The Source of the Contamination
The bustling shopping district of Metia.
Momo, the handy little friend, hummed a cheerful tune.
Poke, poke, poke, poke.
Feeling a tap against her neck, she handed over a squid leg.
Nom!
Poke, poke.
Nom!
Poke, poke.
"You're supposed to chew it! What kind of Nia just swallows it whole?!"
"That's riiight. I forgottt."
What a relief.
This time, Nia slowly savored the squid leg.
After walking a little farther, Momo glanced around.
"What kind of Yodel Ranger gets lost?!"
Kancho had been missing for quite a while now.
She was starting to get worried.
It wouldn't do if he was off eating delicious things by himself.
"Swinging, swinging."
"What do you mean, swinging?"
"Kanchooo."
While biting into another squid leg, Nia pointed somewhere.
Turning her head, Momo saw it.
Kancho really was dangling from a carriage, tied up and being dragged away.
Chew, chew.
For a moment, she simply watched while chewing.
The dangling Kancho noticed them as well.
Swing, swing, swing.
Chew, chew, chew.
Swing, swing, swing.
Chew, chew, chew.
As they stared at each other, the carriage slowly rolled farther away.
Chew... gulp!
Swallowing the squid leg, Momo looked at the now distant carriage.
"Kancho is dangling there and getting kidnapped! What kind of situation is thaaaat?!"
"Oh my!"
"My goodness!"
The people nearby, who hadn't even realized Momo was there, jumped in surprise at her shout.
A moment later, however, they seemed enchanted.
One by one, they reached out and pinched her chubby cheeks.
Some even walked away, only to return for a second pinch.
Chew, chew, chew.
Taking another squid leg, Momo spun around.
Then she leisurely headed toward the outskirts of the kingdom.
She needed to tell her master.
Yodel Ranger Kancho had been kidnapped.
* * *
On a hill where an ancient tree stood.
Marlok of the Golden Lion Knights blocked the road.
"Stop."
After a long yawn, Marlok looked the outsider up and down.
The ancient tree had always been eerily quiet.
Surely the man had gotten scared and turned back.
Still, procedures were procedures.
"How did it go?"
"I succeeded."
"Right. Failure was the obvious—... what?"
Marlok stopped speaking and frowned.
Succeeded?
Even he, the vice-captain of the Golden Lion Knights, had failed.
"If you're planning to collect the reward with a false report, stop now. Since you've come to Metia, you'll follow Metia's laws. Even an outsider won't escape punishment."
"Here."
Jinhyuk handed over the blueprint he had received from Rantori.
Marlok snatched it away and immediately checked the royal seal.
He held it up to the sunlight.
He even infused mana into it to verify its reaction.
I-It's real?
He couldn't deny it.
It was the palace expansion blueprint lost by a royal mage long ago.
"What exactly did you do?"
"Does that matter? The quest was to recover the blueprint. I completed it."
Jinhyuk smiled harmlessly.
"Though I am curious. How did something this easy stump you for so long?"
Marlok clenched his teeth.
This insolent brat...!
Clearly, the man remembered him mentioning broken bones earlier and was mocking him.
Marlok raised the corner of his mouth.
"The Kingdom of Metia values honor and fairness. Unlike certain people, we don't rely on cheap tricks."
"Really? If you've been failing for this long, you'd think you'd become a little underhanded. Instead, you just gave up. That's a pretty comfortable philosophy."
Veins bulged on Marlok's forehead.
"Outsider alchemist. While you're in Metia, you'd better watch that mouth—"
"How do I receive the reward?"
Ignoring him entirely, Jinhyuk only asked what he wanted to know.
Marlok's eyes widened with rage.
Still, he had no justification to continue.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally answered.
"Leave your address. Someone from the palace will come."
"Here."
Jinhyuk handed over a note and casually nodded.
Then he immediately turned away.
As if to say he had no further business with Marlok.
"One last thing."
"Yes?"
"Did you look at the blueprint?"
"No. I brought it out exactly as it was."
"I see."
Marlok nodded with a strange smile.
"You'll be seeing it again."
"I'm looking forward to it."
The knight watched Jinhyuk's retreating figure.
Moments later, a small magic circle appeared beside him.
A mage in a green cloak emerged.
Marlok knelt respectfully.
"You've arrived."
"I heard the blueprint was recovered."
"Yes. By an outsider alchemist who arrived yesterday."
"How did he do it?"
"He didn't say. Judging by how carefully he's hiding it, it was probably some cowardly trick."
"I see."
The mage narrowed his eyes at the blueprint.
"Did he look at it?"
Marlok's lips curled upward.
"Yes. It was already unfolded when he brought it out."
"Understood."
"Lord Doku. May I ask a favor?"
"Speak."
"May I handle it personally?"
The mage stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"There must be no commotion. Deal with it quietly."
"I understand."
