Magi Craft Meister
Chapter 339 70% Threat
After returning to his house, Jin entrusted the Kaina village business to Butler A and went to Hourai island using the warpgate in the workshop underground.
"Laojun, give me the details."
Without greetings, Jin went straight for the main topic.
[Yes. It all started with…]Laojun explained in chronological order.
Starting with the time when Lishia stayed at Earl Walter's mansion for one night when she went to greet him.
And that the possibility of them doing something to the pigeons during that time is high. The reason behind that is the pigeon's feathers started to swell afterwards.
He mentioned how Lishia's condition worsened after she left Toka village. And that the very next day Earl Walter's condition also deteriorated.
And that this morning, his condition took a steep decline suddenly and he…
"That earl… He didn't do anything good till the very end, huh?"
Hearing the situation, Jin clenched his fist so his nails probably dug into his wrist. He had felt an intense anger towards Earl Walter but the Earl is no longer in this world.
Jin thought of what he should prioritize for the time being… and forcibly changed his thoughts to come up with a plan against the disease.
"I see. I understand. Your speculation is the same as mine. The chances of the pigeon being the medium for the transfer of the disease is pretty high.
Jin remembered bird flu and psittacosis. A similar disease might also exist in this world.
[A healing medicine was enough to make Ms. Lishia fully recover from it. And after that, as I have reported, we sterilized their belongings and also gave medicine to the horses and the birds.]And just in case, they also had everyone in the village have the pelshika juice with the medicine mixed in it. Kaina village was safe for the time being.
"However, the villages which fall in the path Lishia took. Also the cities surrounding Rakham…"
This is what he had feared a few days ago. It seems that no one has gotten sick yet.
However, if the disease also transmits from human to birds, then this is a serious matter. Then it would spread throughout the Kurain kingdom in a flash and probably even to the neighboring countries. It would be a pandemic.
[We have collected the short sword from that demon-like being, who apparently goes by the name 'Raldus', in order to determine his location. Land Y should be delivering it here soon.]"Mm? Land Y? Why?"
Land Y is supposed to be in charge of Kaina village's defense. So why was he retrieving something from the demon?-Thought Jin.
[Yes. That Raldus saw through Deneb 30's stealth and, although for a short time, there was a fight. There, he was able to take the demon's sword but he also took a blow and became unable to perform movement actions properly and so I sent Land Y and Z as support. Land Z to help Deneb 30 come back and Land Y to retrieve the sword.]"It was probably bad letting Deneb 30 pursue him alone."
[Yes. I thought having more people chase him would make it easier for him to notice but it seems like that backfired. Moreover, they were at the Great Shama Wetlands so the quintas weren't near either.]"I guess that couldn't be helped… Now if only we do not lose this Raldus guy, it will all work out."
[Yes. According to Koushin's report, it doesn't seem like anyone is following Land Y. We can assume that the demon is not following.]Speaking of the devil, Land Y had just come through Kaina village's warp gate. And it is needless to say that he had also raised his body temperature to 200 degrees along the way to kill any bacteria per Laojun's instructions.
"Oh, good job, Land Y."
"Master, I see you have returned here. Laojun, here is the sword."
Land Y handed over the sword to Laozi, Laojun's terminal.
"Mm? Let me see that a bit."
Saying that, Jin took the sword. And seeing the material it was made of, his eyes opened wide. It was something he had never seen before.
A kind of material even the Magi Craft Meister Jin doesn't know about.
"….I think it's probably something from living creatures but…"
Jin abstained his curiosity and handed over the sword to Laozi again. They should prioritize more on locating Raldus now.
[Mana pattern has gotten quite weak but it's alright, I have recorded it. I will now commence determining his location.]Saying that, Laojun activated the magi radar. And after a few minutes,
[I got it. The big mana source thought to be Raldus is at Renald kingdom at the moment.]"Renald kingdom, eh…"
Although it is a part of the small country alliance, due to the forever-continuing mountain range blocking it from other countries, it barely has any diplomatic relations to other countries and is filled with mysteries.
Even the Quintas weren't deployed there yet.
"I would like to deploy Quintas to Shouro empire and Renald kingdom too. But there's a need to increase them in that case…"
[My lord, do you plan on increasing the Quintas?]Jin replied 'yes' to Laojun's question. And so, Laojun said,
[My lord, considering Raldus' physical abilities, it will be worrisome to keep the Quintas as they are.]Jin also agreed. And while he was thinking of exactly how to do that, Land Z had also returned with Deneb 30.
They had also made sure to get rid of all bacterias and that no one was following them.
"Ohh, good job, Deneb 30, Land Z."
As Jin praised them, Land Z just replied with,
"I have just done my job. Well, then."
And went back to Kaina village but Deneb 30 looked apologetic.
"Chief, I am very sorry to say that I have ended up injuring the body you have given me."
But Jin just said kindly,
"It's fine. You did well this time. Without the information you provided, the situation might have turned out worse."
