Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Source of the Plague (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Plasticity has been achieved.]
[Pharmacology Knowledge (Disease/Poison Specialization) has been added to the settings.]
“……I did it.”
A silver light descended, forming a sentence that was no longer unfamiliar.
“I did it! I did it!”
I had acquired abilities through setting additions countless times up to now.
Silver Star Sword, Divine Blood, and even Blood Magic.
Each one had come with incredibly tricky conditions, and Divine Blood had only been possible thanks to some miraculous luck.
[……Aren’t you happier about this than when you learned Divine Blood?]
Gransesia said in a disinterested tone.
But I didn’t care about that at all.
This plasticity achievement had been a time of real agony for me.
==
[Pharmacology Knowledge (Disease/Poison Specialization)]
Required Plasticity
1. Contract 10 or more types of diseases or ingest poisons.
2. Master treatments for 50 or more types of poisons and diseases.
==
The first one had been simple enough. I just had to ask Riya for a variety of poisons and drink them.
With Divine Blood, there was nothing to fear.
The problem was the second one.
‘I picked out only the simplest diseases and memorized them…….’
Even so, it had taken two days. And that was while napping for less than two hours a day.
On top of that, in the afternoons, I had to participate in the Founding Festival and compete…… Honestly, it felt like I’d fall asleep the moment I closed my eyes.
[Go back and rest up quick. The first day of the preliminaries was easy thanks to a lucky draw, but today’s the semifinals, right?]
Fortunately, the first day of the preliminaries had gone well with a favorable matchup.
A guy who had just reached mid-tier Sword Expert and a 4th Circle mage, was it?
Both seemed to have gotten lucky advancing to the preliminaries. They were probably the weakest among those who made it.
“By the way, what’s with you worrying about me all of a sudden?”
[……Have you completely forgotten I’m a priestess? I’ve got at least this much compassion.]
I scratched my cheek at Gransesia’s unexpectedly serious words.
Honestly, Gransesia and I had more of a bad-friend vibe, but there was definitely some affection there now.
‘Now I just need to find out where that guy is…….’
I greeted the knights standing guard and left the princess’s palace.
It might look highly suspicious to anyone watching, but there was no helping it.
Achieving plasticity caused those silver pillars of light to drop, so I needed a secluded spot, and this was the fastest place to get Riya’s help.
The princess had said that no one would pay attention to whatever happened in her palace.
[That girl has definitely buried one or two people here.]
‘Don’t say scary stuff. It feels too real.’
As we bantered idly like that while strolling through the palace grounds, I sensed footsteps approaching from behind.
“Who are you?”
I turned to see a platinum-haired man standing there—the same hair as Riya.
I recognized him at a glance.
“I greet Your Highness, the sun of the empire, the Crown Prince.”
“I asked who you are.”
He spoke in a haughty tone despite my show of respect.
It was as if it didn’t matter who I said I was.
‘He’s not even as good as the princess.’
Frankly, the crown prince came across as lacking in every way compared to Riya. I couldn’t understand how this guy was the empire’s crown prince.
“Count Clay Banheart of the Talua Kingdom.”
“Right, Clay Banheart…… What?”
He had been nodding arrogantly, but his body froze stiff.
“What did you just say? Clay…… Clay…… Banheart? You?”
“Yes, that’s me, Clay Banheart…….”
“H-Hiiik!”
Like he was having some kind of fit, the prince stumbled back a couple of steps before falling flat on his butt.
‘What the?’
At that bizarre reaction, I narrowed my eyes and checked the crown prince’s settings. Just in case there was a reason listed for this behavior.
“S-Sorry! I didn’t know! If I’d realized you were Clay Banheart, I never would have approached you like this! P-Please, don’t tell Riya!”
‘……Hoo.’
I could roughly guess why he was acting this way.
Not just from his words, but because there was an unexpected phrase in his special notes.
「The culprit who poisoned Princess Riya Asktalin. It was a poison that would have killed any normal human, but Riya Asktalin awakened her powerful dragon blood and survived. However, it became the trigger for her to awaken as a calamity.」
‘So this guy was the mastermind behind the seventh calamity.’
Originally, he was someone who would have died when Riya, awakened as a calamity, destroyed the empire.
[It’s surprising that girl left him alive. She couldn’t possibly not know.]
And there was one more interesting point.
