Chapter 2375: Purchase of Exclusive Brush ⑥
The Victor Company headquarters that Cornelia and Kaito arrived at wasn’t exactly grand or imposing, but rather like a local government office, organized with all necessary functions in place, spotless down to every corner, and a beautiful building designed with practicality in mind.
There were corners decorated with paintings of various monsters, as well as spaces selling what seemed to be monster-related goods, making it obvious at a glance that this was the headquarters of a company dealing with monsters.
Naturally, since it was known that Kaito and Cornelia would be visiting today, the company president himself came out to welcome them and personally guided the two to the reception room.
[Once again, welcome to our Victor Company…… Since today’s discussion concerns special brushes for monsters, please note that our resident monster scholar will also be present.]
[Thank you…… I take it this would be the monster scholar?]
[Yes, the creation of specialized brushes involves professional work such as magic power appraisal.]
[I see.]
The president’s expression as he answered Kaito’s question clearly showed tension. Well, that was only natural. After all, for Victor Company, this guest was none other than the eldest daughter of the Sharon County, which oversaw the Sharon Company, a business far above Victor in standing. When the one being guided was such a person, and they had received repeated orders beforehand to “absolutely avoid any discourtesy”, of course he would be nervous.
Though the president of Victor Company was not a noble, the goods related to keeping monsters as pets, something only wealthy nobles could generally afford, meant he had frequent dealings with nobles, and he had already heard rumors of Kaito. Most of those stories sounded dubious and hard to believe, but the fact that Cornelia was clearly treating Kaito as a superior, even going so far as to issue strict orders in advance to show no disrespect, meant that he must be of higher standing than Cornelia herself, the eldest daughter of the Sharon County.
[This time, I understand the consultation is about a brush for Miyama Kaito-sama’s pets, is that correct?][Yes…… ah, by the way, can you also make brushes for dragon scales?]
[Of course. While only certain dragon species can be kept as pets, they are extremely popular among nobles, so we can also craft special brushes for scales and horns.]
[I see, that’s reassuring. Well then…… I’d like brushes made for a Special Individual-variant Behemoth, for a White Dragon, and for a Special Individual-variant Rainbow Dragon. Here are the hairs and scales I brought.]
[ [ [ ! ? ] ] ]
At Kaito’s words, the president, the monster scholar, and even Cornelia all showed expressions of shock. For the president and the scholar, it was the sheer level of the monsters Kaito had named…… For Cornelia, it was that last pet he mentioned…… Rainbow Dragon.
(……A Special Individual-variant Rainbow Dragon? Kaito-sama’s pets should just be the Special Individual-variant Behemoth and the White Dragon…… Wasn’t the Special Individual-variant Rainbow Dragon Sieglinde-sama’s pet? No, wait…… Kaito-sama and Sieglinde-sama are lovers, so it’s possible he’s making the request on her behalf……)
For a moment, Cornelia was taken aback by the unexpected words, but she quickly recalled Sieglinde’s identity and organized her thoughts. In front of her, Kaito placed the bottles containing hair and scales on the table.
[T- Then, if I may, I’ll begin the inspection…… P- Please excuse me.]
Looking nervous, the monster scholar put on a special magic tool, one in the shape of a pair of glasses, and first picked up Bellfreed’s hair.
[……This is an incredible amount of magic power. If this much is contained in just the hair, then the body itself must hold several times more than an adult Behemoth…… So this is how different a Special Individual huh. Ahh, my apologies…… yes, there’s more than enough magic power contained within. I believe there will be no problem in creating an exclusive brush.]
Though astonished by Bellfreed’s hair brimming with such overwhelming magic power, he then picked up the bottle containing Lindwurm’s scales and peered inside…… tilting his head in puzzlement.
[……White Dragon? These are White Dragon scales? Strange. They don’t match the traits of either a normal White Dragon or a Special Individual-variant……. They feel like scales I’ve never seen before.]
[Ah, errr, I think Lynn…… my White Dragon has undergone a special evolution due to her diet.]
[I see, that does happen. There are indeed cases in which long-term consumption of food infused with magic power causes mutation. However, those examples mostly involve weaker monsters that are easily influenced by the small amount of magic power in such food…… To induce a variant evolution in a monster on the level of a White Dragon, the food in question would need to be infused with truly extraordinary magic power. May I ask, just for reference, what kind of food it was?] ꞦáꞐỘ₿ȧ
[Errr, I’ve been feeding her one Fruit of the World Tree a day.]
[…………….]
Hearing Kaito’s words, the monster scholar froze with the expression of someone who had just heard something incomprehensible. The company president already looked as though he might faint with foam at his lips.
Of course, their reactions were understandable. The Fruit of the World Tree was an incomparably rare treasure, so much so that many wealthy individuals spent years, even decades, striving to obtain a single one. Beyond its staggering value, it wasn’t even something one could acquire with money; obtaining one was an almost impossible feat.
So to be told they were being fed to a pet, one per day, left them utterly dumbfounded. The monster scholar glanced nervously at Cornelia, who solemnly nodded.
Seeing that response, he understood that Kaito’s words were neither joke nor exaggeration. Trembling, yet forcing himself to speak, he managed:
[………………A- Ahhh…… I- I see……. If it’s a food infused with the magic power of a Fruit of the World Tree……. t- then such a mutation is certainly understandable.]
It felt as though all the common sense he had cultivated as a monster scholar had been shattered to pieces, but he reminded himself that his role was simply to determine whether there was enough magic power present to craft the brushes. As for everything else, he decided not to think too deeply about it.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Somehow, some nameless mob just got punched in the stomach out of nowhere……]
<White World Dragon Lindwurm>
A special dragon that has mutated and evolved to the point of being considered an entirely new type, after being fed Fruits of the World Tree every single day by her overly doting owner. Even while Kaito was away in his original world, he entrusted Siegfried with large amounts of Fruits of the World Tree to keep feeding her, allowing Lindwurm to absorb immense amounts of that magic power. She can use a Healing Breath, and her base magic power reserves are overwhelmingly vast.
On top of that, since recently she has also been eating Fruits of Nebula’s World Tree, she has gained the ability to use a buff-type Breath as well, making her something like a healer/buffer dragon.
In truth, her magic reserves have already reached the level where she can use Humanization Nagic. However, while Fafnir did advise that she should consume food rich in magic power, he never imagined she was being fed Fruits of the World Tree every single day. He expected her magic to increase over perhaps 10 years or so after the Six Kings Festival, before checking in on her again. As such, Lindwurm is still happily devouring fruits and continuing to grow. At this rate, her magic power reserves may soon reach the level where she could be officially recognized as a Demon.