Chapter 164: Fat Tail II

When we arrived in Mumbai, the port was in the middle of widespread suspension of operations.

Although the sea monsters here are weak and pirates are supposedly non-existent on this safe shipping route, reports had come in of merchant vessels sighting ghost ships, and the entire area had been placed on high alert.

In response, the renowned Blue Witch conducted daily patrols of the surrounding waters. On the third day, she located and destroyed the ghost ship, and peace returned to the sea. A resounding happy ending. As expected of Hiyori.

We boarded a first-class cabin on a steamship bound for Kuwait and headed north across the ocean. For the next week, we would be living aboard the ship as it rocked on the waves. The first-class cabins had originally been fully booked, but due to the ghost ship incident, cancellations opened up—and we managed to slip into one.

A blessing in disguise. For the passengers who had canceled out of fear only to hear later that the ghost ship had been obliterated and service resumed, it must have felt like insult added to injury.

Tsubaki immediately set off on an enthusiastic exploration of the ship, leaving just me and Hiyori in the cabin for a rare quiet moment.

Hiyori sat on the bed holding Kyanos, eyes closed, engaged in some kind of magic training—or development. So I decided to kill time in my own way.

To avoid getting bored during a week at sea, I had brought along Ghost Gremlin Beta. I spread it out on the table and started tinkering with it.

Ghost Gremlin Beta was a byproduct of research conducted in India to mass-produce large ghost gremlins used as material costs for resurrection magic.

Ghost gremlins are completely transparent and invisible. They can be obtained by defeating ghost-type monsters using exorcism magic.

If defeated normally, ghost monsters only drop regular colored gremlins. Exorcism magic is required to obtain ghost gremlins.

Indian researchers had been trying to solve this, and one of their methods was internal conflict. When ghost monsters were made to fight and destroy each other using magic, those killed by other ghost monsters dropped a glass-like transparent gremlin. This was what became known as Ghost Gremlin Beta.

Unlike true ghost gremlins, it isn’t completely invisible, but its transparency far exceeds normal gremlins. To an untrained eye, it would be indistinguishable from glass.

As far as current observations go, it behaves like a normal gremlin and does not possess the properties of ghost gremlins.

But its appearance is clearly different, so there might be some use for it.

Since Ghost Gremlin Beta wasn’t used in Demon King Gremlin research, it may not have had any notable value in advanced magic civilizations—but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to discover. Just because Sir Hatobato’s four-dimensional techniques represent only one branch of such technology doesn’t mean that’s all there is. Like the Kamikakushi style, there could be hidden secrets in Ghost Gremlin Beta that even magic civilization hasn’t touched.

…Or maybe not.

I tried cutting it, licking it, smelling it, tapping it to hear the sound, burning it, cooling it, and holding it up to the light when Hiyori, who had been motionless in deep meditation, suddenly opened her eyes and stood up.

I stopped and looked over in surprise. Hiyori spoke briefly.

“It’s someone I know’s mana. Not an enemy.”

“What?”

“A visitor.”

It seemed someone had come to our cabin door.

I immediately thought of the last person I had met from Hiyori’s acquaintances—the overly energetic “hero-type guy”—and dove under the bedcovers.

Pulling the blanket over my head and giving a thumbs-up in defensive posture, Hiyori smiled wryly and opened the door.

At first, it looked like no one was there.

But Hiyori closed the door almost immediately after opening it.

Then she calmly addressed something small that had scurried into the room near her feet.

“It’s been a while. What brings you aboard a ship like this?”

“Reporting in on my investigation, Blue Witch-sama. At your service.”

What bowed politely with a tiny forepaw was a bipedal mole wearing a shabby poncho.

What the hell is that!?

Another strange creature. I’m getting flashbacks to Professor Ohinata.

It talked, so it wasn’t a monster… was it a demon? A magic user?

Since it wasn’t human, I slowly pulled the blanket down.

Hiyori pointed at it with a small smile.

“Let me introduce you. Dairi, this is Fat Tail II.”

“FAT TAIL II!?”

What an insane name! But it’s easy to understand. No doubt the original Fat Tail had a very fat tail too.

“Fat Tail. The man speaking on the bed is Dairi Kenshi.”

“I see.”

The little mole trotted over, climbed up the bed leg, and came right up to my face. It sniffed my hand loudly.

Hey, this thing is actually kind of cute!

But it’s still a magic creature, right? I shouldn’t assume it’s as simple as it looks.

It’s probably one of those “used to be human but got transformed in a magic accident” types that turns back later.

Right? That’s what this is, isn’t it!?

“Mmm… no scent of death. Resurrection magic truly restores one completely. Apologies for the sudden sniffing, Dairi-dono.”

“Uh, oh. Are you a demon? A mage?”

“No, I am a monster.”

Fat Tail shook its head, but I didn’t believe it.

No way. It’s talking.

Monsters don’t talk.

They’re not supposed to.

I looked at Hiyori for confirmation, and she nodded.

So it really was true!?

“What is it exactly?” 

I asked.

