『師匠に助力を頼んだ。不可能ではない』
「そっか、マスタークラスの経験と技術があればそれも可能......?」
『ただし、正式な
「クルミ......店長さんがクルミを通じて、ということよね?」
確認するように言ったケイトの言葉を、クルミは首を振って否定する。
『違う。クルミ自身がやる。使いたいときに都合良く私が同調することはできないし、仮にできたとしても、魔力が足りない。そして、そろそろ危ない。魔晶石』
クルミがそう書き終わると同時に手を差し出す。
僅かな間、その手をじっと見つめたアイリスたちだったが、すぐにケイトがハッとしたようにアイリスが地面に下ろしていた荷物を振り返った。
そして慌てたように、その中から魔晶石を取り出してクルミに渡せば、クルミはそれをすぐに口の中へと放り込んだ。
「そうか、クルミの身体の維持が......」
「魔晶石には限りがあるものね」
現在、サラサとクルミが同調しているだけでも、クルミの身体の維持に必要な魔力はどんどん消費されている。
そのことを考えれば、同調を続けることは当然に論外。
脱出まで、どのくらいの日数がかかるかも判らない中で、定期的に短時間の同調を繰り返すことすら困難であろう。
『時間が勿体ない。作るには素材が必要。ここにある
「わ、解った!」
アイリスとケイトはこれまでに確保していた魔物の素材を、ノルドラッドは自身が担いでいた実験道具を地面に並べれば、クルミがその間を歩いていくつかの品物をピックアップしていく。
そして当然と言うべきか、その大半はノルドラッドの持つ
『壊れるけど、良い?』
「もちろん構わないよ。さっき言った通り、命が優先だから。お財布的には、かなり痛いけどね」
『感謝』
クルミはそれだけ書くと、急いで作業に取り掛かった。
かなり豪快に爪を閃かせて
一見すると、複雑な模様が描かれた板に、不格好に物が引っ付いているアイテム。
錬金術師ではないアイリスたちにはさっぱり理解できなかったが、作った本人ができたと言う以上は信用するしか他にない。
「これで......使えるのか?」
『使える。クルミに「道を判別」と言えば使える。強度はないから気を付けて運んで』
「じゃあ、それはボクが運ぼう。荷物も......減ったからね」
そう言うノルドの視線の先にあるのは、解体された
抜小路検知器もどきに使われた部材より、そちらに積み上げられた物の方が確実に多く、失われた価値もまた大きそうである。
「これはもう使い道がないのか?」
少し残念そうに訊ねたアイリスに、クルミの返答は端的だった。
という物は、錬成に失敗すれば使った素材丸ごと破棄するしかないような、繊細に組み立てられた代物である。
そこから使える部品を取り出すという作業は、本来非常に困難で、『部品を取り出す』というよりも、『
必要な部品を取り出し、残った物の価値も残すようにする、なんてことは、土台無理な話なのだ。
「それじゃ、捨てていけば良いのね。店長さん、ありがとう」
『もう切る。今後は極力完全同調はしない。頑張って』
ケイトの言葉に頷いたクルミは、やや慌てたようにそれを地面に記すなり、前回のようにコテンと地面に転がった。
「え、もう? ......店長殿? 切れたのか?」
アイリスの言葉に応えるように、起き上がったクルミがそう鳴けば、アイリスは意外そうにクルミの身体を抱き上げた。
「何だか、最後は慌ただしかったな......。私など、お礼も言えていないのに」
「たぶん、限界だったんじゃないかな? 距離や作業の難易度を考えれば」
「そうよね、かなり高度なことをやってるわけだものね。......店長さんに、また借りができちゃったわね」
「そうだな。お礼を言うため、そして恩を返すためにも、是が非でも帰らなければな。それと、完全同調はしない、と書いていたが......」
完全じゃない同調があるのかと、疑問を口にしたアイリスに答えたのはノルドラッドだった。
「それは、視覚や聴覚だけの同調だね。当然それの方が消費魔力は少ないけど、これからクルミがこの抜小路検知器を使うための魔力も必要となる。たぶん、よほどじゃなければ同調はしないんじゃないかな?」
