บท 13: Chapter 13
Pearl and I were the first to see the sun rises this morning. Finishing the last shift of the night watch together. It is a nice morning with the birds singing and several small animals running around nearby. It looks like the weather is going to be good again today. I let per start preparing breakfast and go to wake up the others.
Liza was quick to wake up. Sat by the entrance with her spear in hand, she instantly wakes up when she hears me. She quickly goes to help Pearl while I move on to Nana and Mia. Those two look complete opposites when they sleep. Nana smiles as she hugs Mia, while the small elf girl frowns as Nana's large chest presses down on her head. Mia gives me a brief hug as she wakes up while Nana gives her usual morning line of "Start-up sequence initiated. Execution completed."
Satou and the others are harder to wake up. Satou has Lulu cling to one arm and Arisa to the other. Pochi and Tama are asleep on his lap, crawled up like real pets. I hate to wake them up when they all look so peaceful, but I have to do it. Lulu blushes, seeing how she was sleeping, and quickly goes to help make breakfast while Arisa tries to get a good morning kiss from her Master. As for Pochi and Tama, both of them run out of the carriage after giving a brief good morning, yelling something about a good smell.
It doesn't take long before breakfast is ready. Liza comes back to tell everyone, and we all gather around the table again. This morning our breakfast consisted of deer meat and a soup with cooked beans, onions, and a wild plant that resembled garlic. Nana ate her usual wheat porridge, but this time it was topped with some shredded cheese. The cheese was thanks to Liza, who decided to add some at the last minute.
After we ate, we took a small break as we tended to the horses, which Satou spent practising how to chant. For me, it is a skill I don't need. It is not uncommon for heroes to be able to use magic without a chant. I don't need to hide that skill, but Satou, who wants to live a quiet, peaceful life, has to be careful to hide the fact that he doesn't need to chant to cast magic. Mia helps him as Pochi and Tama go hunting with Liza and Pearl. Arisa went back to sleep as soon as we finished eating, so Lulu and I were left to clean everything up.
"You don't need to help me," Lulu insists as I wash some of the bowls alongside her. "I can handle this by myself. You don't need to trouble yourself."
"It's no trouble," I assure her. "I don't mind helping you."
<0>
When we get moving, Satou is driving the carriage with Liza sitting beside him on the coachman's stand. We travelled for a few hours with Arisa borrowing the magic book, but she didn't look like she could read it. Even with Mia's help, she is still struggling. Pearl sharpens her sword while Lulu stops Pochi and Tama from jumping off the carriage whenever they spot a rabbit. I just look out of the back of the carriage, watching the scenery drift by.
We travel through a sea of grass with small hills and the occasional tree. It has been a while since we have seen a person, and so far, we have only passed a few ruined buildings. It is easy to believe that we are the only people alive right now. We have been attacked by monsters twice today. Still, they were weak, and Pochi, Tama and Liza quickly cut them down before anyone else could do anything.
"Satou,"
"Hmm? What is it, Mia?"
"Stop,"
Mia asks as we pass by multiple giant ant monsters. It looks burnt, and I don't know. Mia asked to stop here. She probably just needs to go to the bathroom. Satou pulls over the wagon, and Mia asks me to help her down.
"Piggyback," Mia says, pulling my sleeve.
"Right here?"
"Mm,"
Mia nods her head, so I pick her up. I am not sure what she wants now, but I move in the direction she is pointing. Everyone else joins us, apart from Liza and Lulu, who stay with the carriage. Pochi and Tama have Satou give them piggyback rides, and Arisa looks at them enviously.
"There,"
I look to where Mis is pointing and find a path trampled through the grass. It doesn't look like animals made this path, and it is large enough for four people to walk side by side. But all over the place are corpses of giant ants. Some burnt, some hacked to pieces, and others looked like they were crushed. Several broken arrows litter the ground, and a shattered wooden shield is still wedged between one of the ant's fangs.
"Take me,"
"All right,"
I step onto the trail at Mia's request and follow her directions. Everyone else who came is still trailing behind us, looking at me for answers, but I have none to give. I'm sure it will become clear as to why Mia wanted us to stop here.
"Like Mize said," Mia muttered a little as we followed the path. I think Mize was the name of the red helmeted ratman. "To protect me…."
So that's why. Mia makes a few comments as we walk, and she stares at the aftermath of the battle. Zen must have attacked Mia here along with Mize. A fight happened, and judging by Mia's reaction, people lost their lives protecting her.
