Chapter 247: Gnometree (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: Gnometree (1)
An alchemist was a person who could transmute mana stones into materials. Not many people held this job even in Rafdonia, so they were considered the city's most important resources. As for Noark, which was in much rougher shape, it went without saying how they treated their alchemists.
"Good morning, Miss Marlene!"
"Are you on an errand for the alchemist? That looks heavy. I'll carry it for you."
It was for this reason that everyone in the city was kind to Marlene. She was the alchemist's one and only apprentice. When the day came that she inherited all his knowledge, she would be in charge of this city from then on.
Grandpa isn't the same as usual these days...
To be honest, it would be a lie to say this role wasn't burdensome, but there was really no one else to take over for her, so her only choice was to shoulder the responsibility and push forward. It wasn't just a role she had taken out of duty, either.
"Grandpa!"
"I told you to call me Master."
"Alright, Master! So what about the stuff? Is it here?"
"It is. There's quite a lot, so you can look through it and take what you need."
The alchemist tossed her a two-way sub-space and Marlene took it to confirm the contents that were inside. It contained the things she had ordered.
"Please say thanks for me!"
"Will do."
Marlene whistled and moved the items into her personal bag. This was an unmistakable privilege. Without the title of alchemist's apprentice backing her, it would have been impossible for her to use this two-way sub-space, which was supposed to be used strategically, for personal gain. Not to mention that the infiltrators outside the city wouldn't have listened to her request in the first place.
"Wow, Grandpa! Try some of this. They make some good cookies!"
"I told you to call me Master. Oh, these cookies are delicious, though."
"But what's that? It looks like an elixir on the outside, but I'm sure it can't be one..."
"Haha, well spotted."
"Huhhh? I-Is it really an elixir?" Marlene, who was munching on the cookies without much thought, jumped to her feet, and rightfully so. With the ingredients being so expensive and the production process so difficult, even her master had only made five bottles of elixir in his lifetime.
He already used two bottles too...
Now there were only three elixirs left in Noark, and one of those bottles was currently in her master's hands. For what reason?
When Marlene's eyes lit up with curiosity, her master smiled and explained the situation. "You'll need to know this in the future, so I'll tell you. Today, I'm going to feed this elixir to the Dragon Slayer Regal Vagos and attempt to restore his memory depending on how well he recovers."
"To Regal Vagos...?" Marlene frowned subconsciously.
"Why, you don't like him?"
"...He just looks scary."
"Don't judge people by their appearance. It's because of an injury. I heard he was quite handsome before the burn. Well, I have another reason not to like him, though."
"R-Right? It's not just me, is it?"
"Haha, you always pick and choose what you want to hear."
"That's because it's not just his looks for me, either. That man is so mean. The way he speaks with no manners to you as well..."
"What a kid."
A moment of embarrassed silence ensued, after which Marlene heard the details from her master. The reason why the precious elixir was being delivered to that dragonian man was very simple, at least on the surface.
"The Corpse Collector's power was greatly reduced recently, so apparently our forces need to be supplemented."
"Is that man that strong? I heard he was weakened by a curse."
"Still, his Dragon Speech is special. Not that he can use it however he wants... But they expect him to be able to use it once or twice after taking this elixir."
The head of Orcules had made the request directly to the castellan and he had granted it. It was a one-sided request, but he hadn't had a choice, because he was partly responsible for what had happened to the dragonian man. Although they had tried to treat him, for some reason, Vagos's health had deteriorated further.
"Tsk, it's a mystery, though. I'm certain nothing I did could have caused that."
"The way I see it, it's all an act! To frame us somehow and scare us!"
"...I don't think it's an act, but I know what you're trying to say. The castellan can't be swayed by them forever." Orcules was like a poisoned chalice, especially in that they were impossible to put down even knowing they were detrimental. "Now then, the preparations are complete, so let's go."
Afterward, Marlene followed her master to the dragonian man's room.
"Gruhhh..." Lying on the bed, he was unable to even speak properly. His limbs were locked and the only parts of his body he could move were his eyes.
"Since you have no problem hearing, I will just speak. This will be good news for you. The castellan has bestowed an elixir on you."
"Guhhh..."
"Then let's start right away."
The process of treating him wasn't all that complicated, and rightfully so, because the elixir wasn't just any regular item. The only requirement was to make sure to feed the elixir carefully so as not to spill it. After about ten minutes had passed, the dragonian man was able to lift up his torso and speak.
"God damn it, what the hell did you guys do to me before?" That was the first thing he said. "What the hell kind of treatment put me in that condition!?"
