Chapter 198 - "L-L-L-Life comes first, after all!" I walk through the night town with Teacher.
Our destination is Teacher's workshop. Some call it an atelier, others a den.
Philia and Erin, who would normally definitely be following us, are staying behind at the inn.
I don't quite understand, but apparently Philia complained of a stomachache, so Erin is looking after her.
According to Erin, it's "one of the factors causing emotional instability," but I felt it would be better if a man like me didn't get involved, so I didn't pry.
More importantly, right now, it's about my lower half.
"...The fact that you're saying nothing is actually scarier."
After leaving the dungeon, I ended up having the rather macabre experience of walking while carrying my own lower half on my shoulder.
Terrifyingly, we have already passed a considerable number of passersby.
Perhaps because we look exactly like "a couple who committed a dismemberment murder due to a romantic entanglement," no one tries to make eye contact with us.
"I wish they'd give us a kind interpretation, like we're carrying a comrade's corpse back to their bereaved family."
"Don't mind them. Your abilities are known throughout the town. There will be no one to grumble about it."
What is it with that mindset where power is justice?
I'm appalled, thinking, if I were a criminal, what would happen to public order?
I guess there are things about people from other worlds that you just can't understand.
"Here we are."
As I was lost in thought regarding the culture gap, Teacher stopped walking.
With fingers encased in metal gauntlets, she pointed toward a single atelier.
...My overall impression was that it was purely fancy.
The roof used a color scheme centered on pink, and the walls were a pale yellow.
In the flowerbeds lined up in the garden, pastel-colored flowers grew politely.
"...Uh, is this..."
"My home."
With a click, the brown-haired female knight begins to walk.
Does this tank-role person, who possesses androgynous beauty and shows a masculine, heroic fighting style, live in a house like this beautiful young alchemist girl?
Well, I suppose her name is Lili, and an "Atelier Lili" sounds like something you'd normally find in a game...
"Don't laugh. I am aware it doesn't suit me."
Teacher gave a small laugh and opened the door.
She beckoned me with a slight wave of her hand behind her back. I guess she's telling me to come in.
For the desperate reason that I wanted to do something about this lump of flesh as soon as possible, I hurried into the atelier.
"...Well, it might be a bit cluttered, so just set it down somewhere over there."
"It's a bit embarrassing," the female knight laughed.
In terms of the situation, this is the kind of thing where you're visiting a single woman's room, but...
It should be that, but...
"This is terrible. There's no sense of elegance whatsoever."
A mountain of flasks and beakers filled the entire room.
Inside them, cloudy liquids and parts of human bodies were packed, making suspicious gurgling sounds.
...There also seemed to be containers filled with what looked like fetuses; should I arrest Teacher right here?
"Those are Homunculi, so you don't need to worry. There is no criminal intent."
"And what were the ingredients for those again?"
"Human semen."
I thought, that's definitely murder after all, but if they aren't using eggs, then it's not a fertilized egg, so is it safe?
I wonder?
As I felt a violent ethical tug-of-war, Teacher spoke in a cool voice.
"My Father and Big Brother periodically bottle it and send it to me. See, there is no criminal intent."
"No, at that point, it's a major incident..."
Just as I was about to reach for my scabbard to arrest her, Teacher pulled out two chairs.
It seemed she was telling me to sit.
"There is a proper reason. I believe if you hear it, you will cooperate as well."
"...Hmm."
I sat down, casting a gaze full of wariness.
"By any chance, are you doing research to help people?"
"No, it is to achieve immortality."
Ah, I'm arresting you, I said, as I started to stand up.
Prompted by Teacher to "calm down," I reluctantly sat back down.
"Anyway, please listen to the circumstances. We can talk after that."
"..."
Teacher narrowed her brown eyes and flashed a dry smile.
"My family, you see, simply dies young. When my Mother was thirty-two, a tumor formed in her right breast and she died. It spread in a shape like the legs of a crab. My older sister died the year before last. It was the same disease, and she died at the age of twenty-eight. My grandmother developed it in her lower abdomen and died. She was thirty-seven, I believe. In my lineage, the women die young for generations."
"...Is it a cancer family?"
"I suppose so."
"Fortunately, my paternal side are alchemists," Teacher said, flicking a beaker containing a fetus with her finger.
A clink sound rang out as her nail hit the glass.
"Lord Father and Big Brother are conducting various dangerous researches to try and save me. I turn twenty-one this year. Even though I don't want it, my breasts have begun to swell. Without a doubt, a tumor will soon spring forth from here."
There was a part of me that felt relieved at the word "save," but at the same time, I felt a sense of emptiness.
Magic cannot cure tumors, and I understand approaching it from alchemy, but...
Just how much of a correct research are they actually doing?
This world has over-technology in certain places, but even so, the basic level of civilization is at a late medieval level.
The medical standard is similar.
My medical knowledge is derived from a manga about a quack doctor I had at school, but even so, I couldn't help but ask.
"...What do Teacher's father and brothers think is the cause of the tumors?"
"They say it is the curse of the crab."
I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling.
It's no use; she really is a person from a medieval European fantasy.
"They believe that on my maternal side, perhaps an ancestor cruelly mistreated a crab. And thus, the descendants are being cursed. The greatest evidence is how, if the tumor is left alone, it erodes the skin in a way that looks like a crab spreading its legs. Therefore, they wager that by cutting out the affected area and offering it to a crab, the curse will be lifted. After that, the method for regenerating the severed body is the issue, but if we use magic, the tumor will also be resurrected. We are forced to conduct research on culturing human bodies to attach to the missing parts, but..."
"That's wrong, that's completely wrong! Cancer isn't from crabs, it's derived from your own cells!"
"Is that so?" Teacher tilted her head.
At the same time, she wore a triumphant smile.
"What, as I thought, do you possess learning after all?"
"...No, I don't. I'm just a stupid kid who was thrown here during the third term of my third year of middle school, so I haven't even finished my compulsory education, you know?"
I felt my body stiffen.
My grades used to fluctuate between slightly above average and slightly below average, and I'm definitely on the idiot side if looking at all Japanese people.
However, in an alternate world where the level of civilization is nearly several hundred years behind, my knowledge in science and math fields is beyond overkill.
If I were to carelessly display it, I might cause a situation like altering history.
Is it truly alright to give knowledge that wouldn't normally be discovered for several centuries to the female knight in front of me?
As I agonized with a small groan, Teacher spoke in a weak voice.
"...Is it not allowed? I, too, do not wish to die. Besides, perhaps due to my bloodline, I also have simple curiosity. ...Please. Won't you tell me the information held within your head?"
"But... that's..."
I wondered if it was something that could be permitted.
Advancing a civilization that should be stagnant.
Is that not something that approaches the actions of a God?
But, if that saves someone—
"—Teacher is an important comrade, so of course I want to help. But, I also have a fear of whether it's okay to act like such a God. I worry that if I unilaterally advance this world's medicine by several centuries based on my own judgment, it will cause distortions. ...I wonder if it'll be okay."
"Hmm. You are serious in strange ways, or rather, you are quite a commoner, aren't you?"
"...You can laugh if you want."
"By the way, Hero-kun, my research theme is the tumors that occur in the breasts. I will need to have my breasts palpated periodically, and depending on the case, I may even need you to check their taste and smell. If you will become my assistant, I intend to ask for your help with such tasks as well."
"That's right, life comes first. I'll gladly help. So, what should I teach you first?"
Teacher smiled brightly and asked, "What do you mean by cancer being derived from one's own cells?"