Shhh.
Just as he had appeared, the mage vanished.
Marlok stood up with a refreshed expression.
Now he had justification.
Now he could beat that arrogant youngster into a rag.
* * *
On the way back to the city.
Rina of Scavengers spoke with concern.
"Will everything be alright...? Lord Marlok looked really angry earlier."
"Is he famous?"
"Very famous. He's strong, being the vice-captain of the Golden Lion Knights, but also..."
She glanced around before lowering her voice.
"He's notorious for having a terrible personality. If you annoy him even slightly, he'll use every possible method to make your life miserable."
"He certainly looks the type."
"If you figured that out already, why did you keep provoking him?"
Rina rubbed her forehead.
"No, this won't do. Your inn is too far out. Move somewhere near the Scavengers Guild! I'll talk to the guild master and vice-guild master. Lord Marlok is definitely planning something!"
"Thanks for worrying about me. But it's okay. As you know..."
Jinhyuk once again took out the Empress's Zumba-Dancing Psychic Ball.
"I'm an alchemist from another world. Whatever comes, I'm confident I won't die. Winning is another story."
Rina alternated her gaze between him and the Psychic Ball.
"If you ever need help or feel threatened, promise you'll tell me."
"I will."
She sincerely hoped Jinhyuk wouldn't get hurt.
"Rina, go ahead first. I want to look around a bit before heading into the city."
"Okay! I'll be at the Scavengers Guild!"
She offered a bright handshake.
Jinhyuk smiled and accepted it.
The moment their hands met, his eyebrow twitched.
Energy exists in many forms. Those forms are shaped by one's inner self and the passage of time.
"...?"
Rina tilted her head.
"Mr. Alchemist? Are you okay?"
"Ah, sorry. Zoned out for a second. See you at Scavengers."
"Okay! Stay safe!"
He waved as she left.
Tap. Tap. Tap...
A smile appeared on his lips.
Then he turned away.
He entered a forest near the city where few people ventured.
"Hmm."
Elya, stroking her chin, waved when she spotted him.
"You're here, Master."
"How's it going?"
Elya lined up several flasks filled with soil.
"Thanks to the knight and the goblin lady gathering samples, things have gone smoothly. Here's what I've found so far."
She unfolded a map and began drawing circles.
Using crayons borrowed from Momo, she colored them in.
The darker the color toward the center, the stronger the contamination.
She pointed at a pitch-black region.
"This is the place widely believed to be the source of the contamination. Near the Empire, where the World Tree once stood."
"That's an awkward location."
It sat directly between Grandis Imperial territory and Metia Kingdom territory.
"That's why both the Empire and Kingdom are jointly suppressing it. Some knight order and mage corps are involved. I forgot the names."
"Elya, that's impressive. You found all that out?"
Honestly, he had expected her to spend her time lounging around in the forest.
"Fufu! I'm an alchemist who works when necessary. The problem is that I usually don't."
She gave a thumbs-up.
As expected of the Star Sage and the world's first alchemist.
"But that's not the surprising part."
Elya picked up one of the flasks.
Its label read Metia.
"This soil came from there?"
"Yep. Cleaner than any other sample. Contamination level: zero. Metia isn't called the kingdom that conquered contamination for nothing."
"Impressive."
"That's what everyone thinks."
Elya picked up a black crayon.
Then she colored the area labeled Metia Kingdom completely black.
"In reality, the contamination is worse here. Far worse than the supposed source."
She dumped the soil onto the ground.
Then she sprinkled a small amount of powder over it.
"What's that?"
"A special microorganism created by the Star Sage. It decomposes everything. Just wait a little."
Fwoooosh...
A foul odor rose from the soil.
There was no mistake.
It was the same disgusting stench of contamination from Leon's village, Meyard.
"Whoever did this is extremely skilled. Hiding contamination on this scale is remarkable."
Elya stood up and sighed.
She stared toward Metia.
"Master, something is happening in that city. Something terrible. Something that could swallow not only this region but perhaps the entire kingdom."
Jinhyuk pulled out the photograph of the blueprint he had taken earlier.
It had to be somewhere in there.
The true source of the contamination Elya had mentioned.
Crunch, crunch.
Hearing rustling, he turned around.
Only one person could approach this quietly.
Momo, the Hermes of the Chubby Realm.
"What's with the bamboo fishing rod?"
"Masterrrr, hiiii."
"Hi, Nia."
He looked at the limp Nia.
Apparently she had eaten so much on the way that she was already nodding off.
Momo was still chewing squid legs.
Gulp!
After swallowing one, she patted her stomach.
Her already round belly looked even rounder.
"Master!"
"Yeah?"
"Kancho got kidnapped!"
"Oh, really?"
He answered reflexively.
About five seconds later—
"WHAT!?"
Jinhyuk could only stare in shock.
Who got kidnapped!?
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T/N:
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