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Everyone present was gathered in Lyell mansion’s dining hall, where Troy and the other two were made to prostrate.

This time, the people gathered here were the Six Heroes, Letina, Mateus, Ashella, and Fina, aside from the trio. Carbuncle and Fina, as victims, were also present, adding up to fourteen people and one animal.

The dining hall was chosen because it was the most expansive room in the mansion.

“Now then, I have things to ask you.”

Lyell stood before the three in a daunting pose and spoke. If they responded badly here, they’d probably be torn to shreds instantly.

Even Mateus was shivering from fear on the side. He probably remembered being thrown around like a toy by Lyell. Even when unarmed, Lyell had enough physical strength to turn people into minced meat.

“Do you prefer dying in suffering or dying in pain?”
“That’s not what you should be asking!”
“That’s right, Dear. It would be a waste to kill them off like that. Let’s dissect them while alive.”
“Maria, you be quiet too. I get that you’re angry but still.”

Reid and Cortina retorted to each of them.

Their punishment could wait for later. First came finding out why they committed this, Reid and others thought.

“First, how did you kidnap Fina even though the Carbuncle was with her?”

A Carbuncle was by no means a weak monster. This particular Carbuncle had gone through a lot with Nicole, so it was far stronger than an average one.

And it protected Fina by personal(?) pride on the line.

Even Reid would’ve found it hard to kidnap Fina by slipping through the Carbuncle’s eyes, not to mention in a public place like that.

Even if it wasn’t as experienced in guarding inside the city, the Carbuncle wouldn’t have lost in a frontal fight.

“Well… We used a drug that Kufar gave us.”
“Kufar again? Did he plan this?”
“No, we did this by our own will!”

They could have put all the blame on Kufar here, but from their perspective, Kufar was someone they were indebted to for saving their loved ones. They hesitated on betraying him and putting all the blame on him.

They started explaining the situation so far and why they kidnapped Fina to Reid.

“We feel bad for kidnapping the young lady. But we had no other options left…”
“The medicine Kufar gave us is running out already. This medicine is so strong it would knock you out with just a smell. And the illness stops progressing while the patients are in deep sleep from its effect.”
“But this medicine is running out. We had to decide whether to put it to practice before it fully ran out.”

Like a broken dam, they started making their points known. But Cortina looked down on them as she spoke.

“Even so, I don’t find it admirable that you got a small child involved. Why didn’t you consider asking directly about it?”
“We also know that Kufar was in a hostile relationship with you people. We have done spying work for him. We didn’t think you would hear a request from such people.”
“If you value those people so much, you should have tried even if you had to beg for it.”
“Well, I’m of the same opinion… But anyway, Maria, what will you do?”

There were some things in this case that Reid couldn’t forgive.

However, as a half-demon himself, he could understand their point that they wouldn’t be able to get proper treatment. Or it would be better to say he had experienced it.

He thought that he might’ve resorted to something similar to save someone important if there was no other way.

Being a half-demon himself, he was the only one who could understand a half-demon’s circumstances.

“Well… I certainly can’t forgive them for this matter, but patients are a different matter.”
“So you will go and heal them?”
“You want me to do that right, Reid?”
“I-I don’t mind either way.”

Maria was looking at Reid, who was acting cool-headed here, like a troublesome little brother.

During their journey to defeat the Evil Dragon, she learned that he was nowhere near as cold-hearted as the world saw him be.

“I don’t want to abandon people in need either, so okay… I will heal them.”
“Really?!”
“T-Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
“Thank god, they will be saved now…”
“Before that, can you show me the medicine you spoke of? You can sometimes tell the condition of the patient by the medicine they are receiving.”
“Oh yes, it’s this.”

Zell took out a small bin from his pocket. There was a little liquid inside, about a tenth of the capacity.

“Be careful. It’s also a deadly poison that could rob your consciousness with one whiff. Yuna and others sleep for five days with just one sip.”
“I know.”

Saying so Maria slightly opened the lid and slowly moved her nose closer so she wouldn’t end up inhaling the full brunt of it. But even that seemed to be enough to make her dizzy so she instantly cast detoxification on herself.

“It seems to have quite a strong anesthetic in it.”
“It is probably not just that. I think it also has something to lower their metabolism during sleep.”

A young voice suddenly intruded. It was naturally Fina.

She had a Gift related to pharmacy. In a way, she was perhaps the most useful person here.

“Metabolism? I see, it’s not making them sleep but rather stopping time for them like sleep. So that’s how the illness is being slowed down…”
“Wait. I wouldn’t put it past Kufar to have caused that illness himself.”
“Speaking of which, he is a specialist in poison and illnesses, huh?”
“Indeed. It’s quite possible that he was behind the illness too so he could increase collaborators. It was always strange how he managed to gather half-demons so efficiently.”

Troy’s group wasn’t aware that Kufar was an illness monster called a Disease Slime. If they did, they would have doubted him right away.

“If that’s the case, we would need to detoxify them instead of simply healing. That’s where my power should come in handy all the more.”
“Considering the remaining drug, there isn’t much time.”

If they shared this bottle, there was just one more dose left.

If the patients were in Kolbo, with three days of travel to here in addition to this day, four days had already passed.

If they walked to Kolbo they wouldn’t make it in time.

“Would the patients’ stamina last for three days?”
“We let them drink a bigger dosage before we headed here. We have also handed a little over to our families who are taking care of them. We should just barely make it.”
“I see. Then let’s head out at once. Maxwell, you should be able to go there instantly, right?”
“I have never been in that village, so I cannot teleport you. I will have to make do with Flight, but it should be manageable to arrive within today.”
“So you will save them?! Thank you! With this, I have no more regrets…”

The three hugged each other in tears.

Seeing that, Lyell and the rest could only shrug without saying anything.