"Zeze, Poro, Jene, Mitoro, Hoze, Rada, Kyuze…"
Mia mumbles some names but her voice trails off. I feel her tears land on my shoulder, and I hear her whimper. I take my off of my shoulder and hug her as she cries. Satou appears and hands her a handkerchief.
"Mia, let's go back," I suggest seeing the pain in her eyes.
"Wait… a little longer…."
"Mia, there might be survivors in the town nearby. Let's look for them when we get there, okay?" Satou says, and Mia nods her head, looking hopeful.
"Mm, okay."
<0>
I stay with Mia in the carriage. I wanted to go with Satou and look for the survivors, but Mia was still crying, so I couldn't leave her. I hold her close and let her cry on my shoulder while trying to reassure her Satou will find them. Arisa and the other we at the inn we were staying at. Arisa was put in charge of the negotiations for the room. To help her out, I gave her the dagger Earl Seiryuu with his family crest on it. Apparently, it worked. Arisa smiled as she returned the dagger, saying they were even letting the beastfolk girls in our group stay in the inn.
"Ah, Master! Did you really find them?"
"I told you I was good at looking for people, didn't I? Now, could you please call Mia?"
Hearing Satou's voice, I quickly let Mia know. She quickly jumps up, and I follow her over to wear. Satou is waiting with five hooded figures.
"Zeze, Jene, Mitoro, Hoze, Rada!"
Mia runs over to the hooded figures who run towards her, cheering and losing their cloaks. They are ratmen. Satou found five of them.
"Brinsiss!"
The ratmen hug Mia speaking in what I am guessing is their language. Mia is like a different person from who she was just moments ago. Gone are the tears and saddened eyes. In their place is a smiling girl with eyes full of life and the only tears she sheds are from happiness. If only things didn't almost go so horribly wrong.
"Hero Kura, the inn's landlord, says that dinner will be…."
"Devil doll!!"
"Protect the princess!"
The peaceful, happy scene is destroyed as soon as they spot Nana. The ratmen push Mia behind them, taking up sticks and stones from the ground and are about to attack. Nana drew her short sword for self-defence and started buffing herself with magic. The short sword was a gift from the Earl. It has a crest like my dagger on the hilt. I have seen her train with Pearl enough times to know how proficient she has become with that weapon.
"Enemies detected. Hero Kura, permission to eliminate them?" Nana looks at me, but I shake my head.
"Nana, put your weapon away. They are not our enemies," I tell them before turning to the ratmen. "I know that you may have fought in the past, but Nana is not a threat to Mia right now. I have defeated Undead King Zen, and Nana is now in my care."
The ratmen turn to me and look at me as if I am a threat. Great, it looks like I made things worse. I put my holy sword on the ground and my hands up, but one look at my sword only makes them angrier at me. I guess they saw Zen use it in the past.
"She a hero," Mia luckily appears between me and the ratmen. "Hero Kura saved me."
"B… but the devil doll's a servant of the evil lord, isn't she?"
"Nana is an ally, now,"
Mia finally calmed everyone down. That was close. I can see Pearl approaching me with her sword dawn, but I manage to signal her that everything is fine now before anyone is hurt. Pearl sheaths her sword, and the ratmen drop the stones and sticks they are holding.
"I'm on my way to bring Mia to her hometown. Nana was under the control of the evil lord before, but now she's our friend. She isn't going to harm Mia. Don't worry," I assure them as I pick up my weapon.
"Did you buy us to serve as escorts for Princess Mia?" The ratmen look to Satou, but he shakes his head.
We explained to them what had happened. Satou tells them that Zen is dead and Mize is safe. We made up a bit of a story about how we heard rumours that the ratmen were being held as slaves, and he brought them to return them home. We gave them some food and told them to rest, promising that we would bring them to the border of their territory in the morning.
Afterwards, we go to buy supplies. Mia, Pochi, Tama and Liza stay with the ratmen while the rest of us head out. Satou sends Arisa and Lulu to buy the food and goods we'd forgotten to procure in Seiryuu City with Nana as an escort. Satou said he would pick up hiking equipment for the ratmen, musical instruments and a bow and arrows for Mia to hunt, a thin board for the cards, and miscellaneous crafting and woodworking tools. In a small town like this, I doubt he would be able to buy everything on his list.
Meanwhile, Pearl and I went looking for information. We weren't hoping for much, just any hints of bandits in the area or reports of strong monsters spotted near the road. There were plenty of rumours, but most of them probably were rumours. A drunk man told us that a troll lives under the village nearby and eats naughty children. Some old ladies warn us of a witch living near Sedum City in a forest. The only piece of information I believe is that giant ants have been attacking travellers around here recently.
