Someday Will I Be The Greatest Alchemist?

Chapter 244: State of the Devil Continent

「Welcome home.」

「We’re back.」

After investigating the two countries, Accuros and Atropolis, Maria met us back at the base.

「Is everyone else back at the Sanctuary?」

「Yes, it looks like they were bored at the base.」

The base built in the Devil Continent was secure, but boring to Akane.

「If I’m not mistaken, Mimir-sama said she would lend books today.」

「Something to kill time might be necessary in the base.」

Kaede hunts monsters in the surrounds if she has time, so she doesn’t need a time killer, but Akane and Lulu-chan were bored in the bare base.

Once everyone was back at the base, we gathered at the table.

「Atropolis is like what you would imagine of a Beastkin country.」

「A country of muscle-brains, huh.」

「……yeah, well, that is how it is if put briefly.」

I could not deny the few words Akane used to cut my impression of the Beastkin country short.

「For the king to be strongest, just how much of a battle oriented place is that?」

「Nah, it’s not just Atropolis, you know?」

I informed Akane that the Mazoku, or more specifically the countries of Mazoku, were not much different.

「When we were walking in Accuros, we passed an incredibly strong Succubus. When people of that level are considered “normal”, I don’t think there is much difference between Beastkin countries and Mazoku countries.」

「……Well, I suppose. Anyone living in lands that are basically monster nests would be battle oriented, wouldn’t they?」

Correct, when we were walking in the city of Accuros, there was the pretty Succubus Oneechan and the Oni-like woman we passed by. I thought it would be rude to the person, so I basically don’t use Appraisal, but I’ve reached the point where I have a grasp of their approximate strength. The Oni woman was probably as strong as Lulu-chan who was over Lv60. And that Succubus lady was probably using an Illusion spell and a perception inhibitor magic device. It felt like she was the strongest among everyone I encountered at the cities within the Devil Continent.

The lady attendant walking in town normally being the same level as Lulu-chan, who has the strength to power level by exterminating monsters in monster nests using a search and destroy tactic, meant that her level was higher than even the Knight Order of Valkyra Kingdom. I’m aware that levels aren’t everything though……

「Indeed. It wasn’t just the soldiers and knights we encountered in the Beastkin city, all of the ordinary citizens were unmistakably high leveled.」

「Atropolis and Accuros have a smaller populace, but they are countries that have the strength to fight against monsters.」

Both Sophia and Marnie seem to have sensed this as well.

「So, was there any information connected to the Evil Spirit?」

「Hmm, in taverns in Atropolis, as well as in Accuros, we heard that the number of monsters were increasing, but the entire continent has been like a monster nest from the start, so the citizens were aware of this matter as well.」

「Many of the monsters in this continent are stronger than those that reside in the continent we live in.」

This also holds true for the monsters around the base. For example, comparing the goblins in this continent to the one we live in, the ones here were higher leveled and the percentage of superior species were also higher.

「Even newbie adventurers could defeat the goblins on our continent, but the ones here might be impossible for them.」

「Investigating the state of the habitats of monsters in the entire continent would be too difficult, as such, we have no choice but to gather information at the city-states.」

「It’s just as Sophia says. Is the increase of monsters true? We don’t know if that was the influence of the Evil Spirit.」

「……we have to try searching for a way to return Akira to normal.」

The young boy from her home country who disappeared with Pope Warvaal and the Imperial Princess. Akane wants to do something for that classmate.

Coming to this country, seeing the Succubus clan, Devil clan, and Oni tribe, I vaguely understood what the Divine Empire Sydnia did to Yamato.

They were probably trying to make Mazoku, which possessed high physical and magic power. Yamato had fallen victim to Divine Empire Sydnia’s mad experiments to make an artificial Majin[1].

However, rather than a Majin, he was a Chimera monster. This was likely the effect of the mistaken perceptions of the people in our continent who do not know the Demon Continent and lack of understanding of the Mazoku.

Sydnia’s mad researchers must have had the perception of the Mazoku being people descended from monsters. That was a big mistake. The Devil Clan and Lesser Demons have absolutely no connection. The Oni Tribe and Ogres naturally have absolutely no blood relations. The misguided perception that the Mazoku are a race descended from monsters had given birth to that chimera.

「Takumi-sama, our data is too lacking either way. Wouldn’t it be best to gather information in the remaining countries?」

「……right? Understanding the others’ situation would be better, so let’s do that.」

We decided to continue investigating the countries in the continent. The members would be the same. As for Laeva and the others, I asked them to hunt down monsters in the name of investigating those we don’t know.

***

Footnotes:

1. A Majin is someone from the Mazoku.