Chapter 38 Testament Of The Monsters
A few days after that news, Arnold returned to the capital as usual with a calm expression.
Emiliana-san headed to Platonovena on the same day she received the news. Alex-san seems to be safe, but apparently, he has suffered injuries severe enough to immobilize him. I was momentarily shocked when I heard the report, but it's certain that he is alive. That alone is enough, and life is irreplaceable.
Arnold arrived in the capital in the early afternoon. It seems he immediately reported to important people upon arrival, and I reunited with him around early evening as the sun began to set.
――Surprisingly, he came to the synthesis room given to me by him.
I was trying not to think about unnecessary things, was feeling nervous, but was doing the synthesis with all my heart when I heard the sound of the door opening. When I turned around as if being invited by that sound, Arnold was standing there as usual.
Well, to be precise, he was wearing some armor instead of his usual white coat. Compared to the white coat, it naturally gave off a more imposing atmosphere, but when facing a powerful monster, it felt somewhat unreliable. Also, there was one more thing - he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"Arnold-san...!"
Smoothly, his name spilled from my mouth.
Without showing any reaction to that, Arnold took a few steps towards me.
He was safe. Thanks to the healing potion, there were no noticeable wounds. He wasn't limping. - He was safe.
I understand that, but when I confirm it with my own eyes, I feel relieved again.
After realizing that Arnold was safe, the first thing that came to mind was...
"Oh, what about Alex-san?"
As I expected, a straightforward answer came immediately.
"He lost both legs but he's alive."
He lost both legs.
Even though I should be relieved that he's safe, those words shook my brain.
Alex Platonovena, who appeared in "Last Brave," was a brave man with all his limbs intact. That's how I remembered him. So when I heard the news of his safety along with the fact that he was seriously injured and unable to move, it startled me.
A healing potion can instantly heal injuries to a certain extent without leaving a trace. Like Vake's right eye, if the body tissue itself is dead, there's nothing that can be done, but even deep cuts should have been able to heal to some extent.
Alex is in a situation where he can't move.
――If I think about it a bit, I can guess what's going on. But my brain refused to accept it.
"...Did you hear the story from Emiliana-san?"
I nodded slightly at those words. Arnold could only manage a small sigh in response.
――Losing both legs, Alex Platonovena was different from the "Last Brave."
It was an unexpected turn of events. I never thought that the differences between the game and this world would appear again in this way.
But I think, Alex-san is alive. Isn't that enough?
Perhaps by now, Emiliana-san is happily reuniting with her fiancé. The beautiful scene came to mind, and I quietly sighed. It's okay, even in this world, they will be happy.
I looked up at Arnold in front of me. In the moment our eyes met, I remembered "it."
"There was a monster that spoke human language..."
It was written in a letter from Alex-san. That fact lingered in my heart like a dark mist.
Arnold seemed slightly surprised by my words, but quickly put on a poker face. However, without much ado, he responded.
"Yeah, it seems that monster has ordered a retreat. It was apparently declared that they would drop Platonovena... That's why I was so convinced the monster would attack."
It seemed my guess was not wrong. Alex-san had been declared war on by the monster that spoke human language that day.
Just like in the setting of "Last Brave," that monster must have been exceptionally strong and ferocious compared to others. How many soldiers had lost their lives to that monster?
I knew the answer, but the question naturally slipped out of my mouth.
"Did you defeat it?"
"That's why I'm alive and standing here now."
Arnold said with a firm voice. His words seemed to imply 'of course,' reassuring me more than anything else.
I finally felt relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Though there are still concerns, such as Alex-san's injury, for now, this incident seems to have come to a close - or so I thought in that moment.
"...However, the words the monster said right before dying are bothering me."
Unexpected words shook my eardrums.
The words the monster uttered before dying. Upon hearing them, a chilling premonition ran down my spine. The monster's final words - its last will, I could imagine it.
I clenched my fist tightly. Looking up as if urging him to continue, Arnold continued in a hushed voice.
"He said, 'The revival of that person is right in front of you.'"
――The revival of that person is right in front of you.
Without even realizing it myself, I had a crooked smile on my lips. When I noticed it, I quickly looked down before the man in front of me could reprimand me.
Oh, I can't help but laugh. Because this is just too cliché. It's not the typical storyline. It's so cliché. By the way, "Last Brave" was criticized by some people for being too cliché in its development.
"...Oh, I see. What does that even mean?"
That's all I could manage to say.
Sensing that something was off with me, Arnold tilted his head slightly and peered into my face. To cover it up, I smiled.
"I'm glad you're safe."
――It was undoubtedly my true feelings. Even though it was supposed to be my true feelings, I ended up using those words to deceive.
* * *
There's something I need to report to Kasper-san again. How much time has passed since Arnold left the synthesis room? It probably hasn't been that long. Although the sun had completely set outside the window, it wasn't pitch black yet.
――The revival of that person is right in front of you.
The words the monster last spoke are stuck in my mind.
Probably, no, definitely, that person is the demon king who will threaten this world in a few years. Are they gathering power for their revival behind the scenes now? Could the recent monster attacks be signs of the demon king's return?
I had a vague sense of this fact, but being confronted with it so clearly makes me uneasy.
――The revival of that person is right in front of you.
The demon king's revival in "Last Brave" happens in the middle of the story. Among the demons plotting the demon king's return, there are hierarchies, with those in positions similar to what we call executives being closer to human form and adept at manipulating human language.
