'Poisoning! Come to think of it, mercury poisoning can cause symptoms like that!'
A shock ran down his spine like a bolt of lightning.
Mercury poisoning explained everything.
'Neurological symptoms, just like the ones alchemists get when they accidentally poison themselves with mercury compounds!'
This is what he learned while practicing the Alchemy skill.
It was on the list of precautions when working with mercury compounds.
Raymond turned to the messenger and asked.
"By any chance, what did the fallen soldiers do when they were resting?"
"Uh... I think they were drinking water from the stream."
'As expected!'
Raymond's mouth went dry.
'There must have been mercury compounds in the stream, and that explains everything.'
He was right.
Mercury was colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so you couldn't have ingested it with water.
'Who the hell would put mercury compounds in a stream?'
For a moment, Raymond's body stiffened.
A grisly hypothetical came to mind.
'The Drottons again?'
Now Raymond knew what the Kingdom of Droton had done.
The plague in the Bay Area and the traps in the ruins were both Drotonian.
Even Marquis Langham's assistant attempt was most likely the work of the Drotonians, so it was possible that they were responsible for this as well.
'Such demons. Even if we're enemies, this is way out of line!'
"Baronet? Did you find something out?"
Raymond looked straight at Klein.
"Give me an hour and I'll get it all sorted out."
"...!"
Raymond ground his teeth.
Uncharacteristically angry.
"I'm going to get every single damned demon that caused this."
***
Raymond told Klein and Elmud his conjecture.
They were both greatly alarmed and outraged.
"How dare they, those devilish wretches!"
"I-it's unforgivable!"
Raymond said urgently.
"First, collect the water from the stream that the soldiers drank from. One of us will take it back to the tower and analyze its composition for evidence."
"And now?"
"We need to catch the demons who caused this."
Raymond ground his teeth.
"They're probably still around here, and we need to catch them before they get away."
Raymond bit his lip.
Images of his patients writhing in pain flashed through his mind, many of whom would never recover and die.
'I may be a snobbish healer, but I can't stand by and watch this happen. I will catch them and make them pay.'
Klein said in a furious voice.
"I will mobilize my soldiers to catch them right now."
But Raymond shook his head.
"If you mobilize the soldiers, they'll notice and flee. They're probably good at hiding and running. If they start hiding, they'll likely be hard to catch. We'll have to use another method."
"Another method?"
"Set a trap."
Raymond explained his plan, and Klein shook his head in surprise.
"No! It's too dangerous!"
There was a reason for Klein's reaction.
But Raymond shook his head confidently.
"Excuse me, but do you know what one of my credos is, young master?"
"Let the patient live, is it?"
"...No. It's safety first, is it."
His two credos. Along with "stronger is better," it was "safety first."
"It won't be dangerous, we have a secret weapon."
Raymond then looked at the young lord, Elmud, whose eyes were red with anger and sadness.
"...me?"
"Yes. With your help, my lord, we can defeat them once and for all."
Raymond said with a glint in his eye.
"Then we'll set out to catch the demons right now."
***
"It's big news! Baronet Penin is coming up the mountain!"
"Baronet Penin?"
White Sox paused in surprise.
They had been staying in the upper valley, which was the source of the estate's drinking water, periodically spilling poisonous mercury into the water.
'Has he already discovered our plot?'
He seemed to have gotten a clue and was coming up to check.
"Is Baronet Penin coming up alone?"
"He's coming up with a dirty boy in a robe."
"You're sure he's not accompanied by any other soldiers?"
"No."
White Sox regained his relaxed face.
'He's not convinced yet, I see.'
If he was, he wouldn't have come up here alone.
He'd have soldiers with him.
"What is he doing now?"
"He's looking around the valley like he's trying to figure something out."
With that, White Sox made a decision.
"We'll get him."
"...!"
"Now that he's alone, this is our chance. If we don't get him, this plan will fail."
If they left him alone, he would discover the secret of the plague.
Then this plan would fail.
They had to capture him before that happened.
'His Highness the Grand Duke Berard will be very pleased if we capture him. Kuku.'
White Sox went with his men to capture Raymond.
"Are you Baronet Penin?"
White Sox asked crisply, but Raymond's reaction was strange.
He wasn't frightened at all by their sudden appearance.
On the contrary.
"Yes, you scavenging x's, I am Baronet Penin."
"... what?"
Raymond exclaimed as if he'd been waiting for it.
"My lord, they're here, capture them!"
Grunt.
The boy beside Raymond pulled back his hood. Elmud Lanton.
No, Elmud Aris.
The heir to Marquis Aris, the highest-ranking swordsman in the Kingdom of Houston, and once hailed as the kingdom's greatest genius.
A prodigy like no other in the history of the kingdom, having reached the intermediate level of Sword Expert before his twentieth birthday, he drew his sword with reddened eyes.
