novelraw Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter 109 : Chapter 109
Chapter : 109
-Tiriring!
[You have quelled the madness that engulfed the Barony of Vigneux. The Barony of Vigneux will find stability, and the people will be grateful for your devotion.]
[Notification: The affinity of Baron Vigneux increases.]
[Notification: Infamy decreases.]
[Notification: Honor and Prestige increase.]
[Notification: The Barony of Vigneux temporarily falls into a frenzy of faith.]
[Notification: The miracle you have performed will spread rapidly in the vicinity of the Barony of Vigneux.]
With the complete recovery of the last patient, a system notification window popped up, officially ending the madness in the Barony of Vigneux.
They had completely escaped the threat of chaos, famine, and disease, and were beginning to regain their peaceful daily lives.
‘Hmm. Good. The recovery is faster than I thought.’
I watched the situation in the Barony of Vigneux with a satisfied smile.
If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before the barony returned to its former self.
But there was something I had overlooked.
Namely, [Notification: The Barony of Vigneux temporarily falls into a frenzy of faith.]
This phrase.
"Meeeeh! Repent-!"
I had completely forgotten about the goat beastman Bishop Marco's skills in incitement and preaching.
"Ooooh-! I repent. Forgive me for not believing…."
From nobles to the poor.
People from various classes, who would rarely gather in one place, were gathered in the cathedral, creating a sea of tears.
"Meeeh. The lord said! If you mix this holy water he has consecrated with honey, this disease will be cured, merr!"
"The disease will be cured!"
"And then God sent down a miracle, and the madness was truly cured. Meeeeh!! Praise him! Merr."
"The madness is cured! Ooooh, praise the miracle!!"
The goat beastman Bishop Marco, who had captivated the audience, was diligently selling me out. Well, since he was praising me, it wasn't a bad thing….
"Meeeh! In the name of God, madness, don't move, merr! If you act up, you'll be purified by the lord, meeeeeh!"
"Ooh. O devout Excellency…."
"So you must donate(?) to this place as much as your faith. Meeeeeeeeh!"
Somehow… the problem was that he was making cult-like remarks that would probably make the Holy See want to burn him at the stake immediately.
"……."
Besides, consecrated?
Consecrated my foot, all I did was give him common water drawn from a stream. And I just mixed honey and salt into it.
But for things to turn out like this.
For a moment, my head throbbed.
The problem was that this wasn't the end.
"Bishop Marco. You are right. I have never seen such a devout and honorable lord in my entire life."
"Meeeeh! Baron Vigneux. You believe in the manifestation of the miracle? Merr-!"
"Ooh, I believe!"
"Meheheh! Then you must praise the lord who has acted as an agent for the great God's miracle and donate to the grace of God! Merrrr!!"
"Here, here it is! Please accept it, Bishop!"
Even Baron Vigneux had come to this scene of madness, cheering and praising.
‘Why is that old man like that???’
What kind of disgraceful behavior was this for a lord who ruled this fief?
How long had it been since the southern heretic hunt had ended, and he was acting like this? My mind went blank.
‘Oh, my aching head….’
It seemed I had to drag that goat beastman down before he caused any more trouble. If this reached the ears of the Holy See or the surrounding monastic orders, it would be nothing short of a major disaster.
"What's wrong? Isn't it a fine sight?"
Magician Agpiel, who had been watching from the side, asked with a mischievous smile.
"Isn't that the good, no, the good-again bishop you spoke of? Our goat beastman is working hard again today. Heh heh."
"Uuuugh. Don't tease me, Magician Agpiel. I'm being serious."
"Well, it will die down soon enough. Don't take it so seriously. Surely that goat beastman isn't that thoughtless? He is, after all, a self-proclaimed 'Archbishop' with two dioceses to his name."
"Hmm…. That is true, but…."
I trailed off and glanced at Bishop Marco.
"Meheheheh."
Bishop Marco was looking at the pile of donations in front of him and letting out the characteristic laugh of a goat beastman.
As expected, the faint hope I had held was completely and utterly shattered.
Of course, Magician Agpiel found the sight very amusing.
"What do you mean, 'that is true'? Besides, isn't this all your own doing? If you did such things with the halo of a 'Performer of Miracles' on your back, you have to take responsibility for it."
Shrugging his shoulders, Magician Agpiel continued.
"More importantly, how did you know that the cause of this madness was rye?"
In fact, what Magician Agpiel was interested in was not something else, but the cure for the madness. No, to be precise, it was the response to the source that caused the madness.
"Actually, when I first heard the symptoms, I thought it was a mushroom. Cases like this often occur from eating the wrong kind of mushroom."
"Hmm. You are correct. The symptoms are similar."
Wasn't there something called the fly agaric mushroom in reality?
It was a fearsome mushroom that, when eaten, caused hallucinations, making one laugh foolishly like a clown and run around like a madman.
There was surely a similar mushroom in [Pangea Universalise].
But that was a mushroom.
Something that could only be gathered in the mountains.
"But wasn't it too widespread for that, Magician Agpiel?"
"Ah-?"
"We need to approach it differently. If it's affecting the entire domain, doesn't that mean everyone can easily come into contact with it and eat it? That narrows down the options considerably."
"Oh, certainly."
Magician Agpiel nodded his head.
"Then, as you say, it could certainly be rye. The madness affected the poor as well, after all. Wheat is too expensive for them to eat, isn't it?"
"That's right."
It was a kind of epidemiological investigation.
Surprisingly, this concept, which might seem obvious, did not yet exist in the world of [Pangea Universalise]. In reality, it was a concept from the distant future that would only emerge in the 19th century.
