CH 12

Incidentally, today I am also wearing the uniform of the Black Wing Knights, which Gazelle gave me. It is a black-based uniform with silver thread embroidery. Now my uniform matches everyone else’s!

I thought the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights would have feathers on his back since he is an avian-type beastman, but he did not.

However, his hair is different from a human’s, and was exactly like a bird’s feathers. And even his arms, which were exposed by rolled up sleeves, had a few feathers on them. In one of his arms, he was carrying a package wrapped in hanshi paper-like material.

And he was quite tall. He was bigger than Gazelle, who was at least a head taller than me. His upper body muscles were also as impressive that I couldn’t help but think of the term ‘chicken breast’.

His eyes, resembling those of a predatory bird’s, swept around his surroundings warily. Even if the sharpness in his eyes were not factored into consideration, his well-defined shape of his nose and eyes would have been enough to place him in the handsome category. 

“Oh, Ortolan. You came.”

“Listini, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I’m glad to see you are doing well.”

I briefly pondered who Listini was, but upon doing so, I realized it was Gazelle’s family name.

Mr. Ortolan approached Gazelle with a solemn expression on his face and quickly held out one hand. Gazelle held out his hand with a smile on his face. The two fellow commanders seem to have a very close relationship.

Still…… Ortolan McCione, the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights, is so cool!

Just why didn’t such a cool guy make an appearance in “Change the World”? If only he had appeared, I would have definitely made him one of my companions!

But thinking back, it seems that the Yellow Wing Knights as a whole never appeared in “Change the World” in the first place. Did they cut them out due to story length?

“Wow, wow, just wow……t, to think that even Ortolan-sama from the Yellow Wing Knights would come to our store……!”

Beside me, the store clerk with glasses remarked, with her face flushed in excitement. Along with her face full of enthusiasm, her body was trembling uncontrollably.

Yes, yes. I understand that feeling. If I were to ask Mr. Ortolan, I wonder if he would give me his signature or something? 

“Ortolan, the situation is exactly as I described in my letter. Do you have anything you’d like to ask about?”

“……If I were to be frank, it sounds absurd to point that I don’t even know where to start.”

At the sight of Mr. Ortolan’s complicated expression, Gazelle shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

“Yeah, that’s true. Well for the time being, let us demonstrate the process again. Our healer will also be witnessing it for the first time. Sorry for rushing into things, but do you mind if we get started?”

“Alright, let’s have a look.”

Yesterday, the perfume samples that were placed on the table at the center of the perfume maker’s store had been put away, and in their place were about ten glass bottles filled with emerald green-colored potions. The number of bottles had increased since the prototype was made yesterday. Most likely, the spectacled clerk had continued to produce them afterwards.

On the spacious table, Mr. Ortolan placed a package he had been carrying with one hand.

When it was unwrapped from the hanshi paper, a cage was revealed.

The cage was about the size of an insect cage from my original world. Inside it was a round, liquid mercury-like creature.

The monster looked familiar, and I couldn’t help but utter, “An ash slime, huh?”

The person who responded to my comment was Mr. Ortolan.

“You know a lot. I’ve never seen you around before…… Ah, could it be that he’s the rumored one?”

“……I’m Takumi. Nice to meet you.”

W, what does he mean by “rumored”? People aren’t spreading around word that I’m an illegal immigrant or anything, right? I feel worried……

Mr. Ortolan looked as if he still wanted to say something, but Gazelle had spoken up. “Ortolan, can we continue?” Then he turned his attention back to the table.

The ash slime had no eyes, mouth, or nose, but it was purring and squirming. Yet, it made no attempt to escape from its cage.

This slime was different from an ordinary slime. Ordinary slimes exhibit intelligence, emotion, and will, albeit low, but the ash slime does not.

According to the monster guide in “Change the World”, it’s more like an amoeba, a primitive organism than a monster. But because of its resemblance to a slime in appearance, this world categorizes it as a slime species under the name of Ash Slime. 

Mr. Ortolan picked up a knife that he had been carrying on his waist belt and used the tip of the knife to wound the ash slime. I was a little scared at the way he stabbed the knife without hesitation.

Immediately, Gazelle poured some potion solution from a glass bottle on the cut found on the ash slime’s back. The wound glowed faintly, and in a blink of an eye, the wound vanished without a trace.

“Woah……! The wound healed!”

“Amazing, the speed……!

“…….I see. This is incredible stuff.”

The two healers from the Black Wing Knights suddenly became excited at what had just happened in front of them.

And then there was Mr. Ortolan, who was slightly startled but did not lose his composure. 

