Chapter 48 - The Magic Tower Master Knows a Lot
Chapter 48 - The Magic Tower Master Knows a Lot
I had heard that the Magic Tower Master, Lunas Tia, was an eccentric, so I had steeled myself for it.
But I never imagined she would be this kind of eccentric.
The Magic Tower Master had no intention of letting go of my embrace, and Camilla was struggling to pry her off, no matter what.
"P-please let go, Master!"
"Just a little... let me smell a bit more."
Caught between the two women, I didn't know what to do, so I couldn't push the Magic Tower Master away forcefully, nor could I hold her.
Her fingers were still lightly gripping my shirt collar, and her emerald eyes shone bizarrely, as if they were scouring the very bottom of my soul.
After that whole spectacle, the elf Magic Tower Master calmed down to some extent and sat in her seat.
"Are you alright now, Master?"
"Hmm, yes, I'm fine. My apologies. I made a spectacle of myself."
It was a spectacle, alright.
Still, I didn't hate having a beautiful elf girl clinging to me, so I maintained a light smile and kept my expression in check.
Lunas Tia, the Magic Tower Master, stared straight at me and opened her mouth.
"Hmm, you, it seems you aren't aware of it yourself."
"I'm not sure what you mean."
I replied, trying hard to maintain my composure.
But Lunas Tia rested her chin on her hand, gave a languid smile, and drove the point home.
"From you, albeit in very trace amounts, a magical poison that seduces the opposite sex is constantly being emitted."
"What! From Edric!?"
"From... me?"
My heart sank at her words.
My skill, <The Bird That Drinks Poison>. Could it be that this skill had such a side effect?
The Magic Tower Master observed my flustered expression as if enjoying it, and added:
"Is the skill you possess perhaps of that variety? Something related to poison?"
"Th-that is..."
In this other world, information about one's own skill is never revealed to anyone except those closest to you, much like the Bankai from a certain manga.
I, too, had only revealed my skill to the Prince, Nataliya, and Azelia.
Seeing my panicked face, the Magic Tower Master said:
"Hmm, I suppose that's a yes."
"I-is that really true? Edric."
"......."
I couldn't answer.
What should I do... Should I tell the Magic Tower Master and the Princess about my skill?
But seeing my expression, Camilla, who was listening from the side, turned pale and asked:
"Master... if it's a magical poison that seduces the opposite sex... could it be that I'm being affected too?"
"C-Camilla-nim."
Oh... come to think of it, that's true!
I thought I might get arrested for using a skill on royalty without permission, and Camilla couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, biting her lip.
Lunas Tia smiled mischievously, as if she knew exactly what her disciple was thinking.
"Well, it's such a trace amount that it would be hard to feel it instinctively unless you were an elf like me."
"I-I see."
Camilla's expression brightened, as if relieved by the Magic Tower Master's words.
I also thought it was a relief that the suspicion of committing an accidental act of terrorism against royalty had vanished.
But...
"However, even for a human, if there is pure affection or if they have opened their heart, that poison would have acted very sweetly. Like a drug that you slowly get addicted to. Isn't that right, Camilla?"
"M-Master!"
Camilla's face turned as red as a ripe tomato.
Lunas Tia, the Magic Tower Master, laughed out loud, then whispered languidly toward me again.
"Thank you for letting me feel such exciting emotions after so long, Edric. Now, shall we get to the main point? My foolish disciple, what brings you to visit this old master?"
The Magic Tower Master's expression returned from that of a playful elf to that of a serious sage.
Camilla barely managed to compose herself and took a document out of her briefcase.
"I heard that the state of the forest has become critical and the elves' anger has reached a breaking point. Please lend us your wisdom to solve this problem, Master."
At those words, the playfulness vanished from the Magic Tower Master's expression in an instant.
The Magic Tower Master looked at Camilla and me and said:
"Yes, I expected it was that matter. Let me ask you first. Do you know what state the Elf Forest is in right now?"
"That's what I'm seeking your advice for, Master."
At Camilla's words, the Magic Tower Master suddenly held out her palm to us.
She held up two fingers in a 'V' shape and said coldly:
"Two years from now."
"...Two... years?"
"In two years, the Elheim forest will completely dry up and die."
"What!? How could that..."
Darkness clouded Camilla's expression at the Magic Tower Master's words.
Yes, this was the disaster I knew about.
In the original work, the Empire, having subdued the elves, continued to produce the Laurel Mahat Potion.
The problem was that after a year of doing so, the Elheim forest began to dry up and die.
The Elheim forest was also the forest that recharged the soil fertility for the western granary region.
With such a forest dying, a food shortage occurs in the west, and the Empire, already chaotic due to the dissolute Prince, falls into the worst possible situation.
I began to act as if I were hearing this for the first time.
"You mean it wasn't just a matter of a few trees dying?"
At my words, the Magic Tower Master laughed as if it were absurd.
