Picked Up (3)
Chimera transmutation.
The act of fusing different living creatures together to create a new form of life.
Surprisingly, it was not a taboo.
Alchemy had only two taboos.
Turning stone into gold,
and bringing the dead back to life.
Gold transmutation threw markets into chaos,
and Dead Resurrection defied the providence of the gods.
Necromancers?
They were something else entirely — different in kind, not degree.
A necromancer merely reanimated a corpse and puppeteered its soul.
Dead Resurrection was revival itself.
It meant recreating a body that had lost its life, calling a soul back into it — a miracle of the gods, pure and simple.
Naturally, Evan had no intention of attempting a taboo. Not even close.
Who knows what kind of price you'd pay?
Alchemy was not omnipotent.
Equivalent exchange.
Just as you paid a fair price when buying something, you had to offer a matching cost when you transmuted.
So what was the price of creating life?
What did it cost to call a departed soul back, to reconstruct a vanished body exactly as it had been in life, and to heal every illness and wound in the process?
Ugh. I don't even want to imagine it.
Evan knew full well how catastrophic the consequences of a taboo could be.
He wouldn't dare attempt anything even remotely similar, let alone a full taboo.
Why?
Because lives would be lost — no, because the world itself would be thrown into chaos.
It absolutely was not because absolute transmutation was dangerous and he valued his own neck.
Absolutely not.
I am absolutely protecting my own life, though.
So why did these bizarre misunderstandings keep piling up?
In the dim study, Evan rested his chin on his laced fingers and thought it over in earnest.
He had lived quietly. That much was certain.
In the whole Theodore runaway affair, he had even helped after being framed as the culprit.
Anything else?
Nothing.
Which only proved how quietly he had been living.
Good rumors should have been circulating by now. So why on earth…?
"What exactly is the problem, then?"
"Hmm…"
Snap, snap! Dolf paused mid-shake of a snow-white bedsheet and tilted his head.
"I truly don't know, Young Master. Where else would you find someone as diligent and quiet as yourself…"
"My thoughts exactly."
"Mmff. Mmph?"
"Please finish chewing first."
Lapis, still crunching on a raw cucumber, shot her hand straight up.
"Maybe it's because of me?"
Day three of Lapis living at the mansion.
In that short span, she had adapted completely.
The adaptability of a future Sin, no less.
Evan turned to her.
"Have you by any chance been beating people up, or eating anyone alive?"
"Nope."
"Then have you asked anyone to play cat's cradle with you?"
Lapis primarily worked with threads of mana spun from her own power — Magic Threads.
It was her specialty and her hobby.
A perfectly wholesome, healthy hobby.
At least she wasn't using it to shred people into fine pieces.
"Nope. I didn't. I just helped the aunties with their work…"
Aunties?
Ah. She meant the maidservants.
…Don't tell me that way of talking is what's starting weird rumors?
"Hmm. I see. For now, it would be best if you stopped using the word 'auntie.'"
"Okay."
"While helping the maids, did you happen to kill any monsters?"
"Do those even show up in a mansion? They shouldn't. They taste terrible."
"?"
I don't think the taste is the issue here.
The rebuttal rose all the way to his throat.
He forced it back down.
I—I survived.
"Of course they don't appear. I was merely curious."
"Okay. But… if I mess up, does that mean I can't eat this anymore?"
Lapis pointed at her own bowl.
A bowl that had once been piled high with vegetables and fruit.
She had cleaned it so thoroughly that only a few scraps remained.
"No. Of course not. That is that, and a meal is a meal."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Lapis's face lit up.
Evan casually handed over a bell pepper he had set aside.
It was absolutely not because he didn't want to eat it himself.
"Here you are."
"Wow!"
Lapis demolished the pepper.
In three days, she had become something close to a vegan.
Whatever she ate, it was vegetables. Whatever she ate next, still vegetables.
Meat produced such a visceral aversion that she refused it outright.
She really should eat some for her health, but I'll leave her alone for now.
What mattered was the present.
Her palate had changed, and she had acquired a wholesome hobby.
Wasn't that enough of a foundation for rehabilitation?
Evan allowed himself a satisfied smile.
First things first — I have to fix these misunderstandings.
