Chapter 33: Knight Attendant (10) – Megalopolis

Today is the briefing session for the Knight Attendants.

“Ohh… hoho. A multi-purpose complex, huh?”

The Hydrangea Grand Hall.
It’s got everything — an arena, conference rooms, a theater hall, restaurants, general stores, even hotels.

All of it is housed inside this great circular temple-like building.
It’s more of a shopping mall than a department store, really.

“Still… is it really true?”

I asked the rabbit perched on my shoulder, resting its paw on my head.
He’s an ally, and I owe him for a lot, but honestly, I still can’t quite trust him.

“Indeed! I am Megalopolis!”
“You mean… the same as Megadia-san?”

Sure enough, on the Knight Attendant application form, it said: Megadia Megalopolis.
But who would’ve thought that Miss Megadia and Haiyaan were from the same family line?

“The House of Megalopolis has always been an alchemical lineage — one of the Six Great Houses of Edda, masters of the wind.”

In Edda, the Six Houses are the oldest noble families, the ones holding ultimate authority today.

• House Frontier – Masters of Fire
• House Atlantis – Masters of Water
• House Megalopolis – Masters of Wind
• House Eldorado – Masters of Earth
• House Arcadia – Masters of Light
• House Utopia – Masters of Darkness

Strictly speaking, it’s divided into Four Houses and Two Houses — with Light and Darkness ranking above the other four.

“And that’s been the same for over four thousand years?”
“So it seems. Honestly, I thought Edda had long since perished.”

That’s quite the thing to just say.
So that’s why Haiyaan suddenly decided he wanted to meet his descendants.
Megadia-san is staying at the lodging nearby.

It’s been ages since we last met.
Just as I was thinking that, someone approached from the other side.

A woman — tall. Very tall.
She had long black hair cut straight across the bangs — a perfect princess cut.

Her violet eyes glowed faintly, almost eerily. She wore a dark, fluttering black and purple cape and a frilly gothic outfit.

…A gothic lolita outfit. Which means—

“Megadi—”
“MY BODY!!”

Haiyaan leapt straight at Megadia-san. Incredible jumping power for a rabbit.

“Kyaa! What— a talking rabbit!?”

“My body! My body! MY BODY!!”

You damn rabbit! I quickly peeled Haiyaan off her.

“Wof-kun!?”

“Sorry about him—Haiyaan’s just—”

“MY BODY!”

“…That’s the one you were talking about?”

Megadia-san looked seriously creeped out.
And I didn’t blame her.

“Yeah, that’s him. But, Haiyaan…”

“My body…”

What is with this guy?

“My body”? In ancient language, that means “my physical form,” right?

“What are you talking about?”

“Well! The young lady Megadia is the spitting image of my original body!”

“Original body… wait, Haiyaan, you were a woman!?”

“Currently, I am male.”

“Haiyaan… as in, from those three eggs?”

“Exactly so.”

“And your original body looked just like me?”

“The hair was a bit curlier, and I think I was slightly shorter, but overall, yes.”

“Wait, weren’t you bald?”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT! In Edda! I looked exactly like Lady Megadia! Though, I never really liked that body very much.”

“Hearing that from someone who looks just like me is… a little hurtful.”

“However, between that and being a rabbit, the original body was definitely better.”

“You just mean it’s hard to work panels with rabbit paws, don’t you.”

“…Anyway! Across four thousand years, a descendant of Megalopolis appears looking exactly the same! So, Lady Megadia, I have a request!”

“If that request is to give you this body, I’ll erase you right here. Judging by your tone, you sound capable of doing something like that.”

Megadia’s eyes sharpened, brimming with caution, as she glared down at Haiyaan.

“No, no, of course not! You’re far too tall for me anyway!”

“All right. You die.”

“I’ll help,”

 I said.

“Wait, wait, wait! I was joking! I was joking! What I actually want is for you and Wof over there to have a child, and then give that child to me.”

“That’s it. You’re dead.”

“I’m absolutely helping this time.”

