Tenkomori: The Homecoming Club Conquers Another World

After returning to the mansion, I made a few Potion of Sharpe, just in case, and entrusted them to Roland for rest.

My previous exertions had taken their toll, and I woke up in the afternoon of the next day. Almost a full day has passed.

Even so, the fatigue had not disappeared. I woke up my heavy body and drank a healing potion to recover from fatigue. I was getting a little bored.

Opening the armoire, a cool breeze that smells of autumn carries the hustle and bustle of the city.

I listened to it absentmindedly.

Since Roland didn't come running in while I was sleeping, it seems safe to assume Valerie is fine now. She should rest and recuperate from her lost strength and fatigue.

I looked around the messy room.

I was impressed by how well I had managed to complete the project. I feel like I'm walking across a tightrope at full speed. I feel like I've been going crazy from the halfway point. I forced myself to wake up with a potion and continued the work without getting much sleep. If I were a sword fighter, I would have been in a situation where I would have fought to the death endlessly without sleeping. Yes, I would die. Because it's a concoction, I don't mind losing consciousness from time to time, but if I did the same thing on the battlefield, I'd die instantly.

I move my body lightly.

I dressed and headed for my father's office.

The solution to the ash-eating disease is also an order from the lord. I should have reported to him yesterday when the disease had ended.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

When I received permission to enter, I found my father alone in the room.

"You're already awake. You may rest for a while."

"No, I have rested enough. And I apologize for the delay in reporting."

"That's fine. Roland told me what happened. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense."

Well, then," he begins his report.

Beginning with the encounter with the Tremblecube, I gave my personal opinion as to why Valerie was infected. I was troubled as we talked about the cure formula's discovery and the gathering of materials. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't just say, "I made a cure. I may have reached my limit.

I broke off.

"I have something I need to apologize to your father about."

Without responding specifically, my father urged me onward with his eyes.

"I have a specific skill set. As far as I have been able to find out, no one in history possesses it. First, please take a look at this."

I disclosed the status without disguising it, except for the reincarnation, which I just couldn't show, and the ace title of the homecoming club associated with it.

My father silently looks over my status.

It would have been a few minutes in time. But to me, it felt many, many times longer.

I had learned "Mixing 5" and my "Appraisal" had risen to 4. Even though I was already out of the norm, it was even more so.

With his eyes on the status, my father finally opened his mouth.

"Alter. I don't know all the things you usually do. But I'm sure you weren't imitating an alchemist. When did you learn ‘Mixing'?"

"About a week ago, I think. After I found the materials and bought the alchemy equipment to see if there was anything I could do."

"Then you raised your rank to 5. Is it the power of the skill called ‘Increased Growth Potential'?"

"Yes. Ah, but I cannot imitate the same with ‘one-handed swords' and other combat techniques."

When I told him what I had been doing for the past few days, my father sighed and shook his head.

"I see. That is reckless in battle. You won't survive. Even if it were, the ‘Increased Growth Potential' is unbelievable. It's a growth that's impossible for someone your age.

"I am aware of it. When I'm young, learned of my brother's status, I realized how much I was growing at a faster rate."

"When was your childhood? You're only eight years old."

Father chuckles and looks back at the status again.

"Not only ‘Increased Growth Potential' but also ‘Appraisal' ‘Status Disguise,' ‘Multiple Chanting,' and ‘Fast Movement' The only other well-known ones are ‘Multiple Chanting. But even so, he was a great hero more than 700 years ago."

Hero Rapunas. He is a great magician. H is one of the few users of the "Multiple Chanting" skill in history. Except for him, the stories are as old as mythology, and people are not even sure if he existed.

It is said that there are more holders of "Status Disguise" than "Appraisal". For some reason, they have never appeared in the world.

"In any case, no hero would have collected such rare skills so indiscriminately. If it weren't for ‘Status Disguise,' it wouldn't have mattered. It may have been a gift from the gods in anticipation of that skill."

"As you say."

Yeah, it wasn't gods. It was God. A small fat one.

I nodded my head in reverence, not showing any such emotion.

"Do not speak of this to anyone else. Do not speak of this to my mother, or even to Lakius, for that matter. But because you brought the cure, some may have doubts. I'll leave the ‘concoction' skill to your discretion. Other than that, always keep your cover intact."

