Chapter 2:

An R&D Researcher Summoned to Another World as an Alchemist

Apparently The Cuisine in Another World Isn’t that Varied, Guess I’ll Develop It Myself


“Uoooogh!!” the voices of people echoed inside the room.

Standing in front of the cheering people, Mitsuran confusedly looked around. It was a pretty big room, lit up by torches. The walls were made of large blocks of stone, with some kind of patterns painted on it. Similar patterns could also be seen on the platform he was standing on, albeit in a circular shape. On the wall across from him, he could see a large wooden door with a black metal frame. Overall, it looked like a room under some kind of historical building.

Meanwhile, the occupants of said room were still cheering. All of them seemed to be wearing some sort of antique western clothing. Some of them looked like costumes that cosplayers might wear, while others looked too plain and simple, even worn out and dirty. However, what caught Mitsuran’s eye more than their clothes were their heads. A good portion of them had hair colors that were peculiar, to say the least. The orange ones were still understandable, but there were also bright red, deep purple, and even a gradation of green and yellow. Even if they were westerners or something, there was no way those were natural. Not to mention, some of them had animal ears, like cats or rabbits, that matched their hair colors. As he observed them more, Mitsuran also noticed that some of them also had unusual eye colors, such as pink and neon green.

Those people with colorful hairs weren’t the only weird ones in this room, Mitsuran himself was also strange. To be precise, it was his body. The last thing he remembered was falling from the station platform into the rail, just as the train arrived. By all rights, he should have been severely injured, if not outright dead. However, he had no injury at all. Even his suit was still in perfect condition. And why would he be standing in this room in front of those people? As he was looking for an explanation, a voice behind him interrupted his thought and the cheering of the crowd.

“Alright, alright, calm down, everyone,” an old man in a robe came forward while raising his arms, trying to appease everyone. “I’m sure this gentleman here has many questions right now. I will explain everything to him with the other summoners.”

Mitsuran had only realized that there were other people behind him on the platform. However, if it was a stage, they looked more like background characters and backstage crews. The one and only star was clearly him, standing an the center of the platform.

“Come on, everyone. Please leave this room in an orderly manner. We’ll hold a celebration later, but we need this room for now,” another gentleman with glasses and a similar robe helped the other old man usher the still-lively crowd outside. No matter the place, a cluster of people would always be noisy.

Mitsuran turned around to face the people behind him. Besides the two men that guided the people outside the room, there were two other people wearing similar robes. One of them was a large-framed man, and another was a female with a serious face. Other than them, there are three more individuals with flashier clothes.

Standing right behind him, now directly in front of him, was a woman wearing what could be described as lightweight armor. Her light orange hair rested on her shoulder plates, and a sword resting against her skirt. She was staring at Mitsuran without much of an expression and arms crossed in front of her chestplate. When their eyes met, Mitsuran noticed her subtly furrowing her brows, a hint of irritation on her face.

Off to the side stood another woman and a man. Both were also looking at Mitsuran, albeit with different expressions. The blond man in a leather tunic was staring in amazement. Among the people left in this room, his expression was the closest to the mass that had left. Meanwhile, the white-haired woman holding a staff beside him was smiling. It wasn’t a smile that came from joy, amusement, or any other emotion. Her mouth was simply forming a smile. Looking at her, Mitsuran also noticed she had long and pointy ears.

“Welcome, esteemed chosen, to Lyonn City of Lyondepain Kingdom,” One of the robed people finally spoke to Mitsuran. It was the man with glasses who had ushered the other people out.

“I'm sure you have many questions. We will try our best to explain everything. Here we have something called summoning, and we use it for, well, summoning things. It doesn’t always summon a person, but sometimes it does. By the way, do you remember what you were doing before you got here?”

“Uhh, I was falling in front of a train, but I don’t remember hitting the ground or getting hit by the train.”

“‘Train’ huh, never heard that before. Anyway, from all the people that had been summoned before, we concluded that the summoning is only summoning people who are about to die. Though we don’t know whether this principle also applies for animals or not—”

“Wait, so you’re telling me I died in that accident?” Mitsuran interrupted the man’s explanation.

“Well, I don’t know what a ‘train’ that you spoke of is, but from your description, the situation sounded pretty bad. Back to the main topic, as a Summoned, normally you will be the property and responsibility of ‘the summoner’. That would be our client here, Miss Stella, the adventurer,” he gestured his hand toward the woman in armor, giving an exposition that sounded like a memorized script.

“However, as per the law authorized by His Majesty King Francis Regulumagne of Lyondepain regarding a summoning of a sapient humanoid being, you are hereby also granted an autonomy as a citizen of Lyondepain. Congratulations,” he held his hand for a handshake.

“Thank you?” Mitsuran instinctively took the man’s hand. “Wait, no! That still leaves a lot of questions! What do you mean ‘property and responsibility of the summoner’? Do I become a slave or something? Can I really not go back?”

“Well, you see,” the robed man with the biggest body tried to calm Mitsuran down, taking over from his colleague. For a man of his size, his voice was surprisingly soft. “The summoning usually summons an item, sometimes an animal. It very rarely summons a person, although it still happens from time to time. So the general procedure is for the Summoned to be handed over to the summoner. But if the Summoned is a humanoid being, then they are to work for the summoner.

“Of course, the summoner must also provide for you. After all, you are summoned into this world with nothing but what was on your person. Getting a job and a place to stay right away is a good thing, I would say. And the summoner gets manpower, so it’s a win-win for both parties. As for your last question, our apologies, but we have no way to send you back. And as you have been told, you were about to die back there.”

“Okay, putting that aside, why would the summoner be that woman in armor? If this summoning is something magic, then I would have guessed that the summoner would surely be you people wearing robes like—”

“Hey, now,” the adventurer woman, Stella, interrupted Mitsuran’s question. “Are you gonna keep talking about the ins and outs of the summoning until morning? Not everyone has as much free time as you, you know. It’s not like you can go back to your world or anything, so just deal with it. If you don’t like it then just don’t join our party.”

“Miss Stella, that’s enough,” this time the robed lady interrupted Stella, before she turned to Mitsuran. “What Miss Stella said is true, we can’t return what has been summoned back to where they came from. Your best option is to join Miss Stella’s party as an alchemist. However, if you are unsatisfied with the arrangement, you are free to discuss it with Miss Stella and her party. After all, you are a free citizen.”

“Alchemist? Why would I be an alchemist?” Mitsuran asked as he got more stumped. A single word had just evoked a handful of questions in his head.

“Hm? Aren’t you one?” the man with glasses asked confusedly, “currently the summoning rune has a theme of alchemy, so we assumed that you’re an alchemist. Anyway, you can discuss your term with Miss Stella’s party in their room upstairs while waiting for the feast.”

“Feast? What feast?” For the first time since the robed people started giving him an exposition, a word caught Mitsuran’s interest in a good way.

“The feast for your arrival, of course.”

Gimblo
Author:
MyAnimeList iconMyAnimeList icon