From the beginning to the middle, the main focus is on battles with the demon army executives. As their true goal of reviving the demon king becomes apparent, in the middle part, the Hero head towards the demon king's throne to seal him once again as he is on the brink of revival. They engage in numerous battles with demons, but fall short just as the demon king revives before their eyes.
After his revival, the demon king, in order to evade the Heroes and allow his newly revived but unstable body to rest, takes over human bodies and appears in various places. To expel the demon king from a human body, the sacred power possessed by the heroine, a girl of ancient species, is necessary.
Suddenly, I just realized that the synthesis tools are still scattered in front of me. The training session has long been over. How much time have I been lost in my thoughts? I might have worried Chelsea.
I hurriedly started cleaning up—just then, there was a knock on the door.
At this hour, who could it be?
With some caution, I approached the door and asked, "Who is it?" The voice that came back was from someone I didn't expect at all.
"It's me, Arnold."
Upon hearing Arnold's voice through the door, I quickly responded and slowly opened the door. There stood Arnold, holding a wooden box in both hands, dressed in a familiar white coat this time.
"Arnold-san, what's up? Did you forget something?"
"Can I come in for a bit?"
With that, Arnold slipped his body through the gap in the door. He confidently entered the synthesis room and placed the wooden box he was carrying on the synthesis table.
I was taken aback by his sudden and somewhat rude actions, standing frozen in place. Seeing me like that, Arnold used his free right hand, which was now available after placing the box on the table, to gesture me over.
His actions were as if he was calling a pet or something, which made even me, who usually calm, furrow my brow in annoyance. However, it was clear that the man in front of me was not concerned about my mood. Unable to predict Arnold's intentions at the moment, I let out a small sigh, realizing I had no choice but to give in, and hurried over to him.
Standing beside him, Arnold opened the lid of the wooden box. Inside was a smaller box, and upon opening its lid, a faint chill emanated from it.
I peered inside. There was something frozen in ice.
"What is this?"
"It's a horn of the monster we were talking about."
When I strained my eyes, I realized that what had been frozen in ice was a thick, long monster horn
The horn had a menacing color, and it looked familiar. I'm sure this is――
"Doesn't this look like the monster horn from the folklore of the Platonovena region that Arnold-san mentioned?"
In response to the question, Arnold slightly raised his eyebrows and nodded. He seemed satisfied with my words.
"Yeah, it does look similar. The fur color and horn color were different though."
It had a similar design but different color schemes. It's a design you often see in RPGs. In "Last Brave," for example, early weak enemies with different colors appeared later as stronger monsters. Even though they just had different color schemes, they were considered completely different entities with different names.
In a similar pattern, the monster mentioned in the legend this time seemed to resemble a monster that could speak human language. It was said to have a horn that could cure any difficult disease when brewed and consumed. I never expected to come close to such a creature this time. The slight feeling of convenience in the development might be because this event was orchestrated by a god (author).
Anyway, this might be something valuable to approach Elvira's treatment. I discarded any silly thoughts and stared fixedly at the horn.
"Can I ask you for synthesis?"
I froze at the sudden words that were dropped.
――Synthesize this horn?
Of course, we can't just give this to Elvira as it is. We need to somehow synthesize it to bring out its healing power. There's a good chance that this horn doesn't have any healing power at all. To confirm that, the best way is to synthesize it and have Elvira drink the healing potion.
I understand. I get it. But when suddenly asked to "synthesize it," I didn't feel confident enough to stay calm.
"...But, what if it's all for nothing?"
"It won't be for nothing. If the power doesn't work as expected, we'll know that this monster's horn is useless. It's a great step forward."
Arnold stated confidently, without any hesitation.
"Of course, I'll also do synthesis. Make sure to keep a record of the synthesis process, as I don't want any overlap, and report it properly. Also, feel free to do the synthesis as you wish."
I was stared at directly with hi intense black eyes. The expression and the slightly stern voice made me feel like refusing wasn't an option.
If I were to refuse here, it would seem like my determination was fake. Didn't I decide to help save Elvira and ultimately the world?
I swallowed hard. And then,
"I-I understand..."
I barely nodded.
Arnold slightly relaxed his eyes at my answer. Well, it's more like he eased the tension in his expression rather than relaxed, to be precise.
"When you want to do synthesis, just let me know," Arnold said as he closed the lid of the wooden box with a calm voice, then picked it up again and walked towards the exit of the synthesis room.
Anyway, let's start by thinking about a few different ways to synthesize. I can start with something that has a safe recovery effect, then move on to something that can cure abnormal conditions. It might be good to come up with at least one unique method.
As Arnold's swaying white coat caught my eye, I was pondering various thoughts that wouldn't come together. Just as I thought his white coat fluttered unexpectedly, he turned back towards me and said,
"Elvira will be coming to the capital soon. Please take care of her when she arrives."
With his back against the door, he said so.
――Huh?
I looked up in surprise, but Arnold was no longer there, and the door closed with a soft click. I was left alone, standing there with my mouth slightly open in astonishment.
Elvira is coming to the capital? Is it that Elvira? The future hero, Arnold's sister, who has the Self-destruction disease, Elvira?
――Just when I thought things would calm down a bit.
I took a deep breath, feeling certain that busy days would start again from tomorrow. I had planned to visit Emme Village once, but it seems like that won't happen.
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