Chapter 170 – Reagents

000

Arachne- No, after returning to the royal capital with Anansi, Cleon spent time trying to figure out the exact location where other spirit veins flowed in, except for persistence. I was having a pretty tight schedule to investigate.

Thanks to that, my lifestyle was completely ruined, and I was living an irregular life, returning at dawn, falling asleep for a while, and waking up at noon.

He was asked to rest for a day or so at the dissuade of the worse party (especially Quon), so he took a day off from night patrol and got up early in the morning and left the house.

As busy as he was, it wasn’t without achievements.

Regarding the spirit vein, there was also help from Aurelia, so all locations were already grasped, and it was only necessary to go to each place and purify the spirit vein.

In the back alley, after destroying Kamala’s store earlier, Astarrote seems to be cautious about his actions his, while patrols and investigations are under way without much threat.

She found a few shops for exploiting men’s spirits, but even those shops are too small compared to Kamala’s, and they don’t really matter if they exist or not.

Of course, even those stores are in the middle of being destroyed.

Still, ‘Ishtal’ and ‘Lilim’ remained undisclosed.

“It’s easier to deal with this side if you do something in a conspicuous place, but…”

As Cleon said to himself, he was walking down the street in the morning with a large bag full of reagents from Layla in his hand.

It’s quite heavy, but I think it’s quite enough for me now, even if I don’t strengthen my strength with magic.

Perhaps because of the mood, the faces of the people preparing to open shops and the citizens walking down the street looked more haggard than they did about a week ago when they first came to the capital.

No, it’s not because of my mood. Cleon and the others have already taken measures against dark dreams, so there is no problem sleeping.

Others did not.

Little by little, without even realizing it, the demons were stealing their mana and vitality.

Depending on the person, the degree will be different, and even succubuses will have to control the amount so that they don’t die because it’s a sandfish that kills humans who will steal their energy.

If dust accumulates, it is said to be a great mountain, and it may be that the effect is gradually being revealed.

The place where Cleon stopped his feet, thinking that he would need to purify all the leylines as soon as possible.

It was a non-denominational monastery where men who had been turned into women by Astarothe lived.

Anansi is also here, helping the nuns, so I should say hello.

The original purpose wasn’t just to say hello.

Cleon quietly stands at the entrance of the monastery and knocks on the door.

Then, after a while, a young nun who looks kind and looks like she is in her mid-teens opens the door and welcomes Cleon.

Blonde hair briefly visible from behind the veil. And blue eyes. Are you from a noble family?

“Welcome. I heard the story from Aruru. Are you Cleon?”

Since it is a monastery not affiliated with a religious order, that level of introduction is necessary for outsiders to approach, and thanks to telling the story of the reagent to the Tromeia family, Cleon was able to pass through the entrance without difficulty.

“I managed to find out that I was Cleon.”

When Cleon says that, the nun smiles and replies.

“Yes. I’ve heard from Aruru and Anansi about this and that. He’s a tall man with dark hair and black eyes.”

Cleon scratches her head at the fact that his story her has been told elsewhere and slowly follows the nun down the passage from the front door to the main building.

The pathway is also attached to the garden, and on top of the neat garden, where green grass and trees are planted every now and then, children who appear to be nuns’ apprentices can be seen gathering and playing.

And, what attracts attention again are two groups.

On one side, a group of women dressed in feminine attire, quietly enjoying tea and looking after each other’s hair and nails.

On the other side, there was a group of women wearing men’s clothes with dissatisfied faces, glancing at them.

“They… Are they doing well?”

When Cleon asks, the young nun also looks towards her garden and speaks with her wry smile.

“It wasn’t long after I came here that it split into two groups. At first, there were more men’s clothing, but now there are more women’s clothing.”

“…”

Cleon was silent for a moment at her words.

Although the monastery did not belong to the church, it was a place with strong divine magic.