I found a market store selling sweets on our way back, so I brought enough for everyone. The old man at the store was very friendly and told me plenty of stories about how he makes his sweets while I was there. He was a nice man, the kind you could spend hours talking to. I probably would have if I hadn't noticed Pearl looking bord behind me.
When we return, we find Satou has had better luck. He managed to buy a broken lute and a bow with some bronze arrows for Mia. A stepladder, table, work surface, and chairs from a second-hand store. He even brought a cart and two donkeys for the ratmen.
The next day we ate a mediocre, overpriced breakfast and left the town. Honestly, the meals we ate on the road tasted better than what the inn served us. But before heading to the border of the Gray Rat Emirate, we stopped by the place where the ratmen's comrades were buried.
"I, Misanaria of Bolenan Forest, implore all the trees of the Shiga Kingdom. Grant a restful sleep to the brave ratman heroes who gave their lives in battle to protect me,"
Mia whispered in Elvish to the trees that marked the ratmen's graves. As if in response, the branches fluttered gently, though there was no wind. I have no idea how it happened, but I guess Mia must have used some kind of magic without me noticing. Accompanied by the lute, Mia proceeded to sing an Elvish funeral song. The rest of us placed offerings of the cheese and dried meat the ratmen had loved beneath the trees and poured out alcohol as a burial rite. The ratmen approach Satou and me afterwards, handing us some paper pieces.
"This's our treasure. For you, Satou. Hero. As thanks,"
"Hoze, don't trouble Sir Satou and lady hero with such a worthless scrap of paper,"
The small sheet was covered in tiny, cramped writing. It has a lot of information about pottery, but most importantly, it is written in Japanese. Satou and I look at each other before accepting the gift.
"No, I really do appreciate it. By the way, where did you get this?" Satou asks as he stores away the papers.
"One of the humanfolk lost in the mountains gave it to me. He was strange,"
"Huh? What is it? …Wait, it's in Japanese! Did you write this, Master?"
Arisa appeared behind us, catching a glimpse of the papers before they vanished into Satou's storage. With her interest peaked, Satou has no choice but to bring the papers back for Arisa to read. We spend some more time here paying our respects before moving on to the border.
"Sparkly?!"
When we reach the border, Tama instantly spots something. Looking to where she was pointing, I saw something flashing in the distance. It is too far away to make out, but then multiple shiny items appear, and they start closing in on us.
"Someone's coming to greet us," Satou calls out.
"Mm?"
"That's Red H… I mean, Mize and his friends,"
As they close in, I realize there are close to thirty of them. They are all ratmen led by Mize, and all of them are riding creatures that look like boars but with six legs. They even had several deers that were slightly smaller than normal deers but had strong-looking backs and legs. Those deer are being used to carry supplies, from the looks of things.
"Kyuze! You're alive!"
"Vice-Captain Poro protected me,"
It looks like there was another survivor from the battle with the ratmen. They rush towards us and celebrate their reunion.
"Satou, sir," After a brief moment, Mize approaches Satou. "Thank you."
"It was nothing," Satou replies, watching the ratmen smile, laugh and hug each other.
"Hero Kura, I'd like to offer this bell to you. It was entrusted to me, but the great elves made it. It doesn't have any special effect, but it's proof that its owner has earned the trust of elves, fairies, or the like. Since you have gained Misanaria's trust, it seems fitting that you should have it," Mize turns to me, handing me a small bell. "I wished I had it on me back when we first met. I am sure it will aid you in your quest to return Misanaria back to her home."
"Thank you," I accept the bell wrapping it around my wrist.
With no ball inside the bell, it didn't ring. Maybe it works with magic or was broken at some point.
<0>
We made a small trip back to the town to sell the donkeys and wagon since the ratmen didn't need them. The trip to and from the border had taken a while, so it was already nearly evening by when we arrived back in town. During the trip, Satou made some cards out of pieces of wood he brought, imitating some learning cards Satou said he brought back in Seiryuu city.
Once in town, Satou went to return the cart and donkeys while we all went to the inn. Like the food we'd had there that morning, our dinner at the inn wasn't very good. It had too much salt and was overcooked. The mutton wasn't too bad. It is still not like the food Liza, Pearl and Lulu made, but it wasn't bad either.
In the middle of the night, I sneak out. I bumped into Satou, but we both kept quiet and went our separate ways. I couldn't sleep and decided to go for a walk. As for Satou, I have no idea what he is up to.
