dad asked. “Why aren’t there any Crimson Knights coming with you?”

I was wondering about that too. I wasn’t sure she would tell us, though. I had the feeling it might be the kind of confidential information she couldn’t share with civilians like us.

“Well, Dir’s cremation just ended… The Crimson Knights are still escorting the people who’re coming back from the temple. Then there’s the monster appearances. We can’t leave the Ivory Knights to watch over the outer walls alone. They don’t have the combat experience for it.”

“Captain Licorice, wait!” Vector called out. “Let me escort you as a representative of the Crimson Knights! At least one of us must come to help defend Lost Regalia! The Crimson Knights’ dignity demands it!”

Lico looked at him, her face void of expression. One Azure Knight stepped forward from behind her.

“I’m sorry, but the orders are that all Crimson Knights are to stay behind and defend De Marl. Bear with it, Vector…you do know that this all started because your captain got himself on bad terms with House Avide, yes?”

“Ngh…” Vector gritted his teeth.

“I told Father not to let that influence things, though…” Lico said, a hint of bitterness to her voice. “Lys, you understand, yes? I’m counting on you.”

“Roger that, Lico.” Lys nodded. “Still, I think your father would calm down faster if you’d talk to him instead.”

“All he’d do is chew me out…” Lico muttered.

“L-Lico…” Dad said, astonished.

I didn’t understand what was going on. Lico looked so depressed all of a sudden… Was it family problems? It sounded like Lico’s father was involved, but I couldn’t infer anything more than that.

I looked at Nakona questioningly, but she looked dejected, too.

“Ah, you know how Lico’s father is the former captain of the Crimson Knights?” she asked me.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Well, the current captain gained his position by marrying Lico and inheriting it from her father. But now they’re divorced, right?”

“…R-Right.”

The current captain is Rondered, if I recall. The man who seduced Nakona’s mom…

Wait, so Lico’s father gave his position away to his son-in-law? And he still divorced her? And remarried another knight order’s vice-captain’s wife?

“So, yeah, Lico’s Dad lost his temper.”

“I can see why…”

Knights were supposed to live according to some chivalric code, so having a knight he trusted cheat on his daughter, then abandon her to marry who he cheated on her with… Yeah, he’d get mad. He’d be fuming! It was actually really easy to understand.

“Remember what the Ivory Knights that escorted us yesterday said?” Nakona asked. “There’s a feud between the Crimson and Azure Knights. Apparently, all the Crimson Knights were pulled back from the front lines and charged with defending De Marl. And that’s because Lico’s father is pressuring the army into doing it. So the Crimson Knights are lashing out at the Azure Knights out of frustration, and that’s why fights are breaking out between them.”

“But isn’t being off the front lines a good thing?” I asked, confused.

“Not at all,” Gawain chimed in, suddenly. “From a knight’s perspective, they’re being denied a chance to prove their valor.”

Oh, so it’s like that…

To that end, Vector clenched his fist and hung his head. I could understand the frustration of training hard, only to be denied the chance of proving yourself. The thought of all the medicine I made never being put to use would depress me, too. I could understand how Lico’s father felt, but it was a shame that the knights at the bottom of the pyramid had to be hurt because of a family spat…

And the Crimson Knights used to be his direct subordinates! And Lico mentioned being chewed out…

L-Lico, I feel for you…!

“I’d imagine the Crimson Knights will return to the front lines once Captain Rondered leaves,” one of the senior Azure Knights said, tapping Vector sympathetically on the shoulder. “You just need to wait a while longer.”

“I hope so…” Vector muttered.

Vector got along just fine with the Azure Knights. Or rather…

“Is Ronde really that up against the wall?” Dad asked.

“Pretty much. Dir tried to mediate between them at first, but as soon as he retired because of his illness, everything went south…”

“…He always had a knack for shouldering trouble that had nothing to do with him…” Dad shook his head sadly.

“Honestly! I can’t believe how vindictive my own father can be,” Lico huffed. “The whole thing doesn’t bother me as much anymore, but he keeps going on about how I was ‘betrayed.’ It’s a personal grudge for him now. I can’t help but feel terrible for the Crimson Knights… But I’ll admit that knowing they’re keeping the homefront safe while we’re away fighting puts me at ease. I really don’t know what to say…”

“That much is true, but the Crimson Knights aren’t suited for defensive battles…” Dad said.

“The problem is that they’re not getting a chance to build up their commanders on the field,” Lico pointed out. “Honestly, I was hoping Vector could come along this time…”

“You will get in trouble if they find out,” Lico’s lieutenant stressed, driving the point home.

She would just get in trouble for defying orders? Not punished? I guess that’s the captain of the Ebony Knights for you…

“…Gildias!” Dad said to the captain of the Azure Knights.

“Yes, sir!” Sir Gildias stood at attention.

It was odd to see him react like that, since Dad was just a civilian now. Still, he gazed directly at Dad, his eyes full of trust.

“I think Dir only tried to cover for Ronde because he thought his power as a knight was necessary. And once the war turns fiercer, you’ll absolutely need the power of the Crimson Knights. I told you earlier not to overdo it if you don’t have to, but that doesn’t mean I’m telling you not to be rash when you need to.”

“Yes, Vice-Captain!”

Is that advice you should be giving him? Did you just tell a knight captain to be reckless and break the rules?

But all the knights behind him nodded firmly. They all trusted Dad so much… Maybe that’s why they kept asking him to come back. It’s because their trust in him ran that deep. He’s amazing.

Apparently, in his prime, Dad fought on the front lines as a swordsman. He must have been even more impressive back then.

“We should get going, then,” Lico said. “We’ll escort you part of the way… We’re going in the same direction anyway.”

“S-Sure.”

Dad, of course, lost all that intensity when Lico said those words to him. His eyes darted around, his lips were curled up into an awkward smile, and he was sweating profusely. Saying he was acting strange was an understatement.

Now I’ve never had a boyfriend, not in this life or my last one, but does being in love really make your IQ plummet that much?

♣♣♣

“WE’LL be splitting off here,” Lico said.

“Y-Yeah. You be careful out there,” Dad replied awkwardly.

We parted ways with Lys, Gawain, and Vector in De Marl and then split up from Lico’s group as they headed toward Uru Ki. They’d be galloping the rest of the way there.

“…Dad, I’ve been meaning to ask since it came up, but what’s Lost Regalia?”

That was the place Lico said they were going to protect. De Marl didn’t have a king, though, so what did Lost Regalia mean?

Dad looked in the direction Lico headed toward.

“Well, it’s a place with some ancient ruins. It’s one of the larger ruin sites that’ve been discovered, and multiple countries have signed a treaty to defend them for the sake of research. Watching over the ruins is a group called the Ureron Clan, and De Marl and Uru Ki are obligated to defend it from bandits and monster attacks.

“Edesa Kura is supposed to cooperate when it comes to preserving the ruins, but well, the Ureron Clan doesn’t like having to ask them for help. Apparently, Edesa Kura took some kind of precious stone or urn from them way back when.”

“That’s stealing!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, it is. But, well, that’s why De Marl’s knights have to send forces to defend it. With the monsters becoming bigger and more rampant, driving them away has become a lot harder. But those ruins are important to everyone and need to be protected,” he finished.

“Ruins, huh?”

Personally, I thought nothing mattered more than people’s lives. But you could never underestimate the importance people placed on a piece of historical heritage, either.

Still, an ancient ruin…

“Hm, that brings me to another question.”

“What’s that?”

“What kind of kingdom existed during those ancient times?”

I recalled Sirius was an archaeologist researching that period, but I didn’t know anything about it. What happened to that kingdom? Wasn’t that the same era the elves’ Olden King came from? The one whose grimoire picked Shida.

I wasn’t terribly interested in it, but I figured that it was a piece of general knowledge I’d be better off acquiring before I made an embarrassment of myself. I looked up at Dad, who silently looked away and scratched his head.

Oh.

“You don’t know much about it,” I remarked.

“Ahaha…”

Guess I’ll ask Sirius about it when I get home… I’m sure he’ll be excited to tell me about it.

“Isn’t the Ancient Age, like, the time before the Thousand-Year Blank?” Nakona asked.

“Ah, yeah, that’s right. I’m surprised you know about it,” Dad said, visibly impressed.

“Well, they teach about it in the national school,” she said, shrugging.

“The Thousand-Year Blank?” I repeated.

