SHHHHHHHH…….
It was the predawn hour, and the night sky was disgorging rain.
The Lord of Birsi gnawed at his lower lip.
Despite the late hour, sleep simply would not come.
It was because of the urgent news he had received the previous evening.
‘Kranol. To think that Mad Dog wiped out even my Assassins.’
The Assassins he had sent to kill Kranol had instead been found dead.
He had repeatedly ordered them to avoid any unnecessary fighting and simply use poison.
How Kranol had discovered them and counterattacked was beyond comprehension.
The reason he could not sleep now was his keen intuition.
‘……Could that Mad Dog have anticipated all of this?’
His memories abruptly traveled back into the past.
The Oath of the Star he had made with Kranol—an oath that could not be broken lightly.
What would have happened if Kranol had included a clause forbidding them from harming each other even after their transaction?
The Lord of Birsi would never have agreed to the oath.
‘He omitted that entire process. I thought that meant he was naive about such matters.’
But now that he reconsidered it, his thoughts began to change.
What if the omission had been deliberate?
What if his sole objective had been to obtain the Reward from him first?
What if he had been fully confident that he could counterattack even if the lord attempted to ambush him later?
“…….”
GULP.
He swallowed involuntarily, his throat dry.
Just as those ominous suspicions began to deepen, every candle in the room suddenly went out.
“What?”
The lord floundered through the darkness in alarm.
CREEEAK.
He was about to call for a servant when the door closed on its own.
As he groped blindly around him, he suddenly realized something.
A chill ran down his spine before he even knew it.
Someone else was inside the room with him.
“……Who are you?”
Cold sweat ran down the lord's body.
He tried not to let it show in his voice.
However, fear had already made him stammer.
“C-could you be Mad Dog Kranol? I-I know nothing!”
No answer came from the darkness.
Instead, something clamped tightly around his wrist.
He tried to shake it off in alarm, only to be slammed onto the floor.
“Urgh!”
Pain shot through him as though his back had broken.
Then, something sharp began stabbing him all over his body.
The lord screamed and thrashed.
“Aaaagh! Ghaa……!”
Whenever he tried to scream louder, something sharp stabbed the inside of his mouth.
His entire body grew wet amid the indescribable agony.
He could not tell whether the liquid soaking him was his tears or fresh blood.
Even so, a strange stubbornness rose within him.
Even if I die, I have to know.
Who is doing this to me?
Then, for the last time in his life, fortune smiled upon him.
KRA-KOOOOM!
Just then, thunder boomed and lightning struck.
A momentary flash of light seeped through the curtains.
It illuminated the face that had been concealed in the darkness.
The lord was horrified.
“What?”
……It was not Kranol Wizar.
Yet it was a face he already knew.
The other man was an old acquaintance of the lord's.
That was why he could not remain silent.
“Y-you…… Why in the world……!”
However, he never managed to finish speaking.
The other man's blade surged toward him once more.
At last, everything before his eyes faded into impenetrable darkness.
***
It was a drizzly day.
Kranol was reading a newspaper he had purchased from a nearby general store.
A particularly welcome piece of news happened to be printed on the front page.
The Lord of Birsi, who had extorted taxes to expand the trade routes, had been brutally slain by an unidentified assailant.
‘Efficient work. As expected of the protagonist.’
Having someone else exact his revenge saved him time.
As expected of the protagonist of the original novel, ‘EX-Rank Demonic Beast Hunter.’
His competence, at least, was beyond question.
‘Of course, I still have no intention of ever crossing paths with him.’
Kranol had been an avid reader before finding himself possessing a character in the original novel.
That meant he could, in truth, take advantage of his knowledge in underhanded ways.
It was a familiar sort of story.
He could steal every Hidden Piece that originally belonged to the protagonist or monopolize every one of the man's potential companions.
However, that would mean underestimating the protagonist of this world far too much.
The original protagonist was not someone who would fall behind simply because those things were taken from him.
‘He is more likely to hound the thief for the rest of his life.’
Just imagining it made every fine hair on Kranol's body stand on end.
He would take only a modest share of the fortunate opportunities from the original story and then make himself scarce.
After all, his sole objective was to cure his Madness.
“Raaah! Rooooar!”