Marlene wanted to say something back, but she remembered her master's words earlier and held her tongue.
"Haha, that's why we brought you the elixir. I hope you'll be kind enough to understand."
"Ha... if you weren't the alchemist..."
"Now, seeing as you are looking better, let's move on to the next thing."
"Next?"
"What you were going to say back then. You collapsed so suddenly that you couldn't finish your sentence. You should be able to recover your lost memories now."
"That won't cause any complications, right...?"
"The procedure may fail, but it won't harm your body or anything like that."
"...I'll trust you." The dragonian man nodded condescendingly like he was the superior here. Marlene was displeased with that, but she couldn't say anything while her master was keeping quiet.
"Eat. This is a secret medicine called Lethe's Curse. Oh, and it may hurt a little, but in your current state, you should be able to endure it, so don't worry."
The dragonian man accepted the medicine with obvious suspicion but swallowed it in one gulp. "...It's bitter."
"The pain will come soon, so lie down."
"What a kid."
A moment of embarrassed silence ensued, after which Marlene heard the details from her master. The reason why the precious elixir was being delivered to that dragonian man was very simple, at least on the surface.
"The Corpse Collector's power was greatly reduced recently, so apparently our forces need to be supplemented."
"Is that man that strong? I heard he was weakened by a curse."
"Still, his Dragon Speech is special. Not that he can use it however he wants... But they expect him to be able to use it once or twice after taking this elixir."
The head of Orcules had made the request directly to the castellan and he had granted it. It was a one-sided request, but he hadn't had a choice, because he was partly responsible for what had happened to the dragonian man. Although they had tried to treat him, for some reason, Vagos's health had deteriorated further.
"Tsk, it's a mystery, though. I'm certain nothing I did could have caused that."
"The way I see it, it's all an act! To frame us somehow and scare us!"
"...I don't think it's an act, but I know what you're trying to say. The castellan can't be swayed by them forever." Orcules was like a poisoned chalice, especially in that they were impossible to put down even knowing they were detrimental. "Now then, the preparations are complete, so let's go."
Afterward, Marlene followed her master to the dragonian man's room.
"Gruhhh..." Lying on the bed, he was unable to even speak properly. His limbs were locked and the only parts of his body he could move were his eyes.
"Since you have no problem hearing, I will just speak. This will be good news for you. The castellan has bestowed an elixir on you."
"Guhhh..."
"Then let's start right away."
The process of treating him wasn't all that complicated, and rightfully so, because the elixir wasn't just any regular item. The only requirement was to make sure to feed the elixir carefully so as not to spill it. After about ten minutes had passed, the dragonian man was able to lift up his torso and speak.
"God damn it, what the hell did you guys do to me before?" That was the first thing he said. "What the hell kind of treatment put me in that condition!?"
Marlene wanted to say something back, but she remembered her master's words earlier and held her tongue.
"Haha, that's why we brought you the elixir. I hope you'll be kind enough to understand."
"Ha... if you weren't the alchemist..."
"Now, seeing as you are looking better, let's move on to the next thing."
"Next?"
"What you were going to say back then. You collapsed so suddenly that you couldn't finish your sentence. You should be able to recover your lost memories now."
"That won't cause any complications, right...?"
"The procedure may fail, but it won't harm your body or anything like that."
"...I'll trust you." The dragonian man nodded condescendingly like he was the superior here. Marlene was displeased with that, but she couldn't say anything while her master was keeping quiet.
"Eat. This is a secret medicine called Lethe's Curse. Oh, and it may hurt a little, but in your current state, you should be able to endure it, so don't worry."
The dragonian man accepted the medicine with obvious suspicion but swallowed it in one gulp. "...It's bitter."
"The pain will come soon, so lie down."
The dragonian man obediently followed the alchemist's instructions and lay on the bed again. A long while later, Vagos, who was suffering and sweating profusely, opened his eyes again.
"So? Are your memories back?"
"...I don't know. I think they are."
"It may take a while."
"It is a very strange feeling. I can vividly remember things that happened when I was young."
"It's that kind of drug."
"Before we get into that, do you have anything sweet? I want something to chew on..."
At the dragonian man's request, the alchemist looked at Marlene. The look told her that she should give him something if she had it.
"...I'll bring something." Marlene hurried back to her room and fetched the cookies she had left behind earlier. However, when she returned, her master wasn't in the room.
"Your master was summoned by the lord. So, the snack?"
"Here..." Marlene handed over the few remaining cookies. She didn't want to, but what could she do?
Those are from Miss Amelia...
