Chapter 193: |
Chapter 193
Yes, that’s right.
Now Kairn was speaking of the death of his father, King Oden.
The throne will go to him unless King Oden dies.
-When King Oden dies, you, as the first in line to the throne, will immediately ascend to the throne.
Although Raymond had recently come to prominence, he was not yet even in line for the throne.
The moment King Oden dies, Kairn immediately becomes king.
“Is it possible?”
-I don’t think it will be difficult. As it happens, I’ve requested a S-class healer from the Peninsula Kingdom. It seems like he’s not feeling very well.
– At that time, we will check the condition of King Oden’s body. We will devise a way to fake his death without causing any trouble.
Communication was cut off.
Only then did Kairun’s face relax.
He climbed up to the villa with a satisfied look on his face.
And he looked south towards Raymond.
“There isn’t much time left now.”
It was an eerie voice.
He imagined.
He thought of becoming king and trampling on everything Raymond had done. So, in despair, he thought of killing him.
It will be so much fun.
* * *
Raymond quickly made a smallpox vaccine and prepared to leave for the Kingdom of Droughton.
There was a reason for the hurry.
‘We have to catch it early. Otherwise, it could spread like wildfire.’
The problem was that the area where the smallpox outbreak occurred was near Josef Castle, the capital of the Kingdom of Droughton.
If smallpox spread in the capital, it would be uncontrollable. The entire kingdom of Droughton could be covered by smallpox.
‘That’s not the end. If that happens, there’s a high chance that smallpox will spread to the neighboring Kingdom of Houston. At the very least, the neighboring province of Rafald won’t be safe.’
In other words, this was a fire right at their feet.
‘No matter how big the country is, once smallpox spreads, there is no way to stop the victims.’
There is only one way to prevent smallpox victims: vaccination.
But the vaccine business is only just beginning to be conceptualized.
There are still a long way to go until production, distribution, and vaccination.
‘We have to suppress it before that happens.’
A message just occurred to me.
[Prevent the arrival of the Grim Reaper!]
(Medical Quest)
Medical Grade: Three Half Scalpel
Difficulty: Medium
Quest Description: The Reaper of Death is coming! Use your powers to stop the worst of the disasters from spreading!
Clear Conditions: Initial Suppression
Reward: Bonus level up x2, 100 skill points
Perk: Be Droughton’s Benefactor, another unexpected achievement
‘’Unexpected achievement? What is this?’
Raymond tilted his head.
Anyway, the perks weren’t the important thing.
The spread of smallpox had to be prevented.
The problem was the distance.
‘When on earth will I get there?’
Raymond looked dumbfounded.
The Rafald region is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Droughton.
On the other hand, smallpox occurred in the southernmost part.
It will take a long time to go down.
Considering the distance, it would take at least a week even if they ran at full speed on horseback.
Considering the rough terrain here and there, it will take even longer.
‘No. I told them how to quarantine themselves, but after that much time has passed, there’s a high chance of it spreading to those around.’
But there was no way.
‘We have no choice but to try to arrive as quickly as possible.’
But that idea ran into trouble right from the start.
“What should you do in the Kennel Mountains? You don’t know what kind of monsters you might encounter if you go through it.”
Raymond shut his mouth at Christine’s words.
‘Monsters are scary. I don’t even want to look at the Kennel Mountains.’
The Kennel Mountains are a wide mountain range extending southward into the Rafald region.
By the way, the Borison estate where the magic stone incident occurred was also in the Kennel Mountains. He was also anxious when he went to explore it back then.
Because it is a rugged area and there are all sorts of dangerous monsters, people usually take a detour. This is also the reason why trade between the Rafald region and the mainland of the Droughton Kingdom is not developed.
‘It’s dangerous to penetrate, and there’s no time to bypass. Ugh. What should I do?’
But this time, others gave him the courage to do it.
First, the sweet potato fool Elmud spoke resolutely.
“I know your heart, my lord, for the sake of your patient! Don’t worry! I will protect you no matter what danger may arise!”
“…”
Hanson shook his head and scolded Christine.
“Your Majesty, that was a foolish question. How dare you take a detour to the Master who moves for the sake of his patients.”
Christine sighed too.
“I know. I was just saying.”
She also knew that Raymond would take no detours when it came to caring for his patients.
She just brought it up because she was frustrated that he always took risks for his patients like this.
“Uh…I think a detour might be a good idea…If we are safe, the patient will be safe too…”
Lindon said something, but it was lightly ignored.
Lao tilted his head for a moment at Raymond’s hesitating appearance, but then reproached himself for doubting his brother again and took the lead in finding the fastest route.
Finally, the wise man Mevinson blushed for Raymond, who took a risk for his patients.
Raymond, the party concerned…
‘… you idiots.’
Once again, he has no choice but to cross the Kennel Mountains with a heavy heart.
* * *
‘We couldn’t gather a lot of people because we had to move as quickly as possible.’
But still, it’s a procession of the feudal lord!
The most elite knights accompanied him.
The Knights of the Templar, including Elmud, Roten, and Clean, joined in.