"Thank you very much."
Deneb 30 said bowing.
"We don't have much time. Give me the detailed report."
He had received a simple report from Laojun but he wanted to hear from Deneb 30 who had a confrontation directly with Raldus.
"Yes, he is…"
As Deneb 30 explained, Jin kept on fixing his damaged area.
His skills as the Magi Craft Meister really shows here.
The slash from the short sword had damaged the magical skin, magical muscle and the skeleton.
All of which could be fixed with engineering magic. This was because the part which was cut was cleanly cut and it also goes to show how sharp the sword is.
After that, he checked the whole body and also fixed all the parts which hurt.
He gave the magi recorder he switched during that to Laojun to analyze and inserted a new magi crystal. With this, Deneb 30 is back to full operating mode.
"…and that is all…… Chief, thank you very much for the maintenance."
Deneb 30 said, lowering his head. Jin nodded and said,
"…I understand. He doesn't seem to be a human no matter how I look at it… An, what do you think?"
Laojun was good at arrangements, as he had also called over An, who experienced the Great Magic War firsthand.
"It is definitely a demon. Their physical abilities are up to a few to ten times more than humans so it is only normal for Deneb 30 to have a rough fight. That crystal is also characteristic to demons."
An also said Raldus was a demon.
"A demon with such abilities couldn't have possibly lived through the 'ether stampede' so I think he might have been born after the war."
An also provided speculation on her part. But that won't console anyone.
"Hmm. You think so? But that alone won't make things change for the better…… Ah right, you said something about him using slavery magic?"
"Yes, using the Elrad Light."
"Hmm, good thing we came up with a counterplan to that before."
They had come up with strategies to dispel slavery magic before and it was used on all golems and automatas in the Hourai island.
The demons' slavery magic must also have the same principles as it didn't work on Deneb 30.
There should be records of slavery magic and offensive magic on the magi recorder's magi crystal Jin just switched.
The analysis will show but the urgent matter now was not that. Jin changed gears.
"I am curious if there are also other demons but, leaving that to the Quintas we will dispatch later on, what's important now is to come up with a counterplan for the disease."
As he said that, An spoke of something unexpected.
"Disease? I think there was a similar situation even during the Great Magic War."
"What?! Then as I thought…"
There were things written about a strong acid-like chemical weapon in a journal he found in a ruin before. So it wouldn't be weird to assume that there are also biological weapons.
"Unfortunately, my memories regarding that matter are lacking so I can't go into details."
If it's about the Great Magic War, there should be some memories left in the control core of Elena, the Golden Princess of Destruction. Laojun should be managing it.
It seems that Laojun had already finished searching that up before Jin even spoke of it and so went straight to the conclusion.
[The disease the demons used is called 'mana exhaustion fever'. It is contagious from birds to humans and from humans to other humans and the incubation period is about 2 to 5 days. After a high fever, the person feels intense pain and gets exhausted, leading to death. Lethality percent is about 70. Some might also not get infected depending on their physical constitution. That's all we know.]Even then, a lethality rate of 70% is a threat. The only saving grace is that it doesn't transfer from humans to birds.
"Do you know any effective curing methods for it?"
[No, unfortunately.]Jin got to thinking. In Lishia's case, a healing medicine cured it but there's no knowing how many people will get affected. Do they have enough healing medicines for all of them? Even if they do, how would they distribute it?
"Warp gate or an aircraft will be difficult, huh?"
Both are ways of transport which go from point to point. But there was a need to go over a line or a surface this time.
"I guess there's a need to go catch that demon and make him speak."
Even while preparing the healing medicines, it doesn't hurt to have more information.
"You know the location, right, Laojun?"
[Yes.]"If so then the most suitable person for the job is…"
Jin glanced at his side.
Standing in silence beside him, the one in whom Jin places most trust. It was Reiko.
And Reiko also properly understood Jin's glance.
"Yes, father, please leave it to me. I will definitely capture that Raldus and make him spill what he knows about the disease."
"….Sorry about this, Reiko. Even though I had just said that I will treat you more like a normal girl. What a useless parent I am, huh?"
But Reiko just shook her head.
"No, father. I am an automata. To me, being of use to you, my creator, is of the utmost happiness."
While patting her head, Jin said bitterly,
"Then can I count on you, Reiko? If needed, you can use Pegasus 1, alright? ……I will go talk to Lishia and Pascaud and have them work as Kurain kingdom's citizens."
Jin decided that if they were to work systematically, it would be better to have them work as they are nobles.
"Leave it to me. I will consult will Laojun before acting."
"I can't leave it to anyone other than you, so I am counting on you."
And like this, Reiko started moving out to capture Raldus, The Jester.
And Jin stood up to save the people of Kurain kingdom.
"Reiko, if something happens, it's completely fine for you to go all out, alright?"
Jin said, which just goes to show his determination.