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After Moritz left, Marcus' room was searched.

"Brother Jin, what's this?"

Erza had found something.

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"Hm?　...... What's this?"

It was a piece of leather paper, but there were words on it that even Jin couldn't read.

"Reiko, can you read it?"

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"Wait a minute. ............ Got it. These are the letters used by the demon tribe.

What?

It says, "...... ask-ques-itsurut-ftgumnus ...... something mixed with alcohol and given to someone to drink. It is torn, so I don't know more than that."

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Reiko confirmed this to Anne via the old man. Anne could understand a little bit of the demons' writing.

"Hmmm, arsenic, liquor, and this note. "Well, arsenic and liquor, and this note..." "I bet Marcus gave the marquis arsenic-laced liquor. And that Marcus is a demon."

"A demon tribe?

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Reinhardt was the most surprised to learn this for the first time. Erza and Meine were not so surprised.

Erza had been aware of this ever since she had confronted Marcus, and had told Meene about it.

What were the demons doing?

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Elsa answered.

"...... As I answered my brother earlier, he said he was gathering information."

"That's right. Gathering information,......."

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Reinhardt shuddered as he thought about what that meant. The fact that they were gathering information on the human side meant that the demons were planning to make contact with the human race. And it couldn't be friendly.

"So you're telling me that they know about Jin's airship, the mini-craftsman (Smith), and Reiko's strength?

"Of course."

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"I guess so. ...... Jin!　......"

Knowing that he was the only one upset, Reinhardt regained some of his composure.

"...... I see. That was just the beginning for Jin, wasn't it?"

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"That's what I mean."

Erza nodded on Jin's behalf. It was obvious to Elsa, who had been on a plane before.

Two more pieces of leather paper were found, which seemed to have been miswritten. After piecing together the contents and filling in the missing parts, one of the sheets was found,

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<<<<< by the Marquis>>. And the other one is

<<>.

Jin recalls that the demon tribe of Count Walter's place, <>, had also lent his help for the fun of it.

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It seems that the demons are interested in the human race.

"Well, I don't want to think about it, but I think that your uncle was thinking of more than marrying Erza off to the Marquis and making her a relative of his. After Elsa was pregnant, he poisoned the Marquis. If Elsa gave birth to the marquis's child, and if it was a boy, she might have intended to take advantage of being a relative and become the young marquis's guardian. Even if no child is born, he will have a different voice if he is the father of the legitimate wife.

Elsa shuddered when she heard this.

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"......I don't like that."

Meane gently hugged Erza's shoulder without saying a word.

"But with all this evidence, I'm sure the Randalls over here will be taken down. ....... Fritz, who is a soldier and has some merit, will probably stay in the army, but Moritz will ......"

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Elsa has the skills to make it as a magi engineer and would be a sought after healer.

If not, she could live with Jin on Horai Island or in the village of Kaina.

But that is not the case with Moritz.

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"...... brother ......"

"If Moritz is willing, but I would appreciate it if he would help me manage my domain."

Reinhardt received the estate from his father. Because of the formalities involved, he will not be officially posted until the fall. In preparation for that, I needed to increase the number of my men.

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Moritz is well known and capable.

I'll ask him later."

And finding nothing more of interest in the room, they all returned to the parlor with Elsa leading the way. Only Moritz was not there.

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"Well, the only mystery that remains is ......".

The big questions were answered, but there were still a few things that remained unclear.

"So, does that mean that it was Marcus who brainwashed Meane?"

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Hearing this, Meine turned her head down in shame, but this could not be helped.

"Probably so. I think it was a to make sure that Erza would marry the Marquis and to protect her from any insects.

If so, it makes sense that he could not be blamed for her terrible attitude.

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"Meane was great back then. <
"Jin-sama, I'm ashamed. Please give me a break.

At Jin's words, Meane's face turned red and she turned her head to the side.

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Except for them, Jin and Reinhardt were the only ones here who knew that Meine had tried to defect with Erza in order to protect her from the insects.

"Let's get back to the story. So you are saying that the demons can use hypnosis or something like that?

I don't know now whether it was seduction or hypnosis, but I can guess that the demons can use such brainwashing techniques, since they were released when I suffered a serious head injury.

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"The only thing that remains to be seen is the level of culture of the ...... demons."

Marcus was a top-notch magical engineer. Lardus also knew a lot about magical exhaustion fever.

"Anne told me that the demon tribe is not very social. That is to say, they do not form , but are united as a family unit. This means that after the war, the inheritance of culture and civilization of the human race was interrupted, while that of the demon tribe was likely to have been passed on.

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On the human side, specific knowledge is passed on by specific people, whereas in the demon tribe, it is passed on by the family unit. Jin guessed that if there were any survivors of the demon tribe, a great deal of knowledge would have been passed down to them. It was as if the demon tribe had a lot of backup.

"That's a ...... threat."

Reinhardt said with a slight pallor.

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"But we need to know what their ultimate goal is ......."

Jin also said that the area where the humans were now was not suitable for the survival of the demon tribe because of the low concentration of free magical element (ether). Hearing this, Reinhard breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmmm...so it doesn't look like they will attack us anytime soon?"

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"Yes. But we can't be too careful. That's why we humans shouldn't be fighting in skirmishes among small groups of nations.

Jin tried to explain the plan he was currently working on, which he called the "Fuso Island Sanctuary Plan.

But then...

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"Erza-sama, the Viscount has awakened!

The maid of honor accompanying Erza's father came in gasping for breath to report the news.

They rushed to her.

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"Father!"

The Viscount was lying on his side with his eyes open.

"Elsa?"

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"...... Father?"

But her eyes were somewhat unfocused, and the words she spoke were faltering and difficult to understand.

"I feel like I'm having a strange dream."

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"......"

Jin wondered if his brain had been damaged after all.

Even the best healing magic could not revive the dead brain cells.

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According to Elsa's examination, he also showed a slight tendency toward paralysis.

"Marcus, what's wrong?"

"...... Marcus has ...... disappeared."

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"So. I'll be right back.

And the viscount found Meane behind Elsa.

"...... welcome home."

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And he closed his eyes again.

"...... Well, I guess he still has some residual brain damage."

Returning to the parlor a third time, Jin said in a quiet voice.

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"The first stroke was minor, but this one seems to have been a bit worse. No amount of magic can regenerate nerve cells, can it?

The basic principle of healing magic is to activate and heal cells. Nerve cells and brain cells, which originally lacked the ability to regenerate, could be repaired, but could not be regenerated.

"...... Father, is he going to stay like this?"

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"I'm not a doctor, so I can't say, but with rehabilitation, or ......

Jin had no choice but to reply to Elsa's worried look.