TDAA Ch 27

Then where are Sizool’s wishes? Eorzen recalled little Sizool, who used to smile bashfully while nestled in his arms. Siol and Sizool were the same person, but they also had different desires. He had to fulfill both the wishes of Siol, who was burdened by responsibility and a sense of duty, struggling to solve everything himself, and the wishes of Sizool, who sought stability and leaned on others even amidst all that.

Only then could he completely possess Siol, whose wishes were fulfilled.

Eorzen knew what Siol wanted but didn’t know the direction of it.

How would Siol’s revenge, the restoration of his honor, be completed?

To find out, Eorzen resolved to accept the decision to let Siol go, even if it felt like swallowing a sword.

He had already failed once.

The result of being captivated by the presence of his companion and acting on instinct was disastrous. A companion who tells him to hide, saying they’ll protect the dragons in the world? How on earth did he see himself in his eyes?

However, perhaps because he made a terrible mistake, he might have a new opportunity. Eorzen comforted himself, recalling the anecdote of the black dragon. At least his companion still had someone to take revenge on, which meant Eorzen also had a chance to redeem his failure.

“Commander!”

Ryufen, his loyal subordinate, called Eorzen and jumped down from the entrance in the ceiling. He landed lightly on the floor and limped towards Eorzen, looking around the messy interior of the tower with a dubious expression. His whole body was stained red with monster blood, making squishing sounds with each step.

“At some point, the monsters stopped coming. Is Nathaniel dead?”

“He ran away. Sizool chased him off.”

“…What? Sizool? But Sizool was in the closet…?”

Ryufen tilted his head, bewildered.

“And Sizool left, too.”

“…Huh? Why would Sizool leave?”

Eorzen slowly blinked and looked back at Ryufen. Tears trickled down his pale cheeks. Ignoring Ryufen’s startled reaction, Eorzen casually wiped his cheeks with his hand and looked out of the tower, towards somewhere beyond where Siol would be.

“He was my companion.”

“…Wha… what does that mean…?”

“Sizool was the Death Alchemist Siol, and at the same time, my companion.”

“That’s… nonsense…?”

“When I killed the Death Alchemist, I cursed him, saying he would never find a mate in his next life. That’s why I didn’t recognize him.”

“…Is that… real? Sizool was the Death Alchemist?”

Ryufen, who unknowingly asked back informally, spun around in the same spot, flustered.

“The Commander killed…. No, that’s not it…. Sizool is…. Uh…. Ugh….”

He seemed frustrated, wanting to say something but unable to find the right words.

Finally, scratching the back of his head, Ryufen stomped on the floor and yelled.

“Sizool is not that kind of person! There must be a reason!”

Once he started speaking his mind, Ryufen continued yelling, stomping his feet on the floor.

“How could such a timid and cowardly person be the Death Alchemist? The Death Alchemist is a crazy bastard who declared he would kill all the beastmen because he hated them! Sizool is a beastman, so why would he hate beastmen so much? It doesn’t make sense!”

“Ryufen.”

“And Sizool is small and weak, can’t even manifest properly, and collapses all the time because he’s so frail…. Anyway, the Death Alchemist? No way! How could someone like that be the Death Alchemist?”

“Ryufen.”

“Well, in the first place, the Death Alchemist is dead. You said you killed him?!”

“Ryufen!”

Ryufen, who was yelling excitedly, shut his mouth at Eorzen’s shout. Eorzen stared coldly at Ryufen and then spoke in a growling voice.

“Of course, Sizool is not that kind of person!”

Ryufen finally felt relieved. But Eorzen’s heart became even more complicated, leaving him speechless for a moment. He had repeated the fact that he had killed Siol dozens of times today, but hearing it from another beastman’s mouth was different from thinking about it himself.

Enduring the pain of what he had done piercing his heart, Eorzen grabbed the broken wall again. The wall, caught in the dragon’s grip, crumbled, spilling stone dust onto the floor.

“It… it was all a lie. Sizool didn’t even know there were beastmen in the world, and he only made weapons because they were necessary to hunt monsters. It was the king and the witch’s son who secretly used them on the beastmen.”

“…Wait, the witch’s son? The witch of the north? The witch who ruled the monster’s land?”

“Nathaniel was the witch’s son.”

“…What the…. No, what is all this! The witch’s son was alive, and he was living in the human lands pretending to be Siol’s disciple, and all the notoriety from his evil deeds went to Sizool? Why?”

