Chapter 9
Ragora the Mandragora

Upon hearing Luka's question, Alexander's thoughts paused.

How do they gently wake up a Mandragora? Do they just go there and poke the plant? Or do they have to knock down on the dirt as if it was a door? Pulling her out of the ground by force is out of the question, considering what will happen next, and they certainly didn't want to be seen as people with bad intentions.

"Hey, Ms. Monster, are you awake?" As Alexander thought about the next course of his actions, Luka simply walked up to the plant and tried to call her out. The boy's voice immediately brought Alexander's focus on him as he frowned.

"Luka, what the-" Just as Alexander was chastising him for trying to wake up a Mandragora without the necessary precautions in the case she begins to scream, he stopped talking when he saw the massive sprout twitching.

Alexander immediately covered his ears with his hands in panic while the Mandragora dug herself out of the spot she was sleeping in, revealing a tiny dark-skinned woman with large roots for hair.

"Huh? What do you want?" The Mandragora asked with a particularly annoyed voice, although it was still a mystery whether it was because Luka woke her up, or she was awakened by passing travelers.

"Well…" Luka was just about to say something before he paused, realizing that he didn't know what to ask her. He turned around and asked Alexander: "Alex, what should we ask?"

Seeing that there didn't seem any immediate danger of the Mandragora unleashing a shriek to knock them down, Alexander slowly pulled down his hands from his ears and approached the two of them.

Alexander took a deep breath before he asked: "I'm sorry for waking you up, but I was just curious about why you would decide to sleep in the middle of the road."

"What?" The Mandragora raised a curious eyebrow before she looked at her surroundings, as if she didn't even realize where she was sleeping. And in fact, she actually didn't, judging by her reaction.

"I was in the middle of the road? I didn't know that."

"You… didn't?" Luka asked with confusion, not understanding how she wouldn't know where she is.

The Mandragora simply shrugged. "We are born when semen and blood mixes in the dirt, it's not like we can just decide where to sleep. And besides, we sleep for most of our lives, we don't really bother with what happens outside unless it happens to us."

"Semen and blood…? Did someone get attacked here recently?" Luka followed up with another question, and again, the Mandragora looked as clueless as ever.

"Probably, but if you are referring to my birth in particular, that had been ages ago, so it should be irrelevant now. So, what else do you need?"

"Well, I was just thinking…" Alexander started to talk as he gently clasped his hands together. "No offense, but in your current place, you could disturb more than a few curious people who will pass through here, so I was thinking if you'd like for us to move you to a better place, like at the side of the road."

"Huh?" The Mandragora was taken aback by Alexander's suggestion. "You really will?"

"It's not really a problem. So, I take that as a yes?"

The Mandragora nodded in confirmation. "I'll take you up on your offer."

"Alright." Alexander replied before he followed up with these words: "We will start digging at the side of the road. When we are done, we'll pull you out and carry you there. Ok?"

"Sure." The Mandragora smiled at the two humans' generosity as they looked at each other and nodded.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

Alexander and Luka have chosen a spot in the grass between the road and the nearby forest, and started to use their tools to dig through the dirt, with Alexander using his spade-tipped spear forged with a very tough dragon bone, Tempest, and Luka helping by removing the meddling rocks barehanded.

Quickly enough, they made a hole that looked to be big enough for the Mandragora to lie in, at least according to their imaginary measurements.

"You know, it's kind of hilarious that my first use of this spear was to dig a hole." Alexander commented as he pulled his spear upwards and wiped the dirt off the spade-shaped edge with his hand.

"When was the last time you used it, then?" Luka curiously asked, remembering Alexander saying that he had used a weapon when they began their first spar together in the previous evening.

"I was being taught to use a sword by my dad because I was curious about wielding one. I was a kid back then… Although, shortly after that, my father disappeared, and until now, I didn't have any opportunity to actually use a weapon since I've always been in a protected environment. After so much time, I don't even remember how to use a sword, so you can say I'm back to the starting point."

"Hmm." Luka simply hummed in understanding as he returned to the problem on hand. "Well, let's bring the monster here."

Alexander nodded in agreement, and then they returned back to the Mandragora, who was watching everything unfolding.

"So, I assume that the hole is ready?" The Mandragora asked, and Luka nodded. "Yes. We're ready to put you there now."

"Great! I was getting annoyed when morons came here to wake me up in such a rude manner just because they were curious."

"I can see that." Alexander spoke in an empathizing tone, knowing how that exactly feels like, while both him and Luka helped the Mandragora pull her whole body out of the ground. After that, they quickly put her in the large hole they made for her tiny body, and just before they could bury her, Alexander asked: "By the way, do you want some water?"

"Oh, I want it, yes!" The Mandragora was strangely excited about drinking some water, but as Alexander pulled a bottle out of his bag, the Mandragora patted around her undeveloped naked chest and told him. "Please bathe me in."

"Huh?" Alexander and Luka were surprised at her words. "You don't want to drink it?"