First I’ve heard of that, too…

But right, Nakona did go to school and study with private tutors before she came to our place. She might know more about this than Dad does.

“Not that I know much about it,” she added.

Oh…

“But apparently, it was this amazing age!” she continued. “But for some reason, it was followed by a thousand years without any recorded history. So no one knows anything about it!”

“O-Oh, I see.”

Yeah, that’s a no-go. Guess I’ll need to ask Sirius about it. It’s best to consult an expert, anyway…

“Hm? What’s that smell?” I said, sniffing the air.

Something smelled burnt. Did some adventurers start a campfire? Probably not, since it’s still morning.

“A burned smell… Ah! Nakona!” Dad said.

“Y-Yes?”

“We have to hurry to Uru Ki! This stench! It’s a zombie!”

N-No way…! Not only are there monsters running around this world, now it’s zombies, too?!

I’ve never seen a zombie before, but if they’re anything like the ones from the zombie movies I saw in my past life…

Ahhh! Ugh, nope, noooo! Sorry, splatter movies aren’t my thing!

“…elp..!”

Huh?

“Ah, Dad, wait! Stop!” I exclaimed.

“Whoa?!”

I yanked on the horse’s reins, forcing Judie to stop. Dad looked down at me with surprise as Nakona stopped her own horse.

When I get bigger, I’ll definitely need to learn how to ride a horse.

I shook my head and listened carefully. I knew I’d heard something.

“Tina?” Dad asked me.

“What’s wrong?” Nakona tilted her head.

“Yeah, I knew it… I hear someone! I hear a child crying for help!”

“What?! Did the refugees trying to enter De Marl get attacked?!”

“Oh no, Dad, what do we do?!”

Dad and Nakona looked more panicked than usual. And of course they were—zombies were immune to all physical attacks. They were somewhat different from monsters, but if the Camilla operating a zombie turned into Kathra, it becomes a monster that’s essentially unbeatable. In other words, zombies have to be destroyed while they’re still only zombies and before they transform!

And there’s only one way of doing it—with fire!

If a zombie were to be destroyed, the Camilla within it would be left without a vessel, and it would dissipate harmlessly into the air.

Of course, given the polluted condition of the human continent’s Air, that’s not a good thing, but zombies still have to be defeated.

But even if we knew how to defeat it, that didn’t mean we had easy access to fire. Nakona was a physical fighter—she knew how to punch and kick. Dad used a sword and could only swing it with his left arm. And me…I could use some of the magic Shida taught me. But based on my physical constitution, I could only use earth and holy magic.

None of us could produce fire. But did that mean we should ignore that small voice crying for help?

“Let’s at least go and see what’s going on,” Dad concluded grimly.

“Right!”

“Agreed!”

Dad and Nakona would never choose to abandon people to their fate! We turned our horses around and galloped in the direction of the voice. And indeed, as we rode up a hilly road, we found two children and a large…

…Is that a dog? A cat? It kind of looks like a pig…

It had moderately long ears, and its fur was yellow with black stripes. It let out some weird cry that sounded like “Muji, muji.” It was trying to assist a child with light-pink hair help the child with violet hair off the ground.

What is that thing? Its fur looks like a tiger’s…but it’s too round to be feline.

Its legs were stubby, it had hooves for feet, and its ears were too long like a rabbit’s. Was it some new species of pig? I’d never seen anything like it in this world.

“There! Dad, it’s fifty feet away!”

“We should be able to just make it!”

We could collect those children and leave. And should we save that creature, too…? Nakona pointed ahead, where I saw the overly tall zombie. It shambled forward, dragging its massive arms behind it. The arms were so long that its elbows dragged along the ground.

Its skin was disgusting shades of green and purple, with a few spots of decayed black. It had a tear in the center of its chest, and even from afar, I could see it was filled with countless eyeballs. Its body was slender, as it was really nothing but skin and bone. But despite that, it charged at the children with slow but wide steps.

And then there was its face. Its mouth was lined with teeth, and its face was skull-like. Its eye sockets were empty, with a black, dusky mist flowing out of them incessantly.

Is that the Camilla…?

---

---

It was pretty different from my image of a zombie. It felt more like a moving skeleton. But it did have skin and grinding muscles. Most of all, its arms were unnaturally long, and its body was large. It was a giant.

“I-Isn’t it too big…?” Nakona seemed to have the same impression. “Dad, are you sure that’s a zombie?”

“Yes, it’s big. But a zombie that turned into a humanoid monster is even more terrifying than that. It gets covered in red flesh, full of spikes. You can see black bones between its flesh, and some of them stick out. It seeps this weird, disgusting black mucus and keeps screaming…”

I squeaked. I did not want to see that thing! Ever! I won’t be able to go to the bathroom at night at this rate! Why did a human-shaped monster have to be more grotesque than other ones?!

“Nakona, you put the two kids on your horse. I’ll collect that weird creature. Tina, hang on tight!”

“Okay, Dad! Hey! You two over there!” Nakona bellowed, setting off ahead of us. “And you, little creature!”

The zombie raised its face, noticing our approach.

I-It’s so gross…! And how far away is that thing?!

If my perspective was right, it was a good fifty feet away from us.

“Ah!” One of the children noticed Nakona and raised their hands for help. “H-Help! My bruvver!”

Based on her voice, the one with light-pink hair was a girl. Both children wore white, filthy clothes that had been stitched together. Their hair was unkempt.

Nakona picked up the girl and the violet-haired boy lying on the ground and got them onto her horse. Dad scooped up the creature and placed it on my lap. It was actually pretty large. And warm! I still didn’t have the first clue what kind of creature it was.

“Mujiii…”

“M-Muji?”

Its cry was so weird! And its face was kind of ugly.

Is this a pig? Or a rat? Its incisors are sticking out of its mouth! And its eyes are kind of tiny… Maybe it’s a beaver? I mean, it looks like a rodent.

“Ooooooooooooo!” the zombie howled.

“Let’s run!”

“Yeah!”

Dad and Nakona turned their horses around and galloped away. Dad’s arms were wrapped around my sides as he held the reins, but if I didn’t lean forward, I’d fall off! And it made my butt hurt!

“Muji muji, mujiii!” the creature squeaked.

“Stop mujiing already!” I chided it.

I get it—really, I do—but just bear with it! I don’t like this shaking either, and my butt hurts, but you don’t hear me complaining!

“Ooooo! Ooooooooooooooo!” the zombie howled behind us.

“Gaah, it’s running after us!” Nakona said, looking back. “That thing can run?!”

“Zombies often use human bodies, so they have some intelligence to them, but…!”

Is it following us because it’s after these children, then? Is that possible with its limited intelligence?

Maybe its size had something to do with it… Or rather, if it’s running our way when it’s this large, it’ll catch up to us in no time…!

“Ah!!!” I exclaimed.

“Ye gods…!” Dad gasped.

Something blotted out the sunlight. A large shadow jumped past us, landing several feet ahead of us as it let out a foul stench…

As Dad exclaimed in shock, Nakona pulled on her horse’s reins, forcing it to stop. The zombie had realized it couldn’t keep up with our horses, so instead it used its overly large body to jump over us, cutting off our forward path!

“Ooo! Oooo…!” it wailed.

Its empty eye sockets leaked black smoke, and I could see a red light at their center. It looked like it was trying to tell us it had locked on to us. Nakona swallowed nervously.

Why is this thing after these kids…?

It started shambling toward us again.

This is bad… Even if we speed up and run, it’ll catch up to us in no time.

Even if we were to take our time and run carefully, it would just follow us to whichever place we went, and we couldn’t saddle another country with this kind of major problem.

De Marl’s knights were probably the only ones strong enough to fight this thing off, but it’d take a whole day to return to De Marl. And our horses wouldn’t be able to ride quickly enough if they had to carry this many people while running from this thing…

“Tina, can you use your magic?!” Dad asked me in desperation.

“It won’t help! I don’t know any offensive spells! My elements are holy and earth magic!”

“Kuh! No choice, then… We’ll have to go to Lost Regalia! Lico’s men might still be nearby!”

“Y-Yeah, I think that’s our only option…” Nakona said.

We’d decided on our destination. We started riding in the opposite direction from Uru Ki, fast enough and in a zigzag pattern to not only keep the zombie from reaching us with its steady pace, but also to avoid its ridiculous leaps. Lico’s group was headed for a field slightly southeast of Uru Ki. It was closer to Edesa Kura than Ah Mokiz, one of the southern countries. Honestly, I’d preferred not to go there, but…

“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooo…”

But I couldn’t be picky with a zombie hot on our heels!