Therefore, I thought it would be nice to be able to stop the curse from progressing, even if not completely, or even if it didn’t heal.

Apparently, it was a wish that could not come true.

“It seems that the thing that can stop the progression of the curse is more connected to the will of the person than to the divine magic power. Right now, they are using a separate dormitory, so some people who think of themselves as women completely will not be able to return to their families. So there are people who want to become nuns here.”

“…It’s a big deal.”

“Yes… Of course, I ask you again and again to put your thoughts on hold until the means to lift the curse is prepared. There are even people who don’t want to return to being men…”

The nun and Cleon sigh and move her feet.

‘Come to think of it, there was no Eustes among them.’

Cleon recalled the last time she saw Eustes in her head.

He borrowed Aruru’s clothes of the same size as the exposed bunny suit he was wearing, and moved to this place in a state of fainting.

Since he hadn’t heard from him since, Cleon might have been shocked if he had been in a group dressed in women’s clothing.

“The director is in this room. When you’re done greeting, I’ll guide you again.”

After Cleon nodded her head to the nun who said that, she entered the room she was shown to.

The director’s room was a clean room with a large window, and the brightness barely differed from that of the outside.

The elderly woman—the abbot of this monastery—was standing up from her seat as if she had been waiting, greeted Cleon, and greeted her.

“Welcome. As Lady Aruru said, you are a tall and tall woman.”

“Thank you.”

After paying her respects to the woman who complimented her with her benevolent expression her, she untied the pouch she had been handed to her by Lila in front of her and took out a bottle of her white medicine.

“Is that… The medicine developed by Cleon-sama’s party that can neutralize the curse?”

“I heard that it is a drug that slows down the progression as much as possible. If it is confirmed that it is effective, it is said that a cure may be created based on this drug…”

“Would you mind if I take a look?”

Cleon nodded her head at her director’s words and carefully handed her the bottle containing her reagent.

She puts the monocle for appraisal in her drawer over one of her eyes her and examines the reagents.

Cleon wondered why she was so nervous that she looked around in her director’s room.

Even though it was originally a room for the head of a monastery with only nuns, there were a few things in the decoration that made me wonder.

One of them, by far, is the black full body armor and helmet that decorates the wall.

It could be said to be a color close to jet black, and it looked quite old.

The crest of the kingdom half erased on the chest… Which looks similar to

I could see a red, tattered cloth wrapped around her waist.

The material might be of the rare metal type, but it seems to have magic power, albeit minutely.

The design seemed to be a little more practical accessories such as a potion belt, a belt for wearing a dagger, etc. After painting the color black from the white armor worn by the knights of the kingdom.

And above all –

“Are you bothered by that armor?”

While Cleon focused his attention on her armor, the director’s voice was heard.

“…Yes. It’s old, but it’s a good armor. You can see traces of mending here and there. It’s definitely an armor that has protected its owner many times.”

“Whoa. That’s the armor my friend used. As you can see, it’s a woman’s armor.”

Okay. The last thing Cleon cared about was that the armor was for women, not men.

“Ah. Come to think of it, you also have a relationship with her.”

“…Destiny?”

The director smiled lightly as if he had just remembered, and when Cleon asked back, he nodded his head.

“The place where you are staying… The original owner of Palanataia’s coffin… Palanataia was the owner of that armor. There was a 20-year age difference between him and I, though.”

Soon after, she looked away from the armor and returned her medicine to Cleon.

“Your colleague’s skills are quite good. There is almost no instability between ingredients, and it seems that there will be no side effects at this level. I think you can use it for the victims in the hospital as it is.”

A ‘victim’ is, in other words, a victim of succubuses.

It was a term referring to those who became women from men.

The woman got up and tried to take her medicine bag, but no matter how much I thought about it, it was impossible to have the old man carry this heavy thing.

“The medicine I brought is quite heavy, so I’ll move it.”

Let Cleon say so,

“You’re kind. Then, there’s a room dedicated to keeping medicines. The child outside will guide you.”

