Just like on the first day, no monsters appeared on the way to the village, and we arrived there smoothly.
We carried the injured to my grandfather’s clinic, but the problem came after that. After listening to all the symptoms, my grandfather called me outside to tell me something about the children.
Although I’m not really keen on it, I’ll definitely need my grandfather’s help, so not going with him is not an option.
The children have not shown any cognitive or behavioral problems so far, so I decided to have the man they knew watch them while I spoke with my grandfather.
No matter how you look at it, it was about what would happen to the children, so it wasn’t something that would be discussed publicly, and I think my grandfather took that into consideration when he took me outside.
“Why did you bring them?”
My grandfather glared at me, and I looked back at him, tensing my stomach. I knew he wasn’t just a kind grandfather, so I expected him to start off by being negative about the children. We have maintained a grandfather-grandchild relationship for so many years.
“I thought I might be able to help.”
“That’s impossible.”
“How can you be so sure? You’ve never seen a case like that, have you?”
If there were many cases where mushrooms grew just before people turned into monsters and stopped them from turning into monsters, I would be able to judge whether or not they could be cured. But I have never heard of such a case.
“Without a doubt, the two of them still have human consciousness, their appetites are still within the limits of humans, and their reason is still functioning. There’s no doubt that their hearts are human. In that case, I want them to at least undergo treatment. Father told me to, so of course I understand if that doesn’t work. If that happens, I’ll get rid of them myself.”
“Don’t put it so lightly. The mindset is completely different between exterminating a monster as a monster and exterminating it as a human. Not to mention that you will start to feel sympathy for it once you treat it.”
I don’t mean to say that lightly.
However, my grandfather still doesn’t understand my resolve, so he opposes it for me.
My father had run away from home because my grandfather was worried about him. But he didn’t chase him to the royal capital to try to stop him. He probably sensed my father’s resolve in that.
Therefore, I have to show my resolve so that my grandfather can understand, but it would be wrong to take the children and run away from the village.
“Yeah. I think I will feel affection for them… And since I do, I will take good care of them.”
I rephrased it as, “I’ll look after them as humans, not as an extermination.” I’ll look after them as humans and exterminate the monsters. Caring for them is something we do at the clinic, and I’ve cared for the elderly in this village until they die.
“…can you do it.”
“If I do everything I can.”
I hesitated, but before I could think twice, I nodded. I had to show that my will was firm.
I nodded and my grandfather let out a big, obvious sigh.
But this is my grandfather, so he has no choice but to help out.
“Listen. There are two problems. One is the treatment. The reason we haven’t tried holy water is because the monsterization of the body has progressed too far and there is a possibility that they will collapse, right? However, the only treatments we can do now are holy water or medication. If we choose medication, we have no choice but to calculate the amount based on the weight and try a small amount, as it has never been used on a child before. We can’t administer a large amount, so we don’t know how long it will take to heal, and we don’t know what side effects it will cause. Furthermore, the taste of that medicine is too harsh for a child’s tongue.”
“Yes. Dad has prepared a honey that numbs the sense of taste, so I’ll have them lick it beforehand and then drink it afterwards. I’ll monitor their progress…”
“I don’t mind looking after them, but if I leave them here at the clinic, it will put other patients at risk. That’s the second problem. Who will take care of them and where? They’re children, not adults. Regardless of whether they’ve been turned into monsters, we can’t just leave them there.”
“Yeah. The current clinic doesn’t even have private rooms, and it’s not even being used as it should be.”
If the monsterization progresses and the patient loses his senses, the patients in the same room will be at the greatest risk. In such a situation, small children without parents will have to sleep together in a large room. It’s just not possible.
“Now that the Saint is here, it will only take a moment to heal your injuries. So I can be with you during the day. But, what about at night?”
“…I’ll take care of them. I know it’s bad for the children, but I’ll use magical tools to restrain them in their rooms at night.”
“Even children of werewolves have great strength and explosive power. Can you do that?”
“Yes. I will wear a robe that will only protect me from the first hit, and I will have the children wear wristbands that will emit an electric current when they leave the room. By utilizing the magic circle of the magic sword, I will be able to restrict it to only me being able to put it on and take it off. Also, just to be on the safe side, I will put holy water on the doorknob as well. If it touches it, it will disintegrate, and the screams should wake me up. Since Alice and the others will be there, I won’t let them leave the room at night.”
What we’re doing is confinement, but it’s also for the sake of the children.
Alice, who already has holy water on hand and can cast purification spells, is stronger than a werewolf who has just become a monster. And my father is also much more used to exterminating monsters than I am. The ones who will definitely be attacked and killed are the children.
However, the thought of having to convince Alice even more made my stomach churn. And not just Alice. Sylphia, who was with her, too. She was there to protect Alice. So to protect her, she might sprinkle holy water on the children before they turned into monsters.
So I have to take responsibility for watching over the children.
“… In some cases, I may take Alice into my care. Let’s talk and decide.”
