Volume 4 Chapter 71 The Demon Farming Materia Medica
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I always knew you were a man without scruples. But this… I never thought you’d sink this low.”
Marie sighed. This was her professor’s office.
It was Darina—Karl’s wife and Marie’s fellow countrywoman—who’d brought us here from the academy courtyard. Marie had collapsed, and I was sporting a swollen cheek from the slap she’d given me.
”Well, well,” Darina said. “Larry’s never exactly been… restrained when it comes to women.”
”I can accept a certain amount of misbehavior, ya know,” Marie said. “But a male-bride? And on top of that, the Witch of the Black Forest—Hexa des Schwarzwalds?”
At that, even Darina seemed genuinely shocked. Her gaze toward me changed.
”So… did Major Sonya catch it too?”
No! That’s not what happened!
”I slept with Pamela after that Amazoness who might have been infected. No one else.”
”Pamela?” Darina asked.
Marie explained that Pamela was the elven slave I’d inherited from Henrietta, and Darina seemed to remember now.
”Now that you mention it,” Darina said, “Larry, you have a thing for sleeping with any race, don’t you?”
Huh? So I’ve got a special fetish?
”That’s right,” Marie said. “And now he’s even gone an’ got his hands on a virgin dwarf.”
”My, my—human, elf mage, Amazoness, and now dwarf,” Darina said. “You’ve completed the set, haven’t you?”
Was Darina always this much of an airhead? I’d always thought of her as serious and quiet, but… I guess that’s what happens when your husband is Karl.
”And there’s one more thing,” Marie said. “This fool is absolutely gonna get involved with the Androgynos Group next.”
”But the Androgynos Group has… you know… that thing attached, right?” Darina said. “Ew… wait, no way…”
I don’t know what she was imagining, but Darina’s face turned bright red.
”Darina, that’s enough,” Marie said. “More importantly, can ya please return that book now?”
Marie sighed, trying to cut off Darina before her airheaded side spiraled further.
”Ehh, but I’m curious what he’d do with the Androgynos Group…” Darina said.
The innocent, pure girl she used to be… I guess having s*x and giving birth to children changes a woman.
”You can ask your husband about that when he gets back,” Marie said.
When he gets back?
So Marie knew where we were going next, too. Well, I suppose secrecy isn’t possible within the academy, where there were Level 3s everywhere. Still, the Transfer Gate was supposed to be top secret—I’d have to be careful.
”Ugh, but it sounds interesting…” Darina said, looking dissatisfied.
Then:
”Fine,” Darina said. “But I’ll warn you—syphilis can be transmitted through kissing too, you know. So don’t do anything this time.”
She gave that advice to Marie, set down the book she’d brought, and stood up.
”Ever since she had that child,” Marie said, “she ain’t been the same.”
”Yeah.”
I could actually have a conversation with Marie now. Her anger seemed to have cooled.
”What’s this book?” I asked.
I picked up the book Darina had left behind. An old book, but printed on normal paper.
The title on the cover was faded, but I could tell it wasn’t written in the language they used around Schweilitz or the neighboring regions. Probably an ideographic script close to Chinese characters.
”A book from the late Professor Pauman’s collection,” Marie said.
”Huh. Come to think of it,” I said, “he was really into those Eastern magic tools from the continent, wasn’t he? Wasn’t he trying to build some weird magic ship?”
I flipped open the cover. The characters looked like seal script.
”Demon Farming Materia Medica?” I read.
”Ya can read that?” Marie asked.
I could only make out the title. Once I started flipping through the pages, I was completely lost. There were some kanji here and there that looked familiar, but not nearly enough to read.
”Just the title,” I said. “The rest is beyond me.”
I answered honestly, and she looked visibly disappointed.
”By the way…” Marie said. “Did ya notice I’ve changed?”
What was this, some needy girlfriend thing? Did she want me to compliment her on looking prettier or wearing nice clothes? How exhausting.
”Did you get a little older?” I asked.
It was a joke. A mild one.
”I’ll kill you,” Marie said.
Where did that sword come from?
She grabbed the blade that had been resting by the professor’s desk, drew it from its sheath, and swung it down at me without hesitation.
She was weak, so dodging was easy. Fortunately, the sword she’d swung lodged itself in the reception table and wouldn’t come out.
