We Interrogated The Man
“Those who drink the wine become ill, and that spreads to the next person…that’s what happened here… But it is very odd.”
“Well, this store started selling the herbs at just the same time as the disease started to spread. Perhap it is only a coincidence… But it’s a little too convenient, don’t you agree?”
“I-I would…we only started to sell the herbs in order to help those who suffered. That was the only thing on our minds…”
“I see… In that case, it must be a coincidence then. However…”
Sebastian explained little by little.
As for the man, his eyes continued to shift back and forth as he searched for excuses to make.
…At this point, I didn’t even need the sense enhancing herbs to know what he was thinking…
As for Sebastian, it was very evident that he was enjoying himself now. His expression was glowing.
After all, explaining and pressuring people he disliked were his two favorite things.
“There is a village that is close to Ractos. In fact, this wine was made in that village. A few days ago, that village was being investigated by someone sent from the duke. And during that time, the village was attacked by monsters.”
And that person was me.
While he said it was someone from the duke, I suppose it wasn’t wrong. Since I lived there and was on good terms with everyone.
“Mo-monsters…you say? How very unfortunate…”
“Yes, very. Thankfully, due to the efforts of the person investigating, things ended without anything too serious happening. However, this monster attack was orchestrated by someone.”
“Yes. And that person…”
Sebastian then told him about the merchants.
How they had pretended to be carrying wine, and brought monsters instead.
These merchants used a magic device to infect the wine, as a way of spreading the disease.
“And these merchants told us…that they were acting on the count’s order…”
The man became speechless once the count was mentioned.
“And this store is connected to the count, yes? I’ve heard your reputation. About how you bought all the herbs and medicine. You diluted and weakened them before selling them again…”
“Bu-but…we wouldn’t…”
“You cannot escape now. Your reaction to the wine was enough. Mr. Wood, you knew that the wine was the source of the disease… That’s why you hesitated to drink it, yes?”
“…No. Uh… I just don’t care for the taste of wine…”
The man began to make the same excuses as before.
And to this, Sebastian raised his voice and laughed happily.
“But I heard…a few days ago, you became terribly drunk in a certain tavern.”
“Yes, I’ve heard all about it. You and several friends made quite a scene as you drank until morning… And yet you claimed to dislike the taste…?”
Even I had not known this.
If it was a few days ago, it would be before Mr. Ekenhart’s arrival, but after I had returned to the mansion.
Perhaps Sebastian had been letting him run around freely up until now in order to catch him in such an act.
So not coming here as soon as I returned was all part of Sebastian’s plan… Just so he could push this man as far as he could…
“You actually can drink wine, but you hesitated… Surely this could only be because you knew what it was?”
The man was no longer able to make any excuses.
Had he drunk the wine with a straight face when he could, he wouldn’t be in such an uncomfortable position now…
Well, in any case, with Mr. Ekenhart backing us, there was no way that we would fail.
“…Indeed, I knew that the wine was spreading the disease. But do you think that’s enough to catch me? I didn’t do anything to the wine.”
“That is true. You did not do anything to the wine.”
“Exactly. You cannot blame me, just because I happened to know about the wine!”
He was suddenly getting quite angry… His face was red and he started to shout.
Perhaps this was his true nature being revealed. He no longer talked with polite words.
But he was right. He couldn’t be arrested just because he knew what the wine was.
It was possible that he had just happened to hear about it from the count.
“However, you still sold medicine of poor quality on the duke’s lands. That is a great crime, you know?”
“But you do not have proof of that! All of the medicine and herbs I sell here are very effective! Surely it is not strange to want to monopolize the market in case there is such an illness!”
“Indeed. If you knew that a disease would spread, making a business of it would lead to great profits. However, we know that your medicine and herbs have almost no effect.”
“What are you saying? How would you know that!”
The man was now desperate to prove that he was innocent. But he seemed to be too frantic to be able to think straight.
As for the effect of the medicine…that could be confirmed easily with a pharmacist…
“…Earlier, you showed me this, saying it was the medicine that would heal the illness spreading in Ractos, yes?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
Sebastian was pointing at the bottle of light purple liquid that the man had brought.
“Unfortunately, you cannot heal the illness with this medicine.”
“Ho-how do you know!?”
“It’s simple. Mr. Takumi. Can you take out the Ramogi?”
I went into my bag and took out some Ramogi powder that was wrapped in paper.
I then put it on the table and unwrapped it.
“As someone who deals with herbs and medicine, I don’t have to tell you, do I?”
“These are Ramogi petals. Dried and powdered.”
To be precise, I had used the Gift to transform them into this state. But normally, that is how you would do it.