47. Medicine Master

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47. Medicine Master

It was approximately 1 hour after the firedrake Agnia flew away with her child.
In regards to the events that had transpired here, I informed the four children (Miguel, Elemia, Donna, Beck) of what was okay to reveal and what I’d like them to stay quiet about, and after I received their assent, we returned to the surface.

Because the firedrake Agnia’s breath attack had opened a large hole inside the lair, we were able to return straight to the surface using the grappling hook.
I was fine of course, and the other four managed to ascend the rope without difficulty at least.

As I was finally scaling up the rope, using [Psychokinesis] to roll it up as I went, a sand-coloured figure jumped out from behind the cover of some rocks a short distance away.

“Oi~!”

He wore a mask so I couldn’t see his face, but judging from the voice, it’s probably Gonzack.
Gonzack reached us after I had stored the grappling hook in my rucksack (or pretended to do so while having Melby put it in the dimension storage).

“Are you okay, Fellow believer Orochi!”

“Yeah, somehow.”

“When I saw that breath attack just now, I was certain that you guys had died.”

Gonzack said, patting his chest in relief.

After I explained the details to him, we took a rest there since the threat was gone.
As we rest, the emissaries of <Yatagarasu> surround us, dismantling several wyverns that they had killed.
Wyvern flesh is tough on it’s own, but not only can the flavour be easily brought out when cooked well, it’s possible to preserve it for a long time if we smoke it, so it can be used as a valuable source of protein for <Yatagarasu> without wasting any of it.
Apparently, their hide, teeth, claws, and bones also have their respective uses.

For some reason, our leader showed up as we rested and were drinking the water that Gonzack had supplied.

“I rushed over when I heard that a firedrake appeared but…… it looks like I came for nothing.”

Certainly, there was a limited number of people within the fighting force of the Nest who might be able to contend with a firedrake, so Gazaine’s arrival wasn’t that strange.
Gazaine used a hand to direct the children who were attempting to salute him in a hurry with the exception of me, and then says,

“You guys did well coming back safely.
Good grief, a firedrake residing beside our Nest is no joke.
At such an important time……”

As he grumbles, Gazaine calls out to the four children one by one.

“Elemia, I heard you were the first to discover the firedrake.
You did a good job in your role as scout.
Miguel, apparently the one who proposed that you should investigate the firedrake’s lair was you.
Good decision.
Donna, as the healer of the team, as well as the oldest member, well done in restraining your fellow believers.
Beck, it seems you risked your life as the tank, and protected everyone.
You endured as the firedrake’s opponent nicely without faltering.”

Each of them should have erred as well, but it seems he was praising their good points and thanking the four for their efforts for the time being.
He’s more conscientious than he appears.

Finally, Gazaine looks at me.

“……Well, I didn’t think you would die to something of that level.”

“Oi, worry properly.”

“If I was worried, you’d say that it’s disgusting anyway.
But seriously, thanks for bringing these guys back all alive.
Tell me one of your wishes or something.
I’ll see to it as best I can.”

“Then, teach me [Pharmacy]……”

“I can’t.
I’ve already told you that often though.”

“Tch. Well then…… right, send the best parts of the wyvern meat to the children’s group.”

“Are you alright with that?”

“Yeah. It’s not like I have anything I want in particular.”

“Hmm…… In that case, I’ll give you the wyvern wings and a stack of milk coupons. Split it as you wish.”

Oh, how generous.
Somehow it seems like Gazaine is currently in quite a good mood.
He appeared to be happy about our return, but did this guy have such an admirable personality?

While I was wracking my brain, it was decided at Gazaine’s command that we would hold a barbecue to commemorate the victory against the firedrake (?) before we return to the Nest.

The wyverns’ thick meat was roasted on wire netting, turning into steak.
It was seasoned roughly with rock salt, but it tasted super delicious since we were eating it after such an intense workout.

Huh, speaking of which……

“Where’s Fellow believer Nebil?”

