Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari:Web Chapter 149

Alchemist

I finished chatting with the old man and headed down to the entrance of the Castle Town since it was close to the meeting time.

By the time we made our way to the entrance, Firo and the slaves had gathered.

“ “Welcome back~” ” (Slaves)

“I’m back, is everyone here?” (Naofumi)

I count just in case.

Yep. The whole group has gathered.

“Hey Master~” (Firo)

“What’s up?” (Naofumi)

Firo approached with a question.

Melty is….not here.

“What’s that yummy-looking kid next to you?” (Firo)

“Eep!?” (Imya)

Imya let out a frightened squeak.

Firo’s humanoid form was of similar height, but…to say she looks yummy, did Firo really think that she could eat her?

Nevertheless, the slaves who knew her real form took a few steps away from Firo and whispered together.

“So Firo-chan is really……” (Anon Slave)

“That’s right.” (Anon Slave)

“Is she gluttonous, or….” (Anon Slave)

Firo looked around uneasily. Did that kid even notice her own slip-up?

“Wh-what? No~!” (Firo)

Hm, I got to see an ostracized, flustered Firo, which was rare.

“You know Firo……this child may look a little different from us, but she’s still part-human.” (Raphtalia)

“And of all the things to say, you had to say she was yummy-looking…..so you finally reveal your true character.” (Naofumi)

“Fuee!?” (Firo)

Firo opened her eyes wide and sniffed Imya’s scent.

“No~! Don’t avoid Firo!” (Firo)

I can easily picture the motion of Firo, in her monster form, attacking Imya like an owl would eat a mouse.

This is probably what everyone here is imagining.

“I won’t eat you! I won’t eat you so don’t be afraid!” (Firo)

Firo tried frantically to persuade her, but Imya’s fear didn’t go away.

Imya clung to me with extreme fright.

It’s good that she was attached to me, but……what’s with this interaction?

“Master, help me!” (Firo)

“Even if you say that……It’s good as a threat, so won’t you become an embodiment of fear?” (Naofumi)

“NOOOOOOOOO!” (Firo)

Ah, she’s so loud.

“I’m joking. Imya, you don’t have to be so afraid of her. Firo is a nice kid who likes playing with children. She might look like a little girl now, but her true form is…..” (Naofumi)

……She’s definitely not a normal Philorial…..how should I describe it?

“H-her true form?” (Imya)

Imya asked, frightened more than before.

“Naofumi-sama, if you just stop there, her fear will escalate.” (Raphtalia)

“Nooo!” (Firo)

Firo let out an even louder cry.

“My bad. I was thinking of how best to explain it…..er, this guy is something known as a holy bird in this country, so it’s alright.” (Naofumi)

Imya looked towards Firo while trembling anxiously.

Firo smiled sweetly.

However, that just seemed to backfire and Imya hid behind my back.

“Master~!” (Firo)

“There’s no other way to raise her confidence but to show sincerity. Work hard.” (Naofumi)

“Aww…. I get it.” (Firo)

Somehow this incident became quite complicated. It seems that Firo is reluctant to be rejected by her friends.

Even though it was due to her own carelessness……

“From now on, don’t go recklessly saying that someone looks delicious.” (Naofumi)

“Yeah….” (Firo)

Firo learned something today. Or I should say, just the fact that she’s choosing friendship over her appetite means she’s grown a bit.

“And, we went off topic. Didn’t you guys hear about this from Kiel?” (Naofumi)

“I thought it’d surprise them, so I kept silent.” (Kiel)

Jeez…..that Kiel.

“Well, we’ll do a self-introduction.” (Naofumi)

I shifted the frightened Imya out of hiding.

“This child will be coming home with us from now on. Come on, introduce yourself.” (Naofumi)

Imya’s demeanor was a mix of shyness, fear, and embarrassment, but she squeezed out a few words while constantly looking up and down.

“I’m Imya Lucullan Lisella Tereti Quariz. Please treat me well.” (Imya)

“ “Such a long name!” ” (slaves)

Ah, of course everyone thought that. Raphtalia and Kiel didn’t react, so I had thought it was normal.

“Then again, you are a girl. Nice to meet you, Imya-chan.” (Anon Slave)

“Right….” (Imya)

Good. It seems she’s quick to open up her heart.

“We’ll be returning to the village now. You guys haven’t forgotten anything, right?” (Naofumi)

“All good.” (Anon Slave)

“Yes.” (Anon Slave)

“Yeah.” (Anon Slave)

After I checked everyone, we walked to the carriage.

