Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 136 – It Was Supposed to be Lost Knowledge…

The stone statue of a grinning beastman shifted its gaze and looked down at me.

[ Hey, young pharmacist. You’re so diligent, bringing me a drink like you promised. ]

“Hello. I just wanted to ask about the curse.”

[ And this is my first time meeting you, isn’t it? Almost-elf. ]

“No, not an almost-elf. I’m a half-elf.”

Crash seemed displeased by the way the statue addressed him and responded with slightly narrowed eyes. 

I guess he wanted to emphasize that only half his blood came from his father. 

[ Oh, did I offend you? Sorry, I just assumed because your elf blood is so strong. I can tell that you have human blood in you, too. But the power inside you, half-elf, is incredible. You’re very close to an elf. You look just like another half-elf I met before. ]

“Another half-elf…?”

Maybe it was Regalo-san. I wondered how many half-elves there were in this world. I was a bit curious.

Crash tilted his head, wondering who it could be. Come to think of it, Regalo-san had mentioned before that Crash wasn’t aware.

“Are there other half-elves out there?”

[ I only know you, that other one, and another that I met about 200 years ago. Elves rarely venture out, and it’s even rarer to hear of them falling in love with a human. ]

I see… So the half-elf the statue knew must be Regalo-san.

I wonder if I should tell Crash about this? As I was thinking, the statue looked down at Crash.  

[ More importantly, could you pour some of the alcohol on my back as well? My neck is still stone and I can’t tilt my head down. ]

Hearing those words, the two of us checked behind it and discovered that the back was still made of stone. With the way we had poured it before, the alcohol hadn’t reached the back. I put the barrel back into my inventory, went around to the back, and took the barrel out again.

Crash unleashed another alcohol attack, and the statue’s petrification was undone to the point that it could no longer be called a statue.

[ Phew, thanks. ]

The beastman, now able to move his body, plopped down heavily on the altar. He cracked his fluffy neck, and lightly lifted the barrel he had placed behind him with one hand.

The stone statue, which, sitting down, was as tall as we were standing, held up the barrel in front of us and happily asked, [ Can I have all of this? ]

With a stamina potion in my hand, and the statue and Crash holding alcohol in theirs, a kind of drinking party began.

“By the way, Statue-san, can I call you Jhal Gar-san?”

When I asked if I could call him that since he was no longer a statue, he cocked his head and asked, [ Huh? How do you know my name? ] with a puzzled expression. 

“Uh, because your name is written on the bracelet on your wrist as well as your necklace.”

[ Bracelet? Necklace? ]

Jhal Gar-san raised his arm with a surprised look on his face. Meanwhile, Crash’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “What did you do to become known as a legendary hero, Jhal Gar-san?”

Without answering Crash’s question, Jhal Gar-san read the inscription on the bracelet on his arm and his eyes widened in astonishment.

[ What the… hey, wait… what is this?! ]

He let out a bewildered cry, and his bluish-gray face turned bright red.

Flustered, Jhal Gar-san frantically removed his bracelet and tore off the necklace that hung around his neck.

[ Wait, wait, I’m not some [ legendary hero ] or anything grand like that! Who put this on me… was it that guy…? ]

Jhal Gar-san, who seemed to have figured out who put the bracelet on him, let out a sigh and covered his face with his hands.

He was also hiding his reddened face.

[ Look, I’m not some ‘legendary hero.’ I was just the most suitable watchman at the time. There’s a beastman village in the mountains ahead, and I’m just keeping watch to make sure humans don’t come near it. ]

“A beastman village?”

[ Yeah. A long time ago, we had a falling out with the humans and moved our tribe into the mountains. The most powerful among us was left to stand guard, cursing people who tried to pass through. Once cursed, it would be fatal for them to continue. I thought this kind of technology had been hidden from humans… ]

Jhal Gar-san let out a sigh and moved his finger to draw a magic circle.

“A magic circle?”

Crash’s eyes widened. I probably had the same look on my face.

Because the only people who knew how to use this were Sage-san and Crash.

If we took Jhal Gar-san’s words at face value, it meant that magic circles originally belonged to the beastmen, and all knowledge of magic circles had been erased from the human cities…

Seeing our surprised faces, Jhal Gar-san dispelled the magic circle.

[ So you do know. We moved and carefully preserved this as well as a fragment of the Holy Grail to ensure they wouldn’t fall into human hands. There must have been a leak. I knew the sage used to use this, this magic circle. Back then, he said only he could use it, so I was relieved… ]

Jhal Gar-san gulped down the remaining half of the barrel in one gulp and said, [ …Ah, nothing beats good alcohol! ] and relaxed his expression slightly.

[ By the way, that same kind of magic circle was used by the young pharmacist over there, right? ]

“Oh, yes. I learned it from this handsome guy here, Crash.”

“I was taught by a friend of my mother’s, named Sage.”

[ Ah, ah, I see, Sage the sage… Ah, I get it now. Well, it’s good to hear he’s doing well. ]

Jhal Gar-san’s expression softened, as if he knew who Sage-san was.

But, since Sage-san had been relentlessly searching for secret dungeons, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had been here. He seemed to be flying all over this continent.

That thought caught my attention for a moment. 

The book mentioned helping someone who was running around the world.

Maybe, I had a theory. But, the Demon King was defeated 15 years ago, and he only appeared to be a little bit older than Crash.

Wait, didn’t Jhal Gar-san say [ It’s been 15 years since I’ve had alcohol ] when we first came here? Did Sage-san visit but not give him any alcohol? But, despite that, he seemed to be quite familiar with him.

In this world, there were curses that aged you and curses that made you younger. If that was the case, maybe appearance wasn’t all that important.

Just as I felt like I was on the verge of figuring something out, Crash spoke up, and my thoughts scattered.

“The fragment of the Holy Grail…”

When Crash spoke the other words that had been nagging at me, I felt my heart beat a little faster.

Could it be referring to the alchemy cauldron? The one mentioned in the book written in the ancient magical language?

Magic circles and the alchemy cauldron were the history and technology that the beastmen were protecting.

[ It looks like something you’d use for cooking, but it uses magic to turn various materials into dangerous items. I once tried to cook a meal with it because I was hungry, but the ingredients disappeared, and I was really sad, and then the elders beat me to a pulp. That’s why we and the elves have been working together to destroy it, to prevent humans from using it for something even more dangerous. ]

Ah, that hit the mark.

Crash and I exchanged glances again.

Were we getting ourselves into something seriously dangerous here?

I wasn’t sure if I should tell Jhal Gar-san the important secret.

I have it. The cauldron.

I had no idea how the beastman who turned into a stone statue capable of cursing people would react if he knew.