854 Bear, Questioning Corvo Part 2 - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Mane was pressing Corvo with her words, leaving him with little room to escape. "Furthermore, the medicine you gave to those siblings is in my safekeeping, and they’ve agreed to testify against you as well." "My word as a noble is far more convincing than that of commoners. Besides, I have a proven track record of curing many patients. Those whose ailments I’ve healed would surely vouch for my skills." Even though he might have intentionally prolonged treatments to earn more money, the fact remained that diseases were cured. Above all, the patients and their associates were unaware of such dealings. "What if there are currently several patients, just like those siblings, who you’ve been exploiting for money?" Mane lined up the medicines on the desk. "That's because…" "You recognize these, don’t you? These are the medicines you provided to patients." "How did you…" "They tried acting like bandits to buy your medicine. That’s why, in exchange for making proper medicine for them, they handed these over to me. They’ve agreed to testify if needed." "There are only a few of them. I’ve treated hundreds more." Over the years, the number of patients already healed far exceeded the remaining untreated. Once cured, nobody would know whether it was a chronic illness or something easily curable. "Oh, don’t worry. Other pharmacists are willing to testify as well." Corvo’s eyes widened at Mane’s words. "You’ve made too many enemies. Everyone said they’d testify if it meant getting rid of you. I’ve heard it all—how you restricted their ability to make medicine, ordered them to feed patients to you, or stopped them from making medicine. They’re ready to testify about the patients you’ve dealt with too." Mane was systematically eliminating all of Corvo’s escape routes. It seemed she had been preparing thoroughly while I wasn’t around to guard her. "Y-you’re kidding!" "It’s pointless to get angry. You’re finished. Just take your punishment gracefully." At that moment, Mane clutched her chest and collapsed onto the desk. "Mane!" "Looks like it’s finally taking effect." "…Poison." Mane looked at Corvo, her eyes filled with pain. "I used a slow-acting agent to avoid detection since the smell might give it away, but it seems I managed to slip it past you." Upon hearing those words, I used magic to blast the windows open. Then, I expelled what I assumed was the room's poison into the air, dispersing it upwards. Hopefully, the poison would dilute, but there was no time to think it over. I supported Mane's body. "Why are you still fine?!" It seemed Corvo hadn’t even noticed me. Perhaps poisons just don’t affect me. Sleep dust from fairies didn’t work either. I suspect my bear equipment is providing protection. I cradled Mane and used healing magic. Her complexion began to improve. "Yuna, you…" Mane looked at me with a curious expression. "Mane, right now…" "Yes." Mane stood up. "How are you standing?" Corvo looked at Mane, astonished. There was no need to answer him. "Yuna, could you apprehend him for me? The charge is attempted murder with poison." "Understood." I released Mane and approached Corvo. "Stay back!" Corvo tried to retreat, but his back hit the wall. He couldn’t move back any further. The distance between us closed. "Don’t come any closer!" I covered the gap swiftly, thrusting my fist forward. My bear-clad punch dug into his stomach, and Corvo fell to the floor, clutching his abdomen. "I went easy on you." Even though I said that, I struck him just enough to avoid killing. Corvo writhed in pain from the bear punch, unable to stand. "We’re taking you into custody for attempted murder." Mane approached Corvo. "Do you think my father will stand quietly while you do this to me?" "It’s not like I came here without considering the consequences." Mane looked outside through the broken window as she spoke. I followed her gaze and spotted Ellelaura and several knight-like people outside. Calling out to Ellelaura outside, Mane requested her to enter. "Although I just got here, can you explain the situation?" Ellelaura asked, holding her head in disbelief. Mane recounted the events. "Attempting to kill someone as important to the state as Mane is tantamount to treason." "That wasn’t my intention." Bound by knights, Corvo denied the accusation. It seemed the pain in his stomach had subsided enough for him to argue. "The magic tools have recorded your testimony. And you did attempt to kill me, didn’t you?" Apparently, their conversations had been recorded. "Ellelaura, would