Chapter 29 (1/2)
Volume 1
Atelier Tanaka Chapter 17 Part 2
Alchemist Edita 1
Now that the love affair couple has been sent away, I cleaned up the tea.
I left the second-floor living room and headed down to the first floor. It was at this time that I was walking past the atelier that something happened.
“?”
I think I just heard a noise.
Some small items that were sitting on the floor seemed to have been knocked around.
“What is it?”
Do I have a rat problem?
There are a few items that rodents could get into. If there is just one or two, it wouldn’t be so bad, but I need to confirm if there are more.
“..Either way, I have no choice but to kill them.”
I can’t allow such vermin to exist in my home. I can’t have peace of mind as long as I know there are vermin in my house. Exterminating these pests takes priority over everything else. My lunch will have to wait.
I slowly walked over to the area where I heard the noise.
Then, in the corner of the room, I could see a small animal.
At a glance, it really just looks like a mouse, but if I look at it closer, the animal has no tail and its ears extend all the way to its back. For a pest, this thing is kind of cute. However, looking at its thin body and dirty hair, I can tell this animal shouldnt be kept as a pet.
“You better not have any strange diseases.”
Ill have to purify you.
And for purification there really is only one choice. A fireball.
“Doya~”
Small fireballs appeared around the small animal.
The small creature evaporated in an instant without even making a sound.
There was nothing left at all. I think this is enough to call it a proper purification. After all, my level 15 fire magic is amazing. It can be used to make tea, exterminate pests, or defeat dragons. Fire magic really is the ultimate magic.
“Alright then”
I finished the purification without even getting my hands dirty.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something.
“A cover?”
My atelier has a stone floor. On the floor, hidden among the evenly placed cobblestones, was a small gap. In that place, there was a stone door of some kind that looked exactly like the surrounding cobblestone.
It was carefully crafted to blend in with the rest of the floor. If you didnt know it was there, it would be almost impossible to see. Its large enough for a person to enter and exit.
“Is it like some kind of basement? Oh, Im getting really curious now.”
I activate my flight magic on the stone door and slowly lift it up.
Underneath the door, I could see a small staircase leading into the darkness. Its impossible to see anything inside.
“..I guess I wont be getting lunch after all.”
Its time to start another adventure.
After going down the stairs I entered what looked to be a stone room that was around twenty meters squared. There are no windows because this room is underground. There’s no light source inside the room so I’ll just have to create a fireball to allow me to explore.
The moment I could see anything, I noticed several strange objects lying around.
“What is this..?”
The object I found was lit by the orange glow from the fireball.
The thing I found wasa completely naked young girl.
“Woah.”
Inside of an enormous glass tube that was filled with colourless transparent liquid, there was the nude body of an unconscious girl. It’s as if she’s being preserved.
She has a well-toned body and a cute chest. I want to worship her body.
I’ve decided on my meal for this evening.
“W-whos there!?”
I thought I could hear a voice from somewhere.
It’s a woman’s voice.
Rather, it’s more like the voice of a young girl.
“Eh, ah, s-sorry. My name’s Tanaka.”
I introduced myself out of habit.
“..Tanaka, is it?”
“I am the owner of this house.”
“.”
I got the feeling that the voice just took a deep breath in.
At the same time, I found out where the voice was coming from.
There was someone sitting in the corner illuminated by the light of the fireball.
At first glance, it appears to be human. The appearance of this person matched that of the girl in the tube, but the colour seemed off. The person in the corner was slightly transparent. I wonder if she’s a ghost. Suddenly, I recalled the various accidents that were mentioned by the realtor.
She’s probably around 140 centimetres tall and under the age of ten. She’s a pretty girl with long blonde hair that goes all the way down to her waist and big blue eyes. She also has pointed ears. I’m guessing she’s an elf.
She’s wearing a plain robe that’s made of a dark grey fabric. The robe really makes her white skin shine. She’s grasping something like a wooden wand in both of her hands. The figure suddenly stood up with the wand raised.
This ghost came to drive me out of my home.
“You’ve setup a base in my basement in order to drive me out!?”
I finally own this house and now a ghost wants to kick me out? Seriously?
In a panic, I turned to face the ghost.
I just need to use the magic I used before.
“All the evil karma ever created by me since of old,
On account of my beginningless greed, hatred, and ignorance,
Born of my body, mouth, and thought,
I now confess openly and fully.” (TN: Tanaka recites a prayer here that doesn’t really make sense when translated. This is is just a Buddhist purification prayer I found)
“W-Wait a minute! I have no intention of doing that! And what do you mean by a base!?”
She followed this up by screaming in terror.
I guess I skipped straight to the purification without even asking her any questions.
Well, I guess there’s no harm in talking.
“Then, what are you doing in my basement?”
“..”
She looks a little frustrated, but continues speaking calmly,
“I was the owner of this house before you purchased it.”
“.Impossible.”
Suddenly, I thought of something.
Her ears are pointed.
They live for a long time.
Around two to three times as long as humans.
“Eh? Are you Edita Sensei?”
“I have mixed feelings about being called sensei. I was killed the last time I was called that.”
Apparently, she really is a ghost.
“Are you serious? Then, Edita Sensei, why aren’t you dead?”
“This body is just spiritual. It has no physical form.”
“I..I see.”
I don’t fully understand, but in this atmosphere, I just nodded as if I did.
“My physical body is the one floating in that tube.”
She points to the young girl floating inside the tube. The loli body just floated there in the tube that appeared to be made of a material similar to glass.
If I were to use my flight magic, I bet I could position her body into a pretty erotic position. That would be quite the meal. Seeing her just floating there isn’t enough to fill me up.
“Did you somehow save your body?”
“That’s right.”
“How.”
As expected of Edita Sensei.
She seems to have found a way to save herself from death.
Although I’m not sure exactly how she did it, this world is full of different types of magic. I’m sure there’s some way of separating your spirit from your body.
Well, right now I am talking to the ghost of Edita Sensei.
“Fuhahaha! In just a few days time, I’ll be able to leave this place! What do you think about that?”
Fuhahaha? She’s suddenly acting so full of herself.
“Is that so? Then, I should probably eat it before it expires.”
“D-Don’t eat it! That’s my body!”
“Ah, no, that was just a figure of speech.”
“Anyway, the liquid that preserves my body will soon begin to lose its effect. My body will then begin to decay. If that were to happen, I would no longer be able to return to my former body; even if my spirit were to remain intact.”
“I see.”
Edita Sensei seemed to sound lonely as she spoke.
“Is there nothing you can do?”
From what I can tell after reading some of her writing, Edita Sensei is a genius alchemist. So, I’m sure she has something planned.