Chapter 93 (1/2)

Chapter 93

(Harold’s pov)

It was only a slight change, but those words had made Itsuki’s facial expression stiffen a little. It looked like Erica had her breath taken away, too. The human losses had been held back to a minimum thanks to the antibody drugs made by Harold, and with the LP farming method, the territory had acquired a new source of revenue; but nevertheless, the decay in their exploitation of forestry, which used to be their forte, was still a painful problem for the Sumeragi territory.

Even if their economy had not been affected at all, this was still a source of anxiety, and there was no helping the fact that it was a minus for the whole Sumeragi territory. There was no reason for Itsuki’s interest to not be caught by this.

【”Can you really do it?… That would probably be a foolish question to ask. But how in the world would you go about doing that?”]

That was a reasonable question for Itsuki to ask. But presenting an answer to this would be the same as revealing who was the one pulling the strings behind this case.

In other words, it would clarify that Liner’s end goal was to bring down Justus. But what would really happen if Harold told them about the existence of the last boss, which had been revealed to them only by the final stage of the original story?

Harold had been troubled and scared many times so far about changing the flow of the game’s story, and as he modified it over and over again, he had started thinking like this: What if the story had already reached a point from which it could not be fixed anymore?

In this world, Clara had survived, and with that, Colette had no reason to hate Harold. The same applied to Liner, who was hostile to Harold in the original story because he was his childhood friend’s enemy.

Due to the antibody drugs and the LP farming method, the Sumeragi territory had not fallen into a serious economic crisis, and they no longer needed to marry their daughter Erica to the infamous Harold.

Since he hadn’t lost his subordinates, Cody did not give up on the knight order and still belonged to it, therefore, the Frieri group, which was supposed to be established by him, was instead managed by Harold with Elu’s support.

Harold had also unexpectedly developed a connection with some of the members of the protagonist’s party who were supposed to have nothing to do with his character until the start of the game, such as Lifa, Francis and Hugo.

The Harold Stokes in this world had already become a completely different person from the original Harold stokes, and in this situation where he was close to the eleventh hour, he probably had better make his plans accordingly.

Therefore he spoke up without hesitation.

【”This is the source of the miasma. You’ll be able to stop it if you disable it.”]

As he said so, he took out a hexagon-shaped machine of about ten centimeters (4 inches) in diameter. It was a strange-looking object with a cord and a blinking light on it. When Harold put it on the desk, it made a heavy, solid thud.

While in the middle of a mission to set some of these devices in specific places, Harold figured it might be useful and took one of them for himself. Because he was afraid that Justus would find out, Harold had insisted that he had lost the device and continued asserting his innocence until he stopped being questioned about it. So, in short, he had stolen it.

【”What kind of machine is this?”]

【”Do you know about what they call a dragon pulse?”]

【”I recall it’s like a passage through which the earth’s essence flows…”]

Itsuki answered Harold’s question with some vague information. However, if he already knew that much, then there was no problem. A dragon pulse was something like a power spot.

Incidentally, Colette and Liner, who were facing Harold, exchanged glances and tilted their heads in wonder, seemingly unaware of what a dragon pulse was.

【”That’s right. And by installing this mechanism in the dragon rear, which is the exit of a dragon pulse, one can absorb the earth’s essence, its energy.”]

Harold wasn’t quite sure how the device worked exactly, but a normal person simply could not understand an object that was made by Justus himself. For the time being, he could do nothing but acknowledge the fact that that was how things were.

Besides, this world’s mysterious energy that was called the earth’s essence was even more familiar to Harold than the energy that people used in his original world, so he didn’t even have to twist the truth.

【”So what? I don’t really get it.”]

【”The earth’s essence is like a person’s blood. Liner, what would happen if, for instance, you were to tie a rope very tightly around your upper arm?”]

【”My blood would stop!”]

【”Yeah. Then, if your blood stopped circulating there, it would result in necrosis, and your arm would rot and fall down.”]

Those words made the whole room silent. Almost everyone had guessed the meaning behind Harold’s words.

To clarify the seriousness of the situation even further, Harold continued explaining.

【”When the flowing essence gets interrupted at the dragon rear, a similar phenomenon happens to the earth. The miasma is like blood that’s gone bad; it’s the essence’s impurities.”]

【”The essence’s impurities…”]

【”When they enter someone’s body in large quantities, the impurities get mixed up with the person’s blood, causing an anomaly.”]

That was the setting in the original story. Moreover, considering the fact that the antibody drug was effective in this world, then this theory probably applied here as well.

Harold had thought that Itsuki would be delighted to find the solution to a problem he had been facing for years, but that was not the case. Rather, his facial expression looked even grimmer than before.

