"...Nn..."
Reiji Saiki sat up with a low moan, fumbling beneath his blankets. But the next instant, he retreated right back into the warmth of the covers.
Several minutes passed. Finally, as his mind cleared, Reiji forced himself to sit up once again.
"Ah—... Right. That’s where I am."
He surveyed the unfamiliar room, orienting himself.
Compared to the Dusk Wheat Inn, his usual lodgings in the City of Gilm, this place was a significant step down in quality. Naturally, there were no luxuries like heating magic items, and the room was filled with the biting chill of the winter air.
It was the inn Guild Master Seis had recommended, but Baar was a far cry from a hub like Gilm. While Gilm was a frontier city that catered to great merchants and high-ranking nobles, Baar, though relatively close to the border, was ultimately a rural town. Considering that, even the "highest-quality" inn here was bound to fall short of Gilm’s standards in terms of facilities and comfort. According to Seis, the food here was supposed to be quite famous, but with the city under blockade and food currently rationed, elaborate dishes were off the table. Furthermore, for a certain reason, he couldn't expect much from the meal.
"Well, that blockade should be lifted soon enough."
The Specific Magic Fever Medicine generally took effect overnight. A significant number of citizens had likely recovered since Reiji’s arrival yesterday, though he didn't know the exact count.
"...Now then, Sazanas said he’d be coming by. I should at least finish breakfast before then."
Reiji sighed as he thought of the meal he’d had the previous night—hard-baked black bread meant for long-term storage and a soup that contained virtually no meat or vegetables. Nevertheless, he got dressed and tidied his appearance.
Both Reiji and Seto had appetites that were rarely satisfied by the meals at the Dusk Wheat Inn; they usually had to buy snacks on the street to feel full. Rationed meals certainly wouldn't be enough for them. On the other hand, he couldn't very well pull out the gourmet dishes stored in his Misty Ring and feast in front of people who were starving.
(I'll have to eat in private at the very least. Regardless of my own situation, I have to find a way to secure enough food for Seto.)
He muttered the thought to himself, but then sighed again, realizing how difficult that would be while investigating the cause of the magic fever with Sazanas. He made his way down to the 1F.
Though he had been shivering when he first left the bed, the cold vanished from his mind the moment he donned his Dragon Robe.
"Good morning."
A young man in his twenties with a pale, sickly complexion bowed as Reiji reached the 1F.
This youth wasn't actually a professional innkeeper; he was an adventurer. Since his parents, the original owners of the inn, had fallen ill with Magic Fever, he had been left in charge as their proxy.
Reiji guessed his pale look came from the exhaustion of nursing his parents. He took a seat in the dining hall.
"Here is your breakfast. ...Though, as things stand, this is the best I can offer."
The meal consisted of a cup of wine diluted with water, more of the hard-baked black bread, and a bowl of dried meat and bean soup.
Normally, one would soak the bread in the soup to soften it before eating, but Reiji bit directly into it, using his formidable jaw strength to tear off a chunk and chew.
Watching the young man’s stunned expression, Reiji swallowed the bread and asked the question on his mind.
"How are your parents? The medicine should have been distributed by now, right?"
"Yes. It's thanks to you staying here, Rei-san."
Indeed. Because Reiji was a guest here, Seis had used his authority as Guild Master to provide the Specific Magic Fever Medicine ahead of schedule the previous day. While it could be seen as favoritism, Reiji was essentially the savior of the City of Baar. Seis wanted to ensure that the man responsible for the city's salvation received proper service. Furthermore, he knew that once this crisis was over, there would be a surge of visitors to the city; he wanted to make sure the local inns were back on their feet and ready to handle the influx.
That said, the original owners were still bedridden. Although the medicine had cleared the magic fever symptoms, a doctor had advised they remain in bed to recover the strength they had lost during the illness.
"I'd like to get this matter settled as quickly as possible. Once that's done, I'm looking forward to eating some real food."
"Hahaha. I'll be sure to tell my parents that. Though, it might be hard to procure the right ingredients for a gourmet meal until the rationing system ends."
"I see. Well, I suppose that’s true. Sorry for stopping you. Go ahead and take the meals to the other patients."
"Yes. Excuse me then."
Knowing the hard bread would be difficult for the sick to digest, Reiji watched the young man carry off trays of soup. He then returned to his own meal, eating with a sense of duty. Since the father, who usually served as the cook, was still recovering, the food tasted of nothing but amateur effort. Reiji tore into the bread, washed it down with soup, and finished the wine.
Just as he finished the last of it, a figure appeared in the dining hall with perfect timing.
It was Sazanas, the man who had greeted Reiji at the gate the day before. Assuming Dialogo had sent him as promised, Reiji gave a casual wave.
"Yo. I heard the details from Dialogo. We’re heading out to find the source of this shitty disease, right?"
"...This is a dining hall. Mind your language."
With a sigh, Reiji finished his final sip of wine.
"Ha! What are you talking about? You’re the only other person in here. Who cares?"
Sazanas’s tone was much more relaxed than it had been at the main gate.
"Speaking of which, if the main gate is under blockade, what are you guys doing for food?"
"Ah, that's not an issue. When it's time to eat, people throw bags of bread and cheese over from inside the city. Even with the blockade and the rationing, Dialogo-san is making sure we get our share. He really is something else."
"He was appointed as the Acting Lord. I guess he wouldn't be in that position if he weren't competent."
