Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Polar Anomaly Ends Safely
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The Polar Anomaly had come to a peaceful end.
The pitch-black sky had regained its light, and everyone manning the defensive line let out a collective sigh of relief.
I climbed out of the Hell Tank.
I gazed at the glass vial I had been carrying so carefully in my pocket.
In the end, the moment to use it never came.
If anything, that was a relief.
“What’s that?”
Dalpi popped up behind me and asked.
“You scared me.”
“What’s so amazing about it that you’ve been carrying it around like it’s your lord and master?”
Ah, she doesn’t know.
No helping it. I’d explain just this once.
“Botulinum Toxin Type H.”
“B-Bo-what?”
Dalpi blinked.
Honestly, even I found the name hard to remember.
“This vial contains enough poison to easily kill ten million people.”
“Are you still half-asleep?”
Hng, it’s true.
I used magic to dig a pit and safely dispose of the vial.
Now, this dangerous toxic protein would never rear its head in this world again.
Botulinum Toxin Type H was known as the most potent poison in existence.
A mere 4kg of it could wipe out the entire 8 billion human population.
It prevents the release of acetylcholine, causing muscle paralysis or something like that.
According to Nob AI’s helpful explanation, no animals except donkeys have any resistance to it—and that includes demons.
Of course, its danger made it impossible to weaponize as a gas, and using it required direct mucosal administration, which was tricky.
But I never needed to use it anyway.
Maybe later I could modify it for medical use, turn it into Botox and sell it to doctors.
But it seemed like I’d never need it at all, so I destroyed it completely.
The production method was relatively simple in this world: put meat in a sealed container, use magic to create an environment where the bacteria could grow, then extract it.
In my original world, it was a bacterium that commonly appeared in canned goods before science advanced.
By the way, where did Nob AI learn about this stuff?
『ദ്ദി(•̀ ᗜ <)』
Anyway, gazing at the blue sky after so long really made it sink in that it was finally over.
No more hard camp ground—just the joy of sinking into a soft, fluffy bed.
My heart felt full to bursting.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Ah, Ian. How’s my sister doing?”
“She’s much better now.”
Haniel had withdrawn from the front lines two weeks ago.
Her condition simply wasn’t fit for battle anymore.
Even taking the family head exam, health comes first.
Forcing magic out of her frail body was bound to cause problems.
But it wasn’t anything serious.
In fact, I could confidently say this was the best situation for Haniel right now.
The reason? I’d found a way to improve her condition.
Earlier, I’d trained Nob AI using the data from Erphs.
『Based on what’s been learned so far, the mana circulating through her circuits is deviating and mutating for unknown reasons, damaging organ tissue and causing chronic inflammation. If we can forcibly suppress mana generation with medication, the symptoms should improve.』
It wasn’t a perfect cure, but it was a way to alleviate it.
Progress had been made on my sister’s previously hopeless illness.
Until now, fighting demons had kept me too busy to gather ingredients, but everything was over now.
I planned to head back to the estate and take care of various matters.
It was about time to prepare to leave the estate anyway.
“Little brother.”
“Big brother.”
“You really worked hard this time during the Polar Anomaly. We made it through safely thanks to you.”
Zephyr patted my shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“That’s not just flattery. It’s not just me—everyone thinks so.”
The people over there waved at me.
“Young Lord Ester! Thanks to you, we survived and made it back!”
“Thank you!!”
“If you ever come to Daebo Village, make sure to stop by the Red Pig Inn!! We’ll treat you to a feast of delicacies!!”
Countless people who had fought alongside me against the demons on the defensive line expressed their gratitude.
Normally, you’d say something humble like, “We fought together—what’s there to thank? Haha,” but when else would I get this kind of attention?
Honestly, I carried the team.
The voices blended into noise, so I couldn’t make out what they were saying after that.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
They say joy multiplies when shared, and seeing them happy made me happy too.
Of course, that’s that.
It felt like a year of my lifespan had been shaved off. I’d rather die than go through that hell again.
But from today on, the suffering ends and happiness begins.
By my side, I had the Hell Tank—even if its main gun was busted—with its 1.09 billion value, and Porto’s promised 10 million credits.
Once I sold the tank to Erphs, I’d be rich.
11 billion was too much to even spend.
I could pay Dalpi a salary for life, buy a house, live it up, do flips in the air, and still have enough left to slap Porto across the face!
It was an insane amount that even hotshot merchants or low nobles could barely touch, and now it was in my hands. It felt like a dream.
