Chapter 227 : Poison
The rope that had connected the caterpillar and the carriage had broken, and the carriage was gone.
Kiel and the others were nowhere to be seen.
Naofumi: “What happened!?”
As soon as the Caterpillar saw me, it quickly ran towards me.
It mumbled something while staring and clinging to me.
Taniko: “I was attacked when I was peddling! The children who were riding in the carriage were kidnapped? Eh? That’s not it?”
Taniko tried to understand the Caterpillar, but she did not seem to understand its words well.
It was only being transmitted that something had happened.
Ren: “Where was the place!?”
Ren asked Taniko.
Taniko: “Well…”
Ren: “It should be in the direction where this fellow came from?”
Taniko: “Probably.”
Ren traced back the caterpillar’s foot prints and started running.
Female Knight: “Oh, wait! Don’t leave me!”
The female knight chased after him.
But that wouldn’t be enough.
Naofumi: “Filo, go with Ren.”
Filo: “Kue!”
The filo which was next to me, on my instruction, started running to accompany them.
It would be best if the case was resolved with this, but….
I suppressed the uneasiness in my chest.
Naofumi: “First, we’re treating this guy. Call Rat.”
While chanting recovery magic, I told Taniko to call Rat.
Recovery magic was not very effective on monsters. In this case, natural recovery or recovery by medicine would work better.
Taniko ran to Rat’s laboratory.
Suddenly, a problem started.
The caterpillar started to behave violently and tried to return the way he came until Rat arrived.
It was hard to say, but he had a powerful desire to become strong. He grieved over his cowardliness for not going after Ren.
Rat: “Okay? What happened?”
Naofumi: “Apparently, thieves attacked the carriage and kidnapped the slaves.”
After hearing the commotion, Gaelion came flying.
The caterpillar began to tell something to Gaelion.
Gaelion: “Hmm… Hmm… What?”
Naofumi: “Did you understand something? ”
Gaelion: “The fact is that there was a surprise attack that came from both the front and back”
Naofumi: “What do you mean?”
For a moment, I thought that the protection shields that the slaves received were rotten.
To be frank, they are much stronger than any ordinary adventurers.
I thought that the uncle of Imia class up was done and that they were defeated by smaller force, although it seems to have been different.
Still, I would like to investigate thoroughly.
Motoyasu, who was not here, came to my mind first, but I think it’s different.
Reasonably, this was Itsuki’s way of doing things.
However, a question still remained.
Itsuki, despite his selfishness, is all about his sense of justice.
This was my evaluation as a guy who investigates thoroughly.
However, even the possibility that Itsuki is moving with the mystery theory like Ren and Motoyasu is conceivably sufficient, because the Itsuki that I saw in Zeltbur got broken in various ways.
Even though it remained the same and didn’t appear, I think it’s really insidious.
These events were extremely annoying.
This bad feeling was doubled because the former Motoyasu did not hide anything that did not seem pretty.
Well, I think isn’t it Perfect-Hidden-Justice.
Huh… Anyway, it was unfortunate that Itsuki did not get captured.
Through my work, the former Ren and Motoyasu have become better already.
They changed drastically, but the way they are now is much better.
Gaelion: “Caterpillar also says he was attacked and fled for his life.”
After conveying his message properly, caterpillar felt relieved and lost all his strength.
Dead! I thought and checked his pulse.
He was breathing and not dead. He probably pushed himself in the emergency.
Well, he reached me properly and lost consciousness in a reassuring place.
But… why did Ren go to such a dangerous place?
Is it dangerous?
I need to rush after them.
It can’t be helped. I confirmed that Rat is coming, and I get ready to go out.
Naofumi: “Filorials.”
Filorials: ” ” “KUE!”””
Naofumi: “Also, Gaelion, Rishia, and Alta will go with me!”
Gaelion: “Yes.”
Rishia: “Okay!”
Filorials: ” ” “KUE!?”””
Naofumi: “What is it? Are you dissatisfied? The remaining members are to guard the village! Maintain the caution until I return!”
I led the group while I rode on the back of Gaelion.
The Filorials and the others ran and followed me from the ground.
Though I caught up with Ren and the others before long from the sky, as expected, there was nothing in the spot where Kiel and the others were attacked.
I let Gaelion track them by smell, but he was not able to track them even halfway.
The sun had set, and I was forced to abandon the search.
Ren was not done yet, but he finally resigned after I warned him to not let a second accident occur.
I returned to the village, counted both the number of monsters and slaves, and began to prepare for dinner.
Certainly, the numbers have been reduced little by little recently.
It’s not that I didn’t notice, but I thought that peddling took time.
Now’s not the time to look away.
The Slave Crests were still functioning and have not been removed.
The numbers have not decreased, and they should be in range according to what I remember.
Yet, I do not know their whereabouts.
Because no conclusive evidence had been found today, I felt that the air in the village was heavier.
