Ovisland.
Just hearing the name conjures up images of a pastoral landscape.
But beneath that peaceful name lay a dark shadow.
In reality, it was more like a massive laboratory where all life forms, except for the ruling race, were subjected to experimentation and modification.
The ruling race of this world is called the “Alchemists.”
They are characterized by their translucent skin, through which internal organs and veins faintly show.
They are beings beyond mere scientists or mages, possessing mysterious abilities that allow them to reconstruct and transform life itself without equal.
The Alchemists have honed their technology of modification and enhancement over thousands of years.
In the process, they created and destroyed countless races and life forms.
For them, life was merely an experimental material, and the concept of ethics did not exist in their vocabulary.
And.
Beings like Merino Ula, the sheep person, were one of the Alchemists’ finest creations.
The powder that falls when their horns are filed down.
It possessed the power to make anything edible, and their wool contained a seasoning-like ability to enhance various flavors.
Aside from that, they had no other abilities.
Their combat abilities were also underdeveloped.
They had modified the race to be extremely weak, fearing rebellion.
Anyway.
Like most races other than the Alchemists, the status of sheep people in Ovisland was that of livestock.
No respect as a life form.
Just a precious but simple resource, solving the food shortage of the Alchemists.
*
Merino placed her hand on her horn.
And at the moment she applied force.
Pop!
With a light and cheerful sound.
The tip of the horn detached.
The cut surface was smooth and clean.
“If I file my horn, the powder falls! And this powder makes anything edible!”
Merino pressed a stone against the severed horn.
She began to rub the horn with the stone.
“The powder is stuck to the stone now. If we wait a bit…”
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—
Out of nowhere, the powder scattered, and blue smoke rose up.
The smoke that had soared quickly sank and enveloped the stone, being sucked into it in an instant.
“Now it’s edible! Since all the blue smoke has been absorbed, it’s safe to eat!”
Merino proudly presented the stone to me, her expression beaming.
Then, out of nowhere, she whipped the stone back into her arms and said, “Ah! But you can’t eat it just yet! Although it has become edible, eating it like this would taste terrible!”
She plucked a small amount of the fluffy wool growing on her shoulder.
“This is the key! If you absorb my wool, it’ll taste delicious!”
Rubbing rub rub.
This time, Merino began to dip the stone in her wool.
Just like before, the wool transformed into smoke and was quickly sucked into the stone.
This time, it was red smoke instead of blue.
“If it’s a flavor I’ve tasted, I can replicate it! Right now, it has a curry flavor!”
Merino again extended the stone.
The stone looked unchanged.
Claiming it tastes like curry, its color remained the same gray.
“Try it!”
“······.”
Should I trust that?
As I hesitated for a moment, the Centauress watching beside us stepped forward and took the stone.
[Explorer, I will taste it first. It could be dangerous.]
“…Okay. If anything feels off, spit it out immediately.”
[Yes, understood.]
The Centauress wore a serious expression.
And boldly put the stone into her mouth.
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
The Centauress chewed the stone roughly.
[Hmm…!?]
Her eyes suddenly widened.
She looked shocked.
[This is…!]
The Centauress trembled, raising her arms high and shouting.
[Mating… No, it’s delicious!!!]
【Mysticism】─🤔
[I can’t believe it! This stone is incredibly delicious! How does such flavor come from a rock?]
The Centauress rambled about how the stone she just ate was heavenly.
She even asked Merino for another one.
It didn’t seem like a lie.
She had no reason to deceive me.
If that’s the case, it must really be good…
I turned my head back to Merino.
“Wow.”
“…Can I have one too?”
“Sure thing!”
*
Crunch. Crunch crunch.
I popped the stone Merino had prepared into my mouth and chewed.
It felt like eating curry-flavored snacks.
It wasn’t particularly addictive.
But as the Centauress said, it was one of the best-tasting things I’d ever had.
“It’s really delicious.”
“Yum yum. It’s good!”
Merino looked at me with a satisfied expression while chewing on the stone herself.