"Of course I want to." The Mandragora replied as she eased up her excitement into simple happiness. "My whole body is a root, so it's fine whether I drink it from my mouth or get showered with it. For now, just sprinkle some water on me, and then bury me in."

Alexander hesitated for a second before he shrugged and poured his water on the top of the monster's head, which made her feel very relaxed, judging by her peaceful expression.

"Ah, that hits the spot. It was getting a bit too sunny for my liking, I was afraid that my leaves would get ruined in the next few days. You humans are really kind!"

"It's not a problem." Luka replied to her praise with a satisfied smile on his face, and when Alexander was done, they started to bury her again.

"Seriously, you two are very kind!" The Mandragora told them with a joyous expression as dirt filled up the spot around her feet. "By the way, I don't think I introduced myself yet. My name is Ragora, nice to meet you!"

"I'm Luka, and he's Alexander." Luka returned the introduction by telling her of his and his friend's names.

"Good luck on your journey, you two." As the dirt reached her chest, not willing to take too much time from her two benefactors, she spoke her last words. "I hope we can meet again in the future, goodbye!"

"Bye." Alexander and Luka saluted her at the same time as her head was finally buried in the soil, leaving only the sprout that was poking out of her head hanging out of the dirt. They gently pressed the loose dirt under the massive sprout, so that the land would have an uniform shape, and then they got back up on their feet.

"Well, we're done here." Alexander commented as he proudly stood over his work.

Meanwhile, Luka smiled at the sight of the Mandragora's sprout staying in the middle of nature, and said: "You know, it feels nice doing something like this. It feels like we're a step closer to coexistence."

"As if this kind of stuff does actually contribute to anything."

Suddenly, the familiar voice of Alice came from behind them, catching them off guard.

"AHH!" "FUCK!" Both of the boys yelped in surprise and turned around, seeing Alice staring at them with an apathetic expression while holding an open book in her hands. She sighed at the sight and shook her head. "Anyway, if you're done wasting time, let's resume walking to Iliasburg."

"Where did you go?" Upon recovering from his surprise, Luka curiously asked her that question, considering that she disappeared without making a sound before they realized that she left them alone.

"I just don't want monsters to see me. Even if there is the slightest chance of a monster appearing, I'll immediately leave." Alice casually replied as she slithered back to the main road, followed by Alexander and Luka.

Upon hearing her words, Alexander couldn't help but get reminded of his talk with Alice after they warded off the Slugs. She said that she didn't have any intention to help them, except for the case when she decided to train Luka back to shape, but Alexander didn't think that she would go so far, entirely disappearing as soon as a monster came out.

It still raised the question of why she would go that far, though. Was she a celebrity? A criminal? Or maybe she is doing it because she doesn't want to be associated with them?

"Why though?" Luka voiced out Alexander's thoughts for the upteenth time, and Alice immediately ended the argument with the five infamous words.

"It's none of your business."

"Rude…" Luka commented at Alice's aloof behavior, but he didn't insist. It's not like he could, anyway.

"Anyway, I expected that the idiot here would help the monster, but I didn't think you would be the one to suggest talking with the Mandragora. I thought you were the calculative one in this group between the two of you." While looking at Alexander, Alice commented in relation to the fact that Alexander suggested to help the Mandragora by listening to her first of all.

"He has a kind heart, you know." Luka was the one to reply to Alice's curious words instead of Alexander. "When he had nothing else to do, he would spend his time helping everyone in the village. He may be… very blunt sometimes, but that's just how he normally is. Other than that, he is very kind to people, strangers or not."

In reaction to that, Alexander didn't comment, but if one looked carefully on his face, he would notice a hint of shyness flashing on his face. Meanwhile, a few seconds of silence passed after Luka finished talking before he frowned a bit in realization. "By the way, what's with the 'idiot'? That's rude, you know!"

"You've walked up to a Mandragora and woke her up without taking any precaution. What if she let out a shriek all of a sudden? You both would be paralyzed and then she could have you two for all the time she wants. If that wasn't idiotic, I don't know what it is." Alice retorted to Luka, and in an attempt to defend himself, Luka replied back.

"But why would she even do that? It's not like we were trying to harm her." Luka was still holding the idea that no monster is inherently evil, but he failed to take in consideration one particular detail.

"You also weren't trying to actively harm those Slugs you met last night, but that didn't stop them from coming all the way to the camp just to hunt you two down. Not everyone is kind to strangers like you two, and there are just as many monsters that see humans just as food, nothing else.

That Mandragora was just one of the monsters who saw people for how they acted, not for who they were. However, that could be the result of being holed up in that spot for the majority of her lifespan, so she didn't have the chance to meet many people in her life. If you really want to achieve coexistence, you have to aim way higher than that, but of course, you will never reach that point with the feeble power you have in your small arms."

At that second retort from Alice, Luka couldn't help but remain silent, unable to come up with a following retort against Alice's words. Seeing this, Alexander couldn't help but butt in the conversation, trying to pacify everyone.