”I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” I said. “You’ve gotten really beautiful since I last saw you.”
”Shut up!” Marie shouted. “That ain’t what I was askin’!”
She yelled at me while trying to wrench the sword out of the table by moving it up and down. Hmm, a change I’ve noticed…
”Your clothes are nice,” I said. “Expensive, right?”
”Ya fool!” Marie shouted.
When she said that, the sword finally slipped free. She raised it to swing again.
Ugh, a change? What else…
”Oh, right,” I said. “Marie can read minds now.”
Yes. That was how she’d been able to audit all my romantic exploits since Izumo.
”That’s right,” Marie said.
Whether because I’d guessed correctly or just because, Marie seemed to calm down a little.
”Normally,” she said, “your level shouldn’t rise that much just from improving your mana flow through sparring…”
So I’d always assumed Marie’s growth ended at Level 2.
She didn’t need to reach Level 3 to read minds. She could make a perfectly good living as a Monomer Mana professor just by creating magic capacitors and alternators.
”Look at this,” she said. “What do you think?”
She gestured for me to sit on the three-seater sofa. When I did, Marie sat down right next to me, pressing her body against mine, flipping open the Demon Farming Materia Medica to a page with a drawing of an insect.
”It looks like a magic cricket,” I said.
When I answered, she beamed. This emotional whiplash was exhausting, but the book itself was intriguing.
Magic crickets are creatures rich in Trimer mana. When Librarian-system mages exhaust their mana and dry up, they’re known to roast the crickets to ash and eat them. I knew this even though I’d barely studied the basics of magecraft—they’re famously disgusting.
”So I took this book to Professor Elizabet,” Marie said.
Marie had taken the Demon Farming Materia Medica to the pharmaceutical laboratory in the Third Medical Ward—the same place where Karl worked. The professor there—Elizabet—wanted it immediately, but Marie said it might be mine and agreed to lend it instead. She’d apparently forgotten about it for over a year, and it had just been returned shortly after I was taken to Kure.
Even Professor Elizabet hadn’t been able to translate the entire thing.
But something had caught Marie’s interest. According to the book, it was possible to ingest Dimer mana orally.
Instead of having it injected into you through… sexual activity… you could replenish it by drinking a tea made from a herb called the magic licorice. And if you drank it together with a sclerotium called matsuhodo—a fungus that grows on rotting pine roots—you could hold onto excess mana without it leaking away.
Magic licorice is a magical herb magic crickets love to eat. It grows abundantly in Marie’s hometown, Barsheni Village. She had her old man send her some, and when she drank the tea, she felt her mana increase—the fireballs she could produce grew larger and hotter. But within half a day, it would leak away again.
”Hey…” I said. “When you drink that tea, does it make you feel… lewd?”
”What—what are ya thinkin’ about, ya pervert?” Marie said.
I asked teasingly, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Oh, so it does.
Then, not even a month later, a request came from the Arsenal Bureau. They wanted Marie to inspect a site across the Danube River (viewed from the Royal Capital side) where they were planning to set up multiple large alternators in a reservoir, replacing an existing facility that used a waterwheel to charge military-grade amber for civilian use.
”Wait—isn’t that the place where the mages who charged the amber got so pissed off they burned it down?” I asked.
I was shocked. Could civilians really have burned down a facility near the military’s Arsenal Bureau?
”No,” Marie said, “it was a facility that used a flume to power an alternator for small military boats.”
The facility to be transferred wasn’t for military use at all—it was for charging amber used in civil engineering golems for the canals. But what happened next was unexpected.
Apparently, she’d invited Romy along on the inspection too—along with some research students from her class. Romy, with Marie’s help, had created an innovative clock using the resonance that occurs when Monomer mana is passed through graphite. Thanks to that, we could now calculate longitude accurately during our voyages.
”That girl doesn’t make clocks herself, you know,” Marie said. “She leaves all her lectures to her assistant professors too.”
What a piece of work—though I couldn’t help but think of my younger self, getting chewed out by Assistant Professor Eida.
”She wasn’t doing anything,” Marie said, “so I dragged her along.”
If she wasn’t doing anything, that’s a problem.
The place Marie and the others visited turned out to be a small stream flowing through a red pine forest along the way to the Old Master’s village. There was a good valley for creating a dammed lake, and the location for the alternators was fine.