“Dammit, this thing is persistent!”

“Dad! This child; he’s got a fever!” Nakona told us, holding onto the purple-haired boy.

“Tina, do you have antipyretics on you?!”

“Yes, give me a second!”

I fumbled through my pouch.

This is a low-grade tonic, and that’s a potion for assorted ailments… There!

“It’s a medium-grade one!” I said, passing the bottle over to Nakona as her horse approached ours.

“Thanks! Here, drink this!”

Nakona uncorked the bottle with a flick of her thumb and tipped its contents into the purple-haired boy’s mouth. As she did, his long forelocks shifted, and I saw something on his forehead—a stone. A dark-red stone was embedded into his forehead. There were stitches around it, and the skin around it was bloodied and swollen. It looked like it hurt.

Who is this boy…?

“…I-I’ve got some tonics, too.”

“Don’t,” Dad said grimly. “We need to have that stone in his forehead properly checked. Giving him a tonic ahead of time might make things worse.”

“R-Right.”

Dad had noticed the stone… My heart ached. My memories of that time had become rather vague, but I did remember my “mother” had a faded red stone in her forehead. So maybe…

No. Given the wound on his forehead, it’s likely that child isn’t actually someone from my race. And yet, my heart ached. It ached so much…

Why would anyone do that to such a small child…?

“Ngh…”

I felt sick.

“Oooooo…!” the zombie groaned, still following us persistently. Every time we started to get further ahead of it, the zombie would leap into the air to make up the distance.

It lifted its long arms, coiling them into tiny stumps on its large frame, swinging them back and forth in our direction. With a sudden crack, muscle and sinew bulged under its decaying flesh, and a reeking arm stretching to impossible lengths rushed at us from the left sooner than I could process the situation. Since we couldn’t speed up, we were unable to avoid it and were already in range of its surprise attack…!

“Jump off!” Dad shouted.

Nakona leaped off her horse, the two children in her arms, while Dad picked me up and jumped to the right.

Judie, Jeff…!

I squeezed my eyes shut as the horses neighed in fear. I didn’t want to see it…! They were our travel companions; I didn’t want to see them get blown away…!

A gale of wind passed above us as we rolled down the hill. Dad’s warmth enveloped me, though, so I didn’t feel any pain. I got up and tried to ask Dad if he was all right, but a sob escaped my lips instead.

“Judie…Jeff…” I managed to say.

I knew now wasn’t the time for this. Dad placed his palm on my head, and the creature in my arm let out a sad cry of “Muji…”

“…You did it now, you bastard…” Dad whispered in rage.

“Kuh…” Nakona wobbled to her feet, her eyes filled with anger at the loss of the horses.

The situation hadn’t changed for the better, though. If anything, we were worse off. I never imagined the zombie could be this smart. The zombie had led us into a false sense of safety, when all this time it could have swept us off our horses. It knew exactly what it was doing…and it was likely enjoying this, too! It looked down at us with narrowed eyelids. It was toying with us!

“Tina… It’s all or nothing. Try using your holy magic,” Dad said.

“You sure?”

“From what I know, holy magic is the type of magic that’s closest to the Stella… It might scare it off. Nakona! You go look for Lico!”

“Huh?” Nakona looked at him, shocked. “Wh-What are you saying, Dad? I can’t just leave you two here!”

“I know. Just go and find her; I’ll stall for time…”

“Dad, you can’t! You’re not as strong as you used to be!”

“Still, that’s our only chance at survival! You’re the fastest out of the three of us! Besides, this thing won’t kill us that quickly.”

“But…! If that’s the case, I’ll lead him away instead!”

“Don’t bother. Just like monsters, zombies tend to move to where multiple people gather. It won’t go after you alone.”

“Ugh…!”

He’s right… That’s the only way.

We’re like insects to the zombie. It wants to torture us, like a child tearing the wings off a butterfly. So if it’s just Nakona… If I use holy magic to make it flinch, Nakona might be able to get away.

Assuming my holy magic will even work here. But if it doesn’t, we’ll have to come up with another plan.

I got up, my knees shaking. I’d never tried to fight using magic before, and I never imagined a day might come when I would have to.

“All right, I’ll try it!” I said.

“Tina!” Nakona shouted at me, shocked.

“Stop whining, Nakona!” Dad snapped at her. “We’re counting on you to run and get help!”

“Nakona, please! I believe in you!” I implored her.

“Ah…!” Nakona grimaced in realization. “You two better stay safe until I come back, you hear?!”

I hope we do, too…

If the zombie were to wave that arm at us again, a single strike would be enough to do us in.

“Tina, you take the kids and move in a little closer while staying near the ground,” Dad instructed me.

“Why?”

“Given its physique and prior actions, moving too far away puts him at an advantage with those arms and jumps. So, stay down, and if it moves toward you, dive to where the grass is thickest. The real problem will be if he grabs us…”

“All right.”

Right, the zombie’s body wasn’t much different from ours. Well, its sheer size and long arms were quite different, but since it had to drag its elbows across the ground, it couldn’t grab things that were too close to it. Basically, its longer range meant close range was a weak spot. And while its movements as a whole were slow, if it grabbed us, we’d be pretty much finished. It could always just jump up and crush us with its landing. And it could also just swing its arms and blow us away like a fly swatter…

It could basically kill us at any time! But the zombie simply kept its eyelids narrowed, watching us as if to say “Your move, little bugs.”

It was mocking us. Looking down on us. It pissed me off.

“I’ll try it! Everyone, close your eyes!”

Please, holy magic, work…! Distract him!

I began chanting a blinding spell.

“Light of the Holy Star, answer my prayers! Photon Flash!”

“Gaaaaaah?!” the zombie howled painfully.

“Nakona!” Dad called out to her.

“Kuh!”

It was similar to the spell Shida had used on the earthworm. All it did was create a bright light. It was incredibly effective on monsters that lived underground, but it worked on people, too. That was why Shida taught it to me.

The zombie let out another scream and covered its face.

It’s super effective?!

“That worked better than I thought!” Dad exclaimed.

He seemed to be just as surprised as I was!

“I-It’s magic…” the pink-haired girl said in awe.

“Muji, muji!” the creature squealed excitedly in my arms.

“Tina, come on! You too, kids!”

Dad scooped me, the two kids, and the odd creature up under his arms and dived into the tall grass. Even as the light died down, the zombie kept flailing in agony. Nakona rolled under its large legs and sprinted toward Lost Regalia’s ruins to inform Lico about the situation.

Sh-She’s still as fast as ever…

“Do you think we can make it through if we hide?” I asked Dad anxiously.

“Beats me, but I’ve heard these things can’t hear or smell anything. You kids don’t move a muscle, you hear!”

“Y-Yes, sir,” I said.

“I won’t!” The little girl said.

“Muji…”

Can this thing understand what we’re saying?

Still, I was worried about the violet-haired boy. He had that stone digging into his forehead, surrounded by stitches. He was probably being pursued by that nasty thing while suffering from his fever. He seemed to have gone unconscious. I envied the fact he didn’t have to see this, but certainly not his overall situation…

But still…

“It stinks…” the girl whined, pinching her nose.

“Y-Yeah. I’m getting used to it little by little, but…it does smell really bad…”

“Be quiet,” Dad whispered. “If you talk, your breath might make the grass rustle.”

“Sorry!” we both whispered to Dad in a hurry.

The stench really was hard to bear. The girl grimaced, her expression agonized. Her hair was long and unkempt, but there wasn’t a rock in her forehead. I had questions for her, but that would have to wait until we got away from the zombie.

Still screeching in pain, the zombie slowly removed the arms covering its face. It seemed to be looking around, probably searching for us.

Any way you could give up and go somewhere else?

It likely didn’t know which way Nakona went, so she was probably in the clear already.

Just go away! Go somewhere else! Head for greener pastures! I prayed desperately, but the zombie stayed still.

“Aaah, uuuu…!” It let out disgusting moans as the red dots in its empty eyes moved here and there.

J-Just give up already!

At this point, it was a question of which of us would give up first. But just as I accepted the fact we’d have to stay put for a while, the zombie started slowly swinging its long arms again. I could see the muscles coiling underneath as it made its arms shorter before launching them outward to cleave through plants, trees, rock, and dirt. It moaned in irritation, but the action would force us to move or die if those arms hit us. In essence, it was searching its surroundings for us by destroying them.

