Chapter 108: The Medicine That Chooses Who Lives "Have you any interest in marrying Veronica?"
What is this crazy demon even talking about behind that dashing middle-aged mask?
As I stared at him blankly, stunned by the sudden proposal, Logard continued with a cool, effortless smile.
"I don't think it's a bad proposition. Veronica can be stiff when it comes to work, but otherwise, she is a gentle and virtuous woman."
"Are you… telling a human to marry a Zboni right now?"
"Why not? It's not as if there's no precedent. The two of you could open a new era of harmony between our races."
I see. This guy was a moderate, after all.
While the radicals are currently gaining the upper hand due to rumors that the Whitening Phenomenon is a curse spread by humans, Logard belongs to the faction seeking cooperation.
Still, skipping every intermediate step and jumping straight to marriage? Isn't that a bit too radical?
"What makes you trust me so much?"
"I don't mean to boast, but I am better than most at reading the person in front of me. You are wise, you understand the Zboni, and you treat us as equals. Could there be a better partner?"
"…So, the gist of it is that I look easy to use?"
"Hahahaha! One could certainly interpret it that way. Wise indeed."
Logard answered honestly, hiding nothing.
But why does everyone I meet call me wise? Personally, I don't think I'm that smart.
I can understand others getting the wrong idea since I act cocky based on my knowledge of the game's walkthrough, but what did Logard see in me to call me wise?
The charismatic middle-aged man, whose very laughter was stylish, looked at me with a sly expression.
"Is Veronica not to your liking? Surely a woman of her caliber is quite beautiful and charming?"
"What kind of nonsense—"
Just as I was about to respond, blue flames flickered in the distance. The space split open, and Yukina burst out.
With murderous eyes, Yukina didn't hesitate for a second. The moment her feet touched the floor, she lunged forward, thrusting her sword toward Logard.
"Yukina, stop!!"
"… …"
The blade, which would have pierced the middle-aged man's nose if it had gone just one centimeter further, came to a dead halt. Yukina glanced at me briefly before turning her gaze back to Logard.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Did she think I was in danger? Yukina was radiating a sharp bloodlust unlike anything I'd seen before.
Her voice, trembling with uncontrollable rage, was hoarse as if dragged from the depths of her gut. Her hand shook slightly, looking ready to claim his head at any moment.
"Calm yourself… I have no intention of harming Seo Yeon-woo. I only wished to talk."
"I'm asking what you just said to Yeon-woo."
"…I was merely suggesting marriage."
"I'll kill you."
Oh, so that was the problem?
The already sharp bloodlust turned into a literal storm of blades, whipping in every direction.
Why is she perfectly fine with me having sex with other women but gets this jealous over the mention of marriage?
Faced with this ominous aura, even Logard gave an awkward smile and looked at me.
"I see now that you already have a fiancée. My mistake. My apologies."
She's not my fiancée, but… if I say that now, I feel like that bloodlust directed at Logard will turn toward me, so I keep my mouth shut.
Look at that. The moment he called her my fiancée, her icy expression softened, and she looked pleased.
Seriously, what are Yukina's standards?
She tried to maintain a stoic face, but the way her expression gradually relaxed was cute—though I'm still a little scared.
"…The Purifying Fire, is it? No wonder my Authority was breached."
Logard muttered as he looked at the blue flames clinging to Yukina's body.
Ghost Fire really is a broken trait.
Setting aside the Amaterasu vibes of a rogue ninja, Ghost Fire comes with the description of being a "Purifying Fire."
The setting that it purifies all things negative allows for various abilities in the story.
Wounds? Sear them shut. Ghosts? Just burn them. Poison? Char the stomach. Possession? Hypnosis? A good roasting will snap them out of it.
It doesn't add extra numerical stats, but in the story, it functions as an Akito-style "solve-everything" tool. Now that it's reality, its efficiency is insane.
Enough about the Ghost Fire; I should settle the situation first.
"Yukina, could you sit down for a moment? Let's listen together."
When I told her to sit, Yukina tried to pull out the fixed chair next to me before noticing something strange.
"To break through without even an understanding of Authority… your talent is terrifying."
Logard muttered in disbelief. Yukina, unable to find a place to sit, hopped right onto my lap when I patted my knees.
Her expression is stiff, but her actions are so cute.
Even if she was scary when marriage was mentioned.
Once the atmosphere was ready for conversation again, Logard began to speak skillfully.
"As for the earlier talk of marrying Veronica… ah, I won't suggest it again, so please don't look at me like that."
"… …"
"Anyway, back to the point. I believe humans and Zboni can coexist."
While keeping an eye on Yukina's glaring face, Logard shared his thoughts.
As I already knew, he wants a world without war where humans and Zboni cooperate.
"However, not everyone shares that sentiment."
Logard smiled bitterly.
That's unexpected. I didn't think he'd be this honest about his internal affairs.
He told us quite a bit in detail—the rise of the radicals, the instability of the Zboni world, and so on.
Hearing about the Zboni, whom she only knew as demons, Yukina seemed to grow curious and listened intently to his words.
"That is why I wish to form a close relationship with you."
"So, you're telling me to be a spy?"
"There is no need for that. This isn't a solicitation. The more people there are who understand the Zboni, the more we can hold hands and move toward the future. Especially if it is someone with great power, like you and your fiancée."
I guess I look like a promising prospect in Logard's eyes.
I get what he's trying to do.
He talks like an idealist, but this is a subtle form of recruitment.
Diplomacy? Politics? I'm not sure what category it falls into, but the goal is to reduce hostility and "civilize" the other side this way.
Since Zboni can't exactly roam the human world freely, they target talents like me—people who aren't famous yet but might lead organizations and society in the future.