“Wow! Mister! Look at that! That pile of rocks is moving all by itself!”
That afternoon, Kranol's group arrived at a new destination.
Birsi had also been bustling, but it was still merely a territory.
This place, however, was an administrative region classified as a metropolis even by continental standards.
‘A metropolis truly is different. It is far larger, and its districts are much more varied.’
The central district, in particular, was filled with successful alchemy shops.
Their display counters were laden with flasks, crucibles, reagent bottles, mortars, pestles, and similar tools.
A glance inside revealed alchemical furnaces blazing fiercely.
The air everywhere carried the smell of sulfur and pine resin, along with the bitter aroma of simmering herbs.
Even enormous Golems could be seen carrying heavy loads, a spectacle in itself.
‘Aletica. This place is known as the City of the Great Alchemist.’
Long ago, this had been a dangerous region where countless Demonic Beasts roamed freely.
Innocent people had been devoured and exploited by vicious monsters.
No one had been capable of subduing the region until a single man conquered it.
The man known as Great Alchemist Ranix.
He was one of the legendary figures who had helped found this empire.
What he transmuted to oppose the Demonic Beasts was neither gold, weapons, nor Golems.
Astonishingly, the Great Alchemist had transmuted his very own body.
‘Some days, he spewed breath as hot and ferocious as that of a Berserk Dragon. On other days, he swept away the approaching Demonic Beasts with strength surpassing even that of a giant.’
A mystical stone capable of reconstructing all things.
That was the Philosopher's Stone.
The stone possessed a wide variety of alchemical powers.
‘With that, even the Madness afflicting me can be cured.’
Kranol's current objective was the Philosopher's Stone.
He had to find that miracle.
He needed it to eradicate the Madness lurking within his body.
“Mister! This metropolis looks incredibly exciting! Is it always like this?”
“It is probably even more extravagant around this time of year. The Alchemical War season has begun.”
Aletica was a metropolis whose very development had begun with the Great Alchemist.
Perhaps that was why it remained the continent's foremost center of alchemy.
Every district seemed to be a different laboratory.
The numerous alchemists living within the metropolis were busy preparing for the war.
“The Alchemical War? What is that?”
“Wait. The rain is coming down harder.”
Kranol took out the clothes he had purchased alongside the newspaper at the general store.
He dressed the two little ones in adorable yellow raincoats.
The Hatchling and the girl excitedly ran through the drizzle.
“Rrrah! Roooooar!”
“Wow! These raincoats are so cute!”
The sight of the two playing in their raincoats suited them perfectly as children.
At first, Kranol had worried that the girl might attract attention, but he had been mistaken.
With her black-and-white wings folded and hidden beneath her clothes, she looked like an ordinary child.
In any case, Kranol had business with the Alchemical War.
“Rrrah! Rooooar!”
The Hatchling let out a cry filled with solemn determination.
High-level Invisibility could make her visible only to specific people.
For the moment, only Kranol's group could see her.
“The Hatchling says she will gladly take the vanguard for you!”
“This is not that kind of war. It is more like a competition among alchemists.”
“Huh? Then what do they compete with?”
“You will find out soon.”
Holding an umbrella, Kranol calmly read the newspaper in the central district's plaza.
Before long, fireworks burst from the gloomy sky.
Although rain was falling, the explosions were as fierce and brilliant as sunlight.
「Everyone, thank you for waiting!
We will now announce the theme of this year's Alchemical War!」
The two little ones stared at the sky with their mouths hanging open.
The pedestrians walking through the city also stopped and looked upward.
Hundreds of thousands of people craned their necks as far as they could and stared into the sky.
Then, letters of flame that burned away even the falling rain were inscribed across the heavens.
「This year's war will be…….
The ‘Pet Chimera Tournament’!
We look forward to the enthusiastic participation of alchemists far and wide!」
“Good heavens! This year's theme is rather inventive too, isn't it?”
“Another deranged spectacle will unfold this year.”
“……This is no time to stand around!”
The pedestrians smiled with anticipation, while the alchemists hurried away.
Chimeras.
The word referred to monsters that had been created artificially.
They were artificial Demonic Beasts produced through alchemical transmutation to oppose one's enemies.
