I was Betrayed then Reincarnated as a Kitsune - Chapter 237: The Alchemist

Chapter 237: The Alchemist

[Luna POV]

It’s been almost two weeks since me and mom got back from dealing with those slavers in the Demon Empire.  Most of the time between then and now was spent spending time with mom, dad, or one of my party members.  Right now I was sitting on my bed as Tamamo brushed my tails.

{Hmmm.  Luna, this is the brush that you got from that person, right?}

“Yeah, why?”

{Well, I just thought that there might be more to it than what we originally thought.  I mean, that person is quite powerful, so I doubt they would just give you a regular brush.}

“I get what you’re saying, but are you sure you’re not just overthinking it?”

{I could be.  I just thought I’d bring it up for a conversation starter.}

“Oh, well, we can try and see if there is anything special about it aside from what it already accomplishes.  I mean, I use it on you in tandem with that unique skill, so what else could we try?”

{How about we try channeling mana through it?}

“Go for it.”

Tamamo started channeling mana into my brush and it started to glow a little.

“Ooo.  Shiny.”

Tamamo started brushing again and then stopped.

{Ok, let’s not do that.  At least, not until you ascend.}

“Why?”

{Luna, it somehow increases your fluff even more.  I mean, you’re already the apex of all fluff, but this makes it even better.}

“Ok, though that doesn’t mean I’ll hold back when I brush your tails with it.”

{Ufufu.}

Tamamo started again without channeling mana into the brush.  I closed my eyes while I enjoyed the feeling of Tamamo brushing me and we spent some time like that until someone knocked on my door.

“Big sis.” (Soleil)

I snapped my fingers and Soleil was teleported into my room.

“What’s up Soleil?” (Luna)

“Dad sent me to come and get you.  He told me to tell you that he’s here.” (Soleil)

“About time.” (Luna)

{You have perfect timing, Soleil.  I just finished.}

“Thank you very much, Tamamo.  I’ll see you later.” (Luna)

Tamamo and I leaned closer and gave each other a quick kiss before Tamamo waved and left.  I dissolved the domain and stood up.  I put my necklace on and turned to Soleil.

“Let’s go Soleil.” (Luna)

“Right.  I’m kind of curious about this person.” (Soleil)

I grabbed onto Soleil and we teleported to Blake’s shop.  When we got there, I saw Blake leaning on the counter and talking to two people.  One was a black haired youth with grey eyes and a pair of glasses.  He was wearing a long coat that looked like one that a shady merchant in a certain game wore.  The other person was a dog beastkin wearing a cliché frilly maid outfit.  She was taller than the youth and had long white hair.  She also gave off a feeling similar to Skadi and Apollo.  When they heard my arrival, they turned to look at me and the youth’s glasses flashed like they do in anime.

“Ah.  Two supremely fluffy kitsune have arrived.  Good day.  I am Damien Crowe, wandering alchemist of the highest order.” (Damien)

“Damien, don’t even think about it.  One is my daughter and the other one is already spoken for.” (Blake)

“I already knew that, Blake.  I’m not blind, I can see the rings on their fingers.  I was just being polite.” (Damien)

“…” (Luna)

I was shocked.  This is the complete opposite of what I remembered him being like.  I looked over to Blake and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I know what you’re thinking and I was just as surprised.” (Blake)

“May I get your names?” (Damien)

“Sorry about that.  I am Luna Reed.” (Luna)

“My name is Soleil.” (Soleil)

“Wait, Luna Reed?  You are related to General Deacon?” (Damien)

“I’m his daughter.” (Luna)

“I see, I see.  Ah, before we move in, there is one more person that needs to be introduced.” (Damien)

The woman in the maid outfit stepped forward and deeply bowed.

“I am Vina.  I am the maid and apprentice of Sir Damien.  It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” (Vina)

With the greetings done, Blake invited all of us into the back of the shop.  We all sat around a table while Vina made and served tea to everyone.  She apparently had space magic since she pulled the things to make the tea from an inventory that wasn’t Damien’s.  Once everyone had some, Blake was the first to speak.

“So, Damien, how have you not aged a day since then?” (Blake)

“Blake, I’m an alchemist.  Think about it and you’ll get the answer.” (Damien)

“So, you made a philosopher’s stone.  I hope you didn’t have to genocide anyone to do that.” (Luna)

“Of course I didn’t.  I’m a shameless otaku, not a madman.” (Damien)

“Heheheh.” (Blake)

“Fufufu.” (Luna)

“…Wait, how did you know about that?  Did you tell her about anime and stuff Blake?” (Damien)

“Nope.” (Blake)

Damien looked at me with squinted eyes before piecing it together.