‘I think this will be okay.’
Raymond cleared his throat.
Besides them, there were more than five sword experts.
‘At this point, I didn’t have to worry too much about which monsters would appear.’
‘No problem as long as no S-class monster appears!’
S-class monster.
It refers to a powerful monster comparable to a Sword Master.
Of course, such monsters were semi-legendary beings, so even in the Kennel Mountains, the possibility of encountering them was slim.
‘Let’s hurry up and do this!’
Raymond wanted to get out of this ominous mountain range as soon as possible.
When they were about halfway through the mountain range, they encountered an unexpected obstacle.
“Wait a minute, benefactor of the clan!”
It was Sonia, the cat with cat ears, tail, and a cat tribe!
The nobleman of the Cat tribe they had met the other day appeared before them.
“What’s going on?”
“Be careful. There is trouble on the thorny side of the road.”
Everyone looked at Sonia in surprise.
“There is a monster phenomenon happening up ahead.”
“What if it’s a joint phenomenon?”
“It’s a phenomenon where a powerful new monster takes over and forces out the existing monsters. It seems like a new powerful monster has appeared deep inside.”
Raymond’s heart sank.
“What if it’s a powerful monster? How strong?”
“By human standards, it is at least a double-A class monster.”
Raymond snorted.
For reference, the criteria for judging the strength of a monster were as follows.
D-Class – Equivalent to trained regular soldiers
C-Class – Equivalent to a full-fledged knight.
B-class – Same level as Mana User
A-Class – Equivalent to Beginner Sword Expert
‘Ugh. That strong monster is right in front of you? If it’s a double A-rank…’
Raymond blinked.
‘…It’s worth a try, right?’
For reference, a double A-rank was equivalent to a Sword Expert Intermediate.
And here, there are as many as three people with intermediate or higher sword expert skills.
‘If you add Sonia, there are four people. Then, isn’t it okay for any monster to appear?’
Being afraid of monsters was a common occurrence at the top.
Elmud, Roten, and Clean are all great knights who served with distinction in previous wars.
Now, Raymond and his party were too powerful to be afraid of monsters.
In fact, no one seemed very worried.
‘Monsters are nothing. I will protect my lord!’
The three members of the Knights Templar, Elmud, Roten, and Clean, were exuding this kind of momentum.
Sonia also said this.
“Of course I know the skills of the person who defeated me, but I’m giving you this warning just in case.”
Raymond told Sonia to strive for perfection.
“Could you please guide us?”
The intention was to receive her assistance in times of emergency rather than to provide directions.
Because her power as a true blood relative was very strong!
“It is a favor asked from the benefactor of the clan, so please do as you wish.”
Sonia took the lead.
As expected of a Cat tribe that knew the mountains well, they guided the group along the safest possible path.
Thanks to that, they were able to proceed without any collisions.
Just a little more and they will be able to leave the mountain range.
While the tension in the group was gradually easing, Raymond was left feeling very tense.
‘Why am I so anxious? Is it because I’m timid?’
Raymond surveyed the group.
They brought the best of the best on purpose to make them incredibly strong. No matter what monster appears, they won’t be able to handle them.
Even though he knew that fact well, he still felt uneasy.
‘Ugh. I’ll never be able to get rid of this cowardly nature. Let’s get down from here quickly.’
Raymond asked, trying to ease his nervous mind.
“How is the successor of the clan doing?”
“Ah, Mien is completely healed. He doesn’t even need to take the medicine that our benefactor sent anymore.”
Raymond looked surprised.
The medicine he sent. It refers to thyroid hormone.
‘’He can’t survive without a complete thyroidectomy and hormone replacement. Could it be that hus thyroid has regenerated partially?’
Maybe that could be the case.
Because the bodies of the Cat Tribe, especially the True Tribe that holds the power of chaos, are different from those of humans.
“Please come here.”
“Yes?”
“He kept nagging me that he wanted to see our benefactor. He had been following you secretly. Over there.”
When Raymond looked in the direction Sonia was pointing, there was a pretty little cat sitting on a tree!
“No way, that cat?”
“Yes, it’s Mien. He is truly… … gracefully cute.”
Raymond was embarrassed.
At that time, that boy was that cat?
‘They say that the Jin-Blooded Race can actually transform into animals.’
Not all can transform.
Only the True Blood Clan could transform into the power of chaos.
‘What on earth is the principle? The power of chaos is an unknown power that has not been discovered at all, so I can’t guess.’
Anyway, Raymond waved at the cat.
It was great to see the child who had been through so much hardship recover so well.
But Mien showed an unexpected reaction.
He flinched and then ran away.
‘Huh?’
Sophia explained to a puzzled Raymond.
“I think Mien is embarrassed. He is especially embarrassed in front of the person he likes. Seeing him like that, I think he really likes his benefactor a lot.”
“…”
Raymond kept his mouth shut.
The little cat didn’t completely disappear, but was still sneaking glances at Raymond from afar.
A message he had heard before came to mind.
[The person whose pairing was rejected enters a ‘state of lonely longing’!]