Translator: Nox
(17) The Golden Lion's Treasure and the Contaminated Water (1)
Late November.
The city of Selshar, the capital of Torkan Duchy, was bustling with preparations for the 'Star Festival' to be held in December. The Star Festival, which lasted for 15 days starting from the second week of December, was a festival to spend the chilly season healthily and to pray for the abundance of the coming new year.
Torkan, located in the southwest of the continent, had a relatively high temperature even in the middle of winter, with no snow falling and a thin coat being sufficient. However, holding festivals was a very important matter for the people of Torkan, who, like their Monarch, loved to have fun.
Originally, the Grand Duke's Palace would also put aside some work during this period and begin preparing for the festival and parties, but this year, the situation was not so good. The faces of the ministers and captain of the royal guard gathered in the conference room, as well as Floyd's, were filled with deep worry.
"There have been victims in nearby villages as well."
Marquess Conrado Bietren, the Minister of Security, said in a heavy voice.
"Despite warnings not to go near the water, four children seem to have suffered a disaster while playing in the stream without their parents' knowledge. The parents who carried the collapsed children home also collapsed after getting water on their bodies."
Floyd, who was staring at the table with dark eyes, asked.
"Are the children alive?"
"...They are said to have died shortly after being taken home. The collapsed parents have not regained consciousness, so they are not yet aware of this fact."
A month ago, he received reports that people were suffering from rashes and high fevers due to an unknown disease, and were dying while vomiting bloody pus. At first, they thought it was an epidemic and sent an investigation team while establishing countermeasures, but the returning investigation teams said that it seemed to be caused by 'water'.
-"It is not accurate because there are not many survivors, but the commonality is that they had contact with water, such as drinking water or soaking in a stream, just before collapsing."
He thought it was absurd. Water was so closely related to life that it would be difficult to find someone who did not come into contact with water even for a single day.
-"In addition, nearby flora and fauna are also dying with similar symptoms. The plants around the river have turned black, and animals that seem to have collapsed after coming to drink water have also been found."
At that point, water was the cause.
The river that ran through Torkan was so wide and deep that it was not something that could happen by simply dissolving a little poison, so this time, Floyd went out to investigate himself. And he felt the presence of a monster in the forest near the village where the incident occurred.
The monster was clever and did not appear in front of Floyd. The knights searched the entire vicinity, but they could only feel its presence and could not find it, so they had no choice but to scoop up a bucket of river water and return.
Researchers who examined the water said that Magical Energy must have settled in the river water.
-"Fortunately, the river is wide and deep, and it is near the confluence of several rivers, so the Magical Energy is not very dense. If the Magical Energy were dense, all the creatures in that vicinity would have died."
Not everyone was harmed by touching the water. Some were lucky enough to be safe, but because the monster survived and continued to spread Magical Energy, the river water was constantly contaminated and now its effects were beginning to reach the vicinity of the capital, where it met the sea.
Arsene opened his mouth.
"The knights are continuing their search, but only traces remain, and they have not been able to find the monster itself. One knight witnessed a monster fleeing through the trees just once, but it was so small and fast that he could not catch it."
"That's amazing. A monster that runs away from humans..."
Adrian muttered in a frivolous tone, but Floyd did not rebuke him. Floyd felt exactly the same way.
Some monsters were smarter and some were dumber depending on the individual, but he had never met a monster that ran away from humans. Monsters polluted their surroundings just by their existence, so if more monsters ran around like rats, the damage would be enormous.
"It's a smart one. It knows that humans will be in trouble if it contaminates the water. It seems to be concentrating on contaminating the river water."
At Hexter's words, Floyd nodded and looked at the Chancellor, Marquess Liam Brown. Liam sighed deeply and then said.
"I have been diligently collecting drinking water in the meantime, but the water stored in each household will not last even a week. We have also stored water separately in the storage, but it is not enough to distribute to all the people in this city. You must make a decision."
Floyd rubbed his dry face with his hot hands.
"The last time it was discovered was in the forest, right? Arsene, haven't you found a way to lure it out?"
"No, it doesn't seem to want to show itself no matter how much I provoke it."
"Then it would be better to burn down the entire forest."
At those words, everyone's faces darkened.
The people who had established their homes in the forest were making a living from the animals and plants that grew there. If Floyd burned down the forest with his power, he could catch the monster, but the lives of the people who lived by the grace of that forest would become very difficult.
