Chapter 145: The King, me, and poison.

We go back in time a little. My Elder brother pointed out the mold in the royal pharmacy.

Elder brother made eye contact with me. I nodded and activated wind magic. I wanted to make a soundproofing barrier at first, but I could be made a suspect if I handled it poorly. I couldn’t hear perfectly, but the gentle breeze carried a quiet voice.

“And this one. Are they using this dead thing?”

“That’s poison. It’s Lightning Puffer Grass.”

Mandragora-kun climbed up Elder brother’s shoulder. Its body is that of ginger with limbs. A white flower was blooming on top of its head. It was an ordinary mandragora at first, but under Elder brother’s special care and his fertilizer, it learned to walk on its own and gained intelligence, becoming Mandragora-kun. Mandragora-kun is capable of distinguishing poison. According to him, he has been subtly spiritualized.

“Is this herb used by His Majesty? The Beastmen physicians have a good sense of smell, so they often compound medicine without looking. Moreover, because that sense of smell is good throughout the country, they don’t even taste for poison. This poison is tasteless and odorless… it’s ideal to add to a compound.”

“I, I have not poisoned His Majesty!”

“”I know.””

Both Elder brother and I, don’t think that the culprit is Tosaken-san. The criminal wouldn’t take out a poisonous thing like the Lightning Puffer Grass on their own.

“Is there someone who can go in and out of this area often, but are not under suspicion when approaching the medicine cabinet?”

“… There’s only one.”

I see. Might as well catch them.

“Tosaken-san, are you able to feign ignorance? Even if you weren’t aware, you have helped the culprit in poisoning His Majesty. Please decide whether you want to become a criminal or collaborator.”

“… He’s my friend.”

“However, he’s a friend who is pinning a crime on you.”

“… Please let me think about it.”

“You don’t have much time. I am expecting a good answer.”

Elder brother and I finished the preparations and went to report to Jess after letting His Majesty take the medicine.

“It’s as I expected.”

Jess smiled bitterly. In the first place, this is Wolfanea’s domestic squabble.

Presently, the King of Wolfanea has three children.

The eldest son of the legal wife, Geraldin Wolfanea.

The second son, Judas Wolfanea and the third son Jutiess Wolfanea, born of a concubine.

What made the things troublesome is our muscle-brained hero who is the legitimate heir that ended up abandoning his rightful inheritance and ran away from home. The faction that he abandoned with his escape is being persecuted by the second prince. Geraldin-san’s fleeing from home is a delicate topic in Wolfanea. Moreover, the concubine is His Majesty’s pair of a different race. She has selfishly decided on the successor by herself.

By the way, the first prince’s faction is sloppily managed because it mainly consists of muscle-heads who admire strength. The second prince’s faction mainly consists of the civil official types, but… that’s a minority in this country. Jess is being excluded because of his ageless outward appearances.

The faction that troubles His Majesty the most is probably the first prince’s faction, no? His Majesty is apparently not thinking of making Geraldin-san who abandoned his rights into a King by force. We cannot intervene anymore because these are Wolfanea’s internal problems.

“We will leave the rest to you, Jess.”

“Yeah…”

“But you see, if the opponent starts something, I will keep them company with all of my might.”

“Rosarin, you have come up with some kind of a prank again, huh. Indeed, I also wouldn’t be able to forgive a comrade who abuses knowledge.”

Elder brother is my Elder brother, after all. We smiled at each other.

“Well, do it with moderation.”

“That depends on the opponent.”

I decided to ignore Jess’s exhausted sigh. Later, I got scolded for playing with stomach medicine. Incomprehensible.