Nebil, the supposed leader of the wyvern subjugation troops, was nowhere to be found.
I feels bad if I don’t report to my superior after finishing a job, thanks to a habit formed back when I was an office worker.

No way, could he have been done in by the wyverns……?

Gazaine answered my question with a sour look.

“Ah, him.
Apparently he said something about unceasing hiccups or something and was taken to the infirmary but……
The firedrake appeared and surprised him so much that he became unable to stop hiccupping, something like that?
I’ve never heard such a thing before…… When he’s recovered, I’ll have to discipline him.”

“I-I see.”

I know too much about the cause of the hiccups.
Stealthily, I retrieve the Ususake Mushroom that Donna shared with me and use [Appraisal] on it.
《Ususake Mushroom: A tasty mushroom with the characteristic of being able to be thinly teared. However, consuming large amounts will cause unstoppable hiccups. Hiccups will continue for approximately half a day, but without after-effects. When dried and turned into fine powder and ignited, it will explode with an intense noise.》

Sorry, Fellow believer Nebil.

While I, alone, was praying for Fellow believer Nebil’s happiness in the next world (not dead), a singing competition started in the barbecue grounds.
Elemia was playing the flute, Gonzack strummed a guitar-like instrument, and Miguel beat the drums.
The one singing was Gazaine for some reason.
He had quite a beautiful sombre voice and was enthusiastically singing a melancholic song that sounded like a folk song with a solid tremolo.

――Looking at this scene, they seem to be a rather pleasant bunch.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

That night, I visited a certain person.
The person resided in an exclusive underground space in a section deep within the Nest.

I opened up a duct in the darkness of the cave with the rail cars, then erased my presence with [Espionage Techniques] as I slipped into the underground space where that person lived.

From the direction of a living room-esque room, the sound of something being grinded could be heard.

As I was standing at the door of that living room, hesitating to knock,

“……Who’s there?”

“……!”

A voice from beyond the door called out to me first.

“From the size of that presence, let’s see, is it the baby who joined recently?”

Since couldn’t do anything after that much was exposed, I resolve myself and open the door.

An old man was sitting cross-legged, hunched over the medicine producing tool spread out in front of a sunken hearth.
The elder, clad in a kimono that resembled the casual wear from my previous life, had white hair and lots of wrinkles and kept his eyes closed even when I opened the door.
The dog ears that grew out as if to cover his white hair were exactly like those of a girl I know well.

“How long are you going to stand around for?
It’s cold. Sit down by the hearth.”

Being told that, I sit down opposite the old man.
Then, I stealthily use [Appraisal] on him.
I deliberately weaken the magic ping that the firedrake Agnia explained about, so that it became even harder for my [Appraisal] to be exposed.

«Ganash Yashbarl («Medicine Master» | «Medicine Saint» | «Elder»)
Age 73 Years
Beastkin (Moon Dog Tribe)

Level 24
HP 29/29
MP 33/33

Skills
Legendary
[Super Tactility] ―
[Super Hearing] ―
[Super Smell] ―
[Microscopic Vision] 2

Master Class
[Microscopic Observation] 9 (MAX)
[Sense Presence] 8
[Mana Detection] 7

General
[Mana Perception] 9 (MAX)
[Pharmacy] 9 (MAX)
[Eavesdropping] 9 (MAX)
[Tool Creation] 9 (MAX)
[Light Magic] 5
[Medical Care] 4
[Mana Manipulation] 3
[Telekinesis Magic] 2

«Attention of the Medical God» (Gained the attention of the God of Medicine, Norius. Small supplement to the acquisition | growth of skills in the [Pharmacy] system.) »

While I was looking at his status, the old man ladled out a cup of hot water from the iron kettle hanging above the hearth, then transferred it to a teacup and passed it to me.

“I’m out of tea.
If you’re fine with boiled water, go ahead and drink.”

“Thank you, I will partake.”

I moved to take the teacup, but the teacup the old man was holding moved and I was unable to receive it smoothly.

“By any chance… are your eyes…?”

“Oh, that’s right. I am blind.”