you mind checking the room? There might still be poison around." Following Ellelaura’s orders, the knights searched the room and discovered two bottles on Corvo with liquid inside. Both were more than half-empty, but there was some liquid left. "Is this the poison? And the antidote?" "Can you tell just by looking?" "Of course." "Can I see too?" Using my skill, Bear’s Observation Eye, the purple liquid was identified as a solution made with the roots of the Raiho plant. The blue liquid was identified as one made with Bora grass. Both were liquids. And I didn’t recognize the names of the herbs. I would have appreciated clarity on which was the poison and which was the antidote. Poisons can also serve as medicine, so maybe it wasn’t possible to determine just by looking. I handed the small bottles back to Mane. "Ellelaura, I’ll investigate these liquids, so can you handle the rest?" "Yes, I’ll take care of things here." "Thank you. Given that he’s a noble’s son, there was a chance he could slip away. Your presence was essential." "Mane, you’ll need to provide testimony as well." "Yes, that’s fine. Also, several others are ready to testify. I’ve written their names on this paper, so please check it." Mane handed the prepared paper to Ellelaura. Though seeming somewhat exasperated, Ellelaura accepted it. Entrusting this matter to her, we left the room, heading to a certain destination. "So, why have you come to me?" Upon reaching our destination, Kabo looked at us with annoyance. I briefly explained the recent occurrences to him. "It’s to investigate the poison Corvo possessed." "Poison! Do it somewhere else!" At the word ‘poison,’ Kabo recoiled. "Don’t worry, I’ll be careful." When Mane waved her hand, a water bubble about the size of a watermelon floated into the air. Although it appeared to be a bubble of water, it was filled with air, resembling a soap bubble. The bubble settled on the table, evidently where Mane intended to conduct her work. She placed the small bottle containing the purple liquid that Corvo had been carrying into the bubble. Inside the bubble, Mane opened the bottle and dripped some of the liquid onto a small dish, quickly sealing the bottle again. She then added another liquid to the dish, causing the color to change. "It's the poison from the roots of the Raiho plant." "You can tell just by that?" "There are many types of poison, but the slow-acting ones are limited." The liquid from the second bottle proved to be the antidote. Having confirmed the poison, we made our way to the Adventurers' Guild. "Well, then, we're free." "At least leave us with a contact." "The receptionist will know." With that said, the men who had attacked under Corvo's command left the room. Once they were gone, Mane turned to me. "So, Yuna, what exactly did you do to me?" It seemed she remembered. "What do you mean?" I tried to feign ignorance. "You healed my poison, didn't you? My body warmed up, and the pain subsided." It looked like I couldn’t dodge the question. "I just healed you with magic." "Healed with magic? There’s no way that’s possible." "Isn't that something priests can do? I’ve heard they can." I recalled hearing something along those lines before. "Some people misunderstand, but priests don’t cure diseases. They enhance the body's natural healing." "……" "Lacerations heal naturally over time, don’t they? They're just accelerating that process. So, priests can’t cure diseases or poisons." "But I’ve heard they can cure illnesses." "That's just making the medicine work faster. It only seems like they’re curing it." Is that so? "Normally, it might take hours or even days for the medicine to take effect. Priests can shorten that period. Even so, it's quite impressive, really." Indeed, reducing the time spent in suffering alone is remarkable. "Therefore, they can't cure what can’t be healed by medicine or the body's natural ability." "I didn’t know that." "Well, it's not commonly discussed, so to most people, it seems like magic healing." "What about injuries then?" "Yes, the same applies. They apply ointment and hasten its effects. A competent priest can even heal broken bones." Bones heal naturally over time, meaning they can be restored through natural processes. "So, without having taken an antidote, my poison couldn’t be cured by magic." "……" That’s why she had been asking. "I can’t go into details, but my magic can heal poison. So, if you could keep this between us…" "I won’t say a word. If you hadn’t saved me, I might not have survived. If my savior, Yuna, wants me to keep her secret, I’ll respect your wish." "Thank you."