But that wasn’t all. They found a rotting red pine and asked the military personnel to dig up its roots—and there it was: a sclerotium larger than a human head. They brought it back and had Professor Elizabet examine it. She confirmed it was definitely matsuhodo. They scraped off the outer shell, mixed the white mass of fungal threads inside with magic licorice tea, and drank it. As the book said, their mana increased—and Marie had developed the ability to read minds.
”That’s amazing,” I said.
But according to Marie, if you didn’t keep drinking it, your mana would decline again.
She said this while pressing herself closer to me.
As she nuzzled against me, she explained that the book said Tetramer and higher-tier mana could be extracted directly from demonic herbs that hosted linear mana, and used as-is.
They didn’t need to be shaped into rings or branches.
According to the book, complex mana structures could only be created inside the body, and since Tetramer and Mana Pentamer were fundamentally made from Dimer, the only option was to store Dimer in the body and keep metabolism active.
I’d been hoping that if I could get my hands on cyclic Mana Pentamer, treating my syphilis might become easier. But the world wasn’t that kind.
”Oh, and Larry,” Marie said—”do you know what a Red Flame Ball is? The book said Tetramer or Mana Pentamer could be extracted from demonic herbs to create a core, but even Professor Elizabet didn’t know what that was.”
Huh?
I could have sworn I told that middle-aged man Helbert in Larland about the Red Flame Ball. And I told Major Sonya in Suez too. But the professors at the academy hadn’t been informed.
Even when we interrogated the Michea Empire diplomats in Palermo, they talked about Tetramer and Mana Pentamer, but never about demonic herbs. I’d assumed it would be impossible to mass-produce them—creating a meter-wide sphere from human-made Tetramer and Pentamer just wasn’t feasible. After all, even if they were powerful, the enemy’s catapult attacks could be handled with suicide drone strikes.
But if mana could be extracted from demonic herbs, that changed everything. At the very least, they could produce more Red Flame Balls than from human mana alone. If the number of catapults launching Red Flame Balls exceeded our supply of suicide drones, we’d be in serious trouble.
”And then Romy used the pine resin—” Marie started.
I interrupted her and asked to borrow writing supplies.
”What’s up?” Marie asked.
I explained to the startled Marie about the Red Flame Ball, what had happened in Palermo, and connected it to what we’d just discussed about mana extraction.
”There’s no guarantee The Boltechino won’t march on Schweilitz again,” I said, “and the Michea Empire might use Red Flame Balls to conquer the Inland Sea.”
This was a serious threat to Schweilitz, I said, so I’d write letters to the Fourth Sage and Major Sonya. When I finished explaining, Marie stood up, opened a drawer with a resigned look, and brought out paper and ink.
”Ya worry too much about these things,” Marie said.
Even as she said that, Marie was pouring something from a pot into teacups.
”Is that the mana-increasing tea?” I asked.
”Yep,” she said. “Want to try some?”
Just a little, I said—and she poured me a cup.
It had a pleasant aroma. When I sipped it, there was a faint sweetness.
”Larry…” Marie said. “Are ya really sick?”
”It’s a strong possibility,” I said.
She said “Hmm,” and sat down next to me again. Made writing a letter a bit awkward.
”So it’s not certain?” she asked.
”No,” I said. “Not yet.”
”I see,” Marie said, leaning her weight against me.
”But just in case, you know,” I said. “If it doesn’t get cured, I’ll go crazy.”
”It’s okay,” Marie said. “If that happens, we’ll have Darina take care of ya.”
Meaning… right here, right now? No, no, no—that’s not okay.
”Marie,” I said. “Do you always get like this when you drink mana-increasing tea?”
She downed her tea in one gulp, then turned her hazy eyes toward me.
”Mmm… dunno,” she slurred. “I wanted to properly go through yer history with women, and this is my fifth cup—way more than usual. Larry… ya can sleep with women outside, sleep with men outside, but when ya come back, yer with me, okay?”
Her speech was suddenly slurring. Was she… overdosing?
”Boobies,” Marie said.
She said that, pushing me down and grabbing at my chest.
”Nico…” she murmured. “Let’s have sex.”
She was confusing me with Nico? But that “let’s have sex” was so cute.
She tried to force a kiss on me, but I managed to stop her.
”What?” she said. “Ya won’t even let me kiss ya? What gives?”
