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CHAPTER 10
A man who appeared to be a staff member rolled out a three-tier cart. At the sight of bottles filled with a pale pink liquid placed on top, gasps spread through the crowd.
“Our company’s researchers have studied Desaira for a very long time. And at last, we have succeeded in producing a highly purified formulation with minimal addictive properties.”
At the claim that its addictive nature had been removed, people began whispering. Desaira was a substance that the country strictly regulated—its addition to medicine beyond a certain ratio was prohibited due to its strong addictiveness.
The host cleared his throat and then delivered an even more shocking announcement.
“And what’s truly remarkable is that long-term use of this medicine has been found to cause mana to circulate within the body.”
Oh. That’s a big one.
The audience stirred at once. The confident tone suggested there must be some basis for it. So humanity’s technology had reached this point already? Del listened intently, arms crossed.
To use magic, mana was essential, and mana was generally considered innate—something tied to one’s constitution. People were divided into those born with it and those without.
This was a universally accepted conclusion among researchers.
The host continued, looking at the greedy gazes fixed on the bottles.
“Those gathered here will be the first to receive purchasing rights for this new medicine. Please write down the number of bottles you wish to buy. However, since this is a limited prototype, each person is restricted to ten bottles.”
People hurriedly wrote down their orders on papers handed out by staff. Del thought for a moment and bought one bottle. It wasn’t something he needed, but as a researcher, it was intriguing.
“Thank you all. Now, on a day as special as this, a special wine is only fitting. Please enjoy it.”
With applause from Rockvald—the head of the trading company standing beside the host—more staff members rolled in carts filled with wine bottles. They poured wine into everyone’s glasses. Del examined the wine in his hand with interest, then tilted his head.
“Now then, let us toast! To the future of humanity!”
Amid the sweet aroma of wine, there was something faintly unsettling lingering beneath it.
A scent like burnt bitterness mixed with sharp tang. It was so faint that anyone without Del’s heightened senses would have missed it entirely.
This smells familiar. What was it?
Del sniffed cautiously, frowning—and then he remembered.
Without hesitation, he struck Emil’s hand just as he was about to drink.
CLANG!
The glass shattered on the floor, and people began collapsing all around. Screams erupted from every direction.
But something even more horrifying followed.
The people who had fallen suddenly began to rise unsteadily—then started attacking those beside them with whatever they could grab.
Despite their unfocused eyes, their grip strength was immense. Screams and groans filled the chaotic hall as bodies tangled and fell.
Del stepped back, avoiding someone charging at him.
“What… is this?!”
Emil, startled, was blocked by Del as he drew a dagger from his small bag. He stabbed the shoulder of someone trying to bite him and shouted loudly.
“Moonlit Witch!”
“What?”
“There’s a plant called that.”
It’s said that excessive potency becomes poison.
Del broke into a cold sweat as he recalled the herb “Lepidra,” known as the Moonlit Witch.
It was typically used in beastkin sedatives, so it was no surprise few people knew of it.
“Think of it as a kind of hallucinogen. It makes people feel stronger and dulls pain temporarily. But it’s extremely hard to cultivate unless very specific conditions are met, so it’s not exactly easy to obtain…”
While he was slipping into lecture mode without realizing it, someone approached from behind and swung a broken chair leg at him.
Bang!
A bullet pierced the attacker’s abdomen, and he collapsed to the floor. Del turned sharply—only to see a smoking gun barrel.
Emil casually lowered the pistol in his hand. Del clapped in surprise.
“What, you had something like that?”
“Isn’t it only proper to carry something for self-defense?”
Despite his indifferent tone, Emil’s eyes still carried traces of confusion.
Del crouched beside the fallen man and cast a healing spell, extracting the bullet and stopping the bleeding. Then he stood, dropping the bullet to the floor.
“Good posture. But I don’t think we have time for small talk.”
Someone rushing at Del hit an invisible barrier and convulsed before collapsing. Emil looked impressed.
“You can do things like that with magic?”
“Not just anyone. Only me.”
Del glanced toward the stage where the organizers had been—no one was there.
“Tch. So they ran off after setting this up.”
The hall was too cramped, and the crowd too dense to use magic freely. The doors were also locked tight, clearly sealed from the outside.
“If they’re not monsters, then we can’t kill them!” Emil shouted irritably as he struck another attacker unconscious with his pistol.
Some people were still fighting to stay conscious, but far too many were already injured or collapsed.
“Can’t you do anything? If we know the cause, there should be a solution,” Emil whispered, standing back-to-back with Del.
“I didn’t expect Lepidra to affect humans like this. Honestly, it looks like the organizers spiked the wine.”
“I think so too. Though I don’t know what kind of drug it is.”
“Most likely it’s that new medicine they just presented.”
Del nodded subtly toward the shattered bottles scattered across the floor.
The same scent from the wine was now overwhelming the room.
“But they said they conducted proper testing, didn’t they? So why is this happening?”
Del recalled the confident smile of the host. Was it all an act? Or had they failed to foresee this side effect?
And these attendees were among the wealthy and influential in Rosa, as Emil had said. If this was intentional, it would be sheer madness.
Normally, such events would have guards stationed for emergencies. Yet there was no response—only locked doors and silence.
“Explaining won’t help now. The ones responsible have already fled,” Emil muttered.
Del quickly searched through his mental repertoire of spells.
He found one.
It wasn’t meant to be used here, but there was no choice.
It happened in an instant.
A blue magic circle spread across the entire banquet hall floor. Glittering blue dust began to rise like pollen from it.
Those enveloped in it slowly lost focus and collapsed one by one. Even Emil’s vision blurred.
“You… what is this…”
“Summoned Serea pollen. Hmm, maybe a bit too much? You should wake up in about five hours. I’ll notify the guards for you. In return—please keep this a secret.”
That I was here.
The name of the flower used as a sedative slipped from Del’s lips. Emil’s knees weakened, and Del caught him as he collapsed.
Guiding him gently against the wall, Del smiled faintly.
“Good night, Chairman.”
And with that, he left the banquet hall, leaving the completely unconscious man behind. The damaged door creaked faintly in his wake.