The dragonian man was greedy and didn't stop with one cookie. He chewed on several at once. A while later, he suddenly gripped his forehead as if the forgotten memories of that day had suddenly slammed into his mind. "Ugh... my head! Y-Yes...! It was that bastard...!"
Soon, the dragonian man let out a sharp, pleased exclamation as he stared out into space, but his moment of joy did not last long.
C-Cough!
He began to cough loudly, his expression growing distressed. It was obviously not due to something stuck in his throat. Before she knew it, the dragonian man's skin grew bizarrely swollen.
Grandpa never mentioned this side effect!
Unaware of this possibility, Marlene's mind went totally blank.
"You!" Suddenly, the man stretched out his hand toward Marlene with obvious hostility. Marlene, who had spent her whole life learning alchemy, had no hope of reacting in time. "Krr!" However, his hand never touched her body. The man tried to jump up but lost his balance and fell off the bed.
Choke!
Saliva continued to drip from his open maw. If her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, there also appeared to be flecks of blood. How had this happened?
"You... what did you put... in the cookie...?"
"W-What? It's just an ordinary cookie..." Marlene replied, rattled.
The man completely collapsed to the floor. "...You d-damned bitch." Even in the middle of what seemed to be a poisoning of some kind, the dragonian man strained to look up. Of course, this also didn't last long.
Plop.
Vagos dropped his head weakly. "D-Dragon blood... reacts with cinnamon..."
This was all thanks to a cinnamon allergy.
***
[The activation conditions for Blessing of the Stars have been met.]
The third vine was gone. I didn't know why. If I had to guess, the guy must have been tirelessly plotting another evil plan before getting punished by god for it, because this was a holy relic imbued with divine power. Anyway, the reason wasn't important.
God damn it.
Now, the Dragon Slayer could come after me at any time. That meant that I had to be even more on guard in the future.
The dragonian man obediently followed the alchemist's instructions and lay on the bed again. A long while later, Vagos, who was suffering and sweating profusely, opened his eyes again.
"So? Are your memories back?"
"...I don't know. I think they are."
"It may take a while."
"It is a very strange feeling. I can vividly remember things that happened when I was young."
"It's that kind of drug."
"Before we get into that, do you have anything sweet? I want something to chew on..."
At the dragonian man's request, the alchemist looked at Marlene. The look told her that she should give him something if she had it.
"...I'll bring something." Marlene hurried back to her room and fetched the cookies she had left behind earlier. However, when she returned, her master wasn't in the room.
"Your master was summoned by the lord. So, the snack?"
"Here..." Marlene handed over the few remaining cookies. She didn't want to, but what could she do?
Those are from Miss Amelia...
The dragonian man was greedy and didn't stop with one cookie. He chewed on several at once. A while later, he suddenly gripped his forehead as if the forgotten memories of that day had suddenly slammed into his mind. "Ugh... my head! Y-Yes...! It was that bastard...!"
Soon, the dragonian man let out a sharp, pleased exclamation as he stared out into space, but his moment of joy did not last long.
C-Cough!
He began to cough loudly, his expression growing distressed. It was obviously not due to something stuck in his throat. Before she knew it, the dragonian man's skin grew bizarrely swollen.
Grandpa never mentioned this side effect!
Unaware of this possibility, Marlene's mind went totally blank.
"You!" Suddenly, the man stretched out his hand toward Marlene with obvious hostility. Marlene, who had spent her whole life learning alchemy, had no hope of reacting in time. "Krr!" However, his hand never touched her body. The man tried to jump up but lost his balance and fell off the bed.
Choke!
Saliva continued to drip from his open maw. If her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, there also appeared to be flecks of blood. How had this happened?
"You... what did you put... in the cookie...?"
"W-What? It's just an ordinary cookie..." Marlene replied, rattled.
The man completely collapsed to the floor. "...You d-damned bitch." Even in the middle of what seemed to be a poisoning of some kind, the dragonian man strained to look up. Of course, this also didn't last long.
Plop.
Vagos dropped his head weakly. "D-Dragon blood... reacts with cinnamon..."
This was all thanks to a cinnamon allergy.
***
[The activation conditions for Blessing of the Stars have been met.]
The third vine was gone. I didn't know why. If I had to guess, the guy must have been tirelessly plotting another evil plan before getting punished by god for it, because this was a holy relic imbued with divine power. Anyway, the reason wasn't important.
God damn it.
Now, the Dragon Slayer could come after me at any time. That meant that I had to be even more on guard in the future.
The second vine only broke off last month.
How could this happen? A sigh slipped from my lips automatically, and rightfully so because I couldn't say I was fully prepared yet.
