That's right.
Now Kairen was speaking of the death of his father, King Odin.
Unless King Odin died, the throne would not go to him.
-When King Odin dies, you, as first in line to the throne, will ascend to the throne immediately.
Despite Raymond's recent rise to prominence, he didn't even have a claim to the throne yet.
As soon as King Odin dies, Kairen would become king.
"Is it possible?"
-I don't think it will be difficult. By the way, he's requested an S-class healer from the Peninsula Kingdom, so it looks like he's in pretty bad shape.
The other person in the crystal ball smirked.
-In that case, I'll check King Odin's physical condition, and we'll come up with a way to fake his death.
The communication was cut off.
Kairen's face relaxed, and he walked up to the top of the cottage with a satisfied look on his face, and looked south to where Raymond was.
"Not long now."
It was an eerie voice, he imagined.
The thought of being king and trampling all over Raymond, and then killing him in despair.
What a pleasure.
***
Raymond made a smallpox vaccine in a hurry and got ready to leave for the Kingdom of Droton.
There was a reason for the rush.
'We need to catch it early. Otherwise, it could spread like wildfire.'
The problem was that the smallpox outbreak was near
Castle Josef, the capital of the Droton Kingdom.
Once the disease reached the capital, it would be unstoppable.
The entire kingdom of Droton could be covered in smallpox.
'That's not all. It will likely spread to the neighboring Kingdom of Houston. At the very least, the Rafalde, which is right next door, will not be spared.'
In other words, this was fire in the hole.
'No matter how powerful I am, there is no way to stop smallpox from claiming victims once it spreads.'
There is only one way to prevent smallpox victims: vaccination.
However, the vaccine project was only in the conceptual stage.
It was a long way from production, distribution, and inoculation.
'I have to stop it before it happens.'
A message popped into his head.
[Prevent the Grim Reaper's Arrival!]
(Medicine Quest)
[Medicine Rank: Three Half Scalpel
Difficulty: Medium
Quest Description: The Grim Reaper is arriving! Use your powers to stop the worst of the plague from spreading!
Clear Conditions: Initial Suppression
Reward: Bonus Level Up x2, 100 Skill Points
Perks: Droton's Benefactor, another unexpected achievement]
'Achievement? What is it?'
Raymond shook his head.
It wasn't about the perks anyway.
The smallpox had to be stopped from spreading.
The problem was distance.
'How long will it take to get there?'
Raymond made a puzzled face.
The province of Rafalde was at the northern end of the Droton Kingdom.
The smallpox outbreak had erupted at the southern tip, a considerable distance away.
The journey ahead was lengthy, stretching far into the horizon.
Given the expanse, even riding at full speed would require at least a week's travel.
Considering the rugged terrain along the route, the journey would likely extend beyond that estimate.
'No way. I've given them some quarantine measures, but after that long, it's likely to spread the disease around.'
But he had no choice.
They'd just have to try to get there as quickly as possible, but that idea hit a snag soon after they set off.
"What are we going to do about the Kennel Mountains? We don't know what monsters we'll encounter if we go through them."
Raymond's jaw dropped at Christine's words.
'Monsters, that's scary. I don't even want to look in the direction of the Kennel Mountains.'
The Kennel Mountains are a wide range of mountains in the south of Rafald.
The Borrison Estate, where the Crystal Crisis occurred, was also located in the Kennel Mountains, and he was terrified when he went to explore it.
It was rugged and full of dangerous monsters, so it usually takes a long detour.
It was one of the reasons why trade between Rafalde and the mainland Droton Kingdom hasn't really taken off.
'It's dangerous to go through, and there's no time to go around, eh?'
But this time, others gave him forced courage(?).
First, Elmud, the sweet potato fool, spoke up.
"I know how much you care about your patients, my lord, don't worry, I'll protect you no matter what the danger!"
"..."
Hanson shook his head and gave Christine a scolding look.
"That was a foolish question, Princess. A detour for a master who moves for his patients."
Christine sighed.
"I know, I'm just saying."
She knew there were no detours for the patient-worried Raymond.
"Uh.... I think a detour would be a good idea... If we're safe, the patient is safe..."
It was just something he said out of frustration that he had to risk his patients like this every time.
Lyndon spoke up, but it was lightly dismissed.
Rao briefly wondered at Raymond's hesitation, but chastised himself for doubting his brother again, and went ahead to find the quickest route.
Finally, Mevinson the Sage tearfully commended Raymond for taking a risk for his patient, while Raymond the party...
'...You fools.'
And so it was, with a heavy heart, that they penetrated the Kennel Mountains.
***
They had to move as fast as possible, so they didn't have a lot of people.
