Chapter 78: Chimera Meal and the Secret Bookshelf
“Alright, all done.”
Foca announced the end of Risou’s treatment, who was injured in the Chimera battle.
“Sorry, Saint.”
“You’re welcome.”
Foca accepted Risou’s thanks with a cheerful smile.
“Now then, guess we have to do something about this.”
So, Rameez said, pointing at the subjugated Chimera while drinking a mana potion to recover his magic.
“It was pretty strong, so the materials should fetch a good price.”
Hmm, it just had decent regeneration; I don’t think it was that great a Chimera.
“Celestial Mage, the kid gets first priority on the spoils.”
So, Rody warned Rameez about something.
“I know.”
“Um, what’s ‘priority’?”
I raised my voice in question at the unfamiliar word.
“What? You don’t know, kid!?”
For some reason, not just Rody, but Foca and Risou were wide-eyed too.
“Priority right is the right, when defeating a monster jointly, for the person who contributed most to claim materials.”
Rameez explained priority right, like a teacher instructing a student.
“Huh, so there was a rule like that.”
“You really didn’t know?”
Rody looked at me, exasperated.
“Well, I basically hunted alone, and even when in teams, everyone usually defeated things on their own.”
That rule probably only applies when facing a very strong monster.
“In the days before this rule, there were apparently many malicious adventurers who hid in safety and only joined the fight after the monster was weakened.”
“But, because too many troubles occurred, the Guild established the priority rule. Since then, during joint subjugations, everyone actively steps up to get priority, and the number of troubles drastically decreased.”
Foca and Risou supplemented Rameez’s explanation. But I see, that certainly allows for sharing valuable materials fairly.
“Kid, sometimes you’re strangely ignorant.”
“Sorry, I’m from the countryside.”
“I don’t think that’s the issue…”
“Well, that’s why the priority for this Chimera’s materials belongs to the kid. Which part do you cho… huh?”
Rody pointed at the Chimera, telling me to choose… and stopped. We also looked at the Chimera, wondering what, and noticed something strange sitting on it.
It was white and fluffy, a very familiar-looking back. And it was swaying atop the Chimera… no, is it sinking? No, it’s not sinking, it’s eating the Chimera’s meat!?
“Hey, what are you doing!?”
“Kyu?”
At my voice, it turned around, as if asking, You called? At that appearance, I couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
“You, aren’t you Fluffy!?”
“Kyu!”
I thought it looked familiar, it really was Fluffy!?
“Wh-What!? You know it? Monster Eater!?”
Risou asked me what on earth that was. It looked fluffy and harmless, so he seemed confused whether to point his sword.
“Um… Our… pet, maybe?”
“Why the question?”
“Ahaha…”
I mean, why is Fluffy here?
“More importantly, you followed me?”
“Kyu!!”
That’s right! Fluffy raised its hand.
“Hey you, it’s really dangerous here. It’s a place only S-Rank adventurers should enter, okay?”
“Kyu?”
Is that so? Fluffy tilted its head. And immediately, it returned to eating the Chimera meat as if nothing happened.
“Hey, don’t eat it!”
I peeled Fluffy off the Chimera meat. Fluffy struggled, wanting the meat, but eventually gave up, legs dangling.
“Anyway, I’ve never seen that creature. What is it?”
So, his thirst for knowledge piqued, Rameez asked, pointing at Fluffy. Ah, hey, don’t try to bite Rameez’s finger.
“I don’t really know either, but it hatched from an egg I found in the Demonic Beast Forest, so I think it’s a monster’s child.”
“This is a monster? A furball-like creature lacking any tension?”
“Oh my, how adorable.”
Rameez looked skeptical, This is a monster? while Foca adored Fluffy like a stuffed animal.
“Don’t be careless. That creature is an inexplicable being capable of hunting A-Rank monsters.”
So, Rody warned the two.
“This, hunting A-Rank monsters? You’re kidding.”
Ah, come to think of it, Fluffy joined my match with Rody last time, and spat out a core larger than Rody’s.
Anyway…
“Sorry, our Fluffy ate the meat without permission, so please use my priority right for the meat.”
Can’t be helped, this is the owner’s responsibility.
“Ah, well, just the meat should be fine, right? We don’t know what the Chimera meat is made of anyway.”
So, Rody mediated.
“True, and we’d just bury or burn the unnecessary parts anyway. A pet nibbling a bit is no problem.”
Rameez agreed with Rody’s words.
“Yes, that’s right. Even a life twisted by evil karma, even a monster, if it becomes sustenance to raise a child, I think this Chimera would be satisfied.”