“……I’m sorry.”

I asked without thinking, but that was probably bad mannered of me.

As I was feeling ashamed, Old Man Ganash gave me a small nod.

“No, it’s not all bad.
In exchange for my blindness, my other senses have sharpened.
I’ve even become able to see both mana, and people’s presences.
Everything is thanks to the guidance of the goddess of samsara who governs skills.
That said, the only thing I can’t distinguish is colour, but there’s no inconvenience apart from that.”

“Is that so…… Colours are something that can’t be seen without light.”

“Hm? Colours and light…… Do those two have some connection?”

“Connection you say…… Ah, I see.”

The information of how colours are determined by some aspect of light being reflected off objects was a premise in modern science.

“Colours are light.
Light hits something and is reflected.
At that time, a portion of the light is absorbed by the object.
For example, red objects reflect red light and absorbs all the other light.”

There might be a problem with me carelessly showing off knowledge from my previous life, but there shouldn’t be any harm if it’s just this much.
This world should also have prisms at least, so researchers of this principle may know of it.
Presenting my knowledge is the easiest way to obtain the trust of this person is what Donna said.

“Hoho…… It makes sense.
In that case, if I combine [Light Magic] and [Mana Detection]――Oh……!”

Old Man Ganash raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I can see…… No, I should say I can tell.
I can tell that this light, which I only understood as bright and dark until now, is composed of various ‘colours’…..!
Oh…..Oh!”

Old Man Ganash was shedding tears from his eyes in amazement, but the amazed one is me.
This grandpa instantly understood the mechanics of light and was able to apply it to magic just from the trifling bit of modern knowledge I spoke of.

“Certainly, I never thought I would be able to regain ‘colours’ at this age…… Well, to live and to learn.”

“No, half of that was your own ability.
By the way, how should I address you?”

“Oh, come to think of it, I never gave my name.
You seem to be aware, but I am Ganash.
It’s fine to call me gramps too.”

Even if you say that, I can’t really call you gramps.

“Then, I’ll use Grandpa Ganash.
As for me, everyone calls me Orochi.
Today, I’ve come because I’d like to seek your guidance.”

“Right, Orochi.
As thanks for conferring upon me ‘colours’, I’ll do anything for you as long as it’s within my capabilities.”

“Going straight to the point, can I ask you to teach me [Herbalism]?”

“Ohoh…… Where did you get wind of [Herbalism]?”

“It’s because I became well acquainted with your granddaughter.”

“Oh, is that so.
It seems she was in your care during the firedrake strife the other day.”

“In regards to those events, it was mutual.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Isn’t she a good girl.
She’s not a girl who should be made to play assassin and such in a place like this.”

“Oi, oi……. Is it alright to say that?”

“What, I don’t care if you’re the one I’m addressing.
Since you’re a rebel emissary who sneaked into my place late at night like this, without permission from the higher ups.”

That’s true.

“More than that, I was told by the leader to never teach you how to handle drugs.”

Wow.
That Gazaine, he even considered the possibility of me doing this and beat me to the punch.

“But, why would that guy be afraid of such a thing?
Even though he said he would teach me other combat abilities without restraint.”

When I grumble, Grandpa Ganash nodded in deep thought.

“Mn. I see…… So you don’t understand it.”

“……What does that mean?”

“When it comes to assassination, do you know what the most challenging thing is?”

Cocking my head at the question that came flying suddenly,

“It’s approaching without notice, right?”

“That’s also difficult for certain, but for emissaries who have received training in <Yatagarasu> and gained experience, that’s not something that would be a problem.
Naturally, this is when the opposition doesn’t have people who can read presences or detect mana.
What I’m talking about is something more direct.”

“Direct……?”

“Let me give you an example.
You and Gazaine――no, the conditions are bad with him… If you were to plan to assassinate the other executives of <Yatagarasu>.”

“That’s a suspicious example.”

“It’s just hypothetical.
I’m not saying to do it.
Then again, I don’t intend to tell you not to do it.”

Grandpa Ganash’s lips curve into a broad grin.

