Reincarnated as the Last of my Kind, Volume 1

by Kiri Komori

  Wait… Blood?

  “Ah!”

  There was purple fluid melting the armor on his leg!

  Is that venom…? Of course it’s venom! It’s a serpent monster!

  “Are you poisoned, sir?!”

  “Ugh… Yeah. It’s embarrassing to admit it, but… That thing weakened me and it’s waiting for me to fall over… You two should run away…”

  “N-No…!” Nakona’s face clouded over with despair.

  …Yeah… If you knew this might happen, you wouldn’t have insisted on hiding from everyone…

  “Don’t you have any other knights working with you?” I asked him.

  “They’re all dead,” he replied bitterly.

  “Oh no…”

  “I’m sorry… As a knight of De Marl, I don’t want you to see me be so…pathetic. But I’ll cut open a path. So you two, run and head for the highway. There should be an inn to the east of here.”

  “But what about you…?”

  “I was looking for the right place to die. And if I can save two little girls from dying, then it’s a good way to go… Now listen…I’ll give you the signal to run, so wait until then…”

  Wh-What is he saying?! A place to die?! Huh?! Why? Why is everyone in this world like this?! Why do they all have to be so pessimistic?!

  “Stop screwing around…” I muttered under my breath.

  “Huh?”

  “What?”

  The knight and Nakona eyed me oddly for a moment.

  “…Mister, take this!” I said, taking one of the supreme antidotes I made that morning out of my pouch.

  “…That color… Is that a supreme antidote?!” The knight turned to look at me in surprise.

  The serpent didn’t ignore that opening. It lunged toward the knight, who fired at it to push it back. It really was keeping its distance until the knight collapsed from the poison!

  What a nasty creature…! Too bad for you though. I still need to repay my debt to Dad…and the black beast that saved me when I was a baby… I can’t die again until I do! I refuse to die with that regret!

  “I’m not sure about its effect, but I had it Appraised using magic, and they said its quality is ideal. Try it!”

  “Why do you have something like this…?”

  “…I’ll distract it!” I said resolutely. “Take that chance to purge the venom and heal your wound!”

  “Are you mad, girl?! Don’t be reckless; that’s a monster!”

  “I’ll do it!” Nakona rose to her feet.

  The girl who stood there wasn’t the same one who was shaking from fear and about to burst into tears of despair just moments ago. She clenched her fists and glared at the monster.

  “I am Nakona Ril! My father is Marcus Ril, former vice-captain of De Marl’s Azure Knights! I won’t be careless! I’m not very experienced, so I think the most I can buy you is thirty seconds!”

  “…You’re…Marcus’ daughter?!” the knight asked, surprised.

  Wait…Dad has a last name?!

  It wasn’t a trivial detail, nor was it obvious. From what I knew, only people who ranked very highly in a country had last names. But then again, he was a vice-captain, so it made sense he would have one…

  “I’m going back to Daddy, so get out of my way, you monster!” Nakona shouted at it.

  “Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” The monster screeched as it slithered toward Nakona.

  Nakona jumped to the side as it went after her.

  “Mister!” I said, stuffing two bottles into his hands.

  After a moment of contemplation, he looked as Nakona bolted away and shook his head. Accepting the bottles, he took off his helmet’s lower section, uncorked them, and gulped down the two tonics at once.

  ♣♣♣

  “TINA! Nakona!”

  “Daddy!”

  “Dad!”

  After walking along the highway for a few minutes, we found the road back to the inn. The knight followed us, dragging his injured left leg. He put on his strange helmet again as he headed with us toward the inn.

  He was our guest for today, it seemed. As the inn came into view, we found Dad running toward us as Giyaga’s group stood in front of our house and waved.

  Our big adventure, which lasted less than an hour, came to an end. But for how short it was, relief still flooded me.

  Ah, it’s over…

  Nakona dove into Dad’s chest. He embraced her and then kept running to meet me.

  “Tina! You’re back too! Thank goodness…!”

  “…Yes, I’m back…” I said awkwardly.

