Monster Tamer, Volume 5, page 5
It was important for widely spread goods to be usable without knowledge of the principles behind them. For example, I knew about solar energy, but couldn’t explain how it worked to Shiran. Similarly, pretty much nobody knew the theory behind how runestones worked except for the people who took part in creating them. Since the manufacturing method for barrier runestones had been completely lost, perhaps such techniques had been concealed on purpose.
Moreover, unlike our world, they didn’t have books published in the tens of thousands available in a single place, nor did they have the internet, a veritable treasure trove overflowing with information. It wouldn’t be strange if only certain circles had knowledge of magical technologies.
“I tried actually using the runestones as well, but I couldn’t understand the theory behind them. After that, I tried asking Lily about it.”
“Lily?”
“Yes. She can use both runestones and magic, so I thought she could figure something out by comparing them.”
I cocked my head but immediately realized this wasn’t a bad idea. My senses were out of whack after spending over two months in the Woodlands, but after giving it some thought, Lily was from the Depths, an unlivable region. She could also use grade 3 magic. The locals couldn’t use magic any higher than that, so she was actually the perfect person to consult.
“So what did she say?”
“According to her, the runestone acts as a supplement for the construction of a glyph.”
“A supplement for a glyph?”
Her reply was daunting. It didn’t really tell me anything. I had no idea what a glyph really was. It was like explaining a technical term with another technical term. Rose seemed to take my reaction into consideration and continued to explain things to me diligently.
“That is what my sister told me. To use magic, one must be able to manipulate mana. However, that is not enough on its own.”
“Yeah. If that was all, I’d be able to use magic too.”
“Starting from Lily’s conclusion, magic requires mana to move in a particular flow. By doing so, the corresponding phenomenon occurs. Such laws exist in this world. In the case of magic, the flow manifests in a visible form known as a glyph. These laws don’t only apply to the mechanisms of magic either. The abilities inherent to monsters follow the same laws.”
“Hm? Doesn’t that mean humans can use the same abilities monsters can?” I asked, caught up on that detail.
“That’s true. If they can force their mana to flow in the same manner, then I believe it to be theoretically possible,” Rose replied with a nod before shaking her head. “However, in practice, humans and other monsters can’t use abilities inherent to a certain species. Each individual species of monster possesses a unique flow of mana, after all.”
“I see. Now that I think of it, the ring used to identify ghouls works by recognizing the difference between the way mana flows within humans and ghouls.”
“Even Lily didn’t realize such laws existed until she tried using a runestone. She’s been using magic by instinct. I create magic tools in a similar fashion.”
It was the same as the tale of an apple falling from a tree. Someone in the past realized that making mana flow in a particular way caused a corresponding phenomenon. They then used the theory to create runestones.
Katou looked like she recalled something as well.
“When I once commented that the way you created magic tools from wood was mysterious, you told me you didn’t know what I found mysterious about it, right? Sometimes things are so natural you don’t know how it works yourself.”
Rose nodded back to her.
“Meaning that runestones reproduce this particular flow of mana?” I asked.
Picture it as a channel used to direct water flow. Normally, the channel itself has to be created by hand to replicate a certain flow. In the case of a runestone, however, the channel has already been dug out, so it just needs mana to flow through it. Perhaps translation runestones required special training because these channels were split up into segments.
“Rose, did you perhaps succeed in carving one?” I asked with a glimmer of hope in my voice.
The mechanisms behind a runestone were clear now. Next was to verify whether she could process one herself.
“No, unfortunately not. I did try my hand at doing so, but I couldn’t do it.”
Rose stood up and retrieved several objects off the carpet before coming back. Four runestones tumbled from her hand onto the table. Three of them were crafted similarly to the gems used in the knights’ rings, and the last was an uncarved stone. All of them were black.
“Just as I said before, a runestone replicates a particular flow of mana. As such, to process a runestone, one has to know how to carve it and how mana is supposed to flow through it. This proved harder than I expected. It seems each raw runestone has its own idiosyncrasies. In three years...no, two, I should be able to get a handle on these through trial and error, but current circumstances would make it difficult to accomplish now.”
“I see. Nothing can be done about that, I guess,” I said with a small sigh.
“Yes. Therefore, I tried doing it my own way.”
“What...?”
Rose placed what she was holding in her opposite hand on the table. They were carved blue stones—or so they appeared, but their surfaces had a wood-grain pattern to them.
“These are ones I made from scratch. I suppose you could call them imitation runestones.”
“Imitations...?”
“As I said before, monsters, magic, and runestones all make use of the same principle. In short, by preparing a particular flow of mana, even without a runestone, it’s possible to manifest magic. Also, I have my own ability to create magic tools. I don’t know much about stones, but I do know about wood.”
As Rose touched one of the wooden runestones, a small spurt of water jumped out of its surface and wet the table. It was definitely a reproduction of water magic.
“This is still a prototype, so there are some areas where I cut corners, but I do believe I should be able to replicate the same level of magic as a real runestone one day.”