“And so, what were we talking about… That’s right, assassination.
Since you’ve been cutting in, we’ve been getting side-tracked.”

“Uh…… Sorry.”

“Well, it’s fine.
Anyway, trying to assassinate the higher ups.
There’s probably no problem with getting closer.
Since you have the ability to stealthily sneak here to my retreat like this.
However, when it comes time to kill, what would be the hindrance?”

“Hindrance….
For me, I plan to bury them alive without further parley but……”

“That’s no good.
Consider killing them with the [Assassination Techniques] learned in <Yatagarasu>.”

“With [Assassination Techniques]……?
But since it’s the top brass of <Yatagarasu>, every one of them would be high levelled so――
Oh, I see! I might not be able to kill them in one go!”

“Indeed. The biggest difficulty in regards to assassination is the target’s HP.”

If their HP is high, even if the amount of damage incurred is the same, the degree of injury would be relatively light.
This is something I learnt firsthand when I tumbled down from the second storey and hit my head in the estate in Corbette Village.

That being the case, if the assassination target’s HP is high then no matter how many times I attack their vitals with [Assassination Techniques], it’s possible that I will be unable to take their life in one hit.
And if the other party were cause a commotion there, the assassination might end in a failure.

“You will attempt to assassinate the top brass of the organisation that has Gazaine as their leader.
The difficulty level of the assassination will vary depending on whether or not you possess drugs at that time.”

I see. No wonder they don’t want to teach me [Pharmacy].

“Then what will you do?
Will you really not teach me?”

“I will certainly teach you.
Not only did you return colours to me, you are my granddaughter’s benefactor.
In addition――”

“In addition?”

“If it’s something Gazaine hates, I will do anything.”

Muttering that, Grandpa Ganash furrows his brows in a grimace.

“……What happened between Gazaine and you?”

“Gazaine killed my daughter.
When he was kidnapping Donna, that guy killed my daughter to seal her lips.
Then he carried Donna off, training her into an assassin, and also had me help with poison making by holding Donna hostage.”

“……Is that so.”

Silence descended upon Ganash’s living room (“retreat” according to him).

“……Anyway, if you want to learn how to handle drugs then I’ll teach you all I know.
However, how much you can do with that will depend on yourself.
Even so, I will surely impart upon you the knowledge and techniques needed to avoid being taken advantage of by them.
I’ll also include knowledge of the ‘underground’ drugs that I have yet to teach Donna.”

“That would be appreciated.
Let me work hard to live up to your expectations.
……Incidentally, there’s just one thing I’d like to ask first.”

“Oh? A question right off the bat, huh.
That’s a good thing, half of what you can’t imagine with that mind of yours, I cannot comprehend either.”

“It’s about countermeasures against poisons that induce abnormal conditions such as sleep, paralysis and poisoned, starting with Repchipa Grass.”

“How specific.
I suppose this is about how they used Repchipa Grass to abduct you.”

“…….Something like that.”

Repchipa Grass wasn’t effective on me, but if that wasn’t used then there would have been no need to be obediently abducted by Gazaine.
Although, since it doesn’t seem like I would have been able to compete with Gazaine and win back then, it was also as if it was a narrow escape from death instead.
It’s frustrating, but misreading both our capabilities was because I wouldn’t be able to win no matter how much time passed.

“Basically, you’re talking about recovering from abnormal conditions caused by drugs―in other words, those not caused by magic―by means of using drugs that counteract those poisons.
Of course, it only works if there’s corresponding medicine, but you should remember that this world also has poisons without medicine.”

“Oi, oi, then is it the end when those poisons are used?”

Well, the poisons from my former world were also like that though…….

“I heard that there are also spells among the [Recovery Magic] used by high-ranking clergymen that have an effect on poison, but even for magic, you can’t engage with it if you don’t know what kind of poison it is.
That said, fortunately there are very few poisons I don’t know of, and I am able to make antidotes for almost all of the poisons I do know of.
This is something that can be done when you combine not only my power, but the power of the medicine god, and the skills received from the goddess of reincarnation.”