This thing really is intelligent…!

It was fumbling around for us. It was looking in the opposite direction for the moment, but we would alert the thing to our presence if we moved now. I turned to look at Dad, who shook his head, silently telling me not to move.

I was scared and anxious, but right now, we had to hide and stall for time. How long would it take for Nakona to reach Lico and her knights, though? I hoped that they were close by. Their firepower could probably get us out of this…

“Muji, muji…” the creature squeaked.

“What’s wrong, Mujimuji?” The girl asked the creature.

Th-That’s what you called it? Isn’t that a bit on the nose?

But the next moment…

“Muji, achoo!”

“Ah?!” I gasped.

It sneezed! This little thing just sneezed! The grass probably tickled its nostrils, but why now?!

I felt a chill run down my spine as I saw the zombie freeze in place. I looked at Dad fearfully, who nodded with a sour face.

Y-Yeah, that’s what I thought…

As soon as it turns around, I’ll have to…

“…Light of the Holy Star…”

Just as I began chanting, the zombie turned around to face us. It moved so fast, it made me sharply inhale. It found us!

“Light of the Holy Star, answer my prayers! Photon—”

“Oooooooooooooo!” the zombie howled as it kicked against the ground.

“Ah!”

It jumped up! I missed my mark…!

“No! Everyone, stay still!” Dad whispered at us.

It hadn’t totally discovered our location quite yet. I did as Dad said, squeezing my eyes shut and covering my head with my arms. A large thud shook the ground, shaking the pit of my stomach.

U-Ugh…it reeks…!

It exuded a burnt stench, but mixed with that was also the disgusting scent of decay that made me want to throw up.

“Oooo… Ooooo…!”

I could hear it moaning right above us.

Aaah, I-I’m scared! Help! Please, just go away and leave us alone!

“…Tina, I’ll create an opening, so fire off that spell again.”

“Huh, D-Dad?!”

“You guys stay still and don’t move, you hear?” he said as he got to his feet and started running in the opposite direction.

“Dad!”

No, you can’t be bait!

“Take this, you monster! Wolf Fang Slash!”

He drew his sword with his left hand, brandishing it over his head as it shined with mana and heat. From a distance, it looked like a wolf’s fang.

Dad can use techniques with just his left hand…?

“Waaaah…”

The attack hit the zombie head-on, but it didn’t so much as budge. It simply turned around, as though wondering if something had bumped into it. As it did, Dad rolled past its legs, standing behind it as if to tease the creature.

“L-Light of the Holy Star, answer my prayers…!”

I have to do this while Dad keeps it occupied! We have to hide and buy more time…

Like last time, I aimed slightly above its eyes and prepared to cast the spell. But just then…!

“Ah!” I swallowed nervously.

“Haaaaa!”

The zombie jumped into the air! I stopped chanting out of fear that it was leaping toward us. However, the zombie simply jumped in place. That’s all it did, but…!

“Whoa!”

“Dad!”

The impact of the zombie’s massive weight striking the ground sent a small earthquake in every direction, making Dad’s body bounce up and then tumble. I could feel the shockwaves here, which made my knees buckle too. This created an opening for the zombie, who snapped out its hand and grabbed Dad.

This must be what total despair feels like. I felt my heart thump painfully in my chest. I couldn’t breathe.

“D-Dad!” I screamed.

“Nng…” He moaned painfully, held within the zombie’s grasp.

Blood… There was blood coming out of Dad’s mouth. It was crushing his insides! But then, it simply discarded him, throwing Dad to the ground without fully crushing him.

This evil thing…really is toying with us…!

“Dad!” I cried as I scrambled to my feet.

“S-Stay! Away!” Dad blurted out the words painfully.

“…!”

Stay away? But, Dad…no…!

The sound of his pained voice made me freeze up.

No… No, no, no!
“Stay away… D-Don’t come here!” Dad breathed out.

“D-Dad…” I whispered.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaa….” The zombie’s eyes looked like they were laughing.

It swung its long arm up with us in its range. I had to flee, but where to? I couldn’t just leave Dad and run.

Right, I have to cast my spell…

“Ah, ah…”

But I couldn’t form the words. Was it because Dad got to his feet and held up his sword again?

Dad, don’t! That’s…that’s reckless…!

The zombie swung down its arm.

Dad…!

“Don’t worry, Tina… I won’t budge from here!”

He thrust his blade forward.

No, you can’t! It won’t work; stop!

“No…!”

“I won’t let you touch a hair on my daughter’s head, you rotting bastard!”

For some reason, the word “knight” surfaced in my mind. I could tell there was mana focused in the tip of Dad’s sword. As the blade swung down, the mana surged as if to match its momentum. Raising his voice in a battle-cry, Dad struck his sword against the zombie’s arm. The resulting wind pressure blew against my face.

He…pushed it back?!

“Ooooooooooooooooo!” the zombie roared in angry protest.

“Tch…” Having deflected the arm’s swing, Dad fell to his knees.

“Dad! Don’t! Stop it!”

But despite that, Dad still held his sword up and faced off against the zombie. The zombie roared in anger and swung its other arm down with more strength than the last strike! And this time, Dad’s stance had been broken. At this rate, Dad was going to…!

No. I don’t want this to happen. I haven’t repaid Dad for everything yet!

---

---

Thud!

The moment before the zombie swung its arm down on Dad, its body folded over. I couldn’t tell what just happened as the zombie went flying to the right, rolling across the plains. Where the zombie was just a moment ago now stood a single figure, covered in a cloak.

Th-That guy just…kicked away the zombie?! I didn’t just imagine it, right?!

The wind pressure sent his hood fluttering down to his shoulders.

Wait, is that…? Now’s not the time! Dad!

I hurried over to Dad, who was kneeling down with his sword stabbed into the earth. He was coughing up blood and bleeding from his stomach and arm..!

“Light of the Holy Star, lend your ear to my prayers and lend me your glow! Photon Healing!”

“N-Not yet…” Dad groaned.

“Dad, be quiet!” I chided him.

“N-No, it’s still there…”

He’s still going to fight?!

Dad tried to scramble to his feet, but the man in the cloak pushed his uninjured shoulder down.

“No, you stay here and let her heal you. I’ll handle that thing.”

“You…” Dad squinted up at him.

“You’re the man from the other day!” I exclaimed.

Under that hood, I saw familiar black hair and black eyes. It was the young man who’d helped me at the funeral’s reception.

Why is he here?!

“Focus on stopping his bleeding. Once you’re done, come help me.”

“Huh? O-Okay!”

Wait…help him?

At first, he turned a confident smile toward us, but his expression seemed to harden upon seeing my face.

“Ugh…!” Dad’s pained moans snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Dad! Lie down!”

“N-No…I have to…stop that thing…”

“Fire Tornado!” The man held up his hand.

With that short incantation, a magic circle appeared in the air, unleashing black flames that enveloped the zombie.

“Whoa?!” I exclaimed in shock.

Seeing this, Dad let his body relax. He lay down, and I focused the mana into my fingertips. I had to stop the bleeding, if nothing else. I couldn’t see the wound, though. But his clothes were noticeably stained red, and if I moved my hands now to get a tonic, the wound might open again.

Focus. Focus!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” I heard the zombie screech from afar.

“You’ve gotten pretty fat,” the mysterious young man remarked. “I suppose you’re lucky enough to have not turned into a monster, though… This way, I won’t have to wipe out your very soul. You’ll be able to return to the cycle of transmigration.”

“Aaaaaaaaagh!”

A bright light flashed. I couldn’t tell what was going on…but right now, I had to focus on healing Dad! That’s what I learned holy magic for! For a time like this!

I have to do this!

“Dad… Hold on…”

Why is my holy magic so weak…?

Shida said that my level of practice was a factor, but the Air on this continent was also so polluted that it was hard to gather properly. The power of my magic felt like it was getting weaker, which was probably what he meant by that. I tried recovering mana as I cast the spell. I was one of the Spherit Folk, so I should have been extremely efficient at gathering mana…but I still wasn’t gathering enough!

“Ah!” I gasped as the man’s hand suddenly clasped over mine.

