Chapter 276 Humans And Those Who Are Not
"Brother, what was it like?"
Maya-chan asked me, referring to the report I'd received from Seteas-san.
Seteas-san was practically family to the Holy Lady and Hero-sama—her niece and nephew. Even though he couldn't use magic himself, he seemed to hasn't realized that didn't mean he could just sit things out. Honestly, I was glad he was taking his duties as manager seriously now.
"Remember how we talked about the Healing Attribute Magic users here? None of them have reached level 2 yet—they're all still level 1."
"Oh, right. Since everyone in Swiglefen is human, they said the healers were mostly young, right?"
"Exactly. They should be around our age."
"Okay."
"So here's what I want to check. If possible, can you ask Mahiru-chan to have Seteas-san assign a few of them to us? I want the most experienced Healing Attribute user in Swiglefen included. I'd like to run some tests."
"Got it!"
Even though it was just the two of us, Maya-chan gave me a crisp salute. I had a feeling this was just how she always responded—whether it was family or close friends, she didn't change her style.
'Mahiru-chan, hello. Yes, Maya and the others have arrived in Swiglefen. See you later—'
* * *
"Head Manager, thank you for seeing us. I'm Mario Valenrane."
Thankfully, he didn't call me Tatsuma-dono. I assumed Risleyria-san had filled him in beforehand. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Mario was a young man in his late twenties, the second son of a baron's family. He'd been working at the shrine since the old Daioraden era. Right now, he was responsible for organizing the Healing Attribute Magic users.
Food supplies—leafy greens, root vegetables, grains, and meat—were transported to the royal castle from farms, ranches, and merchant guilds. Everything was detoxified once before being stored.
"These are the ingredients we've prepared for royal use," he said.
Spread across the table were boxes of vegetables—both leafy and root types. Maya-chan picked up a leafy one. It looked similar to bok choy—something that could be eaten raw or in salads. We'd eaten it before, so it was familiar.
"Hm, I see. So this is called Emerle... It says here that it contains 52% of the Oso toxin. That's pretty high. Does it absorb it while growing?"
"That could be the case," Mario-san replied.
Maya-chan handed the Emerle to him. He sat down, took a prepared cup of mana tea, and sipped it slowly.
"I'll proceed as usual," he said.
"Yes, please," I nodded.
"Mm-hm."
Mario-san took a deep breath and held the Emerle in his hands.
"Detoxy."
Watching someone else use the same detoxification magic as Jag-san was a rare sight—it felt surprisingly refreshing.
"Maya-san, here you are."
"Thank you. Let's see... oh, this is amazing."
"What is it?"
"Brother, can you believe it? The Oso toxin level is now... zero. Completely gone."
"That's impressive."
Mario-san looked slightly confused. Maybe he hadn't expected the toxins to be removed so thoroughly.
Maya-chan reached into the box and pulled out another untreated Emerle.
"This one's at 53%... Let me give it a try. Hmm—'Holy Clean'... Oh wow, zero percent again. That's surprising. Even low-tier healing magic works this well?"
It almost sounded like a product commercial.
"Yes, that's a bit unexpected," I said.
Even though Swiglefen was one of the less contaminated regions, it wasn't just water that contained Oso toxins—foods were affected too. For water, they'd installed magical purification tools. But preventing toxin intake through food remained a challenge.
I didn't know how they handled it during the Daioraden era, but since becoming Swiglefen, they'd been using this detoxification method for all food. Mario-san nodded confidently and said he'd return to his duties.
Later, we were sitting at a café in the Adventurer's Guild hall, sipping tea and chatting.
"That really surprised me," Maya-chan said.
"Yeah."
"Vegetables are mostly water, right? Like, 90%? And meat's about 80%, isn't it?"
"Sounds about right."
"I couldn't verify the meat directly, but I took a quick look at the butcher shop earlier. I used appraisal, and it showed zero percent contamination."
"Seriously?"
"But, Brother..."
"Hm?"
"You remember the Celestial Race—wing bugs—in Arlheave?"
Ah, yeah. Just don't call them 'wing bugs.' Even if it sounds accurate, it's not exactly polite.
"Yeah, I remember."
"They were growing vegetables in that high-altitude area, too. Do you think they were purifying them as well?"
"Most likely."
"Was it because they're super picky about hygiene, or was there another reason? I've been wondering."
"Maybe they really are just that particular."
"Kind of reminds me of the Daioraden era."
"Yeah... I can see that."
The former Daioraden royal family was extremely cautious about the invisible threat of Oso toxins. To ensure their safety, Maya and others had been tasked with purifying food and securing clean drinking water.
"Hey, Brother."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think something we found in that pigsty might be connected to all this?"
"It's possible."
We returned to the mansion. Everything recovered from the old Daioraden marquis family had been handed over to Maya-chan from Mahiru-chan—books, documents, and other random items.
When I checked through her inventory, I found only one item that stood out as odd. It didn't seem to have a purpose.
"A thermometer?"
"Yeah. It looks like one... but is it actually a Magic Tool or something else?"
"Hey, big brother."
"What's up?"
"I'm going to the lake for a bit."
Once she had an idea, she acted instantly. That impulsiveness—we definitely shared that trait.
"Be careful. Take Wilshion with you."
"Got it!"
Notes:
• Seteas-san - The inn owner/receptionist who teases MC about 'last night'.
• Seteas - The inn owner/receptionist who teases MC about 'last night'.
• Mario Valenrane - Male. A young man in his late twenties, the second son of a Baron family. He works at the shrine and is responsible for organizing Healing Attribute Magic users in Swiglefen. His appearance is not detailed, but he is described as competent and confident in his role. He uses detoxification magic and is surprised by its effectiveness when demonstrated by Maya-chan.
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