Since then, I cooperated with the interrogation (and was treated as a victim), revealed to the people of Isashimu’s Great Tree that “I am actually a magician and a summoner,” and was pressed by the magician Esume to teach her about magic in detail. Alesia and Kiara cried when they found out.
Zieghardt looked at me and Belial with a serious expression. I couldn’t tell if he thought we were dangerous, was simply curious about our abilities, or if he had some other motive.
The three troublemakers were banned from entering Renant. Although they were capable of reaching C-rank, their bad behavior and frequent complaints from clients led to a recommendation for improvement. They couldn’t rank up as things were. While I don’t know how adventurer ranks work, I think it was the right choice for everyone, who had just reached D-rank, not to force a fight.
Still, even though it wasn’t a time when there were many people around, we stood out too much, which was a mistake. Even the next day, people who had seen us approached and spoke to us. For some reason, women even asked me to introduce them to Belial.
So now, I find myself looking at the Elven Forest from above.
If I stay away from Renant for a while, the rumors will likely calm down by the time I return. I had also wanted to gather materials from a different area, so this worked out well.
I crossed the Tisty River, circled a wyvern, and then jumped down, using flight magic to land in an open area in the forest. Of course, Belial came along too. For a while, he had a face like he’d bitten into a bitter insect, but he managed to cheer up after learning about some good alcohol from a gatekeeper named Malain, who was an acquaintance of Alesia ‘s.
The Elven Forest has many large trees, even thicker than those near Renant, and there are grasses I’ve never seen before. The air is cool and pleasant, and it feels sacred, likely due to the abundance of mana. It’s easy to see why elves prefer it. Elves are known for being skilled in magic and archery and are often a beautiful race, living in villages deep within forests.
While walking in search of medicinal herbs, I found a stream weaving through the trees. The water’s surface glistened under the dappled sunlight, and the clear, clean water flowed abundantly.
“…I wonder if it’s drinkable?”
I crouched down to peer into the water and was about to dip my hand in when Belial, standing next to me, suddenly stopped me.
“Do not touch it! It’s contaminated!”
“Contaminated?!”
I stared at the water, which still looked beautiful enough to almost make a hole in my gaze.
With a stern expression, Belial scanned the surroundings, looking as if he were glaring at something.
“…It’s a basilisk. You stay turned around.”
“A basilisk…!”
A creature larger than a dog, slow-moving but deadly. Its most dangerous trait is its venom. It can kill with a mere glance, and even if the water downstream, which a basilisk drinks from, is used, it becomes contaminated with the same poison. The further downstream, the weaker the effect, but once ingested, it’s difficult to cure, and even if one survives, they may lose senses or parts of their body.
A light sound like a passing breeze echoed, and I could sense the use of magic. Given the danger of basilisk corpses and blood remaining, they were likely being incinerated with concentrated flames.
By the way, high-ranking beings like Belial are immune to status effects.
“It’s done. There were two.”
It was taken care of almost instantly, with barely any waiting.
“As expected, that was fast,” I said.
“Heh, do you think so little of me?” Belial replied smugly.
I looked back at the stream. The water was still flowing. I wondered if there were people living downstream, possibly drinking from the river.
I didn’t know how much the poison would be diluted, but they could be suffering from poisoning.
“…Belial, let’s check the situation downstream. Let’s follow the stream.”
“You haven’t forgotten our original purpose, have you? We’ve already dealt with it. Just leave it. It’s none of our concern.”
“I can’t help being curious.”
I quickly walked along the path between the roots of trees, which was hardly a proper trail.
“Honestly… What a busybody!” Belial grumbled, following me while flying above the stream.
That’s a good idea!
After walking for several hundred meters, I spotted a small path leading into the forest. The ground was compacted, indicating someone had been using it. There must be people gathering the water from the stream. As I followed the path, the trees thinned out, and I saw wooden buildings and fences. I could hear shouting, though I didn’t understand what they were saying.
It was a settlement of cat-people, slightly shorter than humans, dressed in clothes.
Suddenly, I overheard a heated conversation nearby.
“What’s going to happen to my daughter!? Help, please, doctor!”
“It seems like poisoning… The antidote isn’t working. We should contact the neighbors and have a healer or a sorcerer come as soon as possible.”
The one called “doctor” was a sheep-person with fluffy fur and curled horns, wearing a white robe.
The cat-person man, perhaps, was desperately pleading with the doctor.
“She’s getting worse than yesterday! She’s in so much pain!”
“I want to do something, but… Another patient just arrived. We’re running out of medicine…”
He looked anguished. I had hoped it wasn’t true, but it seemed that the basilisk’s venom contamination was far more severe than I imagined. I ran up to them.
“Sorry to interrupt, but did you drink from the stream?”
“A human girl here…? Yes, we do gather water from the stream here, but… Could it be the water?”
The doctor, the sheep-person, seemed to have already suspected the water might be the cause.
“Yes. I actually saw a basilisk drinking from the upstream water earlier. I defeated the basilisk, but I wanted to make sure no one else had drunk from the water.”
“A… basilisk!? Then regular antidotes won’t work…”
“But doctor! This girl says she killed the basilisk, but that thing is far too dangerous! It’s hard to believe…”
It seemed they didn’t want to believe it. After all, recovering from basilisk venom is almost impossible, and it would be hard to accept that the cause was something so severe.
“Do you doubt what I have slain…?”
From behind, Belial intentionally released a portion of his magic power. The background seemed to shimmer like a mirage.
“…A-A demon…”
The cat-people, sensitive to magic, immediately understood, their eyes widening as they trembled.
It was fast, but…
“Er… He’s contracted to me, so there’s no need to fear. But more importantly, let’s treat the patients. Could you tell me how many people are affected and their condition?”
“H-huh…? There’s been a ninth patient. They all look terrible, and the antidote isn’t working. But… you…”
The sheep-person doctor, still pale, answered my question.
“My name is Iriya . I can help with the treatment. First, let’s gather everyone in one room.”
“But moving them is dangerous…”
“And with nine patients, it might be too much for one room…”
The two exchanged nervous looks, unsure of what to do.
I couldn’t be sure if I could fully deal with the poison, so I didn’t want to push them.
“Considering efficiency, I recommend we gather them in the same room.”
“I suppose so…”
“Enough with the chatter! Hurry up! Do you plan to keep me waiting!?”
““S-sorry, we’ll do it right away!!!””
And just like that, preparations were quickly made.