Foca also approved from her priest standpoint, saying it was a good thing.
“Well, that’s how it is. Take whatever part you like.”
Finally, Risou, the leader, gave permission. Everyone’s so nice.
“Thank you. Then I’ll take one of the foreleg claws.”
“A Chimera claw, huh. That big, it could be carved into a weapon. A fair reward.”
Alright, got the leader’s permission, Chimera claw get!
“So, everyone gave permission, you can eat the meat. But the rest is materials, so don’t eat it.”
“Kyun!!”
Fluffy raised its paw, Roger!, and dove straight for the Chimera meat.
“Watching it like this, a monster’s child is rather cute.”
Foca is watching Fluffy eat with a beaming smile, but its white fur is stained bright red from tearing into raw meat.
“That… is cute?”
Rody is watching Fluffy, tilting his head.
“Well then, shall we collect the materials. Thanks to this Chimera’s territory, there are no other monsters. Let’s take its materials as a souvenir.”
I see, making this Chimera the fruit of our exploration.
“Now, at this size, how much will fit in a magic bag?”
So, Rameez took a small bag from his robe.
“Oh, Master Celestial Mage, you had a magic bag too?”
So, Rody also took a small bag from his pocket.
“Hmph, an S-Rank adventurer should naturally have a magic bag, regardless of capacity.”
Saying that, Rameez glanced at us.
“Yes, I have one too. Though, mine is borrowed from the church. My work often involves obtaining rare herbs.”
“That a stingy church lends a precious magic item to an adventurer with no guarantee of returning alive just shows how important the Saint is to the church.”
“I’m not such an amazing woman.”
“That’s enough chatter. Let’s butcher it.”
At Risou’s command, we silently began butchering the Chimera. With this huge body, if we all don’t work, there’s no telling when we’ll finish.
“Hey, furball, you can eat these guts too!”
“Kyu!”
Getting Risou’s permission, Fluffy joyfully dove into the pile of guts. Yeah, I’ll wash Fluffy when we’re done.
◆
“Guess that’s it.”
We finished butchering the Chimera, stretching and loosening up.
“Water Pressure!”
Rameez cleaned the Chimera materials with magic that shoots high-pressure water. The high-pressure water washed away not just the Chimera’s blood, but also the stuck-on meat.
“You’ve got useful magic, Celestial Mage.”
“Hmph, I haven’t studied Lost Magic across ancient ruins for nothing. Attack magic has uses like this too.”
Ah, high-pressure water magic is useful. It cleans walls and floors, and can repel rioters; it’s quite versatile.
“Ah, right. Please wash Fluffy too.”
“Got it… wait, a living creature is bad!?”
Rameez, having Fluffy tossed into the materials, cried out, but Fluffy itself just received the high-pressure stream blissfully.
“Kyu-kyuu.”
And it rolled around, humming, washing off the grime.
“You’re kidding? That’s magic that can blow away an ogre’s giant body!?”
Ah, Fluffy will be fine with water pressure that can blow away an ogre.
And since the Chimera materials and Fluffy were clean, we dried them with warm air magic and stored them in everyone’s magic bags.
“Sorry, my magic bag is full.”
So, Rody declared his was full.
“Mine’s full too.”
“Mine too.”
Next, Foca and Risou also declared their magic bags were full.
“This big, even a magic bag can’t hold it all.”
“Hmph, your bags don’t have much capacity. Mine can still hold more.”
As expected of a ruins expert, Rameez’s magic bag capacity seems larger than everyone else’s. To safely bring back rare items from dangerous places, bringing one large-capacity bag is better than many trips.
So, the remaining materials were packed into my and Rameez’s magic bags.
“Kid’s magic bag has quite the capacity too.”
“No, it’s really nothing special.”
But it’s a magic bag made with leftover materials, so I’m not confident in the capacity.
“Mu, hit the limit.”
And Rameez’s magic bag also filled up.
“Unfortunately, we have to leave the rest. Well, monsters won’t be interested in bones or scales.”
“Rameez, my magic bag still has room, so it’s okay.”
“What!?”
Rameez looked surprised, but my magic bag is actually still less than half full.
“H-Hey. How much does that magic bag hold!?”
“Eh? Let’s see. Of this Chimera material, I think it holds several hundred bodies?”
“”””Several hundred!?””””
When I answered Rameez’s question, everyone stared at me, shocked.
“I-Incredible! My magic bag boasts one of the largest capacities ever excavated!?”
Eh? Largest? That bag’s capacity seems about average for a store-bought one.