I turned to look at him in surprise, finding he was gazing at me with a serious expression in his eyes. He was really close to me…

“Concentrate,” he told me. “Holy magic is of the light element, so if our compatibility is good, we can use synergy to increase its healing power. I’m not particularly good at holy magic, but…we can do it together!”

“O-Okay!”

Shida told me about synergy. When multiple people cast a holy magic spell, they can increase its effectiveness. “You’d be lucky to find other people who can use holy magic, though,” he opined. Apparently, being able to use holy magic was a rare gift.

…In that regard, Dad was probably lucky…

“…Dad!”

I felt warmth fill the spell. This man said he wasn’t good at holy magic, but he was better at it than I was. His mana…felt strangely warm. Dad’s expression, which was contorted in pain until now, softened with relief.

“Th-Thank you. Thank you so much!” I told the young man.

“…No, you were the one who stopped the bleeding…” he said, his voice oddly distant.

“Mm?”

He stared at my face. He really was handsome. But something felt off. He seemed to be looking above my eyes…?

“May I, for a second?”

“Huh?”

He pointed at the pact stone hanging from my neck. It was the light-gray, transparent stone my parents gave me. He was pointing at the pendant containing that stone, and I nodded without thinking about it too much, letting him take it.

For a second, he looked at the pendant seriously, and then, the stone was enveloped with a faint glow. What just happened? The pendant turned a scarlet color…

Wait, it changed? The stone changed?! Huuuuuh?!

“It’s more useful that way than having it sit in that pendant. Especially if you’re out traveling,” he said, placing a diamond-shaped circlet with the pact stone in the middle on my forehead. He had transformed my pendant into a circlet!

H-How did he do that?! Was that magic? Magic can do that?

“Thank you!”

“…So can you tell me what happened here?” he asked.

“Ah, y-yes, erm…”

I wasn’t quite sure what the current situation was, so I looked around. The zombie wasn’t in sight. Did he really defeat it? I couldn’t tell since I hadn’t been watching.

“What about the zombie?” I asked.

“I defeated it. Everything’s fine now…at least I think it is. I can’t feel its presence anymore. If a monster shows up, I’ll sweep it away.”

“Er…”

He sounded really confident.

“Anyway, we’re better off not staying in one place for long. Even if monsters don’t show up, the scent of blood might draw wild animals here. We can talk as we move. We should get this man to a hospital, too. He needs a blood transfusion. Unless you have a blood-increasing potion on you?”

“Ah, s-sorry, I don’t. I haven’t made anything like that yet.”

“Then we’ll have to take him to a hospital in a nearby country.”

“Erm, but…”

The young man heaved Dad up on his back.

Wh-What do I do? I can trust him, right? I mean, he did help me and…

“Actually, my sister went to fetch some nearby knights for help,” I told him.

“Hm, knights? Which way did she go?”

“Toward the ruins of Last Regalia. Um…”

We spent so long running around and hiding I couldn’t remember which direction Nakona went. As I was struggling with the answer, the young man pointed to the left, saying, “I think it’s that way.”

Thinking about Nakona suddenly reminded me that all our stuff had been knocked away with Judie and Jeff.

“Oh, and…!” To stifle my sorrow, I turned around and brought over the two children and the mysterious pig-rabbit creature. The pink-haired girl walked with me while I carried the boy on my back.

“Th-Thank you! You saved us…” The little girl bowed to us.

“No, I didn’t do much.” I shook my head. “Dad and this nice man did everything. Really, mister, thank you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for this.”

I’m gonna have to add you to my list of people I want to repay someday!

“Don’t mention it…” The man shook his head hesitantly at first and then held up a finger as he made an offer. “Hm, actually, yes, I think I’ve got an idea. How about you two hire me?”

“Huh?”

Hire you? Like…pay you to escort us? That’s a great idea! But…

“I-I’m sorry. The zombie knocked our horses away and…our wallets with them. We don’t have any money on hand…”

“You can pay me later. You’re an alchemical apothecary, right?” he asked.

“Y-Yes!”

For a second, I wasn’t sure if I should proudly admit to that fact, but I’d already introduced myself as such to him before, and I wasn’t planning on giving up on alchemy any time soon.

So, maybe I’m better off just admitting it. While being careful not to draw unnecessary attention to myself!

“You can repay me with goods, then. I would like to have those, er…that sweet stuff.”

“Sweet stuff?”

Like, sugar? I cocked my head, puzzled.

He shook his head. What did he mean, then?

“That golden stuff. I think bugs collect it?”

“Honey syrup?”

“Ah, yes, that! You can make it with alchemy, yes? It’s quite hard to come by.”

“Now that you mention it, it is…”

I suppose we did collect honey with relative ease. Rofola Lodge was located next to a mountain, and I kept bees, so I could easily procure small amounts of raw honey. It’s a bit bitter, though…

I haven’t collected honey in a while, though, since sugar cane is a much easier sweetener to cultivate. Still, beekeeping was a hard job, and raw honey wasn’t fit for human consumption, so alchemy was required to remove the impurities in it. That made it expensive and hard to get.

So, if I make sweets with honey and serve them with the tea Elysis gave me, I could probably make some good money off of it…

“I can probably manage that!” I exclaimed. “But are you sure? Weren’t you traveling with friends…?”

“Oh, them? They’ll be fine. They can hold their own against monsters.”

“They can…?”

That’s…confident. Should he really say something like that?

The monsters on this continent were large and menacing. Of course, I could tell this young man was very strong. What was his race, anyway? He couldn’t be normal, considering how he fought off that zombie.

“Erm, mister…did you come from the demi-human continent?” I asked.

“Huh? You’re a demi-human?” the girl asked, looking up at him.

That reminded me I needed to ask the kids what happened to them, too. They didn’t look like normal refugees…

“…No, I’m an ordinary adventurer who learned magic from someone in Saikorea. I suppose I am unusual, though, since not many adventurers can use magic.”

“R-Right!” I nodded. “I was really impressed!”

“You say that, but you used magic first, didn’t you?” he said, cracking a sardonic smile.

“Ah, well, in my case, a half-elf and an elf happened to visit my inn, so they taught me…”

“Oh, you have half-elves and elves visit your inn, do you? Is it to the east?”

“Yes. Demi-humans that pass through Fei Lu sometimes come to visit Mount Rofola and Lake Rhiode. The mountain itself has some ruins from ancient times…”

“Rofola…” the man said pensively. “Ah, you did mention that last time. The ley lines pass through that area, so the Air must be pretty pure around there.”

“Ah, yes… It’s better than here, at least.”

I’d just experienced the Air’s impurities. It was hard to gather the mana, and if this man hadn’t come along, I don’t think I’d have been able to stop Dad’s bleeding. But really, I should have just taken a tonic from my pouch instead of trying to use magic.

Or at least, that’s what I thought, but drinking a tonic is difficult when the patient is throwing up blood. And Dad’s wounds were pretty severe. The nice man was carrying Dad as we walked toward the ruins, and I had to wonder if that wasn’t going to make him worse. Maybe there were safer ways of carrying him, but this was our best option without a horse or carriage.

I’d only healed his surface injuries, but Dad’s internals weren’t healed yet, and there could still be unseen damage happening as we spoke.

Still, a blood-increasing potion…

I’d seen the recipe before, and now I regretted not trying to make it. I’d assumed hospitals had dedicated alchemical apothecaries make them, and I figured I should leave those kinds of potions to the professionals. So, I never made them, but this time, I realized having them on hand could be the difference between life and death! I learned something new today!

“Mm?” The young man noticed my forlorn expression. “Is something on your mind?”

“I was just thinking about Dad’s injuries. It seemed like his insides were really hurt, too…”

“Oh, I think he’ll be fine. I focused on healing his internal organs.”

“You did?!”

You can do that!? That’s awesome!

Thinking back on it, I suppose if you concentrate on the internal organs, it’s possible to intentionally heal them. I really hadn’t thought things through at the time…

I’d always thought that I could just have people drink a tonic, but there were situations where drinking wasn’t an option. In those situations, I could focus on healing specific parts.

“If you’re worried, why don’t you use Appraisal magic and see for yourself?” he suggested.

“I thought Appraisal was just for checking an object’s quality?!”

“It’s also used in hospitals to examine a patient’s condition. Of course, how much you can see depends on your medical knowledge.”

“R-Really?”

I really thought it was only for checking item quality.

“L-Let me try then…”

Would my Appraisal magic really let me see something like that? I cast the spell and looked at Dad, rather doubtful it would work, but it did tell me his general condition.

