Up to here, the suspicions on Rowe were still not cleared.
Yuika didn’t say a single word, she kept a stern expression and just watched the flow of the conversation.
“I understand the background of the matter. Now, we will be moving on to the main issue at hand…”
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Nuuk further questioned
If Rowe assumed responsibility for sabotaging “Twilight’s Sword”, then the safety of “Twilight’s Sword” should have been guaranteed. So why did he have them act individually during camp?
In order to build ties with the expedition parties, as well as to improve cooperation, for meals and the like, shouldn’t they have done it together?
“T, that’s because, this guy to poison…”
Nuuk interrupted Berii’s comments with a wave of his hand.
“Well, wait. I have already heard your story. Surely it is only fair that we get to listen to Rowe’s side now.”
“But, other than that, I can’t think of anything else.”
Rowe sighed heavily.
“There is more than 1 ‘Sherpa Sword’.”
“……Eh?”
“The former Guildmaster, Gima, is a cunning person. Despite me accepting the request, I wasn’t confident that I had her complete trust.”
Though, the ‘Sherpa Sword’ is the greatest taboo for the Sherpa Guild. So the number of people who know of its existence should have been kept to a minimum.
Even if there was an assassin other than him participating on the dive, Rowe estimated that it would at most be 1 other person.
“In the end, it was only a matter of the odds, but as insurance, I thought that potions, consumables, and other items that might be consumed should be managed separately.”
“……Hmm.”
Nuuk nodded, putting his finger on his chin.
Rowe then said that he had probed his colleagues, the senior Sherpas.
If, for any reason, someone were to try to hand them potions or food — that person was highly likely to be the second “Sherpa Sword”.
“The Sherpa named Gameo?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
So Rowe knocked away the potato soup he had offered.
“However, it doesn’t look like that food was poisoned. Perhaps he was first trying to test the waters.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
“Because I just confirmed it with the person himself.”
Rowe stroked his red, swollen cheek.
Calling him to the passageway for questioning, Gameo confessed that he had received another request from Gima.
That was to push Rowe in the event that he became hesitant, and take his place in the event he abandoned the job.
Gameo had three children. He had just purchased land and a house. He must have accepted Gima’s request in order to protect his family and his livelihood.
But he was also a kind-hearted man.
He was troubled and distressed by the nature of the work he had been charged with.
“Senior Gameo hit me, but in the end he understood and also supported me.”
Rowe smiled brightly.
“So I don’t think there’s any more need to worry.”
A high-pitched laughter, “hyohoho” rang out.
“Getting to see a bit of so many different human relationships is indeed interesting. In places I was unaware of, this kind of drama was happening.”
“Magikan……”
This Sage tended to be somewhat lacking in morals, and liked sticking his head in things that interested him, regardless of whether they were right or wrong.
“However, the essential problem has to be solved.”
Magician swirled the contents of the cup in his hand.
“My [Appraisal] cannot be misled. This thing is a poison to the body, the result is certain.”
Berii, who had completely lost heart, regained her strength.
“Y, yeah! There’s such clear evidence. No amount of reasoning can change the fact.”
To that, Rowe used a phrase that was widely known not only in the world of pharmacology, but also in general.
“‘Poison can be medicine, and medicine can be poison.’”
“……”
Rowe pulled a glass vial from the pocket of his ruksack.
Inside was a brown powder-like substance.
“This is the method that the mayor of Tyros had prepared to prevent the Twilight’s Sword from clearing the labyrinth.”
That was the eggs of a parasite gotten from a desert country far to the west — the Four Extreminities Bug. These eggs ere resistant to drying and could survive for more than ten years in a vial. When taken into the body of a living creature, they absorb water and hatch in one go.
“The incubation period is 3 to 5 days. While the host is sleeping, they gather at the extremities — the tips of the limbs, and expel their toxins.
There will be no pain. By the time it’s noticeable, the tips of the fingers and toes are already necrotic.
When this happens, neither healing magic nor magic to restore abnormal conditions will work. No matter which member is poisoned, “Twilight’s Sword” would likely have no choice but to give up the exploration and fall back.
In other words, Tyros Labyrinth would be protected.
“I gave this powder to an acquaintance of mine who is a doctor and requested him to [Analyze] it. It was identified as the eggs of a parasite. Fortunately, I found out that by drinking a herb that kills parasite, it could be cured. And that medicine–“
Rowe pointed to the cup in Magikan’s hand.
“–is that drink.”
“……Ho.”
“The medicine for removing parasites is a powerful medicine. The [Appraisal] by Magikan would definitely show the result as a poison of some sort.”
However, by diluting it with water and taking the proper amount, there will be no problem. It will kill all foreign creatures — including the frightening parasites that enter the body in one fell swoop.
“I’d noticed that Berii was acting strangely. In the past 2 days, she looked to have been talking to Senior Gameo. There was a possibility that she was secretly receiving food from him. Senior Gameo has a hobby of baking sweets after all.”
