Kays Translations

Chapter 443: An Academic Theory

As we listened to Margrave Draken, Lady Hilda apparently grew curious and asked him a question. I was grateful, because I had wanted to ask the same thing. I did not know Margrave Draken well enough to question him casually.

“Margrave Draken, why did the monsters mutate?”

Everyone else seemed to share her question. The room fell silent, and all eyes turned towards Margrave Draken. He slowly shook his head.

“That concerns me as well. I have sent knights and adventurers deep into the forest to investigate, but the cause remains unknown.”

“Then it could happen again?”

“I do not wish to alarm you, but… yes. It is possible.”

Lady Hilda went pale at his answer. Caro did as well, and Axel, seated beside her, gently rubbed her back.

…So Fabienne and I were not the only affectionate couple here.

“If so, we simply need to remain vigilant. We will not be caught off guard again. We also have high-quality magic potions now, so another outbreak should be far less threatening.”

Margrave Draken looked around the room as though trying to reassure everyone.

The eastern frontier had suffered such widespread damage partly because its people had been caught off guard. There had not been a monster outbreak there for many years, so that was understandable.

So there were adventurers in the Draken Margraviate. Perhaps every frontier territory had an Adventurers’ Guild. I wondered whether it differed from the guild in the Heine Margraviate.

“Indeed. We will not make the same mistake twice. The investigation is still underway as well, and we may yet discover the cause.”

Marquis Mulan added his reassurance. Mutated monsters… One academic theory held that monsters were born from stagnant mana. Perhaps there was a concentration of mana stagnation within the forest. Margrave Draken likely knew the theory and had already ordered the suspected areas investigated. There was a good chance they would eventually find it.

The real problem was what to do afterwards. Finding a place where mana had pooled would not eliminate the threat if no one could disperse it. Perhaps they could construct an observation post nearby, but a watch station in a monster-infested forest would always be dangerous.

“Julius-sama, is something wrong?”

“I was wondering what countermeasures we could take if we found a place in the forest where mana was stagnating.”

Fabienne’s eyes widened. Why that reaction? Had I said something strange? I cautiously looked around and discovered that everyone was staring at me.

“Julius-sama, have you already determined the cause of the mutations?”

“N-no. I merely read an academic theory that described something similar, so I wondered whether it might apply here.”

That was not a lie. While studying monsters as part of my efforts to understand this world, I had encountered the theory. At the time, I had thought, So that is how it works, and paid little attention. How had the conversation come to this?

“Julius… No, Julius-sama is correct. We also suspect that mana stagnation caused the mutations, and our investigation is prioritising places where mana may have pooled.”

That was the moment he changed from calling me Julius to Julius-sama. Had Margrave Draken acknowledged me? Nero stared at me with shining eyes, and the other children looked much the same.

“And as Julius-sama observed, even if we locate it, we do not yet know how to eliminate it. Have you considered any possible methods?”

His tone had become markedly more respectful. This was bad. Nevertheless, we could not ignore the problem. If the stagnation remained, the same disaster might recur decades later.

If mana naturally gathered there, perhaps all we needed was something that would steadily consume it.

“What about planting medicinal herbs used in magic potions? Many of them absorb mana from their surroundings as they grow. If the plants consumed the mana at the site where it accumulated, they might disperse the stagnation.”

The salon fell completely silent. What was this atmosphere? It was frightening. The idea seemed obvious enough that anyone could have proposed it.

Margrave Draken finally broke the silence.

“Hahaha! I see. An excellent idea. I did not realise Julius-sama even understood the conditions medicinal herbs require to grow. This could be a major discovery. Your suggestion has reminded me of something I have always wanted to try.”

“Something you want to try?”

Margrave Draken’s eyes shone like those of a child who had found a fascinating new toy. Why did that give me such a terrible feeling?

“House Draken possesses a seed of the World Tree. No one knows when it entered our collection, but I have always wanted to plant it.”

Why did House Draken own something like that? If he spoke with such confidence, it had probably been appraised and confirmed to be genuine.

Was it truly safe to plant such a thing? No, that was not even the main issue. If it grew, the consequences would be enormous. I needed to stop him somehow.

“Margrave Draken, is it truly wise to plant something so valuable? I have heard that the World Tree takes many years to grow. Even germination can take an extremely long time…”

Margrave Draken paused to consider my objection. Good. If he kept thinking, perhaps the entire idea would be abandoned.

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