【”…Harold, is there a way to cure someone whose blood was mixed up with those impurities?”]

【”Yes, and it’s quite simple. If you disable the machine, then the earth’s held back essence will start overflowing. If that someone breaths that in, then his condition will probably improve.”]

【”Really?!”]

Itsuki became excited and showed a broad smile, it was a complete change from his earlier grim face. He was concerned about the lives of his people above all else, that was his top priority, just as one would expect from someone who was from the Sumeragi family. Erica, who was next to Harold, kept on taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

When the device was deactivated in the original story, the accumulated earth essence gushed out, and some light green particles rained down on the Sumeragi territory. The game also showed a depiction of patients, who had been affected by the miasma, suddenly recovering upon inhaling those particles.

Justus intended to make use of that accumulated essence, therefore if the devices that were installed in various places, including the Sumeragi territory, were disrupted, his plans would be put to action with an insufficient amount of energy, and he would get incomplete results. In other words, properly solving the miasma problem here would show effect in the fight against the last boss.

【”If you deactivate the device that’s installed at the dragon rear somewhere on the mountain, then the flow at the dragon pulse will return to normal and the miasma will disappear. The local population will be saved, as well. You hear me? Don’t destroy it, deactivate it.”]

【”We’ll do that for sure. But what happens if we break it?”]

【”The enormous flow of essence that’s been held back will go on a rampage and will blow up the whole area.”]

【”That’s one serious task to take on!!”]

Francis showed an exaggerated reaction, but everyone else shared the same stiff expressions on their faces.

Well, perhaps that was an inevitable reaction given that they were told the whole area would blow up if they failed.

【”Stop shouting. It’s going to be fine as long as the right procedure is used to deactivate it.”]

【”O-oh. Don’t scare us like that…”]

【”And Harold-sama knows that procedure for sure!”]

【”No, I don’t.”]

Liner, who had been feeling relieved, and Colette, whose eyes had been full of expectations, were both frozen stiff on the spot. The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

【”You don’t…? Then, what should we do? Should we ask the one who made the machine?”]

【”How dumb can you possibly be? We can’t exactly ask the one responsible for this situation to deactivate the device for us now, can we?”]

【”That, that makes sense…”]

Harold unintentionally insulted Hugo out of reflex. As for Hugo’s reaction, he shrank back.

Harold had reflexively let his mouth speak even though he had been trying to avoid talking more than necessary. But well, so far, he hadn’t stopped talking at all, so his hopes of keeping his identity concealed were steadily going down.

【”Then we’ll have to look for a solution from scratch. First we’ll examine the structure of that device and…”]

【”That won’t be necessary.”]

【”…What do you mean?”]

Harold took the machine he had put on the desk and he lightly tossed it on his right, towards Lifa who caught it with both of her hands.

【”She’ll disable it.”]

【”Her?”]

【”Yeah, that’s right. You got a problem with that?”]

With a slightly provocative tone to her voice, Lifa smiled at Itsuki. Needless to say that what she meant was that he shouldn’t judge by appearances and make light of her just because she was small.

In the game’s story, Lifa could manipulate a machine’s system right after touching it for the very first time; she was also familiar with mechanical engineering and electronic engineering given that there were scenes where she quickly built some simple machines of her own. So, although she was overshadowed by Justus because he was simply too much of an oddity, she was still a genius.

Harold had handed her the device on the way here and had gotten her to grasp its structure and the method to deactivate it. She herself had said “I’ll do it”, so everything was likely going to be fine.

【”That’s how it is. As soon as Lifa is done getting prepared, we’ll go disable the device.”]

【”I’ll go with you!”]

【”M-me too…!”]

【”If you two are going, then I guess I’ll have to come along.”]

Liner, Colette and Hugo immediately showed their will to accompany Harold and Lifa; and Francis followed suit.

【”Well, now that I’ve heard so much, It’s impossible for me to withdraw.”]

【”Franck…”]

【”My royal blood would cry if I didn’t take action to pull my best friend out of his predicament.”]

【”…Thank you. Alright, then I’ll also――”]

【”No.”]【”You cannot.”]

Harold and Erica simulataneously interrupted the words of Itsuki who was about to declare that he would participate.

That was only natural. Not to mention the fact that Itsuki had not appeared in this event in the original story, he was also the next head of the Sumeragi family. He could not afford to take the risk of losing his life in the unlikely case of a failure.

It was probably the same thought process that led Erica to stop her brother.

【”No? But….”]

【”Think about your standpoint. “]

【”Shouldn’t you take shelter in case of an emergency, elder brother?”]

【”The people of the Sumeragi family can’t not involve themselves with this serious matter.”]

【”Then, I’ll go. You don’t mind, right? Harold-sama.”]