“With this, treatment on the battlefield and during expeditions will become much easier!”

“Commander Gazelle, is it possible to mass-produce this potion?”

The two elated healers began asking the spectacled shopkeeper and Gazelle a lot of questions. Feeling a little doubtful about the situation, I quietly asked Felix.

“Felix. Why are those two healers so happy about the potion?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I was just wondering if they weren’t worried that it would take away their jobs. Wait actually, potions are not that versatile, so even if we succeed in mass-producing them, it’s not something that will take away their jobs……”

“Ah, I see. In that case, the answer is quite simple. In our country, we have an overwhelming shortage of healers.”

A healer—- this profession was different from that of an ordinary magician.

Later, Felix explained to me how a healer is no different from the setting in “Change the World”.

By using magic force, the healer’s unique skill, “healing”, is activated to heal the wounded and sick. The conditions that can be healed depend on the healer’s skill level. In this world, inherent skills are innate qualities that cannot be acquired.

Furthermore, there are not many people with inherent skills – and even fewer people with the inherent skill of “healing”.

As a result, there is a chronic shortage of healers.

They are usually concentrated in the royal capital, and it is said that there are still not enough of them in the countryside. In addition, the Royal Knight Order has a certain number of healers assigned to each of its knights. Even so, apparently there are many cases where the healer’s healing cannot keep up, and the patient is left with permanent disabilities or even dies before the treatment can be completed in time. 

Because they are aware of these conditions, they are probably the happiest about this groundbreaking invention called potions.

“P rff……”

…… Po P abiv atfw atja atfgf kjr j reqfg qbalbc atja kjr ojg wbgf qbkfgoei atjc atlr qbalbc, bg qfgtjqr jc filzlg atja mbeiv yglcu jybea mbwqifaf gfmbnfgs, atfs wluta ufa fzagfwfis mbcoerfv.

Q, kfii, cflatfg bo atfw jgf atja fjrs ab wjxf yfmjerf bo tbk tjgv la lr ab ufa atf lcugfvlfcar!

Maybe it would be better to teach Gazelle and the others how to make both the super potion and the elixir at some point…… but not now. When the time is right, I’ll teach them how to make them and leave it up to them to decide when to have them officially announced again. Yeah.

“……A potion, I see. Indeed, if this were mass produced, our country would make great strides.” 

As Felix and I were discussing these things, at some point Mr. Ortolan came over to our side.

However, it seems I was the only one who didn’t notice. Felix didn’t really seem surprised and smiled gently, “I’m glad that Commander Ortolan has also acknowledged the effectiveness of this miracle potion.” Seeing how composed he is, I really hope to learn from him.

“Anyway…… so this guy is the rumored newcomer in the Black Wing Knights. To think that he really was a black-haired, black-eyed human being.”

Mr. Ortolan bent over and peered into my face.

For the record, I’m not really that short. It’s just that this Mr. Ortolan guy is really big! He’s probably about two meters tall!

“I’m Ortolan, as I’m sure you are already aware. To an extent, I’m the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights.” 

I know that you can’t tell at first glance, but to an extent I’m also a member of the Black Wing Knights.

“I was wondering what kind of a big guy you were, considering you’re a new recruit of the renowned Black Wing Knights, and you beat the pirate Badrud and giant floras single handedly, but you’re actually rather dainty.”

“Well, I didn’t beat them all by myself.”

“Hmm?”

Ah, did I maybe disappoint him? He heard that there was a new member in the Black Wing Knights and wondered who the new powerhouse member was, but upon seeing the real thing, he’s probably thinking, “Huh, his reputation precedes him” or something…… Sorry that such a disappointing bean sprout joined the order.

“Still, it does seem a little too good to be true.”

“……what is?”

“Right after the new recruit, Takumi, joined the order, Gazelle and Felix discovered how to make this miracle potion. I just think the timing seems too perfect, you know?” 

…………Crap, he actually knows, doesn’t he?

W, what should I do? What should I say in a situation like this? Should I play dumb and say something along the lines of “Ehehe, really? Man, coincidences sure do happen!”

Felix, who was standing by my side, offered me a lifeline as I was panicking inside.

He stepped in between us with a natural movement and took a step forward as if to shield me.

“Please don’t tease our newcomer too much, Commander Ortolan.”

In a gentle tone of voice, Felix had a princely smile on his face. Yet, somewhere in that smile, one can sense cold indifference, like he is distancing himself.

Seeing him like this, Mr. Ortolan raised his eyes. He seemed even more surprised than when he saw the effectiveness of the potion just a few minutes ago. 

