Atelier Lydie & Suelle Part #53 - Chapter 8-6: Defending the Paintings

Part 53: Chapter 8-6: Defending the Paintings

Part 8-6: Defending the Paintings

The reputation of our atelier has improved again. I think maybe we’re ready to take the next exam…

A Familiar Routine

It’s been too long since I last heard you say that, Lydie! Let’s get going!

Mireille!

Interesting. Your reputation has grown quite a lot. I think you might be ready for the exam. So… What do you think? Do you want to try the next Promotion Test?

Yeah! Let us at it!

Gladly. Now then… Here you go! Your exam to reach C Rank is here!

Black monsters? The ones in the Paintings?

I haven’t seen them myself, so I can’t say for sure. You probably have a better idea than me. Everyone has been talking about being attacked by large black monsters when inside the paintings.

Hmm, just what are they? They seem to be able to appear anywhere inside the paintings.

Don’t ask me! For the safety of the other alchemists, though, we need you to do this!

The Ubiquitous, Enigmatic Monsters

A-Alright… then let’s get to it! But where should we start…?

Hmm… let’s start with the first Painting we investigated. The Spooky Forest.

Eh?! Why th… you know what, fine. Let’s go!

Hmm… Black monsters… I don’t see any yet.

I guess they’re much deeper in the Painting, then?

Well… we’ll see them when we see them.

We didn’t see any at all in the Eerie Trail… maybe we’ll find them in this section of the forest?

Yaaaaargh! I hope those black monsters show up soon, because I’d rather fight a thousand of them than even see another ghost in here!

At this rate, we probably won’t see them until we’re in the very deepest depths of the Spooky Forest. So…

Still no sign of them… do you think Mireille might have gotten false reports?

Look on the bright side, Sue… we don’t have much more of the forest left to explore. We’ll know sooner rather than later.

Here we are! The place where Lucia got cursed by those… hey!

Hmm, let’s see…

Sue, Firis! You can do the needful!

Hehe, gladly!

Right, that’s the first of them! I think this is all going to work out.

We’re experienced painting travelers, after all! Let’s move on to the next one!

Next up… the Luminous Ice Grotto!

Same as with the Spooky Forest… we made it through the entire first section of this Painting with none of those black monsters in sight.

So let’s see if we’ll find them in the deepest depths of this one.

Hehe, you mean where that dragon froze Lucia solid?

That happened not long after we first came here, remember? We’re talking much, much deeper…

Here, then. The clearing where we beat that dragon.

That’s the second one! Keep it up!

The Great Cascades… I bet we’ll find the black monsters in the fire dragon’s den!

You mean the Merimer Depths?

Merimer, whatever, let’s go!

Phew, that’s the third one. Just what do you think these monsters are?

Nope, no idea. They are just so black, aren’t they!

B-Bugs? Hey, don’t say that! Ugh, I’m starting to hate them now!

Hahaha, I’m sorry, Sue.

Seriously, you now I hate bugs. Shall we go and report back to Mireille?

That’s one option, but I bet there are others in the paintings we haven’t been to yet.

Good point. I guess either way is fine, then. But you know…

Yeah. Mireille always rewards us for going the extra mile. So let’s take care of the rest!

So next up is the Frozen Palace. The monsters will probably be in Neige’s Atelier… but it’ll be a huge pain navigating all the twists and turns!

Don’t say that just yet, Sue. Maybe another door will have opened up since we were first here.

Bingo!

That’s the fourth one! Where haven’t we been yet? Do you remember?

Well… I only see only one painting left in the gallery!

And we’ll probably find the black monsters in the captain’s final treasure vault!

Yes! Defeated it! I think we’ve been around all the Mysterious Paintings, too!

Me too. That should be enough, I’m sure. Let’s go and report to Mireille.

A New Rank and Venerable Painting

It’s time to announce my evaluation!

Flower stamp condition : Kill them all

Great work! This bumps both of you up to C Rank!

One thing, Mireille. About the exam this time. I think we need to be careful of the black monsters. We beat them and beat them and they just kept on coming back. I really didn’t like them.

I see. Thank you for your input, it’s appreciated. I will let everyone know to be careful. …Right then! It’s time for the fun part. The next painting is ready and waiting!

Ah…

Lydie? Are you hearing a voice from a painting again? It’s been a while since that happened…

Hahaha, I know. Mireille, what kind of painting is it this time?

It’s already hanging in the gallery. We’ll talk about it there.

The twins follow Mireille to the gallery, where they find…

Yes, yes, I know what you’re getting at! I know what this is! It’s the painting that was used to seal Falgior in the Legend of the Thunder God, isn’t it? So, after Falgior came back out into the world, the painting was left behind for us to use!

Wow! Sue, you’re on fire! So this is like, the granddaddy of the Mysterious Paintings!

Ah, sorry for cutting your excitement short, but that’s all totally wrong!

What?

We did find the painting Sue was talking about, but for some reason it was just a blank canvas. Perhaps it was because Falgior was inside it for so long… But restoration was impossible.

Aaaaah! I’m so embarrassed!

Don’t worry about it. This painting, “Etel Nepica”, is also legendary in many ways!

Our past? So we can see Sophie and Firis when they were younger?

Hey, me too! I’d love to see them back when they just started!

Hehe, I’m glad to see you so interested. You can start with the Restoration, twins.

Now there’s something else we haven’t heard in a long time! Now, Lydie…

Right with you, Sue!

Oof… Corneria sure took her cut of our loot money.

I guess it comes with the territory of being skilled alchemists who can make these stronger, higher-quality bombs. We’ll have to be more calculating about what we use out there.

You said it. Anyway, let’s start synthing the paints!