“No, no, compared to a military magic bag, it’s no big deal.”
Yeah, military magic bags usually stored several years’ worth of supplies. Compared to that, my bag’s capacity is tiny.
“…Well, does the capacity matter? If we can take it all, that’s for the best.”
“…That’s true.”
Risou agreed with Rody’s words. I don’t really get it, but if everyone’s convinced, I guess it’s fine.
“Then, we just need to dispose of the leftover meat and guts… huh?”
So, Rody, standing up, tilted his head.
“What’s wrong, Storm?”
“Well, where’d the meat and guts go?”
“””Eh?”””
At Rody’s words, we also looked around. But the Chimera meat and guts were nowhere to be found. There was only the Chimera blood spilled during butchering.
“””””…”””””
Naturally, everyone’s gaze gathered on Fluffy.
“Kyun?”
Fluffy looked over, as if asking, What?
“Did you… eat it all?”
“Kyun!”
That’s right, Fluffy replied, puffing its chest.
“”””It ate it all!?””””
Even the S-Rank adventurers cried out in surprise. I mean, I was surprised too.
“I-Incredible, where in that body did all that meat disappear!?”
“My, my, it eats a lot.”
“Saint, I don’t think that’s the issue.”
“This monster really is weird.”
Hmm, I didn’t think it would eat everything.
“Were you that hungry?”
“This isn’t about being hungry! What is that monster!?”
Rameez seems really curious about Fluffy’s species. Well, I’m curious too. What species are you?
◆
We, having finished collecting the Chimera materials, washed away the blood in the courtyard and resumed exploring. If we left it, other monsters might come, drawn by the smell.
“There are no monsters around here.”
Foca was right. Unlike the entrance, the building beyond the courtyard had no monsters at all. When I checked for monster reactions with detection magic, I found something strange.
“Odd, there are monster reactions around here, but no sign of movement.”
“Not moving?”
Hearing the monster reactions weren’t moving, Risou looked suspicious.
“It’s dark so I can’t be sure, but it’s not time for monsters to sleep, right?”
“Yeah. But the monsters detected by magic aren’t moving.”
Strictly speaking, the monsters inside the building beyond the courtyard. The monster reactions near the entrance we rushed are still moving. But only the monsters in this section showed no sign of movement, as if time had stopped.
“The monsters here might be trained.”
“Trained?”
Risou showed interest in my words.
“Ah, that attempted knight order rebellion case.”
So, Rody clapped his hands.
“What’s the attempted knight order rebellion?”
Foca, who apparently didn’t know, tilted her head.
“You don’t know, Saint? There was a large-scale monster subjugation around this country’s capital, but those monsters were secretly raised by the knight order, obedient to human commands.”
“My! They could control monsters!?”
To Foca, a priest serving God, it seems unbelievable that monsters, harmful to people, would obey human orders. But, well, the tamer profession, raising monsters from childhood to obey, does exist. In fact, our Fluffy, though a bit selfish, listens to me.
“Monsters obeying human commands? I heard ancient civilizations also researched such monsters.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it seems to be technology developed for the war against the Demons.”
Ah, come to think of it, someone at my old research lab was doing similar research. We were in different departments, so I didn’t know the details. My boss used to say, “Research on magic items and magic is far safer and easier to use than research on rampaging monsters or chimeras! That’s why we’re superior!” I feel like personal feelings were mixed in, but well, that’s ancient history.
And so, moving while avoiding the detected monsters, we reached a dead end. On both sides of the dead end were rooms, both used as storage, with nothing significant inside.
“Would’ve been nice if there were magic items.”
“No way magic items would just be lying around.”
“Looks like a supply depot, but it’s useless after so long. No preservation magic shelves, no magic bags; seems like a place for trivial items. Can’t be helped, back to the previous junction.”
We didn’t find anything valuable, so we gave up and headed back. However, I felt something strange about this passage.
“Why make the supply depot separate rooms?”
Wouldn’t one large room be better? And two rooms spanning the passage is strange. I touched the dead-end wall between the two rooms, and tapped lightly.
“Hm?”
And at the strange sound, I tapped the floor to confirm.
“What’s wrong, kid? We’re heading back.”
Rody, suspicious of my actions, called out.
“Go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”
“Find something?”
“Not yet… Ah.”
Searching the wall again, I noticed one spot was unnaturally loose. But there’s no gap or protrusion. A flat wall. But my hand feels a looseness there. I pushed the loose spot, and heard a heavy grinding sound. And the next moment, the white wall slid sideways, revealing a door.
“Wh-What is this!?”