"Yes, sir. But I had to hide my ‘Appraisal' to some people because of this incident. The ones I talked to were Roland and the ‘Battle Axe of Destruction'."

"Roland is good. And you trust "Battle Axe of Destruction" as well?"

"Yes, sir. Yes, I think so."

My father nodded once and leaned back in his chair.

Then he closed his eyes and shut his mouth.

Maybe he was processing the magnitude of the situation.

After a while, he slowly opened his eyelids and looked straight at me.

"Alter, what do you want to do. If you are so talented, it will be easy if you want to serve the king. A knighthood is not a dream."

"I have already answered your question. It is my role to support my father, brother, and mother."

"I see. I see. Laius is in a difficult situation. To have to follow a man of your stature."

"I am a good brother, I admit."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

Without a pause, I denied it. My father's evaluation was strange.

After reporting the incident safely, I asked him to invite them to the party to celebrate the accomplishment of the "Battle Axe of Destruction" escort mission and Valerie's good health. My father readily agreed and left all the deadlines and arrangements to me.

◇◇◇◇

I'm walking down the hallway to return to my room. Roland appeared from the back.

Roland never goes upstairs unless he has something to do with me. I was worried that something had happened to Valerie, but her gait was easy, her expression did not change. That doesn't sound like a bad report.

I invited Roland in and sat down on a chair.

Roland shook his head at the mess in the room again and then moved the cloth and the general's grass out of the way with his feet to make room for me to sit down. You, you're being disrespectful. Use your hands.

"And what do you want with me, kicking the great Shogun to the curb?"

"I don't know such a man, but I'm here to report it."

Valerie was on the mend.

However, she is resting comfortably, taking healing potions in moderation, as her physical strength is gone. And it is unclear how much damage there is in her body. It would seem that she should be healing with recovery magic and healing potions. But she says that, aside from external injuries, forcibly healing damage to bones and internal organs may leave her disabled. But I heard that if you heal bone or organ damage forcibly, you may be left with a disability, not to mention traumatic injuries.

While receiving such a report, I asked Roland about something that had been bothering me.

At the time, I was not in the mood for this, so I cut him off, but I had to check.

Roland's eyes widened in surprise at my question.

"About the ‘appraisal'?"

"I had heard that ‘appraisal' was a rare and tricky skill if one were to disclose it. But Lord Keseles was able to use appraisal magic. It's only natural when you think about it. There are four known "appraisal" holders, including me, and not so many with "basic appraisal. If that were the case, the world would be full of unknowns. And what about the grimoire stores? If we don't get recognized by the grimoire every time we purchase something, we won't even know what it is."

"Oh …… that's right. You're so wasted and mature, little man, I thought you'd know that kind of common sense."

"Common sense?"

"What, it's simple. There are three abilities of appraisal in the world. There are three appraisal abilities: appraisal magic, appraisal magical tools, and appraisal skills."

As Roland said, it was surprisingly simple.

Appraisal magic was hard to learn and used an enormous amount of MP. Keseles was invoking it casually, but it seemed a trick I could perform because I was as skilled. There are two types of appraisal magic tools: consumable and permanent. In the first place, they are not selling on the market.

The power to appraise appraisal magic and magical tools is about the same as  "Basic Appraisal" and it is even affected by magic and magical tools that inhibit the activation of magic.

But, my "Appraisal" is not reserved, it has a higher success rate than "Basic Appraisal. Then, I can use it without any limit and without consuming magic power, and people can't detect when I use it. I can "see" the other person in everyday conversation with impunity, just as I did myself.

Some concerns were unfounded when I found out, but many were not.

"I guess I'd better keep my ‘appraisal' hidden after all."

"Of course. If you want to immerse yourself in intrigue while being pampered in the imperial capital. That's fine."

I'm not willing to live that life. Who would want that?

Anyway, we now know the exact current status of the "appraisal. Even if there is no change in my situation, knowing what to pay attention to and what not to worry about makes me feel better.

I also heard that there are people called "appraisers". They are people who make their living from appraising something. They are either skilled in "basic appraisal" or have mastered appraisal magic, and there is an appraiser under contract exclusively to the adventurers' guild in Reedwald. The magic tools sold at the store often have a certificate from the appraiser or the appraiser's guilt attached to them, and as expected, they do not reappraise the tools every time they purchase them.