“A-Anyway, I’ll be going now. Please keep it a secret from Riya that we met…….”
“Your Highness.”
“W-What!”
“I’ll keep it secret, so may I ask one question?”
I smiled as I spoke, and the terrified prince’s face flushed red.
My tone must have sounded awfully impertinent, angering him.
“H-How dare you take such a rude attitude toward me, the crown prince of the empire……!”
“Take a look at this.”
I slowly removed the glove from my right hand and raised my palm so the crown prince could see it clearly.
“This is the mark the princess personally bestowed upon me.”
“Gasp!”
The crown prince’s eyes widened in shock, his mouth gaping open in disbelief.
“I-I thought you two weren’t just acquaintances…… But to that extent…….”
“She said this black dragon represents her authority. So, I have just one question.”
The crown prince no longer directed any anger at me.
No, he couldn’t.
His anger was that fragile.
“Then I’ll assume it’s permitted and ask.”
To the frozen prince, I calmly opened my mouth.
“Where did you obtain the poison you used to drug the princess?”
“……!”
“Oh, wrong question.”
I flashed a friendly smile at him, now rigid as a statue.
“Where is Edward Williams right now?”
* * *
Thinking about it, it was simple.
How could Edward, living in the slums, have created a plague?
Of course, he had talent. As the Plague Disaster, he must have had abilities.
But it was an achievement impossible without funds.
And it was strange that Edward’s whereabouts still hadn’t been found.
I’d thought maybe someone was covering for him, but who would have guessed it was the crown prince.
[But isn’t that crown prince insane? What was he thinking, supporting a plague?]
‘He didn’t know.’
[He didn’t know? That?]
‘The poison the crown prince received from Edward was just the one he used to try killing Riya.’
[Then there was no need to keep in contact with Edward, right?]
‘It wasn’t contact—it was surveillance.’
The crown prince had tried to assassinate Riya with the poison from Edward.
Though not his intention, it triggered the dragonization curse, leading to her exile from the empire.
If this became public knowledge, the crown prince couldn’t hold his position.
[Ah, right. Edward is basically proof that the crown prince used the poison himself.]
‘Riya said there was circumstantial evidence but no hard proof.’
So it ended with a light punishment.
[……So that’s why the crown prince is still alive.]
‘Yeah. Otherwise, Riya would have killed him already.’
After that, things unfolded as we know.
When the princess suddenly started searching for Edward through her knights, the crown prince hurriedly tried to smuggle him out—or perhaps eliminate him after checking.
‘Either way, this makes things easier. Like catching a rat while the cow backs up.’
I organized my thoughts and looked at the knights before me. They also looked exhausted from the continuous searches.
“According to a tip from a kind informant, Edward is currently hiding in the empire’s sewers—specifically the northern sewers.”
“Ah! That would indeed make it easy to hide!”
The empire’s sewers were a massive, labyrinthine complex. Moving through them, the knights could search forever without finding him.
“But who is this kind informant?”
“The informant’s identity is confidential for their protection.”
“Ah, understood.”
I cleared my throat lightly and looked at the knight commander.
“Commander, have you located everyone who ingested the crystals?”
“For now, those near the slums have all been gathered. We’ll administer the antidote as soon as it’s developed.”
“That’s fortunate. Now, I’ll draw a map, so please secure the marked areas. Everyone there will need to be inoculated afterward.”
“……Has it already spread?”
“Almost certainly. Cases will start appearing soon. Keep everyone in their homes. Pay special attention to houses with children.”
Not just slum kids—Edward had randomly sprinkled crystals on roadside children too.
The areas I marked on the map were mainly places Edward had visited.
‘It’s a good thing the crown prince was surveilling Edward.’
Thanks to that, I could pinpoint his range of activity.
“Thank you.”
“Hm?”
Lost in thought over the map, the knight commander suddenly bowed deeply.
“What’s this all of a sudden…….”
“This incident has nothing to do with the Talua Kingdom. Yet you’re handling it like it’s your own country’s affair.”
“Well, yeah…….”
If I didn’t stop it, it would be a world-ending catastrophe. How could I ignore that?
But the knight commander was interpreting my actions in his own way.
“If we resolve this successfully, His Majesty the Emperor will surely acknowledge the bond between the princess and you, Count! So I’ll do my utmost to assist!”
