After returning home, Jin left Kaina village to Butler A and returned to Horai Island through the warp gate in the basement of the workshop.

"Old man, tell me the details.

Without even a word of greeting, Jin launched into his main topic.

>

The old man explained in chronological order.

Licia had stayed one night at the villa of Count Walter, who happened to be in Laxham.

It is highly probable that something was done to her by a pigeon that was used for communication. The reason for this is that the pigeon showed some signs of sickness, such as puffing up its wings afterwards.

The day we left Toka village, Licia was not feeling well. The day after Licia fell ill, Count Walter also fell ill.

And this morning, the Count, who was rapidly deteriorating, ......

"That count ...... didn't do a decent job until the end, did he?"

When Jin heard the explanation of the situation, he clenched his fists so hard that his fingernails dug into his palms. He was furious with Count Walter, but the man was no longer of this world.

Jin forced his mind to switch to his priority right now, which was ...... to deal with the disease.

"I see, I understand now. Your guess is as good as mine. It is most likely a bird-borne disease."

Jin remembered the words "bird flu" and "parrot fever. There must be a similar disease in this world.

<

And as a precaution, the other day we gave Persica juice with medicinal effects to all the villagers. We can be sure that the village of Kaina is safe for now.

"But the village along the route Licia and the others have taken, as well as Rakham and the surrounding towns ......"

This is what we feared the other day. So far, no one seems to be sick yet.

However, it would be a big problem if the disease could be spread not only from bird to human but also from human to bird. It would spread to the whole Klein Kingdom and neighboring countries in the blink of an eye. It would be a pandemic.

"Hm?　Land Y? What's going on?

Land Y is supposed to be in charge of defending the village of Kaina. Why would Land Y be taking the demon tribe's belongings?　Jin wondered.

"It was a bad idea to let Deneb 30 track alone."

"That was inevitable. ...... Well, it's a good thing we didn't lose that Lardus or whatever he's called as a result."

<<

As I was saying this, Land Y came back through the village of Kaina. Needless to say, he had raised his body temperature to 200 degrees Celsius for sterilization under the old man's instruction.

"Oh, thank you, Lando Y."

"Master, I see you're back here. Here is the dagger, old man.

Land Y took the dagger in his hand and was about to hand it to Lao Tzu, the master. Jin, who was looking at him, said.

"Hmm?　Let me see it."

Jin took the dagger in his hand and looked at the material it was made of. He had never seen such a material before.

What kind of material had Jin, the Magecraft Meister, never seen before?

"......I think it's probably a biological material.

Jin put his interest aside for the moment and handed the dagger to Lao Tzu. The priority now was to locate Lardus. Lao Tzu set the dagger on his terminal.

The Master turned on the magi radar. A few minutes later.

"Kingdom of Leonard or ......"

One of a small group of countries with little or no diplomatic relations with the rest of the world, hampered by an endless mountain range, and whose true identity is shrouded in mystery.

The fifth column (Quinta) has not been dispatched there so far.

"We would like to send the 5th Quinta to the Shoro Kingdom and the Leonard Kingdom as well. Then we need to reinforce ......."

>

Jin answered "Yes," to the old man's question. Then the old man said

He expressed his concern. Jin nodded his head and was thinking of concrete measures when Deneb 30 returned with Land Z in his arms.

Of course, they had entered the village of Kaina after being heat sterilized. They were not followed.

"Oh, thank you, Deneb 30, Land Z."

Jin, who had returned to the real problem, chimed in,

"No, I was just doing my job. Good bye."

Deneb 30 looked apologetic and apologized to Jin.

Chief, I am sorry for the damage I have done to your body.

But Jin spoke kindly to Deneb 30.

"It's okay. You did a good job this time. Without your information, the situation could have been much more serious.

"That's a shame, sir."

Jin stopped Deneb 30 from bowing,

"We don't have much time. Give me a detailed report."

The old man had given him a brief report, but Jin wanted to hear directly from Deneb30 who had actually confronted Lardus.

"Yes, he is ......."

At the same time that Deneb30 was reporting verbally, Jin was repairing the damaged parts.

This is the work of a magical engineer, a MagiCraft Meister.

The magical skin, magical muscles, and skeleton of the right arm that was cut by the dagger.

All of them could be repaired by engineering magic. This was because the cut surfaces were clean, which showed the sharpness of the dagger.

