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Chapter 50: Nikolaus Part 1

「Stick a needle into the mandrake’s root and drain out its body fluid. There’s an organ around the middle of the root where the liquid collects, so you stab there.」

「What are you doing to it…!?」

「It’s just one method of extracting medical components. …That’s why I said you wouldn’t want to do it.」

Mandrakes are merely plant-type monsters, useful medicinal materials, nothing more. Treating them like people or cherished pets is what’s unusual.

And these monsters weren’t supposed to possess strong emotions or will in the first place.

Yet the two in front of him trembled as they listened to Nikolaus’s explanation. At the very least, they were intelligent enough to understand human speech, and it was quite possible they had emotions and will on par with humans.

(Just what kind of evolution leads to this…? …Their levels are only 3.)

The 「level」 that shows a monster’s growth rises when monsters fight and kill one another. The biggest difference between human status and monster status is simply whether this value exists or not.

In Nikolaus’s view, it represents absorbing the souls of defeated monsters, a sign the devouring soul grows correspondingly stronger. And that growth of the soul affects its vessel. The more the soul grows, the more the vessel gains the ability to change its form and function.

The higher the level, the more a monster can evolve in all sorts of ways, and depending on that evolution, it may become a special variant. The witch’s familiars had already undergone unusual evolution despite their low levels, making them extremely intriguing.

(Choosing mobility as their first evolution… that’s not monster thinking. Mandrakes don’t even need to move. Normally a monster would prioritize growing larger first…)

Without human-like thinking ability, a monster wouldn’t independently choose evolution like this. So either the witch had granted them such intellect, or she somehow forced this evolution. Either way, Nikolaus very much wanted to know how.

「And I think that mandrake needs to grow too. Right now it’s just an oddball mandrake… It needs to defeat other monsters, raise its level, and evolve. Well, if that purple sprout intends to pair with a human, I imagine it’ll change in that direction.」

「You mean… have Purple fight monsters? I can’t do that. Under Witch-dono’s orders, the mandrakes in the village don’t have combat ability.」

「It doesn’t need to fight directly. Bring it weakened monsters, or ones that are unconscious, and let it absorb them. It’ll probably still grow.」

「Um, if you’re going to do that kind of research, please get Witch-dono’s permission first, both of you. These mandrakes belong to her.」

「I know. …Even if its level rises, it probably can’t escape her control anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem. But if its mana grows too much, you might not be able to keep up, so over-leveling is forbidden.」

Even if he wasn’t as obsessive about research as before, his interest in monster evolution hadn’t faded. If the origin of demonkind truly was a child born between a monster and a human, then Ritter might someday become the progenitor of a new demon lineage.

Though considering his partner was a plant monster far different from humans, the odds were likely very low.

(But if they did have a child… interesting. Would the child be a monster? A human? …Or a new demonkind altogether?)

Just imagining it was deeply fascinating. Nikolaus wanted to support Ritter enthusiastically. It wasn’t as though monster-loving human partners appeared every day; this might well be the first and last chance for such research into demonkind origins.

(If it proves demonkind originally came from human–monster offspring… then that theory becomes certain. …Though their lineage would be different from ours.)

If the demons’ progenitor really was a monster, that monster likely wasn’t plant-based. The Flower Witch only took that form because she used plant magic; demonkind itself has no plant characteristics. Their shape is the same as humans’, so the original monster was probably humanoid.

But Ritter’s partner was a mandrake. And because it was a familiar, it merely mimicked its master, the Flower Witch,

(Huh. …If a familiar becomes the ancestor of a new demon lineage, then in a sense that Flower Witch becomes the parent, or the true progenitor, doesn’t she…?)

There may be no blood connection, but the magical influence is undeniable, so it can’t be called unrelated. Demonkind can only be born through a witch, supposedly because the fetus is affected by her mana. The mandrake familiars are constantly wrapped in the witch’s mana. If a new race were born from a familiar, you could certainly call it the Flower Witch’s lineage.

(So… that means… our kind hasn’t actually died out… as long as the witch exists.)

If there were no witch, no more demonkind could be born. That was why Nikolaus was alone, and why he had to consider creating demonkind anew.

But the witch survived. Which meant there was a possibility new kin might appear in the future. Someday, if she chose someone to be her partner, if she ever wished for that. …And if that partner was,

「Um, Mage… You suddenly went silent. What’s wrong?」

「…Ah. I just drifted into thought. …Isn’t it about time we ended the break?」

「Yes. Ritter also looks like he’s about to vanish into his own world again.」

Just as unnecessary thoughts were about to pile up, someone spoke to him and pulled him back to reality. To avoid thinking any further, Nikolaus suggested they resume the meeting.

After that, with breaks and meals in between, the discussions continued, and they disbanded before midnight. They’d continue tomorrow. Rushing would only lead to careless mistakes, and overworking would interfere with the knights’ normal duties.

Nikolaus left the knights’ lodging and headed to the wooden house built next door just for him. He felt a presence behind and turned around, there stood the green-clad mandrake.

「…What? You planning to follow me?」

It lifted its short hand slightly, which was probably a yes. It was an intriguing research subject, and there was no reason to refuse, so he let it do as it wished. …He only slowed his walking speed a little because he was tired from the long meeting. Definitely not because of the plant desperately toddling along behind him.

Together with the green sprout, Nikolaus stopped before the house the witch had created. A house built with magic more skilled than his own, by someone other than him.

(…This is purely magical curiosity. Something like this wasn’t in the remaining grimoires. I never had anyone around who could use magic superior to mine… so of course I’m intrigued.)

Something unfamiliar stirred inside him. Restless, yet not unpleasant. Something he hadn’t felt in ages, perhaps 「fun」 or 「joy」 feelings like that.

But getting excited over something like this was like a child thrilled by a new toy. Frowning slightly, he steadied himself and reached out,

…and when the door opened automatically in response to his hand, he made a startled, almost delighted sound he couldn’t remember ever making before. He was grateful it was only a mandrake that heard it.