Rody, who saw the whole thing, cried out.
“Something happen? …Whoa!? What’s that door!?”
Risou’s group, hearing the sound, returned and also cried out.
“It seems the switch to move the wall was hidden with illusion magic.”
A dual concealment, hiding the room with a physical wall, and hiding the switch with illusion magic. Seems the master of these ruins really wanted to hide this room.
“Finding a hidden door, kid, you know thief skills too?”
“How many skills have you learned at your age!?”
“And you’re a Divine Child, too.”
“…”
Rody and the others praise me, but compared to the people who taught me, my skills are nothing special.
“No, no, my skills are just imitations of first-class ones. I was taught to handle production, processing, combat, exploration, and healing, just in case I had to act alone for a long time.”
“””No, I don’t think that’s ‘just in case’ level.”””
Eh? I don’t think so. Being able to do anything alone just makes you a jack-of-all-trades. The people who taught me even just gave me a passing grade.
“Muu, I feel a perception gap with Monster Eater. Having that many skills is clearly not normal.”
“Just what kind of experts taught you, kid!?”
To put it mildly, demons. They were all terrible people. Well, it’s not like I’m not grateful.
“Being able to do so much, you must be a Divine Child!”
No, I’m not a Divine Child.
“More importantly, let’s go inside.”
After confirming no monsters were inside with detection magic, we entered the room.
◆
“Th-This is!?”
Rameez cried out in surprise. Inside the hidden room was a forest of bookshelves, packed tightly with books.
“This is… a library!?”
Yes, as Rameez said, it was a library.
“Are these all books!? This place is huge!?”
Looks like this library is about 30m wide and 40m deep. By my past-past life’s library standards, it’s decent. But Rameez says it’s huge; maybe people don’t read much these days?
“A library inside a hidden room. Quite a stylish hidden room.”
Rody whistled, already rummaging for valuable-looking books.
“Are these ancient language books!? Hmm, an unfamiliar language. Not any ancient language I know. Does this mean it’s from an even older civilization!?”
Rameez was immediately engrossed in the books. But, what kind of script is unknown to Rameez, an S-Rank researcher? Curious, I looked at the shelf for a suitable book.
“Let’s see, Encyclopedia of Monster Ecology… this should be fine.”
I grabbed a random book and started reading, flipping through.
“Hmm, hmm, is this a hypothesis paper on the theoretical Monster King?”
The monster at the apex of the ecosystem, a hypothesis on the dragon’s natural enemy. Verifying the existence of a past Monster King by researching ancient ruins, local legends, and monster habitats. Quite an interesting topic.
“…”
When I looked up, Rameez was staring, mouth agape.
“What’s wrong, Rameez?”
“You… can read that?”
Eh? Ah, yeah, I could read it normally.
“Yes, I can.”
“Try reading this!”
Rameez thrust a book at me.
“Um, it says ‘Nutritional Science of Monster Ingredients’.”
Well, it’s common weirdo research. The strong monster meat must be nutritious type.
“You really can read that ancient language!”
Well, rather than can read, it was my past-past life’s native language.
“Having all those skills, and deep knowledge of ancient civilizations!?”
Risou’s eyes widened, as if Still more!?
“Being bright in academics too, I knew you were a Divine Child!”
Damn, Foca brought that up again. I’m not a Divine Child.
“Hmph, as expected, kid. But don’t show your hidden claws too much. It’s a bit discouraging.”
Please don’t be discouraged, Rody!
“But I have lovely women supporting me! I’m not losing in that regard!”
Ah, this guy’s pretty cheerful.
“More importantly, can you read this!? It looks similar, but the grammar’s slightly different, so the content deviates from this book! Is it a different language!? Or is my translation wrong!?”
The cover of the book he held out also said ‘Nutritional Science of Monster Ingredients’. It looks the same… Thinking that, I peeked inside, and I understood Rameez’s confusion.
“Ah, this is written in the northern dialect.”
“Ancient language… dialect!?”
Dialect, or regional variation. Man, nostalgic. At my old lab, a northerner and southerner had a bad relationship. Turns out, their dialects made them miscommunicate. We were all surprised they’d managed to talk at all.
So, I was lost in nostalgia, and Rameez was trembling.
“What an oversight! If ancient civilizations had nations, it’s natural for dialects to exist! Why didn’t I realize!”
Saying that, Rameez snatched the book, sat on the floor, and started reading intently. He even took out paper and ink, entering full research mode.
“I see! Then this text is in dialect and regional accent! Meaning this accent means…”
Rameez held his head again, not understanding the dialect.