Will Raphtalia be okay? Is she training well? I pray that nothing has happened.
But, I still need to issue her instructions to come back since a problem has occurred.
The problem is… whether the instructions will arrive.
I cut today’s material with a kitchen knife and threw it into the pan.
Though I stewed it, it’s being boiled. It doesn’t stick to the hand so much.
Ren also seemed restless.
But the situation would not improve for the better even if we searched at night.
Because I could not calm down, I cooked.
Heroes are powerless at this time, and there’s no chance for me to do anything.
For now, we can only wait for something to happen.
Naofumi: “Oh! What’s with this?” I said while trying the soup that I cooked today.
It’s dangerous!
Alerts sound in my head.
Naofumi: “Huh…”
What is it? Did I add something dangerous to the dish to make it a failure?
There were no such things so far, and the soup connoisseur worked in my sight.
Toxic substance. Toxicity… middle degree. Breathing hindrance. Natural poison.
I used an antidote, and the detoxification magic cured me immediately.
What?
No, no one could make such a dangerous poison with the materials right here.
Did I mess up and make a dangerous thing with alchemy by mistake?
Slave: “Is it done?” The slave in charge of cooking asked while seeing the soup.
Naofumi: “No, looks like I failed.”
Slave: “Eh? When it smells so good?”
Naofumi: “Indeed.”
While saying so, I wash away the soup with a bottle of water.
Danger!
The same alerts from before were reflected in my field of vision.
What!?
Was it the water?
I carefully asked the connoisseur about the water.
Naofumi: “Hey, where was this water taken from?”
Slave: “What? From the well that we always use…”
But what do I say that it is mixing or it is poisonous?
I had an unpleasant hunch.
Naofumi: “It’s useless!”
Slave: “I don’t get it.”
Naofumi: “Anyway, it’s no use and it’s painful.”
When I looked outside at the dining room, a Filorial picked a quarrel with a slave and prevented him from drinking the well water.
Filorials have wild intuition. He is talking, since I’m not there, and interfering.
The Filorial did well. I will prepare a reward for him later.
Naofumi: “All members, do not drink the water.”
I gave instructions in a loud voice.
Slaves: “What happened?”
Naofumi: “There is a possibility that a poison was mixed into the well”
Slaves: “Is that true?”
Naofumi: “It is like that, and I will investigate it in a little bit.”
I called for Rat, who finished treatment of caterpillar, to investigate the well and the nearby river.
The result was that poison was mixed in both.
Fortunately, the bio-plant was detoxifying, and the poison won’t soak into the earth.
However, if you look closely, fish-type monsters were dead and floated in the river.
The sun had set, and in the dark, the search for the criminal who poisoned the river did not go well.
However, I found a corpse of a Demi-Human adventurer upstream.
Naofumi: “Is this fellow the culprit?”
Rat: “I don’t know.”
Rat checked the corpse like a doctor.
Did this demi-human pour the poison into my village? Even if I’m mistaken, this person is certainly not from my village.
In the village which I command, for the time being, I seem to be their religion’s God.
Could it be the people of the Schildwelt or Schildfrieden?
I cannot pinpoint it from the corpse, which won’t speak.
Rat: “Earl, look over here.”
Rat pointed at the corpse of the demi-human.
Rat: “There’s a paper in his hand. Something is written on it.”
Naofumi: “Can you read it?”
Rat: “It is the judgment of the person who calls himself a god. But, aren’t these letters from Melromarc’s official language?”
Naofumi: “What?”
Wait a minute, did the radicals of the Religion of the Shield attack me?
No, that’s doubtful. It’s Melromarc’s official language.
The official language of Schildwelt or Schildfrieden should have been used if that was the case.
“Looks like you wrote and translated it well. It’s feeling that you got used to by understanding the habit of the characters, right?”
Naofumi: “Such a thing?”
rat: “Yes, also…”
Rat picked up a medicine and dripped it onto the chest of the demi-human.
Then, on the chest of the body,… A slave crest shone faintly.
It was a slave crest that disappears upon death. They intended to cover it, but they cannot deceive us.
Naofumi: “It’s a slave I… Oh, it is white.”
Rat: “Well.”
For a demi-human Schildwelt or Schildfrieden slave to poison and then commit suicide for a religious reason… would be impossible.
I heard in that in such countries, demi-human and human slaves have the same family/tribe crest.
The possession of the paper, the mystery of the concealed slave crest, there must be a hidden, decisive reason.
Moreover, it was obvious that their wrath is aimed at me…
It seems that they want me to be suspected.
I will let you make a human slave if it is me.
What a childish trick.
The one which made the criminal demi-humans affiliates or gave a bad impression and stood up…
Naofumi: “Bury it carefully.”
Rat: “Is that okay?”
Naofumi: “He was a victim. He would have gone through a lot of hardships so far. I will treat the dead politely at least.”
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