「つまり、店長さんの手助けは、もう期待できないのね」
少し残念そうに言うケイトに、アイリスは首を振る。
「だが、本来なら手助けしてもらえるような状況じゃない。緊急パックとこの
自身を抱き上げたままじっと見つめるアイリスに、クルミは元気よく手を上げたのだった。
◇    ◇    ◇
サラサが遠隔で作り上げた抜小路検知器もどき。
それが実際に使えるのか、どこか不安を覚えていたアイリスたちだったが、それを実証する機会はすぐに訪れた。
サラサのアドバイスに従い、橙色の湧水筒で一服したアイリスたちが、探索を再開して数十分、彼女たちの前には三つに枝分かれした道が出現していた。
一つはアイリス一人ならなんとか立って歩けるほどの広さ、もう一つは横向きなら通れそうな幅の裂け目、そして最後の一つは這って行かなければ先に進めそうにない穴。
「これまでなら、広い道から進むところだが......」
「使ってみるべきでしょうね、店長さんが作ってくれたんだから」
「ならこれは......地面に置けば良いのかな?」
ノルドラッドが抜小路検知器もどきを地面に置いて、アイリスを振り返って頷くと、アイリスもまたそれに応えるように頷いて、クルミを見た。
「それじゃ、クルミ。『道を判別』」
アイリスの言葉を聞くなり、ぴょんと地面に飛び降りたクルミは、抜小路検知器もどきの前に立つと、それに手を置いて「ぐるるー」と唸る。
その声と共に抜小路検知器もどきが淡い光を放ち始め、それを見たクルミは手を離し、すぐに次の動作に移った。
「がーう、がーう、がうがーう!」
どこか踊るかのように、地面に置いた抜小路検知器もどきの周りを回るクルミ。
一周、二周、三周。
次第に光が強くなり――
鳴き声と共に仁王立ちでピッと両手を上げ、動きを止めるクルミ。
そんな儀式(?)をじっと見守っていたアイリスたちは、それ以上クルミに動きがないことをみて、探るように声を掛けた。
力強く答えたクルミは、一番広い通路を最初に指さすと「がう」と両腕を使ってバツ印。
「この道は、行き止まり、と?」
確認するアイリスにクルミは頷き、次に細い隙間を示して同じ動作。
そして最後に這わなければ進めない穴を示して、両手を上げてマル印......っぽい動作をするのだが、腕が短すぎてマルに見えない。
「くぷっ......。こ、これは通れるってことか?」
ちょっと噴き出しつつ訊ねるアイリスに頷くクルミ。
「そうか、ありがとう。凄くありがたい......が、ここを進むのか」
ニコリと微笑みつつ、お礼を言うアイリスだったが、その小さな穴を改めて見て、憂鬱そうにため息を吐く。
実際、その穴は人一人が這ってやっと通れる小ささで、大きな荷物を背負った状態では
先も見えないそんな穴に入ることなど、できれば避けたいのは当然だろう。
「でも、行くしかないでしょ。荷物は......ロープで引っ張るしかないでしょうね」
「アイリス君、なんだったら、ボクが先に行こうか?」
ため息を吐いて荷物を下ろすアイリスに、ノルドラッドがそう声を掛けるが、アイリスは迷うことなく首を振る。
「いや、さすがにそれはダメだろう。一応、護衛だからな、私たちは。......よしっ!」
アイリスが一つ気合いを入れ、屈み込んだその時、そんな彼女を制するように、その前にクルミがたち、ポンと自分の胸を叩いた。
「ん? なんだ?」
「......もしかして、自分が先に行くと言っているのかしら?」
クルミは『その通り!』とでもいうようにケイトを指さすと、アイリスに先んじて狭い穴へと足を踏み入れた。
さほど待つことなく聞こえてきた力強い声に、三人は顔を見合わせた。
「大丈夫、みたいだね?」
「......来いと言っているのかしら?」
「おそらくそうだろう。だが、これで少し安心できる。クルミに感謝だな」
アイリスは改めて地面に這いつくばると、クルミの後を追って穴の中へと這い進んでいった。
"I asked my master for help. Not impossible '
"Oh well, with masterclass experience and skill, that's possible too...?