“……Hmm, well this is interesting. To think that Alpharetta would……”

Mr. Ortolan puts a hand on his chin and smirks. His pair of fierce avian-like eyes once again focused on me, who was behind Felix’s back.

By the way, who is Alpharetta…… Ahh, Felix’s family name?

“Anyway, it’s good to hear that the Black Wing Knights have found an interesting new member. ……More importantly, Takumi. Earlier, when I hurt the ash slime with a knife, you felt sorry for it, didn’t you?”

Ah, he found out? 

“Since you knew the name of the ash slime, you must also know the characteristics of this monster, right? That it has no ego, and it’s just a living being.”

“…… yeah.”

But still, even if I knew beforehand from “Change the World”, normally one would be surprised if a knife was suddenly stabbed, wouldn’t they?

I really didn’t think that Mr. Ortolan would be watching me at that moment……

“According to his reputation, he seems to be quite skilled, but as a knight, he is too gentle. Perhaps he is not suited for this role. If he is this naive, I don’t think he will be able to make it in the future.”

Mr. Ortolan told me this with a stern face.

But his words were very sincere. It’s clear that because he leads a large number of knights, these words came out of his mouth.

So I got out from behind Felix’s back and bowed to Mr. Ortolan. 

“I appreciate your advice very much. But–I have something I must do here.”

I hear Felix next to me gasp faintly.

When I raised my head, Mr. Ortolan was still staring at me, as if he was assessing me.

“……I see, if that’s the case, then I have nothing else to say.”

After a few moments of silence, when Mr. Ortolan said that, the tension in the air suddenly dissipated. With this, I finally relaxed my shoulders.

Actually, truth be told, I myself know very well that I’m not suited to being a knight in the Black Wing Knights!

In fact, I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to be a knight. But if I don’t join the Black Wing Knights, I won’t be able to be near everyone…… So in order to save everyone, I have to do my best here, even though I know I’m not cut out for it.

Right at that moment, all the excitement over there seemed to have died down. They were now going to move on to another room in the back of the store to continue the trials and experiments and continue talking about mass production of the potion together with the two alchemists.

The healer and the glasses-wearing store clerk were rushing to the back of the store as if they couldn’t wait any longer.

As we were about to follow, Mr. Ortolan looked back at Felix. 

“Alpharetta, protect him well.”

“……without a doubt, I will.”

Felix, with a serious expression on his face, put his hand on my shoulder and replied to Mr. Ortolan.

Mr. Ortolan smirked again and shrugged his shoulders. Then he left us and went to the back of the store.

“……Felix?”

I looked at Felix, who was still touching my shoulder. I call his name. He reacts and pulls his hand away. 

“I’m sorry Takumi…… Just now, I couldn’t help but get worked up. How shameful……”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry you had to stick up for me.”

“That’s not true. I only did it because I wanted to.”

As always, Felix really is kind. Earlier, if I had been able to face Mr. Ortolan properly, surely Felix would have just stood on the side. It’s only because I couldn’t handle it on my own……

I urged Felix to head to the back of the store where everyone else was headed. However, he still had a gloomy expression on his face and made no move.

“Felix?”

I called his name again, and Felix opened his mouth hesitantly. 

“……er, earlier you were talking about……how Takumi has something you need to do, what did you mean by that?”

Ahh, that. But I can’t possibly tell Felix, can I……

“……sorry, I can’t tell you for now. But I’ll tell you someday when the time comes.”

Normally, Felix would just say, “I understand” and leave it at that, but today he was unusually insistent. I was a little surprised at his uncharacteristic behavior, but I managed to reply. 

“Sorry. But I have to do this on my own. It’s not anything that will cause trouble for everyone, so don’t worry.”

“…………I understand.”

While saying that, Felix looked terribly sad. Seeing his feeble smile for the first time stabbed into my heart.

S, somehow, I can see hallucinations of dog ears belonging to a pouting golden retriever, and a drooping tail……! Wait, was Felix a canine beastman? No, right?

I wondered if I should say something, but I had no idea what to say. While I was trying to choose the right words, the store clerk with glasses came to get us, and we had no choice but to join the others.

Well, Felix was back to his usual attitude after that, so maybe it was just my imagination that he looked so depressed earlier.

The ensuing demonstration of the potion and discussions about mass production progressed smoothly.

The owner and the shopkeeper with glasses decided to join the Black Wing Knights as exclusive alchemists. However, since they cannot completely abandon their work at the perfume shop, they have decided to limit operations here to once or twice a week and devote the other days to making the potions.