A dark, warping sphere of energy appeared in Megadia’s hand.
I also conjured a Vanish orb about the size of a golf ball.

“Wait, wait, wait—! I was kidding, seriously! Then maybe just—Megadia’s ovum and Wof’s sperm—”

“THAT’S THE SAME THING!!”

“Ovum? Sperm?”

Megadia blinked in confusion.

Ah… right. This world doesn’t really have that kind of biological education.

I only understood it because of my memories from my previous life.

Then Haiyaan suddenly leapt onto Megadia-san’s shoulder.

He whispered something right into her ear—and her face went bright red before she threw him off with all her strength.

…Yeah, that reaction told me exactly what he said. He must’ve explained it to her.

“There’s no way I’d hand over something that important!”

“I can guess what you were thinking, but that’s a blasphemy against life, you know!”

“Blasphemy against life?”

Haiyaan looked at us as if to say, What’s that supposed to mean?

…Unbelievable.

“You’re an alchemist and you don’t even have basic ethics!?”

“Alchemist?”

“Indeed. I possess the Job Relic, 【Alchemist】. The House of Megalopolis has always been a family of alchemists.”

“Huh, didn’t know that.”

“What! We were a great dynasty of alchemists, passing down the 【Alchemist】 Job for generations!”

“But if you still have the 【Alchemist】 Job, then nobody else could’ve inherited it, right?”

“…Ah.”

“You really shot yourself in the foot there. Ugh, to think my ancestor’s a pervy rabbit…”

Megadia-san sighed in disgust.

“Anyway, what even is this 【Alchemist】 thing?”

“What? You, of the Megalopolis line, don’t know?”

“You destroyed it yourself, didn’t you? I don’t know a thing.”

“Then I shall enlighten you! The power of the 【Alchemist】—that is, the art of alchemy! It allows one to perform 【Synthesis】, 【Decomposition】, 【Combination】, 【Fusion】, 【Transmutation】, 【Duplication】, and 【Analysis】 of Relics. With it, one can craft Relics, OOPArts, Legendary Items, and Legacies.”

“Relics? OOPArts?”

“Not everything can be made into a Relic, but items can be created in plate form. As for OOPArts, as long as the data exists in the database, they can be synthesized—meaning two different OOPArts can be combined into a brand-new one.”

“…Synthesizing OOPArts… then could you also combine them with Legendary Items?”

“Of course! OOPArts and Legendary Items can also be synthesized. In that case, what results will certainly be a completely new OOPArt or Legendary Item.”

“……”

“Megadia-san?”

She stayed silent for a while, her expression serious—then she lifted her head, looking resolved.

“Haiyaan. I have a favor to ask of you.

“If it’s a request from my descendant, I shall gladly comply.”

“We’ll discuss the details later, once I have time to explain everything properly. But as a member of the House of Megalopolis, this concerns you too.”

“Hmm. Understood, my descendant.”

“Just call me Megadia-san. Being called ‘descendant’ by someone in that form is… unsettling.”

Yeah, I get that. Being called “descendant” by a rabbit would make anyone uncomfortable.

“Understood, Megadia-san.”

“Ugh… just saying that makes me feel exhausted already.”

“I understand how you feel. By the way, is your Knight Attendant—the one bonded to you—Pakira?”

“Yes. I could’ve chosen a guild staffer, but since she offered so willingly, I accepted.”

“I see.”

“More importantly, Wof-kun—you’ve become quite the topic of conversation, haven’t you?”

Megadia-san gave a teasing smile.

I winced.

“Ah… well…”
“Relax, I’m not teasing. You’ll be fine. I can tell.”
“You think so…?”
“Yes. So have confidence in yourself.”

No one had ever said something like that to me before.
I felt… oddly relieved.

“Thank you.”
“…Jiiiiiiiii.”
“What, Haiyaan?”
“Just thinking you’re a fascinating creature. Still can’t quite figure you out.”
“That’s you, idiot.”

Ever heard of a boomerang?

Megadia-san just laughed. “You two make quite the pair,” she said.
Not funny. Not funny at all.