I want to write down the timeline to help myself understand:

Kokuyou and his brother were living with his mentor who experimented small pox on these two and many other kids/his disciples. Mentor inoculated Kokuyou with a human strain and his brother from a livestock strain. Kokuyou's face was disfigured with poke marks and he almsot dies. His brother is fine. Mentor wants to then inoculate himself against small pox. Kokuyou switches his livestock strain with a human strain and he dies. Kokuyou's brother kills himself out of guilt. Kokuyou flees that place, is attacked by a bandit. Kokuyou does first aid on himself and seeks asylum in a village where Yo and her family too live. Yo and her family are kind to him. So he incoluates them with small pox to build immunity and teach them medical stuff. The bandit lives in the same village and is trying to turn the village incl. village chief agaist him. Kokuyou infects bandit with small pox to make him a "seed bed" to take samples to inoculate others (??) Small pox spreads in the village. Since the village was hostile to him and he was almost driven out he justs ups and leaves when small pox pandemic starts and does nothing as "revenge". Village chief somehow survives, has half baked idea of how the small pox "vaccination" works and infects a small child starting a new pandemic. village chief is in search of Kokuyou for revenge because he couldnt "cure" small pox with his shamanic techniques and was jealous of kokuyou's reputation and "good life". village chief is arrested for attack on the imperial family member and for starting the pandemic and dies.

corrections, additions welcome. Thanks.

I can just picture them dumping fertilizer in the forest and the town getting overrun by plants while they're away.

@holatuwol Perhaps he'll just be falling with style

If you cut down all the trees, the birds will die. How that is a clue for Nina is beyond me.

Sirene's ability to read the winds is most certainly a special talent, as is her ability to shoot so many arrows.

@T-Fontana Given their prior behavior, the first choice seems unlikely. Given the Expeditionary Force's assessment of the forestkin they saw, the second seems quite achievable.

The Meowgen clan made me a touch nervous.

And, yes, that ornate chest with the "family heirloom" almost certainly contains another relic of the first king. The exact number was mentioned in an earlier volume, I believe.

The real question is how pissed is Prince Richard going to be when he realizes that fate has aligned and selected the next King...

... and it isn't him.

Maybe this series is better read in one sitting. I liked the characters, but the poison stuff was a little silly.

@LightningLeaf Probably by the next volume...

(Am I secretly giddy that we get trains? Yes I am!)

Receptionist Nap Alliance

Dog chews.
Haruka-kun would approve.

P2 C8:

“I really like it when you smile, Boss,” Reko said.

bruh~
Asura, don't you dare touch that child

“I’m telling you to sit up straight. How much longer do you plan on exposing this pathetic display?”
Upon hearing that, King Arnia quickly sat up properly in his throne and Asura settled herself in his lap.

bruh

Then, she grabbed his face with both hands and tugged it towards herself.

bruh~
(she likes to tease)

“What kind of impression do you have of me? I have no interest in men. All I did was talk to him.”

...bi!Mother

“So what, we’re a comedic mercenary troupe?” Jyrki sighed, spreading his arms out in exasperation.

...meme

P3 C1:

Everyone hated the police in my previous life as well.

👀

me, reflecting on Mother sitting in da King's lap: ...bro, she gon' be ya sidewife
Yord Sara Christ, she gon' groom 'em 😔

the scene of Mother screaming for Marx like that was tricky to visualize 🤔
had to make it kinda funny to work 🤷🏿‍♂️

P3 C2:

“It would take me about ten seconds.” Lumia smiled wryly. “I’m not very good at lock picking.”
“Neither am I. It would take me about eight,” Marx said without opening his eyes.

ded

“I’m a huge fan of Jeanne’s, so I’m looking forward to the day you feel comfortable enough to share your stories about her.”

death flag

“Do you want...to lie down on me?” Iina asked a little excitedly.

bruh 🤭
she's definitely an interesting gag character

Marx had been doing push-ups next to the bed

hell yeah, son 💪🏿

...bruh, that's not funny
damn, Reko
. . . what da fuq
Asura, what'd you do to these kids? 😔

“Sorry ’bout that. Can’t seem to control it around you.”

it's her womanly charms 🤭

P3 C3:

“I’m hiring you for a job. I’ll have one of our young’uns monitor you. He’s a Great Hero candidate who can match me blow for blow in a match. But he’s much too happy-go-lucky, so train him up for me, will ya?”

bro, you do not wanna do that, bro
rethink this, bro
just say you wanna bang Asura, bro

Yeah, that’d be great.

~bruh

[new challenger]
...gurl, you dressed to da nines

P3 C4:
i feel like the author's pro death penalty for some reason

damn, y'all...

is homosexuality unheard of here?

tragic backstory!~ 🥳

P3 C5:

Half an hour after breakfast, the members of Moon Blossom assembled in front of the inn. They were completely decked out in their usual black robes, with daggers hanging from their belts.

*insert Western.mp3*

Her sexy looks made it hard to remain calm when she looked up at you with her teary eyes.

👀

“After that, she came to us and presented us with two choices: death or obedience. Only one thought entered my mind when I saw her divinity with my own two eyes. I wanted her to step on me.”

ded

“Is the [redacted] a group of people who hang out and have weekly game nights or something?”

what is this slander?

P3 C6:
*[redacted] tells all*
😳👀

If you want to talk to someone, then go find a priest!

mofo said "get therapy" 🤭

It’s because I peered into the abyss and spent time with true darkness.

that's the second time i'm reminded of the line "We live in the shadows to fight the shadows."

. . . Chucky

I’d forgotten everything and was living in such peace, and yet you brought me back to life.

domino effect meme:

a prodigy embarrasses her peers a small village becomes a hotspot for vacation a 3 year-old has an epiphany a recovering psychopath stops at a fork a bandit duo turn over a new leaf a knight tries something new an orphan and a slave get adopted a hero learns to appreciate life a 15 year-old gets her booty whipped an 11 year-old loses his virginity

P3 C7:
...well that's fucked

*sees illustration*
...EDGE!

@GeorgeMTO
Final book? I was just thinking how nice it was to see a protagonist grow up over so long and looking forward to more!

Sweets shop asking what everybody else is wondering. Hahaha. I wonder what big animal the chickens got into a scuffle with is?

@Jon-Mitchell said in Path of an S-Rank Adventurer Vol 1 Discussion:

Pricesea, I get the feeling that still waters run deep. She doesn't fit a trope/cliche and I find myself cheering for her. (add in that she isn't petty and seems to have actually befriended Sasha and more reasons why she's the best girl)

She's the best character in this volume, possibly including the MC.

Agreed that the MC showing growth and self-awareness was good. There's potential for him to become un-grimdark'd

Don't make the little girls angry.

I was both wrong and right about Wal. He isn't abdicating now but he does plan to do so.

Forcing Wellmy to be sickly sweet to Leo does sound like a fun direction to take the volume in. I'm into it.

Yep, new this would happen, so I bought credits yesterday so I could immediately place my order.

@jpwong said in The Bladesmith's Enchanted Weapons Vol. 5 Discussion:

@GeorgeMTO Would that make that one of those eyeball gemstones?

I don’t think so

The guys were dungeon diving last volume to investigate for the Count so they possibly met her during that

The gem was described as large so it’s probably bigger than a eye