OreMegane – Chapter 42

Mabbo, Fairy, Schwarz,

Enjoy~

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Chapter 42. Megane-kun, Acquires Poison

To be a hunter is to take different measures when one can’t hunt in a fair way.

Humans aren’t that strong of a creature to begin with.

Animals and demon beasts are fundamentally more physically capable than humans. If we are to fight them naked and without a weapon, we probably couldn’t even defeat the herbivores.

It’s our wit that bridges and overturn that gap.

We devise tools to gain an advantage, hone our skills, do everything we can to come up with the best possible solution before we go and hunt them.

This is how hunters have been fighting for centuries.

After I descended the mountain, I looked around the village of assassins, thinking of ways to contend with those powerful demon beasts.

——First, let’s look for a poison user.

There has to be one here. After all, poison and assassins are such an ironclad combination that it paints the image of what an assassin is. Well, that’s just a generalization, though.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to seek knowledge about poisons or just want to get some poisons to hunt, but it’s best to talk with a poison expert to consult about that, too.

All poisons that I can use are fairly well known and easy to obtain.

Because of that, I don’t know anything about hard drugs or powerful poisons.

I can make simple poisons myself, but Shishou never taught me how to craft anything that could kill me if I blundered. Shishou himself said he wasn’t very good at compounding, so I guess he isn’t very keen on the varieties of poison.

I asked an uncle ploughing the field 「Is there someone who deals with poison?」, and he immediately gave me an address. Apparently, you don’t need to compensate if you’re just asking for a place to go to.

I wonder if that uncle was an assassin or some kind too. I’m not very sure.

I went around a large barn while my mind was still wandering——and I found my destination.

It’s an ordinary-looking house with a signboard with a picture of a medicine bottle on it.

Indeed, this is a pharmacist’s house.

「Good afternoon」

I opened the door.

「Hold on. You mustn’t open the door so suddenly like that, you know. What a naughty boy you are.」

　…………

The granny, who must be the owner of the house, is in the middle of changing clothes. Well, it doesn’t really bother me.

「I’m looking for poisons.」

「Aah? I’m still half-naked, though. Can’t you get out for a while?」

「Ah, I’m not interested in seeing it or anything, so I don’t mind.」

「I do!」

「Just wear your clothes then.」

「I am changing into it so shoo! Off you go already!」

Ah, crap.

Granny throws a wallet, a jar, some herbs, and a strange shaped stone-like object at me, so I close the door and flee.

The things she threw out the door, let’s pick them up from the ground.

The contents of the jar are probably disinfectant.

I’ve seen herbs tied up in bundles with a string like this often.

She even threw her wallet… I’m not going to see the contents, though.

The question is, what’s with this stone? Just what is this thing? It’s star-shaped……but it’s just a stone, after all? At least I think it’s made out of stone materials. I still don’t know what it is, though.

「Come in」

Ah, there’s the permission.

「Pardon my intrusion」

Gathering up all these items, I once again step inside the pharmacist’s house.

「—Eek ke ke ke ke…Welcome to my path of pharmacology.」

The granny wears a black robe and hood, looking like a witch skilled in curses and black magic. Her house is set to dimly lit.

There’s no service counter, but there are many shelves lined with chemicals and whatnot. Perhaps the room is set to be dark to prevent these chemicals from deteriorating.

They are all medicinal herbs from the looks of it, but I guess a pharmacist would handle poisons as well. Poison and medicine are closely related, after all.

「Ah, were you changing into that robe before?」

When I asked her that, she heaves out a noticeable sigh, before she goes to lit up a candle.

「I was. There’s such a thing called a character a teacher should perform, you know. What kind of person opens a door without knocking?」

「Huh, I’m sorry. I had something else in mind.」

Apparently, granny knew I was coming somehow, and she had just started to change her wardrobe to assume the figure of a brooding and suspicious poison hag to set up the mood.

Also, I won’t say it since I’m the one at fault here, but I’m sure the whole thing was a huge disaster for both her and me.

The granny didn’t want me to see her changing clothes, and I, by all means, never wanted to see her either. …Well, I won’t say it to her though, since she may actually throw poison at me next time.