It is strange how quiet the town is. During the day, children ran around a small lively market, and people went about their daily lives. Now it is like a ghost town, and it is pretty scary with how dark it is. There are street lights, but they burn dimly, barely giving off any light at all. There is only part of town with any life to it, but I would rather avoid it. That part of town was full of drunks and skimpily dressed women trying to subdue men.
"Hey there, girly. How would you like to share a drink with me?"
"I'm sorry, but I have plans already,"
Even the guards on duty are drunk. I just passed a group of them, and they can barely stand up. Their spears lay on the ground, and pieces of their armour were missing in places. I don't like the way they are looking at me. Back in Japan, there were always men like this coming over to me whenever I went out drinking with my friends or work colleagues.
"Don't be like that. We will treat you really good and make sure you enjoy yourselves,"
Why is it whenever I go near any place that serves alcohol, stuff like this always happens? At least back in Japan, I could get the bouncer or bartender to sort the jerks in that world out. I doubt thee guard would be willing to arrest their own. I will probably get arrested if I go to one of these guys' friends.
"Just come with us, little lady,"
One of the guards grabs my arm. There are five of them, all laughing and staring at me. They seem pretty drunk, already swaying and slurring their words, but they are also armed. With those swords on their hips, they could kill me if I didn't act carefully.
"We have a private room nearby and plenty of booze,"
"Hey, don't get her too drunk. That last girl was no fun after she passed out,"
As the drunk idiots laugh, I calmly force the man's hand off of me, making him yelp in pain.
"Hey, do you even know who we are?"
"Do you know who I am?" I pull out the dagger the Earl gave me, and their faces pale. "If you guys shut up and behaviour yourselves, I won't be letting my lord know about this."
They may be drunk, but they get the message. The guys all quickly sit down and quietly drink as they start to sweat. Now that I have taken care of this, I should return to the inn. Hey, isn't that Satou? Catching a glimpse of him, I turn my head and see Satou being led up some stairs by a large chested young lady. I feel sorry for him when Arisa learns of what he did tonight.
"Where were you?"
As soon as I slipped into my room, Mia quickly glared at me. Pearl is here, too, looking and waiting for me to respond while Nana sleeps peacefully.
"I just couldn't sleep and went out for a walk,"
I tell them honestly, but Mia still looks me over.
"This?"
Oh, I missed that. Where that drunk guard gripped my arm early has left a stain. I am not sure what he was eating, but the sauce from his food has stained my sleeve.
"Some drunks tried to hassle me, but I scared them off,"
"Stay," Mia quickly uses some magic to clean away the satin. "Grounded."
Hearing Mia say something like that when she looks so young despite being over one hundred years older than me makes me want to laugh. I might have laughed if it wasn't for the scary look in her eye.
"Next time, take me with you,"
Pearl says as she climbs back into her bed. I make a mental note not to leave her behind since she could come in handy if I get into trouble like that again. Still, I worry some racist person might attack her in their drunken state. Whoever that unlucky jerk is might not survive to regret picking a fight with her.
I climb into my own bed only to find Mia following me. She snuggles up to me and uses my arm as a pillow. Before I can even complain, Mia has fallen asleep. She looks cute when she sleeps. Is this what it is like to have a younger sister? I close my own eyes and drift off to sleep.
<0>
"Well, you had an interesting time since we last met,"
When I open my eyes again, I am in a Japanese style room, kneeling at a table with the god of the dragons sitting opposite me. She calmly drinks tea as she watches me. A cup of tea for me and a bowl full of treats are on the table.
"Gained a Holy Sword, received the Silent Bell of Bolenan and began a grand adventure with Satou," The god smiles. "I wish I could trade places with you."
"Shouldn't you have that power as a god?"
"I do," She smirks. "The problem is that it goes against the code s gods follow. If I steal your life, the others would be mad."
We talked about random things and even started playing a few games of shogi. The girl before me may be a god, but she is a terrible player as I beat her three times in a row. It probably isn't wise to anger a god, but I still win, even going easy on her.
"You are just like him," The god sighs after achieving my fourth consecutive victory. "I could never beat him too."
"You will get better and beat him one day,"
"I wish, but Satou is so amazing. If only he was more like the… oh look at the time you must be going now I have things to do,"
"But wait, what was you…."
"Bye-bye,"
The god smiles and waves at the floor beneath me. that wasn't fair. I feel like she was about to say something important.
<0>
The following day after a brief trip to the market, we head out. I spot the guards from the night before nursing hangovers, and they look terrified when they notice me. Hopefully, they won't go harassing anyone else after last night. Satou doesn't look too good. Arisa kept him up most of last night yelling at him for sneaking off to other women. She might be still yelling at him now if the inn's owner hadn't turned up and told Arisa to keep it down.