I’d graduated from life.
Thinking of the rosy future ahead, I couldn’t hold back my grin.
“Ahem.”
Ah, gotta manage my expression.
I got so excited I forgot Zephyr was right there.
“Anyway, little brother, I have something to tell you.”
Zephyr shared various bits of information.
The cause of Kenneth’s bizarre behavior still hadn’t been uncovered.
And his body still hadn’t been found.
Zephyr was the one whose perception of me had changed the most in this estate.
Call him materialistic, but his honesty was refreshing.
“I heard you’re leaving the estate.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll do fine. Let’s meet again if the chance arises.”
Was this lip service, or sincere?
Probably the latter.
He was materialistic enough to want to get even closer to me than now.
Before saying goodbye, I made one request of Zephyr.
"Do you really think that?"
"It's just a hunch, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. If you do this favor for me, I'll return one for you."
"Understood. From today, we'll monitor him thoroughly."
Leaving Zephyr with his tense expression, I boarded the Hell Tank.
"Good?"
"Of course. I thought I’d die suffocating for 15 years. Feels great to get it off my chest."
Vrooom—
I headed for Tristy Estate.
To prepare for saying goodbye to my damn hometown.
***
Insein's Curse was the cancer of Yustina Kingdom.
It spawned spawn points, turning livable land uninhabitable and birthing loathsome demons.
Every 20 years, when it entered the Polar Anomaly and mass-produced demons, massive casualties followed.
The king, who set the kingdom's overall direction, couldn’t help but be filled with worry during this time.
Yet Bimark Yustina’s face remained as radiant as the sun even after the Polar Anomaly ended.
He wasn’t some antisocial personality disorder case.
He was a benevolent ruler, wise and warm-hearted, embracing all.
Even in his advanced age, his eyes still sparkled with sharp intellect.
He now sat in the royal palace conference hall.
At his side stood the kingdom’s heavyweights, including the Red Tower Master and Blue Tower Master. This was the meeting to assess the Polar Anomaly’s damage and decide on aid.
The Blue Tower Master spoke.
“It was a terrorist act so meticulously planned that even Blue Tower mages couldn’t detect it. Allow me to apologize once more on this occasion. I’m sorry.”
During this Polar Anomaly, an incident had occurred in the kingdom’s eastern region.
It was confirmed as terrorism by the worst criminal group calling themselves Wonderland. It should have caused massive casualties, but a hero had intervened.
“Sir Ester Tristy saved the eastern kingdom. Without him, we’d have seen the worst casualties in history, and in the worst case, the entire east would have been overrun by demons.”
Ester Tristy.
Bimark knew the name.
How could he not?
After solving the Millennium Problem, he dismantled the Necronomicon’s barrier spell.
And now, he’d even detected the Polar Anomaly’s anomaly.
15 years old—accomplishments unbelievable for such a young age.
“Tsk tsk. Saying he only saved the east is such a narrow view, Blue Tower Master.”
The Red Tower Master clicked his tongue.
“May I say a word to Your Majesty?”
“Go ahead.”
He projected footage via a Record Orb.
It was packed with scenes of the Hell Tank rampaging on the battlefield, literally pulverizing demons.
“So that’s the rumored Hell Tank…”
“Its performance is utterly absurd.”
The footage was so spectacular they couldn’t look away.
To them, the Red Tower Master personally explained how the Hell Tank came to be.
“Haniel Tristy had that kind of talent?”
“Besides Ester Tristy and Etilla Badford, there was another prodigy in the magic world…”
The Red Tower Master said the Hell Tank’s designer was Haniel Tristy, just as Ester had told him.
But Bimark saw through the Red Tower Master’s intent.
“Erphs.”
“Yes.”
“Are you planning to lie before Us? Speak the truth.”
The Red Tower Master bowed his head.
“Someone capable of creating such an incredible invention is exceedingly rare even among geniuses, but Sir Ester Tristy said as much, and I merely relayed it, Your Majesty.”
Bimark stroked his white beard.
“Art.”
The king called his retainer.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Go to Tristy at once and convey to Ester Tristy that he is to enter the capital. If he refuses, add that I will go myself.”
“....”
Art was a man of forty, serving as head of the palace’s main bureau.
He wasn’t thrilled about being dispatched just to meet a 15-year-old boy.
But one look at Bimark’s face, and he realized how crucial this was.
‘Has His Majesty ever wanted someone this badly?’
He was shining like an explorer facing treasure for the first time.