CH 123

Chapter 123 of “Mastering Magic in an Otome Game Part 4 (Eildart Castle During Winter Break)”

A faint tension ran through the carriage as it quietly came to a stop. Brother Will’s hand that was holding me tightened a little.

The current location was between towns, where one could see farmland in the distance. It was a common practice to stop on such roads when there was a problem.

Connie, who had opened the small window, was talking to the guard and the coachmen. Her face after retreating back into the carriage, was a little pale.

“Well…it seems that a demon beast has appeared. Along the road…”

“!”

It seems that even in places close to the territory , it is not entirely impossible to run into demon beasts. Speak of the devil and you shall have a shadow.

But frankly speaking, I was more surprised by the fact that Brother Oluris instantly went into sorcerer mode as soon as he heard Connie’s words. His long, slitted eyes narrowed and the atmosphere became sharp.

His normally calm and slow way of speaking became crisp and clear when in this mode.

“What about the guards?”

“It’s still a planter, so there’s no danger, but they want one of the sorcerers to come along just in case…”

“All right, I’ll go out.”

“What, Brother Oluris!?”

I was surprised to hear that Brother was leaving the carriage. However, Oluris smiled, saying that there was no danger because it was a planter.

“Is that so…? What is a planter?”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s right, they don’t teach demon beast studies in the first grade.”

When I asked about the new unfamiliar word, Brother Will answered.

“Do you know how monsters and beasts are born?”

“No…Don’t they have parents that give birth to the children?”

“No, they don’t. Unlike livestock, they do not have birth parents. Instead, they are born from the ground as if they are parasites on plants. And while they’re still parasitic, before they wake up, it is called a planter.”

When I heard Brother Will’s explanation, what came to my mind was the image of the ‘Barometz’ from my previous life.

The official name was the ‘Planta Tartarica Barometz,’ also known as the ‘Scythian Lamb.’

I had seen an illustration in a plant history book of a small sheep lodged as if asleep at the tip of a plant. (***T/N: For more information, please see description at the end of this chapter)

“Whenever you see a planter, you must hunt it down. If it has not yet blossomed into a demon beast, you can leave it to the commoners, but the shock may wake it up. This is one of the duties of the nobility, who often possess strong magical powers.”

I digested the information I had been given.

Even though they are rarely born in the city, where the blessings of the protection stones are strong, it seems that they were closer to us than we thought.

“Will, keep an eye on Alice.”

“Understood, Brother.”

The Virgil brothers nodded at each other after that short exchange.

As I stood up to get out of the carriage, Brother Oluris patted me on the head to reassure me.

…But I grabbed his hand with a firm grip.

“Brother Oluris…Will you please take me with you?”

“Er…huh!?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T/N: Double update! And yes, I vote to take Alice outside with you~

Also, to clear up any possible confusion, here is some research I did on the Scythian Lamb! In real life there is a plant called the “Cibotium Barometz” which is a tree fern species native to China and the western Malay Peninsula. This plant was actually thought to be the inspiration for the mythical “Vegetable Lamb of Tartary”—or in latin, the “Planta Tartarica Barometz.” Another name for this legendary zoophyte is the “Scythian Lamb” (the title of this chapter!). It was believed in mythology that sheep were connected to this plant by an umbilical cord and grazed the land around the plant. Once all accessible foliage was gone, both the plant and sheep died. This novel is basically taking the Scythian Lamb concept to describe how all monster beasts are born into the world. Pretty cool and kinda creepy, huh?