When Cleon took her medicine pouch and left the director’s room, she saw the nun who had been guiding her earlier waiting for her.

“They say there’s a room where they keep medicine-“

“Ah~ It’s right next to the West Gwan’s infirmary. I’ll guide you.”

Cleon and the nuns walk in a different direction from the corridor they used on the way to the director’s room.

There, too, is connected to a kind of garden in the middle, where people-

“Yes…?”

Cleon tried to look at the people as before, but she stopped his gaze on her when he saw a woman who stood out.

She was dressed in men’s clothing, but there was a woman, sweating with her lush hair somehow tied back, brandishing her wooden sword.

“Is that… Eustes?”

“Yes!”

Since we were talking from a little distance away, we couldn’t hear the voices of Cleon and the nun.

Eustes continued to swing his wooden sword at the scarecrow for training in front of him while panting with exhaustion.

“Why is there training equipment in the monastery…”

“Iona-sama, who came to visit her in the hospital, left it behind. Originally, it wasn’t there.”

“Is it for Eustes?”

Cleon understands that this would be the case with Iona.

Either that or not. Eustes continues to wield his wooden sword, but he misses it while raising his sword, as if his grip strength he has run out.

“Uh, uh… The sword… Where did it go…”

Eustes looking down at his hand his, not even realizing he missed the sword.

His wooden sword his left his hand his, climbed over Eustace’s head his, and then fell back towards his head his.

“Mr. Eustes!”

Seeing that, the nun raises her voice to let him know, but by the time her weary Eustes looks back there-

The next moment, the wooden sword stopped in the air with the sound of ‘jaw’.

No, to be precise, it would be ‘caught’.

“No matter how much effort you put into training, you’re swinging until you’re on the verge of exhaustion…”

Thinking that a shadow had formed over him, Eusthes looked up and saw Cleon grinning bitterly and holding onto the wooden sword he had lost.

“Oh, how soon!?”

The nun raised her voice in surprise when Cleon, who had been next to her a moment ago, moved several meters away in an instant.

“Clean, Cleon…”

Eustes’ breathing becomes rough and he looks up at Cleon in a refreshed state.

With her eyes half-closed and exhausted, he-no, she looked at Cleon’s face her from a blurry vision.

Jet-black hair and eyes like an abyss. A body trained in battle and the muscles of manly limbs.

And above all, his expression as if he was worried about himself with a wry smile.

`Throb…`

“Ugh…!”

Because of the sudden pain in his heart his, he knelt on his knees and sat down on the spot.

As he put his hands on his left chest in pain, Cleon came closer, worried about Eusthes.

“Hey, hey. Isn’t that too much?”

“Hey, wait! Gwa, it’s okay. Please don’t touch me.”

As Cleon tries to grab Eustes by the shoulder, Eustes hurriedly shrinks his body and tells Cleon.

“That’s right. As long as it’s okay, there’s no problem…”

Cleon, though embarrassed by Eustes’ behavior of her, stopped touching her as she said.

“Encountering with you seems bad for the heart… Cleon.”

“Don’t say things you don’t understand… Training is good, but think about your body as well.”

“Cleon-san! Eustes-san! Are you okay!?”

The nun approaches Cleon and Eustes, leaving the pouch containing the reagents in the hallway.

“Ah, no problem. Liza.”

“Liza?”

“Ah! That’s my name. Come to think of it, I didn’t tell you my name.”

Dehehe, looking at her doing the act of banging her head with her baby, Eustes let out a sigh at her.

“Why is Cleon here? Liza was guiding him.”

“Yes! Mr. Cleon has brought medicine for you guys.”

At Liza’s story, Cleon nodded and explained.

“Yes. It’s a medicine that can weaken the progression of the curse. But why are you sitting with your back turned to me, Eustes?”

“…Sir, it’s noisy. My body is in this state right now. I’m wet with sweat, so I can see through.”

