Chapter 312 Pediros
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Pediros¹
”A drug is circulating in the frontier settlement².” When those words reached my ears, I was thrown into an absolute panic. My immediate instinct was that I had to act at once to suppress narcotics appearing in the frontier settlement, but as I sat down to listen to the details from Stella-san, it became clear that this substance wasn’t the addictive narcotic I had envisioned.
”So, to put it simply… the drug currently going around is essentially a fertility aid?” I asked.
”Fundamentally, yes. That is precisely what it is,” Stella-san replied.
In this world, the process of conceiving a child involves several additional steps compared to the world I originally came from.
First, there is ovulation. In this realm, ovulation isn’t a periodic cycle. Instead, it must be triggered externally by stimulating the ovaries using magic power³. Because a woman’s own magic power is typically insufficient to provide the necessary stimulus, this procedure is performed by a third party—most often the male partner. Without this intervention, ovulation simply will not occur; no matter how much is released inside, pregnancy remains an impossibility.
Next comes the transport of the ovulated egg to the uterus. In my old world, sperm traveled to the ampulla to meet the egg, but here, the woman uses her magic power to swiftly guide the egg down to the uterus to meet the sperm for fertilization and subsequent implantation.
I’d long suspected that those with poor magic power manipulation might struggle with this part of the process. On the male side, it’s straightforward—just a matter of stimulating the ovaries. Some even use magic power to form a membrane to ensure no sperm leaks out, but that’s essentially a superstitious charm meant to bump a 99% success rate up to 99.9%; it’s not strictly necessary. The woman’s role, however, is far more demanding. She must use her own magic power to ferry the delicate egg from the ampulla. If someone else tries to move it with their magic power, the egg is subjected to immense stress, which often leads to physical defects or, tragically, a stillbirth.
This difficulty is where Pediros comes in. This drug, which has been surfacing across the frontier settlement, reportedly assists the entire process from ovulation through to implantation.
I felt a wave of relief knowing it wasn’t an addictive narcotic, yet I couldn’t shake my unease. Throughout her explanation, Stella-san’s expression remained exceptionally grim.
”How exactly was this Pediros discovered this time?” I asked.
”A customer tried to swap a medicine purchased at Toys of Preference⁴ (also known as Shikou no Gigu) with Pediros and attempted to make one of our girls drink it. She realized the medicine didn’t match what we usually sell at Toys of Preference, caught him, and forced him to talk,” Stella explained.
”And what did he have to say for himself?” I asked.
”He claimed he was just a hired hand and didn’t know anything. Apparently, his instructions were simply to spread Pediros throughout the frontier settlement. Suspecting he wasn’t alone, I checked with the other girls. Sure enough… we’ve confirmed at least two girls at ‘Toys of Preference’ have already ingested it. We reached out to other brothels as well, and several reported first-time customers bringing ‘gifts’ as offerings. It’s highly likely those gifts were laced with Pediros,” Stella replied.
”…I see,” I said.
It was clear someone was systematically trying to saturate the frontier settlement with Pediros. The question was: why?
There are usually two motives for flooding a territory with drugs. The first is profit: you hand out addictive narcotics for free to create a customer base, then sell them at exorbitant prices. The second is sabotage: you destabilize a rival noble’s territory by ruining public order.
By those standards, Pediros was an utterly baffling choice. It wasn’t addictive and offered no euphoria, so there was no money to be made. As for sabotage, its impact was localized almost entirely to the brothels. It was no wonder Diana looked so confused; the motive behind Pediros was a complete cipher. Still, if it was just a fertility aid, the solution seemed simple enough.
”Alright. For now, warn all the brothels to be on high alert. And… it’s a grim necessity, but we need to provide medicine to those who drank it, or those we suspect did,” I said.
”Understood. What specific medicine are you referring to?” Stella asked.
”Well, for a situation like this, the medicine would be… wait,” I paused.
It suddenly dawned on me—how do they even say ‘abortion’ or ‘termination’ in this world?
”Uh, it’s a medicine to… discharge the contents before it grows into a baby,” I explained.
”Does such a medicine even exist?” Diana asked, her voice laced with shock.
”…What?” I muttered.
Diana’s stunned reaction was mirrored by the others. It wasn’t just her; nobody seemed to have heard of such a thing.
”—No way.”
