16 - Chapter 16
“W-What did you bring?”
“That thing that was summoned this time.”
Elkai, who introduced Ashil, who was dangling, without a care, instructed them to bring a child's chair next to him and personally sat him down.
Soon, another set of tableware was placed on the table.
Just as Biante was about to gesture to bring out the wine he had prepared in advance, Elkai stopped him.
“There’s a child here, so wine is not a good idea. Go and get some grape juice.”
“Yes?”
Biante, genuinely flustered by the thwarted plan, stammered.
“N-No, still, it’s a meal together after a long time, so you should at least have some wine together…”
“Enough, what wine. Look at that eggshell not even dry on top of his head. Do you want to drink wine in front of a child like this?”
“…Still, you should accept at least one glass from your son.”
He couldn’t just refuse when he said that much.
“Then give me a little.”
Elkai reluctantly accepted half a glass of wine.
Ashil was given a mug of grape juice instead.
‘Why is Ashil getting something different?’
Ashil wanted to try that too.
Pouting, Ashil sniffed at Elkai’s glass, his nose twitching.
Then, he accidentally knocked the glass with his tail, dropping it to the floor.
Clang!
“Squeak!”
“Tsk, you rascal.”
Elkai, separating the startled Ashil from the broken glass, clicked his tongue.
Unlike his gruff tone, the hand checking for any injuries was incredibly gentle.
After confirming that he wasn’t hurt, he gestured for the servant who brought a new glass to step back.
“That’s enough, clear the wine away.”
“No, Father! It’s a banquet with your son after a long time, you should at least have one glass!”
“Why are you, who doesn’t even like wine, keep talking about wine?”
Elkai’s eyes narrowed, displeased.
This damn… Biante forced a smile.
“Haha, I just wanted to have a drink.”
“Then bring a mug instead of a glass. Don’t drink from that dangerous thing either.”
“….”
Thus, wine was poured into a cute rabbit mug and a bear mug instead of elegant wine glasses.
Elkai, holding the mug filled with wine tightly to avoid Ashil, who was sniffing again, began to speak to Biante.
“So, have you thought about it?”
It meant whether he was ready to hand over the Saint Creatures.
Biante answered like the kindest son in the world.
“Yes. As you said, I will hand over the Saint Creatures to Edenber tomorrow.”
“What’s this, you’re actually listening to me.”
“When have I ever not listened to you, Father? Hahaha.”
He laughed without a soul and raised his mug to propose a toast. It was a toast that didn’t look stylish at all because the mug was too cute.
It was when Elkai was raising his mug, following his son without much thought.
Suddenly, Ashil frowned and blocked his nose.
“Squeak! Squeak!” (Smells weird. Don’t eat it!)
The smell of alcohol was too fatal for a baby dragon with a sensitive sense of smell.
Elkai, moving the mug of grape juice away from Ashil, chuckled.
“It’s not weird, it’s called wine. You’ll know what it tastes like when you grow up.”
“Hahaha, what a truly cute monster. For the glory of Munrepe!”
Biante, feeling guilty, hurriedly raised his glass high and pretended to drink.
Smells weird, could it be that he noticed the poison?
Elkai also brought the glass to his lips, following him, but immediately took it away.
He couldn’t gulp it down in front of the child, and the glass looked too cute, so he didn’t feel like he was drinking wine at all.
In the meantime, he frowned.
“It really is strange? The wine tastes so bitter that my tongue is tingling. What on earth is it made of— Cough!”
Suddenly, his esophagus felt like it was burning, and blood gushed out from between his lips.
The startled Ashil jumped up.
“Squeak! Squeak!” (Grandfather!)
“Poison… in the glass…”
Elkai, even in his fading consciousness, dropped Ashil’s mug to the floor and lost consciousness.
Biante frowned, seemingly disappointed by the small amount of wine he had drunk.
If they were alone, he would have poured the entire bottle of wine into his father’s mouth to completely finish him off.
“Squeak! Squeak!” (Grandfather! Grandfather!)
However, he couldn’t because there were eyes watching.
“Is anyone there? Father has collapsed from poison! Call the doctor quickly, quickly!”
Soon, people who heard the shouts began to gather in the dining room.
The unconscious Elkai was immediately moved to his room.
The doctor carefully examined Elkai.
He took the wine bottle and glass to check what poison he had drunk.
Then, with a heavy expression, he lowered his gaze to the floor.
“You should… prepare yourselves.”
“What does that mean?”
Edenber, who had lost his composure, raised his voice.
He had rushed over in a hurry, putting aside all his work, at the news that Elkai had collapsed.
“It seems he ingested a poison called ‘Tears of an Angel’.”
“Tears of an Angel?”
“Yes. It’s named that because it’s said that you can go see angels without pain if you drink just one drop, but the fatality rate is high, so there isn’t really an antidote…”
“Speak sense!”
Biante, who had been squeezing out fake tears while saying, ‘Father, Father!’ raised his voice.
“How can there be a poison in the world that has no antidote!”
“…I’m sorry.”
The doctor bowed his head deeply, as if he couldn’t bring himself to continue speaking.
At this, Biante began to wail openly.
“Oh, Father! I should have drunk it first, I should have! What are the knights doing? Go quickly and catch the one who administered the poison!”
He slammed the bed, feigning tears, as if he really didn’t know anything.
In his mind, he was cursing Ashil, thinking, ‘If I had gotten rid of the wine bottle, they wouldn’t have known what poison it was, that damn lizard.’
On the other hand, Edenber silently stared down at Elkai with a bloodless face.
His pale lips and trembling fists clearly showed how much he was suppressing his emotions.
The doctor, looking at the two with pity, cautiously opened his mouth.
“There is only one way to detoxify… but that is…”
“What is it?”
Edenber, perked up, looked at him.
Wondering if he was giving false hope, the doctor answered with a doubtful expression.
“According to ancient texts, a Priest born on the day of God’s birth is granted special Divine Power. It is said that they can save even those who are dying with just a wave of their hand… All the Saints and Saintesses in history were such cases.”
Only then did Edenber realize what the doctor was talking about, and his face hardened.
“However, it is said that the owner of such special Divine Power is born once every century. It has been a century since the last Saintess passed away…”
“A Saint or Saintess who meets the conditions could exist?”
“…Yes.”
The doctor bowed his head.
That’s impossible. If such a being existed, the temple would have announced it long ago.
Edenber felt his facial muscles stiffen at the unrealistic condition.
“There is no other antidote?”
“…No. There isn’t.”
The doctor replied with a gloomy face.
Just then, the knight who had gone to catch the culprit returned.
“We saw a suspicious person near the kitchen and are searching.”
“Divide the personnel into two.”
Edenber, suppressing his rising emotions, clenched his fist tightly. His nails dug into his palm, leaving long scars.
“No matter what it takes, find a Priest born on the day of God’s birth.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to focus on catching the culprit rather than wasting personnel in vain?”
Biante, who had been on edge at the mention of an antidote, interjected.
Edenber cut him off without even looking at him.
“No, finding the Priest is the priority.”
“……”
“Minimize the search for the culprit and find the Priest first. I don’t care how much it costs, bring them here.”
Then, without waiting for an answer, he left the room immediately.
He walked away with hurried steps as if running away, stopped in a deserted hallway, and wept silently.
“Grandfather…”