"Well, what happened has already happened, so there is no need to worry anymore about these 'what ifs'. Although, Luka, maybe you should warn me before pulling a stunt like that, okay?"

"Sorry…" Luka apologized, but Alexander merely patted his back and told him. "Don't apologize, all I want from you is to not make the same mistake again. Okay? Try to take in consideration nearby people who may be harmed by your choices before doing anything."

Luka nodded in understanding while Alexander turned towards Alice and asked her: "Anyway, Alice, where did you find that book?" And just after he ended the conversation, Alexander changed subject to the open book that the Lamia was still holding in her hands.

"I got it from home." Alice casually replied. "It's a book that illustrates the different kinds of cultures and particularities of each individual place in this world."

"Sounds useful." Alexander walked near her to see what she was reading, and fortunately in this case, she was willing to share the contents of the book considering that she wasn't pulling it away from his sight.

"Oh, you're reading what's in Iliasburg. I've been there a lot of times for stuff, so I can tell you about it if you want." Alexander pointed out as he read the title of the page Alice had opened the book onto.

"Is that so?" Alice glanced with interest at the young man and asked her question. "In that case, do you know which is the best place to eat?"

"Best place to eat…" Alexander mused out in a thoughtful manner. "Well, there are a few cheap and good restaurants, such as the Angel Tavern, or the Good Hero's Inn. Although, I'd say that the best place to eat is at the market, because there is a large variety of food and snacks you can pick there at a very low price. Still, you have to be careful guessing which stall has good food and which one is bad."

"Hmm." Alice mused out with an interested tone before she noticed something in the page she was previously reading. "What about Sutherland Inn?"

"Sutherland Inn?" Alexander repeated with a tone expressing unfamiliarity with that name.

"According to this book, it's a very famous place in Iliasburg due to their 'Happiness Honey-filled' Ama-Ama Dango, which attracted gourmets from all around the globe. Every opinion in regards to this delicious snack was 100% positive."

"..." Alexander blankly stared in the void, trying to remember if he heard about such a thing, but ultimately he didn't. "I don't think I've ever heard of something like that, are you sure the names are correct?"

"You can check it yourself." Alice replied as she handed over the book to Alexander, who looked through the section of the page related to Sutherland Inn. However, there didn't seem to be any mistake.

"That's weird, I would have heard of it if it was so famous." Alexander muttered as he checked twice through the paragraphs, but still not finding any error. "Maybe it's outdated?"

"As if I would bring an outdated-" Just as Alice scoffed at such an idea, Alexander immediately interrupted her with a surprised tone as he looked through the cover of the book, with the words 'World Traveler's guide book' written in gold.

"This book is 700 years old!" Alexander shouted as he noticed the date this book was written in on the corner of the cover.

"What?" Luka was taken aback from Alexander's comment and looked over to the spot that Alexander was pointing to.

It was made in the 867th year of the Johannes Calendar, and in the present time, it was the 1455th year. The book was almost 700 years old, it's basically a relic!

"Outdated, my ass. This can't even be called outdated information, this is literally a history book!" Alexander commented with a tone filled with stupor. "Where did you get this book, in a museum? That 'Sutherland Inn' may as well have collapsed by now, maybe even replaced with something else."

Alice frowned at his pessimistic words and replied: "What are you even saying? It's just some centuries, it's not like an epoch passed. There's no way that such a famous place will fail after these years.

"Woman, I don't know much about lifespan between monsters, but as far as I know, it will take a miracle from the Goddess just to bring your lifespan up to 70 years, not to talk about 700 years." Alexander took a deep breath before he continued talking, while scratching the back of his head in an awkward manner.

"Look, Alice, I'm not trying to sound like I have something against you, I'm just trying to be realistic here. Unfortunately, there is no way the inn could be standing up in the present times, just give it up. There are over 15 generations between the time this book was written and now, the very least you could expect is for the receipt to have stopped existing."

Alice merely narrowed her eyes without saying a word, although Alexander could see that she was clearly disappointed at finding this out. After a few seconds, he simply handed her over the book and commented: "By the way, you should change that book with the latest version. You should find one in the Traveling Guild for cheap."

The Lamia didn't give a reply as she merely shoved the World Traveler's guide book in the particularly small bag she was carrying with herself. She was clearly not in the mood for further chat, but to try to easen her up, Alexander commented at the side.

"The Sutherland Inn may not be there anymore, but there is still good food in Iliasburg, so you can try those instead of this… Ama-Ama Dango." The last words came out of Alexander's mouth in an awkward tone, clearly showing distaste on just uttering those words.

"I know, let's just go there." Alice spoke in an apathetic tone, trying to conceal her disappointment from her two traveling companions, who said nothing else as they silently walked forward.

Except for the Mandragora of before and the Slugs who assaulted them in the night, they shouldn't meet any other monster in the way as they most likely were dealt by the fellow travelers who passed through here before them.

According to the world map and some imaginary calculation, Alexander guessed that they would reach Iliasburg by this late afternoon or early evening.