I’m a fool. It was so obvious I should have realized it immediately. Because conception in this world requires such specific, intentional steps, pregnancy simply doesn’t happen by accident. Therefore, the very concept of ‘preventing’ or ‘terminating’ a pregnancy doesn’t exist. There are no unintended pregnancies, so there are no countermeasures. The moment I grasped this, the threat level of Pediros—a drug that forces unintended conception—skyrocketed.
”Diana, I’m sorry, but cancel today’s schedule,” I said.
”Eh?” Diana asked.
”I’m going into the lab with Mei to compound a formula. Diana, contact my father; tell him I need him to trace the source of this Pediros immediately,” I ordered.
”C-certainly!” Diana replied.
”Lewya, Stella-san, I’m sure word is already spreading, but divide the brothels between you and put everyone on maximum alert. Tell the women who took the Pediros that I’ll have a solution ready for them shortly. Tell them they don’t need to worry,” I instructed.
”Understood,” Lewya replied.
”We’ll get right on it,” Stella said.
’I’m glad it’s not a narcotic?’ What was I thinking? In this context, this is arguably far more insidious. I was an idiot to dismiss Pediros as a mere fertility aid. In my old world of contraceptives and modern medicine, this would be a footnote. Here, it was a weapon that struck at the very agency of women. I had to mobilize every resource the frontier settlement had to counter this sudden threat.
* * *
We spent the rest of the day in a frantic scramble. By the time the dining hall was shuttering its doors for the night, I was walking through the streets with Lewya. We were heading to ‘Toys of Preference’ in disguise, intending to provide an update on the medicine and gather more intel on Pediros.
”Haa… I’m exhausted…” I sighed.
”You’ve been running yourself ragged all day, Neil. I thought you were locked in the lab, but you were constantly darting back and forth to the mansion. What were you up to?” Lewya asked.
”Mei mentioned that ‘that kind of medicine’ actually existed in the distant past, and she’d even compounded it once before. I spent the day digging through the archives,” I explained.
”? ‘Existed in the past’? That’s a strange way to put it. You spoke this morning as if you already knew of it, didn’t you?” Lewya asked.
Damn. I’d slipped up. This morning I’d spoken with the confidence of someone who knew the cure, but now I’d admitted I was just researching it today. It was a glaring contradiction, and Lewya was too sharp to miss it.
”Uh, well, you see…” I stammered.
My brain was fried. After a full day of high-stakes thinking, I couldn’t come up with a decent cover story. Seeing me flounder, Lewya let out a soft, knowing chuckle.
”Heh, don’t look so panicked. We all know you’re keeping secrets, Neil. Why do you think none of us ever press you on them?” Lewya asked.
”Is it… just out of consideration for me?” I asked.
”That’s part of it, surely. But you’re the one who told us you’d rely on us if things ever got truly bad. If someone like you is staying quiet, we trust that you’ve judged it’s better for us not to know. Just as you trust us, we trust your judgment,” Lewya said.
”You aren’t worried I’m hiding something criminal or dark?” I asked.
”Heh. I know you well enough to know you aren’t that kind of man. Besides, if it were something truly ‘guilty,’ you’d be the first person to spill your guts just to ease the burden on your conscience, wouldn’t you?” Lewya replied.
”…Man, you really do have me figured out. Honestly, the secret itself isn’t a crime. The only ‘guilty’ part is the act of hiding it. Personally, I’d love to just blurt it out and be done with it, but I know it would only cause mass confusion. I’d end up regretting it instantly. That’s why I keep my mouth shut,” I explained.
”Fair enough. There’s no point in clearing your own head if it just leaves everyone else in a muddle,” Lewya said.
She looked amused for a moment, but then her expression shifted back to a serious cast.
”So, why did such a medicine exist in the past, only to vanish?” Lewya asked.
”Well, it’s like this,” I started.
I began to lay out the history I’d unearthed, simplifying it so Lewya could follow.
”Remember when we talked about the Iradekius Kingdom⁵, the predecessor to the Empire? Back then, bloodline elitism was absolute,” I explained.
”I thought it was strong enough now, but you’re saying it was worse?” Lewya asked.
”Much. These days, if His Majesty the Emperor recognizes your deeds, you can earn a name and become a noble. Back then? Impossible. No matter what a commoner achieved, they stayed a commoner,” I said.
