I killed this venison myself. It's so fresh and delicious that I want you to taste it.


　Dinner.

　In front of the main dish of sautéed venison, Lord Dragnaut said that in a good mood.

　Just as he said, a violent, fragrant smell wafted from the sizzling venison, and we were sure it was delicious without a mouthful.

　Seal, Sparrow and the young members of the Scythe of Death, who have been invited to join us at this table, are gazing at the food with shining eyes.

　A wide variety of other dishes were also lined up on the table.

　A stew made from lamb raised in the duke's estate, steamed chouri shells brought in from the northern seas, trout from Lake Toya and seasonal vegetables in a jar, red beetroot (melon) with walnut sauce, and many more.

　The bread is white as a jewel, which is probably because it is made of high-quality wheat.

　The soup, which looked so ordinary, was infused with so much umami from the vegetables that I could hardly get enough of it, and I could drink it all over again.



　There had been extravagant dishes at the banquet held after the awards ceremony at the royal palace, but they were too extravagant for my taste buds.

　On the contrary, the food at the Duke's mansion was indeed extravagant, but it was evident that the food was designed to suit the taste of the common man.

　Probably, they would have served appetizers (hors d'oeuvres), soup, fish and meat dishes, and dessert separately, but they did not do so in order not to make the guests nervous.

　Eat what you like as you please - I was grateful for this thoughtfulness. Incidentally, you can feel Lord Dragnaut's meticulous attention to detail from the vegetable-centric vegetarian menu lined up in front of Lunamaria.

　I guess he's not a master at being the top vassal of the Canary Kingdom.



　And so the dinner party started with great expectations and admiration.

　I, like the rest of the group, was delighted with the excellent food.

　Oh, this stew and bread go so well together. Also, the walnut sauce on this beet melon was too good to be true. As I saw the sparrow nodding next to me, she seemed to agree with me.

　A sparrow looks at the empty plate with regret. I was told that I was free to have another plate, but it would be difficult for me to call out to the maids in the manner of a sparrow.

　It's not hard to understand why, so I raised my hand to ask them to do it for me, and that's when it happened.



　The high-pitched sound of dishes crumbling could be heard in the dining room.




　I looked in the direction of the sound to see what was going on and saw Claudia lying on the floor, clutching her chest in pain.

　All around her were scattered pieces of scattered white porcelain and the shells on her plate.


'Clau!


　Astrid, who was sitting next to Claudia, rushed over to her sister in a hurry. It wasn't just Astrid, but also her father Duke and the maids who had been waiting to serve her.


''........I'm sorry.......my hands are slipping......agh!''


　With a cry of pain, Claudia's thin body jumped wildly.

　More than once. Twice, three times, four times........Claudia was desperately holding her mouth, but the intense painful voice spilled out of the gap between her hands incessantly.

　Seeing this, Astrid tried to hold her sister's body with a pale face. Probably, she was going to pick her up and take her back to her room.

　However, just before her sister's hand touched her.





　Claudia bent her body into a crouch and let out a squeezing voice.

　It was probably a desperate resistance to the pain and suffering that assaulted her body.

　-- but the resistance was crushed in vain, and the voice of anguish turned into a deafening scream in no time.


''...........aaaaahhhh!　It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!

Claudia, Claudia!　Get a grip!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!


　A muddy scream that threatens to crush my throat.

　I am astonished that this is really the voice of that tomboy I spoke to in the stables.

　How much pain does it take to make such a voice?



　Astrid gives a short instruction to one of the maids. The maid received it and ran out of the dining room as if she had been played.


'Father, this is the place--'

"Mm.


　Astrid looked around at us and the other members of The Scythe of Death, who were present, and then spoke to her father, the Duke, with a somber face.

　The duke also nodded with a grim face, sensing what his eldest daughter was going to say.


'My guests, I am sorry to have startled you. Crow's been having a sort of seizure, you know. He's been calm for a while now, and his appetite has improved, but he seems to have gotten a little too excited today.


　Lord Draugnoth told us to go back to our rooms. He told us to return to our rooms and that he would have our meals brought to you later.

　There is no denying it, of course. Seeing Claudia now, I can't help but lose my enthusiasm for the meal.

　Besides, it was clear that the Duke wanted to pay his dues.



　If I forced myself to stay behind, I'm neither a doctor nor a priest, I'm of no use to him. I don't even know if it's still useful, even if it's in my back hand.

　We hobble out of the dining room as the maids quickly clean up the pieces of plates and food scattered on the floor.

　Claudia's screeching voice came chasing after our backs.



◆◆◆



Master, I have something to report to you.