The road out of town leading to the main road really needs to be redesigned. It is lethal, and if I were to ask, I think there would be no shortage of the number of stories involving accidents on this road. The road is steep, and even Lulu struggles to control our carriage. It is flanked on either side by tall hills, making it impossible to see anyone on the main road ahead until they are right in front of you.
"You're blocking the road, fools! Clear the way!"
It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened. Being pulled by a farming couple, the cart in front of us loses control and skids into the road. At the same time, a man was riding his horse along the main road and only narrowly avoided being hit by the cart and thrown from his horse when it reared backwards.
The man on horseback hurled abuse at the couple when they blocked his path. The husband, who'd been pulling the cart, dropped to the ground as the horse kicked him, and his wife kneeled next to him, apologizing to the mounted man. Oh, I know this man.
I never spoke to him myself, but I watched his trail. I hated how he sounded so arrogant as he tried to justify his crimes. It was so satisfying when Earl Seiryuu made him sweat and squirm as he made it clear the man's excuses were meaningless. Come to think of it, I think Earl Seiryuu was planning on giving me a title ever since he heard I was a hero. He had me observe his court and let me know how things happening within the kingdom.
Behind us, a few gatekeepers came up to investigate. The man on the horse reminds me of how much I hated him at his trial. He yells at the farming couple to move, insulting and yelling at them instead of using the spacious road to simply go around them. Jumping from the carriage, Satou glances at me, but I know what I must do.
"Excuse me but shouldn't you be on your way?" I ask, approaching the man.
"What gives you the right to… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!!!"
He definitely remembers me. He nearly falls off his horse in shock and starts sweating so much that he could fill a river. I smile softly as I stare back at him.
"I am just passing through like you should be," I tell him. "I believe Earl Seiryuu's deadline for you to leave his territory expires tomorrow. If you don't hurry, you won't make it to the border by nightfall."
Earl Seiryuu may not control a large amount of territory. Still, he owns this town and a few villages surrounding Seiryuu City. The man on the horse knows this too. When Earl Seiryuu banished him, he gave this man a week to leave his territory. Tomorrow that deadline will expire. The man sweats, looking around for a way out. He shots me a glare, then one towards Satou, who dropped from the carriage. Do they know each other? I'm sure Satou will explain it to me later. The man on the horse then rides around the cart and gallops down the main road as fast as his horse will take him before the town's guards arrive.
"Master, was that not the man from before?"
"Who?"
Apparently, Liza remembered this person. She and Pearl join us. Pearl didn't attend his trial, and Satou still looks clueless as he asks Liza for clarification.
"He was the official who tried to take our flying ant cores back in Seiryuu City,"
"Oh, that small-time crook?"
So he tried to rob Satou and his slaves before. I'm surprised Earl Seiryuu didn't call them for witnesses at the man's trial. There were countless witnesses, from merchants to members of the Earl's army.
"Are you two okay?"
I ask, kneeling down to the couply. The road is dirty and covered in mud, turning my knees and shins brown, but I am sure Mia would clean me up if I asked.
"We are fine, miss. You don't need to worry about us,"
The wife says, helping her husband stand. The guards come over, so I have to explain everything to them, but I find that Satou has given the man a magical potion when I come back. The couple thanked Satou, promising to pay him back when I returned. Satou assured him they were okay as Mia cleaned the dirt off me, and we climbed back into the carriage. Apparently, the price of being cleaned by Mia was to let her sit on my lap. I didn't mind her sitting there, but behind Nana's blank expression, I could tell she was jealous.
"If you give away magic potions to strangers, there'll be no end to it!"
"Don't worry. I just wanted to know whether a low-grade stamina potion could fix a bone fracture,"
Arisa started lecturing Satou as soon as we travelled out of earshot from the couple. She lightly bops him on the head as she stares Satou in the eyes. Satou, meanwhile, seems unfazed and calmly defends himself.
"I suppose I'll go along with that explanation," Arisa sighs, dropping the topic.
As we get moving, Liza takes over, driving the carriage with Lulu beside her. Satou sits with Arisa at the back, being taught about the world's bounty system. Everyone else sings songs from anime, with Mia playing the lute and me the reed pipe. I offered to sing, but Mia shot me down with one word, "Banned," and handed me a reed pipe.
I already know the bounty system, thanks to Earl Seiryuu. There are six common types Theft, Assault, Murder, Sexual Assault, Arson, and Treason. There is also a rare one called Infidelity. You only get that one by doing things like going against the deity's teachings you were baptized under, betraying or showing contempt for that god, stuff like that. Henry and Earl Seiryuu said they had never seen a person with the Infidelity bounty before.