A child like this, a chimera?
How could anyone say something so horrible…
"Ta-da. I can make stars now, too."
"Remarkable. Well done."
Evan ruffled Lapis's hair.
In that moment, Dolf — who had stepped out briefly — came rushing back in.
"Young Master! A reply has finally arrived!"
"…A reply?"
Dolf held out a pristine sheet of letter paper.
A familiar seal caught Evan's eye.
Wait. This is…
"The Saintess?"
"Yes!"
Dolf made no effort to hide his excitement.
"A reply actually came back…! Does this mean we can finally treat your illness, Young Master?!"
"…For real?"
Even Lapis looked up at the letter with expectant eyes.
She had spent three days at Evan's side.
Naturally, she had noticed almost at once that his body was unwell.
I worried she might look down on me for it and attack, but thankfully she didn't.
She had been kind, if anything.
It felt a little like watching an animal trying to earn its keep.
"Open it already."
"Young Master! Hurry!"
"Very well."
What happens if they find out the letter doesn't say anything of the sort?
A chill ran down his spine for some reason.
He brushed a hand down his arm and carefully opened the letter.
To Evan Alcarte,
I received your letter safely. Every night, I find myself unable to sleep.
I keep wondering why you would write to us first — why you would send such a precious gift.
But upon reading your other letter, I understood. The time has not yet come.
I shall wait for the answer to find its way to me.
— Adrianne Saint, Saintess of the Sun
P.S. Did you receive the "gift" we sent?
"…?"
The emotion that rose as he read the letter
was pure bewilderment.
What is this supposed to mean?
He had expected something along the lines of "thank you," "we will certainly repay you," "do you enjoy blessings," or "would you care to join the Church"…
What were these cryptic answers?
Did the reply get mixed up? No, that can't be it.
It bore the seal only the Saintess herself was permitted to use.
This was no forgery.
Hmm, so… she doesn't understand why I sent her a gift?
Well, the confusion was fair enough.
Evan and the Saintess had never met.
He had only ever heard of her reputation from one side.
And then, out of nowhere, potions and a letter?
Even if Evan had been the Saintess, he would have been a little wary.
So that's why she can't sleep at night?
Softer-hearted than he expected.
At least the gift itself didn't seem to have displeased her.
A precious gift.
In other words, she had seen the effects.
But "the time has not yet come"? What is that about?
Wasn't that the line from the letter he had sent to Arthur?
More precisely, the phrase written on the outside of the stationery.
I never noticed it in the main story. Hmm, looks like an oracle came down or something?
Evan decided to let it slide.
The Saintess was a character in whom holiness and cunning coexisted.
One oddity like this was hardly out of character.
The DLC is a concern, but they did say it was only a side story.
In the main game, Saintess Adrianne and Holy Knight Arthur Modriter had barely any connection at all.
Would the developers really go insane and rewrite every established setting from the main story?
A gift? Looks like it hasn't arrived yet.
What kind of gift would it be?
He felt a small flicker of anticipation.
It was the Saintess, after all — no one ordinary.
Perhaps because it was still five years before the main events, her letter-writing left a little to be desired.
Hmm!
After a moment's thought, Evan nodded.
I was overcomplicating this.
What mattered was that the Saintess did not seem to think poorly of him.
I should send a reply.
With letters, the heart mattered more than the contents.
Suggesting we get along shouldn't cause any problems, right?
Best to send the reply right away.
Evan pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and scribbled away.
Roughly: let's be on good terms, we could become good friends, what do you usually enjoy… that sort of thing.
To an outsider it might have looked like a love letter, but Evan meant every word in his own way.
Who knows? Maybe the Saintess will cheerfully grant me a blessing.
A life so precarious he could collapse at any moment.
Precautions were essential.
"That should do it. Dolf. Please deliver this reply."
"Yes! I'll get it there at once!"
"Lapis? Is there something outside the window?"
"Yes. …Yes? No. There's just a bug flying around out there."
Lapis gazed out the window.
Her blood-red eyes glimmered with an unreadable light.
The nearby Black Forest.
Shadow watched the back of Dolf, Evan's servant, as he set out to post the letter.
The Saintess has finally sent her reply.
Six days.