“That’s...amazing.”
“Thank you very much. I’ve gained a lot of experience in making all manner of things in accordance with your orders. Moreover, I believe it’s fortunate that I’ve been creating delicately detailed works as of late. It is a difficult job, but I somehow managed to reach the stage where I can complete a prototype.”
Rose placed her hand on the cheek of her mask and turned her eye to the corner of the room. The box there was filled with a mountain of wood chips from failed attempts.
“However, there’s a problem with my imitation runestones. Because I can’t use magic, I have to examine a real runestone to get an understanding of its mana flow. The only imitation runestones I can make are limited to copies of runestones I’ve actually used.”
“I see. Still, that’s more than enough.”
I took the wet imitation runestone Rose passed to me and tried channeling my own mana flow through it. This runestone was used for everyday life, but I’d heard of runestones that were meant for combat. If we could copy those, there were countless ways we could use them. I really did want to get some, one way or another.
“I believe we can gradually discuss how to make use of this,” Rose said.
“Got it. I’ll give it some thought too. I’m the one who wants to use them and all.”
Talking to Mikihiko about it seemed like a good idea. He was familiar with games and whatnot, so I felt like he was more suited to such things than me.
“Thanks for your report. I’d like you to continue your research,” I told Rose.
“As you wish.”
“That was the first thing, so what else did you want to talk about?” I placed the imitation runestone back on the table and urged Rose on.
“I heard from Kei that you have been learning how to use a sword from the woman who has become your new servant, Shiran.”
“Huh? Yeah. Not that I’ve had many lessons yet.” I was somewhat confused by her question. I hadn’t expected to hear Shiran’s name. “Given the opportunity, I’d like to learn more from her, and I’m planning to ask her to teach me. What about it?”
“I don’t mind if it’s only when she has the time, but could you ask her to teach us servants as well?”
“That’s sudden... I don’t mind at least asking her.”
“Thank you very much,” Rose said with a bow.
“What brought this up all of a sudden?” I asked curiously.
“The other day, I crossed blades with the doppelqueen named Anton... Her powers were dreadful. I was unable to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat and therefore didn’t fulfill the duty you entrusted me with.”
Rose sounded overly serious and frustrated. I had no intention of criticizing her for that. On the contrary, it was my fault for misreading the situation and overlooking the possibility that Anton would be lying in wait. However, Rose’s personal thoughts were another matter altogether. She had a strong sense of loyalty, so the failure to accomplish her duty was definitely a source of regret.
“What’s more, Anton is but one of the monsters Kudou controls. Also, that man named Juumonji was evenly matched with Gerbera, and she had to do her best just to put up a fight. Lily told me that she couldn’t even stall him for a second. My elder sister is stronger than me, and she wasn’t capable of that. It’s clear I wouldn’t have been able to do a thing.”
So she said, but Rose was in no way weak. She was a rare monster from the Depths, and she had gotten stronger when she’d remade her body. Her equipment was also powerful. These were all things she had acquired through constant effort.
However, it would still be hard for her to fight a cheater head-on. I thought I had readied myself as well, but their violence was horribly overwhelming. It was of course best if it never came to such conflict, but the current situation didn’t allow for such assumptions. There was Kudou, whose whereabouts were unknown, as well as the mystery member of the expeditionary force who had connected Juumonji with him.
Even without all that, our position in this world was very unstable. Despite having friends in the Alliance Knights, there was no way we could rest easy. We had to ready our forces as much as possible in case the unforeseen happened.
“We must get stronger by any means,” Rose said.
“And that’s where Shiran comes in, huh?” I replied, sighing in understanding.
“That’s not all, of course. Just as I reported earlier regarding the practical use of imitation runestones, I do believe we should explore ways of making use of them. However...”
“I know. Learning combat techniques is an especially effective way of getting stronger.”
“Indeed. Essentially, we monsters possess powerful physiques, and we leave battle to our strength, our speed, the instincts we’re born with, and the combat experience we gain through surviving in the forest. There is no technique to it. Having said that, systemizing some sort of technique ourselves would take far too much time.”
One thing humans excelled at compared to the monsters of the Woodlands was their ability to pass down knowledge and techniques throughout generations. Be it by oral tradition or writing, the accumulation of knowledge was a tremendous weapon. This was what Rose’s proposal focused on.
“Acquiring combat techniques that are backed by a long history of use should be a major advantage...” Rose continued with passion, but then she suddenly turned her head to the side. “At least, that’s what Mana suggested.”
I followed Rose’s gaze to where Katou was sitting in complete astonishment.
“Huh...? Rose?!” Katou remained dumbfounded for a few seconds, then shot up from the bed in a panic. In an unusual turn, her expression was filled with consternation. “Didn’t we discuss that this would be your suggestion?!”
“But this is a truly helpful plan. I’m happy that you would like to yield such a feat over to me, but I still do not believe we should hide that this was your proposal at the outset.”