"Indeed, a very interesting approach to finding the problem!"
Thanks to that, Magician Agpiel seemed quite surprised by my words.
"But for someone who figured it out that way, you seemed to know it was rye right away. And you were confident about the cure, weren't you?"
"Actually, I have experienced something similar before. I had a hard time because of it. In the process, I happened to learn the method, Magician Agpiel."
"Ah, is that so? Well, madness of this kind is something that is discovered once in a while across the continent…."
Still, his expression was skeptical. This old man was sharp, that was for sure.
"A-ahem."
If he dragged this out, it would surely become troublesome. How could I possibly say, ‘I know the answer because I played [Pangea Universalise]’?
I hurriedly changed the subject.
"Agpiel. That is not the important thing right now."
"Hm? What are you suddenly talking about?"
Magician Agpiel tilted his head. I didn't miss the opportunity and immediately continued.
"Actually, rye is the food of the poor, isn't it?"
"That's true. It's cheap, isn't it? Enough for the poor to afford."
"Then why was the lord's wife the first to be afflicted? In fact, the lord's wife would have no reason to eat rye."
"?!"
Only then did Magician Agpiel look at me with surprised eyes.
In fact, I had found out while sorting out the situation in the Barony of Vigneux this time.
That this incident was an event I had experienced several times while playing [Pangea Universalise].
‘This is definitely the work of the King of the Elang Kingdom.’
Therefore, it was also very easy to find out the culprit of this incident. I had caught them several times before.
"Ooh, you're right. Now that I think about it, didn't they say the lord's wife was the first to be afflicted with madness? Someone must have been at work. I smell a conspiracy."
"That's right, Agpiel."
"Is that why you imprisoned all the attendants and administrators?"
"Yes, because we have to find the physical evidence before they get rid of it."
I nodded and immediately called for a soldier.
The destination was the Baroness's bedroom.
Since I had experienced this event before, there was no hesitation.
And just as I expected.
"We found it! Your Excellency."
As soon as they searched the Baroness's bedroom, a box containing a brown powder was discovered.
-Tiriring!
[You have discovered the conspiracy of the King of the Elang Kingdom. How you utilize this is entirely up to you. But be warned. The resolution of one incident often brings about another conflict.]
***
"N-no, how could you do such a thing!"
Baron Vigneux, upon hearing the details of the incident, expressed his anger in shock.
Well, if I were in his shoes, I would surely be furious and rampaging as well.
"Who on earth is the person who committed this act?"
"Um, that is…."
I was about to speak, since I knew the culprit, but my words caught in my throat.
‘Wait a minute…. as far as I know, this is….’
Suddenly, my head throbbed.
It was because I remembered who had caused this incident.
The Baroness Vigneux's attendant, Debua.
Absurdly, she was a person from a collateral branch of the Holy Empire's imperial family, dispatched as an attendant for the sake of amity.
‘Why was this case so convoluted? This will make them misunderstand that the Holy Emperor did it.’
It was truly unnecessarily complicated.
If they found the culprit, wouldn't they immediately suspect the Holy Emperor? Not the King of the Elang Kingdom.
If that happened, the Holy Emperor, who was suddenly taking a hit, might express his anger towards me, the one who resolved this case.
Claiming that I had framed him.
But before I could calm things down and smooth over the situation, things exploded.
"I-I'm sorry, my lord! But I never meant to harm the Baroness. It was a healing potion I bought from a merchant. I really didn't know."
No sooner had the enraged Baron Vigneux run to where the attendants were imprisoned than the attendant Debua confessed.
"W-what?! Debua. Is it really you who did this?"
Baron Vigneux seemed quite shocked. The sense of betrayal was immense, as she had been a cherished attendant.
"How could you do such a thing? Alena cherished you so much."
"I-it's a misunderstanding, my lord. I never meant to harm the Baroness…."
"Silence! How dare you make such a ridiculous excuse. Reveal your backer at once. You could not have done this alone."
Baron Vigneux fumed and cut off the attendant Debua's words. In Baron Vigneux's mind, the attendant Debua was already the center of the conspiracy.
"Speak now. Ah? It must be the Holy Emperor, mustn't it? As far as I know, the Emperor often resorts to such vile acts. Did the esteemed head of your family order you to do this? Debua!"
Of course, as I watched this unfold….
‘Oh, my head.’
My head was throbbing. I had tried to build a friendly relationship with the Barony of Vigneux, only to end up on bad terms with the Holy Emperor.
"W-wait a moment. Wait, Baron Vigneux."
I said hastily.
"Didn't she say she bought it as a healing potion? Then shouldn't we first catch the merchant who sold that healing potion?"
That was right.
The attendant Debua's words were the truth.
She had really just purely bought it as a healing potion. It was the merchant who sold the healing potion who was a stooge of the King of the Elang Kingdom.
"If we catch him and find out the full story, this will be over easily."
"But…. no matter how you look at it, isn't this the conspiracy of the Holy Emperor?"
"Still, since she's saying that, shouldn't we at least check?"
"Hmm…."
Oh, finally, Baron Vigneux took a step back and began to consider.
That was a relief. Now, if I quickly called a soldier and caught that merchant….
"My lord!"
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, a messenger ran up and shouted.
I started to feel uneasy.
Whenever something like this happened, a variable always occurred.
And just as I thought.
"What is it?"
"The Holy Emperor has sent a magician, saying he will cure the madness. What should we do?"
"……."
At those words, Baron Vigneux silently looked at me. Then, a moment later, with a furious expression, he shouted at me.
"Wasn't I right! The Holy Emperor must have been pulling the strings. Your Excellency!"
As expected, it was as expected.
‘Damn it….’