“Nathaniel’s purpose was the same as the witch’s. That’s why he hid himself.”

Ryufen started pacing back and forth again with a confused expression.

“To become your companion?”

“So it seems.”

“Damn it! Why do those bastards keep targeting the Commander?! Dragons have their designated companions, so why do they keep trying to become one?!”

Ryufen, who had a history of struggling to chase after the witch, yelled in annoyance, and Eorzen also rubbed his forehead tiredly. Ryufen approached the sighing Eorzen and stood beside him, summarizing the story.

“I roughly understand. Anyway, it means our kid didn’t do anything wrong. I knew it! Sizool is a good kid!”

“…You two bicker so much usually, but when it comes to taking sides, you’re like blood brothers.”

“Well, we spent time together! Sizool is such a good and pitiful kid, to be framed like that…. Oh. Come to think of it, it was a bit strange when he was looking at the history books shortly after he came to our castle…. So that’s why.”

Eorzen clenched his teeth.

That day, Siol laughed.

Saying that the Death Alchemist was a truly bad person. And how did he respond to him? That he had trampled the Death Alchemist to death, that he had cursed him terribly, so he should rest assured….

“Wait, but why did Sizool leave? If everything about the Death Alchemist was a misunderstanding, there’s no reason to leave. Did he leave because he thought we wouldn’t understand him? Then you should have stopped him! Oh, you killed him…! No, no. But how is he alive if you killed him?”

“…Probably the one I killed was a fake body created by Sizool’s alchemy. The cabin must have been where Sizool lived before he was tricked by the king, and he must have left his real body there when he left.”

“Why… would he do that?”

“Because he was afraid.”

The faces of the two beastmen darkened.

Thinking of Siol, who was afraid but still decided to trust the king, and yet couldn’t fully trust him and left his body in the cabin, filled them with sympathy. Moreover, he must have tried his best to trust, only to be met with a terrible betrayal.

When they rescued Siol from the cabin, thinking he was a beastman child kidnapped by the Death Alchemist, he was thin, pale, and trembling with fear.

“Sizool, that child thinks everything that happened under the name of the Death Alchemist is his responsibility. That’s why he left.”

“I… I could have helped, why? If he had just asked for help, both you and I would have helped, why?”

Ryufen cried out. Ryufen had taken care of Siol with all his heart since rescuing him from the cabin. Although he had a slightly rough side, which might have been a little uncomfortable for Siol with his delicate personality, they still had enjoyable times together. He could have helped if needed. Ryufen believed they had built that much trust.

But, but why.

“Because he couldn’t ask for help.”

“Because he thought we would lose to the humans?”

“Don’t be stupid. Siol acted as if he didn’t have the option to ask for help. Why do you think that is?”

“Because he had… never asked for help before.”

Ryufen answered with a dazed expression.

“To be precise, his requests were probably never accepted. He must have grown up in an environment where he couldn’t rely on anyone.”

“What… is that? That, that…!”

Ryufen recalled Siol, who wouldn’t even think of asking for the jewels or gold overflowing in the castle when there was something he needed to do, but would instead go around picking up junk. He had scolded him several times, but Siol never asked for anything valuable before someone else took it first.

Moreover, after letting his guard down, Siol always acted as if he was obsessed with having to do something. Back then, he thought Siol was simply trying to repay his kindness, but after Nathaniel’s incident, he realized it wasn’t that simple.

He must have grown up without receiving kindness given with love. He must have grown up in an environment where he had to prove his reason for existence. He must have struggled to survive among those who demanded repayment greater than what they received.

Ryufen, with his eyes shaking, not knowing what to do, cried out.

“So, you’re saying you’ll let him go like this?!”

“Who said that?! Of course…!”

That was when it happened.

A purple light flashed several times, illuminating the two brightly. Looking back, the magic stone, which had been beating faintly as if dying, began to reactivate. The circuits engraved inside the magic stone lit up one by one, as if burning, and then, when all parts emitted light, they disappeared with a pop.

After that, a blue barrier began to rise, enveloping the city. The faint light barrier that started from the ground encased the city in a hemisphere and then turned transparent and disappeared. The Tower of Survival began to perform its original function.

As the magic stone returned to normal, the magic circle that had been suppressing Eorzen also began to lose its power. Eorzen felt his magic power surge within him, inversely proportional to the weakening circle. The magic power filling the dragon’s body first connected to the barrier his master usually maintained, the barrier surrounding his city. And then, one by one, it reconnected the threads linking his city to the allied cities.