“It’s an exception among monsters. Originally, they have only animal-level intelligence. But this species is a bit of an eccentric eater. Depending on what they consume, they can become intelligent enough to speak.”

“Oh? So what do they eat?”

In the world of monsters, anything goes. I wouldn’t even be surprised if it said “textbooks are my staple food.”

Hiyori turned to Fat Tail, who was currently sniffing my foot.

“Fat Tail, tell him your favorite food.”

“Yes. The decayed form of the most intelligent part of living beings.”

“…Huh?”

Fat Tail II then stared intently—probably at the part of my head where thoughts are stored.

Hey now. That’s a pretty disturbing diet you’ve got there.

Well, humans eat fermented fish and call it seasoning, so I guess I can’t talk.

There are even flower witches who love eating human corpses, and hell witches who are weirdly kind despite loving human flesh, so I’ve seen worse.

“If I recall, your species is called Brain Eaters?”

“We prefer to call ourselves the Gourmet Tribe.”

“Right, sorry. Dairi, they’re carrion-eating monsters. They don’t attack living beings.”

“My eyesight and teeth are weak. But our sense of smell is excellent.”

It looked up at me, blinking its tiny bead-like eyes.

Cute face. Un-cute diet.

According to Hiyori, Fat Tail II was a messenger sent in response to her resurrection magic search request.

The so-called Gourmet Tribe lived in the desert near Kuwait and had built an extensive underground network. That network doubled as an information system, reportedly knowing everything from tribal breakfasts to school scandals to the number and condition of ships in port.

Hiyori had contacted their representative ten years ago and requested assistance in locating resurrection magic in exchange for the head of a Class-A monster.

So that’s how it was.

Even if Hiyori is an all-powerful super-genius witch, it makes sense she’d need help gathering information worldwide.

At least, it makes sense to everyone except me.

“Sorry, but I’ve already found resurrection magic,” I said.

“We are aware. I merely came to confirm cancellation of the request and report our findings. I was en route to Japan, and felt a familiar mana signature, so I stopped by.”

“Ah… sorry for the trouble.”

“No trouble at all. Half of it was sightseeing. I’ve long wanted to witness the national magical spectacle you call ‘Hanabi.’”

With that, Hiyori and Fat Tail sat on the floor and began chatting.

I, meanwhile, studied the tiny mole wearing a poncho made from a single piece of cloth with a hole cut in it.

Its hands were clearly built for digging—no finesse whatsoever. Even though it had culture, it didn’t seem built for clothing. A bit clumsy.

Feeling a strange pity, I decided to help.

Using a napkin from lunch, I quickly tailored a small vest, then carved and polished a Ghost Gremlin Beta into a tiny lens to make glasses.

Not bad. Pretty good size estimate too.

When I handed them over, Fat Tail II tried them on with clumsy paws. Once I helped it dress, it froze.

Then its eyes went wide.

“Mmm… mmmmmm!! Incredibly comfortable! And these glasses—magnificent! Absolutely magnificent! The world looks so beautiful!”

“Glad to hear it. Prescription okay? I can adjust it if you want.”

“No complaints whatsoever! Though… if I may be so bold, could you increase the strength slightly? My right eye feels a bit off compared to the left.”

“Leave it to me.”

Even though it was a palm-sized, bipedal, carrion-eating mole, this was still someone—more precisely, some mole—who had gone out of their way to help me find resurrection magic. In that sense alone, I didn’t mind doing a little favor.

After quickly adjusting the glasses and putting them back on, Fat Tail squeaked with joy.

“MMUUUHHH!! What is this—what is this!! Perfect! No, beyond perfect! Ootori-dono, you are a divine craftsman with the hands of a god!!”

“Right? You get it, don’t you? Hey, what about a staff? Want a staff too? With my skills, I could even make a magic wand for moles, you know?”

“W-WHAT!? Is that true!?”

Praising me had put me in a good mood, so I casually made the suggestion. Fat Tail II jumped back in exaggerated shock.

Nice reaction. That kind of response really gets me motivated.

For a mole-sized staff, the gremlin core would also have to be scaled down accordingly.

But even a miniature gremlin, if shaped properly into a perfect sphere and carved into a six-layer structure, should still be able to achieve performance comparable to a standard commercial staff used by humans.

As I mentally sketched out the design, Fat Tail glanced nervously at Hiyori, who was watching us with an amused expression, and spoke hesitantly.

“Um… this is already far more than we deserve, but… would it be possible to also create small tools for my homeland and my fellow tribesmen? Of course, we will pay proper compensation. With Dairi-dono’s divine craftsmanship, it may even become possible for us to eat meals using forks and knives, properly plated on dishes… or so I humbly believe.”

“Leave it to me! …That’s fine, right?”

I glanced over at Hiyori as well.

After thinking for a moment, she replied, “We’ll be here for seven days.”

Hearing that, Fat Tail clapped its tiny forepaws together in delight and chirped happily.

“Then, in the name of Fat Tail II, I hereby invite the Blue Witch-sama and Dairi-dono to our secret underground empire. I can hardly wait for the day we arrive at port!”