GalaxyTL
I pulled myself together. Next up, the lab! For both blacksmithing and decorations, to make magic tools, you need magic-imbued stones called magic stones. While they’re easy to obtain, apparently, to enchant them with complex magic, you need special knowledge and skills.
And that’s where the lab comes in. And what’s amazing about this lab is that they’ve repeatedly succeeded in enchanting magic stones with never-before-seen magic! Really, I wonder what’s going on inside their heads… There were such incredibly capable people back when I was an office worker too.
The head of this lab must be incredibly capable. I wonder what they’re like?
“This is the lab. Don’t go near the experimental labs. They could explode at any moment.”
“Whoa!”
Ah, so they can explode! Labs never disappoint. …How terrifying! I tightened my grip on Gil-san’s jacket. I sensed him chuckling. I felt like I was being teased. Humph.
To my surprise, it was quiet inside. I’d heard clanging sounds from outside. The soundproofing was amazing. Apparently, emergency alarms could be heard throughout the building, so everyone would be aware of any accidents. Well, that made sense. It would be a disaster if they didn’t notice something happening.
“This is Mikolasch’s lab, the head of the lab.”
Gil-san stopped in front of a door and said this, knocking on it. He then introduced himself, and a slightly weak voice replied, “Come in.” Maybe they were exhausted from being engrossed in research?
“H-Hey, Gil. Oh? C-Could this child be…?”
“Yeah, this is Meg. I thought I’d introduce her. Are we interrupting?”
“N-No. I-I was just about to take a break…”
We entered the room, and the owner of the room, who must have been sitting at his desk in the back, turned around to greet us. He was a somewhat sickly pale man with unkempt golden hair, styled in a short cut, and his speech was a bit… stuttery.
But I could tell right away that he was a kind, sincere person. Because I’m sure he wasn’t planning on taking a break. There was a stack of documents on his desk, and he was in the middle of writing something. I’d imagined researchers to have messy desks, but everything else was organized, and it was hard to imagine him just leaving his work like that. Ah, what a considerate person.
“Um, I’m Meg. Nice to meetchu, Mikowashu…-shan… Sowwy.”
“D-Don’t worry about it. I-If my name’s hard to say… j-just call me… La-san.”
“Thank you, La-shan!”
Ugh, I can’t speak properly! But I’m glad he’s a kind person.
“Lasch is a genius. Almost all the new magic tools developed here were created by him.”
“Wow, La-shan is amazing.”
Hmm? He’s amazing, but… didn’t he just call him Lasch? He called him Mikolasch at first, why the sudden change?
“N-No… A-All I can do… i-is… create… Th-The testing… M-Miko’s the one who does that…”
“Well, Miko’s got the guts. But he doesn’t have Lasch’s brains. Everyone has their role.”
“I-I’m glad… you think so…”
Hm? Hmm? Miko…? Mikolasch…? I’m getting confused…
“Hmm, I need to explain about Mikolasch. Listen closely.”
“O-Okay. I-I’m sure… y-you’ll explain it… b-better than me…”
An explanation about Mikolasch-san… I wondered what was going on. So, I stared at Gil-san, waiting for the explanation.
“Mikolasch is a Golden Crow and Jade Rabbit demi-human, an extremely rare species. They switch personalities between day and night.”
“Switch…?”
In short, there were two souls in Mikolasch-san’s body. It seemed like two people were sharing one body.
Lasch-san, the Golden Crow, was active from sunrise to sunset, and Miko-san, the Jade Rabbit, took over from sunset to sunrise. Right now, it was Lasch-san, the blonde man with black eyes. And Miko-san was a silver-haired woman with crimson eyes. Apparently, their appearance would gradually change as the time for the switch approached, and then control would transfer to the other personality. How mysterious.
“W-We… use… the same body… but… we’re… completely different people. L-Like family… a-a precious… ex-existence…”
It sounded incredible. I asked if it wasn’t inconvenient, but he said that he’d been like this since birth, so he couldn’t even imagine living any other way. Is that so?
Apparently, they both remembered what happened when they weren’t in control. But they wouldn’t know if it happened when they were asleep inside the body. Hmm, how strange.
Since they took turns sleeping when they weren’t in control, they didn’t need as much sleep as other races. They said their body didn’t require as much sleep as other demi-humans, but for someone who loves sleeping like me, it seemed more like a waste than a luxury.
Hmm? But then, their lives weren’t that different from ours. Because, right? Half the day active, half the day asleep. A perfectly normal cycle. It just seemed like they were always active from an outsider’s perspective.
I figured there were many more fascinating races in this world. And for now, Mikolasch-san was number one in terms of how strange they were! Maybe it’s like… a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder that became a species.
“Ah… but it’s probably best… if you avoid Miko… Meg.”
“Th-That… might be… for the best… I-It could be… t-too stimulating… for a young child…”
Um, I wonder what that meant? Too stimulating? It didn’t sound like she was a bad person…
“Th-This body… h-has… both… s-sexual characteristics… so… M-Miko… she… likes to… play around…”
“…Lasch, you don’t have to say it.”
“S-Sorry… b-but… I th-thought… it would be… b-best to… e-explain…”
“Well… She won’t understand, so I’ll let it slide.”
…Sorry, I understood perfectly.
Eeeeh!? So they have both male and female parts!? It’s that… thing, right!? The one certain hardcore otaku get excited about!? Meaning, Miko-san could… play around with both men and women as much as she wants!?
This innocent little girl with a dirty mind was panicking internally, but she maintained a smile on the outside!
Wow, I’m shocked!!