Even if Eustes stays quiet for a while, he raises his voice and speaks.

“That’s right. I didn’t think of that.”

“Oh, but before, it was normal for the other victims-“

“That, more than that! If you brought such medicine, could you give me one right away?`

Hurrying to interrupt Liza’s words, as Eustes spoke, Cleon and Liza’s eyes met once.

“It’s not much of a problem, but… I’ll tell you, the body won’t go back to normal right away.”

At Cleon’s words, Liza nodded as if she was worried, but Eustes only turned her head and spoke with a troubled expression.

“Give it to me because it’s okay. Even now, the curse seems to get worse.”

Watching Eustes say that, Cleon brought a vial from her medicine bag as if he couldn’t help it at Eustes’s request, thinking of making a distinctly feminine expression.

Eustes frowned as he looked at the viscous white medicine Cleon handed him.

“…This can’t be-“

“It’s not like you think. However, due to the nature of the magic potion, it plays a role in returning the feminine to the masculine, so that concept also appears in the form and properties of the reagent…”

“It?”

Only Liza tilts her head as if she doesn’t know what it means, while Cleon clears his throat and watches Eusthes inhaling the medicine.

“…Yeah, that’s right. Certainly, it’s a bit sticky, but it doesn’t taste bad.”

“Heh- I see. If I drink this, will my body become more feminine?”

“No. Because it doesn’t work for women.”

“Hing.”

Leaving the disappointed Liza beside him, Cleon looked at the vial Eustes had emptied with a contemplative look on his face her for a moment.

“…Whoa. For some reason, taking the medicine seems to have calmed me down a bit.”

“That’s right, if that’s the case, I’m glad.”

Cleon looked away from Eusthes, who was sweeping his chest her as he spoke, and looked at her wooden sword and scarecrow her.

“…Training, that’s what you were doing.”

“Yes. I do not rely solely on the power of the holy sword, because that is how I survive. Even if I become like this, I have to train myself in case of emergency.”

When Eustes nodded his head in response, Cleon closed his mouth for a moment before sighing.

“It’s a great attitude. As I said before, just do it to the extent that you won’t damage your body.”

“…Are you worried?”

“Yes, of course. You are the priest of Iona and I.”

At Cleon’s words, the sound of breathing came from Eustes. It was a breathing sound mixed with some kind of emotion, different from a sigh.

“I’ll bring you the medicine and leave right away. Goodbye here. See you later, then.”

“…That, yes… Cleon. You, too, be careful.”

Eustes felt his heart beat quicker despite taking the pills, and shrugged his body once again.

Cleon and Liza, too, looked at Eustes for a while, then headed for the west building with the medicine in their pockets.

On the way there, Liza quietly opens her mouth.

“Cleon-sama. Mr. Eustes has been looking a bit worried since he drank the medicine a while ago… Is something wrong?”

“… Not really, anything like that… No, you’re managing them, so it’s something I need to know.”

Cleon sighs and hesitates at Liza’s question, but she answers her question.

“This drug… Has not yet undergone much feminization of the mind and soul… Layla said it smells awfully bitter for a person who is still close to a man.”

“Hehe~ I see. Are you saying that bitter medicine is good for the body?”

“…Nothing like that. In other words, highly feminized humans can drink and smell without much trouble.”

“Huhhh… Huh? Eustes-san earlier. I like the taste-“

After Liza answered, she suddenly remembered Eustes from a moment ago and turned her head away with a surprised face.

It was no longer visible from here, but it was in the direction where Eustes was.

“…Maybe more than I thought. I don’t know if it’s in a dangerous state. Guy Eustes.”

“Is there something we can’t do for you?”

At Liza’s words, Cleon pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.

“… I don’t know why he’s womanizing so quickly… But anyway, if she’s in an environment where she can show her masculine side of her, she’ll continue to feel like a man. “

“I look like a man. For example, carrying heavy loads… ?”