Up to this point, Eorzen had anticipated it.

However, the magic power filling his body didn’t stop there. Eorzen could clearly feel the reconnection of another thread, a strong connection he hadn’t even been aware of because he usually didn’t pay attention to it.

The curse he had cast upon the Death Alchemist, the curse engraved on Siol’s soul, was revived.

Eorzen unconsciously reached out and lightly closed his empty hand. Inside it, thump-thump, thump-thump, Siol’s heart beat.

A look of exhilaration spread across the blue dragon’s face as he held his companion’s heart in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

He was so lost in the pulsation in his hand that he couldn’t hear the urging voice beside him.

The warm sensation in his hand and the relentlessly beating life force reassured him surprisingly. The scales, which had been on edge due to Siol’s departure, felt like they were settling down.

The blue dragon opened his hand again. And then, using his magic power, he gently enveloped Siol’s heart once more.

The presence of his companion, now far away, having left the city, was connected to him through magic.

The clearly felt heartbeat and Siol’s presence.

With that sensation, Eorzen felt his anxious heart calm down, and a sense of relief washed over him, as if something that had been choking him had fallen away.

“Commander? What’s wrong?”

Eorzen’s curse was designed to leave a dragon’s mark on the target’s body, a pattern indicating that they were cursed.

And on Siol’s chest was a nonsensical, uninterpretable magic tattoo. Only then did Eorzen realize that what he had considered a nonsensical magic tattoo was the result of his curse mark overlapping with the magic tattoo Siol had carved himself.

Because of the curse, he hadn’t recognized Siol.

Because of the curse, Siol had a weak body.

Up to this point, it was the normal effect of the curse he had cast.

Then, the curse that whispered that Siol would be eternally bound to death must be the reason why Eorzen could now hold Siol’s heart. The pattern, strangely mutated by overlapping with Siol’s magic tattoo, seemed to have brought about this unexpected result.

Curse.

Eorzen felt self-loathing as he realized that the joy and exhilaration he felt were the result of the curse that bound Siol.

“Commander!”

“Ah. Yes… yes.”

“What’s in your hand? What are you doing?”

“…No. It’s just… I can now locate Siol.”

When a dragon’s companion is a dragon, the result is only ruin.

Dragons are a possessive race, so to avoid being hated by their companions, they must pretend not to act excessively.

He had heard such stories since he was young. But he never knew it would be like this.

The dragon skillfully hid his expression and turned his head.

“Ryufen. I intend to help Siol and enable him to fulfill his wishes. You-“

“Of course, I’ll go with you!”

“We may have to go to the human lands.”

“…It’s alright. It’s all in the past. Actually, I went to see Aspard’s child before, and it was no big deal.”

Ryufen had a brief connection with Aspard, the former king of the human lands, but they hadn’t contacted each other for a very long time after that. After Aspard’s death, he had been somewhat depressed, although he hadn’t shown it, so it couldn’t have been a shallow relationship. He seemed to subtly avoid the human lands, so Eorzen had intended to have him guard the city if it made him uncomfortable, but it seemed such consideration was unnecessary.

Eorzen simply nodded and looked up at the sky.

A giant eagle was flying from the distant sky.

The eagle folded its wings and shot towards the tower, landing between Eorzen and Ryufen and rolling several times on the floor.

“Gasp…. Haa…. Com… Commander….”

The eagle, transformed into a human form, struggled to sit up, panting.

“I…. tried to come… gasp…. quickly…!”

“Did Muriel send you?”

“Yes…. I… I’m late… but….”

The eagle, which had flown a long distance with almost no rest, said lamentingly. Seeing the state of the city, it knew it was late, even without being told.

“The information… about the current king losing… was also incorrect….”

“The reason they pretended to enslave beastmen and use them as soldiers was a ruse to lure me here, and the reason they made the rabbit beastmen go berserk in Ephania was to test the berserk potion they were going to feed me, and the necklaces they put on the beastmen in this city were also the results of experiments to make the necklace they would put on me. It was all orchestrated by Nathaniel, the witch’s descendant.”

The eagle, having heard more information than it had brought, stared blankly at Eorzen, then exhaled deeply and lay down on the floor.

“Still, you came at the right time. I have something to tell Muriel.”

“Can I… rest a little… before I go…?”

