The cold farm air smells distinctly like sheep. Strong.
Rosa stands in front of the gray haired farmer, holding two wood scraps in her hands.
On her left, cleanly cut. Too clean. Normally, claw marks would leave jagged edges.
This one seems to have been cut by wind magic, just like she's seen many times.
She remembers how her daily training in her childhood for the Varriere she learned.
Wind strikes after wind strikes.
She had to defend herself from a person who has been casting wind magic even before she was born.
The wooden scrap matches exactly what happened to the training dummy when her sister cut it clean.
She looks to the right. Charred remains of the wooden scrap.
The same burn she'd seen when Lilia was on a rampage.
"So, tell me, what kind of beast uses two kinds of magic?"
Rosa gives Erika the wooden scraps as she is pondering the question.
She'd never seen any animal, plants, or monsters use more than one kind of magic.
Thunderbolt eel, leap frog, dart eagles, even the fading centipede has their name attributed to their specific magic.
And yes, she named the centipede and is keeping the right to name it since she found it first.
She even had an all night argument in the clinic room with Lilia about the name while she was being treated for her broken arm.
And no, Lilia started it. All she did was retaliate. The scolding by the nurses was her fault.
"Hmm… I have none at this moment. The best shot I got was the baby manticore… but that one was a construct…"
"Baby manticore? Where on earth were ya and what are ye even doing there?"
"...Anyway! Let's focus on the search shall we?"
Rosa turns and drags her feet towards Lilia who is petting a sheep with a smile.
Seems like the other sheep calmed down and decided to leave her alone.
"Hehehe… Flau… Stop iiit!"
"Flau?"
Rosa raises her eyebrow as the sheep continues to lick Lilia's face.
"Flau! I decided to name it! Look, Rosie!"
Lilia sinks her hand to the thick coating.
"Soo fluffy! The outer coating is a bit crusty, but the moment my fingers went in, it's so warm and soft!"
Lilia giggles as she rubs the wool. The sheep nuzzles its head in response. Mutual affection, it seems.
Soft wool. Affectionate nuzzles. Probably warm.
Rosa fixes her gaze on the white unattended spot on the sheep's back.
"Hehehe! Hehehehehe! Flaaauuuu!"
"..."
Lilia looks like having fun. A lot of fun. Too much fun, probably.
Maybe just a little. I have some spare time.
Rosa quietly walks towards the pair.
Slowly, she approaches as she extends her hand.
"Oooh? Finally interested? Come join me, Rosie!"
"Ssshhh!"
Rosa puts her finger on her lips as she continues to creep closer.
One step after another, closer and closer.
Her hand almost makes contact with the coating.
Pssssssshhhhh
Rosa's eyes widen as horror paints her face.
Baaaaaaaa!
The trickling continues. Warmth spreads right on her shoes as her hand freezes.
No… It can't be…
"Pfft… Rosie…"
"Don't…"
"It's… pfft… you're…"
"I said don't…"
"Bffft…"
"No…"
"Bwahahahahahaha! It's… Hahahaha!"
Lilia, no, the girl she absolutely has no memory of is now rolling on the grass.
Baaaaa!
The fluffy menace bleats mockingly as it leaves without any speck of guilt.
Lamb steaks suddenly sound extremely enticing as she considers ordering one when she gets back to the city.
"Lil squeak, I need ya to…"
Akira pauses as soon as she gets close to Rosa. Her nose twitches towards her.
"Why do ya smell like a sheep in heat?"
Rosa's vein throbs harder than it has all day as the girl's laughter rises an octave behind her.
"Talked to the sheep earlier, seems like the boy was right. Black wolf, standing upright."
"Talked to the sheep? You can do that?"
"I'm a kemomimi, beast folk, one of the things I can do~"
Akira shrugs with a smug smile.
Werner joins behind her with Erika.
"See!? I wasn't lying! Told you I was right!"
"Or… it's someone in a costume! Wanna bet? No animals can cast TWO kinds of magics!"
"You're on then!"
Werner's gaze drifts to Akira, fixating on her.
"Wanna have a drink tonight, after all?"
She responds coyly.
"It wasn't— I wasn't—" He clears his throat. "Let's just keep moving."
Right after Rosa thoroughly soaked her feet and shoes on the nearest basin, they continue their investigation.
They discovered similar clues both on the pheasant enclosure and the potato fields.
According to the penkeeper, the pheasant enclosure also had been cut.
The inner pen also smashed and burned, they kept the same scraps like in the sheep pen.
In the potato fields, the farmers were having harvest. Same as the cabbages, trails, many of them formed from the wilted potatoes.
Same cause, hearthroot potatoes require heat to survive the night and they generate it magically.