I was only half-listening to their conversation while playing the reed pipe. Still, when Arisa mentioned the word "City Core," I started making an effort to eavesdrop. I heard Earl Seiryuu mention City Cores before, but he said it is a secret he can't talk to me about when I asked what they are.
"Oh, yes, sorry. And this conversation is off the record, by the way. City Cores are located underneath the castle, but only royalty and their direct descendants know about them. I only heard about this when I snuck into my big brother's lessons as the crown prince… Our heads would roll if anyone found out what we knew. Be careful,"
I feel bad for listening to them like this, but I can't help myself. I really want to know what City Cores are.
"All right, I won't tell anyone. So can you give me more details about these City Cores?"
"Okeydokey. I told you that dukes and kings make contracts with them, right? Well, once they do that, they gain the ability to manipulate the power source beneath the city,"
Sources… is that what Henry meant when she mentioned the mana source under the castle? I got course when I noticed how quickly I recovered to magical power compared to outside of the castle and asked Henry about it.
"They can use it for Ritual Magic like defending the city from monsters or enriching the surrounding soil. Since the range of the magic is so wide, people tend to think it's pretty ineffective. Still, Ritual Magic can adjust the climate of the whole territory, relieve water shortages, and increase productivity. If the range is more focused, they say it can even defend against attacks from intermediate and greater hell demons,"
"Arisa, if the City Core is that important, doesn't that mean cities and towns can only exist near mana sources?"
"That's right. Sources big enough for a whole town or city are quite rare. Most of them are small sources like spirit reservoirs and monster reservoirs,"
Henry taught me about spirit reservoirs and monster reservoirs as well. Spirit reservoir was a place with such abundant magical power that rare plants and animals lived there, and flowers bloomed out of season, among other things. Monster reservoirs, as the name implied, were places where monsters settled.
"Let me see. I believe they have other functions like Conferring, Reward, Verdict, Acquittal, etc. Conferring is used for appointing knights, promoting nobility, and so on. Reward is used to bestow honours. I heard it can give the recipient a buff effect. Conversely, if someone has crimes in their bounty column, they get de-buffed,"
As I remembered Henry's lesson, Arisa returned to the topic of city cores and began to explain how they work.
"Does Verdict punish criminals?"
"Certainly not. Criminals get their heads chopped off, and that's that as punishment goes. When Verdict is used on someone who's been accused of a crime, it determines whether they're guilty. It adds the crime to their bounty accordingly," Arisa answers. "But Acquittal can blot out crimes from the record, so rulers and royalty can make it like the most inconvenient ones never happened."
Her first statement made the system sound fair and made me believe it was impossible to frame someone for a crime. But then Arisa continued, and I realized how easy it would be to abuse this system. Nobles could deny people to be judged by the Verdict function of the City Core and wipe their own crimes clean.
"Arisa, are there situations where someone commits murder, but it doesn't appear in their bounty?"
"Of course. Poisoning or assassinating someone without being found out, for example. There are exceptions like self-defence and duels and things like that, too," Has Satou killed someone before? That thought appears in my mind as I continue to eavesdrop. "Oh, and if a king or duke kills someone in his own territory, it isn't considered a crime."
I really hope to never get on a noble's lousy side. They can kill me, imprison or torture me and no one will do anything to stop them. Most people would probably think the noble was in the right to do those things to me.
<0>
When we took our afternoon break Satou, and I practised alchemy together. We both had the same idea when we arrived in Seiryuu city. We both brought beginners alchemy sets and books, knowing potions could mean the difference between life and death in this world. With a sidelong glance at the rest of the group, who were playing a game with the study cards, we begin to learn.
"Now they are doing alchemy,"
Arisa mutters as we start, but Satou and I pay her no mind. Satou set down a waterproof sheet for us to work on and provided some cores for us to use. I was planning on going hunting at first, but Satou stopped me and said he had plenty of cores to spare. The beginner's set came with every tool we needed to make basic potions and even some materials to use in alchemy. A lot of the instruments looked like tools for science experiments.
The beginner's book of alchemy was titled Rudimentary Alchemy. It is a thin book with no more than twenty pages with pictures to aid any rookie with creating their first potion. The first recipe is for Antipyretic Medicine, so we start with that. First things first, we take out the mortar and pestle. The mortar was made of some kind of pink stone that sparkled in the sunlight. It isn't like the white bowls I had seen back in Japan, but I guess this is how mortars look in a fantasy world.