And then, Firo changed into her monster form in order to pull the carriage.

“Wah!” (Imya)

Imya let out her voice in surprise.

“Th-this is?” (Imya)

“That’s right. This is Firo’s monster form. It’s hard to explain, right?” (Naofumi)

“Yeah….” (Imya)

Firo turned towards Imya and smiled. Imya timidly stretched out her hand.

“And just like that her mouth will open and……SNAP!” (Anon Slave)

One of the slaves tried to intimidate Imya.

Imya anxiously retracted her arm in a hurry.

“Aww~….” (Firo)

A very dissatisfied Firo glared at the slave who had been doing the teasing.

Well, she was the one that had been made fun of……..

Firo is, how should I say it, usually the one causing problems, so this is a little unusual.

Well, she is an omnivore, so she can’t help eating everything.

This wasn’t the case when Firo was a child, but now that she’s grown, she seems like she would eat anything, or was it just my imagination?

….Ah, is it because I used her to threaten people?

“For now, we’ll get on the carriage and take it easy.” (Naofumi)

“If you get motion sickness, say so properly, okay?” (Raphtalia)

“Ok.” (Anon Slaves)

There was no need to hurry, so we’ll go at a reasonable speed.

I ensured all the slaves had boarded and then instructed Firo to depart.

“Ah, Master.” (Firo)

“What is it?” (Naofumi)

“Melty-chan will be coming to play sometime in the near future.” (Firo)

“I see.” (Naofumi)

So Melty will be coming to the village. Just the thought of that loud, chatty girl coming makes my head hurt.

Well, she’ll be quiet when playing with Firo, so it’s fine.

The next day.

After one night of camping, we arrived at the village. We changed the pace a little because last time, Firo only slept when we arrived.

“Ah, Shield-niichan. Welcome back.” (Taniko)

Taniko came to greet us. How rare.

That she would approach me even though we’re often conflicting when it comes to monsters...

“Nii-chan, some outsider came and was being very insistent, which was troubling. Please help!” (Taniko)

“Huh?” (Naofumi)

Taniko knocked on the door of the building the soldiers were lodging at and called for the Female Knight.

The Female Knight also seems a bit troubled.

“Just wait, you can keep a lookout without being so impatient.” (Female Knight)

“But she seemed like she would run away quite a few times!” (Taniko)

“It is indeed dangerous, but we haven’t got an arrest warrant yet. We can’t arrest her unreasonably and we ought to listen to the lord’s opinion.” (Female Knight)

“What’s the matter?” (Naofumi)

“An unpleasant and a little eccentric visitor came. She wanted a meeting with Iwatani-dono post-haste.” (Female Knight)

“Sigh…..just who is she?” (Naofumi)

“An alchemist who caused lots of problems in Faubley.” (Female Knight)

…….Come again?

The one whom the queen and the slave merchant had warned me about has already come to my village?

“She looked at the monsters that Iwatani-dono looks after many times, and by all means wanted to examine――” (Female Knight)

“Oh~…..So this is the rumored holy bird.” (???)

Really, before I knew it, an unknown woman came and probed Firo’s body thoroughly.

“Master~!” (Firo)

Firo let out a shriek.

“Oh, so she understands human language. This child seems to be of the legendary Philorial Queen species variant that I heard about.” (???)

Her hair colour was platinum blonde, and she had long hair and tanned skin. She seems human based on her appearance.

She seems to be in her mid-twenties.

What stood out stood out, and what didn’t, didn’t. A standard expression from my world would be that she gave the impression of a sultry young lady in a white coat.

“Her plumage is thick. I wonder how her internal organs are?” (???)

A fanatical alchemist? She forcibly opened Firo’s mouth and grasped her tongue. Firo resisted, but she was dealt with easily. The Herculean Firo was repressed as easily as taking candy from a baby.

And she even put her head inside her mouth…….

“Unh!” (Firo)

A struggling Firo suddenly spit the alchemist? Out.

“It’s no good if she struggles. I suppose it can’t be helped.” (???)

Just before she fell, she pulled a syringe out of nowhere and threw it at Firo.

Firo wasn’t able to avoid it and with a *pop*, the needle stuck in her mouth.

What a feat.

“Funya……” (Firo)

Firo collapsed with a thud.

“I-I can’t summon any strength…..” (Firo)

“H-hey…..” (Naofumi)

“Just wait a minute. I’m currently in the middle of an examination.” (???)

“No, if you do these kinds of things at your own convenience, I, the owner will be troubled.” (Naofumi)

“Oh dear…..” (???)