They also discussed the potential problems that would arise in the future.

The first problem is the overharvesting of drainflower nectar, one of the materials needed for the potion, which is not difficult to gather as long as there are enough people. The possibility of overhunting is therefore quite real. As soon as the official announcement is made, there may be large-scale bulk ordering and buying up of materials at adventurers’ guilds.

Therefore, before making an official report to the government regarding the potion, the Black Wing Knights and the Yellow Wing Knights decided to collaborate in a large-scale hunt for drainflower nectar.

The idea was to collect a large amount of drainflower nectar and at the same time, to capture a few juvenile drainflower plants. Apparently, they intend to conduct further research on the cultivation of drainflowers.

Well, in short, they plan to secure enough for themselves ahead of time before a buying frenzy breaks out.

I wondered if it would be safe to cultivate drainflowers, or monsters for that matter, but upon hearing further about their plan, I learned that they were going to have “monster tamers” do it for them.

Ahh, that reminds me. In “Change the World”, they also had that……

Monster tamers are one of the professions in the game, and have the unique skill of “taming”. Monsters tamed by them are said to lose their hostility toward humans.

Therefore, if they could tame drainflowers, it would make it much easier to gather the materials for making potions, and would curb the hoarding and overhunting of materials to a certain extent. Moreover, it is said that the younger the monster is, the easier it will be to “tame” it.

For this reason, the Yellow Wing Knights and the Black Wing Knights decided to jointly carry out a large-scale hunt for drainflowers at a later date. Originally, the Yellow Wing Knights had been ordered to eliminate a mass outbreak of drainflowers at a place called “Lazarte Hills,” a short distance away from the royal capital. It was just the right timing.

Although the mission was originally assigned only to the Yellow Wing Knights, this time there were so many of them that the Black Wing Knights requested to join them as reinforcements. Since the Black Wing Knights have no major missions at the moment and the people in the royal capital are feeling uneasy due to the large number of monsters, the request should be accepted without any problems.

Upon hearing this, I became more and more motivated.

Hehe, things are sure going great!

It may be difficult to change fate completely just by making potions. But as they say, ‘a drop in the bucket’!　……No, that’s wrong. That phrase has a negative connotation.

A, anyway!

At this rate, let’s keep hammering away at the Black Wing Knights’ destruction flag! 

◆

–Five days have passed since I visited the perfume shop.

Various things have happened during that time, but generally, it has been uneventful.

In the past few days, I have been attending training drills and lessons in the Black Wing Knights, so I have not been involved in the potion business as much as I would have liked.

Gazelle and Felix became even busier, and Mr. Ortolan’s visits and meetings at the Black Wing Knights’ barracks increased. I could only watch from afar, but from time to time, Mr. Ortolan would call out to me and we would have a conversation that lasted two or three words.

The reason the conversations didn’t last very long was not because I was not a good talker, but because Felix would arrive before I knew it and take Mr. Ortolan away. I’d like to talk more with Mr. Ortolan, but I don’t want to keep the Commander busy. I’m sure Felix is aware of this, and calls for Mr. Ortolan every time he comes.

At any rate, the days go by quickly.

Yes, at last, the day of the Great Drainflower Siege by the Yellow Wing Knights and the Black Wing Knights had finally arrived.

“What’s wrong, Takumi?”

“Iris……”

“You look a little stiff. What’s bothering you?” 

The sun had only just begun to rise when the Black Wing Knights were preparing to leave for their departure. The day before, they had already transported all the large-scale supplies to the site, so they would be ready to go in less than 30 minutes.

During this busy period, Iris seemed to have squeezed out time to talk to me.

……I wonder if my expression was that glum.

Yes, the Yellow Wing Knights and Black Wing Knights’ subjugation of the drainflowers should have been a joyous occasion in and of itself.

Most likely, this is a development that was not found in the “Change the World” game. With the situation straying away from the game route, there is a good chance that this mission will be the catalyst to prevent the future destruction of the Black Wing Knights.

And yet — for some reason, deep in my chest, I have a nagging, unpleasant feeling.

“Iris, come to think of it, this mission to defeat the drainflowers was originally only supposed to be carried out by the Yellow Wing Knights, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Since the Black Wing Knights were called upon, it was decided that we would work together…… but if it was just about defeating them, the Yellow Wing Knights alone would be plenty. The Black Wing Knights were also summoned because the objective this time is to collect a large amount of materials along with defeating the enemy.”

