Chapter 5 – A Book From Another World

── In the throne room after Thor left ──

“── What do you think of that person? Kelve, Mabel?”

Said Demon Lord Rukie.

“It’s unexpected that a precious alchemist came from the empire, but more than that, his abilities are extraordinary.
Is it true that he created mithril out of nothing?”
“Yes, Your Majesty”

Mabel presented the pendant that Thor had repaired.
The silver pendant is received by Chancellor Kerve, who is next to the Demon King.

“──”Appraisal” ”

Chancellor Kelve activated the skill and immediately opened his eyes.

“Mabel!”
“Yes”
“This pendant was a keepsake of your mother.”
“That’s right.
It’s something that has been passed down to my family for generations.
But the ability of the pendant should have been broken because the magic stone inside was damaged.”
“It’s fixed”

When the Chancellor puts magic power into the pendant, the surroundings turned foggy.
At the same time, the pendant glowed.

“The ”Water Spirit Stone Pendant” was something that couldn’t be repaired by the technology here.
It seems that Thor has fixed it.”
“……I can’t believe”
“It’s the truth.
I wonder what is the meaning behind him coming here?”

Chancellor Kerve looked at the Demon Lord.

“The arrival of Thor Regus has two implications.
One is that there is an alchemist who can instantly repair valuable magic items in the empire.
The second is that there are many alchemists at that level in the empire.”
“I know, otherwise the empire wouldn’t let go of that human.”

The Demon Lord wearing a mask nods heavily.

“When it comes to that, why did the empire send Thor Regus?”
“It’s probably a threat implying that there are mountains of alchemists like him in the empire and resistance is meaningless.”

After thinking a little Chancellor Kerve said,

“It’s possible that the empire was so stupid that they couldn’t understand his abilities …”
“Don’t be stupid! The empire isn’t that naive!!”
“── Excuse me for my rudeness.”
“My ancestors looked down on humans and were off guard.
That’s why they almost perished! What would you do without learning from them!? When you see the momentum and strength of the empire now, do they look so stupid to you!?”
“I’m sorry.
It was just my wishful thinking.”
“It’s fine if you understand.”

Demon Lord Rukie is a natural ruler.
From an early age, her parents have told her about the history of the demons.
Above all, she was repeatedly told that the demons were defeated by humans.

The battle between the demons and humans that once took place began with a skirmish.
It’s like a trivial accident that happened as each other expanded their territory.
However, the demons, who thought “we are the strongest” did not know when to withdraw.
As a result, it became a full-blown battle between the demons and humans.

The result of that was the demons were defeated brilliantly.
With the power of human beings, which is superior in numbers, and the power of heroes summoned from another world.
They were unrivalled.
Even after signing a treaty with humans and moving to the Demon Lord territory, I have not forgotten that history.

Humans.

Don’t underestimate humans.

Don’t turn humans into your enemies.

That is the slogan of the Demon Lord territory that has been passed down from generation to generation.

“Isn’t there anything in the warehouse that Thor Regus could use as a weapon?”
“Don’t worry.
There’s only junk over there.”

At the question of the Demon King, Chancellor Kelve shrugged.

“There should be only tools and books brought by heroes from another world.
There should be no weapons.”
“It should be possible for him to make weapons with alchemy.”
“We’ll watch him tightly so that when he tries to attack us, he will be immediately arrested.”

Chancellor Kelve looked at Mabel behind him.

“Then, Mabel Refrain.
I order you to be the watchman and caretaker of Thor.”
“Yes, I’ll be happy to.”
“Why are you so happy?”
“I think Thor is a very nice person.”

Mabel picked up the hem of the skirt and bowed.
The smile makes the Demon King and the Chancellor squint.

“You just met Thor Regus though? But you seem to really trust him?”
“I owe him a debt of gratitude.”
“Is it because he fixed your pendant?”
“That’s right.
The rest is my intuition as an elf.”

Mabel smiled gently.

“The Elf is a race that used to interact with various spirits.
Now there are fewer spirits, but the blood that remains in me says to believe in Thor Regus.
Don’t lose him.”
“I believe in Mabel’s intuition”
“Of course, as a direct report of the Demon King, my loyalty to Her Majesty is unwavering.”
“U, umu”
“But I feel like Thor will change the Demon Lord territory.”

Saying that, join her hands together and bowed──

“Thank you for the opportunity.
Demon Lord Rukie-sama.”

Mabel had a happy smile on her face.

 

── Thor’s perspective ──

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, a, amazing!

When I entered the place prepared for me, I suddenly made a strange voice.
This is the warehouse of Demon Castle.

It’s a stone room without windows that’s about the size of a small hall.

And ── innumerable books and items were piled up on the floor.

I can see why it’s called a junkyard.
It’s not organized at all.
Rusted swords, armors with broken seams, bent shields were rolling around.
I even see some agricultural tools here too.

A broom, bucket, and dustpan were there too.
There is no dust on the floor.
Someone must be cleaning the room often.

However, I should just sort the books for the time being … No, it’s impossible.
What is written on the cover of the book are not characters of this world.
The letters and pictures are too much for me.
These are books left in this world by heroes from another world after all.

“Wow … Demon Castle … amazing”

In the empire, there are few things that are left from the era of heroes.
The hero summoning ceremony is no longer held.
According to a story, I heard when I was a kid, even if they performed the summoning ritual again, the hero did not come.
No one is sure about the reason behind it though.
The ritual may have lost its meaning because the world became peaceful.

“No, I don’t care about the empire any more.
I’m going to check the warehouse first.”

The Demon Lord didn’t give me the warehouse just because she was kind.
This is like an investment for me in anticipation of being useful to the Demon Lord later.
If I do not meet their expectations, everything would be taken back.
To prevent this, I need to make something that will make the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord territory’s residents happy.

