Chapter 603

「It's waste liquid. Well, for me, that's the real deal, and the Scarlet Waterweed medicine is just like the wastewater」

The endemic medicine in its pill form that was originally manufactured in this country was made entirely from Scarlet Waterweed.

First of all, the outer skin of the Scarlet Waterweed's stem had the effect of disrupting Space-Time Magic, dissipating the Space-Time Magic power accumulated in patients' bodies. And its stem had the effect of regulating Space-Time Magic inside the patients to cure their Space-Time Magic sickness.

However, it seemed that the Scarlet Waterweed medicine manufactured by Zelyse and the Mesther Merchant Association only used the part of the stem that had the effect of regulating Space-Time Magic.

As a result, there was a big difference between the two. It took longer for the pills to take effect. The potion was said to work right after they took them, but the pill took a few hours to actually start working.

Its potion form may sound superior, but there was a big reason why they had never manufactured it.

First, the pills were easier to produce, while the liquid form required complicated extraction, separation, and bottling, as well as expensive equipment. But the pills only needed to be boiled in a pot and dried. Well, the process of making them still required skills and some chemicals, but it was not difficult to produce them.

Moreover, the pills were easy to store, easy to carry, and inexpensive. They had no side effects and were better against endemic diseases.

Its perfection as medicine was already high. No one had ever bothered to produce the liquid medicine when the manufacturing method for it was already widespread.

It seemed that when the Mesther Merchant Association started selling the product, while many people were pleased, some were surprised to hear that they had been conducting such a useless experiment.

However, the Mesther Merchant Association still manufactured it. I thought for sure that the medicine itself was useful, but...

I never thought that the medicine itself was not important to them, but the waste liquid from its manufacturing process was actually what they were aiming for. If what Zelyse said was true, then the Scarlet Waterweed potion was just a byproduct for them.

「That thing, what would you use that for?」

「I actually have some business in the center of this lake, but you see, I can't get closer because of those troublesome guardians」

It seemed that even Zelyse could not break through the Vivian Guardian's defenses. But still, what business did he have in the center of the lake? Could it be that Zelyse's true purpose was the sealed great magic beast?

「So I was wondering if I could get rid of them somehow... I knew that they were magic creatures born with Water and Space-Time Magic. So, I thought that if I dumped a large amount of the extracted Scarlet Waterweed into the lake, they would disappear」

So that was their reason for aiming for the waste liquid!?

「I thought that even if they didn't disappear, it would at least weaken them, but... I never thought it would mutate them like that. Moreover, it seems that the abnormal Guardians were suffering from a magic disorder and turned violent. Ahahaha! Isn't it interesting!?」

「Not at all」

「Well, there's also something else that's interesting. The abnormal Guardian is now seeking the Scarlet Waterweed potion. I think it's their instinct to try to get back to normal. Don't you think so?」

I see so that's the reason why many ships were attacked by the Modoki.

「But still, how did you manage to get to us? We've taken a great deal of care to made sure we didn't get found out, you know?」

「It was obvious」

「Hu~h?」

Fran replied to Zelyse's question with a triumphant look on her face, but it was Khanna who did the research, right, Fran? And I didn't think it was that easy.

「That's strange... Other people were sniffing around too, but none of them could even get to us... So, is there a traitor within our ranks...? Hmmm...」

It seemed that Khanna's information network was quite impressive. I thought that she was coming from a small merchant association, but it seemed, they were actually a large, cross-country merchant association.

「Rather than that, what's your real goal?」

「Well, I wonder...?」

「...Are you going to bring back the magic beast inside the lake and destroy this country?」

「Ahahaha! Too bad! Wrong guess! I'm not interested in that! That would be great if it could destroy the world. But if it could only destroy this country, it would only be talked about for hundreds of years at best, right? Ahahahaha, that's worthless for me!」

Zelyse said so and laughed with an innocent look on his face.

「You know the magic beast sealed in this lake is not normal, right? I've heard that it was a strange mixture of various things, so it might be useful for the ultimate magic beast I'm trying to create, right? Even I was shocked at my uncontrollable intellectual curiosity!」

After all this scheming, his goal was just to satisfy his curiosity? I still didn't quite understand this guy. It just reminded me that I couldn't let him go unchecked.

『Fran, you ready?』

(Nn)

『Urushi?』

(Woof!)

Alright, it seemed that Fran and Urushi were both ready. And of course, I myself have completed my magic and skills preparation.

『I'll make the first attack to create an opening. Then, you must attack him from the opening I make for you at once』

(Okay)

(Woof!)

I was about to unleash my magic, intending to land a hit on Zelyse's annoying handsome face.

But just before we made a move, I sensed a new presence behind us. It was a powerful presence that gave off a presence that I couldn't ignore. It was coming from the Commercial Fleet and heading towards us at tremendous speed.

It was a presence that I remembered.

When we looked in that direction, I saw a young boy with brown hair running across the water as if he were bouncing. It was Sierra.

I was wondering if he had come to help us...

「Zelyseee―!」

「Oya?」

Sierra's eyes were staring straight at Zelyse. From his fierce expression, it seemed that they had some sort of connection.

Sierra's gushing murderous intent towards Zelyse was very similar to Fran's when she attacked Zelos Reed.

The anger and hatred that was so strong that he could not control it must be what drove his body. He didn't even look at Fran, he was just staring at Zelyse with the eyes as if he was going to kill him.

But Zelyse's face twisted into a grin when she saw Sierra coming at him in a straight line.

「Could it be, he is... Woah, he has gotten big, hasn't he?」

As I thought, they seemed to know each other. But what kind of relationship did they have?