During the past five days, Iris and some members of the Black Wing Knights and Yellow Wing Knights have been notified of the existence of the potion and its usefulness on top of being ordered to keep silent. Hence, Iris does not seem to have any doubts or complaints about the sudden participation of the Black Wing Knights in this operation.

Hmmm……. I don’t know, just something has been bugging me for a long time.

One of the things that has bothered me the most is Mr. Ortolan.

I don’t remember seeing him in “Change the World”, even though he’s such a cool Yellow Wing Knights Commander. If he came up in an event, I would definitely have played to bring him into my party. But I’ve never even seen character art of him.

“The reason why only the Yellow Wing Knights don’t show up, huh……” 

The story of “Change the World” as I know begins with the main character being summoned to another world. And if I were to think chronologically about reasons why I don’t recognize the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights…

Maybe for example– if the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights left before the main character was summoned to this world, or something like that.

“–Ah.”

………………I, remembered.

It was the earliest of the early scenes in “Change the World”…… Where the protagonist is summoned to another world and is feeling perplexed and finds the summoner and the king of the royal palace explaining about the current situation of this country and asking the protagonist for help.

『 Right now, this country is in a crisis. Please offer us your guidance! 』

『 The seal on the Demon King has been lifted, and the number of monsters and their attacks have been steadily increasing in frequency. Just last month, the knights who were on a mission to defeat wyverns were suddenly ambushed and nearly destroyed. 』

『 During the battle, the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights was also severely injured…… 』

『 If it is you who have been led into this world by the ancient summoning magic, the legendary… 』 

…………are we on the same page?

After this, ministers and kings came out in droves and talked about the lore of the battle between the Demon King and the heroes that has been handed down in this country and that this is the year the Demon King’s seal was broken.

While playing the game, I had been so preoccupied with the story of the Demon King that after the second week, I had skipped the routine summoning spiel and so on, so I had never remembered it until now.

–Just last month, the knights who were on a mission to defeat wyverns were suddenly ambushed and nearly destroyed……

–During the battle, the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights was also severely injured……

……Yes. That’s right!

The reason I didn’t recognize the leader of the Yellow Wins Knights is because, after all, Mr. Ortolan left before the game started!

He didn’t show up in “Change the World” because the Yellow Wing Knights were nearly destroyed!

Or rather, maybe that was the reason for summoning the hero.

The knight order of his own country was dealt a heavy blow and its leader was seriously injured, and the general thought in the country was, “This confirms that the seal of the Demon King has been broken”. That must be why there were calls to summon heroes from another world within the royal palace.

Thinking back to the reaction of the villagers of Tomi Village, although they were frightened by the rumors of a mass outbreak of monsters, the atmosphere in the village was not that heavy. The same is true for the citizens of this royal city. They have heard about the outbreak of monsters, but it is still only at the level of rumors.

The incident that was enough to change the atmosphere of the city. People’s minds were filled with anxiety, and the country decided to summon heroes from another world — and the impetus for this was the near destruction of the Yellow Wing Knights.

Aaahhh! Why am I always always a few steps behind in realizing things!

Besides, if this is all really the case — then maybe today is the day!?

What if the subjugation mission in Lazarte Hills that we are about to embark on is the site of the incident where the Yellow Wing Knights were assaulted by wyverns, resulting in their near destruction……? 

Hash:

「そいつが噂のか」 “he’s the rumored one?”

I was thinking of changing “he” to “your” for better flow but it seems okay. 

「今日はよろしく頼む」 something like “let’s get along today”

Though “nice to meet you” seems to fit the context better if said in English (despite the original not being はじめまして aka “it’s our first time meeting”).

I was conflicted over whether to translate 一応 from “To an extent, I’m the leader of the Yellow Wing Knights” as incidentally, for the record, or to an extent. I feel like I hear the first two more often in regular conversation but the third seemed closest in meaning. “For the record” seems too neutral. The second best, “incidentally” seemed to imply that he was bringing up an unrelated yet connected subject. “To an extent” seemed to imply a degree of humility as 一応 does, implying “I’m bringing this up for self intro purposes and not to pull a power move here”. So “to an extent” it is.

焼け石に水 lit. “water on burnt stones”

Found this on DMM but apparently it means “a drop in the bucket”. Probably the phrase implies water will just evaporate when sprayed on burnt stones.

There were other things I didn’t translate directly but they weren’t too different so I didn’t bother to note them. 

Thanks for waiting! Sorry for going MIA. At first it was because it was exam week and I had papers due. Then I lost motivation and felt trapped in guilt for all the missing chapters. Well at least 1 chapter is better than none.