“Is that okay? Alice is a saint, so if anything happens, the responsibility will fall on Grandpa.”
“There shouldn’t be any fools out there who would try anything against Alice while the maga disaster is happening. And when the monsters reach the village, even if we can’t help her, we’ll have an excuse in the current situation. Of course, we’ll protect her.”
Certainly, the safety level has dropped significantly since they first arrived. There’s no telling when a monster might come in the direction of the village.
If my grandfather’s abilities alone can’t protect the village, then the village itself is in danger. Although the Saint was suddenly thrust upon us and we were told to protect her unilaterally, it’s certainly not our responsibility when it comes to the issue of responsibility.
“However, they may try to shift the blame onto us, but by then I’ll be dead and they won’t have time for that anyway. I’ll probably just leave it unresolved.”
He said lightly that he would protect it, but death means he will protect her with his life. My grandfather said that he will do everything he can.
“Grandpa…”
“Don’t look so depressed. I’m not planning on dying yet, you know?”
My grandfather slapped me on the back.
I myself risk my life to go to the next town, but when I hear that someone close to me is risking his life, I suddenly become worried.
As we were talking, the clinic suddenly became noisy.
My grandfather reflexively entered the clinic before me, and I followed behind him. My grandfather may be old, but his reflexes have not deteriorated.
But what was causing all the fuss? Perhaps the kids had done something?
Such anxiety swirls in my chest, making my stomach ache. I feel anxious because I have decided to watch over them myself. If the decision is made to remove the children from the entire village, how far will I be able to protect them?
“What are you doing?”
The place, which had been in an uproar became quiet due to my grandfather’s voice.
“What caused the commotion?”
In response to my grandfather’s question, the patients’ gazes shifted to one spot.
There, in front of Alice, was Sylphia, standing as if to protect her, and a child clinging frightenedly to the man’s leg.
Realizing that this was bad, I quickly stood in front of the man protecting the children.
Alice looked shocked at this.
“Why are you standing with your back to the monster?”
“Because they’re not monsters yet.”
In response to Sylphia’s glaring eyes, I replied, “Of course.” I don’t know what kind of exchange took place, but the weak ones right now are the children. However, Alice and the others are afraid that this will be reversed.
Calm down.
I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to fight.
“Then why don’t you use holy water? Lady Alice has prepared plenty.”
“…A lot of your body has already turned into monsters. If you use it now, there’s a high chance your body will disintegrate.”
“If it collapses, that means it’s a monster. The thing we must protect most here is the Saint. Without the Saint, no one can be saved. We must eliminate anything that could harm the Saint.”
If it collapses, it’s a monster.
It’s a way of making decisions that leaves your fate up to heaven.
I know, it’s the easiest way.
“No. They are not monsters yet. They have reason and behave like humans. In other words, they have not turned all the way into monsters.”
“But surely there’s no other way to cure monsterization other than holy water?”
“there is”
Hearing those words, both Sylphia and Alice looked at me in shock.
“Huh?”
“…What is that? Are you going against God’s will?”
Sylphia asked me tremblingly.
This method was already widespread in villages far from the royal capital, such as my grandfather’s, where even saints are not sent.
It’s troubling to hear such medication being described as if it were demonic.
However, it’s certain that a medicine that can cure monster transformation would also damage the Saint’s vested interests.
“How is it against God’s will?”
“To have power equal to that of a saint, despite not being a saint. A saint is one chosen by God, and it is not a power that should be possessed by someone who has not been chosen.”
ah.
Is this the idea at the heart of the temple?
That’s why information about the mushrooms hasn’t spread at all, and treatments to cure monster transformation have to be done in secret and in small doses.
The power of the Saint is omnipotent. She can heal wounds, erase maga, and cure monsters. And all in an instant. So with just one Saint, most things can be managed. But the scope of what one Saint can do is limited. With several Saints, the scope is limited to the scope of several people.
Accepting this, they cut off the areas they could not reach, and this village was one of them.
And does she understand that her argument is saying that the abandoned village should perish according to God’s will? And that if anyone other than the Saint desperately tries to think of a way to save them, even though they can’t help them, that’s an act of evil?
I feel nauseous.
In that case, they should have helped them before they got so cornered that they had to think of such a solution. It’s not like struggling to survive is evil.
In my frustration, I was about to yell, but my eyes suddenly met Alice’s worried gaze and I suppressed my anger.
Calm down. A magician shouldn’t let their emotions get the better of them.
It’s not something that should be solved by fighting.
First of all, Alice doesn’t know the current situation. Just like when she was cooking, she was blindfolded and told that it was evil. Sylphia may have more information, but she has never actually been in that situation. She didn’t make this statement knowing the despair of seeing someone she loved turn into a monster.
Besides, I too don’t know anything about the common sense of the saints – no, the temple.
We have different common sense. What we take for granted is not necessarily obvious. So I took a deep breath to calm myself down.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