“Get a full day’s rest and leave tomorrow. First, let her know that the witch’s son is alive and carrying on the witch’s legacy. Second, we will help Aspard’s successor, the former king of the human lands, become king. We’ll decide how to help after observing the situation further. We might start a war, or we might just provide resources. Third, provide maximum funding for Muriel’s prosthetic project, and tell Muriel to focus on that. This project will be conducted in Sizool’s name. Fourth-“

Eorzen paused and looked down at his empty hand.

“Let her know that I have found my companion and will be away for a while to spend time with him.”

“…What? You found your companion?”

The eagle, who had been nodding while lying down, sat up abruptly and asked back.

“My companion is Sizool – the one who was once falsely accused of being the Death Alchemist. He has now left to reclaim his name.”

“…So… that’s what happened.”

The eagle, whose job was to fly around the continent gathering information and acquiring new knowledge, understood everything even though Eorzen had merely said that much. It understood more of the truth than Ryufen, who had heard more of the story from Eorzen.

The eagle closed its eyes for a moment, as if lost in thought, and then opened its mouth.

“Then there’s something more you should know.”

Eorzen nodded, and the eagle continued.

“I heard that the successor to the former king Aspard lost an arm and a leg, and an eye, when the former king died.”

“And?”

“And the maid who cared for the Death Alchemist was wearing a prosthetic arm and leg and an eyepatch.”

Eorzen recalled the woman he had briefly seen the day he went to the mansion to kill Siol. The woman dressed as a maid who had come out of the corpse pit with Siol, but whom Siol had sent somewhere using an alchemical tool.

That woman was the new heir to the throne, of royal blood.

⋆୨🔮୧⋆

The snow had stopped.

Siol lightly hopped over the high-piled snow, leaving the city, and ran with all his might across the vast plain. On the land where only white was visible, he simply ran with his back to the city, not knowing where to go.

What should he do now?

He had declared that he would protect Eorzen and somehow resolve what had happened, but he didn’t have a concrete plan. He only had the vague goal of going to the human lands, to the capital of the human kingdom where Nathaniel and the king were.

Acting so haphazardly without a plan wasn’t like an alchemist, but he didn’t have time to act leisurely. He had to be more proactive, as he didn’t know what Nathaniel might do next.

Siol, figuring he was now quite far from Marsiga, approached a large rock, intending to rest for a while and make some alchemical tools to use during his journey. He leaned against it.

Fortunately, the clothes he was wearing had quite a bit of gold attached to them, so he didn’t have to search around for usable materials and offerings.

First, he needed a warm cloak to keep him warm.

Siol removed the gold buttons and jewels attached to the hem of his coat and placed them on the ground. Spreading his hands, he summoned the Deliveryman. Surprisingly, the Deliveryman offered him a snow-white fur robe with little to no charge. It was a proper item, enchanted with a warming spell.

Siol gratefully accepted it, unaware that the Deliveryman was feeling guilty for pretending to have put Eorzen to sleep earlier when he hadn’t. He didn’t understand why the Deliveryman sometimes charged excessively and sometimes charged very little, but at least he could feel that he was being cared for.

“Hmm…. Then a bag, boots… and some food….”

As Siol finished his preparations for departure, extorting travel supplies from the guilt-ridden Deliveryman, it happened.

A huge wave of magic power swept through the surroundings, creating a strong wind. His hair fluttered wildly, and the snow piled on the trees fell with a thud. Siol hugged his bag and waited for the wind to die down.

Soon, the storm-like wind disappeared as if it had been a lie. Siol smoothed his ruffled hair and looked back at Marsiga. A faint barrier enveloped Marsiga and then disappeared.

And then, a strange power enveloped Siol. A familiar sensation, if familiar at all.

“Ah…!”

Siol, whose legs gave way, collapsed and clutched his chest with trembling hands.

On his chest, where only the magic tattoo he had drawn himself had been just a moment ago, the mark of the dragon had returned.

The dragon’s curse had returned.

Perhaps because Siol, who had been controlling Marsiga’s magic circle, abandoned that authority and moved far away, the magic circle ceased functioning, which in turn restored Eorzen’s magic power, reviving the curse as well.

His body, which had been full of vitality just a moment ago, felt drained.

But paradoxically, Siol felt like it had ‘returned’.

He was currently in unrequited love, so he didn’t want another mate, and the weakened beastman body wasn’t any different from an ordinary human body, so it wasn’t uncomfortable. Rather, to Siol, who had felt a sense of incongruity with his unnecessarily healthy, fast, and strong body, as if it had been strengthened with alchemical tools, this felt more human.