She said “What gives?” and started taking off her clothes.
”You’re a professor, dammit,” I said. “Pull yourself together.”
I had no choice. When she was down to her underwear, I extracted her mana, drained her consciousness, and laid her down on the sofa. That was close.
Close call, but Marie still had beautiful skin even after having a child. Her boobs had gotten bigger too.
I hadn’t done anything in a while.
Might as well take a look at Marie’s chest for the first time in forever.
I shifted her underwear aside and exposed her nipples. Just looking wasn’t enough—I tweaked them with my fingers. They were already hard.
The first time I touched these breasts was back at her family home, I think. They’d gotten considerably bigger since then.
Alright—I shifted her underwear further down and gave them a little squeeze. Ooh, they’d gotten soft.
Sucking on her nipples probably wouldn’t transmit anything, right?
I leaned in and took her right nipple into my mouth, massaging her left breast as I did. Marie still showed no signs of waking.
Then I switched to the left nipple.
There was something oddly exciting about fondling an unconscious woman’s body.
Notes:
• Marie – Marie, an authoritative Kiridal professor and former Weasels leader, manages the protagonist’s home in the Capital. The sharp-tongued, pregnant mother of Anjelica and niece of Isabella, she balances her academic work at the Arsenal Bureau with a rustic demeanor. Though she loves her husband Kenze, she harbors unresolved abandonment issues regarding Larry, often frustrated by his disappearances.
• Mar – A battle‑hardened veteran, clad in worn armor, uses door panels as shields and captures enemy crossbows; Larry’s comrade who teases him about his sister‑in‑law’s pampering, known as Martin to his companion Edmond.
• Darina – A beautiful, city-polished 13-year-old Barsheni native, Darina is a troubled Medical Magic student with strong Complex-type mana. A childhood acquaintance of the protagonist and Marie, she serves as Marie’s devoted maid, housemate, and co-caregiver for the infant. Married to Professor Karl, she also gathers spider silk for the Capital and acts as an associate who informs Marie on sensitive matters.
• Karl – Professor Karl Krepelin, head of the Third Medical Magic Laboratory at Schweilitz Academy, is a sharp-witted, handsome, yet naive professor. Pragmatic and exhausted, he leads the medical relief team with a blunt, cynical demeanor. While he provides Larry with academic guidance and informal intelligence on political movements, his talkative nature earns the protagonist’s spite. He is married to Darina.
• Larry – Larry is a dark-haired, weary 16-year-old reincarnated Second Lieutenant, cynical Acting Captain of the Izumo, and Associate Professor. A pragmatic, sardonic narrator and Mana user, he founded the Fee Grand Principality, carries Philip IV’s sword, and seeks to protect his companions. Haunted by past trauma and complicated relationships, he struggles with moral conflicts while awaiting his next assignment.
• Witch of the Black Forest – Hexa Death Schwarzwalds, the runt‑like commander of the Golem Battalion, is first labeled ‘runt’ by Larry. Known as Hexa Death Schwarzwalds, he appears at the chapter’s end, leading golems and gaining wary respect from his troops while Larry watches with cautious curiosity.
• Hexa des Schwarzwalds – Hexa des Schwarzwalds, also known as Hexa, is the Witch of the Black Forest—a powerful mage and healer with high authority, wielding strong magic and leading the Golem Battalion. She is sadistic in her golem use and has a past connection to Larry.
• Hexa – Hexa des Schwarzwalds, also known as Hexa, is the Witch of the Black Forest—a powerful mage and healer with high authority, wielding strong magic and leading the Golem Battalion. She is sadistic in her golem use and has a past connection to Larry.
• Major – A commanding military officer with a sadistic inclination toward interrogation. She orchestrates the sessions and utilizes Telepathy to coordinate with her subordinates.
• Sonya – A Magic Armored Division Major with past experience commanding Larry, she is a ruthless pragmatist and strategist who commands Golems and the Black Ship while teaching Mana control. Her cautious, contingency-based military planning repeatedly endangers Larry’s life.