  He crouched down in front of me and hugged me along with Nakona. Thinking back on it, I had to admit that it really was a small miracle neither of us got hurt, given what happened. But looking at Dad, who was crying with relief, all of that felt oddly inconsequential. All the tension in our bodies and the shackles binding our hearts loosened… The entire day left me exhausted.

  “I’m sorry I made you worry,” Nakona said.

  “You better be, because you have no idea how worried I was… Dammit! I thought I was going to go crazy! It felt like the end of the world…! I’m so glad you two are safe! Aah, Gods of De Marl… You have my thanks…!”

  His left arm shivered. He held us so tightly, it almost hurt. But his embrace is so warm and caring too. Is this what it means to have a real “dad?”

  Thinking back on it, I couldn’t recall my father in my past life ever hugging me. Marcus would always pat me on the head, but when he hugged me like this, it was somehow…different. It made me feel like this really was Dad…

  My Dad…

  “Tinaris! There you are!”

  “I’m so glad you’re so safe!”

  “Yes, thank goodness…! Wait… Huuuuuh?!” Merilia screamed.

  Everyone else looked in the direction she was pointing and took a staggering step back. There stood the knight in blue armor… And yeah, looking at him now, he would look pretty scary at first.

  “You’re… Is that you, Lico…?!” Dad asked him, surprised.

  “It’s been a while, Marcus.”

  Huh? He knows Dad…? He did say he’s a knight from De Marl…

  Dad slowly let go of Nakona and me and rose to his feet. As he did, with his back to the sunset, the knight removed his helmet with a metal clicking sound. And then I saw his face, which I didn’t pay any attention to earlier because I was so caught up with the situation…!

  “Aah…!”

  “Eeep…!”

  Me and Nakona… No, me and everyone else present, except for Dad, let out a startled gasp. Because half of the knight’s exposed face was covered by his long, bluish-purple hair. But as the wind gently brushed his forelocks aside, it revealed that the right half of his face was burned off and didn’t have any skin… The right side of his lips was gone as well, exposing his teeth and gums…

  Aaaaaaaaah…!

  “Oooh, Licorice! It really has been a while!” Dad said with a smile. “You said you’d go get us some booze and never came back. I was sure you died or something!”

  “Yeah, well…” the disfigured knight responded tiredly. “There were some problems with my divorce papers, see… A lot happened…”

  “Ah… Oh, I see… So that’s what happened… I guess we both got the short end of the stick with that one, huh…? Ahaha…”

  “We sure did…”

  “Ahaha… Haha…”

  …What is this weird atmosphere?!

  “…Do you know this person, Marcus?” Mister Giyaga asked Dad.

  “Sure do! You probably know the name. One of De Marl’s state alchemists. Captain of the Ebony Knights, an order focused on using alchemy for offensive purposes, Licorice Avide. One of my old colleagues.”

  “Wh-What….?” Mister Giyaga stuttered.

  “A state alchemist…?!” I whispered.

  “Name’s Licorice. Licorice Avide.”

  A state alchemist… An alchemist recognized by a country, as the name implies. There are on
ly a handful of alchemists like that in general—maybe one or two in every country! Even larger countries like De Marl and Edesa Kura had less than five! And this person is…one of them?! Really?!

  “Huuuuuh?!”

  “Wait, did you just say Licorice?” Mister Giyaga eyed the knight in shock. “You’re a woman?!”

  “Huh? What? What?!” Nakona exclaimed.

  A woman?!

  I was just as surprised as Nakona. This was a woman!? And I called her “Mister” the whole time?! Whaaaat?! It wasn’t just that the big bulky armor hid the fact this was a lady. She was also about as tall as Dad!

  “And your last name is Avide?!” Nakona continued. “But Avide is! Dad, wait, isn’t Avide the same last name as the Crimson Knights’ captain…?!”

  “Y-Yeah… Licorice is Rondered’s, erm…well, his ex-wife.”

  “Huuuuuuuuuuh?!”

  “What?!”

  That was probably the most shocked I’ve ever been—both in my past life and this one.

