Well, it wasn’t like it was my job to figure out what had just happened, so I’d just keep doing what I had to—in short, retrieving all the souls and spirits!
I went over to the explosion site.
Hmmm...I don’t feel much coming in. When I checked my level, it’d only gone up to 102. This is it? This is what I get for all those kills? Either these guys were all super weak, or Peko’s soul was seriously something special. Oh, or maybe I was too late coming over, and most of the souls have already dissipated. Hm, or it could just be much harder to raise levels now...
Or maybe it’s all of that? Maybe all of those reasons just piled up on each other, and this is the result. Anyway, I should also gather the spirits...though they’re so shitty that it seems like a big waste of time... I’m starting to run out of Spirit Catchers too.
I decided to capture them anyway, since—unlike in the dungeon—I wouldn’t just be shown the results of my work. The only proof I’d beaten anyone would be what I’d gathered myself. Plus, I could only accumulate points now by exchanging spirits.
Whatever. I’ll just snag whatever I can and think about it when I run out of Spirit Catchers.
I tossed out Spirit Catchers one after the other.
Once the spirits were in the flasks, their characteristics were much clearer. There was a wide variety of colors, shapes, and levels of shine to them. I couldn’t really tell what all that meant, but there was one that was clearly different among the ones I’d gathered. Its shine couldn’t compare to the others—it might’ve even been better than Peko’s.
Oohh, I think I got something rare! Lucky me!
With that, I’d finished the retrieval work. There were quite a lot of spirits that had managed to get away, though, and I couldn’t help but wonder if those had belonged to the monsters. It was just a hunch, but it seemed to me that monsters were better at moving around as spirits.
Okay, what now? Oh yeah, I have to look for the mirror.
With that decided, I walked over to the house where Suama was hiding.
“Suamaaaaa! I’m doooone!” I called out.
The girl wobbled outside. When she saw the tragic scene in front of her, she slumped limply to the ground.
“A-Are d-dad...and mom...?”
“Uhhh, they should be somewhere in there?” I pointed over at ground zero, a hellish site that totally looked like it would eventually be the source of legends about some serial killer who used explosives. Not a single body had retained its original form, so I’d be hard pressed to point out any individuals.
“Sorry, but their condition was already hopeless. I thought that they’d be better off with a swift death—you know, so they wouldn’t suffer,” I replied, trying to make excuses.
It didn’t seem like Suama was listening. The light had gone out of her eyes, as if her soul had left her body.
Oh jeez, she’s looking pretty broken. What should I do? I was planning on having her help me disguise myself, but at this rate she’ll be useless. I was counting on her too! I mean, she was able to calm down and talk to a monster like me!
I was pretty sure things wouldn’t have gone this well with most other people. Even if I wanted to try and find someone else, there was no one left in the village. Other settlements would be a crapshoot too. I mean, even assuming I bothered to find another one, who was to say the humans there would even give me the time of day?
That’s when I decided to try something desperate.
“Well, how would you like me to bring your family back to life, Suama?”
I called it the devil—er, the mimic’s—whisper!
The second those words left whatever passed for my mouth, Suama slowly got up to look at me. I produced a Spirit Catcher flask from my storage.
“What you see in these is basically like a soul for you humans! I just snagged them, so I think it might be possible to revive your family with these!”
“That’s a lie... The father at the church said that death is the end for humans...that we all go to where God is...”
It’s not a lie. I seriously think it’s possible, though it’s just a thought I had. Sorry if it doesn’t work out!
“I don’t know about any god, but at the very least I’ve heard of monsters and adventurers coming back to life. Also, the souls wouldn’t be able to go to your god if I’ve already caught them.”
Though she might be right that normal humans can’t be revived.
“So come on! Help me out here, and I’ll at least try it out.”
Agghh, not being able to pretend it’s a sure thing is one of my weak points, isn’t it? Still, I don’t like the idea of lying...
“You’re telling...the truth? Will you really bring them back...?” Suama asked, gradually returning to her old self.
“Mmm, well... That’s only if your family’s souls are in here somewhere,” I said before dumping out the filled flasks I had.