“Reincarnation.” (Damien)

“Bingo.” (Luna)

“Big sis, why would you reveal that so easily?” (Soleil)

“Because he would have pieced it together soon enough.  I mean, all of us will probably be seeing each other for a while so I decided to get that one particular thing out of the way first.” (Luna)

“Hahahahaha.  Indeed.  So, mind if I appraise you?  I would like to know how a reincarnator is stat wise in this world.” (Damien)

“You can try, but it probably won’t work.  The reincarnated title blocks all types of appraisal and I can’t turn that off.” (Luna)

“Oh.  Well, that’s information enough.  So, who were you in the past if you don’t mind me asking?” (Damien)

“Jason Strider.” (Luna)

“Pffft.  You got gender bent.” (Damien)

“And there it is.” (Blake)

“Indeed.” (Luna)

“*Cough* Anyway, seeing as that is the case, what happened?  Was it those two like the rest of us thought?” (Damien)

“Yep.” (Luna)

“I see.” (Damien)

We sat in silence for a few minutes before Soleil spoke up.

“So, you are from the same world as big sis and dad, right?” (Soleil)

“Yep.” (Damien)

“Then-” (Soleil)

As Soleil was speaking, the door to the room opened and Ana and Velvet walked in.

“Blake, we’re ba-oh, guests.” (Ana)

“I see, I see.  Blake, you did good for yourself.” (Damien)

“Thanks.  That is Anastasia, my wife and Soleil’s mother.  The other one is Velvet, Soleil’s girlfriend.” (Blake)

“Nice to meet you, I am Damien Crowe.” (Damien)

“Ah, the alchemist that I’ve heard so much about.  It’s nice to meet you.” (Ana)

“Indeed.” (Velvet)

Velvet looked nervous about meeting Damien, so she excused herself from the discussion.  Seeing that, Soleil decided to go after her.

“Sorry for being rude, I’ll ask my question at some other time.” (Soleil)

The door shut behind her.

“What was that about?” (Damien)

“Don’t worry about it.  With Ana here, we have all the people needed for our discussion to actually take place.” (Luna)

“You need me here to?” (Ana)

“Yep.  You are one of the vital people needed for this to possibly work.” (Luna)

“Alright.” (Ana)

She pulled up a chair next to Blake and sat down.  Vina immediately placed a cup of tea in front of her.

“So, to get the actual discussion started.  I was tracked down by some people from the adventurer’s guild while I was in the Dwarven Country about an S-rank adventurer having a lucrative deal for me.  I was asked to come to this place and now I’m here.” (Damien)

“That would be me.” (Luna)

“Oh, so you’re an S-rank adventurer?” (Damien)

“Yeah.  But that’s not the important part.  Damien, how would you like to participate in a project that will hopefully advance this world a little?” (Luna)

“How much are we talking about?” (Damien)

“Flying ships.” (Luna)

Damien smirked and his glasses shone again.

“I like it.  I don’t get why you need an alchemist, but I’m in all the same.” (Damien)

“Please wait.” (Vina)

“Yes?” (Luna)

“I apologize for my impoliteness, but I must ask what we will get out of this arrangement.  My hus-I mean Sir Damien is very impulsive, so it falls to me to set him straight and to make sure he doesn’t get cheated.” (Vina)

“Vina.” (Damien)

“No, no, I get it.  As for what you get out of it, aside from the obvious achievement of creating a new mode of transportation for this world, you will get part of the profits earned from the finished product once it’s spread around.  I will also pay for whatever labor and materials are needed for the construction.  And if it turns out to be an impossible task, then I will pay you for the time spent as compensation for wasting your time.” (Luna)

“I see.  Then we will accept.” (Vina)

{I’m surprised you aren’t mentioning the slip up she made.}

‘In due time, Tamamo.’ (Luna)

“Vina, you know we can trust these people, right?” (Damien)

“You can, but I don’t know them personally, so I needed to make sure we weren’t going to be cheated or anything.” (Vina)

“Had problems with that before?” (Blake)

“Yeah.  But that’s what I get for making a something that grants immortality after all.” (Damien)

“You did that?  I’m surprised the gods didn’t say do anything about that.” (Ana)

“Never said they didn’t.  By the way, the God of Death is a very understanding fellow if you can get past the initial terror of meeting her.” (Damien)

“You’ve met the God of Death?” (Luna)

“Yeah.  When I made the philosopher’s stone, she appeared in front of me and warned me to never make another one.  Something about it being something that can throw the balance of the world out of order.” (Damien)

“I’m surprised she didn’t take it from you and curse you for making it.” (Blake)

“That is why I’m here.” (Vina)

“So that was the case after all.” (Luna)

“Indeed.” (Vina)

“What are you talking about Luna?” (Ana)

“She’s a demigod.” (Luna)

“Wait, how’d you know that?” (Damien)

“Because I am too.” (Luna)

“Oh.” (Damien)

{Now hold on, when did she have a daughter?}

“My mother married her Apostle and had me 22 years ago, Lady Tamamo.” (Vina)

{When did she get an Apostle?  I know I haven’t been caught up on everything for the past 17 years, but would have remembered hearing about the God of Death getting an Apostle and marrying them.}

“It was a quiet thing.  Not many actually knew about it until I started travelling with Sir Damien.” (Vina)

“Who are you talking to?” (Damien)

I pulled my mirror out of my inventory and Tamamo’s face appeared.