This year's Alchemical War would be a competition in which those creatures were pitted against one another.
‘The Alchemical War is a competition decided solely through alchemy.’
Those who placed highly could win prizes.
Given the nature of the event, the Rewards were all related to alchemy.
They included a custom alchemy workbench, a Golem Core, and the right to establish a private laboratory.
However, what Kranol wanted was the Philosopher's Stone.
To gain access to that miracle, he needed the most exceptional prize.
‘Great Alchemist Ranix's Hidden Laboratory. I have to enter it.’
***
Under normal circumstances, 95% of Kranol's income would have vanished on herbs.
However, he had squeezed a substantial stock of herbs out of the Lord of Birsi as his previous Reward.
Thanks to that, he had a fair amount of money remaining and could afford to explore the new city.
“Mister! Mister! I want that!”
Therefore, he could afford an overpriced souvenir sold by a street alchemist.
Of course, he knew that indulging children too often would spoil them.
However, they had come all the way to the City of the Great Alchemist.
Surely one small souvenir would not hurt?
“Well, well. Our adorable young lady certainly has a discerning eye. I transmuted it myself, so it should last for about four days.”
The souvenir he purchased for the girl was a tiny, palm-sized Golem.
The little girl gazed adoringly at the collection of stones and rejoiced.
When left alone, the souvenir Golem clumsily followed its owner.
“Mister! Look at this! It is my pet Golem! I named it Rolly!”
“Rolly is acceptable, but Plumpy is not?”
“Hmph! Rolly is a cute pet Golem, so it is fine!”
You two are my pet Calamities too.
However, Kranol chose not to say that aloud.
Then, a problem soon arose.
Why did every happy encounter have to come to an end?
“What?”
The souvenir Golem following the girl was smashed apart.
It had been trampled by a passing pet Chimera.
The creature was a Salamander resembling a red newt, but it was as large as a crocodile.
“Honestly. Little girl, you should watch where you are going.”
The male alchemist who appeared to own the Salamander clicked his tongue.
It was the typical tone of someone attempting to shift responsibility onto the other party.
However, anyone could see that the Salamander had been the one to cut in front of them.
“HMPH!”
The Salamander also snorted and swished its obnoxiously blazing tail.
Its owner did not even have the common courtesy to offer compensation.
The girl protested with an aggrieved expression.
“That fire lizard stepped on him first! Rolly is my friend! Bring him back!”
“Tsk, are you stupid? How could anyone restore such a shoddy transmuted construct?”
He was not wrong about that.
Souvenirs sold to tourists lasted only a short time at best.
Moreover, their poor craftsmanship made them impossible to repair once they were destroyed.
“If you think it is unfair, you should have watched it more carefully. Be careful next time.”
The alchemist with the Salamander irresponsibly continued on his way.
Meanwhile, the thoroughly dejected girl gathered Rolly's broken fragments.
“SNIFF! M-Mister……. Rolly died.”
“Roooooar.”
The Hatchling comforted the girl by licking away her tears.
Kranol silently studied the stones.
“That Golem can be brought back.”
“……Really?!”
“But there is one condition.”
“SNIFF! What is it?”
Kranol impassively patted the girl's head.
“I love you, Plumpy.”
“…….”
The girl scrunched up her face.
The meaning behind those words was clear.
After hesitating for quite some time, she finally gave in.
“……Hmph. I will use that name for now. But if I think of a better one, I will change it without mercy!”
“Rrrah! Rooooar!”
The Hatchling did not like her own name either, but she willingly accepted it for the girl's sake.
“Good.”
Kranol smiled with satisfaction for the first time in a very long while.
It had been a truly difficult battle of wills.
The names of the two little ones were finally settled as Chubby and Plumpy.
“Anyway! What do we have to do to bring Rolly back?”
“We are entering the Alchemical War. I need the winner's prize.”
“Rooooar?”
“But we do not know anything about alchemy. Do you, Mister?”
Kranol shook his head.
“Not at all. But we can make a pet Chimera.”
“Rrrah? Rooooar?”
“Huh? How?”
Chubby and Plumpy tilted their heads.
Why, the necessary materials were already right here.
Two perfect ingredients for an SSS-Grade Chimera.