Chapter 248

“Is there such a thing as magic that heals diseases?”

“Yes…!”

Though it felt a bit random all of a sudden, I knew she wasn’t the type to spout meaningless nonsense, even if it did come out of nowhere.

“Have a seat on the sofa first.”

* * *

I was able to hear the full details from her.

“Did Lord ask about this?”

“Yes, yes! So… um… he asked if there was any magic effective against diseases.”

This was Reika’s explanation.

It was like how she had healed herself before – the question was whether there existed magic effective against disease.

Apparently, she didn’t know of such magic either, but still, because she’d been asked, she came to me, who was essentially her magic mentor.

“I thought that maybe Sir Swoen… my mentor might know… When I got stuck, you helped me out one way or another…”

Come to think of it, we met because she mistook me for a mage and thus became my disciple.

Though at that time, I just sort of fudged my way through it.

I pondered for a moment and then decided to tell the truth to the fidgety Reika…

“In fact, I don’t really know much about it.”

“Huh… is that so…?”

“Yes. I only vaguely understand that there’s something called mana… I don’t know how to handle it properly or how to amplify it. It’s all thanks to Reika’s talents blossoming; I didn’t do anything.”

There was no reason to keep hiding or lying to her anymore.

Now that Reika the mage has appeared, other mages will inevitably show up elsewhere, so continuing to deceive would be meaningless.

“Ah…”

Her slightly trembling voice made me feel guilty towards her somehow.

“If you’re disappointed, I apologize.”

I bowed my head, but Reika flailed her hands in panic.

“No, no…! T-to be disappointed… That’s absolutely not true. Even so, as Master said, going to the mountains for meditation… feeling more mana, learning to control it better, and increasing the number of spells I can use… It was more than enough help for me. You’re still my only teacher…”

“Reika…”

“S-so… There’s nothing to apologize for… I-I think…”

Watching Reika fumbling around like this, I couldn’t help but chuckle awkwardly.

Yeah. Since she says it like this, insisting too much would be strange, wouldn’t it?

“Alright. Anyway… I don’t really know much about magic that heals diseases. Rather, I want to ask Reika.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Haven’t you felt something like ‘pop’?”

As far as I know, she’s a woman who discovered everything from ice magic to the healing magic that saved Serpina purely through her instincts.

If there were magic to cure diseases, surely she would have sensed it herself.

But…

“That… I haven’t felt anything like that yet…”

“Is that so?”

I held onto a faint hope, but it seems it was futile after all.

She probably wouldn’t have asked me if she’d already known.

“Well, I’m sorry… for being incompetent…”

“Incompetent? Are you talking about Reika, the first mage of the continent? Isn’t that a bit harsh? Excessive modesty isn’t a virtue, you know?”

“B-but modesty…! Someone like me…”

Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be any magic that cures diseases.

Here’s an important fact.

Why did Lady Serpina ask Reika about this?

The answer is obvious. She wanted to save people… Knowing this, she ordered the forced relocation despite knowing it would tarnish her reputation.

“So, how did the story end up?”

“Well, basically… There’s a spell that temporarily boosts immunity so one doesn’t catch diseases, but there’s no magic that directly cures diseases… That’s what I told her.”

“I see… huh?”

What?

“…?”

“What did you just say?”

Reika looked at me with wide eyes as I was startled.

“Why? W-why? Did I make a slip of the tongue…? If I did, it’s definitely my fault, not Sir Swoen’s…”

“No, no. It’s not that. You said something about boosting immunity, right? To the point where one doesn’t catch diseases?”

“Oh… This is kind of… an extension of the magic I used to heal Lord… Lady Serpina…”

Reika slowly raised both her hands and began waving them around.

“So, in Lady Serpina’s case, I concentrated mana on the injured part to make it especially strong… If you feel that way… In this case, spreading the aura of mana throughout the body to prevent disease… Is that… the feeling? Uh… Like that.”

Though the explanation isn’t perfect, it can’t be helped.

Reika didn’t learn magic from someone else. She learned almost all her magic by herself. Just like how humans naturally learn to breathe and walk when they’re born – she intuitively understood it.

“Anyway, does that mean one won’t get sick?”

“Yes? Ah… Yes… The effect of the magic should last at least a week, so for a week, one won’t get sick. Perhaps… one will become healthier?”

“Healthier?”

“Um… How should I put it… Stronger individuals might become even stronger…? It’s like spreading the mana’s power widely over the energy existing within the human body…?”

Though the explanation is still messy, that’s not important.

The gist is that she can apply a kind of ‘buff’ that enhances physical abilities!

And while under this buff, one appears to be immune to diseases. Though I don’t know how far medical science in this world has developed, considering that diseases usually invade when a person’s weakened immune system is breached, her statement likely holds true.

“Reika, how did you figure that out? About how it would work like that.”

“Huh? Oh, I just… thought of it while healing Lady Serpina…? Ah, I realized it could be applied this way…”

‘Good grief…’

One fact I always forget because of her usual clueless demeanor and lack of confidence: The woman in front of me, Reika Nightharte, is the greatest mage on the continent. Not only the first but also the best – the pinnacle of the magical world!

“But… For those already afflicted with disease, gathering mana won’t solve the problem, so I can’t heal them. So, in conclusion, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help…”

“Not at all, Reika!”