After that, the whole body was checked again, and any damaged parts were repaired.

The old man was entrusted with the analysis of the magic recorders (magi recorders) that had been replaced at this time, and the magic crystals (magi crystals) were exchanged for new ones. Deneb 30 is now fully operational again.

"......That concludes my report. Thank you very much for your repair work, ...... chief.

Jin nodded his head as Deneb 30 bowed to him.

"...... got it. I don't think he's a human for all intents and purposes. What do you think ......?"

The old man had called Anne, who had a real knowledge of the war of magic, to help him.

"They are definitely demons. Their physical strength is several to dozens of times greater than that of human beings. And their chanting is also unique to demons.

Anne also says that Lardus is a demon.

"I don't think that a demon tribe with such abilities could have survived the Aether Stampede, so I think he was born after the war.

Anne added her own guess. But that was of no comfort now.

"Yeah. You think so. But it doesn't make things any better. ......You said he also used some kind of slavery magic?"

Yes, with Eladrite.

"Well, it's a good thing I took precautions ......."

All Golems and automata in Horai Island are equipped with a solid countermeasure against slave rewriting magic, but I shudder to think what would have happened if they had been even a little careless.

Since the principle is probably the same for the demon's subjugation magic, Deneb 30 was spared from subjugation.

The magic crystals (magi crystals) of the magic recorders (magi recorders) that we exchanged earlier should have recorded both slave magic and offensive magic.

Analysis is awaited, but that is not the most pressing issue. Jin changes his mind.

"I'm also wondering if there are other demons, but I'll leave that to the new fifth column (quinta) we're going to build, but for now, the most important thing is to deal with the disease.

Then Anne said something unexpected.

"Disease?　I think there was something like that during the Great Magic War.

"What?　I knew it.

A diary found in the ruins before had written about a chemical weapon that seemed to be a strong acid. If so, it is no wonder that there were biological weapons.

"I'm sorry, but my memory on this matter is not very good and I don't know all the details.

If you are talking about the time of the Great Magic War, there should be some records in the control core of Elena, the former . The old man must be in charge of it.

The old man seemed to have finished his search before Jin mentioned it, and he immediately made a conclusion.

<>. It is transmitted from bird to human and from human to human, with an incubation period of two to five days. After suffering from high fever and severe pain, the patient becomes weak and eventually dies. The fatality rate is about 70 percent. Some people do not develop the disease depending on their constitution. That is all we know.

Still, a 70 percent fatality rate is a threat. The only saving grace is that there seems to be no human to bird transmission.

"Don't we know anything about an effective treatment?"

.

Jin pondered. In Licia's case, it could be treated with a recovery drug, but there is no telling how many more people will develop the disease. Is there enough medicine to treat all of them? Even if there were, how would we distribute them?

Is it difficult to do so with warp gates or airplanes?

Both of them are means of transportation from point to point. In this case, we need to take measures in terms of lines and planes.

"I guess we need to grab this demon tribe and ask them for details.

We need to prepare the recovery medicine, but it would be better to have as much detailed information as possible.

"You know where they are, don't you?

<

"Then the best person for the job is ......."

Jin glanced to the side.

Standing there silently, Jin's most trusted masterpiece. It was Reiko.

Reiko understood Jin's gaze correctly.

"Yes, father. Leave it to me. I'll make sure I catch this Lardus or whatever he's called and make him tell us what he knows about the disease.

"...... I'm sorry, Reiko. I told you I'd treat you more like a girl... and here you are! I'm a lousy father, I am."

But Reiko shakes her head.

"No, father. I am an automaton. For me, it is my greatest pleasure to be of service to my father, the creator.

Patting Reiko on the head, Jin said, still a little pained.

"Can you help me, Reiko?　You can use Pegasus 1 if you need to. ...... I'll talk to Licia and Pascoe after this, and make arrangements for them to work as people of the Klein Kingdom."

Jin decided that if they were going to work in an organized manner, it would be better to have them work as nobles.

"Don't worry. I will act in consultation with the old man.

I'll act in consultation with the old man." "This is something only you can do now, please.

Thus, Reiko begins her actions to capture the demon tribe .

And Jin stood up to save the people of the Kingdom of Klein.

"Reiko, if something happens to me, don't hesitate to give your all.

These words were an expression of his determination.