Cleon answered Liza with a small sigh.

“Anyway. He’s a guy like that, but he’s a guy with the same teacher. I want him to be my strength.”

“… Yes. We, too, will do our best to treat the victims.”

001

Cleon, who was about to leave the monastery after helping to keep the medicine, looked up involuntarily at the gaze and presence he felt from above while walking through the hallway leading to the front door once again.

The next moment, his eyes her twinkled in the shadows behind the ceiling, and he swooped down on him from above.

“West!”

“Ah, Anansi…”

Come to think of it, Cleon thought that he had forgotten to light up her face her, and silently accepted her kissing him on the forehead or cheek.

“Ah, Anansi. Hiding in the ceiling is not good because the other nuns will be surprised!”

Liza also complains about Anansi, but Anansi laughs and clings to Cleon, whom she met after a few days.

“Anansi. I want you to get along well with the people here.”

“Sure. How well the kids follow me.”

` `Because children are not afraid…“

Liza and Cleon sigh while thinking the same thing.

“How is it? Are you doing well in this monastery?”

“Yes. As Seo-Bang-nim said, I’m checking to see if demons are coming close by setting up a net.”

As Cleon nods at her words her, Anansi gently puts her head out to Cleon.

Then, as if she could n’t help it, her Cleon’s hand her went up to her head her and stroked her.

What Anansi asked for. It was to protect the monastery from demons.

An invisible spider’s web wrapped around the abbey, so that anyone who touched it could be noticed at any time.

And, with the divine magical power obtained by gaining a godhead, it would be possible to fight demons on an equal footing, or better than that.

If it’s a fight to protect her somewhere, there’s no one more suited to her than she is.

“Until the situation is over, I will ask you. After that, you can do it freely.”

“Free…! That means I can live with Mr. Seo!?”

“Uh, uh… Until then, unless you can find something else you want to do.”

Anansi’s eyes sparkled at Cleon’s words, and Liza just shook her head.

When Anansi was brought here, she had already asked Aurelia to explain to her nuns her.

It must have been the generosity of the broad-minded director who accepted Anansi even though he was a different deity rather than the one they worshiped.

“… I will definitely be your strength. So, please don’t forget me too.”

“…Of course.”

I forgot to say hello. Thinking of the same guilt, Cleon nodded his head.

After all, after that, Cleon left the monastery with Liza and Anansi seeing him off.

Without knowing that there are eyes watching him.

000.5

“So… If you take this pill, you can go back in this damn woman’s body?”

“That, it seemed so. Brother!”

“Damn it… Why do we have to suffer like this, bro. We just did what the boss told us to do…”

“I don’t know. But the boss will definitely be waiting for us… Take the right amount, and let’s leave here tonight.”

“Yes, brother!”

“Finally we are saying goodbye to this boring place… !”

001

“Drugs and people disappeared?”

The next day, Iona, who came to visit him early in the morning, told Cleon that he had almost dropped the water cup he was holding.

Iona was not wearing plain clothes, but she was packing her equipment like an adventurer going out on a request.

“Some of the drugs are missing, and three people are missing. All three were notable figures who refused to cooperate with background checks.”

“…It’s a big deal. If the existence of the victims becomes known to the general public or the church…”

There is a possibility that this or that fact that has been well hidden until now will be exposed serially.

“…I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Anansi said, I can tell where I went by the thread I attached it. It seems that I left the city gate without meeting anyone overnight and headed for ‘Horseshoe Mountain’ to the east of the capital.”

“Horseshoe Mountain… Layla investigated. It is said to be a place where spirit veins of the `Wind` attribute flow… But, why is it there…”

Iona was silent for a while at Cleon’s words her, and then she said, ‘Uhhhhh…’And she groaned.

Then, with an uncomfortable expression, she opened her mouth.

“…It’s just my guess from here on out. They’re probably members of the bandit that’s been roaming around Horseshoe Mountain lately.”