To the enemies who have harmed the people of the territory who were like family.
***
Raymond cursed excitedly.
"You're all going to hell! You're all dead! Get ready to go to hell!"
He had reason to be so confident.
It was because of the boy next to him, Elmud!
'The greatest coward in the kingdom.'
That was what the world said about Elmud.
But Raymond had heard other rumors.
'The greatest swordsmanship prodigy the kingdom has ever known.'
Three years ago.
At the age of seventeen, Elmud had reached the intermediate rank of Sword Expert.
It was an incredible feat.
He was the greatest sword genius in the history of the kingdom.
Only a few people knew about it, thanks to Elmud's reserved nature and fear of publicity.
Raymond had heard the rumors by accident.
'He must be even stronger now. Those bastards can't even catch him with their fingers.'
He could see them cringe as they realized how powerful Elmud was.
Raymond cursed in excitement.
"I'll kill you, you bastards. This is the end of you! May each of you pay for your crimes. My lord, bring them to their knees!"
Then there was a surprise.
Elmud stood tall and motionless.
"My lord?"
For a moment, Raymond saw Elmud's dark eyes flutter uneasily.
His heart sank.
'Don't tell me he's afraid? With all that skill?'
Then he remembered Elmud's words from yesterday.
'I was sent away for being a shameful child, for I am a coward, unlike my father.'
Suddenly, Raymond realized what he had overlooked.
The fact that Marquis Aris would have thrown his own son out.
'Marquis Aris didn't throw him out for nothing! He couldn't possibly be that cowardly!'
Elmud was not just a coward, he was an irredeemable coward!
Raymond hastily shifted his stance.
"You guys. Just go."
"... what?"
"I'll have special mercy on you, so get lost, and live the rest of your life in penance."
Raymond bluffed and pleaded.
'Please go away, just go away. I don't want to die! Just go. Argh. I shouldn't have planned this. I don't want to die! '
Of course, no such miracle occurred.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
"I was wondering who this was. The greatest coward in the Kingdom of Houston. Great, we'll capture you and give you to the Archduke, and the coward will be a hostage for Marquis Aris."
White Sox glared at Raymond with an eerie gleam in his eye.
"You will be offered as a trophy to the Archduke, and for all the plans you have ruined, you will be given a very long and horrible death, kuku."
It was a psychopathic laugh.
'Argh! Help me! He's crazy. Why did I plan this?'
At this point, there was only one way out.
Raymond pulled out his mace for self-defense.
He shuddered, but fortunately, a message popped into his mind.
[You are working to catch the person who poisoned so many patients!]
[Your 'heart of steel' is manifesting!]
[Have a strong will and a heart of steel!]
But was it because he was so nervous?
His fear hadn't completely subsided.
He barely gritted his teeth and said.
"My lord, please run away."
"Healer?"
"I'll stop them, so get down there!"
In some fiery act of sacrifice, he wasn't just trying to save Elmud.
Not far away, Klein's soldiers were waiting.
They had to be summoned.
Elmud, a Sword Expert, would be much faster than him, who ran as slow as a turtle.
'They don't seem to want to kill me right away, so if I stall for time, they'll come and save me.'
It was the only way.
But Elmud didn't move.
"I-I can't just leave the healer and go by myself."
"Oh, come on. Just go!"
Raymond felt like he'd chewed and swallowed a million sweet potatoes.
He didn't realize it, but he was a real sweet potato.
For the hundredth time, he understood Marquis Aris's frustration.
To make matters worse, they started to move.
"What a pleasant day this is."
White Sox smiled wryly and drew his sword.
'Fuck!'
Raymond swallowed back tears and stepped in front of Elmud.
"Go!"
"I-I can't..."
"Oh, come on! Please run! Oh, come on! Fuck! Quick!"
But Elmud had nothing to say.
"T-To stand in the way of the enemy for me, a coward. H-How can you... be so brave? To not only help the people of the territory, but to sacrifice yourself in a situation like this...? I'm so ugly, how can you be so triumphant..."
He was so moved, his voice was wet.
Of course, Raymond was furious.
'Shut up, you lump of sweet potato!'
He held the mace.
'Please, heaven help us this time.'
Maybe.
If he was really lucky, he might get as lucky as he had when he fought Seitil.
Just then, a message popped into his head.
[Crisis!]
[Self-defense skill, 'Healer's Self-Defense' is activated!]
[Stats]
[Stamina: 36 → 46
Senses: 33 → 43]
In addition, his stats have been increased.
[Your opponent is stronger!]
[Perk; Achievement: Dwarf Who Defeated a Giant (2+)" appears!]
['Slightly' stronger!]
[Stats]
[Stamina: 36 → 46 → 49.5
Senses: 33 → 38 → 41.5]
With the perks effect, his stamina stat was close to 50!