We took out some dried herbs from the Reagent One bag and ground them down with the mortar and pestle, following the book's instructions. Once done, we added a small amount of water and whisked the mashed herbs into it with a small metal tool. It took a few minutes to finish, and I managed to get it done about ten seconds faster than Satou. Not that we were racing or anything. It was a simple recipe, but since it was the first recipe, it should have been no surprise that it was quick and straightforward to make.
On the next page of the book, read, "If you have a Transmutation Tablet, proceed to Chapter Two. Otherwise, turn to Chapter Four." This reminds me of a game I once played. Chapter Two concerned the basics of the Transmutation Tablet, used for making potions. According to the explanation, medicines created normally and potions made with the Transmutation Tablet were considered different even if their effects were similar. Potions required MP and a magic catalyst called an "Elixir," but in return, they had the advantage of taking effect immediately. Since we both have Transmutation Tablets, we move on to chapter two.
The first step was preparing the tablet. It was a black board with a highly textured surface. The surface was engraved with shallow grooves in a black magic circle pattern. On top of the tablet were six metal rods, finely engraved with designs like those on the tablet. After we finished setting it up, we both placed our hands on the corresponding marks and spoke the keyword to activate it.
"Transmutation Tablet activate,"
All we had to say was that one line in normal Shigan and magic was sucked from my hands as the grooves shone with red light. It was beautiful. But my light looked dim compared to Satou's. How much power does he have? According to Earl Seiryuu and Henry, I have a lot, but I pale compared to Satou.
I could operate the Transmutation Tablet by moving my fingers along the indentation. In a way, it reminded me of the touch screen of a tablet computer. I move my guild book closer, so I can follow the instructions. I placed a metal beaker in the centre of the six metal rods as the book instructed. Then I poured the medicine I'd made earlier into the container. This would serve as the base of the potion. Next, I gradually added the ready-made elixir, Reagent Two, while stirring the mixture. Then magic had to be added before the reagent settled on the bottom.
Placing my hand on the tablet, I let my magic flow into the tablet with a small smile. This is kind of fun. It reminds me of the time my childhood friends and I played scientists. We got into so much trouble mixing my mother's perfumes together that I thought I would have been grounded for the rest of my life. It was fun. Even if I couldn't leave my house for months after that day.
The metal rods radiated a bright red, and the reagent powder in the beaker lit up. It wasn't reflecting the light of the rods… the powder itself was glowing. When the light faded, the process was complete. The completed potion was the lowest-quality antipyretic. Not bad for my first time, but I had seen plenty of other potions with much better effects. It would be a waste to just toss it, so I put the liquid into the beaker provided and stored the potion immediately.
Satou and I started doing separate things after that. He started to make stamina recovery potions while I repeated what I had just done until the materials provided with the beginner's set. By the time I was done, I had five Antipyretic Potions. Four of them were low quality, but one was an intermediate potion. When I look at my skills, I find I gained the Formulation and Transmutation skills, and they were both at level four.
Satou was still going at it when I packed away my things. Mia looked bored with the game, so I took her for a quick walk. We didn't go far, but with Mia's help, we were able to find something called a Klite Berry. I put one in my mouth, and it was sweet. I never tasted anything like it before, and I'm sure it would make a good ingredient for desserts or maybe a drink. We pick as much as we can carry, and Mia has me feed her a few barries before we return. I hand Mia some of the barriers to share with the others and take most with me over to Satou.
This time I don't take out my alchemy set. I borrow a large bowl from Satou and begin squeezing the barries, pouring their juices into the bowl. It isn't pretty, and my hands look like they are covered in blood when I am done, but I manage to fill the bowl with plenty of berries to spare. I borrow a cup and ladle from and sample some of the juice and nearly spit it out. It was so intense and overwhelming it is a miracle I wasn't sick.
The next cup I try, I dilute the juice with water, and it is perfect. Sweet, refreshing and a taste of the juices I loved back home. Mia, Pochi and Tama quickly surrounded me, so I made them some juice, and they instantly fell in love with it.
"It's Sweet!"
"My mouth is happy, sir!"
"Sweet,"
Pochi, Tama and Mia's reactions quickly draw everyone else's attention. They all try some, with Lulu asking me to show her how to make it. It isn't that hard. All I did was squeeze the berries and add water. Satou and Arisa liked the drink the most.
"I haven't tasted anything like this in years,"
Arisa happily sighs as I serve her seconds. Satou nods his head, looking at the drink. He asked me how I made it and what I used, so I told him about the Klite Barriers and where Mia and I found them. The drink can still be refined, but it tastes good and is perfect on a hot day like today.
