BFKOM 07

Chapter 07 …

Yulia was in the infirmary checking on divine beasts infected with a contagious disease.

This worked out perfectly.

Since I had already planned to report this to the physician after finding the cause of the divine beasts’ illness, it saved time.

I immediately headed to the infirmary. In the meantime, it seemed more divine beasts had fallen sick, as groaning sounds could already be heard even from the hallway.

“Hello!”

There was no reason to hesitate anymore. I swung the door wide open and went inside, where I saw divine beasts filling the beds.

“Please check over here too, doctor!”

“Wait a moment. I’ll treat this one first!”

“Doctor, my divine beast is dying. Please help!”

“Just a moment!”

The physician looked like she didn’t even have ten bodies’ worth of time. And beside her stood Yulia, watching the divine beasts with a devastated expression.

“Yulia!”

[Ueek—.]

I rushed toward Yulia while dragging Kalian, who was still gagging from the side. She looked at me sharply, as if asking what I was doing when she was already overwhelmed with work.

“I found the reason the divine beasts are sick. It’s because of this!”

Seeing the divine beasts suffering made me even more urgent.

“Lorelia Leon? What are you suddenly talking about? You found the reason? You mean you discovered the cause of the epidemic?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Yulia looked me over with an expression that clearly said she didn’t believe me at all. It made sense—an ordinary new recruit suddenly claiming to have found the cause of an epidemic.

She took the envelope from me and looked at the purple fruit inside, frowning slightly.

“This is the fruit that was served as a special meal recently. Are you saying this is the cause?”

“Yes. This fruit doesn’t come from the Divine Beast Forest. And please also look at the note inside. It’s a note written by the person who prepared this suspicious fruit as a special meal.”

Yulia unfolded the paper inside the envelope. The moment she read it, her face stiffened.

“Ms. Lorelia.”

“Yes.”

“Where did you find this?”

“Here.”

I confidently opened the dormitory door. Earlier, I had moved cautiously to avoid being seen, but this time was different. I boldly stormed into the room of the cafeteria manager.

“This is… the room of Lira, the cafeteria manager.”

Yulia’s already dry voice turned even colder.

It was understandable. The divine beasts were suffering from an unknown contagious disease, and as their numbers increased, the entire divine beast management facility had been thrown into chaos.

If even one divine beast were to die…

Ugh.

I shuddered at the horrifying thought. Something like that must never happen. But if it did, everyone working at the facility would not escape punishment.

The innocent divine beasts must never die unjustly.

If we interrogate that woman, Lira, or whatever her name is, we should be able to find a way to cure the disease.

After waiting in Lira’s room for a while—

Click-clack.

Familiar footsteps in heels approached.

Click.

Click.

At the sound, Kalian growled, baring his fangs—“Grrr.” His nose was wrinkled, clearly serious.

“…Yulia?”

Arriving at the door, Lira quickly scanned the situation with her narrow eyes.

The moment she saw Yulia sitting with her arms crossed, glaring at her, she seemed to sense something and her shoulders trembled.

“What is this about…?”

“Since the condition of the divine beasts is serious, let’s get straight to the point. This fruit. Is this the special meal you prepared?”

Yulia was extremely direct.

She shoved the purple fruit in front of Lira and pressed for the truth. As a result, the woman’s face turned as purple as the fruit.

“Y-yes, but is there some problem? This is a very rare fruit that only grows in the Divine Beast Forest. It’s hard to obtain.”

[Lie. That disgusting fruit does not exist in the Divine Beast Forest!]

Kalian hissed as if spitting. To others, it just sounded like a cry.

“Then can you explain what this note means?”

When Yulia held up the paper, Lira’s face turned pale this time. Seeing the blood drain from her face made me even more certain she was the culprit.

“T-that….”

“You don’t have to explain here. Come with me to the Imperial Palace.”

“T-the Imperial Palace? Why do I have to go there?”

“You still don’t seem to realize how serious this situation is. Spreading a contagious disease among divine beasts—beings owned only by the imperial family—is no different from rebellion.”

“Rebellion?! I didn’t do anything like that, I just did what I was told—!”

“Hup!”

Good. Well done.

When people are cornered, they eventually spill what’s inside them.

Lira collapsed to her knees, trembling violently.

“I didn’t know it was a dangerous fruit! I just did what I was told from above! Please forgive me, just once!”

That meant there was someone above Lira.

Lira was just a disposable pawn. The real culprit was someone else. Who could it be? Someone daring enough to target divine beasts.

“A real rebel?”

Oh wow. That means the imperial palace itself might be dangerous. You never know when rebels might attack.

While I was trembling at the thought, Yulia stood up and grabbed Lira by the collar in one swift motion.

“This will be reported directly to His Majesty the Emperor. Let’s go.”

“Y-Yulia, no, Lady Yulia, please spare me! Please!”

“Wow…”

Yulia was strong.

Lira was dragged away without even being able to resist once. She was clearly nothing more than a disposable pawn.

“So careless…”

Leaving the fruit in her room… leaving the unfinished note on the desk… everything was sloppy.

Was she intentionally chosen because she was this incompetent?

I didn’t know the full situation, but one thing was clear—there was a faction targeting divine beasts.

Whether it was rebels trying to bring down the empire by attacking divine beasts that support the royal family, or a group opposing divine beasts, it would be up to the imperial palace and divine beast management to figure out.

I had already done enough by saving these fluffy little creatures.

‘This is already too much involvement.’

If I wanted to live long, earn steadily, and avoid trouble, it was best not to get involved in dangerous and complicated matters like this.

[But do you think that woman will really give up the cure information willingly?]

“If she values her life, she won’t stay silent. She was caught and taken to the palace, after all.”

[Hmm.]

Kalian sighed and looked at the divine beasts filling the infirmary. On a nearby bed, Meho the chick was lying weakly.

[That chicken-headed one won’t last long.]

Even though the culprit had been caught, there was still no solution.

As Kalian said, if Lira didn’t reveal the cure, there would be no way to save the sick divine beasts.

“Maybe there’s information about the cure in her room?”

[If she left that behind, she’d be the biggest idiot.]

“Yeah, true.”

We squatted in a corner of the infirmary and sighed at the hopeless situation. There was nothing we could do for the sick divine beasts.

At that moment, Meho, the chick lying on the bed, motioned for me to come closer with his wing.

“Meho, are you okay? Are you conscious?”

[I have… heard something from a rabbit.]

Still speaking in his strange, mismatched tone, Meho said while gasping for breath:

[If one accidentally eats the purple fruit that makes us sick… then one must drink the “Water of Life” that flows through the Divine Beast Forest…]

“Water of Life? Kalian, do you know what that is?”

[It’s just a river. A huge river flowing through the center of the forest.]

“So if we drink that, the disease is cured?”

[Yes… but to obtain the Water of Life, one must enter the forest directly.]

“Wait, wait. So there’s no other cure? We absolutely need that Water of Life thing?”

[That’s right… cough!]

The chick suddenly coughed violently and slumped over.

[Chicken head!]

Kalian jumped up and slapped the chick’s cheeks mercilessly. Though, with jelly-like paws, it probably didn’t hurt much.

“Stop it, Kalian. You’re going to kill him!”

I pulled Kalian back hard. It was unclear whether he was helping or just bullying him.

So we needed the Water of Life…

Does that mean I’m the one who has to go?