He didn’t understand exactly what it meant to be eternally bound to death, but if it was related to the part where he couldn’t refuse Eorzen’s commands – wouldn’t it be alright since he might never see him again?

Even if it wasn’t, Siol felt like he was already always accompanied by death. After all, wasn’t his alias the Death Alchemist? Siol traced the dragon mark with a bitter, self-deprecating smile.

Woof woof!

Startled by the sound of an animal barking, Siol grabbed his new robe, bag, and other items and looked around before diving into a space between the rocks.

Wild dogs? Or wolves? Seriously contemplating whether he could somehow avoid a fight if he manifested in animal form, Siol put his luggage down, held his breath, and peeked outside.

The barking not only grew closer but also increased in number. A pack of beasts, whether dogs or wolves, was approaching him.

Little by little. Little by little.

“Master Siol.”

For a moment, Siol thought he was hearing things. But the voice was clearly calling him.

“Master Siol. Are you there?”

“…Ladie?”

Siol hesitantly poked his head out.

It was really her. Ladie was standing among numerous dogs, clad in armor.

“It’s been a while.”

“Ladie…. How did you get here…?”

“I came to find you.”

Siol was so dumbfounded he couldn’t speak.

From how she suddenly appeared here, to her armor, to the dozens of dogs around her, nothing made sense.

Despite being happy to see Ladie, he felt a surge of wariness and aversion in this situation.

“You have the paper we used to exchange written messages, don’t you? My dogs smelled it and led me here.”

Siol took out the pouch he had used to exchange written messages with Ladie from his pocket. Ladie smiled and nodded.

“Then what about that armor… what’s going on? You said you were helping with your family business?!”

“Master Siol. Do you remember I told you that I was also sent that day to deceive you?”

Siol nodded as if mesmerized.

“My name is Ladie Edersti. A descendant of this kingdom’s royalty, and the daughter of the former king. My family business is ruling this country.”

Only then did Siol recall the former king’s successor, the heir to the throne, the leader of the rebel army, that Eorzen, Ryufen, and Muriel had talked about. This girl was the royal blood relative who appeared one day and started the rebellion.

Come to think of it, the former king’s successor appeared after ‘that day’.

Oh my god. That mansion wasn’t just a glass garden to confine Siol, but also a prison to confine and monitor the king’s niece.

“Why… why did you come looking for me?”

Siol shouted defensively, overwhelmed with guilt and anger.

“Don’t you want revenge?”

Ladie asked, extending her hand as if offering a handshake. On ‘that day’, Siol and Ladie had escaped the mansion together. Although their circumstances were different, they were like comrades who had spent time trapped in the same prison and eventually escaped together. Perhaps they were the only genuine connection to each other in that mansion.

And at the same time, she was someone with a trustworthy thirst for revenge.

Siol thought of a way to resolve what had happened, something he had been pondering.

To dethrone the current king and make Ladie the new ruler.

If he did that – most of the problems would be solved.

“Master Siol, I can burn my uncle and Nathaniel to death and restore your honor. If you help me.”

“…I have a condition.”

“Tell me.”

“Make sure the human kingdom never discriminates against or invades the beastmen again. Take responsibility as king for what has already happened.”

“Of course. If I become queen, I will take full responsibility.”

They exchanged glances for a moment. Siol had something he had wanted to ask Ladie since that day. That question had grown stronger while he was with Eorzen, learning about the world, and now, knowing the truth about her, it spurred him on even more.

“Ladie.”

“Yes.”

“Because of me… because of me, your parents might have died. If it weren’t for me, that man might not have even thought of becoming king. But you… are you okay?”

When Siol asked in a trembling voice, Ladie shook her head.

“Master Siol. Back then, you were a masterless sword that had fallen to the ground. The person who found the sword could have used it to slay monsters. But that man chose to use it to slay his own brother.”

Looking directly into her steady gaze, Siol clasped her hand.

Dragon and Alchemist Part 2

Ah, that dream again.

Siol thought with a hazy mind, leaning his cheek towards the warmth.

Ever since he came to the castle of the lord who served Ladie, following her lead, Siol frequently had these half-awake dreams. Dreams where his mind was half-awake, but his body wouldn’t move properly, yet his senses were vivid. A large hand caressed his cheek, stroked his hair, and then trailed down his neck. The touch moved to his shoulder and then back to his face. Holding Siol’s chin and neck at the same time with both hands, he kissed his forehead and slowly slid down to his eyelids, the tip of his nose, and then his lips.

The blue dragon.