「Atmosphere is very important, you know. Where’s the integrity if we are to exchange poisons in a bright, cheerful atmosphere?」

Integrity.

「I don’t think poison and integrity go hand in hand.」

「Aah, that so? Well, I’m sure they don’t.

Young people nowadays can’t see the beauty in assassinations.

Listen, assassins are supposed to avoid the sun. Assassins are supposed to be secretive and work in the shadows.

You are only an assassin once you’ve melted into the shadow.

And yet, youngster nowadays……they closed in to the target to slice their neck in a flash, or pretending to be just passing by before they slip in a knife to the target’s heart, or devoting their all in just one aspect then boast off their speed, saying stupid things like 『Oh ho ho! Can you keep up with my speed!?』, et cetera, et cetera……They’re all only training to show off their skills. What a shame.」

Sigh. Okay.

「So, about the poison.」

「You don’t listen to people, do you? I’m sure you’ve been told that a thousand time before.」

Well, I have. Quite a lot, actually.

「You must be one of the newcomers that came yesterday, right? Aah, save your name to yourself. Newcomers keep dying each year. You’ll just end up dead too anyway. There’s no need for me to remember your name.」

Oh, I see. Well, it is the truth that this village is dangerous, and so is the mountain nearby. Not exactly the safest environment to be in.

「So, anyway, I want some poison.」

「Get agitated a lil’ bit, will you? Look, I’m threatening you, okay? You should be scared witless by now.」

This granny is a real piece of work, huh.

「This is that, you know? I’m just too scared that my psychology is reversed and now I’m in the offence, kind of thing. I went over the peak of my scaredness when I heard this is a village full of assassins, and now it’s all downhill.」

「Quite the dramatic liar we have here, eh……You aren’t even that scared to begin with, aren’t you?」

Shrugging her shoulders,「Sure, sure, let’s just go with that.」 said the granny further.

「So? Poison, you ask? Poison, eh. There’s a wide range of poisons here, from those that kill you instantly, to those that kill you instantly after a few moments. What kind of instant death poison that you seek?」

Wow, she’s sure pushing a lot of instant death poisons on me. Must be her specialty poison.

「What I want is more into paralysis kind.」

「Hah. You want some old, boring paralyzer.」

First time I heard someone say a paralyzing poison was boring.

She’s requesting integrity in terms of poisons, saying that paralyzers are boring, and even picking a quarrel with someone she just met.

I wonder if I’d become this kind of weirdo if I mastered the way of poisons.

「How much paralyzing poison will result in the instant death that you want?」

「I don’t need it to kill. I want a paralyzing poison that works on the demon beasts around here.」

「——Give up.」

The granny’s eyes, invisible under her hood, turn serious.

「Demon beasts around here aren’t something a newborn chick can mess with. They’re not like bears or rabbits.」

「I know. I’ve gone and seen them myself.」

After saying that, I show her the Demon Beast Field Guide Book that I received from the coachman uncle.

「If I really couldn’t take on them no matter what, then this book wouldn’t be in my hand by now.」

「Not sure ‘bout that」 says granny before she sighs again.

「Haah……I don’t know how good you are, but at least you got some fight in you.」

Indeed.

Even if this school has a policy of not helping us, I don’t think they would just leave us completely to our device.

If I had been deemed as too incompetent to enter the mountain, then this book wouldn’t reach me, and I’m sure someone would have stopped me before I could enter the mountain.

Which means that they acknowledged me.

The question now is whether or not they will acknowledge me from hereafter.

「Fair enough. In that case, I’ll give you a powerful one. In return, you bring me your kill.」

……Heeh. While not as strict as Cherry’s treatment this morning, granny sure is strict.

The exchange condition granny gives me just now means that I must kill something because she gave me the paralysis poison.

If I couldn’t kill anything……if I couldn’t fulfill the condition she set, she probably wouldn’t do any business with me ever again in the future.

For now, let’s get the poison.

Then, let’s properly read the Field Book.

I won’t be entering the mountain until tomorrow. I should be well prepared and have a plan in place.

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Mab here.

Poor Megane-kun, his half-naked heroine moment is shared with a rotting old lady.

So anyway, have a good day~

Well then.