Magi Craft Meister

Magi Craft Meister 641

18　King Klein’s Treatment Arc

19-28　Jin’s Prediction

“All that’s left to do now is to watch over your progress and get Healing Magic cast on you from time to time.”

Elsa wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“Thank you, Doctor…”

“Thank you for your help, I’m indebted to you…”

“Thank you for saving my life…”

The patients thanked Elsa.

And she doesn’t forget to give her patients a word of advice.

“Don’t eat raw fish, make sure to cook it properly.”

“And you should stay away from alcohol if you want to stay alive.”

Once she was done, Elsa turned to the chancellor.

“Oh my, you did a splendid job, Miss Elsa. As expected from the Reichsarzt.”

Chancellor Powell gave her generous compliments. Bodemann seemed frustrated.

“You must be tired, so please go back to your room.”

The chancellor’s tone became a little more courteous.

After dispelling the “Solid Barrier”, Jin and the others returned to their assigned chambers.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“…”

“What’s the matter, Brother Jin?”

Elsa called out to Jin, as he had been scowling as if thinking hard about something ever since he entered the room.

“…Hmm? I may be thinking too much, but there’s something that’s been bothering me…”

“What is it?”

There, Jin decides to talk to Elsa about what he has been worried about.

“It’s about the premise that there’s someone out there for whom letting you heal the king is very inconvenient… Even though we still don’t know who they may be…”

“Yeah.”

“…They tried to poison you, but they failed. And since that time, they haven’t tried to poison you again. So we can think that they’ll be taking a different approach.”

“…Uh-huh.”

Elsa had figured as much as well

Although she is aware that her own life is being targeted, Elsa’s determination to heal the father of her friend, Princess Lieschen, is still going strong.

“…At times like this… There’s always some kind of pattern.”

This was something that only Jin could’ve thought of, having watched enough TV dramas and read enough manga in modern Japan.

“…What would that pattern be?”

Jin answered while looking at Elsa’s worried face.

“…They’re aiming at the patient.”

“…Why would they do that?”

“No matter how hard they try to harm you, your defenses are very tight. In that case, our culprit might think about changing his approach and try to discredit you. …Something like that?”

Elsa went pale when she heard that. She seemed to understand very well what Jin was trying to say.

“…They may try to make it so that my treatment fails and the patients’ condition worsens…”

Jin nodded silently.

“…That’s terrible! I can’t forgive that!”

Elsa was unusually furious. Jin gently tries to soothe her.

“It’s okay. Since I’ve been worried about this, I’ve already set up some surveillance.”

“Did you bring in reinforcements from Hourai Island?”

“Yes. They’re called “Sams”. I’ve stationed two of them in the soldiers’ quarters.”

And judging from the results, Jin’s prediction had been right on the mark.

“MASTER, WE HAVE NEUTRALIZED A SUSPICIOUS MAN.”

Shortly after nine o’clock that night, Sam 1 contacted Jin to inform him of such news.

Jin couldn’t go take a look for himself due to security reasons, so had Reiko sneak into the scene and use “Transinfo” to learn as much as she could about the mastermind behind all this.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Even if Reiko leaves the room, Elsa still has Edgar, and the Covert Units are also in guard duty, so there’s no need to worry about their own safety.

Reiko came back in less than five minutes.

“Here’s the transcribed Magi Crystal.”

“Great, Reiko. Please read it for me again.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

She has already done this once before, so she knows how it’s done. After a brief moment, Reiko finished examining the transcribed memories.

“…It’s no use. A masked man seems to have used ‘Hypnosis’ on this person.”

This didn’t reveal the mastermind’s identity, but Jin still indirectly obtained some information.

“Did you say ’Hypnosis’?”

That was a spell that the Unifiers used to use in order to increase their number of believers. Jin also knew that only a handful of that organization’s members knew how to use it.

“Someone from the Celuroa Kingdom, huh…?”

“Brother Jin, do you mean…?”

“…Yeah. There was someone from the Celuroa Kingdom in this royal castle. Liones, was it? Prince Arthur’s tutor. There may be others, but I think it’s safe to say that he’s one of our suspects.”

“…There could be some kind of connection like the one Marchosias had with my father. I think that’s highly possible…”

At one point, Elsa’s father, Viscount Georg Randl, was instigated by Marcus Grinwald – who was, in turn, being manipulated by the demon Marchosias – into taking derailed actions. Remembering that time, Elsa grimaced, and unconsciously bit her lip.

“Tomorrow, if the condition of the patients you’ve treated today has improved, I’m sure they’re going to call you, Elsa. You should get plenty of rest.”

Having guessed Elsa’s inner feelings, Jin spoke to her in a caring way. At those words, Elsa also loosened up a bit.

“Yeah, I will. …Good night, Brother Jin.”

“Yeah, good night.”

Elsa disappeared into her bedroom.

Jin then confirmed the Sams’ report.

“THE PATIENTS’ CONDITION IS STABLE.”

“THE CHANCELLOR SEEMS TO WANT TO LET MISS ELSA DO THE TREATMENT.”

“LIONES HASN’T SHOWN ANY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR THUS FAR.”

Reports coming in one after another.

The good news was that the patients seemed to be recovering at a steady pace.

If the kingdom confirms that tomorrow, she’ll definitely be allowed to treat the king.

And so far, Liones hasn’t made any strange moves.

“…There may be more than one culprit here…”

While smiling bitterly at the fact that he’s not very good at playing detective, Jin was convinced about doing his best for Elsa’s safety and for Lieschen’s sake.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

Then came the morning of the 13th.

After Jin and the others finished their breakfast, Princess Lieschen came in with a female knight.

“Good morning, Jin, Elsa. I heard from Powell. He said that you certainly showed some skill yesterday. I wish I was there with you yesterday to see it.”

“…Thank you.”

Elsa seemed a bit embarrassed by the compliment. Then, Princess Lieschen moved towards the purpose of her visit.

“Anyway, Brother Arthur said he wants to talk to the two of you…”

“…That’s fine by me.”

There is no reason to refuse, so Jin agreed. The female knight went out to pass that message along.

A few minutes later, Prince Arthur arrives, accompanied by someone else. A middle-aged man.

“Good morning, Lord Jin, Miss Elsa. Today, Liones wanted to have a talk with the two of you. If you don’t mind, could you please keep us company for a while?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

As he answered, Jin heightened his vigilance. He deployed a “Magic Barrier” around Elsa in a whisper.

Since “Solid Barrier” and “Barrier” both prevent things from physically going through them, this may arouse suspicion to their existence, but there’s no such concern with a “Magic Barrier”, which only blocks magic.

This was based on Jin’s assumption that no one would try to physically attack Elsa under the current circumstances.

“First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Liones Ashford. You probably already know this, but I’m from the Celuroa Kingdom.”

Liones looks like he’s in his 40s. Brown hair, and brown eyes. He is tall and well-built.

“I’m Jin Nidou. I’ve been officially appointed as ‘Magi Craft Meister’.”

“I’m Elsa Nidou, ‘Reichsarzt’ of the Shouro Empire.”

Jin and Elsa also introduced themselves.

“Well, there are a few things I’d like to ask you. Would that be okay?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

Jin replied while inwardly readying himself.