• Pamela – Pamela is a blunt, sharp-tongued older mage who balances archaic speech with a rural Southern American dialect. Petite and telepathic, this scholarly mentor to the protagonist and Earnest acts as an affectionate, no-nonsense romantic partner to Larry. Whether offering unsentimental strategic assessments or assisting with rituals, she pairs old-fashioned warmth with a confident, authoritative presence.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Henrietta – Earnest’s fourth wife, Henrietta, is a muscular, busty orphan, mage, and Royal Magic Academy researcher who served as a royal guard until her assassination during the Haritz Rebellion. Now parasitizing Larry’s daughter—identified by Pamela via scent—her telepathic link persists. Larry must contact her inside the Mother Mushroom to test his observation device and considers summoning her via their bond.
• Schweilitz – This kingdom, featuring towering academy spires and a full military arsenal of Royal Army troops, forces the protagonist to return. Ruled by a king involved in a hostage exchange, this political power holds a captive feared for execution. It also ordered the confirmation of Princess Rosa’s corpse, driving a scheme that the Queen has caught onto.
• Pauman – An arrogant, deceased Academy professor and former Magic Tool Lab head killed in the Haritz Rebellion. Known for his exploitative nature and controversial history with female students, he mentored, conditioned, and sexually used Katarina. His past magic ship project contrasts with the protagonist’s, and his course load was inherited by Larry, Eida, and the protagonist after his death.
• Ho – Ho is the family name of Oliver, a 17-year-old deck crew member and comrade of the protagonist. As a member of the military unit that defended Garao Village, the young man was ultimately murdered during a night watch, slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Izumo – The iron-hulled primary vessel, named and personified as a character herself, who loyally carries the protagonist and his crew throughout their journey.
• Mana – A non-commissioned officer and liaison who previously had their mana drained by Larry.
• Romy – An Academy assistant professor from Baron Wilson’s territory, this sea-loving crew member arrived in Cain on a black ship. Though a struggling troublemaker, she built a graphite timepiece that caught the Dwarves’ attention. Saved from slavery by Larry, she shares a deep bond with him and works with Marie. She is frequently discussed despite her absence in recent events.
• Eida – A 28-year-old former Magic Academy Assistant Professor from Ulm Village with short dark brown hair. A mother of two now living in Larland with her husband, she maintains a sharp, lecturing manner and a tough-love approach. Formerly responsible for managing finances and research, she harbors deep resentment toward Katarina while continuing to push others with her signature sarcasm and disciplinary style.
• Master – An old master who serves as a mentor to the protagonist. He maintains a calm and pragmatic demeanor.
• Helbert – Lt. Col. Helbert Ougen‑Sigmund is a short, stout, middle-aged Schweinitz strategist, Chief of Staff, and Royal Army politician in the Intelligence Bureau. A stern father to Robert and protective advisor to the protagonist, he delivers critical briefings, manipulates Larland’s politics, reports shipyard issues, coordinates with Marshal Yan, and seeks reinforcements from Sergei.
• Larland – A fallen kingdom, marked by its royal lineage of eight distinct princesses, has reemerged as a ruthless invading force. Driven by the loss of their homeland, these royal heirs now lead an aggressive campaign that threatens the entire region, turning former neighbors into desperate targets as they fight to reclaim power.
• Palermo – A target location where a battle and reparations negotiation took place.
• Boltechino – An entity that departed from Rus, this explorer traveled to discover a continent that became the birthplace of shipping trade.
• Fourth Sage – The Fourth Sage of Schweilitz is a cool-headed, elderly high-ranking official and enigmatic advisor who oversees the protagonist’s life, issues lethal bureaucratic orders, and controls Larry’s housing. They believe diplomacy relies on military might. Aloof yet manipulative, they are actually a reincarnator from Japan who preceded the protagonist, referenced by writing from their past life.
• Fourth – An enigmatic and cunning figure also known as the Fourth Sage. This mysterious entity actively seeks advice from Larry while simultaneously insisting on Larry’s crucial participation in the upcoming New Continent mission.
• Sage – An elderly instructor and mentor who acts as a schemer behind the scenes. He is responsible for recommending Larry for various academic and safety-related positions.
• Nico – A petite, silver-haired Besanburg lady-in-waiting from Strock Village, this Kiridal merchant’s granddaughter and Earnest’s former associate now sports a flashy, exaggerated gyaru style. A survivor of a Marc assassination, she is Larry’s close confidante, pregnant partner, and mother to Angelica. She maintains a unique dynamic with Larry, famously delivering three slaps upon his every return.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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