“What should I make? I wonder if a practical product would do the trick?”

I’m getting fired up.

I look around the warehouse and think about what I can make.
There are various things in the warehouse.
Shield and swords, there are also coats and boots that came from an unknown origin.
They all seem to be useful materials.

The books are currently unusable though.
Because I can’t read the language of another world?

“Mail order catalogue”.
Is that the title of this book? “

I could read it normally?

What I got was a book made of slippery material.
Moreover, all the pages are colored.
What was drawn in there was so realistic that it might be mistaken for the real thing.
I think the heroes called this a “photograph”?
There are photos on every page, and various items are introduced.

“But why can I read the characters from another world?”

Maybe, It’s the power of “appraisal”?
That skill can read the ability of the item.
Therefore, it may be possible to read characters from another world.

When I turn the page while thinking about that ──

The first thing I noticed was “health goods”.
It’s probably recovery items in the other world.
There are various things such as a product that relieves eyestrain, something that removes stiff shoulders, or a thing that promote a good night’s sleep.

“I see.
I finally understand why the hero of another world was strong.”

Perhaps they were increasing their resilience with these items.
Next to the item’s picture, it says “In 2 minutes, for one day your eyesight increases 20 times (From 0.1 to 2.0)” or “a 2-hour sleep that is worth 10 hours”.
If the hero had boosted his abilities with these items, it would be natural for him to be strong.

“.I wonder if I can make the same thing”

When I ask the skill creation alchemy, it answered my question.

[You can do it.]

Making the exact same thing would be impossible.
However, I feel like I can make something with similar abilities.
Then … let’s try doing it.

Using “Creation Alchemy”, I will catch up with the technology in another world.
I will use all the items in this warehouse for that purpose.

The Demon King said, “Learn from humans.”
They shouldn’t complain when I make a copy of an item from another world.
They can use the items I make as they like.
So long the Demon Lord Territory becomes a better place to live than the empire then I’m happy.
It’s a so-called win-win relationship.

“Okay-“
“Um-, Thor-sama”
“──── !?”

My heart stopped for a moment.
I looked back, Mabel in her maid outfit was standing at the door.

“Oh, I’m sorry to surprise you.
I brought some tea … but I didn’t get a reply when I knocked.”
“N, no worries”
“You were very enthusiastic, but what were you looking at?”
“It’s a book from another world”

I expanded the “Mail order catalogue”.
Mabel scanned through the catalogue but,

“── I’m sorry.
I don’t know what is written on it.”
“After all, you can’t read it huh.”
“This is what the Demon Lord of the previous generation collected as a hobby.
He seemed to have collected everything, regardless of whether he could read it or not.”

The predecessor Demon Lord collected various things to learn from humans.
It seems that when the demons were fighting the hero, they picked it up or received it from the hero.
The hero of another world had a habit of saying “I’m super amazing-“, and he proudly handed over books from his own world.

“The demon Lord of the previous generation pushed everything he got into this warehouse, thinking that it might be useful someday.
He said in his will, quote “It might be useful someday.”
“It sounds like a line from a person who can’t clean up the room.”
“Anyway, would you like to take a break?”

Mabel raised the tray.

“I brewed tea.
I don’t know if it will fit your taste.”
“Itadakimasu”

When I said that, Mabel had a relieved face.

After that, Mabel and I moved to the next room.
Next to the warehouse is my room.
Mabel seemed to have come here earlier and was already ready with tea.
A copper cup was placed on the table, from which the aroma of the tea was wafting out.
Besides the tea, there are baked goods.
Is this a dessert of the Demon Lord territory?

“I will take care of Thor-sama from now on.
Please treat me well from now on.”
“Likewise, please treat me well too.”

Well, half of her job is like a watchman.
The Demon Lord is a nice person, but she woudn’t let an alchemist of the Empire go unchecked.

But when Mabel is by my side, I feel calmer.
I wonder why, I don’t know much about her yet though.

The only things I know about her are that the maid outfit that she wears looks great and that she’s in a position where she could easily enter an audience with the Demon Lord.
She also has beautiful long ears.
Big breasts too.
And … if I look closely, I can see that she’s wearing very thick long socks made of fur.
The skirt of the maid outfit is short so usually, the legs are exposed, so the socks stands out a bit.

“Oh, this?”

Did she notice my line of sight?
Mabel pointed at her feet.

“I’m sorry … I feel cold all the time.”
“Cold?”
“The doctor said that the magic power in my body wasn’t flowing well.”
“The magic power in the body?”
“Doesn’t the empire have that kind of knowledge?”
“There are mages, but I’ve never heard of magic power making the body cold.”

Or rather, the mages of the empire doesn’t even think about the body at all.
When you join the magic corps of the Imperial City, first of all, 100 flame magics are fired.
After that, you run after the knights while firing 100 water magics
There is no such idea that magic power is related to health.

“That’s why I can’t use magic well.”

Mabel murmured.

“Elfs should be good at magic, that’s why I was kicked out by my fellow elves … Fortunately, I seemed to have a talent for cooking and housework, so I was picked it up by the Demon Lord.”
“Mabel-san, also had a hard time.”
“Ah … I’m sorry! My mouth just slipped …”

Mabel holds her mouth in a hurry.

“A, anyways, these socks.
It’s not very cool, is it? Please tell me if it looks unsightly.
I’ll take them off.”
“No, that’s okay.”

I remembered the “Mail order catalogue”.
There must have been something that could be used in there.

“Can borrow the laboratory table for a while?”
“Laboratory table?”
“I would like to ask you to try an item from the Hero’s world.”