Chapter 94 The Dark Night’s Inquiry
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Please come in.”
”…I’m in the way.”
The room was cluttered with beakers, books, and burners. Wollek, who had returned to his laboratory, looked even older.
”How much do you know?”
”At first, I received a request from Claire――.”
I explained everything to him, from Claire’s request to the situation with the elves in the Great Forest. However, it seemed like Wollek had never heard about the elves before, and he was deeply shocked.
”Do the elves in the Great Forest have the same symptoms as well?”
”That’s right. I found out that the elves in the Great Forest were using Moon Moss as a folk remedy. I discovered it by chance, but…it seemed like they didn’t know about the situation in the north either.”
”Eh, yeah…such…how could it be? Were there other people suffering besides Aide?”
”That’s right. The situation on that side is still ongoing.”
Wollek collapsed onto his chair.
”What’s going on…”
”This is my prediction, but――you provided Aide with various medicines. You had doubts about the cause of Aide’s death, didn’t you?”
”That’s correct. No matter how much medicine Aide took, his condition didn’t improve. Aide was suffering from a mysterious illness. I thought it might not be an ordinary illness, and when I did, Aide lost consciousness and…passed away.”
Wollek’s voice was filled with regret and sorrow for the loss of their friendship.
”I was suspected and ostracized by Ms. Claire, so I left White Lily Cafe. Ah…”
”You also doubted Claire, didn’t you?”
”…If I say it wasn’t, it would be a lie. If I didn’t think he was being poisoned, it wouldn’t make sense. But what kind of poison was it? If I didn’t know that…”
And then Wollek started investigating on his own. It must have been a daunting task. He recalled everything that could have harmed Aide and tried to test them. It was an endless experiment.
But Wollek finally discovered the truth. It was lead and Moon Moss.
”What I don’t understand is, why did you go so far as to maintain a fake friendship? There must be a reason why you continued to use an alias and pretend to be friends.”
”…That’s…”
Wollek spoke as if he had given up.
”My half-brother, you see. Maybe… but please, let’s keep this between us.”
”…I know.”
So Aide trusted Wollek, and Wollek was also investigating Aide’s death. If it involved a noble family, it wasn’t impossible that Claire didn’t know.
Using a fake name was a compromise between the 2 of them, I suppose.
”As a pharmacologist, clinical practice was… not my strong suit. I had to flip through various medical books, and finally, I stumbled upon the truth.”
Wollek picked up a cloth bag on the table. When he opened it, there was a white powder inside.
”Moon Moss is imported from various places into the capital. However, only the Moon Moss from the north causes problems. No one knew its ecology…”
I held my hand over the bag, activating my lead detection magic. Wollek’s eyes widened.
The Moon Moss inside the bag glowed faintly red. It was contaminated with lead, too.
”Lead detection magic? I’m surprised… I didn’t know someone could use it so easily.”
”It’s not easy. You can’t use it continuously.”
”Ordinary magicians wouldn’t be able to do it at all. Your incredible magic power is…”
”Never mind about me.”
I waved my hand, cutting off Wollek.
”…Yes, you’re right. No matter who you are, you’re undoubtedly brilliant.”
He brought out a bundle of papers, tied together with a string.
”These are the data I’ve collected on Moon Moss. The production area and estimated lead content. It took time to extract and compare the data, but…”
”You had compiled the data…”
I quickly scanned the papers. There were records of dozens of investigations. I didn’t expect him to have gone this far.
Wollek had also spent a lot of time and effort on his research.
”It’s not a formal thesis yet, but it should be useful for the people in the Great Forest.”
”…I’m surprised. Were you planning to present it?”
”I just wanted to uncover the truth behind Aide’s death… I didn’t think there were still people suffering like this…”
If Wollek had uncovered the truth earlier, the elves in Lana’s territory would have been saved. However, it’s not like we can blame Wollek for that. I also couldn’t connect the dots between Claire and Lana’s cases, which would have delayed the truth from coming to light even further.
”If we had this evidence, the elves in the Great Forest would be able to pursue Dupont Corporation more easily. Do you understand?”
”Yes… but, why…?”
Wollek looked crushed and bewildered. It didn’t seem like an act. For him, it was just a matter of revealing the truth about his half-brother’s death, but it had become a much bigger issue.
”If you’re determined to seek justice, you should visit the Count Almira’s house. They’re the ones governing the elves in the Great Forest.”
”…I understand. I’ll visit the Almira house tomorrow or the day after.”
It’s strange. He’s working for Dupont Corporation, but he’s trying to pursue the truth about the lead. But maybe that’s his pride.
The rift between him and Claire was unfortunate. The mysterious death of Aide had torn the 2 of them apart.
”There’s a message from Claire.”
”What did she…?”
”Let’s go visit Aide’s grave together, she said.”
”……”
Wollek hung his head. The voice he managed to squeeze out was trembling.
”Of course. I’ll definitely go soon.”
I heard his response and disappeared into the dark night.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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