And eventually, Logard successfully wins over Akito as well, bringing about peace.
"Have you met Lilia?"
"…How much do you actually know? No human should know of her."
"It doesn't matter how I know. Go meet Akito, the one protecting Lilia. He'll be very happy to hear your story."
He probably already has information on Akito.
Logard pondered for a moment, wondering if he should have met me before Akito.
You have to meet Lilia anyway. Stop trying to seduce me and go meet Akito, the guy who's actually going to save the world.
Logard nodded and stood up.
"I believe this was a good meeting. Do you and your fiancée feel the same?"
He's smooth. Since Yukina reacted to the word "fiancée," he keeps using it.
That's the kind of political prowess you'd expect from the hidden contributor to peace between humans and demons.
"We'll have to see as time passes."
"I am satisfied enough that we could look into each other's eyes and speak without baring weapons."
With a dashing smile, Logard turned around.
"Ah, sorry to stop you as you're leaving."
"Is there something more you wish to say?"
"Could you lend me your Authority for a bit? You can leave, but this space? Anyway, please maintain this for just thirty more minutes."
"Very well. This Authority exists to help others and create a better world. Do not feel burdened; consider it a gift of friendship."
Logard maintained the Authority with a casual wave of his hand and departed.
I heard the sound of the front door closing as he left normally. I then lifted Yukina and sat her on the dining table.
Looking at Yukina, who sat with her legs slightly parted toward me as I sat in my chair, I felt like I should be doing something erotic, but right now, we needed to have a serious talk.
I asked him to maintain the Authority because this wasn't a conversation I could have in front of Melissa and Sophia.
Yukina trusts and follows me without explanation, but even that has its limits.
As I was organizing my thoughts on how much to explain, Yukina stroked my hair.
"You don't need to worry so much. I trust you, Yeon-woo."
Yukina's face, which had been so stiff in front of Logard, was now soft and warm.
My heart felt at ease at the sight of the smile she reserved only for me.
"I'm going to tell you what I know now."
Since she's been by my side from the start and seen everything I've done, she must have felt the strangeness.
I can't tell her about it being a game or anything like that, but I will tell her about the current situation, the circumstances of humans and demons, and the importance of Akito.
It felt strange to think that I was finally sharing what I'd been hiding with someone else.
It made me realize how precious Yukina is to me, but I was also worried about how she might react.
If she asks how I know? I can't answer.
I'd have to hide things again and dodge the question, betraying her trust.
However, looking at Yukina as she waited for me to speak while stroking my hair, I found my courage.
"What do you think of demons… the Zboni?"
"I don't know if I can trust his words, but if what he said is true, they are no different from us."
"Yeah. There are bad ones and good ones. There are exclusive ones who want to fight humans, those who want to coexist, and those who are neither. It's all the same, even if you swap the word 'Zboni' with 'human.'"
Of course, humans are even more exclusive, so most fear or are hostile toward demons.
"Let me tell you something Logard is hiding. There's something called the Whitening Phenomenon."
"Whitening?"
"Yeah. It's called Whitening because white spots appear on the body like flowers."
I slowly explained the knowledge I had from the game to Yukina.
An unstoppable plague, unknown source of infection, incurable, 100% mortality rate—and the demon society that was falling into ruin because of it.
As I continued, Yukina's expression grew grave.
"Is it like a genetic disease of the Zboni race?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"… …"
I could tell from Yukina's face that she understood how terrifying those words were.
It didn't just apply to the Zboni; it could strike humans at any time.
It meant there was a possibility that Haruna, who was precious enough for Yukina to stake her life on, could catch it.
I took out a small capsule I always carried with me and placed it in Yukina's hand.
"You mustn't tell anyone. This is a medicine that can cure the Whitening Phenomenon."
"…Didn't you say it was incurable?"
"Until I made this Secret Medicine, that is."
The first thing I did as soon as I had enough money was gather the ingredients for the Secret Medicine to cure the Whitening Phenomenon.
The items I asked Rebecca, the Pungyu-hwan merchant, to find were ingredients for this medicine, and I scoured the auction houses or desperately hunted down any news of the materials.
I bought them up so aggressively that Rebecca even complained that the prices had skyrocketed because of my monopoly.
"That's amazing. Then we don't have to worry anymore."
At Yukina's hopeful face, I gave a bitter smile and shook my head.
"Excluding all other costs, the ingredients alone for that one pill cost over 3 billion G. I'm not sure exactly, but the price has probably nearly doubled by now."
"… …"
I wasn't just saying it was expensive.
The foundation and greatest strength of modern society is mass production.
However, things related to magic are difficult to mass-produce.
While some ingredients can be farmed or cultivated, others cannot be artificially controlled.
Those things are so rare that they require astronomical amounts of money, and even if you had the money to buy tens of millions of them, you couldn't find that kind of supply.
Yukina's face hardened as she understood what I was saying.
"Even if I gathered every ingredient in the world into my hands, the amount of medicine I could make wouldn't save more than a handful of people from the Whitening Phenomenon. I wouldn't even be able to save everyone around me."
"… …"
"If Haruna ever catches the Whitening Phenomenon, give her that."
"…Thank you."
Yukina clenched her fist around the capsule.
She didn't say things like she couldn't accept something so expensive when Haruna might die.
I can save someone, but I cannot save everyone.
Until Akito saves the world, I will choose who to let die and decide who must be saved.
There is no value judgment or rational logic in that.
Even if it's selfish, I will save the people around me.
Despite securing Haruna's safety, Yukina's expression remained dark.
She silently reached out and pulled me into an embrace, and we stayed there, wordlessly feeling only each other's warmth.
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