“……Ah.”
Berii let out a dumb voice, as if she had thought of something.
The girl had planned to obtain information about Rowe from Gameo, and when she spoke to him about her not having any appetite, had received sweets wrapped in a bag.
“Well, the chances of that being poisoned are extremely small, but I thought I should have her drink it just in case.”
A hush fell over their surroundings.
Berii, with cold sweat on her forehead, held his stomach.
“Then, finally…”
Nuuk took the cup from Magikan and presented it to Rowe.
“Are you willing to drink this as proof of your innocence?”
“Of course.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Rowe drank a mouthful of the green liquid.
“Let me express my gratitude to you for protecting ‘Twilight’s Sword’.”
Nuuk straightened up and bowed his head.
“And I would like to apologise from the bottom of my heart. I am sorry that one of our members made a false accusation.”
“No, if you had heard the contents of that meeting, it’s understandable why you might get the wrong idea. Please don’t blame Berii.”
The moment the mediator delivered his verdict, Yuika breathed heavily as though all the strength had left her body.
“–Haa. My heart, I thought it would stop.”
As though making sure of each step, she approached Lowe and pressed her forehead against his shoulder.
During the cross-examination by Nuuk, Yuika didn’t say a word and tried to assess the situation accurately.
Rowe had said that he didn’t want blind love.
And that conclusions from thinking and trust from the heart alone were two different things.
Since this was the wish of the man she loved, Yuika had decided she would also follow.
However, when suspicion fell on her lover, she realised how difficult it was to do so.
She could not suppress the buzzing in her heart, and her head was spinning.
She was so nervous that she even forgot to breathe.
“Why, why didn’t you tell me?”
Yuika looked up and stared at Lowe.
“If you had consulted with me beforehand, then I wouldn’t have let Darling worry about this on his own.”
“It was my own selfishness to not report this.”
Rowe explained his reason.
If Tylos Labyrinth is cleared, Rowe’s colleagues in the Sherpa Guild will flow to other labyrinths to find new employment.
What would happen if rumours of the “Sherpa Sword” were to spread?
Sherpas are not supposed to interfere with Adventurers’ exploration of the labyrinth. The fact that one belonged to the Sherpa Guild of Tyros would make other Guilds refuse to accept them.
Because they would fear a scandal.
Rowe had decided to defy the authories and do his best to assist in “Twilight’s Sword” labyrinth capture.
This would also mean destroying the lives of his colleagues.
So, at the very least — by keeping this nefarious scheme to himself, he wanted to try and protect their futures.
“And one more thing.”
This was a personal reason.
Rowe was born and raised in the town of Trlos, spent day and night fighting as an Adventurer then learned how to live in the Sherpa Guild.
These things that nurtured his past and present.
The parts that were vile and corrupted.
“I didn’t want Yuika to find out.”
“……What an idiot, Darling.”
Yuika exhaled with a big sigh the hot feelings that had welled up in the back of her chest.
“There was no need to worry about that. If you wanted to protect your colleagues’ honour, you could have kept this matter in the dark by simply beating up the masterminds.”
“There are some old people there, so I wanted to go easy on them.”
As they smiled at each other, someone deliberately coughed to break apart the mood.
The interloper was Nuuk.
“Black Princess. There is still more to go through.”
‘……Is there anything else?
“Yes. The treatment of Berii.”
While knowing the details of Rowe’s meeting with those authorities, Berii failed to report to her comrades..
Nuuk said that this could not be overlooked.
Certainly, if Berii had reported immediately, he would have been able to interview Rowe at an earlier stage and such a misunderstanding would not have arisen.
“N, no. Actually, that–“
While stammering, Berii confessed.
She herself had not known all the details of the meeting. Just before Rowe was about to reply, she was interrupted and his “Whisper” spell was broken.
At the time, she didn’t think that Rowe would betray them and she had thought that if they were able to quickly clear the labyrinth, some schemes would become meaningless.
However, the subsequent actions and words of Rowe started to give rise in her the possibility that Rowe might have betrayed them, and that suspicion grew and grew–
“……”
Nuuk pressed his temples.
“How should we proceed, Black Princess?”
“Berii acted with the party in mind, didn’t she? I appreciate that, and I don’t think any penalty of the sort is warranted……”
The one suspected was Rowe.
It would be best to ask him.
“What do you think, Darling?”
“In the first place, I’m the one who owes her an apology. Besides, I also did the same thing and hid the request from all of you.”
Rowe apologised to Berii and expressed his admiration.
“With the limited information she had, I think Berii did well in her deductions and actions. I got chills when she made Magikan [Appraise] my medicine. Perhaps Berii could become a great detective.”
“…..Ugh!”
Her face was bright red and she hung her head down.
Both her shoulders were trembling lightly.
“Uwaaaah!”
“W, what’s wrong, Berii!”
Berii was writhing and rolling around, and the nearby Adventurers and Sherpas exchanged looks with each other as if trying to figure out what was going on.
–