[He seems to think you’re the princess’s lover?]
‘Hard to guess otherwise why I’d do this.’
Plus, Riya’s attitude toward me had probably fueled the knight commander’s delusions.
[Hmm. You could deny it, though.]
‘What’s the point? It’s not true anyway.’
It’d fade with time.
I knew Princess Riya Asktalin had some fondness for me…… But I couldn’t be sure it was true lovers’ feelings like the knight commander thought.
Besides, now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
I marked all the areas the crown prince had mentioned on the map and handed it to the knight commander.
“If you find Edward, please report to me immediately.”
“Leave it to me!”
The knight commander thumped his broad chest confidently.
As expected of the empire’s knight commander, he was highly competent.
……With a vivid imagination too.
‘Now, off to the semifinals…… Then straight to the physicians afterward.’
I essentially had to develop the cure in one day.
Including clinical trials, it was woefully short time.
‘But it’s possible.’
Because I had the ability to view settings.
* * *
“Sir Herschel, too bad. Bad matchup.”
“No, Sir Shane, it was a close call for you too.”
Alex Shane and Gloria Herschel sat in the stands, exchanging such words.
It was their usual greeting, but neither face was bright.
‘To lose in just 30 exchanges.’
‘Losing to that arrogant Darsha guy.’
Both had achieved a solid top 8 in the Imperial Martial Tournament, but failed to reach the semifinals.
Especially Alex, who trembled with humiliation after losing to Arsavin—the one he’d vowed to defeat.
‘I got knocked out in the round of 16.’
Eric Pedro, who had fallen even earlier, sat awkwardly nearby, unable to join the conversation.
“Hahaha. No need to fret. For our kingdom, it’s already more than enough. Especially you, Sir Herschel—you did amazingly.”
“R-Really?”
Ribina Count, sitting beside them, smiled as he spoke, and Gloria’s eyes sparkled as she asked back.
He was sincere. Everyone who had faced Ian Silverst so far hadn’t lasted 10 exchanges.
“Really. Your opponent was just too strong. The empire breeds monsters.”
“……He was incredible. It felt like he saw right through all my moves.”
Gloria hardened her expression, recalling her match with Ian.
Ribina Count let out a groan and spoke.
“Saw right through…… Sir Herschel, have you ever heard of Insight Eye?”
“No, it’s new to me.”
“Long ago, there was a legendary swordsman. Having reached an unfathomable realm, he gained eyes that read and controlled the flow of all things—Insight Eye.”
“Read and control the flow of all things……?”
Ribina Count smiled and continued.
“Magic paths, breathing rhythms, muscle expansion and contraction—everything, pierced completely. With Insight Eye, he moved as if foreseeing the future.”
“N-No way, Ian Silverst has that Insight Eye?”
Gloria’s eyes widened in shock, and Ribina Count burst into laughter.
“Haha! Even he isn’t that great. But he’s surely reached the precursor to that realm. Across the continent, few could match him equally.”
Ribina Count spoke as if Ian Silverst had attained a level far above others.
“……Isn’t he a Sword Expert?”
“Of course not. He’s a Sword Master.”
“M-My goodness! A Sword Master……!”
Ian Silverst was only twenty.
Reaching Sword Master at that age was the stuff of heroic tales.
“……But if a Sword Master like Sir Silverst has only reached the precursor to Insight Eye, then the swordsman who gained it must be even higher?”
“Exactly. A realm probably beyond imagination. Even I’ve only glimpsed fragments of Insight Eye.”
“Who was he?”
Ribina Count chuckled at the young talent leaning in with curiosity.
He had been the same when he first heard of that swordsman.
“No idea.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t know either. Records confirm his existence, but everything else is erased, as if wiped clean.”
“So that’s why…….”
He had wondered why he’d never heard of such a figure, and now the mystery was solved.
“But why?”
If Ribina Count was right, the records had been deliberately erased.
It made no sense to hide the legend of such an iconic figure.
“Who knows. Perhaps…… God wouldn’t tolerate a human stepping into His domain.”
Sword Master—the dream of all swordsmen.
Even surpassing that, Grand Sword Master—the sole existence in the present age.
As far as Ribina Count knew, even the strongest among them hadn’t attained Insight Eye.
Meaning the swordsman had reached beyond that.
The realm of the gods.