“The spirits all look like that, but it seems like they know what’s going on around them. Try calling out to your family.”
“Dad! Mom! Monaca! Alfred! It’s me, Suama! Do you recognize me?!” Suama called out to the flasks, and several of them reacted differently.
Seriously? Man, I guess everything really is worth trying once.
It looked like the super-rare-looking spirit was Alfred’s. I picked out the flask that seemed like it had Monaca inside and handed it to Suama.
“What do you...?”
“Why not just keep it on you for now? If you help me, I’ll give them all back to you. I’ll even help you try to resurrect them.”
Suama gripped the Monaca flask tightly. After a pause, she cried out, “I understand. I’ll help you, Harumi!”
All right! That’s a human underling for me!
I’d figured that the carrot would work better than the stick.
“Okay, then let’s go find that mirror first!” I exclaimed.
“Right. I think it should be in the village chief’s house somewhere.”
“It might’ve been stolen already, but we might as well check.”
We walked casually towards the village chief’s house.
Oh man, I’m glad the house wasn’t caught in the explosions too!
We found the mirror right away—the large glass, meant to allow someone to check their overall appearance, had been hung up on the wall by the entrance hall. Mirrors were expensive, but the bandits probably thought lugging something that big around would be too much work.
Anyway, here it was. I transformed into my Treasure Chest remodeled 3 form so I could look at my upper half.
“Go!”
The change happened instantly. My legs disappeared, my treasure chest fell to the ground, the lid opened up, and a girl’s upper half popped out.
“I didn’t know you could do that, Harumi.”
“How is it? Am I cute?”
“Yes, very! B-But you aren’t wearing any clothes... It’s a little distracting.”
I had several sets of clothes, so I decided I’d try some on later. The most important thing right now was my face.
Yep. Super cute.
My eyes were nice and large, but not freakishly so. I had long eyelashes, a nice petite face, and clear ivory skin.
I could use this to manipulate men...if it weren’t for the fact that it looked like I was being eaten by a treasure chest! Still, it’s really motivating to know how cute I am. I like this feeling!
✦ ✦ ✦
And that marked the end of the flashback. Yep, that had all been a flashback!
Suama was currently riding on top of me. Apparently she would be too high up if I were to use the form with hips, and she wasn’t a fan of heights, so I was using the first Treasure Chest remodeled form at the moment. As a refresher, that was the one where my legs stuck directly out from the treasure chest.
We could’ve just walked together, but I’d decided earlier that I’d appear more like a tamed monster if she rode on top of me.
We’d left the village and were on the way to a nearby town. My destination, the Forest of Darkness, would be beyond that.
“Umm, I get that I’m supposed to act like a monster tamer, but what exactly should I be doing to help...?” Suama asked while fidgeting nervously.
“My goal’s to get to the northern continent, but seeing a monster walk around on the surface would cause a huge fuss, right? That’s why I need your help, Suama, so I can disguise myself and pass by unnoticed.”
“Um, so does that mean this is the normal style for monster tamers? There was a swordsman and a mage in my village, so I know what they’re like, but...”
“Hmmm, dunno. Maybe?”
Yeeaahh, this plan’s full of holes, isn’t it? I mean, I don’t know jack about monster tamers! I’m sure Lord Aldora’s just as clueless as I am—she probably pulled this idea out of a hat. Oh well, at least one thing’s probably true—the monster tamer job exists.
“Hey, how does someone become an adventurer in the first place?”
“I’m not sure. Farmers like me and my family don’t need to know that, so I never learned.”
It was clear that there was something that separated adventurers from normal people, but I didn’t know if whatever it was had to be natural or if it could be acquired. The fact that Suama didn’t know made me think that such information wasn’t public.
“Hey, are there going to be any adventurers in the town we’re going to?”
“Yes, there’s a guild. The guards for our village came from there.”
The guild’s main source of activity is probably the Forest of Darkness, then.
At any rate, there was no other choice but to test our cover out. Would the mimic with beautiful legs and her pretty tamer pass?
So first we need to go to the town’s Adventurer’s Guild. Bring it on!