”Then who held the power?” Lewya asked.
”Only the King’s blood relatives. Only those of the royal line were allowed to govern as nobles,” I explained.
”The royal bloodline… I see. That explains why they never acted like true vassals; they were all family. But how does that lead to the medicine?” Lewya asked.
”That’s the preamble. Here’s the core of it: while a commoner couldn’t earn nobility through deeds, they could technically marry into it,” I said.
”Marriage? But wouldn’t those obsessed with bloodlines find that repulsive?” Lewya asked.
”You’d think so, but it happened surprisingly often. Whether it was ‘true love’ or something more cynical, I don’t know, but it created a trend. People started thinking, ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’ And back then, people were just as liberal with their private lives as they are now. It was common for nobles to have countless mistresses,” I explained.
”Let me guess… the mistresses started using pregnancy to force a marriage?” Lewya asked.
I gave her a pained look of confirmation.
”Exactly,” I replied.
”How foolish. As if a noble would take responsibility for a woman who trapped him like that,” Lewya asked.
”They didn’t. In all the records I found, not one woman successfully married into nobility that way. Usually, both the mother and the unborn child were… dealt with,” I said.
”A grim, yet expected outcome. But wait—if they were killed, then the story ends. Where is the medicine?” Lewya asked.
”There’s a flip side. Not every woman was a gold-digger. Some genuinely loved these men, but they knew marriage was impossible. So, they would conceive in secret and disappear into the commoner population before the noble found out and ‘disposed’ of them,” I explained.
”If they disappeared, surely the nobles wouldn’t care?” Lewya asked.
”Actually, it was a massive crisis for them. Their entire claim to ‘specialness’ was the royal blood. The idea of royal blood leaking into the commoner gene pool, spreading and diluting through the masses, was something they hated with a passion. They feared that if everyone had a drop of ‘special’ blood, no one would be special anymore. So, they commissioned a medicine to ensure pregnancy could be prevented or halted entirely,” I explained.
That was the secret history of why the medicine had existed and why it vanished once the revolution wiped out the royal line and made nobility merit-based.
”So, can you recreate it?” Lewya asked.
”Theoretically. I found the formula, but it’s ancient. If I followed it to the letter, it would be a disaster,” I warned.
”Why is that?” Lewya asked.
”Language changes. A plant name from centuries ago might refer to something totally different today. If I use the wrong herb, I could end up with a poison. Plus, I doubt those ancient nobles cared about a woman’s health. I need to figure out the side effects and modernize the recipe,” I explained.
”I see. So it’s still going to take time?” Lewya asked.
”I’m pushing for this week. If I have to, I’ll borrow the different space Snow-san created and stay in there until it’s done,” I replied.
”I just thought of something… if using someone else’s magic power causes stillbirths, couldn’t you just have a third party blast the egg with magic power? Wouldn’t that solve it without a drug?” Lewya asked.
”Mei and I discussed that. It’s too unreliable. And if it fails or only partially works, the child could be born with horrific disabilities, or the mother’s life could be put at risk. I can’t gamble with that,” I explained.
”I suppose that’s too much of a risk, then,” Lewya said.
Childbirth is a life-and-death matter for any woman. The mental and physical toll is immense, and when the pregnancy is forced and unwanted, that burden becomes unbearable. Without a proper solution, we were looking at a wave of suicides. It was a dark, pressing reality.
”We have to finish this. Fast,” Lewya said.
”Yeah. But first, I need to tell those women that a cure is coming. I need to give them some hope to hold onto,” I said.
”…Fufu,” Lewya chuckled.
”W-what? Why are you laughing now of all times?” I asked.
I was taken aback by her sudden mirth. We were in the middle of a grave discussion. Lewya turned to me, her smile warm.
”I was just thinking… the old Neil wouldn’t have been this decisive. You’re taking the weight of all these lives on your shoulders and moving forward without hesitation. You’ve grown,” Lewya said.
”Oh… is that it?” I replied.
I felt a bit self-conscious, but I couldn’t deny she was right.
”If I were alone, I’d probably be curled in a ball complaining about the pressure. But I’m not alone. I have all of you. That’s why I can do this,” I said.
”…I see. That’s quite a burden we’re sharing then. I’ll do everything in my power to back you up, Neil,” Lewya promised.