The creature removed the mana, thus also the heat. The plants died from cold.
Next up, the shed where the fertilizers are stored.
They walk right by the beaten path by the fence.
Horses are running around in packs along with the dogs.
Meanwhile Akira keeps teasing Werner for looking at her too much.
All while Erika's eyes fixated on him.
"Hey, Rosie."
"Don't use that name."
Lilia's cheek puffs.
"Fine… Rosa."
Then her eyes soften as she whispers to Rosa's ear.
"Do you notice how Werner has been looking at Akira?"
"You mean that he is being completely engrossed by her? Crystal clear."
"Well, I don't know about that. He seems… distantly looking at her. At Akira but not quite."
Lilia's eyes briefly drift to Erika.
"And her eyes are getting sharper…"
"Now that you told me about it…"
Rosa can't help but notice now how Erika grits her teeth.
Jealousy? Anger? Something else?
"So, what are you trying to tell me?"
"Hm… I don't know… To be careful? Seems like this place has history…"
"So does any other place…"
"Well, you're right… But…"
Lilia then shrugs her shoulder as she sighs with an oblivious smile.
"Eh, I'm sure it'll come up if it's that important~"
Of course that's her stance. Rosa can't help but sigh as she drifts her gaze away.
Then she catches a glimpse of movement in a distant bush.
"..."
Rosa stops in her tracks.
Something touches her shoulder. Her body jumps.
"Hyaaa!"
She glares behind her. It was Akira.
"Don't startle me like that!"
"Keep yer mouth shut. Don't look there. Pretend you didn't see anything."
Akira's gaze is firm. Rosa nods and moves along.
She is right. Acting like she notices something would alert whatever is watching them right now.
Best to observe without being noticed.
As soon as they go inside the shed, the logs are recording fully.
Erma, human, brown hair wearing red, 3.00 PM.
Pauline, human, brown hair wearing green, 3.12 PM.
Werner, human, brown hair wearing metal chestplate, 3.12 PM
Warning : Weapons detected. Zweihander.
Erika, human, black hair wearing black robe, 3.12 PM
Warning : Weapons detected. Caster Staff.
Lilia, human, pink hair wearing brown and green, 3.12 PM.
Warning : Weapons detected. Enchanted Knuckles.
Rosa, human, black hair wearing red, 3.13 PM
Warning : Weapons detected. Caster Staff.
Akira, kemomimi, orange hair wearing white, 3.13 PM
Warning : Weapons detected. Sai.
The data record seems to be shared across the farm.
Once the person was registered, they'll be noted in every log system.
Pauline immediately goes to the storage room and joins Erma. Leaving the rest of them.
Erika has been eyeing Rosa since they entered.
"...What is it?"
Rosa tilts her head towards Erika. The suspicious gaze is now impossible to ignore.
"Just… making sure you don't do anything funny…"
Something stings in Rosa's chest. Sure, they shared nothing but a trip.
Besides, if the fertilizer is a trade secret of theirs, Rosa would understand why she has to take such measure.
Because she would if she were in her position.
Yet the sting doesn't go away even if she can justify the logic.
"Like I said, just eliminating the possibility that the fertilizer contains void element or something."
Rosa hands the sigil scroll to Erika.
"If you don't believe me, you can analyze this and put it on yourself. I'm just checking the ambient mana."
Erika takes the paper and glides her eyes up and down, one side to the other.
"Nothing suspicious…"
She nods and puts the sigil on the wall, before she puts her hand on it.
"Sorry for doubting you… But I still need to check. Just in case…"
The sigil glows in response as soon as mana flows into it.
"I get it, okay? Safety protocol and stuff"
Rosa said with calm voice, yet her cheeks puff up a bit.
Her back suddenly feels a soft pressure tracing up and down her back.
"It's okay, Rosie. Now you know how I feel when I was behind you."
Rosa's gaze snaps at Lilia.
"That's because you keep lifting me without my permission!"
"How can you not!? You're sma…"
Lilia's words trail off.
"Finish the word, I dare you…"
"You're compact size! And very lift-able! How could anyone resist such opportunity!?"
"I am not! I am a proper adult!"
"Both are not mutually exclusive!"
Rosa sighs and returns her gaze towards Erika.
"Looking at the result, seems like the ambient mana is… quite lower than usual. Probably because the beast attacked a few days ago."
"A few days ago? Here?"
Akira tilts her head.
"The creature broke that room."
Erika points out the unrepaired door. Same state, shredded, cut, and burned.
"You didn't tell us earlier?"
Rosa asks, eyeing the wooden scrap, attached by a broken hinge dangling on the wooden wall.
"Well, didn't seem relevant. Also, the clues are the same more or less."