I think I can mess him up on his own...
The problem was that there was no guarantee that he would come take revenge alone. What if he came with Clown? And if not him, what if he was accompanied by numerous subordinates?
Looks like the barrier will break open soon too.
The palace had even found a way to demolish Noark's barrier. If it became possible to travel between the underground city and its aboveground counterpart, it would be possible to encounter the Dragon Slayer in Rafdonia too. Of course, even that wasn't something to worry about right now.
Why here...?
I let out a silent sigh and glanced around.
"Bjorn, is that...?!" Knowing what the vine ring meant, Missha was horrified. The knight, on the other hand, just seemed to be wondering what kind of weird thing was going on now.
But the paladin was different. "...It's a holy relic from our temple. And one I've never seen before." Sven Parav, the vice captain of the Second Order of the Paladins of Reatlas, narrowed his eyes. Like the religious man he was, he had recognized this was a holy relic. "Could it be that the prophecy that was given back then—"
"Stop."
"Ah... sorry." When I cut him off, the paladin realized his mistake and shut his mouth, but it was already too late. "Then the subject of that prophecy was..."
"Confidentiality is essential to escort operations, so you don't need to worry."
Don't worry, my ass. They may say this is all classified but they'll go rat me out to their superiors anyway. Ha, so annoying.
Three knights and one vice captain. Although only four people knew my secret, the fact was that that number would gradually increase in the future. How long would it take for it to reach the chieftain's ears?
...He won't actually kick me out of the tribe, right?
Well, I didn't know about that, but it was clear that there would be trouble. The chieftain had even seemed displeased about my new title. Convincing him that it was for the sake of the tribe had been a whole other ordeal.
It's going to take me a long time to get to stage nine of the Imprint...
It was suffocating, especially in that there was nothing I could do right now. Even if I asked them to keep it a secret, they'd only say yes to my face.
"Then I'll be on my way." So, I just left the temple without saying anything. What could I do when the cat was already out of the bag?
I have no choice but to take over the tribe as soon as possible.
This could all be resolved if I became the chieftain and changed the traditions of the tribe. And in that sense... I had work to do.
"Missha, you can go home now."
"Hmm?"
"I'm going to stop by the holy land for a while."
They said to strike while the iron was hot. I immediately parted ways with Missha and headed to the holy land. The knights joined me only up to the entrance and did not come inside. That was because barbarians still subscribed to the tradition of forbidding entry to other races.
"Then we will wait here."
"I'll be out by evening, so take a break somewhere nearby."
"Yes, my lord."
When I entered through the open castle gates, a forest landscape that you'd be hard-pressed to find in the city appeared. I wasn't sure if this was a remnant of the warrior whose body I was in, but for some reason, this place smelled more like home than Hansu Lee's room.
The air here is definitely nice.
Walking along the overgrown, weedy road instead of the paved ones of the city, I soon arrived at the residential section of the holy land. There were huts built without any criteria whatsoever.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel is an invincible warrior blessed by the ancestral gods!"
"God and invincible!"
"Now, I'll tell you the story of Bjorn slaying the world's most wicked Corpse Collector, so take heed!"
"H-Heed? What does that mean!?"
"It means open your ear holes and listen!"
In a nearby clearing, young warriors could be seen receiving early training. The instructor was... Ainar.
Ainar was different at home and outside. Her shoulders, which never opened up in front of Missha, were wide, and her expression was overflowing with confidence. She was carrying four backpacks. That was because the number of backpacks one carried was a symbol of success to the barbarians. She must have just wanted to show off in front of her juniors. I guessed she really liked her position here because her daily routine consisted of coming to the holy land every morning.
...Let's pass by quickly.
I debated heading over to say hi to Ainar, but I stopped myself because I had a feeling the interaction would drain me of my energy. I came to the holy land today for another reason. I needed to conserve my strength.
Whip.
When I arrived at the chieftain's house, I threw open the tent flap and entered. That was one of the benefits of being a barbarian. You didn't have to knock.
"Oh, are you all better?"
"Yes."
"What business did you come here for?" Like a man who served as the pinnacle of the barbarian race, the chieftain got straight to the point. I liked that things here were always straightforward. That meant I had nothing to worry about.
"I have something to say."
"Speak."
In barbarian society, honesty was considered a virtue, so I said what I wanted to say. "I have come to succeed you as the chieftain."
"Succeed..." The chieftain picked up an ax resting against the corner of the tent and said, "Don't use complicated words. Fight me."
The second vine only broke off last month.