Naturally, my father also knows the appraiser. That is why he advised him to disguise it.

Then, when I asked Roland about inviting "Battle Axe of Destruction," he suggested that we have a standing buffet-style party in the garden.

I thought it was a good idea. Rather than having a formal dinner inside the mansion, it would be less stressful to have it in the garden, where people can move around as they please. I would prepare a chair and a table for Valerie, who is ill, or, if so, I would prepare more. She can drink and eat as she likes and sit wherever she wants, whenever she wants. It's no longer standing food, but it should suit their nature.

I told him my idea, Roland agreed with me.

I immediately informed Graham, the family courtier, and asked him to make arrangements as soon as possible. At that time, he asked me what kind of meal I would provide, but I had no experience in cooking. I asked him what kind of food he wanted to serve, but I had no experience in cooking, so I just asked for "Not fancy food, but something easy to eat and in large portions."

◇◇◇◇

I went to the hospital with Pavel to visit Valerie and set a date for the invitation.

Valerie was sleeping, and only one attendant, Markant, was with her. I told him about the invitation and left the room, saying, "I'll be back tomorrow, so if you have a date or request, I'll be there then."

I guess he was waiting for me to finish talking, but when I went out into the hallway, Pavel came out to see me.

Without so much as a hello, we started talking about the treatment. Pavel was curious about the source of the medicine. I decided to tell him the truth. I learned a lot about his personality from his response to Valerie. I could trust him. Besides, the gray matter is not gone. Someone else may be infected elsewhere. I shouldn't hide it from him.

I confessed to him while keeping my mouth shut, but Pavel was still skeptical.

I am the only one who can create a cure for this disease. Even if he doesn't believe me, it's enough if he knows that. I broke off the conversation and asked him about hospitalization and other expenses, which I said had already been paid by my father via Roland." Pavel prefaced his answer by saying, "I'm not sure if I can make a cure, but ……" and asked if I could deliver the potion to him if I have the time.

I was grateful for the offer, as I was painfully aware of my lack of money after this incident, but I could not deprive the alchemists of their work. I agreed to do it on an irregular basis.

When I told them about the standing buffet party, I received a tiny response, "When time permits." It was not a roundabout way of refusal. He said that as a doctor. Because he could not be sure of his schedule until he had the time for it.

Finally, I asked for the addresses of the alchemists who helped me and left the hospital.

The sun was still high in the sky.

I decided to pay a visit to the temple of Milutiva to say hello to the people there.

After waiting for a while, I was able to meet Keseles, but he was adamant that I had cooperated because Pavel had asked me to, and that my gratitude was excessive. I had no choice but to chat a little about magic, and I even invited her to a dinner party, but she refused. But it was not a clear refusal, but rather a refusal to say that he was busy and that he could not be of much help to me.

Without him, it would have been difficult to take the cure. It would have been a burden on Valerie, or if she had been poor, she would not have been able to get the treatment. It was a sufficient contribution. But if he said so, it couldn't be helped.

We exchanged farewells and went out into the corridor, where a seriously wounded adventurer was waiting for him.

Outside the walls, the world is rife with demons.

Pavel and Keseles were busy was proof of the danger they were in.

Once again, they braced themselves and headed for their next destination.

The landlord was not home.

As I looked around in distress, the person I was looking for appeared just around the corner. And when he saw me, he jumped up and down, almost jumping and prostrating himself on the ground.

It's getting more and more excessive, isn't it?

I stand Nerio up and break up the kids who are groveling with him for some reason.

When I entered Nerio's house, I thanked him for his work on this occasion and apologized for not offering him a reward. I was dreading it, but that was a complete blunder. Despite my sloppy request, Nerio and his family went into the dangerous forest many times to gather materials. Without them, I might not have been able to complete the Potion of Sharpe, the Grass King's Liquor Potion. The best credit goes to the hunters.

I handed over a dozen gold coins and ten bottles of a standard-quality healing potion with an accompanying effect that I had mass-produced during the forging of the concoction. Surprisingly, they were more impressed with the potions than the gold coins. I felt sorry for making them at random, but according to Nerio, they cost one gold coin even without an accompanying effect, and two gold coins if there was one. Furthermore, because there is a limit to the number of these coins in circulation, they compete with other adventurers and are not available in large quantities. He was eager to distribute them to the hunters who cooperated with him.

