HPDBC Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Chapter 314
The man, who appeared to be fairly advanced in age, was not alone.
All of them wore white-toned garments.
Their genders and ages varied, but what mattered was that the man shouting at me seemed to be the highest-ranking among them.
“Lord Veolas...”
“Hmph. So Lady Berner found my warning hard to believe, is that it?”
“No, that’s not—”
“If not that, then what? Are you trying to keep me in check with nonsense about a hydra? Truly, what a vicious young lady.”
Currently, the one governing the territory was not the Count and Countess of Berner, but Lilia.
It was puzzling to hear such verbal abuse directed at her.
“No, that’s not it!”
“If not, then what is it? Even if it’s minor, are you not exploiting the epidemic spreading among the people of your land?”
He pointed his finger at Lilia, showing he clearly had no regard for etiquette.
Cracking my knuckles, I prepared to move, but Lilia grabbed my arm.
“Please calm yourself. We mustn’t inconvenience our guest.”
She looked at him with a firmer expression than expected.hen I would act.
For now, though, verifying the antidote was more urgent.
I asked Lilia to arrange blood samples from a hundred townsfolk.
Not long after, a familiar voice broke in.
“Lord Leon... cough cough. Traces were found in the great underground waterway.”
It was Meryl Dyne—the Moon’s Watch member I had first met here, long ago.
If she could slip past even the Berner family’s security so easily, her infiltration skills hadn’t dulled.
She showed me a blackened scale.
“A hydra’s scale.”
“Yes. I never thought there would be a second hydra.”
“But who says there are only two?”
“The scriptures say the hydra, descendant of Eden’s serpent, always came in pairs. But this one... something feels off.”
“It’s not a pair.”
The moment I saw the scale, I knew.
“What? What do you mean—”
“It’s a juvenile.”
The kraken had overexerted itself to lay eggs before dying.
Likewise, the hydra’s offspring had already hatched.
Suddenly everything made sense—the weaker poison, the hiding in waterways.
If both adults were dead, then only the young remained.
“A juvenile... you mean this scale is from a baby hydra?”
“Yes. Its essence can’t be used, but its blood has even stronger regeneration than an adult’s. Hm. Quite the windfall.”
“Windfall? You’re talking about people’s lives.”
“They’ll live. Why complain? Did you want them dead?”
My counter made her falter.
“T-that’s not it... but also, if you’re going to use informal speech, then do so consistently. Stop switching back and forth.”
“Well, we’re not exactly close, are we?”
“...Just don’t talk, then.”
“Anyway. Your blood, please.”
“B-blood?”
Looking bewildered, she extended her arm.
I deftly drew some blood into a vial, then added a drop of my venom-infused essence.
Fssshhhh!!
At once, the blood evaporated with a hiss.
“Ha. If I’d tried making an antidote like this, it would’ve killed dozens.”
“W-what the hell? Why is your blood like that?!”
“It carries venom that neutralizes other venoms.”
“Are you... really human?”
“What do you mean?”
“N-nothing.”
Better not to press her.
My venom could dissolve a hydra itself, but tuning it to attack only the hydra’s poison without harming the rest of the body was tricky.
“Keep searching for the hydra.”
“Please... make the antidote. I only came this deep because I believed you could. I don’t want to die.”
So she was already beyond the stage of exposure—she was poisoned.
“Well then, let’s discuss the price of your life.”
“W-what?!”
“I need certain catalysts for the antidote. You’ll fetch them.”
“Th-that’s all?”
“And one more thing.”
“What now?!”
“Nothing much. We can’t test the prototype antidote on civilians. You’ll be the test subject.”
I waved a vial of strange venom-laced liquid in front of her.
“I-I won’t die, right?”
“If you want to live, you’d better fetch those catalysts with your life on the line.”
“Unbelievable...”
“Well? Why are you still here?”
I handed her a list of materials.
The ones obtainable in daylight I had already asked Lilia to procure.
These, though, required contacts in the underworld.
“Th-this... damn it! I still have to search for the hydra too...!”
“Your comrades can handle that.”
Her trembling anger made me chuckle.
“Fine! But you’d better make that antidote!”
“Oh? The patient dares talk back?”
“You monster... what will you do once you find the hydra?”
“Find it? The scale of a baby hydra is priceless. The hunt won’t be a problem. Just call me when you locate it.”
She stormed off, fuming, but I caught her arm.
She turned, startled.
“W-what now?”
“Didn’t you hear me earlier? Drink this first.”
“...Stop treating me like a lab rat.”
“Ah, sorry. I’m used to experimenting on myself.”
Back then, I didn’t mind if I died, so I tried anything that came to hand.
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