"However, it is not a formal smelter (artifact), but a magical aid. It's walnuts to use. '
"The walnut... the manager is through the walnut, right?
The walnut shakes his head and denies Kate's words, which he told him to confirm.
'No. The walnuts do it themselves. It's not convenient for me to be in tune when I want to use it, and even if I could, I don't have enough magic. And it's time for danger. Demon Crystal Stone'
Give me your hand at the same time as the walnut finishes writing that.
For a few moments, Iris stared at his hands, but soon looked back at the luggage that Iris had lowered to the ground as Kate hacked.
And as he panicked, if he took the magic crystal stone out of it and gave it to the walnut, the walnut immediately threw it into his mouth.
"Well, maintaining the walnut body..."
"There's a limit to magic stones."
Today, even if Sarasa and the walnuts are just in tune, the magic needed to maintain the walnut body is being consumed more and more.
Given that, it is naturally out of the question to keep in tune.
It would be difficult to even repeat a short period of tuning on a regular basis, without even knowing how many days it would take to escape.
"I don't have time for this. Materials are required to make it. Arrange the smelters (artifacts) and materials here '
"Wow, I get it!
Iris and Kate get the demonic material they've secured so far, and Nordrad arranges the experimental tools he was responsible for on the ground, and the walnut walks in between and picks up some items.
And naturally, most of them were Nordrad's smelters (artifacts).
"It breaks, okay?
"Of course I don't mind. Because, as I said, life is a priority. It hurts a lot, pursely."
"Appreciation."
That's all the walnuts wrote, hurried to work.
Flashing his nails quite luxuriously, he dismantles the smelter (artifact), combines it, sharpens it gallantly and draws a pattern.
At first glance, an item that is undressingly attached to a board with intricate patterns.
I totally didn't understand the Iris, who are not alchemists, but I have no choice but to trust them more than to say that they were able to make them.
"Now... can you use it?
'I can use it. I can use it if I say' discern the way 'to walnuts. There's no strength, so carry it carefully.'
"Well, I'll carry that. I've lost my luggage."
What lies ahead of Nord's gaze is the wreckage of a demolished smelter (artifact).
There are certainly more items stacked there than the members used to pull out the trail detector, and the lost value is likely to be greater.
"Is this useless anymore?
I asked Iris a little unfortunately, and the walnut response was terminal.
In fact, however, the smelter (artifact) is a delicately assembled substitute that can only destroy the entire material used if the smelter fails.
The task of removing parts that can be used from it is inherently very difficult, and closer to 'sharpening off unwanted parts of the smelter (artifact)' than to 'removing parts'.
Take out the parts you need and make sure you keep the value of what's left, for Christ's sake, it's a groundbreaking story.
"Then you should just throw it away. Thank you, Store Manager."
"I'm hanging up now. I will not be in full tune as much as I can in the future. Good luck. '
The walnut nodded at Kate's words, describing it to the ground as somewhat panicked, rolling it to the ground as it had done last time.
"Oh, already?... the manager? Did you cut it?
As Iris responded to his words, if the walnut that stood up sounded so, Iris accidentally held up the walnut's body.
"I don't know, you were in a rush at the end... I haven't even been able to thank you."
"Probably was the limit? Considering the distance and the difficulty of the work"
"Right, you're doing something pretty advanced.... you owe the manager again."
"Right. To thank you, and to repay you, but not to return. And it says," I'm not completely in tune... "
It was Nordrad who answered Iris with a question about whether there was a tone that wasn't complete.
"That's just visual or auditory tuning. Naturally, it consumes less magic, but from now on, the walnut will also need magic to use this trail detector. Probably wouldn't be in tune if it wasn't as good?