“…A bandit?”

“Yes. It is a group led by a leader who calls himself the King of Bandits. They say that they are surviving by avoiding the subjugation of the kingdom’s soldiers and adventurers over and over again.”

At those words, Cleon almost lost the water cup he was holding once again.

Adventurers differ in their skills, so it might depend on who received the request.

Among the soldiers of the kingdom, they must have been skilled enough to carry out subjugation missions in the capital.

It is understandable that there is a leader who can claim himself as the ‘Bandit King’, surviving for several months while avoiding their search nets.

When Cleon finished thinking that far, he let out a sigh.

“I’m going to catch it. I don’t know where the information will flow if I leave it alone… In addition, you need to purify the spirit vein.”

“Yes. I think so too. That’s why I came to ask you to come with me.”

Iona smiles at Cleon as she shrugs her shoulders.

“…Okay.”

When Cleon nods his head and goes upstairs to get ready-

Quon, who was preparing breakfast in her kitchen, ran after her and she shouted as she went up to her own room.

“I-I’ll go too! Wait for me to prepare!”

Cleon and Iona looked at her back for a while, then Iona quietly opened her mouth.

“… You’re strangely motivated. Miss Quon, did you have something?”

“Because the purification of spirit veins is something that her cleric can do… I think she wants to help.”

“I see… I feel sorry for Miss Quon…”

“Why?”

When Iona tells a strange story, Cleon replies as if he is not sure.

Seeing Cleon’s reaction, she said a little, “I understand Miss Quon’s feelings,” And let out a sigh.

002

“You, you guys! Let go of this! You don’t know who we are!?”

“What are you talking about these bitches!”

The deepest part of a dark, crude mountain cave.

The bandits, who were savage at first glance, roughly grabbed the arms of the three women and dragged them in.

“…Noisy. What’s going on?”

The dark-haired man, who was sitting on a huge throne-like chair in his room, opened his eyes and glared at his men as they made a fuss in front of him.

Then, without realizing it, his men stiffened up, and the women they had brought with them knelt in front of him, the leader.

“… These guys, they said they were members of our gang of bandits, came into the hideout and caught them.”

“…These women?”

The boss’s eyes lit up, and he stood up from his seat.

He was two heads taller than normal people, and seemed to reach the ceiling.

Then, holding a black greatsword, he stood in front of the women.

“You guys… Tell me your name.”

“Two, boss. It’s us! ‘Norman’, ‘Gishid’, and ‘Sam’!”

Hearing their names, the boss hesitated for a moment, then opened his hands with a fishy smile.

“… Ah. These are the guys I sent to `her her`. You managed to come back alive.”

Then, he reached out to ‘Norman’, the leader among them.

All the menacing looks of his manhood had disappeared, and now there was a beautiful woman with reddish brown hair.

The moment when `Norman` was moved and held the hand his, the same as when he accepted him as his subordinate his.

The boss grabbed her by the arm and, with her other hand, in an instant tore off the clothes she was wearing.

“Two bosses!?”

“Look at this. Didn’t you get into a pretty interesting body? Even so, her subordinates were having a hard time because they could n’t taste women. The higher-ranking guys came rolling in on their own. “

A gasp, hee, came from Gishid and Sam.

“I’m going to have fun with this guy now. Take the two of us with you.”

“Yes!”

Gishid and Sam are dragged away shouting for help.

The boss was holding Norman’s head with one hand and smiling as he met her eyes with him.

“You’re lucky. This king of bandits and disciple of Talchek. And, the only surviving dark horse clan…”

Red eyes twinkle in his eyes.

“CleonBecause it can handle your sexual desire.”

“Du, boss! Wait! I-I’m originally a man! Boss! Ah, ah… Aaaaa!”

A scream echoed from the hideout of Horseshoe Mountain.

It was a terrible sound befitting a place dominated by madness and violence.