"Kuku, you got that right. I heard the original Lord of this city caused so many problems that there was pressure from above to force him to step down and let Dialogo-san take over. ...But putting that aside, even if we're looking for the cause of the Magic Fever, do you actually have a plan?"
Sazanas sat in the chair across from Reiji.
Given that this was an unprecedented situation, no one had any idea what the cause might be. Sazanas was right; they needed a starting point.
"To be honest, I'm confident in my combat skills, but using my head isn't exactly my specialty. Ah—let's see. First, is there any chance this city’s location is somehow unique? ...No, probably not."
"Yeah. It’s just normal plains and fields around here. There’s nothing special about the geography. If you're looking for a weird location, wouldn't Gilm, where you came from, be a better candidate?"
"Fair point."
Gilm was on the frontier, right next to the vast Forest of Magic where A-Rank and S-Rank monsters roamed. In terms of "unique terrain," Gilm was in a league of its own.
"So, you don't think it's a geographical problem?"
"Well, I can't rule it out entirely, but based on the probability, it seems low."
Reiji nodded at Sazanas’s assessment.
He had surveyed the area from Seto’s back when he arrived. He knew there was nothing unusual about the layout of the land. Furthermore, if there had been something like the Forest of Magic nearby, Seto would have sensed it, even if Reiji couldn't feel magic power.
"What if the Magic Fever itself adapted? Like, it evolved to thrive in cold, dry climates?"
"Way out here? If it had spread gradually from the south, I’d believe it. But this was a sudden outbreak right here in Baar."
"...Then maybe someone spread it on purpose?"
"Why would they? What’s the profit in starting an epidemic in a rural town like this? ...Wait. Actually..."
Sazanas had started to dismiss the idea, but he suddenly tilted his head as if something had occurred to him.
"Got a lead?"
"It’s just a possibility. Like I said, the original Lord of Baar had a history of causing trouble. Because of his personality, he had plenty of enemies among the other noble factions, and even among his own. If someone held a grudge..."
It was plausible. Having met several nobles in this world, Reiji found the story easy to believe. There were true nobles like Daskar, Margrave Larkus, and Elena, but there were also those like Kyuste, who was blinded by pride, and Vel, who had gleefully betrayed his homeland. Those faces flashed through his mind, and he almost nodded, but then he hesitated and shook his head.
"I can see why someone would hold a grudge, but is it even possible to trigger an epidemic intentionally? Even if they had the means, how would they bypass the fact that Magic Fever usually only thrives in hot, humid environments?"
"...I see. When you put it that way, maybe I'm overthinking it. Besides, if someone had a weapon like that, they wouldn't use it on a noble in their own country. They'd unleash it on the capital of the Bestia Empire and do some real damage."
"Yeah, definitely...ly..."
The Bestia Empire. Reiji stopped mid-sentence at the mention of that name.
(If their alchemy is advanced, their technical level must be high. If diseases in this world are spread by pathogens like back home, could they have used alchemy to modify it?)
He mulled over the possibility in his head, but eventually dismissed it with a small shake of his head.
(In the first place, if they could do that, there's no reason to target a backwater like Baar. Like Sazanas said, they’d target the Royal Capital or some other major hub. Unless this is a live experiment to see if it works? But even then, you can only pull that off once. Once word gets out about what happened in Baar, every other city will stock up on the Specific Magic Fever Medicine.)
"Rei?"
"No, it's nothing. You're right; if the Bestia Empire were plotting something, they probably wouldn't waste it on this town. So, is there anything else?"
"Hmm, well... that’s about all I can think of off the top of my head."
"...In that case, let's look at this from a different angle."
"A different angle?"
Sazanas looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Reiji continued regardless.
"For example, what makes this city unique?"
"Huh? I just told you, there isn't anything particularly special about it."
"I asked the wrong way. Let's see... does this city have a specialty? A famous product?"
"Look, we’re trying to find the cause of the Magic Fever. We don't have time to go souvenir shopping."
"That's not what I mean. I’m wondering if that specialty itself might be the reason the Magic Fever broke out."
"..."
Sazanas looked caught off guard by the suggestion. He nodded slowly as if considering it, but then frowned.
"Even if that’s the case, why hasn't it happened before? This city has been here for over two hundred years."
"Who knows? Maybe it took this long for the conditions to align, or maybe it’s a mutation. ...The probability might not be high, but we don't have any other leads. We have to start somewhere. So, what is Baar’s specialty?"
"Well... if you’re talking about something unique to this city that you won't find elsewhere, I guess it’d be our distilled liquor."
"Distilled liquor?"
The term brought back memories of documentaries Reiji had seen back in Japan, and the whiskey his father used to drink.
(Brandy and vodka were distilled spirits too, I think. If I remember right, they age them in wooden barrels... Wait. If that’s the case, where do they keep all those barrels? If it were just an individual hobby, a house would be enough, but if it’s the city's main export, they’d need a massive amount of space.)
"Sazanas, where is the distilled liquor stored? It’s kept in wooden barrels, right?"
"Huh? Yeah. They’re in wooden barrels in a specialized storage facility... Wait, you don't think..."
"Since it’s a possibility, we should check it out. If there’s nothing there, at least we can cross it off the list."
"...Good point. Let’s head out then."
Agreeing, the two stood up from the table and made their way out of the dining hall.