No one else touched him like this. The touch, a mixture of desire and possessiveness, as if he was so precious and so desperately wanted, plunged Siol into deep satisfaction. How wonderful it would be if he could stay within this touch forever.

Thinking so, he rubbed his cheek against it, feeling the soft fur against his skin.

Ah, he made another mistake. He should have stayed still.

Siol regretted it and carefully opened his eyes. What touched his cheek was the fur rug on the armchair. The blue dragon’s skin was smooth and cool. So, after feeling a texture so clearly not that of the blue dragon, he was banished back to reality, realizing that all the comfortable peace had been fake.

“…I should have stayed still.”

Then, even if it was fake, even if it was a dream, he could have felt the blue dragon’s touch a little longer.

Siol laughed bitterly, mocking himself.

For clinging to the warmth of a dream, even though he left of his own volition.

As he sat up from the armchair, the field mouse that had been basking in the warmth of the fireplace turned to look at him and then scurried away. There were many mice in this castle. There were also many birds and cats, so if he happened to feel a gaze and looked around, they would often be staring at him. Among them, this field mouse was a strange one that had appeared at some point and made Siol’s room its base.

He didn’t know how a field mouse, which lived in the fields, ended up inside the mansion, but judging by its plump appearance, it seemed to be living well, so Siol decided to just live with it. At first, he was startled every time he encountered the mouse, but now he was used to it enough to greet it without much surprise, even if it was staring at him with its black eyes from his bedside when he woke up.

It might be somewhat unsanitary, but Siol was used to this kind of environment.

He had no choice, having spent his childhood on a dying Earth. It was a place where the corpses of starving people were scattered around, but no one cared about them. Only those with proper abilities, like espers, guides, and alchemists, deserved to eat. To survive there without any abilities, you had to risk your life fighting monsters every day. Even then, if you managed to catch a monster after fighting it, you could barely get enough food for a day. If you had a family to take care of, you could starve even if you risked your life fighting all day.

If Siol hadn’t been chosen by his alchemist master, he too would have had to endure the dirty back alley life. Actually, being both a guide and an alchemist, Siol was relatively better off. At least he didn’t have to worry about starving to death.

Siol tried to get up clumsily but misjudged the armrest of the chair and tumbled forward.

“Ugh….”

Siol, sprawled on the floor, simply lay down on the rug and stretched out one arm. It had been over a month since he returned from little Sizool’s body to the larger Siol body, yet he still felt awkward with these long limbs. When he had shrunk from an adult, Ryufen had constantly made him use his body, saying that children should run and play. So, somehow, he adapted quickly and never experienced this kind of difficulty. But perhaps it was because he didn’t have much opportunity to move his body now. He often struggled because the length of his arms or legs wasn’t what he expected. Especially when he had just woken up like this.

Why did his body shrink and then become an adult again? At first, he thought it was all due to the curse, but even though the dragon’s curse had returned, his body hadn’t become younger. So, to reiterate his guess, it was clear that his body shrinking had nothing to do with the curse. And considering the ears and tail that still remained, becoming a beastman was also unrelated to the curse.

What had happened to this body while Siol’s soul was submerged in the magic solution within the glass tube in the cabin during his time in the alchemy research lab?

A body without a soul is prone to decay. That’s why Siol had stored his body in the magic solution. To protect it from all external shocks. The problem was that while the magic solution protected Siol’s body from external physical shocks, it might not have protected it from other spiritual elements.

Perhaps the soul of a young beastman, wandering after death, had reached the cabin and resided in this body, causing it to change like this, Siol thought. Of course, it was just a guess with no evidence. It might have changed for other reasons. However, if this guess was correct, Siol might have woken up as a sparrow or an insect. He was lucky to have become a young beastman child.

But this conjecture didn’t explain why he had become an adult again. Why his younger body had reverted back to adulthood remained shrouded in mystery. An unfathomable mystery he could never solve without further clues.

Lost in thought, Siol glanced at the fireplace. The ornate fireplace, engraved with carvings resembling the embodiment of the sun’s warmth, looked too luxurious for the basement. It was obvious who would stay in such a gloomy place, so why build such an expensive-looking fireplace here?

Siol thought blankly for a moment, then paused as he was about to get up.

He had intended to add firewood to the fireplace, but it didn’t seem to need any. The firewood he had put in last night before going to bed should have burned to ashes by now….

His question didn’t linger. He figured one of Ladie’s dogs must have visited during the night and replenished the firewood. Siol yawned widely.

“Hmm…. What should I make today….”

