Chapter 37
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: The Source of the Plague (1)
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"Damn, there's no time to rest."
Right after finishing the first day's preliminaries, I headed straight to the slums with the knights Princess Riya had sent.
Honestly, I was exhausted, but time was of the essence.
To come up with proper countermeasures, I needed to clearly understand what kind of power the man called the Plague Disaster possessed.
"If I give the signal, you must run no matter what."
Just before arriving at the slums, I said this to the Knight Commander walking beside me.
But he shook his head as if it were absurd.
"I can't do that. Her Highness the Princess ordered me to protect you, Count Banheart, no matter what."
"No, please follow my words. I'll explain to Her Highness myself."
"But..."
"If you truly think my life is in danger, you can help then. But at least when I give the signal, please fall back. I'd appreciate it."
"Ah, understood."
When I spoke firmly, the Knight Commander finally relented.
Since the enemy was the Plague Disaster, he posed no great threat to me at least.
But not to others. Even knights who had reached a high realm of strength couldn't withstand disease.
[At my level, I can beat diseases too.]
'You're Divine Blood too.'
[Divine Blood derives from the realm I achieved in the first place?]
His smug look was annoying, but I had nothing to say. He wasn't wrong.
'By the way, even the imperial capital has slums.'
I thought a place like the imperial capital Dráig might not have any.
But the brighter the light, the darker the shadows.
Dráig's slums felt all the more miserable in contrast to the splendor of the imperial palace.
"Hmm, we've shown you an unsightly sight."
The Knight Commander muttered, embarrassed by the wretched scene of the slums.
"No, it's fine. More importantly, let's start looking."
"A doctor in black clothes, right?"
"Yes. He wears a goblin mask. I don't know if it's his real name, but he goes by Edward."
"Understood."
The Knight Commander nodded silently and directed the other knights.
'According to Mone, the kids follow him well.'
While the knights gathered information separately, I moved while recalling Mone's words.
'Without proper items, it's hard to track locations with settings.'
Nor was it easy to move by checking people's settings. With such scant information, I had no choice but to wander the slums blindly.
That's when I spotted a woman walking hand-in-hand with a child.
I quickly approached her.
"Excuse me, one question. Do you know a doctor who wears a goblin mask?"
"Goblin mask... You mean Mr. Edward?"
"Yes, that's right. Do you know where he lives?"
"Um, well..."
The woman glanced at my attire and hesitated.
I gave her a friendly smile and placed a gold coin in her hand.
"Mr. Edward lives in the collapsed bell tower if you go straight east from here."
She took the gold coin and immediately smiled, spilling everything she knew without hesitation.
'East? Ah, there it is.'
Fortunately, the bell tower was visible from here.
I quickly gathered the knights, had them secure the perimeter, and approached the bell tower.
The area around the bell tower was quiet.
I slowly opened the broken wooden door, revealing a dark interior. It was hard to imagine anyone living there.
"Is anyone home?"
My voice echoed through the bell tower, and only then did I sense a presence.
"A guest has arrived."
A doctor in black clothes descended from the darkness like the Grim Reaper himself.
He stared at me silently, then continued in a calm tone.
"Sorry, but I can't entertain guests today. I'm a bit busy."
He slowly turned his back.
It was essentially a dismissal.
"How dare he!"
Naturally, the Knight Commander was outraged and stepped forward. It was far too rude for dealing with a noble.
"Commander, calm down."
"But how dare a mere doctor act like that!"
I stopped the Knight Commander as he tried to advance and stared at Edward's back.
To check his settings.
'My god.'
And I couldn't help but be shocked.
Princess Riya was right.
The Plague Disaster, Edward, possessed a special ability.
An outrageous one at that.
"...A mere doctor?"
At the Knight Commander's shout, the Plague Disaster—Edward Williams—slowly turned around.
"I believe I told you."
In the dim darkness, his face was covered by a smiling goblin mask.
But the moment his palm brushed it, the mask turned into an angry goblin face.
"I'm very busy."
Shaaaaaa!
"W-What...!"
Dense green smoke poured from Edward's robes.
I urgently shouted at the shocked Knight Commander.
"Get out of the bell tower now!"
"A-Alright!"
The Knight Commander gestured frantically to the other knights and fled outside.
"I can't let that happen. I don't want to be known yet."
The smoke chased the knights like a living creature.
But just before it reached them.
"Hm?"
I charged at Edward and pierced his head with my sword.
'As expected, it doesn't work!'
His body dissolved completely into smoke upon being pierced, then reformed a short distance away.
"...Even though the smoke touched you, how are you fine?"
"Who knows. Beats me."
As written in the synopsis, his disease was incurable.
But as expected, Divine Blood perfectly nullified his power.
"..."
Edward silently stared at me, then turned into smoke.
I thought he might chase the knights, but the smoke seeped into the cracked floor.
'What is he planning?'
I tensed my body, waiting for his next move, but nothing happened.
[He seems to have run away?]
'What?'