”I’m counting on you,” I said.
By then, we had reached our destination: ‘Toys of Preference.’
”Wait here. I’ll go get the details,” I said.
”Right,” Lewya replied.
I stepped into the cramped interior, the shelves overflowing with a chaotic assortment of goods.
”Ugh, still as tight as ever. Lewya must have had a hell of a time getting through here in her gear,” I muttered.
”I certainly did. It takes a great deal of focus not to snag one’s hem on these displays,” Lewya replied.
”Once the new town is up and running, we’ll have more space. I should tell them to consider a remodel… wait a minute,” I paused.
I spun around. Lewya was right behind me, acting as if she hadn’t just followed me inside.
”Weren’t you supposed to be keeping watch outside? You know, looking for people, not browsing the stock?” I asked.
”…My conscience wouldn’t let me stay outside after you said you were counting on me,” Lewya replied.
”I see…” I said.
At least she’s honest about slacking. She hadn’t been ‘watching’ so much as window-shopping from the doorstep.
”And for the record, I didn’t come in just because I’d already seen everything in the window display!” Lewya exclaimed.
”I didn’t say you did. Relax,” I said.
”Truly?” Lewya asked.
”…Okay, maybe I thought it for a second,” I admitted.
”Hmph!” Lewya grunted.
She clenched her fist as if she might punch me, then relaxed it, knowing she didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the back of the shop.
”——!”
”Hm?” I asked.
”That’s a man’s voice. A customer?” Lewya asked.
We both froze. I didn’t want to interrupt their business, but there was something familiar about that voice. I started walking toward the back.
”For—the—last—time! I’m not some creep! I’m just here for information!” a man yelled.
”And for the last time, I’m not giving you personal info on our girls! They’re already stressed out enough because of some idiot’s mess. I’m not letting you harass them!” a woman snapped back.
I rounded the corner and saw the two of them mid-shouting match. They were so busy arguing they hadn’t noticed us. I cleared my throat to get their attention without giving them a heart attack.
”Excuse me…” I started.
”!?”
The man nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned around slowly, looking like a deer in headlights.
”…Nick?” I asked.
”Harmon-san? What are you doing here?” Nick asked.
—
Summary:
A drug called Pediros, which functions as an unnatural fertility aid, is being secretly distributed to brothels in the frontier settlement. Neil realizes that in a world where pregnancy is normally a manual magic process, this drug is a terrifying weapon of agency-stripping. He uncovers a dark history of bloodline preservation involving an ancient Iradekius Kingdom contraceptive and vows to recreate it. The chapter ends with Neil and Lewya encountering Nick and Harmon in a heated argument at the Toys of Preference shop.
—
Character Insight:
Neil’s maturation is highlighted through his ability to process a crisis that strikes at the fundamental biological rules of his new world. His relationship with Lewya has evolved into a partnership of deep, unspoken trust; she acknowledges his burden of secrets and offers her support without demanding transparency. This dynamic allows Neil to function as a leader while acknowledging his own human limits.
—
Behind the Scene:
The author notes that this chapter serves as a deep dive into world-building elements first touched upon in Episode 12, 300 chapters prior. The specific mechanics of magic-assisted ovulation and the cultural absence of contraception are used to drive the conflict. The name ‘Pediros’ is a later addition to a long-established plot point.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Stella – Female. A young woman from a village in the territory of Count Cordis. Her appearance is that of a young girl with a fixed smile, reflecting her traumatic experiences. She was renamed Remia by the brothel owner in Malm. Her relationship with others is marked by survival and adaptation, as she endures sexual exploitation and bullying. Her inner thoughts reveal a deep sense of despair and disconnection from her original identity.
• Nick – A servant who serves Neil and is trusted to protect him. He is strong enough to potentially fight Momoka. He first appears in Chapter 225, where he is introduced as a servant who is worried about Neil’s well-being after a monster attack. He is later revealed to be Neil himself, pretending to be a servant named Nick.
• Harmon – An experienced hunter and guard who came to the settlement and stayed. He is part of a hunting group with Demar, Dominic, Jott, Victor and Kilk. He knows Nick and Lewya, and discusses business ideas with Nick. He first appears in Chapter 220.
• Grelego – Ally of the empire. The one who judges those who harm the empire.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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