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Chapter 32

“Umm...”

“Mu.”

We arrived at the town hall to find it turned into a temporary sick bay and housing one of the adventurers we saw that day.

We’re lucky to find one of them so quickly.

Since I’m pretty well-known in the village by now, the clerks working in the town hall didn’t bat an eye at me rushing inside.

That, and Arleaf’s whole family is with Muu and me, so I think I have quite a lot of leeway.

His buddies... aren’t around.

Did they run away?

The adventurer groans in his sleep. He’s covered from head to toe with crystals, the sign of being infected with Dorimsvoyta.

A serious case, too... I wonder if he can talk.

‘First, use Poison Enchantment on a blade and apply the medicine to inhibit further crystal growth on his body. Use a liberal amount, almost as if to poison him. Thrust the blade into him then revive him with smelling salts.’

Will he be alright?

‘Adventurers can take that much. Frankly, Dorimsvoyta has mutated too far for the medicine to be effective. But your goal is only to speak with him, aye?’

“This’ll only sting a little.”

I’m nervous as to whether it’ll really be alright, but I gently stick the poisoned knife into the adventurer’s arm as I was instructed.

“Gah!”

He looks like he has a weird cramp but seems to be fine.

Finally, the poison circulates inside his system and his breathing steadies.

“Am I saved?”

“I’ve only numbed your senses. You’re still in a bad state.”

It would be unthinkable to do something so barbaric in Japan, but I guess it was nothing for a world that has healing magic.

Then, I stuck some smelling salts under his nose.

“Ugh... whoa. Wh-Where am I?”

“It’s a temporary hospital room.”

“A-Am I going to die?! I’ll pay you anything! Just save me...”

‘He is more of a savage than he is an adventurer. Once thou show his life in thy hands, he shall tell thee all there is to know. If thou does not, he shall treat thee with contempt.’

And kick him while he’s down? I’d be a real dirtbag.

‘He is only human... a living creature known as an adventurer. Someday, thou will come to understand.’

Aw, jeez... here Veno goes with his distaste for people.

Well, I can’t have him excuse his way out of this either.

As far as we’re concerned, he’s the main culprit behind the spread of this disease.

“Whether you’ll be saved really depends on your next few answers. First of all, you ran past us in front of the dungeon. Sure seemed like you guys were running away from something. Explain.”

“Th-That was...”

The adventurer looks around with his eyes; his face giving off the impression of wondering what him and his crew had done.

He remains silent as if to avoid responsibility.

If things go south for him, he might just get lynched by the villagers.

But we’ve got to find out whether this disease and its variants are lethal and originates from the dungeon, or it’s related to monsters somehow.

If it’s the former, we may as well give up now.

“What’s more important to you as an adventurer? Your loyalty or your life? If you remain silent, you, along with the village—nay, this whole region—shall be erased forever.”

Arleaf’s father, seething in rage, threateningly grabs the adventurer by his collar.

Oh, hey... you’re pretty good at this menacing thing.

That’s an apothecary who deals in narcotics for ya. Maybe he’s got quite a bit of experience doing this.

Even though he himself gets threatened at home by his wife and daughter with poisonous cooking.

“Hmph. I don’t need you to talk. I’ve got yer buddies in my hands anyway.”

Hmm? That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.

‘Put on thy poker face for ‘tis a bluff!’

I remain expressionless and look on.

Oh, I get it. We do actually need him.

I thought his conscience would make him spill the beans.

He truly is a ruffian after all...

‘However this situation may play out, the adventurers’ names are mud if the apothecaries report the circumstantial evidence to the town hall. With no trustworthiness, the adventurers will never find work again.’

It’ll be rough if he had any dreams for the future.

Well, call it just deserts for staying silent and thus leading to the spread of this disease, just so he could save his own skin.

“B-But... damn it! I get it. I’ll tell you everything, so just save me!”

As unwilling as he is, the adventurer starts to speak.

That day, the adventurers went to the dungeon to put their bravery to the test.

They are middling adventurers... but if they could complete a quest in the dungeon, they thought they’d gain a foothold in the high-ranks.

They’ve heard recent rumors of a certain Cohgray of the Swamps and his homunculus myconid frequenting the dungeon.

If he can do it, why can’t we? or so they thought.

But their hubris led to misfortune.

On the first floor, they encountered a great salamander of a monster and challenged it as if it were just any normal monster.

However, the monster nimbly danced around the adventurers, weakening one after another with its tail and bite, then chased them away with a magic breath.

After judging that it was far too strong, the adventurers immediately began to evacuate out of the dungeon.

