Chapter 498: Friends’ Warning (1/2)

“What do you think, Laojun?”

After handing Laojun all of the data he had on Lucas’, Jin asked him for his opinion on it.

“Since there is little data, this is mostly pure speculation, but this makes me think that Lucas could be just like those ‘servants who are almost the same as a person’ that were mentioned in Vivian’s tales.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Jin was also of the same idea. He wasn’t sure whether he was part of a different species or an artificially created race.

“So, can we trust those two?”

Through Reiko, Jin asked further questions to Laojun, who he had expected to have heard all the conversations he had with Shion.

“Yes, My Lord, I believe there is no matter for concern with them.”

“I see.”

“Though they might still be hiding something, they appear to not have told a single lie so far. At the very least, they don’t seem to have any malicious intent, and since some valuable information may be obtained from them, I consider it potentially beneficial for us to continue to help them for the time being.”

“Understood.”

“However, though it might prove difficult to do so due to time differences, I believe it necessary for you to consult this with the rest of your companions yourself.”

“You’re right. Elsa already knows about them, but I have to talk about this with the others.”

It was currently 4 PM at Kaina Village and 6:20 PM at Hourai Island. That meant it was around 1 PM at the city of Loizart in the Shouro Empire.

“He might be in the middle of work now…”

He felt sorry about bothering Reinhardt while he was busy, but this was probably a more pressing matter than his everyday work.

Jin contacted everyone using the Mana Comm, and 30 minutes later, all of the members of the “Family” were present.

That included Jin himself, Elsa, Mine, Reinhardt, Berthie, Saki, Toa, Stearleana, and Vivian.

Since this was an urgent matter, they gathered right away.

“Well then, I have good reason for calling you all here on such short notice…”

With Laojun’s help, Jin recounted the events that transpired the day before.

“…And that’s basically what happened. Sorry for bringing you all here so suddenly.”

“D-Demons, you say? Are you sure this is a good idea, Jin?”

The first one to speak after Jin’s explanation was Berthie, with an understandably concerned tone of voice.

“Hmm. Jin, those demons… Shion and Lucas, you said they were called? Can we really trust them?”

Reinhardt also shared his prudent opinion.

“Yeah. About that, Laojun and I both agreed that we believed their words. Though I can’t personally say that I fully trust them.”

“Hmm… So… They said they knew Marchosias and Androgias, huh…”

Saki’s face seemed tremendously suspicious of them, and with good reason.

However, Elsa’s opinion was different.

“I think they’re no different from humans.”

“Huh?”

“When I conducted a medical examination on them with ‘Diagnose’ I found that their bodily structure is the same as that of humans.”

“Hmm… Then what about their extraordinary strength, endurance, and special abilities?”

Reinhardt’s face showed that he couldn’t agree with Elsa. The one to answer that question was actually Laojun.

“I do have a hypothesis about that. I believe demons undergo some kind of special physical enhancement process.”

This was taking into consideration that Androgias, though powerful, had been reduced to ashes with Fire Magic after having fainted.

“Since the human body has water, it is unlikely that it will instantly be reduced to ashes, even when exposed to temperatures above 1000 degrees.”

“Ah, you’re right…”

As for Jin, who had his life on Earth cut short as a result of falling into an electric furnace, his own experience of having his body burn in flames was second to none. Such an experience had reasonably turned into a slight trauma.

“Flame magic is basically magic that turns Ether into heat. In other words, if you hit a body that has a lot of Ether with magic…”

“… All of the Ether in the body turns into heat at the same time, instantly reducing the body to ashes…?”

“Correct. Which leads me to believe that, along with the water in their bodies, their bodies themselves are made with Magi Isotopes.”

Laojun’s hypothesis was met with a few nods. If the cells that made up their bodies were made of Magi Isotopes, they should be very compatible with magical power.

“The physical enhancements of the demons may be fundamentally different from those used by mankind. I’m currently in the process of analyzing Lucas, though it seems that it will take time because his method is completely different.”

“Hmm, right. I’m guessing that the empowering spells that some knights can use come from a method that brings out unused abilities.”

Having gained knowledge about modern Earth, Reinhardt used his wisdom to come up with an analysis of magic of his own.

“The way demons do it might be similar to how we enhance golems.”

Jin also supported Reinhardt’s theory.

“…I think the story about those two is more important right now.”

With Elsa’s pointing out, the conversation’s trajectory was corrected.

“Yeah, you’re right. …So, I’m planning to start talking this out concretely starting tomorrow.”

“Hoho, a concrete plan from you, Jin? That’s new.”

Jin laughed as he answered Saki’s remark.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it an actual plan, but I think it would be a good idea to sell the food grown in Kaina Village to the demons.”

“I see.”