“I-It says he’s…moderately injured…?” I muttered.

“Hmm, that’s a rough estimate.”

So, a rough estimate was all I could manage…which didn’t tell me if Dad’s condition was favorable or not.

“I checked earlier, but he doesn’t have any internal bleeding, and his external injuries have sealed over. But he lost a lot of blood, so he’ll need a blood transfusion. If we had a carriage, we could carry him more safely, but…”

“S-Sadly, we don’t…”

“Hopefully, the knights have a carriage.”

“I don’t think they did.”

Lico and her knights were on horseback.

What do we do…? I don’t think I have the strength to carry this boy for very long…

I glanced at the purple-haired boy on my back. I was short of breath already, and my legs were starting to hurt.

“Then maybe we should hire a carriage from Lost Regalia. The Ureron Clan should have a village around there.”

“Ah, they do?!”

“I’m sure they’ll oblige if De Marl’s knights make the request. Which reminds me, that boy you’re carrying, that girl following us, and that weird creature—who are they?”

“Ah…”

Right, I’ve been meaning to ask that myself… Mm?

“You don’t know what this creature is either?” I asked.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it. What is this thing?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

That’s what I want to know!

I looked at the girl, who averted her gaze uncomfortably and muttered simply, “It’s Mujimuji.”

Doesn’t it have a proper name? I’d kind of like to know what kind of animal we’re dealing with here… It is an animal, right? Right?!

“He was in the same place as us. I was traveling with my bruvver and parents when these bad people captured us and threw us into this weird place. And then…Mom and Dad told us to run…” she trailed off.

“Scary people? Like bandits?” I asked.

“What’s your name?” the man asked patiently.

“I’m Moné,” the girl said. “And my bruvver’s name is René.”

Moné and René. Were they separated from their parents and captured? They looked to be six or seven years old, and their hair was grown out and wild. Moné kept brushing hers behind her ear, but it wasn’t the right length, so it constantly spilled back into her face.

We should probably have their hair cut when we get to the Ureron’s village… René’s hair is really long too. Were they captured for that long?

“Moné, what happened to René’s forehead?” I asked.

“The bad people took him away, and when he came back, he had that thing in his forehead. He’s been sick ever since. He couldn’t do anything until Mom and Dad came to save us.”

“Did the bad people say anything?”

“They said, ‘He might sell for more like this…’”

“Slave merchants, from the sound of it…” the young man concluded.

“Slave merchants?!” I repeated, appalled.

There are slave merchants running around?!

Then I remembered the bandits who picked me up when I was a baby and tried to do the same thing to me. But that black Mythical Beast man saved me.

I wonder what he’s up to now…?

“Edesa Kura does allow slavery. Apparently, they absorb the countries around their territory and enslave their people. I’ve heard some of them escaped…”

“That’s so…outdated…and barbaric…” I whispered.

“Agreed.” The man nodded grimly. “They’re definitely getting out of hand. I thought that once the king changed, things might change for the better, but…”

…Edesa Kura is a monarchy?

It wasn’t so much that I didn’t care about Edesa Kura, I just didn’t want to be involved with it. I would’ve been happy living my life without ever learning a thing about that bad country. Or so I thought…but being too ignorant is dangerous. I should have Dad tell me more about them next time.

“And? What happened to your parents, Moné?”

“…They died…” she whispered.

“What?!” I turned around in shock to look directly at her.

I couldn’t see her expression under her long bangs, but despite being younger than me, she wasn’t crying. She simply clenched the hems of her ragged clothes tightly.

That’s… That’s awful! Then these kids are…!

“They distracted the bad people to let us escape… I heard them screaming, so I turned around to look when it happened…”

“I-I see,” I said hurriedly. “It’s fine; you don’t have to go on.”

“Yes. I’m sorry…” she said morosely.

“D-Don’t be…”

She still didn’t cry, though. Such a strong girl…

I felt the boy on my back—René—growing hotter. And this was after I gave him an antipyretic…maybe it just hadn’t kicked in yet. That was the only one I had on me, so if his fever wouldn’t go down after this, I’d have to make more. But…

Oh, my alchemy pot and rod were in Judie’s bag… Guess I’ll have to hope the Ureron Clan’s village has something I can work with.

“Say, mister, you haven’t told me your name yet…” I said.

“Huh? I haven’t? Oh, pardon me, then. The name’s Renge.”

“Mister Renge…”

“Just Renge will do. I don’t like stiff titles.”

“Y-You don’t? But…”

He’d saved my life and he was older than me. Maybe even older than my mental age. But even as I looked at him, flustered, he just shook his head. B-But…

“Th-That doesn’t sit well with me…” I protested.

“Do you really like treating people you know like strangers?” he asked.

“N-No, but it’s a habit of mine.”

“Really? Still, being spoken to formally like that makes my skin crawl…”

“Ugh…”

Don’t look so disappointed; you’re making me feel guilty!

“Mm?” Renge raised his head suddenly.

I followed his eyes when I heard multiple sets of hooves hitting the ground. Could it be…?!

“Tina!” I heard a familiar voice call out.

“Nakona!”

It was Nakona, riding on the same horse as Lico, and the other knights were following them! They were riding toward us at full speed!

Thank goodness… Nakona made it to Lico in time.

Seeing Nakona behind Lico’s armored figure filled me with relief.

“Who are you?” Lico asked, looking at Renge through her skull helmet.

Nakona hopped off the horse while Renge kneeled down and gently placed Dad on the ground.

“Just an adventurer who happened to be passing through,” he told Lico with a smile.

Meanwhile, Nakona had noticed Dad’s pained expression and torn, bloodied clothes. She looked at him with tearful eyes.

“Dad…!”

“Not to worry, he’s still alive,” Renge assured her. “But he did lose a great deal of blood, so he’ll need a blood-increasing potion. Does the Ureron Clan’s village have a clinic?”

“They do; it shouldn’t be a problem,” Lico said. “What’s your name, adventurer?”

“It’s Renge,” he told her.

“Hm?” Lico responded with confusion. “Is that the tongue of the ancient kingdom? That’s unusual. Where do you hail from?”

“I have no home anymore.”

“I see. I apologize for bringing it up, then.”

The ancient kingdom’s tongue? And…he doesn’t have a hometown anymore?

That…kind of sounds like me.

“Anyway, get on. We don’t have anything the size of a carriage, but we did take a wagon. What’s Marcus’s condition…?” Lico asked.

“He needs a blood-increasing potion or a transfusion. We’ve treated his injuries, but his ribs seem damaged. Normal healing magic can’t heal broken bones,” Renge answered.

“What?! And you carried him on your back despite that?!”

“I did put the bones back in place using magic, but he’s better off lying down. Ah, thank you.”

Renge must have been a very good user of magic.

With the help of some of Lico’s subordinates, he loaded Dad onto the wagon. Thank goodness. Now we can transport him more safely.

Dad…

That was the first time I’d heard about Dad’s bones, though! Did he keep quiet about it to not worry me? Geez…

“Are you all right, Tina?” Nakona asked me, visibly concerned. “That man…”

“Yeah, he’s the one who helped me at the reception. He beat the zombie, too.”

“Yeah!” Moné appended enthusiastically. “He made fire and it went woooooosh!”

Thanks for the explanation, Moné!

I wasn’t looking when he fought it off, but he must have burnt it to a crisp with fire! He’s amazing!

“Really? Thank you very much, sir! You saved my father and sister,” Nakona said to Renge.

“No need for thanks; she hired me,” he replied with a smile.

“Huh?”

I felt Nakona turn her eyes on me. She smiled at me so intensely, I had to look away.

I-I mean…

“Tiiiina? What is he talking about? We lost all our things when Judie and Jeff got blown away. That includes our wallets. We’re pretty much broke right now!”

“E-Erm, we agreed I’d pay him later in honey syrup…”

“Honey syrup? Like the honey you collect from Mount Rofola?”

“Yep! I promised I’d make him pastries with that honey syrup. He said that would be his fee.”

“H-Huh? Well, I guess honey syrup’s pretty expensive… But…you’re gonna make pastries out of it? Aren’t you supposed to put honey syrup on bread?”

“Y-You can make pastries out of it, yeah. Sweet pastries.”

“Really?”

Did you think the only way to eat honey is by rubbing it on bread? I know usually only the rich and nobles eat honey, but did they really establish that as the only way to use it?