"I mean, you can't expect the manager's help anymore."
Iris shakes her head to Kate, who says it's a little too bad.
"But it's not the kind of situation where you could have help. The presence of an emergency pack and this smelter (artifact) is too much. From now on, we need to get through what we have, and on our own. You asked for walnuts, too?
The walnut raised its hand vigorously to Iris, who stared at herself with a hug.
* * *
Sarasa remotely created an unplugged trail detector.
Iris and I were somewhere anxious to see if that could actually be used, but the opportunity to demonstrate it soon came.
Following Sarasa's advice, Iris, who had taken a dose in an orange spring water bottle, had resumed his exploration for dozens of minutes and before them a branched path had emerged in three.
One is wide enough for Iris alone to manage to stand and walk, the other is a wide rip that seems to pass if he's sideways, and the last one is a hole that's unlikely to go ahead unless he crawls away.
"Until now, we're going down a wide road..."
"You should try it, because the manager made it for me"
"Then this is... should I put it on the ground?
When Nordrad put the pull-out trail detector on the ground and looked back at Iris and nodded, Iris nodded again to respond to it, and looked at the walnut.
"See you, walnut." Discern the Way ""
When he heard Iris's words, the walnut, which jumped to the ground just right, stood in front of the unplugged trail detector, put his hand on it and roared "Guru".
With that voice, the retrieval trail detector moose began to emit a pale light, and the walnut that saw it let go of its hand and immediately moved on to the next motion.
"Ha, ha, ha!
A walnut around a pull-out trail detector broom placed on the ground, as if dancing somewhere.
One, two, three weeks.
Gradually, the light became stronger.
A walnut that lifts both hands in a pi with a ringing voice and stops the movement.
Such a ritual (?) The Iris, who watched still, called out to explore, seeing that there was no further movement in the walnut.
The walnut, who answered forcefully, used both arms to mark the bat when first pointing to the widest passage.
"This road is a dead end," he said?
The walnut nods at the iris to confirm, then shows a thin gap and the same behavior.
And at the end of the day, I show a hole where I can't proceed without crawling, with my hands up and markings... acting like one, but my arms are too short to look like marl.
"Kupu...... Are you saying you can get through this?
A walnut nodding at Iris asking as he erupted a bit.
"Right, thanks. Thank you so much... but do we move on here?"
Nicole and I smiled, and Iris was thankful, but I looked at that little hole again and sighed depressingly.
In fact, the hole is small enough for each person to crawl through it, and narrow enough to branch with a large load on his back.
You naturally want to avoid it if you can, such as going into such a hole that you can't even see ahead.
"But you have to go. The luggage will have to be pulled with a rope."
"Mr. Iris, what if I go first?
Nordrad speaks so to Iris, who sighs and unloads his luggage, but Iris shakes his head without getting lost.
"No, that just won't work. For once, it's an escort, we are....... Yikes!
At that time when Iris had one temper and succumbed, walnuts slapped Pong and his own chest before him, as he controlled her like that.
"Hmm? What?
"... maybe you're saying you're going first?
The walnut said, 'Exactly!' Pointing to Kate as though, he stepped into a narrow hole ahead of Iris.
The three of them looked at each other in a powerful voice that they had heard without waiting much longer.
"It's okay, sounds like it, right?
"... are you telling me to come?
"Probably is. But now I can feel a little relieved. Thank you for the walnuts."
As Iris crawled to the ground again, he followed the walnut and proceeded into the hole.
The Novice Alchemist’s Store
[Web版] 新米錬金術師の店舗経営
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-novice-alchemists-store/
Adventure Comedy Fantasy Shoujo Ai Slice of Life Supernatural
Adapted to Anime Adapted to Manga Alchemy Artifact Crafting Artifacts Business Management Carefree Protagonist Crafting Cute Story Fantasy World Heartwarming Herbalist Jack of All Trades Marriage of Convenience Orphans Protagonist Strong from the Start R-15 Store Owner Sword And Magic
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3174fc/
いつきみずほ