  ♣♣♣

  “HERE you go.”

  “Thanks. Your daughter’s tonic did a good job though. I should be good to return to my trek tomorrow.”

  “Really? That’s good to hear…” I said.

  After dinner, we sat at the coffee corner, where Dad gave Miss Licorice the fifth dose of tonic. We only had low-grade tonics handy, since I didn’t have ingredients for a medium-grade one. So we compensated by giving several doses of low-grade tonic to heal her wounds.

  The supreme antidote completely got rid of the poison, making the spot where the serpent bit her an ordinary wound. She took off her armor, which revealed she was, indeed, quite the large woman… A giantess, if I can call her that.

  She was taller than Dad, and everything from her shoulder width to her buttocks and breasts were larger than most. The right part of her face was covered by her hair, and the flesh was red and festered, while she lacked the skin around her mouth. Her lips, and part of her gums, were missing too… What could have done this to her?

  She gulped down five doses of low-grade tonic, also known as the healing salve… But the wounds to her face showed no signs of recovering…

  “Looks like it’ll leave a scar …” Dad said, fixing a gaze on her leg.

  “Meh, I don’t care. What’s one more scar at this point, eh?”

  “Yeah, I suppose. Scars are a source of pride for a knight, but uh…”

  “It really doesn’t matter. I live on my own anyway.”

  A heavy silence hung between us, but the woman simply laughed. We still couldn’t believe that Dad’s ex-wife, Nakona’s mother, decided to remarry this lady’s ex-husband! It was such a mess, I had no idea where to even begin untangling it! Dad might have felt the urge to apologize, but it was her ex-husband that took away his wife to begin with!

  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! What am I even supposed to say here?! What is this messed-up situation?!

  “Hm, Miss Licorice,” I asked, groping for a way to move the conversation along. “You’re an alchemist, right?!”

  Yes, that’s a good one! I’ve been meaning to ask that!

  Dad mentioned she was an alchemist. A state alchemist, acknowledged by a country! Talking to such an impressive person was an honor. I hoped she could tell me things I didn’t know about alchemy!

  “Yeah, I am. What about it?”

  “W-Well, actually, I’m studying alchemy. Could you teach me a few things?”

  “…That supreme antidote and the tonics from earlier—I think Marcus said you made those…?”

  “Ain’t she amazing? My little girl’s a genius!”

  “Dad, can you stay out of this for a bit?”

  …Seriously, even Nakona’s keeping quiet out of consideration. Read the mood!

  “Yeah, if she can make a supreme antidote, she’s a genius when it comes to patience. I couldn’t make something like this.”

  “…You couldn’t?”

  “You’re an alchemical apothecary, right? Well, I’m an alchemist. You know how those two are different, right?”

  “…Alchemical apothecaries use alchemy to concoct medicine… And alchemists use it to make other things. Right?”

  “Right. Alchemists are broadly divided into two branches. One uses the craft to make medicine and food. Those are alchemical apothecaries. Everyone else is just called alchemists. Well, there are a lot of different branches within alchemy too… I’m considered an offensive alchemist. The kind that’s specialized in using alchemy in combat. So, you and I operate on different systems of alchemy.”

  “O-Oh… I see…”

  It was a roundabout way of saying no. Which kind of stung. But it did explain her fighting style in the forest and the way she shot orbs of light. She produced the sound of gunfire despite not holding a normal firearm. That must have been done with alchemy. It was different from magic, something that was closer to science.

  But I wasn’t sure how she actually fought. That must have been the difference between an alchemical apothecary and an alchemist.

  “I probably can’t answer your questions. But if you want to ask me anyway, I’ll answer what I can.”

  “Ah…! Th-Thank you! Then, erm…”

  There’s so much I want to ask, but…

  “What’s the highest an alchemist can aspire to?”

  Stories I’ve heard in my past life about alchemy often mentioned the Philosopher’s Stone, but… Mister Giyaga made it sound like the supreme tonic was actually the highest achievement. But maybe alchemical apothecaries have a different objective they can reach?