Floyd's fire was different from ordinary fire, and new life did not easily find its way to the land that had been burned by that fire. In the past, Floyd had worked hard to plant trees and spread fertilizer in an area he had burned while catching a monster, but nothing grew for three years.
"There are many villages that have established their homes in the forest. If we burn down the forest, there will be a large number of refugees."
At the words of Count Sometro Macken, the Minister of Forestry, Floyd frowned.
"Anything is better than dying from Magical Energy. I can beat up more monsters and sell the by-products to make up for the lack of funds. Prepare to accept refugees in the capital."
"Shall I inform them right away?"
"If people move, the monster might move with them, so let's beat that thing first. First, tell each village to prepare to leave their homes. Give the people some time to pack up and launch a subjugation operation in 3 days. Those who will accompany me should wear fireproof clothing tightly."
After the long meeting that followed, the vassals got up first and left the conference room. Chamberlain Jenaille quietly whispered in Floyd's ear, who was staring at the table with a heavy expression.
"Your Highness. The work of decorating the Lily Palace with Adelia Flowers has been completed."
"Ah, really? I should go take a look."
As Floyd left the conference room with Jenaille, Adrian muttered, leaning his elbows on the table.
"I don't know what the Monarch is thinking. I heard that woman has recovered enough to walk around the garden now, shouldn't we send her out soon?"
Arsene nodded.
"I agree."
"Everyone in the Grand Duke's Palace knows that woman has a slave's brand. The Lily Palace employees seem to be very dissatisfied, and I'm worried that it will cause problems inside and outside."
"It will be a problem. No matter how much we silence the employees, it will eventually leak out of the palace and Lucas will hear about it."
"Ah, I really don't like it. It looks like the Monarch picked up the woman Lucas abandoned. If someone who doesn't know sees it, they'll think the Monarch has feelings for that woman. Ha, I can almost hear Lucas laughing at the Monarch."
The captain of the royal guard, who had been watching Floyd from the closest distance, could not even imagine that Floyd would have other feelings for Roxana. It seemed that he was taking care of Roxana for some other reason, but they could not figure out what that reason was.
Adrian looked back at Kirshan.
"Shan, why don't you talk to him nicely? The Monarch listens to you well."
"He hates it even if I just mention it."
"Then Cain, why don't you have a drink with the Monarch and carefully..."
"Hey, that's too much!"
Hexter, who had been putting his legs on the table since Floyd left, shouted.
"Aren't you being too harsh on a girl who's only 20 years old? She hasn't even lost her family for long, but everyone's just thinking about kicking her out. That's too much!"
"A girl who's only 20 years old? She's already 20 years old. At 20, she's old enough to get married and have one or two children."
As Adrian retorted, Cain, who had been making a sullen expression since Roxana's name came up, said.
"You're 25 and you're not married and you don't have any children."
"It's not that I can't, it's that I don't want to, brother. It's hard to choose just one woman. Don't you know the difference?"
"I don't know. When I listen to the ladies, they say they can date you but they can never marry you."
"You wanna die?"
While Adrian and Cain were bickering, pretending to draw their swords, Kirshan got up and headed to the window. Adrian's words were right, and Hexter's words were right.
However, he did not know whether taking in Roxana, who asked why he did not let her die even though he had saved her, was worth worsening relations with the Gania Kingdom.
+++
The Huinasel region in the southwest of the continent, where Torkan was located, was originally famous for its good weather. Roxana had been living here for several weeks, but she had rarely seen bad weather.
Today, the sky was as clear as cerulean, and the voices of the children echoing by the pond were refreshing. Roxana was sitting on a bench by the pond, watching the children.
Since they first met at the Lily Palace, the children came to play in the garden almost every day. Sometimes they picked flowers and gave them to her, and sometimes they shared the lunch boxes that their mothers had packed for them with Roxana.
Whenever Roxana saw the children, her heart ached with an indescribable longing. She did not know why she felt a tearing pain, but she found herself coming out to the garden whenever she heard the children's voices.
"It's getting colder now. You'll catch a cold if you come out like that."
A low voice was heard from right behind her, but Roxana did not turn around. Only after something heavy and soft was placed on her shoulders did she turn her head slightly to react.
As soon as Roxana confirmed that the thing placed on her shoulders was a thick blanket, the children shouted at the same time.
"Monarch!"