If that’s the case, if I present new ways of using honey, the Rofola Lodge will make a really pretty penny off it…!

“Let’s get going to the Ureron Clan’s village. If the zombie’s defeated, we should hurry and have Marcus looked at,” Lico said.

“Yes, ma’am!” the knights answered promptly.

Nakona and I each rode with one of the knights, while Renge and Moné rode the horse towing the wagon. Dad, René, and the Mujimuji creature laid in the wagon. It was a wooden wagon without a roof, but it seemed like a safer option than carrying Dad on someone’s back.

After riding for thirty minutes, we finally started to see some residences. Simple, square houses made of stone bricks, lined up in set intervals. They all looked so similar to each other, I had to wonder if these were actually the ruins. They looked like houses people in tribal communities might live in, but surprisingly enough, the people who came out to greet us were dressed just like the people of De Marl.

I expected tribesmen or something, but they look perfectly normal…

The sole exception was that they wore crowns made of leaves on their heads.

What’s that, a wreath of laurels? Hm, I guess not. I don’t think laurels exist in this world. I think there was a plant similar to them. Muldsalt, right? Hmm. That reminds me of salted clams…not that clams have much to do with anything right now!

“Excuse us, but some of our people are injured. Can we have a doctor examine them?” Lico asked one of the people who came out to greet us.

“Yes, of course. Right this way.”

“Thank you.”

Lico left Dad with someone who looked like the village leader. The villagers started pulling the wagon Dad and René were in toward the clinic. Nakona and I got off our horses to follow them.

“…By the way,” Lico said, turning to look at Renge. “You said you were the one who defeated the zombie?”

“Yes?”

“What kind of zombie was it?”

“Hm…”

Renge glanced in my and Nakona’s direction. Right. We were the ones who got attacked, so we should probably be the ones to explain.

“It was big…” I explained for him. “Its arms were really long, and it walked while dragging them on the ground. And I think it was really intelligent. It kept predicting what we’d do and was toying with us.”

“Y-Yes, that’s the one!” one of the villagers who’d joined us cut into my words. “A few like that one have been loitering around the area…”

“A few?!” Nakona and I cried at the same time, going pale alongside the knights who heard.

There weren’t just one of those things?!

A giant zombie was unusual in and of itself—and now we found out there were multiple zombies of that size roaming these parts. The knights exchanged confused glances, and Lico’s expression was exceptionally grave…or, at least, I guessed it was. I couldn’t see what she looked like under the helmet.

“Uren, can you give it a try?” she asked one of the knights.

“…I’m afraid it’s hard to gather mana with the state the Air in this area is in. It’ll be…difficult,” he answered.

“No choice, then. We’ll have the Ebony Knights exchange their weapons for flamethrowers. We have to defeat them while they’re just zombies! We can’t let those things turn into monsters.”

Lico and her forces were called in to deal with monsters, after all. Were those monsters actually these zombies?

“And we’ve seen a wolf monster walking around, too. There was only one, but it was very quick…” the villager mentioned to them.

“We’ll have the Azure Knights handle that one,” Lico said, then turned to Renge. “You said your name was Renge, right? We’d like your cooperation with exterminating those things. We’ll pay for your time.”

“…I’m afraid this girl has already hired my services.”

“Huh?” I exclaimed, taken aback by him turning to me to decide. “Ah, erm…”

Given Dad’s condition, he’d probably have to stay still for a few more days. And if there were zombies like that one swarming the area, I definitely wanted them gone!

“Please help the knights,” I told him. “Protect the village, please!”

“Well, if my employer says so, I can’t refuse, now can I?” Renge said with a smile.

“Thank you.” Lico bowed her head to him. “Everyone, we begin the operation at once!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Renge waved at me, as if to say he was off. Watching him do so with a calm smile…made my heart thump a bit harder. I mean, he is…handsome. A real cute guy. His facial features are fair, no matter what angle you look at him. His voice is kind…

He’s like the kind of fairytale prince who is meant just for the heroine…

He was strong, kind, showed up whenever you needed him most, and could use magic. Attractive, good-natured…! He was so blessed in every way that I couldn’t believe he didn’t have a hometown, just like me.

He probably had to work himself to the bone to get by. So, maybe he isn’t really as blessed as I first assumed…

“Tina?” Nakona spoke to me, confused by my sudden silence.

“Ah, w-we have to go check on Dad! And Moné must be worried René too.”

“I-I am,” Moné said.

“I hope he can leave the clinic soon…”

“Me too…”

Nakona, Moné, and Mujimuji joined me as I hurried to the clinic. And since I was hurrying…

“Haa, haa, haa, haa…!” I was soon gasping for air.

“Already?!” Nakona chided me. “Tina, you run out of breath so quickly.”

“N-N-Not m-my f-fault… Haa, aaah…” I panted.

Did someone curse me to be permanently out of shape or something?! I mean, I know I gave up jogging awfully fast, but still…!

“Haa, aah… Huh?” I suddenly stopped and looked up.

“What’s wrong, Tina?” Nakona stopped next to me.

“The sky…”

I looked up at the heavens. This world had two suns and two moons that moved in alternating patterns. I wasn’t sure about the physics mumbo-jumbo behind it, but apparently, as one celestial body approached our world, another moved away, and they repeated that cycle.

And that was fine and all, but for some reason, now, there was a black dot between the currently visible sun and moon. I strained my eyes, gazing at it while Nakona placed a hand over her forehead to block out the sunlight.

“You’re right. What is that? That wasn’t there before.”

“I-It gives me the willies…” I said.

“Did the sky burp or something?” Moné asked.

B-Burped? The sky? What gave you that idea, Moné?

♣♣♣

THREE days had passed since we reached the Ureron Clan’s village. Dad was finally well enough to stand up and walk, and his stomach and chest were held in place with something like a cast, which made him say “Maybe I can ride a horse now!” To that end, we decided to let him try riding for a short distance first.

For the record, I’m against this…

We left the clinic, and Dad gallantly got on one of the horses Lico’s squad brought with them. It didn’t take long before—

“Ow, ow, ouch!”

“G-Get him off!”

“Vice-Captain!”

“D-Daaaad!”

…See? That’s what I thought would happen…

“I did think it’s too soon for him to ride a horse,” Renge said. “It shakes too much.”

“I thought so too,” I wholeheartedly agreed. “Still, this village doesn’t have any large carriages…”

“We should continue to heal him with magic and prepare some blood-increasing potions before we try this again,” Renge recommended. “We haven’t defeated all the zombies in the area yet, after all…”

“There’s still more of those hanging around…?” I asked, sighing.

I hope we can go home soon…

Life in the Ureron Clan’s village was pretty rustic, and they didn’t use any seasoning in their cooking. And so, their food was, well…it was honestly so yucky, it wore down my spirit in a different sense.

There’s a small forest on the outskirts of the village, so maybe I should go out looking for ingredients I can refine into some kinda seasoning.

The food Dad was served was super healthy-looking…and I didn’t really mean that as a compliment. But maybe that was exactly what he needed. The same couldn’t be said for Nakona and me, and each meal really strained our nerves.

“What are your plans for the day, Tinaris?” Renge asked me.

“I figured I might go into the forest and gather ingredients for some seasonings…”

“I…see.”

Having traveled the world, Renge was aware of how problematic the food quality was here. He stood beside me, looking down at me with a faint smile that said it all. Honestly, Lico and the knights were pretty worn down by the food options too. Having to eat something so tasteless after a long day of work didn’t do much to refresh their spirits…

“Are you going to help Lico and the knights today, too? How many more monsters do you have to slay?”

“About twelve. There are a lot of them, and they’re all unusually big. That does make them easier to find, though. They stand out.”

“I’m surprised this village is safe…” I said.

“The ruins have a monster-repelling barrier that still functions. Soon enough, people are going to have trouble living in places that don’t have them…”

“Because the monsters’ numbers are rising?”

“Yes, that’s right,” he said and then whispered to himself, “Will mankind fall into ruin or will this world be consumed by the monsters first…?”

“What was that?”

“Nothing…”

What did he just say?

The muffler covered his mouth, so I couldn’t hear his voice clearly. Why was he wearing a muffler anyway? His face was so handsome, hiding it was a waste.

Maybe he’s cold?

And it was a very long muffler. When his hood was down, the rest of the muffler hung from his shoulders down to his feet. How long was it? About eight feet if he unwrapped it? Renge was a pretty tall guy too.