"Hey, Erika…"
Lilia steps closer towards Erika.
"You seem… tense ever since we got here… Even more tense when we're in this shed."
"That's…"
Erika averts her gaze.
Rosa walks towards the opened room. Inside is a set she is too familiar with.
An old still, mortar and pestles, ingredients processor, heating and cooling glyphs, and an empty cauldron. All of them are alchemy equipment.
Then there's a book on the table with purple cover.
She takes the book and reads the title. Another kind of outlawed magic.
The kind that tampers with life and death. Necromancy.
"This is… Are you…"
"No, I would never-"
"It belonged to the previous alchemist… Beringar…"
Werner cuts Erika as he is also averting her gaze.
"He was the one who practiced necromancy."
"This explains a lot…"
Rosa continues to flip the page one by one.
"A lot of it has mana infusing techniques… Specifically, how to supply mana to essentially revive someone and make them immortal..."
"Wait… so yer saying…"
Rosa nods.
"The creature they saw might be his creation."
"That can't be…"
Erika's eyes meet Rosa.
"Not that I believe he would not do it… But I never saw him succeed even once! There's no way he managed to-"
She stops herself halfway, eyes widening.
"...Delayed activation…"
Rosa flips the back of the book, searching for the index.
"Found it, page 374."
She flips it back, going backward.
"Said that failed experiments should be kept in a coffin, in case delayed activation happens."
"Hieeeek! So it's a living corpse!?"
Lilia shrieks as she jumps backwards.
"Wait a second, but the sheep and pheasants I talked to clearly mentioned a wolf standing upright!"
"Pheasant!? You can talk to pheasants!?"
Lilia snaps her gaze.
"And I also saw it…"
Werner adds.
"Erika, did he ever experiment on wolves?"
Rosa glances at Erika as she keeps the book open.
"I don't know… He mostly experimented with dead farm animals in the basement."
"Basement!? There's a basement here!?"
Lilia jumps back even more, hiding behind Akira.
"Only one way to find out then."
Rosa nods at Erika.
"We're going there, aren't we…?"
Without answering Lilia's question, they descend to the basement one by one.
Rosa's eyes glow as she activates her Naissaich even though they bring torches.
The reason is that she still needs to read the book.
The section of delayed reactivation itself doesn't mention anything about how long the delay can be.
Mostly it mentions the success scenario, which is immediate revival and how to constantly supply mana.
The effective and common way being having a phylactery that entraps souls to make mana out of them.
Taking her eyes off the book, she doesn't have to imagine what the phylactery looks like.
In the center of the basement room is a circular altar, drawn with various combinations of sigils.
In the center of the circle is a jar containing purplish aura. Cursed, no doubt.
"This is where we found him messing with the corpses of our farm animals. Right after one of our cows was missing."
"Wait, didn't he experiment only with the dead animals?"
Lilia peeks from Akira's shoulder.
"How about ya get off from my back?"
Akira asks Lilia with a sharp voice.
"Eeeeek! Sorry!"
Lilia jumps off, before she rushes behind Rosa's back.
Rosa can only sigh.
Werner clears his throat.
"About that one. We weren't aware he was doing these kinds of things. We thought he'd just bury them."
He then gazes at the animal bones, really old ones, scattered on the floor.
"Then we found out one of our livestock was missing, witness tracked back to him, and we found this place."
"That night, Ursula's face was red in fury when she found out Beringar practiced this…"
Rosa closes the book and crouches near the circle.
"Beringar… Where is he now?"
"He left… After he and a kemomimi that worked here stole almost all the money from the farm, they disappeared."
Erika mutters with venom laced in her every words.
Akira's eyes widen.
"Thought so… So ya had a kemomimi working here. No wonder the logs were able to recognize me."
Erika gives a silent nod.
"In a way… she was our caretaker. It was years ago while we were still fresh in this mercenary stuff."
"And would ya take a look at that, one of the coffins is open…"
Rosa instantly looks in the direction Akira points.
"Sharvessaich…"
Rosa mutters as she checks the ground. Her vision begins to sharpen.
Tracks come into focus.
It matches the description of the tracks Erika mentions, going near and away from the opened coffin.
"This is…"
"Tracks… those tracks… they're recent too."
Lilia mutters as she joins Rosa to sit near the coffin.
"What do you think, Rosie? Looks like one of the coffins broke and whoever or whatever resided there broke out…"
"I don't know… this whole thing seems fishy to me. Lot of bunches didn't add up."
Akira's orange ears twitch. Erika raises her eyebrow at her.
"Can you elaborate?"
Erika asks with heavier voice.
Akira raises few of her fingers while she exhales.
"Few things suggest we are dealing with a different creature entirely."