Until yesterday, he had been repairing the weapons of Ladie’s beastman knights. Fixing broken parts, re-oiling them, sharpening the blades, and so on. To be honest, it wasn’t the kind of work an alchemist would do, but Siol couldn’t bring himself to tell the knights, who came to him with their weapons, misunderstanding something, to go back because he wouldn’t do that kind of work.

From today, he planned to make proper alchemical tools with some of the materials Ladie had given him. The problem was that deciding what to make was the first hurdle.

This territory lacked too many things. From food to heating devices, to clothing. Everything was in short supply.

The reason was that this territory was following Ladie, the successor to the former king. The human king had dismissed Lord Merrick from his position. And he had completely banned trade between all the territories under him and the territories that followed Ladie. With the protective barrier gone and merchants no longer transporting goods, the territory had rapidly declined.

Siol recalled the day he arrived in this territory.

Lord Merrick, the lord of this territory, had not welcomed Siol, who had returned with Ladie.

The day Siol arrived at the territory, tightly wrapped in his robe and hood, the lord was waiting for Ladie at the gate. While welcoming the former king’s daughter, a member of the royal family, and the only bloodline that could defeat the king, he glared coldly at Siol beside her. With an undisguised look of hostility.

“Your Highness. Do you really intend to accept the Death Alchemist?”

“Yes, Lord Merrick.”

Ladie nodded lightly at Lord Merrick, who asked with a chilling tone. Lord Merrick clenched his fists and asked roughly, as if suppressing his anger.

“Why?! Why do you accept such a person? The former king died because of the bomb he made! I cannot allow such a ruthless person to roam freely in my territory!”

“…The bomb was just a tool. It was your uncle who acted. I will not hold Master Siol responsible.”

“That’s absurd. If it weren’t for such a terrible tool, that despicable man would never have…!”

“Stop it.”

Ladie placed her hand on Lord Merrick’s shoulder with a firm expression.

“I made this decision. Do you intend to disobey?”

“……”

Ladie’s hand looked too small compared to Lord Merrick’s body to have the power to restrain him, yet Lord Merrick bowed his head as if surrendering. Only then did it hit Siol that this small girl in front of him had the noble bloodline to make a knight and lord with a formidable presence like this bow his head.

“He will help me become queen. Won’t you, Master Siol?”

“I’ll do my best to help. So that a queen can surely ascend to the throne of this kingdom.”

Siol’s eyes shone calmly, as if hardening his resolve. Ladie nodded at him.

Lord Merrick had no choice but to accept Siol into his castle. He was a man of strong loyalty. That’s why he could step forward and declare his allegiance to the former king’s daughter as queen, even while the king occupied the kingdom and wielded absolute power. And Siol didn’t have the confidence to act naturally in front of Lord Merrick, who seemed to have a strong bond with the former king.

‘If it weren’t for such a terrible tool, that despicable man would never have…!’

The emotion contained in those words was resentment towards the immense destructive power of the tools Siol had created. Ladie had told him he was just a tool back then, but those words actually hurt Siol more. He couldn’t help but be ashamed of his past, when he couldn’t think like a human and lived like a tool.

So he deliberately chose a basement room in the mansion as his laboratory and tried his best to avoid encountering Lord Merrick when he went outside. He had already done something he felt sorry for to Lord Merrick, and he didn’t want to add to his pain by making him face someone who was like an enemy.

Siol stared blankly at the fireplace for a while, then turned his head at the clattering sound. The sound came from the door. There was no further movement after the sound. He went outside and picked up the familiar wicker basket placed next to the door. A delicious smell wafted from inside the basket.

“Hmm…. It’s meat pie today.”

The dish, made by baking meat stewed in sweet and savory sauce inside a pie crust, was one of Siol’s favorites.

He carried the basket into the lab, sat back down in the armchair, stared blankly at the flames in the fireplace, and chewed on the pie.

Again, this territory lacked too many things.

This meant that there was a limit to the magic stones, various expensive metals, and various herbs and reagents provided to Siol as materials. So, in this poor situation, Siol had to create tools that could effectively demonstrate his worth. That way he could receive more materials, and that way he could make more tools.

This method reminded him of his time on Earth. When he lived on Earth, Siol had to do his best to make alchemical tools despite the scarcity. Not only materials but also time was scarce.

Of course, back then, he hadn’t realized how poor the situation was. He thought that was how it always was.