It was at that time the monster took a deep breath and sprayed down the adventurers.

Choking, they promptly left retreated from the dungeon.

The adventurers thought the monster did was giving chase and hightailed it back to the village.

It was then they passed by us.

‘... I see. Rather than escaped, they had been released by the monster.’

Sure seems like it.

Still, like I thought so with Bloodflower, but monsters sure are surprisingly crafty.

How freakin’ smart of it to infect them first before setting them free.

“S-See? It’s not my fau—”

Arleaf’s father suddenly let go of his collar.

“Tch... I had my suspicions of whether a new monster settled in the dungeon. But never would I have guessed something so outrageous as to spread a disease...”

“I’ve dispatched an investigation quest, but it seems we were too late.”

Arleaf’s parents click their tongue and grumble.

“But... since we know what the enemy is, we can fight it. That intuition of yours is real sharp too, Cohgray.”

He’s praising me, but isn’t it too early to call it a victory?

Will it help everybody if the salamander is defeated, Veno?

‘At the very least it shall lower the chances of Dorimsvoyta further mutating. However... the problem is that our enemy is very evasive. It would be more than difficult to slay the beast.’

So, he’s no longer in the dungeon?

‘That is a possibility. It is likely that this monster was behind Bloodflower as well. It is perhaps planning to use bacteria as its familiars by killing the humans and stealing their quintessence to become stronger.’

Oof... how ruthless.

‘If the purge squad comes, they will be the ones absorbing the quintessence of the dead... they would be able to reap experience at a large scale. If that happens, then they, too, shall become monsters in their own rights.’

“We should notify the town hall or the adventurer’s guild, or even the national government.”

“... this country is too stubborn to do anything. Or if they send the troops, they might make some kind of excuse to purge us all.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We still have one last option. Assemble all in the area who can still fight and launch a campaign against the monster.”

He sure is full of spirit, but even if defeating the monster will solve everything, are we strong enough?

I know we’ve got to do something soon, but I can’t help but be anxious.

“Go call the priest. We’ll bring those guilty sons of bitches into the light. They’re likely quick to run away too! Let’s go!”

“Yeah! Time to shine!”

Arleaf’s parents holler out and made a dash out of the town hall.

... what’s with their excitement?

I speechlessly point at them. Arleaf, making a very shocked face, lets out a forced laugh.

“Umm... Father and Mother had been adventurers in the past, if only for a little bit. I know they can get a little hot-blooded.”

Oh, I see.

I don’t know exactly how strong they are, but I can imagine that they’re pretty capable.

Capable enough to live so close to these powerful monsters at least.

Not that there aren’t any weaker monsters around, but pretty much all of them are damn strong.

It’s definitely no place to spawn a newbie if this were an MMORPG.

You’ve got to be pretty strong to survive in a place like this.

Even Arleaf is pretty high-leveled as well.

‘Aye... powerful monsters tend to live where miasma is thick. It is unusual for humans to live so close to monsters they cannot defeat.’

I spent the rest of the day traveling to nearby villages to spread word of the assault on the dungeon to attack the root of this disease.

However, not all of them were strong enough or well-equipped enough for the dungeon. I only took the ones in the village who could fight.

As someone who’s good with poison, it’s a given that I’m in as well.

Veno made some doubting remarks, but as I was with Bloodflower, I’m prepared to shoulder the burdens of volunteering for this job.

“Alright! Let us all head to the swamp to slay the source of this disease!”

“Yeah!”

Though we’re just in the village, all the tough men and women assembled here with gas masks on called out.

“Muu-Muu! Let’s go get ‘em! I’mma put the life I have left on the line!”

The inn’s proprietress carrying her axe looks like she has much combat experience and is joined by Arleaf’s parents.

... the proprietress too, huh?

Well, seeing as how she’s Muu’s master, she’ll most likely be very helpful.

“Mu!”

Muu hollers out, showing his eagerness, but... those Dorimsvoyta crystals are starting to grow on the proprietress’ arm.

Sure are many infected.

Not to mention Arleaf too, but it’s scary not knowing when her parents are going to suddenly going to be attacked by the disease.

... we should slay the beast as quickly as possible.

Some adventurers have also requested to join us, but it seems like they’ve departed already.

Still, since it’s such a quiet village, the town hall people were complaining to Arleaf’s parents how there aren’t many famous adventurers around and that it may be tough.

Our impromptu echelon was about to head off for the swamp, but...

“Arleaf, you ain’t as strong as Cohgray, so take the family heirloom. With the sacred sword, the toxic gas would be but a fart in a windstorm to ya. And, if the need arises, it’ll quite easily defeat the monsters you need to.”