Not a short span of time.
Fortunately the distance between the capital and the Alcarte Duchy was considerable; otherwise, one might reasonably have assumed the letter had been ignored.
The Saintess had agonized long and hard before writing back.
How not to offend Evan.
How to sound out his intentions.
Looks like it landed well enough.
Shadow rubbed his chin.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
The Saintess had begun to move, and Arthur's recovery was showing steady progress.
Last night, he finally managed to coat his sword with aura again.
Years had passed since Arthur lost his aura.
Ever since the day his only family — his younger sister — fell to the Divine Illness and was stripped of her title as Shaman.
He had wielded his blade through raw strength alone.
And now he was beginning to channel aura once more.
How strong would he become?
Shadow found himself looking forward to it.
A subordinate's joy always rose with the growth of the master he acknowledged and served.
Come to think of it, Master should be arriving soon.
Shadow was an assassin.
He had a master who had taught him the use of hidden weapons.
His master was a beggar.
Literally.
A wandering beggar-assassin who never settled in one place, drifting from town to town.
From time to time he would send word of his whereabouts to his disciple.
The method was rather blood-chilling.
The letters always arrived embedded in a flying dagger.
Occasionally the memory of his master's cackling heeheehee would surface, and a full-body shiver would run through him.
He said he would come by once. It would be good to see him.
For now, focus on the mission.
This was a letter bound for the Saintess.
He had to ensure no one intercepted it.
"Hello."
That was when it happened.
A polite greeting rose from behind him.
Shadow nodded.
"Right. Nice to meet—"
Wait.
Hello?
Whoosh!
Shadow sprang backward in a rush.
Where he had been standing,
a girl with white hair and red eyes stood as if she had always been there.
A presence that barely felt human.
How long had she been there?
"Who are you?"
"I'm Lapis."
"Lapis? …The little one the chimera rumors are about."
"That's a bit much. I'm far too unstable to be something he made."
…Unstable?
He caught it in her tone.
This girl was no ordinary child.
"What are you, then?"
"Still, it's not so bad. It means I look natural enough that people think I'm his creation."
Lapis put on a pleased expression.
It looked awkward, as if she had never practiced smiling before.
One thing, however, was certain.
Right now, Lapis was offering Evan her full loyalty.
"In a short time, I've learned so much. How to talk, delicious food like vegetables and fruit, basic knowledge…"
Shhhk—
Severed branches and leaves rained down in a cascade.
"And last of all — the 'peace' that found its way into my heart."
Lapis.
No — Ira had always been angry.
She never knew why.
She had been that way from the moment she was born.
Everyone who looked at her felt rage, and she raged in turn.
But Evan?
He was different.
He looked at Ira and did not grow angry.
He always used polite speech and observed the most basic courtesies.
As if he had come from another world entirely.
That was impossible, of course — which left only one conclusion.
He must know my destiny, too.
How much did Evan truly know?
And how much of it could he fix?
No — it didn't matter if he fixed nothing.
Evan.
As long as he alone understood Ira and looked after her, that was enough.
The Sins could sense their own fates.
Armed with the power that symbolized their Sin, they were destined to destroy the world.
That was inevitable.
And into that inevitability had slipped an impurity that did not belong.
So small, and so precious.
She had not the slightest intention of losing him.
"I don't know whether you're a bad person or not, but you are watching him. That much is certain."
Shhhrrraaaak—
The forest began to shimmer with a soft light.
Magic Threads, spread like a spider's web,
caught the moonlight and started to gleam.
⟨ Magic Thread — Cat's Cradle ⟩
A forest aglow with silver light.
The body of a magical beast that had been prowling nearby was sliced into pieces by the threads, spraying fountains of blood.
"I won't kill you."
…This is bad.
Shadow twisted his body in desperation.
At the same instant,
the spiderweb came crashing down like a wave.
The Saintess stared at the letter with a rigid expression.
A small bloodstain clung to the edge of the paper.
Cold sweat beaded on her skin of its own accord.
"…Heh. Heheh. This is rather frightening."
Forcing a smile, the Saintess opened the letter.
More precisely — the envelope beside it.
The accompanying package.
"…Is this a warning?"
Inside lay Shadow's severed arm.