Only after experiencing abundance while working under the king and the blue dragon did he realize how terrible his life back then had been. In a way, it was fortunate. Since he hadn’t known it was lacking back then, he could do his best in that situation.

The situation of having to prove his skills anew was unfamiliar, but Siol decided to think positively. He told himself that this would be the first step towards clearing his name as the Death Alchemist.

“I have to make something amazing. I have to be helpful, to be recognized.”

What was the most amazing thing he could make with limited resources? What should he make to help Ladie and gain recognition from Lord Merrick?

Siol’s specialty was creating magical tools using alchemical transmutation. However, mass-producing magical tools required a lot of expensive materials. He had no choice but to exclude his area of expertise and shift his focus towards engineering alchemy.

“It would be nice if I could make something to replace the barrier… but that would be difficult.”

If there had been a protective barrier, they wouldn’t be suffering from such a shortage of supplies. Lord Merrick had plenty of knights under his command. If he assigned them as escorts to transport supplies, trade would be possible, even if not with the territories under the king, at least among the few territories that followed Ladie. The problem was that all those knights were now tied up defending the territory in place of the protective barrier.

It would be great if he could rebuild the protective barrier, but it wasn’t easy.

The Tower of Survival was a structure built by those who lived in ancient times. Humans and beastmen had simply discovered the rules for activating it and settled nearby; the magical principles of the protective barrier were completely unknown.

If Siol wanted to create something to replace the protective barrier, he would need a long research period and luxurious materials, including magic stones. To acquire such materials, he needed knights, and to give the knights such leeway, he needed a protective barrier.

As Siol sighed softly and finished half of the pie, there was a knock and the door opened.

A boy, poking only his head in, grinned and held out a small basket.

“Can I come in, Master Siol?”

“You should wait for an answer after knocking, Luber.”

Ignoring the nagging, the boy swung the basket, hopped in, and sat down at Siol’s feet. Seeing him tilt his head while resting his cheek on Siol’s knee, it was easy to see how he usually charmed the servants in the castle.

“Why? You’re going to let me in anyway.”

His attitude was shamelessly confident. But this boy had earned the right.

The identity of this amazing boy, who had all the residents of the mansion wrapped around his little finger and gathered as his fans, was a dog beastman who hadn’t yet shed his puppy-like qualities. The boy, of large dog lineage, was the mansion’s biggest troublemaker, causing all sorts of mischief with his cute and innocent appearance, then receiving forgiveness with just a tilt of his head and setting off to cause more trouble.

As for why this superstar, who monopolized gentle touches and praise wherever he went, came to find Siol-.

“Here. I’ll give you this.”

The boy handed the basket to Siol with a slightly coy expression. Inside were a plate of fried meat and a bottle of wine.

Siol narrowed his eyes and looked at him suspiciously.

“Luber, you didn’t…”

“Oh, no! I didn’t steal it. I got it from the chef in exchange for letting him touch my belly.”

If someone who didn’t know he was a dog beastman heard that, they might think child abuse was taking place.

It seemed the chef, completely smitten by the sight of the usually aloof Luber, who rarely allowed anyone to touch him except on his head and back, rolling around while showing his belly, had packed him some food. The chef probably hadn’t imagined that this food would be delivered directly to Siol.

Siol groaned softly, recalling the contemptuous look the chef, who considered alchemy itself harmful, often gave him. If he found out about this, it was clear that the chef would fly into a rage, accusing Siol of being a bad influence on Luber.

Siol looked at Luber, who didn’t seem to think about the consequences of his actions at all, and sighed deeply.

“Well, thank you.”

“Eat it quickly. You haven’t had lunch, have you?”

“Someone brought me lunch, so I ate. Look. Meat pie.”

“…Meat pie?”

Luber sniffed the meat pie Siol offered and tilted his head with a genuinely puzzled look, this time without any intention of appearing cute.

“Who brought you this?”

“Well, who knows. I actually thought it was you, but it seems it wasn’t, so it must have been one of the other dogs.”

Siol shrugged and replied.

Since arriving in this territory, Siol had encountered a great deal of both favor and hostility. Caught between those who disliked him outright after hearing that he was the infamous Death Alchemist and those who rejoiced at the news that he had sided with Ladie, Siol found it difficult to decide on his own attitude.

He was still ashamed of his alias to act boldly, and too proud to act subserviently.

Fortunately, since he had decided to confine himself to the laboratory, it was alright that he hadn’t clarified his stance. Thankfully, the only people who bothered to seek him out in this mansion were those who were favorably disposed towards him.