How could this happen? A sigh slipped from my lips automatically, and rightfully so because I couldn't say I was fully prepared yet.
I think I can mess him up on his own...
The problem was that there was no guarantee that he would come take revenge alone. What if he came with Clown? And if not him, what if he was accompanied by numerous subordinates?
Looks like the barrier will break open soon too.
The palace had even found a way to demolish Noark's barrier. If it became possible to travel between the underground city and its aboveground counterpart, it would be possible to encounter the Dragon Slayer in Rafdonia too. Of course, even that wasn't something to worry about right now.
Why here...?
I let out a silent sigh and glanced around.
"Bjorn, is that...?!" Knowing what the vine ring meant, Missha was horrified. The knight, on the other hand, just seemed to be wondering what kind of weird thing was going on now.
But the paladin was different. "...It's a holy relic from our temple. And one I've never seen before." Sven Parav, the vice captain of the Second Order of the Paladins of Reatlas, narrowed his eyes. Like the religious man he was, he had recognized this was a holy relic. "Could it be that the prophecy that was given back then—"
"Stop."
"Ah... sorry." When I cut him off, the paladin realized his mistake and shut his mouth, but it was already too late. "Then the subject of that prophecy was..."
"Confidentiality is essential to escort operations, so you don't need to worry."
Don't worry, my ass. They may say this is all classified but they'll go rat me out to their superiors anyway. Ha, so annoying.
Three knights and one vice captain. Although only four people knew my secret, the fact was that that number would gradually increase in the future. How long would it take for it to reach the chieftain's ears?
...He won't actually kick me out of the tribe, right?
Well, I didn't know about that, but it was clear that there would be trouble. The chieftain had even seemed displeased about my new title. Convincing him that it was for the sake of the tribe had been a whole other ordeal.
It's going to take me a long time to get to stage nine of the Imprint...
It was suffocating, especially in that there was nothing I could do right now. Even if I asked them to keep it a secret, they'd only say yes to my face.
"Then I'll be on my way." So, I just left the temple without saying anything. What could I do when the cat was already out of the bag?
I have no choice but to take over the tribe as soon as possible.
This could all be resolved if I became the chieftain and changed the traditions of the tribe. And in that sense... I had work to do.
"Missha, you can go home now."
"Hmm?"
"I'm going to stop by the holy land for a while."
They said to strike while the iron was hot. I immediately parted ways with Missha and headed to the holy land. The knights joined me only up to the entrance and did not come inside. That was because barbarians still subscribed to the tradition of forbidding entry to other races.
"Then we will wait here."
"I'll be out by evening, so take a break somewhere nearby."
"Yes, my lord."
When I entered through the open castle gates, a forest landscape that you'd be hard-pressed to find in the city appeared. I wasn't sure if this was a remnant of the warrior whose body I was in, but for some reason, this place smelled more like home than Hansu Lee's room.
The air here is definitely nice.
Walking along the overgrown, weedy road instead of the paved ones of the city, I soon arrived at the residential section of the holy land. There were huts built without any criteria whatsoever.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel is an invincible warrior blessed by the ancestral gods!"
"God and invincible!"
"Now, I'll tell you the story of Bjorn slaying the world's most wicked Corpse Collector, so take heed!"
"H-Heed? What does that mean!?"
"It means open your ear holes and listen!"
In a nearby clearing, young warriors could be seen receiving early training. The instructor was... Ainar.
Ainar was different at home and outside. Her shoulders, which never opened up in front of Missha, were wide, and her expression was overflowing with confidence. She was carrying four backpacks. That was because the number of backpacks one carried was a symbol of success to the barbarians. She must have just wanted to show off in front of her juniors. I guessed she really liked her position here because her daily routine consisted of coming to the holy land every morning.
...Let's pass by quickly.
I debated heading over to say hi to Ainar, but I stopped myself because I had a feeling the interaction would drain me of my energy. I came to the holy land today for another reason. I needed to conserve my strength.
Whip.
When I arrived at the chieftain's house, I threw open the tent flap and entered. That was one of the benefits of being a barbarian. You didn't have to knock.
"Oh, are you all better?"
"Yes."
"What business did you come here for?" Like a man who served as the pinnacle of the barbarian race, the chieftain got straight to the point. I liked that things here were always straightforward. That meant I had nothing to worry about.
"I have something to say."
"Speak."
In barbarian society, honesty was considered a virtue, so I said what I wanted to say. "I have come to succeed you as the chieftain."
"Succeed..." The chieftain picked up an ax resting against the corner of the tent and said, "Don't use complicated words. Fight me."