We store away the leftover juice and head off after everyone's finished their drinks. It's my turn to drive the carriage with Liza sitting beside me. We can hear Satou playing with the other back in the wagon. It sounds like they are having fun playing some singing word chain game. Liza looks like she wants to join them, but her dedication to her duty keeps her in place. I honestly wouldn't have minded being alone up here. After a bit more practice, I can handle the carriage by myself.
<0>
"This is tough,"
Satou mutters as he misses the target with Mia's bow. His arrow missed the target hitting a nearby tree. Now that we'd finished setting up camp, Mia was teaching us how to use the short bows Satou procured in the town. Satou, Liza, Pochi, Tama, Nana, Lulu and myself were all Mia's students. Arisa said she was more interested in magic and Pearl that she wanted to master the sword. Arisa is currently watching us while Pearl practices her swings.
"Watch,"
Mia fires again, hitting the target dead centre. Now one else was able to do that. Nana nearly injured her chest with the drawstring, Pochi nipped her hand, so Mia had to heal her, and Tama nearly shot herself in the foot. Satou didn't prove much better with his arrow sinking into the ground halfway to the target. I was a little better. My arrow hit the ground right in front of the target. Lulu was the most gifted, but she was nervous and shook so much that she ended up just missing the target. If she was more confident, she could become as good as Mia one day.
In the end, everyone gives up, including Satou, which surprised me. He always toughed things out. But I stayed with Mia and practised some more once I noticed I had gained the Aim and Bow skills. They were both currently at level one, so I wanted to practice some more to level them up.
"Better,"
Mia nods as my next arrow hits the bottom of the target. I fire again, hitting the edge and again hitting the bottom of the target just above my first arrow. My Aim and Bow skill reach level two, so I fire a few more shots, hitting the target every time. Mia seems impressed, but my arrows are spread out all over the place. We practice until dinner is ready and my skills reach level four. Mia was giving me advice as I practised, and my last arrow was a bullseye.
"Good,"
Mia nods as we return to the others.
"Herbs?"
"Yeah, they're called russet wort. They're used to make magic recovery potions,"
Satou tells her, patting Tama on the head. It seems Pochi and Tama were running around the forest as they waited for dinner. They are dirty when they return and hold multiple herbs.
"Pochi picked some too, sir,"
Satou ends up patting Pochi's head, too, as she hands over all of her herbs. Mia helps them wash up with her magic as Liza and Lulu dished up the meal. Tonight we are having mutton Arisa and Lulu brought back in town, and it tastes a lot better than the overpriced meal the inn served us. Afterwards, Liza approached Satou.
"Master, I would like to carry out some training with Pochi and Tama to ensure our skills remain intact. Is that all right?"
"Hero Kura, I would like to participate as well. I entreat," Nana said.
"Sure, that's fine," I reply. "Just don't use Magic Arrows during training."
"Restriction registered. Hero Kura, your command has been accepted, I report,"
They engaged in one-on-one and two-on-two practice battles. Since Satou served as the referee and on-call medic, he didn't participate. I ended up sparing with Pearl and then Liza afterwards. I wasn't planning on joining in at first, but Pearl wanted to practise, so I became her partner. Unfortunately, during my match with Pearl, I broke her sword.
"You can use this sword," I told her, taking out the magic sword I used to use.
"I can't," Pearl shook her head. "Not something so valuable."
It took some convincing, but Pearl took my old sword in the end. She will be better off with a magical sword if we encounter another demon. We spared, and Pearl seemed to adapt to her new weapon very well. Her attacks became stronger, and her body moved slightly faster. Pearl herself seemed to like her new weapon as she smiled during our fight.
As soon as Pearl was done, I spared with Liza. It was an enlightening experience fighting her. Liza's spear had more reach than Pearl's sword, and Liza was skilled in the way she used it. Her fighting style and natural skill were a challenge, but in the end, I won after knocking the spear from her hands. Lulu brings over some soup after we are done, which we eat before going to bed. It was an unexpected tiring end to the day, but the experience I gained is worth the price.
The next day, city, I awoke to see a mountain of prepped and stripped vampire bats. Some of them I killed myself, but there are plenty others there. Those things were a nightmare and constantly attacked our camp during the night. As a result, we had grilled bat for breakfast. They smelled pretty good and tasted rather nice. The taste remindes me of chichen. Satou, Lulu and Arisa couldn't bring themselves to try the bats. It was there lost as I ate everything but the bones. Tama, Pochi and Liza, however, devoured those with the meat. As soon as we are done eating, we leave, finally crossing the border and leaving the territory controlled by Earl Seiryuu.
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