Before I realize it, I firmly grasp her hand.

“Ack…!”

“I think this discovery alone is incredibly meaningful. Truly, Reika is amazing. Really… Honestly, your modesty makes me laugh!”

“A-aah…”

Reika blushes deeply and bows her head, seemingly embarrassed by my praise.

Well, though it may not help immediately… Now that I know she has this kind of buff ability, there will surely be an opportunity to use it.

“Please take care of me in the future, Reika.”

“Huh? Ah… A-ah, yes, yes!”

She nervously shakes her head left and right, then smiles and nods at me.

Watching Reika smile, something inside me that values efficiency started reflecting unnecessarily.

‘In reality, it would be better if she could live peacefully without ever needing to use magic like this…’

But what can be done?

In times of chaos, those gifted with talent are bound to shine, trapped by their abilities and dragged into battlefields where rivers run red with blood.

Still, I hope that there won’t be an occasion to use her abilities soon…

* * *

“Epidemic… Is Lady Serpina involved?”

“It seems so.”

I sighed deeply while looking at Serpina, who gave a wry smile.

“Well, it couldn’t be any other way. Without any reason, she abandoned her territory and retreated her troops. And coincidentally, an epidemic broke out in the abandoned land. Around the same time, our army revealed the existence of mages. And most importantly, the mastermind behind all these actions is none other than that woman -”

-Serpina von Einhardt.

The notorious villainess and tyrant who plunged the world into chaos and must never reappear.

“But, isn’t it just rumors after all?”

“Rumors… Yes. That’s all they are. But what can be done? Swoen. You might not understand, but this is a situation I am very familiar with.”

She told me that.

Always living with the awareness that all the evil in the world points to her.

What is it like to live a life where everyone you trusted betrayed you and sought your head?

Certainly, the depth of it must be twice as heavy as the weight of her words until now.

“And, there’s someone riding on the wave of these rumors.”

“Could it be… Yuri?”

“Ho?”

“There doesn’t seem to be anyone else who would benefit from spreading such rumors about us in this situation.”

As far as I know, Yuri lost Erhandorf in a meaningless war.

The battle with the Chel Army, which she originally intended to fight, was disrupted due to the epidemic.

By attributing the cause of the unforeseeable calamity to our army, she might regain the hearts of the displaced territorial people…

“She apparently said this to me. That she would avenge Erhandorf and Emma.”

“…Huh? Emma?”

“Emma Eldrun. Surely you’ve heard of her. Apparently, she passed away due to the epidemic.”

…Upon hearing that, I instantly realized.

Perhaps Yuri lacks serious calculations. She simply charged forward in genuine anger without thinking.

But… With a little thought, wouldn’t she know that declaring it outright like this only increases the risks?

If it were merely rumors spread among the territorial people, staying quiet would be the easiest solution for her position.

‘Besides… Lady Serpina evacuated the territorial people. Considering that alone, it seems like there should be a clear way out…?’

“…”

“So… What do you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking if you think these rumors will die down.”

“Ah. Calm down…”

Serpina slightly lowered her eyes and smiled again.

A smile that seemed ready to crumble at any moment, like the one Irene wore when Lin abandoned her.

“Isn’t it inevitable?”

“…Huh?”

“There are more malicious rumors following me. We must accept them.”

Upon hearing that, for some reason, I couldn’t help but raise my voice in front of her.

“However, my Lord. For Yuri to prove these rumors as facts, she must explain why you forcibly evacuated the territorial people. As long as she cannot refute that, the claim that you spread the epidemic using magic cannot stand!”

The strongest argument supporting the theory that Serpina caused the epidemic is that she is the infamous villainess and tyrant.

But, would such an infamous tyrant evacuate the territorial people before the disease spread?

Wouldn’t it look like… she was trying to save these territorial people?

“I’ve thought about that too. However…”

“…?”

“You wouldn’t understand, but the morale of the territorial people who migrated to the northern frontier isn’t good.”

Upon hearing the explanation, it turned out that there were people whose families remained in the central region where the epidemic raged, causing resentment toward Serpina, who they should thank instead.

Moreover, during the lockdown order, those who couldn’t return from the central region also harbored grievances against her.

It was a measure taken to save as many lives as possible, and she expected not to be understood, but it seems the demands placed on her by this world exceed her expectations.

“Such…”

“Probably, no matter what I say, it won’t resonate.”

It’ll just be dismissed as a coincidence.

Her intuition was astonishingly sharp. Likely, pointing out this contradiction would result in “it’s just a coincidence,” brushing it aside.

“It’s fine. It’s not something unfamiliar to me. My life has been…”

…always like this.

“After all, I, as a person, shouldn’t exist in this continent as a tyrant.”

At those concluding words, watching Serpina’s profile, I truly felt a surge of anger I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

‘What is this…? She made decisions for our army, actually saved many people who were nearly dead… Yet, Lady Serpina’s reputation has fallen lower than ever. All because of issues she wasn’t at fault for.’

Is this really the best outcome?

Does it mean that as long as we gain strategic advantages, it’s acceptable for her to be utterly broken?

――And then.

‘!!!!!!!!!’

I realized, struck like by lightning.

The meaning of the “most efficient answer” predicted by the Divinity 100 brain.