“Um…”
I checked the genre labels on the bookshelf, searching.
“Ah, found it. Rameez, this looks like the standard language version.”
I handed Rameez the ‘New Translation: Nutritional Science of Monster Ingredients’ from the shelf.
“Oh! This is the ancient language book, no, the standard version! Thank you!”
Rameez, getting the new translation, joyfully compared the two.
“Oh, I get it! I get it! So, the many words I couldn’t read were ancient civilization dialects, regionalisms, and foreign words!”
Literally overjoyed. Well, general translation magic is telepathy, conveying intent, so translating text is a different magic genre. I also struggled translating the Demon script.
“Yare yare, with the Celestial Mage like that, we can’t explore.”
Risou gazed at Rameez, exasperated.
“Well, it’s about time. Let’s spend the night in this library.”
Per Risou’s instructions, we, excluding Rameez and Foca, secured the library.
“Detection magic shows no monsters inside or outside the library.”
“Checked with my own eyes, no mimics or floor eaters.”
“Same here. Lucky the monsters on this side aren’t moving.”
True, if monsters stay put, it’s helpful when camping.
“However, if we sleep near books, we can’t light a fire.”
Ah, in that sense, it’s inconvenient. It’s probably fireproofed, but lighting a fire might activate security golems. We decided on a sad dinner of portable rations.
“Here, it’s just soup reconstituted with hot water since we can’t have fire.”
I made simple dried meat soup using magic that produces hot water, an application of water magic. Well, I can’t simmer it, so it’s really just tossed in hot water.
“Hot water magic is convenient. I’m envious.”
Foca seems very interested in the hot water magic.
“I can teach you? A recovery magic user like you, Foca, could learn this easily.”
“Oh, really? Isn’t knowledge of rare magic valuable?”
“No, magic like this isn’t rare. It’s just that people don’t learn it, thinking they should learn more useful magic.”
“Oh, is that so. I thought mages practiced from simple magic.”
Actually, young people surprisingly don’t learn convenient life magic. Rather than learn it, they just buy a magic item with the same effect. Only housewives or old-timers learn such magic.
“Celestial Mage… still looks busy. We’re eating!”
“…”
Risou called out, but Rameez was engrossed in decryption. Come to think of it, the era I lived in is “ancient” now. Surprising that books in plain language are treated as ancient texts.
“…Ah.”
And then, I realized something.
“Maybe…”
Finishing my meal, I checked the bookshelf genres.
“The selection is pretty biased.”
It seems this library is heavily weighted toward monster-related books. Maybe this ruin was a monster research facility.
“Found it.”
I was looking for the history bookshelf.
“If it’s here…”
Here, there might be books about the history after I died, like the collapse of the Inland Sea or the Sky Continent. A chance to learn the history I don’t know. The shelf was still full of monster-related history, but I found a book written after my era.
“The White Calamity from Beyond… King of Demonic Beasts, the Golden Claw that Shattered the Great War? Kinda abstract. Let’s check another.”
I opened several more books, checking the history after my death and this ‘White Calamity’. And what I found was…
“Does this mean a powerful Demonic Beast appeared during the war with the Demons, leaving the battle unresolved?”
I read further.
“Neither the sorcery that created a new sea, nor the Demon’s deed that shattered the celestial land, was effective against IT…”
Hmm? Could this be about the Inland Sea and Sky Continent? I wish it were explained more objectively. Somehow, books from later eras were very subjective, or strangely emotional. Well, I get that the author was very excited. Anyway, I learned the Inland Sea and Sky Continent were born from the escalating war. Then the Demonic Beast Forest was probably born similarly. But, what is this White Calamity? I know some white monsters, but were any strong enough to be a calamity? A strong monster lurking somewhere, or one from the Demon world? But it seems certain this ‘White Calamity’ had a huge impact on the war with the Demons. And the last book, about this facility’s research, ended with this: “White Calamity. Succeeded in sampling part of its body. Using this, we can obtain a means to counter it. When we do, not even the Demons will be our enemy.”
Hmm, seems this facility’s purpose was to find a way to counter the White Calamity.
“Kyu?”
So, as I was absorbed in the book, Fluffy clung to my leg.
“Come to think of it, you’re a white monster too.”
But, well, no way this guy’s the White Calamity. It’s tiny, and no match for me.
“Gaji gaji.”
“Ah, hey, don’t chew my pants cuff!”
“Kyun!”
When I tapped its head, Fluffy showed its belly, apologizing. Yeah, definitely not the White Calamity. Not a shred of wildness in it.