Arleaf’s dad brings out a single sword from somewhere in the apothecary and hands it to Arleaf.

A sacred sword? Why would an apothecary have something like that?

“This sword... you should be the one wielding it, Father.”

Arleaf holds the sword in her hands with a troubled expression.

“At best, it’s just be a lucky charm. We’ll be fine. You should get our ancestors’ blessings since you’re inexperienced. Just in case anything happens.”

“... I understand.”

Arleaf carries the sword on her back.

I can’t help but wonder about that sword.

‘Hmm? That sword... it cannot be. The apothecaries...’

I remember it from my dreams.

‘What? Dreams, you say?’

Yeah, I’ve been having this recurring dream ever since I came here. It looks exactly like the sword some guy carried in it.

‘... I see. It certainly is not unusual for such a thing to occur to thee, seeing how my spirit is possessing thee. Not only can I read thy memories, but apparently some of mine had streamed into your mind too. I believe they are recollections of my past.’

Then, that dream... I can tell that they’re your memories, yeah.

‘Going back to that sword; it is the fruit of the prayers of all of mankind. It may also be called a hero’s sword or by its name, Karma Blaze. The sword manifests its power only towards sinners.’

That’s a real treasure of a sword they have! Will it be okay?

‘Honestly, thou should be wary of it, but it requires the wielder to meet certain conditions. Not many are able to draw the sword and even when drawn, it is normally dull. But... given that the monster is spreading disease to annihilate these humans, it would not be surprising if the sword actually activates.’

... I get that I should be vigilant around it.

Though I may be human, I do have an extremely powerful monster that is bound to me by Forced Possession Summoning, so I’m sure it’ll probably slice me in half.

Are you something that can be killed by that sword, Veno?

‘Hmph... I have told thee that I have done no such thing so that others resent me. There is no chance that it can currently kill me, even if it activates.’

Isn’t that kinda pathetic though?

I thought you prioritized your survival above all else...

‘Nothing good comes from fighting with humans so I try to avoid it. Furthermore, the sword has rather strict judgement. Even killing greedy humans that would assault a dragon shall not incur any wrath. Plus, I always leave them within inches of their lives and never fully killing them.’

Oh, is that right?

Wait... doesn’t that mean Arleaf’s a descendent of the guy in the dream?

‘Perhaps... let us put aside that matter.’

Veno seemed rather distant and cold when he said that.

... assuming those dreams are Veno’s memories, he sacrificed so much only to have the people squandering away his grace. And Arleaf’s the descendent of one of them.

He doesn’t have a grudge directly against Arleaf and her family, but surely, all sorts of thoughts are coursing through his mind right now.

“Alrighty, then, let’s go! You too, Cohgray! Don’t fall behind now!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The crowd of villagers and warriors follow suit.

Everyone’s heavily equipped, including Arleaf’s parents.

This time, they have something like oxygen tanks attached to their gas masks.

“Cohgray, you can walk just dandy in this miasma?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow... I’ve heard the rumors, but that really is somethin’.”

The proprietress muttered while looking at me.

“Hey, Arleaf. Weren’t you gonna get Cohgray to eat that specially-made bento that you packed for him? He won’t be fully prepared if you don’t feed him.”

“... right. It’s really dissatisfying when Father says it, but...”

Arleaf hands me a lunchbox made especially for me and our adventures.

I check what’s inside. In the lunchbox are these bipedal sandwiches seemingly engaged in a sprinting competition.

What can I say? Every time is as amazing as the last.

I’ve even told her to make it more effective than normal too, so I’ve got to eat it.

I grab the sandwich—rather, I grab a sprinter and stuff my cheeks with it.

Just like the meat from last time, it’s as if the food is trying to demonstrate what deliciousness is not. Yet, the organs unique to me can’t get enough of this entrancing toxic flavor.

Mmm. Delicious, as usual.

“Umm, err, uhh... a-ha-ha. You really are Cohgray, the Poison-Eater. This miasma really is nothing to you.”

I avoid telling the truth as to why I eat her cooking.

Anyway, weren’t you finished talking about the miasma already?

“That’s right. Cohgray eats our daughter’s murderous cooking every day. That’s why he ain’t affected none by this infection disease.”

“I can see that.”

Please, do not agree with what he is saying... though I can’t deny it either.

Won’t the extreme poison coursing through my body destroy the all cells in my body?

Will I really be okay with the good bacteria in my body killed off as well?

‘Is it not too late for these thoughts?’

Don’t say that. I might just cry.