Why does he need such a long muffler? Hmph, I’ll never understand how cute guys think.

“Oh.”

“Mister, miss!”

A voice called out to us, which made Renge turn around with a smile that reached his eyes.

Oh no. A cute guy’s smiling face. It’s too powerful!

He directed the smile toward Moné, who was hurrying toward us with a pitter-patter of her little feet. Her bangs had been cut, and her hair tied into a ponytail on the left side of her head. Following her were Mujimuji and René, who also had had his hair cut.

He’d received medical attention, and once his fever went down, they removed the stone from his forehead and stitched it back up. His condition improved dramatically after that. Much like Dad, he still required more checkups, and he’d need to drink tonics regularly for a while.

“Hey, stop running! You’ll trip and fall on your face, ugly!” René called out to his sister.

“I’m not ugly! We have the same face, so if I’m ugly, so are you!”

“You only call women ugly! Ugly, ugly!”

“Grrrrr!”

The two of us stared at the siblings in stupefied silence. Moné was right, though. They were twins, so any complaints about her looks could be directed back at René.

With their bangs cut, it was clear how similar their faces were. Of course, as they got older and entered puberty, their facial features would probably change, but they were almost identical right now.

Except for the scar on René’s forehead. That was probably going to stay. The stone had dug really deep into his forehead. I felt bad for him.

“What’s your old man doing?” René asked, looking at me.

“We were checking if he was good enough to ride a horse yet. Looks like it’s too soon, though.”

“I see… Are you gonna leave when he can ride again?”

“Y-Yeah…”

The twins exchanged glances, with Mujimuji looking up at them. These two kids…their parents had been killed. René didn’t remember much of the ordeal, since he was delirious from the fever, but he did recall his parents’ tragic screams.

Such a little boy and girl had to experience something that awful…

“…Wait a second, all right?”

“Hm?”

I hurried over to Dad, who got off the horse, rubbing his abdomen painfully. He still looked pretty pale…but when I approached him, he simply smiled and asked me what was wrong.

I know I’m not in any position to ask for this, but…

“Dad, about René and Moné…”

“Yeah. I heard their parents passed away…”

“Yes. So, what are we going to do with them?”

“Good question…”

Could we take them with us to the Rofola Lodge? That question was on the tip of my tongue, but I was afraid of putting it into words. I was still a child myself, and this wasn’t as simple as adopting a pet.

Nakona came back from returning the horse to the knights and stood beside us.

“Are you talking about Renémoné?” she asked, putting their names together.

“Y-Yeah…”

Nakona… Can you not call them that? It sounds like anemone to me…

Maybe it worked, though? They were twins, after all…

Shoot, I might start using it without even meaning to…

“Why don’t we adopt them?” Nakona suggested.

Just like that?!

“H-Huh, b-but…” I stammered.

“I mean, why not?” she continued, shrugging. “I don’t think the orphanage in De Marl would accept them.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“The times being what they are…” Dad said gravely. “No one wants more mouths to feed.”

“Ah!”

I remembered the line leading up to De Marl’s entrance and the refugees camping outside. De Marl was too occupied with keeping its own people safe; it didn’t have the capacity to accept more people. But rejecting orphans? That’s awful…

“If they were a little older, they could volunteer as knight apprentices, and that’d guarantee them life necessities. But when they’re this young…?” Dad sighed.

“So…yeah, let’s just adopt them!” Nakona repeated the idea again.

“N-Nakona, you can’t be that nonchalant about this…” I muttered.

“Wellll…maybe that’s not such a bad idea,” Dad said, rubbing his chin.

“D-Dad?!” I looked at him, incredulous.

That’s exactly what I wanted to ask! C-C-C-Can we, though?!

“Are you against it, Tina?” Dad asked.

“Of course not! I totally want to!”

“Right. Then I guess that’s decided. Of course, it’s up to them to decide if they want to come with us…let’s see.”

Dad approached Renémoné with a bit of a limp. Renge was squatting in front of the children, speaking to them with a smile at their level. As Dad called out to them, Renge rose to his feet, and Renémoné looked up at him curiously.

“But Tina, didn’t you approach Dad to ask him if we can adopt the twins?” Nakona whispered at me.

“Y-You knew?”

“Of course I did. You’re pretty transparent, Tina.”

“U-Ugh.” I dropped my head.

The three beefcake knights wouldn’t want to hear you say that. Why can’t you be this observant when it comes to those three?! It’s about time you picked one of them to…get along with!

True, we don’t see them that often, but they did write her letters every month! They’re so devoted, seeing them work so hard is wearing down my spirit!

“Let’s go talk to them, too,” Nakona said.

“Yeah.”

Upon hearing Dad’s proposal, Renémoné’s faces lit up for a moment. But it really was for only a moment. They exchanged glances, and then René looked up at Dad again.

“We want to go look for Mom and Dad, so…no, thank you.”

“…I think you should let De Marl’s knights handle that.”

“You’ll just run into the same peril,” Renge said. “Do you want to put your sister in danger?”

“I’ll…er, I’ll go alone!” René said bravely.

“No, I’m coming with you!” Moné insisted.

“No, you go with this man! I’ll find Mom and Dad…”

“No!”

“Mujii…” the small critter let out a concerned cry.

Th-They’re arguing…

Renge was backing up Dad, but René was insistent on looking for his parents. I understood how he felt, but it was reckless. Moné looked about ready to burst into tears, and Mujimuji was loitering at their feet. How can we get René to understand?

“Listen, boy! What do you need to focus on right now? Is it searching for your parents or looking after your sister?” Dad asked.

“You can let other people look for your parents,” Renge added. “But the only way you can really keep your sister safe is by staying with her. She’s your only family…and you’re the only one who can keep her safe. Right?”

René hung his head.

“You have to be there for each other,” Dad stressed, patting him on the head.

René shook his head, holding back the tears. Moné clung to his shoulder, to which he simply muttered, “Let go, ugly. You’re heavy.” Despite his words, though, he wrapped an arm around her.

I realized just how fortunate I had been. Had those bandits who plucked me from the river that day raised me, I’d have grown up in an environment where I could have died every day. If it weren’t for that nice, Mythical Beast, I would have—

Wait.

I looked up at Renge.

“Mm?” He looked back at me.

Half of his face was hidden behind the muffler, but…

He looks like him. But, wait, that can’t be. It’s been twelve years. I mean, my memories are pretty fuzzy.

I did feel like I’d met him before, though. Black hair. Black eyes. Those two matched, but if I compared him to the nice Mythical Beast man, the most I could say was that they…felt similar? Besides, how would I even check? I can’t just ask him if he’s a Mythical Beast. I can imagine the look he’d give me!

Still…I wanted to repay my debt to the Mythical Beast someday.

“Well, that’s decided!” Dad declared loudly.

Huh?! You smoothed out all the details while I was taking a stroll down memory lane?!

“Once we rest a little more, the five of us and this little one will go back to the Rofola Lodge! And while we’re resting, I’ll ask Lico and her knights to look for your parents while they take care of the zombies. Renge, could you help out?”

“I’m under Tinaris’s employ …” he started.

“Y-Yes, please help!” I chimed in.

“…but I assumed she’d ask me to help, yes.”

Y-You too, Renge?! Am I really this transparent? I don’t get it!

“I’ll keep you all safe on the way back to Rofola Lodge; don’t worry. I’ll be expecting that payment, though!” he said, grinning broadly behind his muffler.

“Y-You’ve got it! I’ll make it really tasty for you!” I said enthusiastically.

It felt like whenever he smiled, sparkles filled the air around him. He must have a real sweet tooth…

“H-Hmm, you’re following us to Rofola?” Dad asked, eyeing him dubiously.

“Oh? You don’t want me to?”

“N-No…that’s not what I meant…”

Dad looked like he wasn’t happy to have Renge join us. What, was he worried Nakona might develop a crush on him? Nakona was seventeen years old, so she was definitely at the right age to have a crush or two, wasn’t she? Plus, Dad had his own love life to straighten out before he worried about other people!

“Miss!” Moné looked up at me, beaming.

“Oh, right!” I squatted down and greeted Renémoné. “Welcome to the family, Moné, René, Mujimuji!”

“Thanks!” Moné said happily.

“Hmph,” René scoffed at me.

“Muji!” Muji squeaked adorably.

Looks like the Rofola Lodge’s staff just grew a little bigger!