“Oooo.  Very fluffy and beautiful.” (Damien)

*Smack*

“Ouch.” (Damien)

Vina smacked Damien on the back of the head.

“Damien, I’m not going to say anything since it was a compliment, but don’t go any farther than that.  She’s mine.” (Luna)

“Don’t worry, Miss Luna, I’ll have a nice chat with him later.” (Vina)

“Just Luna is fine.” (Luna)

“Wait, if you’re a demigod, then why are you acting as a maid?” (Blake)

“Because it’s fun.” (Vina)

“And what about you marrying him?” (Luna)

“Because he’s cute……” (Vina)

Vina started to blush and I started grinning and chuckling.

{Ah, so that’s what you meant by due time.}

“Can we get back on track here?” (Ana)

“Right.  Luna, what did you need to call Damien here for in regards to building the ships?” (Blake)

“Mostly to deal with magic crystals since alchemists are the best with dealing with them.  I want to use them for either a power source or for the mechanism to make the ships fly.  This is also where Ana comes in.  As the top authority on gravity magic aside from Tamamo, I’ll need your help as well.  Blake is for any metal work that needs to be done and I am providing the ships, materials, and funding for anything else we don’t have.” (Luna)

“You are quite prepared.” (Vina)

“Well yeah.  I wouldn’t call Damien here without being prepared.  I’ve had ships for months and it’s not like I sail on the open seas very often.” (Luna)

“When did you learn how to do that?” (Ana)

“Skadi taught me after we commandeered the ships.” (Luna)

“Is Miss Skadi travelling with you?” (Vina)

“Yeah, she’s a part of my party.” (Luna)

“I see.  Would it trouble either of you if I met her as well?  I’d like to try and meet all the demigods that are in the mortal world all the time at least once.” (Vina)

“Once we’re done here, I’ll bring you to meet her.  Though I can’t help you find Apollo.” (Luna)

“This is enough.  I’ll meet him at some point.” (Vina)

“Wait, let’s go back for a second, you’re a demigod too!?” (Damien)

“Ok, first, stop yelling, and second, why are you still stuck on that?  The more important thing is the flying ships.” (Luna)

“Vina, did you know about this in the first place?” (Damien)

“I knew that there were other demigods in the mortal world and that one of them was a kitsune, but I didn’t think she was the person we were going to meet.  I figured it out the second she teleported here.” (Vina)

“I see.” (Damien)

“Luna, do you have a place for us to work on these ships?  We can’t really do that here after all.” (Blake)

“Yeah.  I have an island with some docks.” (Luna)

“Will we be staying there while working on them, or will we be going back and forth?” (Ana)

“Either.  Depends on who wants to do what.” (Luna)

“Then shall we start tomorrow?” (Damien)

“Sounds good.  Come with me and I’ll get you a room at the shrine.  You can also meet Skadi there, Vina.” (Luna)

She nodded her head and we all stood up.  I left Blake’s shop with Damien and Vina on tow and led them to the shrine.

Chaos Realm:

Atmos: Hold up, she really married someone and had a kid!?

Yeah.

Atmos: You knew about it!?

Obviously.

Atmos: Why’d you never say anything about that!?  It’s kind of important!

Order: Would you please stop yelling?

Atmos: Sorry.

No one ever asked.

Atmos: What is the Authority she has access to?

Swords.  Her father was a mortal that was highly proficient in swordsmanship.  The god of death made him her Apostle after he died and after a while they got married and had a kid.  Since Death is a concept that only one god can hold, her daughter got something from her father that manifested as an Authority.  Of course, it’s only a partial Authority, but one all the same.

Atmos: To think that she would actually get married and have a kid.  I never figured she was the type to settle down like that, though it would explain why she’s been so quiet recently as well.

Order: Was she someone like you, Atmos?

Atmos: No, but she was more social than she has been.  She must have gotten really lucky since it’s not every day a god has a child.

Order: Yeah.

Atmos: Payto.

Don’t say a word, Atmos.  That is something even I have no control over.  And Order, don’t worry, we have eternity to keep trying.

Order: *Hugs my arm and nuzzles into it*