Even if his power didn't work on me, he just fled like this?
'Anyway, that's a relief. If we'd fought here, the knights and even the slums would have suffered massive damage.'
I let out a sigh of relief and reviewed Edward's settings from earlier.
There was no way to pursue him now anyway. Better to check the info I'd obtained.
==
[Edward Williams]
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Role in Story: Angel of the Slums (Fake), First Disaster (Villain)
Abilities: Pharmacology Knowledge (Disease/Poison Specialization), Medical Skill (Disease Specialization), Disaster Transformation [Plague]
Notes: A doctor called the Angel of the Slums. Has lived in the slums for a long time and enjoys great prestige.
But his true identity is the first disaster, 'Plague Disaster.'
==
As expected, Edward was a disaster.
Overall, his settings reminded me of Riya from the mountains, but there was one difference.
The ability where he turned into smoke earlier.
Disaster Transformation.
==
[Disaster Transformation [Plague]]
Can turn the body into smoke, and anyone touched by the smoke can be infected with diseases or poisons created by the user.
Maximum usage time: 30 minutes.
Proportional to usage time, the user falls into a deep sleep for up to two days.
==
'No words for this.'
If he suddenly turned into smoke and attacked, how many could dodge it?
And just touching it is lethal—truly a cheat ability.
'I have Divine Blood, so no worries for me...'
With Divine Blood, blocking Edward's attacks was no issue.
The problem was, as I'd just experienced, I had no way to damage him either.
'That's why I need that sword.'
The sword held by the statue of the founding emperor of the Asktalin Empire, Raiban Asktalin—the Human Sword Genova.
Now I had a solid reason to obtain it.
"C-Count Banheart! Are you alright?"
Once the smoke vanished and things quieted, the Knight Commander returned with a frightened face.
Even a sturdy knight like him couldn't help but feel fear at what had just happened.
Well, anyone would if a human suddenly turned into smoke.
"I'm fine. He seems to have fled, so let's search this bell tower first."
"A-As expected. No wonder Her Highness told us to follow you, Count."
Unlike before, the Knight Commander looked at me with respect and obeyed orders crisply.
It was a bit burdensome, but at least he listened well, so no harm done.
"Count! There's something here!"
After searching the bell tower for a few hours.
One knight brought me a bundle stuffed with items.
"Ah, candy. Sorry."
The bundle contained candies of beautiful colors.
The knight checked inside, thought it nothing special, and scratched his head.
"No. Good work."
"Pardon?"
"This is what I was looking for."
It was the exact candy Mone had received from Edward.
Of course, it wasn't ordinary candy.
==
[Crystal of Disease]
A crystal created by the Plague Disaster, Edward Williams.
Contains a special contagious disease made using all of Edward's knowledge.
The main culprit in first spreading the plague in the imperial capital, Dráig.
Upon ingestion, a three-day incubation period follows, then onset, leading to death within two days.
==
This candy was the precursor to the disaster.
* * *
I returned to the lodgings late in the evening.
As soon as I came back after vanishing right after the matches, Count Ribina greeted me with a slightly displeased face.
"Count Banheart, you won the matches easily, but wouldn't it be better to rest a bit?"
"I had some business to attend to."
"Business? What business do you have in the Empire..."
"It was a request from Her Highness the Princess."
"...Her Highness?"
Mentioning Riya Asktalin made even Count Ribina hesitate to speak carelessly, groaning.
"Urgh, fine. But you haven't fully passed the preliminaries yet. Remember you have two more matches on the final day."
"I'll rest fully tomorrow anyway."
"...Understood. Sorry to hold you when you're tired."
As our escort, it was natural for him to worry about me wandering off alone.
After finishing with Count Ribina, I returned to my room, where an angry Mone awaited.
"Young Master! After the matches, you should rest and recover your strength quietly! Where did you go this time?!"
"I'll rest tomorrow by strolling the capital with you."
"You shouldn't stroll—you need to rest in the lodgings!"
"Oh, by the way, there's a famous imperial omurice place nearby."
"...Pardon?"
Mone loves omurice.
Sure enough, she reacted even mid-scolding.
"I'll treat you tomorrow. How about it? It'd be nice to shop together after so long."
"Uh, um."
Innocent Mone fell for it easily.
"Hm, hmm. Well, eating out with Young Master after so long sounds good. And eating delicious food is part of resting..."
Having rationalized it, Mone nodded obediently.
"Got it, Young Master. Then I need to prepare tomorrow's clothes!"
Her face flushed red just thinking about tomorrow's omurice.
'...Sorry, Mone.'
I sent a silent apology to Mone as she happily straightened my bedding and bid me goodnight.
* * *
The next day.
As promised, Mone and I dressed up and headed out to tour the imperial capital.
"Young Master."
Mone, who had followed me beaming, froze 30 minutes later.
"...This doesn't look like an omurice place."
She paled at the sight of scholars in pristine white robes and numerous mages ahead.
And at the very front stood the Princess, Riya Asktalin.