Still, it was the last leg of the journey, and the best knights were with them.
Elmud, Rothen, Krynn, and the rest of the Relief Knights.
'This should be enough.'
Raymond patted his chest.
In addition to them, there were more than five Sword Experts.
He didn't have to worry about any monsters coming out.
'As long as an S-class monster doesn't come out, we'll be fine!'
S-class monsters.
Powerful monsters on par with a Sword Master.
Of course, such monsters were semi-legendary, so the chances of encountering them were slim, even in the Kennel Mountains.
'Let's go!'
Raymond was eager to get out of this ominous mountain range as soon as possible.
When he was halfway through the mountain range, he encountered an unexpected obstacle.
"Wait, wait, clan benefactor!"
It was Sonia, cat ears, tail and all!
The Noble of the cat tribe they had met earlier appeared before them.
"What's going on?"
"Be careful. There's a problem on the path ahead."
Everyone looked at Sonia in surprise.
"There's a monster co-phenomenon up ahead."
"A co-phenomenon?"
"It's when a powerful monster takes up residence and pushes the old one out of the way. It appears that a new powerful monster has appeared deep in there."
Raymond's heart sank.
"A powerful monster? How powerful?"
"At least a double-A monster by human standards."
Raymond gulped.
For reference, the criteria for judging a monster's strength was as follows.
Class D - equivalent to a trained regular soldier.
Class C - equivalent to a formal knight.
Class B - equivalent to a Mana User
Class A - equivalent to a beginner Sword Expert.
'Ugh. Such a strong monster is waiting for us? If it's a double A-ranked...'
Raymond blinked his eyes.
'... It's worth a shot, right?'
For reference, a Double A grade was equivalent to a Sword Expert Intermediate.
And there were three people here who were Sword Expert Intermediate or higher.
'If I count Sonia, that's four, so shouldn't we be able to handle any monster that comes our way?'
The fear of monsters was common at the top.
Elmud, Rothen, and Krynn were all top knights who had revolutionized the previous war.
Right now, Raymond's group was too powerful to be afraid of monsters.
In fact, everyone didn't seem too worried.
'It's just a monster, I'll protect my lord!'
The trio of Relief Knights, Elmud, Rothen, and Krynn, were exuding this momentum.
Sonia also spoke up.
"Of course, I know the skill of the benefactor who defeated me, but I'm warning you just in case."
Raymond turned to Sonia for perfection.
"Perhaps you could show us the way?"
It was more of a request for her assistance in case of emergency than directions.
After all, as a true blood, her powers were immense!
"As a favor to the clan's benefactor, of course."
Sonia led the way.
She knew the mountain range like the back of her hand, and she guided the group to the safest path possible.
They made it through without incident.
Just a few more miles and they'd be out of the mountains.
As the tension in the group eased, Raymond felt a little nervous.
'Why am I so anxious? Is it because I'm a wimp?'
Raymond scanned the group.
It was reassuring to know that he had brought the best of the best.
No monster would be able to defeat them.
Even knowing that, he still felt uneasy.
'Ugh, this cowardly nature won't last forever, let's get out of here.'
Raymond asked to ease the tension.
"How is the clan's heir doing?"
"Oh, Mien is completely healed, and he doesn't need to take the medicine you sent him anymore."
Raymond looked surprised.
The medicine he sent.
'It's thyroid hormone. He wouldn't be able to survive without a complete thyroidectomy and hormone replacement, so did his thyroid regenerate some?'
Maybe it had.
The body of a cat person, especially a true-blooded one with the power of chaos, was not the same as that of a human.
"He's here."
"What?"
"He has been asking to see you, and has been following you secretly even now."
He looked in the direction Sonia pointed, and there, sitting on a tree, was a pretty little cat!
"No way, that cat?"
"Yes, it's Lord Mien, indeed... Quaintly cute, isn't he?"
Raymond was puzzled.
That boy was that cat?
'I heard that True Bloods can actually shapeshift into animals.'
Not all beast people can shapeshift.
Only the true-bloods could transform with the power of chaos.
'How does it work? Chaos is a mysterious force that hasn't been fully understood.'
Raymond waved his hand at the cat anyway.
It was good to see the child he'd worked so hard to heal recovered like that, but Mien's reaction was unexpected.
He turned and scurried away.
'What?'
Sonia explained to a puzzled Raymond.
"Mien is shy, especially in front of his favorite person, and from the way he's acting, it's clear that he really likes you."
"..."
Raymond was silent.
The kitten hadn't completely disappeared, just stared back at him from a distance.
Raymond remembered the message he'd heard earlier.
[The one who is rejected for pairing, falls into a state of longing alone!]