  “It depends on the person,” Licorice replied.

  “…That makes sense,” I mumbled.

  Well, that was an obvious answer.

  “Then do you know how to create a supreme tonic? From what I hear, it’s been made before, but… The recipe is very vague…”

  “A method to make the supreme tonic hasn’t been established. There are reports of a few successful cases, but they weren’t transmuted using the same recipe or by the same method. Saikorea has records of the recipes those successful cases used, but from what I hear, none of those recipes have produced a second successful sample.”

  “Really…?”

  “Alchemical recipes are only considered successful when they always produce the desired result. So the supreme tonic is considered an illusory concoction—one that doesn’t have a recipe. Still, alchemical experiments come with dangers. Establishing a new recipe no one’s made before requires both skill and guts. Otherwise, you’d end up blowing half your face off in the middle of an experiment. Like me.”

  H-Half my face…

  Dad did mention an acquaintance who burned their face off using alchemy… He was talking about Licorice.

  “I…I understand.”

  “Now then, girls, go to bed,” Dad told us. “It’s time for us to have some adult time.”

  “What does that mean?!” Nakona hurried to her feet.

  That sounded kind of pervy!

  Or so I thought, but Dad took out five bottles of liquor. Nakona stared at him with an utterly exasperated expression.

  Y-Yeah…I know what you’re thinking…

  “…All right. Yeah. I’m tired. We went through a lot today. Good night!” she said, storming out of the room theatrically.

  “Good night, Dad. Miss Licorice, thanks for all your help today.”

  “Yeah. Same here.”

  “Good night. Sweet dreams, Tina.”

  Nakona probably picked up on the clue. And it made sense. With a day like this, he’d need a drink, wouldn’t he…? I went up the stairs to the second floor, where I found Nakona heaving a deep sigh.

  “So awkwaaaard!” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe she was Mommy’s lover’s ex-wife… It feels so weird…”

  “Y-Yes… She did not seem to care about it much though…”

  “I told you to stop talking like that,” she snapped at me for falling back into a polite way of speaking.

  “
S-Sorry.”

  “…Still, I thought we were gonna die back there.”

  “Yes… I mean, y-yeah.”

  “But you’re a big part of why we’re safe. Thanks, Tina.”

  “No, not at all… You were pretty amazing too, Nakona. The way you just stood up to that monster…”

  “C’mon, call me ‘big sis.’ Where do you get off just calling me Nakona, huh?”

  “Erm… B-But it feels weird calling you that…” I said, fidgeting.

  “I’m five years older than you!” She insisted.

  “Well, yes, but… Aaaah…”

  She started squishing my cheeks.

  Ugh… I know a kid’s cheeks are soft and squishy, but… Aaah, cut it oooooout!

  “…I was really scared,” Nakona said, letting go of me and shivering at the memory.

  …Yeah. I can imagine.

  She was still only an eleven-year-old girl. I was surprised she could even bring herself to say and do what she did back there. True, she was only distracting it, but it was still a monster.

  In the end, Licorice’s attack blew off the monster’s tail, forcing it to run away… But if she wasn’t there, we wouldn’t be fooling around like this now.

  “I understand what you meant back there. I really am blessed. Mommy and Daddy are still alive, and I can still meet them if I want.”

  “Yeah.”

  “…Say, what do you think I should do? Go back to De Marl or…”

  Should she stay with Dad or go back to her mother, who had remarried? Well, I was more of a mommy’s girl, so my first thought was to tell her to go be with her mother, but…

  “…I think you should go wherever you want to be. Both me and Dad are on your side no matter what you choose.”

  “…Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Hey, let’s sleep in the same bed tonight!”

  “What?”

  “C’mon, it’s…you know, to celebrate the fact we became sisters,” she said, gripping my hands tightly.

  So she said, but I got the feeling she was so scared from what happened earlier today that she didn’t want to sleep alone.

  Hehehe… Guess I have to, huh…?

  “Sure.”

  I was pretty scared too, so…let’s sleep in the same bed tonight…Big Sis.

  ♣My Daughters Are So Cute