Chapter 61: The Cause of the Mysterious Illness
After examining about forty patients afflicted with the mysterious illness, I confirmed that it was caused by the alcohol brewed with the stolen sake mold from our estate.
In situations like this, the information analysis aspect of the Conversion skill proves extremely useful.
“They’re suffering from poisoning.”
“But we’ve also used detoxification magic. Why hasn’t it worked?”
“They must be ingesting the poison again after being detoxified. We need to identify what they all have in common.”
“But their professions and age groups vary widely.”
“Let’s start by investigating their food. Ask them in detail about everything they’ve consumed, both before and after their symptoms began, especially any items they regularly consume.”
“Understood.”
Lord Dardale immediately began interviewing the patients.
From their responses, we looked for commonalities. While the outcome was predictable, several food items besides the suspected alcohol were identified. Investigating these would help pinpoint the cause.
“We’ll confirm which items contain poison right away.”
It didn’t take long to verify the presence of toxins. The primary culprit was indeed the alcohol, sold under the name King of Liquors (Sake-Ō), produced in Viscount Fayatt’s Bettanbaums territory.
The toxin in King of Liquors accumulates in the body over time, causing harmful effects. Testing this was straightforward. Even in this world, suspected toxins are often tested on mice to observe their effects.
The small quantities required to harm a mouse made the results clear almost immediately.
“There’s no doubt about it. King of Liquors contains a toxin that causes health problems.”
The toxin itself isn’t dangerous unless consumed in excess. Overindulgence leads to symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain, and vision problems. However, abstaining from the alcohol for five to ten days allows the body to naturally recover.
As I mentioned before, continuing to drink despite feeling unwell prolongs the symptoms. This alcohol is essentially a warning to heavy drinkers to practice moderation.
Deuro-sama may be revered as the god of alcohol, but that doesn’t mean people should drink recklessly.
Moderation is key. I hope those affected learn to listen to their bodies and adjust their drinking habits accordingly.
While the toxin in King of Liquors disappears after ten days of abstinence, excessive drinking in general can still harm the body. Heavy drinkers would do well to heed this warning.
The temple immediately dispatched people to Viscount Fayatt’s Bettanbaums territory. They planned to obtain samples of King of Liquors directly from the temple there and retest it on mice before taking further action.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”
“We are deeply grateful for your efforts in identifying the cause of this illness.”
Poison treatment is a specialty of the temple. This particular toxin and its symptoms had simply been unfamiliar to them, leaving them unable to act. Now that the cause was identified, it was best to leave the rest to the temple.
After bidding farewell to the Pope, I mounted my horse and departed from the Holy See.
“With this, Fayatt is finished. They’ll surely go crying to Lightstar for help, heh heh,” Grandfather chuckled from his carriage window.
It’s almost certain that Lightstar was behind the theft of the sake mold. They likely handed it to Fayatt to brew the alcohol.
While the aftermath of this poisoning incident remains uncertain, Fayatt, being a branch of the Lightstar family, is bound to suffer significant damage. Any harm to Fayatt would also weaken Lightstar, which is a satisfying thought.
Upon reentering the capital, we slowed our pace and made our way to the Bayerlein Ducal residence in the noble district.
Since the academy term hadn’t started yet, Rosemary and her older brother, Helmut, were also staying at the residence.
Grandmother, Lady Theresia (Alexander-sama’s wife), Rosemary, and Helmut greeted us upon our arrival. I suspect Rosemary’s welcome was more for Grandfather than for me, given her usual attitude.
“Welcome home,” they said in unison.
Passing through the line of servants, I joined my family.
“We’re back.”
“Welcome home, dear. And welcome back, Toma-chan.”
“Father-in-law, Toma-kun, welcome back.”
“Welcome home, Grandfather,” Rosemary and Helmut chimed.
We decided to stay at the Bayerlein residence for the night and return home the following day.
After dinner, I rested in my room.
I hadn’t fully depleted my mana at the Holy See, as one never knows what might happen there. Tonight, I decided to exhaust my mana for the first time in a while.
On the table, I placed a fist-sized stone and used Conversion to transform it into a gemstone.
When I reached level 150, my Conversion skill advanced to level 4, enhancing its level 1 effects and enabling the creation of precious metals and gemstones. However, these conversions consume a significant amount of mana.
At level 3, Conversion also unlocked Location Conversion, allowing me to convert one visible location into another. It’s essentially teleportation, though it uses a considerable amount of mana. Even with my large mana reserves, a 100-meter teleportation nearly drains me. I was shocked the first time I tested it.
Despite the high mana cost, it’s incredibly useful. In combat, I can instantly teleport 2–3 meters to evade attacks. This ability is reserved for emergencies.
[Conversion Level 1: Material Conversion – Transforms one material into another.]
[Conversion Level 2: Information Conversion – Allows viewing and transformation of information.]
[Conversion Level 3: Location Conversion (Teleportation) – Converts visible location A to location B.]
[Conversion Level 4: Event Conversion – Converts one event into another.]
[Conversion Level 5: Rank Conversion – Converts the rank of a target.]
Looking at it all written out, Conversion truly is an overpowered skill. Still, it’s the key to proving those so-called gods wrong. I’ll continue leveling up to strengthen this power.
I poured a large amount of mana into the stone, converting it into a one-carat emerald. My current maximum mana is around 35,000, but this single emerald consumed 5,000 mana.
Stone (fist-sized) → Emerald (1 carat): 5,000 mana
Stone → Sapphire (1 carat): 5,000 mana
Stone → Ruby (1 carat): 5,000 mana
Stone → Diamond (1 carat): 6,000 mana
Converting these four gemstones cost 26,000 mana. Next, I crafted rings.
Emerald (1 carat) + Iron (1 kilogram) → Gold Emerald Ring: 4,000 mana
Sapphire (1 carat) + Iron → Gold Sapphire Ring: 4,000 mana
Ruby (1 carat) + Iron → Gold Ruby Ring: 4,000 mana
Diamond (1 carat) + Iron → Gold Diamond Ring: 4,000 mana
Creating two rings left me with around 1,100 mana. When my mana drops below 10% of its maximum, I begin to feel fatigued. The exhaustion and drowsiness were setting in.
To completely drain my mana, I created some cooling patches for my sore thighs from horseback riding and used teleportation to finish off the rest.
The drowsiness became overwhelming. Before sleeping, I applied the cooling patches to my thighs.
“Ahh, cold…”
Cloth (1m²) + Slime Gel (500g) → Cooling Patches (10): 200 mana
With that, I drifted off to sleep.