“What, so Katou’s the one who thought of this?” I asked.
“Yes,” Rose answered, turning back my way and nodding. “I decided it would be better for you to know, Master.”
Rose was right. I already owed Katou a great debt. I didn’t want to take advantage of her kindness without knowing about it. Besides, it was important that she get credit for her accomplishments. Rose seemed to be of the same opinion and spoke of Katou in a meaningful tone.
“Mana really has been thinking of all sorts of matters. In fact, she gave me several suggestions regarding the imitation runestones too.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
I threw in an appropriate response and looked over to Katou, but she immediately covered her face. I could still tell it was flushed, though.
“No. Um. I didn’t really do all that much. Someone else would’ve mentioned it eventually...”
“I don’t think so,” I told her. “This kind of thing is better off said sooner than later. You’re a big help.”
I felt a little bad for her, but I ended up smiling. Seeing her flustered and bashful, acting like a girl her age, was rather refreshing. I honestly found it quite charming.
“Thank you, Katou. Please let me know if you think of anything else.”
“Okay...”
Katou was still hiding her face, but she gave a quick nod. She was smiling shyly, which cast aside the shadow that always hung over her expression. Before me now was a completely normal girl who felt embarrassed from being thanked. From her reaction, I could feel that our relationship was changing. It made me happy. But it also made me regret what would come next.
“Although, I guess I can’t rely on you all that much from now on,” I added.
“Huh...?”
“Unlike you, we won’t be going to the imperial capital. You’ve helped us a ton up until now, so we’ll have to get our act together.”
Shiran had mentioned that all surviving students other than me were going to the imperial capital. That was because anyone who didn’t have the ability to tame monsters was sure to receive a warm welcome there. Naturally, this also applied to Katou, so we would have to bid farewell to the girl we’d been traveling with through the Woodlands.
I regretted that we had to part ways with the girl who had become Rose’s friend. I also felt this way because I was just starting to build up my relationship with her. However, I had to fulfill the promise I’d made when we first met—to find her somewhere safe. And now, I was finally able to repay her for what she had done for me, even if just a little.
“There’s not all that much time left, but please continue to get along with Rose,” I said.
Katou slowly raised her head. The red in her cheeks had already faded.
“Okay...”
It felt like her very existence was fading away. It left me bewildered. It was because of the smile on her face. It was different from the one she’d shown me just seconds ago. It was a dry smile. The shadow that had disappeared returned to her expression. I instinctively knew that the words I’d just said were the cause of this. I didn’t know why, though. As such, I didn’t know what else to say. I held my tongue and lowered my gaze away from her weak smile. An awkward silence fell over us.
“Master,” a calm voice said. Rose was looking at me with a tranquil gaze. “There’s one more topic I’d like to discuss. May I?”
Now that she mentioned it, we were still in the middle of talking.
“What is it?”
“I have a request. Could we take Mana with us to the country we are to visit?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katou’s head shoot up.
“Take Katou with us...?” I repeated, perplexed by the sudden suggestion.
Rose nodded. “Yes. She only recently collapsed, just as you are aware. If she were suddenly surrounded by strangers in such a state, wouldn’t she be helpless?”
That made perfect sense. The Alliance Knights also knew of Katou’s condition. If she went to the imperial capital, they were sure to help her out, like having a woman accompany her. However, even if they did that, it wouldn’t change the fact that she would be surrounded by strangers. Katou’s heart was already in a fragile state to begin with. She was emotionally unstable, in a sense. I couldn’t imagine how important Rose’s presence was to her. Pulling them apart didn’t seem like a good idea.
“If possible, I would like to stay by Mana’s side as well... Also, whenever it is practical, I would like you to be with her too, Master.”
“Me...?”
I didn’t really get it. I was different from Rose, with whom Katou had spent many fulfilling hours together in the Woodlands. There wasn’t much purpose in someone like me being near Katou... Or maybe there was. In her current state where she feared all men, having someone like me that she was okay with nearby was valuable to her, even if it was a coincidence brought about by the course of events.
“I get what you’re trying to say,” I replied with a nod, “but coming with us is a little questionable.”
“Are you opposed to it, Master?”
“That’s not what I mean. It’s just that, as a monster tamer, my position is extremely unstable. I can’t promise that Katou wouldn’t get caught up in some kind of trouble simply by being with us.”
“So if Mana wishes for it while being fully aware of such circumstances, then will you take her with us?”
I gave it some thought, then said, “If that’s what she wants.”
If Katou wanted this, I had no objection to such a request.
After confirming what I said, Rose turned to Katou. “He agreed. What will you do, Mana?”
“I-I’m...”
Katou averted her gaze. She looked frail. Seeing her like that, Rose stood from her seat. She knelt down in front of Katou, then took her tightly clasped hands into her own.
“Do you remember, Mana? What I said to you back then, I mean.” Her tone was a gentle one I’d never heard before. “You’re a part of my happiness. Please don’t forget that.”