The alchemist changed her interest after hearing my words.

“Might you be the Hero of the Shield-sama?” (???)

“T-that’s right, but…. you are?” (Naofumi)

“Me? I am Ratotil Anthreya. My friends call me Rato” (??? → Rato)

“I-I see. My name is Naofumi Iwatani; Naofumi is my first name.” (Naofumi)

“So it’s Naofumi-san. Nice to meet you.” (Rato)

Rato replied, pinning the limp Firo with her gaze.

“And so, will you let me examine this child?” (Rato)

She took the opportunity to request my permission.

Judging from her behavior, she probably wouldn’t understand if I said no.

But Firo’s ecology was still full of mysteries.

“Ma-master! No~!” (Firo)

Hmm….. I feel like if I accept it, then the enigma that was Firo could be solved, but I also feel that it would heavily burden Firo.

“Wow, she took down that Firo-chan so easily!” (Anon Slave)

“Isn’t it amazing? If it had worked properly, the drug I used should have caused her to lose consciousness, and yet she’s still aware and able to talk!” (Rato)

“So you used that kind of drug...” (Naofumi)

“It couldn’t be helped. If she had continued to struggle, it would have done more harm than good.” (Rato)

“Sigh…. first of all, I’ll have to refuse.” (Naofumi)

“Oh, that's too bad.” (Rato)

“Ungh….” (Firo)

Firo recovered and slowly got to her feet.

“My my, it seems that if I don’t use a stronger drug, it will be impossible to examine her.” (Rato)

“Noo!” (Firo)

Firo ran away.

She won’t be returning for a while.

“So you’re the one who wanted a meeting with me?” (Naofumi)

“That’s right.” (Rato)

“What did you want?” (Naofumi)

“To be able to have a look at a variety of things. For example, a certain village’s plant or the monsters in this village.” (Rato)

“Sigh…” (Naofumi)

“You see, this really attracted my attention. I’d really like to fiddle around with some of them.” (Rato)

“To let you fiddle around, you say…..” (Naofumi)

Just what did this fellow intend to do?

It looks like she even knows the origin of the Bioplant, so it should probably be fine to just let her do some research.

Was she an alchemist? At the least, she can be called a specialist. She might be pretty smart.

To be honest, I wasn’t very good at studying, so I’m aware that I’m not good with this type.

Even if that’s the case, I couldn’t just let it go.

“I also heard rumours about you. That you’re an alchemist who caused a lot of problems in Faubley.” (Naofumi)

“Problems? That’s not right. They’re just saying that because they’re too incompetent to understand my research. And so they fabricated some lies and exaggerated some mistakes to turn it into something big.” (Rato)

“Yeah, yeah.” (Naofumi)

She said this like some mad scientist character. There’s no merit in looking after someone who’d follow that role too well.

Well, she took down Firo easily enough, so that ability might deserve some appreciation.

She might have some war potential.

“Those guys, they called my monster research ‘an act that would even scare the gods’ and banished me of all things. And by gods, they were referring to the Four Sage Heroes and the Seven Star Heroes, I think?” (Rato)

“And so, did you come to approve of the current Four Sage Heroes yourself?” (Naofumi)

“No. Their cries about the Heroes were making me sick. They’re nothing but a hindrance!” (Rato)

“….Who do you think you’re talking about? Why did you come here then?” (Naofumi)

“I came to examine the monster that was the Spirit Turtle. Incidentally, I also took the opportunity to visit this place.” (Rato)

“Go off to Melromarc’s castle.” (Naofumi)

“That’s good too. My interest has already moved on.” (Rato)

Rato stuck out her hand enthusiastically, intending to grasp mine.

I replied while avoiding that hand.

“Don’t touch me. I hate women like you.” (Naofumi)

“I see. Then I won’t touch you, so let me play with the monsters.” (Rato)

“You can’t!” (Taniko)

Taniko rejected her arbitrarily.

If it concerns monsters then she’ll charge in unexpectedly, this kid.

“Wait, wait……First, I want to hear your objective.” (Naofumi)

It might be good to recruit her depending on the situation.

She is a monster specialist. There’ll be many uses for her.

I might be expecting too much of her, but she might be able to take care of modifying the Bioplant and monsters in my place.

Well, that also depends on her motives.

If she’s thinking stupid things such as seeking revenge on the country or trying to destroy the world, I’ll drive her out without hesitation.

“My aim? It’s to create powerful monsters of course!” (Rato)

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