Kays Translations

Chapter 68: A Final Gift

We would go to the royal castle the following day. Dusk was already approaching, and if we went immediately, there would be no time to mourn properly.

After my luggage had been placed in my room, I joined Father in the townhouse salon overlooking the garden. We were alone; Mother and my brothers were comforting Rosalia.

“Father, how many people died?”

“Forty-three. Every one of them ate at the same restaurant. It was famous and frequented by nobles. We had dined there ourselves.”

“So the poisoning appeared indiscriminate.”

“That’s how it appears.”

Father understood what I was asking. I suspected that Grandmother had been the true target, and he seemed to share that belief.

“Do they know who did it?”

“An employee of the restaurant is believed responsible. He killed himself afterwards, so his purpose remains unknown. Perhaps he bore a grudge, or perhaps someone paid him.”

Father sounded exhausted.

Would an ordinary restaurant employee possess a poison that resisted every standard antidote? Of course not. Someone else had to be behind the crime, and Father knew it.

Who had ordered it, and why? The Panacea hidden in my possession might be the only medicine capable of neutralising that poison.

“Have they identified the poison?”

“The investigation continues. The Magic Pharmacists’ Guild in the royal capital is studying it, but Mother’s death has deprived the kingdom of its most knowledgeable practitioner. Even now, factions within the guild are fighting over who will succeed her.”

Even during a disaster, they cared only about advantage? It seemed foolish to expect much from the guild. Developing a new antidote would take time.

That raised the frightening possibility of the culprit striking again.

“There’s something Mother asked me to give you,” Father said. “Wait here.”

Grandmother had left something for me? She must have remained conscious for a time after being poisoned. The poison was evidently not instantaneous. If only an effective remedy had existed…

Father returned carrying a thick, worn book.

“Take this, Julius. It’s her gift to you, because you aspire to become a magic pharmacist.”

It was a book of potion recipes—probably a closely guarded collection. At the end of her life, Grandmother had chosen to entrust her knowledge to me.

Its age suggested that it might have come from her own teacher or from generations before.

“I’ll protect it.”

“Keep its existence secret for now. Many magic pharmacists would covet it.”

“I understand.”

I resisted the urge to inspect it in the salon and returned to my room.

Leaving the book among ordinary luggage would be dangerous. I disliked using the skill, but I decided to store it in Subspace.

Opening Subspace consumed enormous amounts of stamina and mana. Even in the game, it could be used only in safe locations.

It was convenient, but retrieving items at a moment’s notice was difficult. I generally stored only precious objects that I rarely needed.

Before putting the book away, I allowed myself a brief look.

It contained recipes for many potions, most of which I already knew. The ingredients were often familiar, but the methods were crude and sometimes completely wrong by my standards. They would produce the grotesque, foul potions common in this world.

At several points, I genuinely wondered whether the methods had been made unpleasant on purpose.

Still, the book contained valuable information. Some potions were unknown to me, and several ingredients were entirely new. Those materials might allow me to create medicines that had never existed in the game.

Despite my grief, the prospect stirred a little excitement.

I would study it properly after returning home.

I activated Subspace. Strength abruptly drained from my body, and I dropped to one knee. I couldn’t use this in public. Anyone who saw me would worry, and I would be helpless while the skill was open.

I stored Grandmother’s book and the Panacea inside the black space, then closed it immediately.

Good. No one had seen me.

By the time a servant came to announce dinner, I could walk normally again. I wished I had an elementary stamina-recovery potion, but I had used the last of them earlier. The elementary mana-recovery potions had likewise been consumed while making the Panacea.

I needed to gather herbs steadily once we returned. Perhaps the medicinal herb garden disguised as a flower bed should be expanded, though making it too large might attract attention.

Mother and Rosalia were already in the dining room. Rosalia, reunited with Mother after a long separation, clung tightly to her.

I envied her. I wanted to be held too.

“Julius, you look unwell. Come here.”

Mother was frighteningly perceptive. To prevent her from suspecting that I had exhausted my stamina and mana, I obeyed without hesitation.

She drew me into a firm, comforting embrace.

“You aren’t the only one grieving,” she whispered. “We’re all suffering together. You don’t have to endure everything alone. Let yourself depend on us.”

She had slightly misunderstood the immediate cause of my pallor, but I truly was grieving the sudden loss of Grandfather and Grandmother.

I allowed myself to remain in her arms until the rest of the family arrived.

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