Village Akau 3

"Is the only result after three days of isolation just that there are more magic stones in the water?"

I was told this straight to my face by Alex.

I feel a bit down.

"Could it be that wild animals are more likely to turn into semi-beasts because their drinking water contains more magic stones?"

Seems he didn't mean any harm...

"If that's the case, we can't explain why semi-beasts have been increasing recently. Since mining has been ongoing continuously, there should always be a high number of semi-beasts—this doesn't add up."

"That's true. Just because water contains more magic stones doesn't necessarily mean it causes transformation into semi-beasts. Hmm, we're stuck. There's still plenty of field investigation left—shall we do that today?"

"Good idea. It'll be a nice change of pace. Let's go."

I had gone at it with high spirits, pretending to be a researcher, but it wasn't working at all, and my mood sank.

I explored the area around the same mine as yesterday. The sub-beasts seemed noticeably more abundant than usual.

I arrived at the stream where I'd seen a deer sub-beast before. The water was surprisingly clear for a mining site, sparkling under the sunlight.

But... I still couldn't find it.

Time passed in vain, and it was finally lunchtime.

"However, it's just as reported—many sub-beasts, but otherwise nothing unusual."

"Yeah, after lunch, let's survey the area around the mine again."

"Alright, we'll do that. Though I don't expect much."

We rested on the elevated cliffside.

A small stream was visible as well.

"Honestly, we're at a dead end."

"This might take a while. Hmm? Wait—water's flowing out from the mine site."

"That's right—since it's a water mana stone mine, we need plenty of water flowing, or it won't work."

"You're right about that."

Aleck glanced in the direction he'd been looking. As expected, water was flowing out and forming a stream.

It was slightly murky, likely because it was coming from the mine.

If there weren't a constant flow of water like that, the water mana stones would quickly degrade, just like bananas exposed to air.

It's known that water mana stones, once degraded, lose their characteristic vivid blue and become dull and murky.

It seems that water mana stones, leaked during the mining process, are flowing out.

If a large quantity flowed into the river, the river itself would appear murky like that.

That seems pretty unhealthy for the body...

At that moment, as I gazed at the scenery, a thought suddenly struck me.

"Why does this small stream sparkle so brightly?"

"What are you talking about? Did you think too much and melt your brain?"

This guy's surprisingly blunt.

But as I compared the streams, I realized something.

The water coming out of the mine should be dull, tainted by deteriorated magic stones. Yet that little stream was glowing quite brightly.

So where did the water containing the magic stones go?

"Alek, I want to try something. Can you help me out?"

"What are you talking about now? I'll help you however you need."

Returning to the village, I begin my investigation in the makeshift laboratory.

The water from the stream where the sub-beast was found three days ago still contained particles of magic stones.

But this is a mining site for water magic stones. When water magic stones degrade, they lose their luster.

Observing the water flowing out from the current mining site, I indeed found a large quantity of dull magic stones.

The magical stone particles flowing in the stream were strangely not deteriorating.

When returning from the investigation, I recorded, by comparing with the map, the exact point where the river began to glow.

I also roughly marked the locations where I had fought the sub-beasts near the water's edge in recent days.

To my astonishment, the spots where the water glowed most brightly perfectly overlapped with the locations where I had battled the sub-beasts.

"This is incredible. When the glowing spots align this perfectly, it's hard not to suspect a connection."

"I'm surprised myself. But I haven't yet identified the root cause. We mustn't get overconfident.

For now, let's figure out where this water is coming from."

"Yes, that sounds like the best course. I'll report these findings to the guild branch leader."

"Got it. I'll stay a bit longer to investigate this water further."

After concentrating on the investigation for a while, night fell.

I was exhausted, my head feeling as if it had been boiled. I wanted to cool down a little.

Stepping outside, I rested in front of the guild, enjoying the cool air. Without streetlights, it was pitch black—just like the kind of night I rarely saw in my original world. Even though it was completely dark, the night sky was clearly visible. Maybe I should've studied astronomy?

‘Fwew.’

My breath merged with someone else’s.

To my right stood the village doctor, also gazing up at the night sky.

Ah, I'm Nicholas Hayashi, the village doctor. I heard you're Mr. Satou Taro? I was told by someone from the guild.

Nice to meet you. I believe I've heard you're the one who treats rare illnesses.

Hehe... I'm just doing what I can, but honestly, I haven't been able to help anyone. Several people have already passed away despite my efforts. I heard you've found a clue about the increase in Beasts, so I came hoping it might be of some help. I was so focused that I ended up resting here for a moment.

The illness seems to be caused by a magical stone stuck to the body, slowly draining the victim's stamina until they become severely weakened. Listening to Nicholas's account, he appears utterly determined to resolve this condition.

I can sense strong resolve.

Though I hesitated, unsure whether to share unconfirmed information I'd just discovered, I decided to relay what I've gathered so far.

"Please don't place too much faith in this yet—it's not yet confirmed."

"The water spirit stone should be deteriorating... yet it isn't. I have no idea why, but water was the blind spot."

I continued.

"But why doesn't the same process of bestialization occur in humans, as it does in ordinary wild animals? I don't know the reason."

"Are you suggesting, Taro, that the cause of this strange illness is the same—water?"

"Well, I don't have concrete evidence, but back in the country I used to live in, there were plenty of illnesses that occurred when things normally wouldn't enter water, just like this case. So it's just a guess, but it might be the same cause."

"Hmm, I see. But if water is the culprit, that's really problematic—it's used everywhere in daily life. Still, we can't afford to hesitate. Thank you. I'll think about this carefully."

Nicholas headed back toward the guild, muttering to himself. I hope something there gives me a clue.