She shone her emerald-glowing eyes on me and said:
"All life in the Elf Forest is an axis of a massive mana circulation. From there, humans are indiscriminately harvesting Laurel leaves that should be fertilizer for the forest. The cycle of circulation has been broken; did you think it would end with just a few trees dying?"
Of course I didn't think that.
But I had to ask because I was acting.
At my words, Camilla asked urgently.
"Then... if we leave it as it is, what will happen to the Elheim forest?"
"Since the cycle of circulation is broken... in two years, the ecosystem itself will collapse. If the forest dies, we elves will have no choice but to leave this place. And the countless farmlands in the west that were receiving nutrients from the Elheim forest will die along with it."
"Even the farmlands in the west!?"
"Yes, soon it will be difficult to find even a single grain of wheat in the west. If you hoard wheat at this opportunity, you could probably make a lot of money."
Camilla's face stiffened.
The departure of the elves, the core of the Empire's magical power, and the disappearance of wheat in the western granary meant that a terrible disaster was about to befall the Empire.
As the situation became more serious than she had imagined, Camilla said with a dark expression:
"To solve it... what must we do?"
"It's simple. Drive out all the human herb gatherers and never touch the Laurel leaves again. You just need to completely stop the production of the Mahat Potion. That is the only way to save the forest."
Yes, that is the most certain method.
But when I talked about this with Camilla, we talked about reducing the harvest, not completely stopping the production of the potion.
That was because there was a reason for it.
"But Master, that's impossible! There are tens of thousands of imperial citizens whose lives are being sustained through the Mahat Potion. Eliminating that potion is no different from killing them!"
The effect of the Mahat Potion is the recovery of internal diseases related to the pancreas.
In other words, it is a specific remedy for diseases like diabetes in reality, and in this fantasy world, almost all the people who get such diseases were the wealthy noble class who lacked nothing in terms of food, or rather, were affluent.
Giving up the medicine most in demand among such noble classes overnight.
It was a very difficult task. The Magic Tower Master replied coldly to Camilla's protest.
"It is unfortunate that human lives are dying, but to us, the forest is our soul itself. One cannot sell their soul to extend the lives of others. I have nothing more to say, so go back."
The conversation between the two ran parallel, and the atmosphere became grim.
I quietly stepped forward.
"From the perspective of the wise Magic Tower Master, may I dare to say a word?"
Lunas Tia's gaze fixed on me.
For the first time in a while, I began to speak with Edric's trademark smile, the snake smile, and squinted eyes.
"A sage always assumes the worst-case scenario and prepares to solve the problem. Someone as sharp as you, Master, could not have just stood by and watched the forest die. You must have been contemplating a 'substitute'."
"Hmm..."
The Magic Tower Master's pupils shook greatly.
I continued, as if driving a wedge.
"For example, a method to produce the efficacy of the Mahat Potion with ingredients other than Laurel leaves."
"Ho-ho..."
At my words, the Magic Tower Master wore an expression of admiration, and Camilla wore an expression of having been caught off guard.
Yes, the way to solve the current problem within a range that everyone can accept is to create a Mahat Potion with new ingredients.
In the original work, that potion is created after one year from now.
But if I, who know the core ingredients, help, I would be able to solve this problem much faster.
"I, too, have made my own preparations regarding that possibility, so I think I can be of help to your research, Master."
Camilla looked at me with an expression of astonishment.
She probably never dreamed that I had even made such preparations. The Magic Tower Master stared at me intently for a long time, then a fishy smile appeared on her lips.
"...You are a more interesting child than I imagined. Camilla, wait a moment. I have something to discuss closely with this child, just the two of us."
"With Edric, just the two of you?"
"It's not the kind of thing you're worrying about, so don't worry."
"I... I wasn't worried at all!"
The Magic Tower Master told me to follow her, and I told Camilla with my eyes that I would be back, then followed her.
She headed to a small solitary room on the floor above the room we first came out of.
The door closed, and it became a space for just the two of us, with only the faint magical light inside the ancient tree flowing.
"Master, is there something you are curious about regarding me?"
She looked at me carefully.
It seemed like she was looking at something much deeper and deeper than just my outward appearance.
Yes, as if she were looking at my soul.
After staring at me for a long time like that, the Magic Tower Master Lunas Tia suddenly said to me:
"You... you are not a person of this world, are you?"
What the hell is this all of a sudden!?
Coming in with such a hook all of a sudden!?
I felt my heart pounding as if it would burst, and answered as calmly as possible.
"I... I don't know what you are talking about."
I tried hard to maintain my composure, but at her next words, I had to feel my heart sink.
The Magic Tower Master murmured in a low voice with a gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.
"No need to play dumb. I have seen the term for people like you in ancient texts. You call yourselves this, apparently."
Her red lips moved slowly.
"A 『Possessor』."
"What!?"
At the top of the ancient tree in the Elf territory, my greatest secret was being exposed.