“So it’s impossible for me?”

“There’s no need to be so disappointed.
90% of the poisons that can be used in the world are limited to the 6 most convenient varieties of poison.
For the time being, you will be fine if you reach the point where you can make antidotes for these 6――no, the 3 varieties of poison used most often above the others.
In addition to this, you’ll learn about the unique poisons used in <Yatagarasu> and the detoxification methods for them.”

“All of that sounds interesting, but I guess there isn’t anything like an elixir.”

“It’s not…… like there isn’t.
However, things like that require rare ingredients.
For example――That’s right, rainbow cactus sap and such, there’s no way you’d have any.”

“Rainbow……cactus?”

I stiffened at Grandpa Ganash’s words.

“……Grandpa Ganash, what you see from this point, I’d like you to keep a secret but……”

“It’s a bit late. Just meeting you like this would be bad if it were known.”

“……Melby.”

When I call out, Melby shows herself.

“Medicine Master-sama.
I am the fairy Melby.
I am travelling with Ed for reasons.”

“Oh…… I’ve had some suspicions since some time ago, but it was indeed a fairy there.”

“So you noticed.”

In exchange for being blind, his other five senses and perception of mana was really sharpened.

Requesting Melby, I had her retrieve the cactus in question―the rainbow cactus pot plant―from the dimension storage.

“I don’t know whether you can see it but there is a rainbow cactus pot plant here.”

“Ooh! Is that true! Then the sap also――”

In response to Grandpa Ganash leaning forward in astonishment,

“You can’t! Because it was decided that I would raise Tushaaravati-chan!”

“Well, he hasn’t said anything yet.”

I retort to Melby, who was using her tiny body to cover the potted plant.

Or rather, she even gave it a name before I knew it.
Her big sister nature was fully displayed.
Nevertheless, couldn’t you have given it a name that was a little easier to say.
Doesn’t that sound like an Indian goddess or something.

Speaking of which, I wonder if the [Appraisal] result will reflect the name in this case.
Having thought of that, I had the sudden impulse to use [Appraisal] on the cactus.

«Tushaaravati
3 years old
Rainbow Cactus? (tree form) / Magic Organism
Level 1
HP 3/3
MP 262/262

Skills
Legendary
[Growth Control] ―
([Dimension Magic] 1) (Inapplicable in tree form)
([Aurora Magic] 1) (Inapplicable in tree form)»

……Yeah.
Let’s pretend I didn’t see it.
This is an ordinary cactus. There’s no mistake.

No, all jokes aside, just what happened to this cactus in the short time I didn’t see it.
No matter what, to have [Appraisal]-san use a ? in the explanation I had great faith in meant it had gone through an incomprehensible evolution.
Perhaps Melby putting it in her dimension storage was the cause but…….
To begin with, it was an unusual plant that would absorb mana and bloom flowers in accordance with the attribute absorbed.

“If it’s the size where it can be a potted plant then it’s a still-young specimen.
If you extract the flower nectar of a matured specimen, it can be used as a substitute for the sap.
In that case, you’ll be able to acquire the ingredients for an elixir without hurting it.”

“If so, shall I sneak out some other time and try searching for the place from the other day?”

“Good grief, I just keep getting surprised by you.
The refining of the elixir will probably be difficult if it’s not me.
You can bring it over when you obtain the ingredients.”

“Understood. Putting that aside, teach me [Herbalism] as well.”

“Of course.”

Hearing Grandpa Ganash’s words, I stood up from beside the hearth.
At the same time, Grandpa Ganash also stood up and took out a small porcelain bottle from a drawer alongside the wall, holding it out towards me.

“……If you want to know the truth about this religious organisation, you should take this medicine.”

“This is?”

“When the large mass with Gazaine’s presence is held, take that medicine before entering the chapel.”

I thought to use [Appraisal] on it, but it was inside the bottle so only «〔Porcelain〕 bottle» was displayed.
Let’s look its the contents later.

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