She seemed happy that I liked the taste.
【Mysticism】─🧐
“Maybe it’s because the abilities are only granted to the horn and wool, so there’s no danger level detected. If you remove them all, she’d be like an ordinary person.”
For some reason, it seems like the horn and wool are treated as appendages rather than body parts connected to Merino.
“Even with that ability, she’s still F-Class. Though she has a mysterious and overpowered ability, she’s weak enough that a single hit could take her down. Even Pururu here could easily defeat her.”
In fact.
I answered like that because it was hard to gauge with how unclear rating assessments can be.
Unlike the healing ability, which has numerous combat applications, abilities like hers weren’t something I had ever seen or heard of, making it hard to determine a grade.
Unlike healing abilities, which could be sensed as dangerous, hers didn’t register even in my instincts.
“So, Merino, eating this won’t cause any bad effects, right?”
“Not at all!”
“Nutritiously, is there any problem?”
“On the contrary, it’s rich in nutrients!”
“Glad to hear it. But what happens if you use up all that horn? Can you no longer use the ability?”
“The horn or wool will continue to grow as long as you don’t remove them entirely.”
As long as she doesn’t pluck everything out at once, Merino added that she could use that ability indefinitely.
“If you remove everything, then it won’t grow back?”
“Exactly. So if you accidentally remove both the horn and the wool, you’ll be disposed of immediately!”
“…Huh? Disposed of?”
“Merino.”
I felt there was more to this story and needed to check in detail.
*
Merino Ula’s ability.
I learned about its origins.
To summarize the story.
The sheep people like Merino were livestock in Ovisland.
The horn, which allows anything to be eaten, and acts as an antidote.
The fur, which adds flavor to food.
All these abilities were said to have been granted by the Alchemists who modified the sheep people.
In other words.
Merino was not a naturally born race but an artificial race created for the desires of a particular species.
‘So it was that the horn and wool were modified body parts and thus not fully connected by nerves, which is why danger level couldn’t be measured…’
Anyway.
As I heard the story in more detail.
It turns out the sheep people had no particular aversion to their life as livestock.
Merino, who was here, also said, “I want to go back to the world I used to live in! There are many people waiting for the food I make!”
She seemed very satisfied with her life.
Perhaps this was due to the thorough brainwashing she had undergone since birth.
They weren’t kept in a cage or anything.
Since they were free to roam, they seemed to think they were living freely.
As I looked at Merino with a complex expression, she looked up at me with eager eyes and asked.
“Can I go back?”
“…”
I pondered for a moment.
What should I do about Merino?
That thought didn’t last long.
Well, having a cook can be nice.
For now, I decided not to send her back but keep her by my side.
Even if she was satisfied with her life as livestock, I couldn’t feel right about sending her back.
“Merino, how about we make a contract… no, a deal?”
“A deal? What kind of deal?”
“I have the power to send you back to your original world. But I can’t use that power for free.”
“Right! There’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
“You know that well. So, if you prepare our meals for a certain period, I’ll send you back to your original world in return.”
“Sounds good! But until when do I need to prepare meals?”
Should I stick with a year or two?
While I thought it over, I soon made up my mind and replied.
“Until I become the ruler of the labyrinth.”
If I became the ruler and Merino didn’t feel happy being with us, thinking her life here wasn’t as good as in Ovisland, I would respect that choice if she still wanted to return home.
Of course, I didn’t expect she’d make that choice.
Merino couldn’t help but enjoy her life here.
And rightly so.
She had said she was beaten whenever she got the chance in Ovisland.
A life filled with the fear of being disposed of.
And a life of countless abuses.
When comparing such a life to simply living in peace here, she would come to realize that her life as livestock wasn’t normal.
By the way, I didn’t consider the case of failing to become the ruler.
“How long does it take to become a ruler?”
“I’m not sure exactly how long it will take. But I’ll let you know once I succeed.”
“Wow.”
Anyway.
With that, I now had a dedicated cook!
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