　As soon as we return to the room, a serious-looking Lunamaria opens her mouth.

　Seal and Sparrow are in their own room. They must have decided that they don't want the two of them to hear it.

　That's enough to know that the story is a silly one.


'What?'

'Master Astrid asked me during the day. He asked if it was possible to get rid of the poison of the Thanasia grass with Jiria Ookus.

It's made from Thanasia.


　The name of a familiar herb - or rather a poisonous herb.

　The sleep-death remedy (Thanasia) is ostensibly an analgesic, but it is actually a poison that kills the body's ability to feel pain itself and dies a slow death.

　It is called a sleeping potion because it eliminates pain and suffering and causes the body to die in a sleepy manner.


　Lord Dragnoth and Astrid may have used the sleeping potion (Thanasia) to ease Claudia's pain and suffering.

　To put it bluntly, it's the equivalent of a man on the verge of starvation eating his own limbs to survive.

　Had I heard this story before dinner, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from getting angry.

　But once I heard the girl's exclamation just now, I couldn't bring myself to condemn Astrid and the others.



'So, what's your take on it?'

I can't say for sure because I don't have a complete picture of the efficacy of Jirai Ookus. However, it is unlikely that the toxins in the Thanasia plants will ever be completely eliminated. I have informed Master Astrid of this.


　Although she said she couldn't say for sure, Lunamaria, who is a forest elf (elf) and a sage (sage), seemed to be quite certain.

　The poisonous portion to be detoxified is only a part of the whole.

　There is no doubt that the grace period was extended by Jiria Ooks. But the fact that there was a time limit was unchanged.

　Lord Dragnoth and Astrid may want to do something about the curse before then.



　I'm not going to say that's wrong.

　However, looking at the way Claudia was suffering in the previous moment, I can't help but wonder if the reprieve we were able to give her at Jiria Oaks was actually only a small amount.

　That's how shocking the scene just now was. How could that child, who had been playing with Klau Solas without any color to fear, cry out like that?

　I wondered how much pain she was in. I bit my lip self-consciously.


...A curse, huh? I should have learned about curses if I'm going to have to deal with something like this. Come to think of it, did you find anything strange in the eyes of a spirit user?

I'm afraid I don't know for sure. But there's one thing I'm curious about.

'What's on your mind?　What is it?

'Yes. Shortly before Lady Claudia fell, I felt a strange pressure in my ears.

Pressure on the ears?　You mean you heard some weird noises?

'I'm not sure I heard anything clearly but... well, has the Master heard of something called a dog whistle?'

Oh, the stuff a tamer uses.


　A whistle that makes a sound that only dogs and wolves can hear. A skilled tamer could control a pack of wolves with this one whistle.

　I heard here and there that the dragon knights also use an item called a dragon flute similar to this one to give instructions to the dragons and call in dragons from afar.

　It seems to be a secret of the dragon knight order, although as expected I was not told the details.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it.


'Most importantly, I don't know if it has anything to do with Claudia-sama's abnormality. If it has something to do with it, it would be strange if everyone who was there wasn't suffering...''

'Yes. But it's too soon to assume that they have nothing to do with it. Of all of us, Seal has the best ears, and let's ask him if he heard anything, too.

All right. I'll call Seal right away.

Oh, no, wait a minute.


　I stop Lunamaria from leaving the room immediately.

　I beckon to the elf who looks at me with a curious face.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, but I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.


It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.

I'm going to do an experiment.

An experiment, sir?

'Yeah. I was actually going to go back to Ishka and try it out in Miroslav, but apparently I don't think I can take that long.


　An experiment is, of course, an experiment in which you pour your soul into your opponent.

　The reason why I chose Miroslav as the initial experimenter was as a result of thinking about what would happen if I failed, but there was another reason as well, because he was human.

　The real life soul-granting (soul-donor), not soul-eating (soul-eater), is the human Claudia.

　Even if he was successful against Lunamaria, an elf, it might not be the same as that to a human. The same is true for Seal, the beast man, and Sparrow, the demon man.

　That's why I thought of experimenting with Miroslav first, but I can't afford the luxury under the current circumstances. I wanted to get at least an approximate sense, if not a knack, before I put it into practice with Claudia.



　I had expected Lunamaria to resist when she was suddenly told that she would be used as an experiment, but surprisingly, the blonde elf was unresisting.

　She immediately relaxed from her shoulders and stared at me. In the up-close Suiyama (Emerald) eyes, I saw the face of a man who was somewhat confused.


''What should I do?''

I'm going to be the same as always.


　Lunamaria softly closes her eyelids in response to his voice.

　I eliminated my inner confusion and placed my lips on Lunamaria's lips.