Incidentally, we invited him to join us, but he immediately declined.

Pavel introduced me to two alchemists.

The first alchemist I visited was a rather arrogant person and did not give a good impression. Roland already paid him, so he left early.

The other alchemist was named Tsezan. He seemed curious about the source of Potion of Sharpe, the Grass King's Liquor Potion, and begged me to tell him who made it. I cannot talk to someone I don't know well. "I can't tell you the maker, but I can tell you the method of manufacture. I'll have it delivered to you later." He was so pleased that he almost jumped out of his skin. He may be a good man, but I don't trust him for now. Let's moderate our relationship.

As for Simon, the alchemist I had asked for, he had failed to surpass the grandmaster, and the cure appeared from somewhere, so he was depressed.

I decided to teach him the process as well. It is better to have more than one person who can make it.

Simon was pleased, but with a complicated expression on his face. He wanted to make the potion himself, and I admire his enthusiasm. He is a good alchemist. Even if his ability is not that good. But that is why I think he couldn't reach it by himself. That was out of the ordinary for an alchemist. Rather, an amateur like me is more likely.

Simon seems trustworthy, but let's not reveal it as my work. There is no reason to tell him, and it would be too much of a drive.

I cut off the subject of the cure and asked him about the alchemical solution since it was his main job at the time.

The name of the magic is "Solution Generating: Cleritic Solution." After all, he seems to learn it from his master. However, the magic itself is an open secret, and they say it was available in scrolls.

I asked him if he could teach me the magic, and he readily agreed. Alchemists' apprenticeships are about passing on knowledge, tools, and facilities. And after all, Simon also refused to participate.

I promised to visit again and said goodbye to Simon.

While we were on our way to our next destination, I pondered for a bit.

I am just acting like an aristocrat, but I am not conscious enough as an aristocrat. Pavel is the only one who has expressed his participation in the party. And Keseles would have joined us, too, depending on the circumstances. These two are the ones who are in contact with the upper class regularly, and the only ones who refused were the ones who are not in contact with them regularly. The disparity in status may be heavier than I realized, judging from Nerio's attitude.

If I was taken too lightly. It would cause trouble for my father and brother. But I still don't know what the right attitude or reaction should be when. Well, I am not my father's successor. So there is no need for me to be so self-conscious about it. I'll find my way of adjusting my attitude.

While I was thinking about this, I arrived at the Adventurers' Guild.

It was not only my status that made the guild cooperate with me. It was the alert against the unknown disease and the contribution of "Battle Axe of Destruction" to the guild. Even if I had not asked them. The Guild Chief of Herit would have cooperated with Markant and the others by making various arrangements.

When I expressed my gratitude to the director of the Herit branch, Matteo, and the staff for their bits of help, and casually offered them a special allowance, they refused to accept it, saying that it was part of their duties. I felt that was a little black, so I insisted that it was a personal thank you and handed a bottle of potion to Matteo and the others. I told the guild that I would donate the potion in the future. The head of the Herit branch agreed to do so.

When adventurers are injured, the guild is the first place they run to. The lower the rank, the higher the probability. If they could be treated immediately, even if only slightly. It would lead to an improvement in the security of Reedwald. It's not a bad deal for me either.

I also added that Simon and Tsezan were the only two alchemists who knew how to make the cure, since "Battle Axe of Destruction" had already reported this disturbance.

There is one more person who played an important role in the creation of the cure.

It was Egil the blacksmith. He sublimated Majumag into a material.

He is also the maker of the Rhinoceros Swored and stiletto. I have heard his name mentioned in passing, but this is the first time I have gone to see him.

When I asked Deryn at the Groen Armory about the location of his forge, he told me that he was busy and did not know if I could see him even if I visited him.

Anyway, I went there, then found that the forge was surrounded by a battlefield atmosphere. Egil showed up because of my status, but I could tell that he was irritated and wanted me to go home quickly. I left the blacksmith shop without so much as a thank you.

It was bad timing, but I guess there would have been a lot of trouble if he had been so emotionally disturbed. No wonder Derin was acting as an intermediary.

Egil, by the way, was a human being in his mid-fifties. To be honest, I assumed they were kindred spirits because I work with that one.

The greeting was roughly over, although the last part was not so subtle.

The rest is finishing up.

I went to the liquor store and bought a few bottles of strong sake to go and see him.