The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 33

“But I have responsibilities I need to finish. I need to complete my task.”

“What task? Do you mean that Lupinus fruit or whatever it is? It’s not here anyway. And what does that have to do with anything? You’re going to live as a Clonne now. You can just drop everything.”

It was a tempting proposition, assuming everything truly no longer mattered. But I couldn’t ignore the others left behind. Not just Camille, but I had grown fond of the others too, enough that I could no longer pretend I didn’t care.

“If I just disappear, it will impact my team. They’ll face severe consequences for failing the mission and not managing the personnel.”

“Well, that’s…”

“And I’ll likely be branded a traitor or charged with rebellion, making me a fugitive. I’ll never be able to set foot in the Empire again.”

“T-Traitor? Rebellion?”

Serige, who had been listening indifferently, turned back in shock at those words. His expression was subtly questioning why it would escalate to that.

“The fact is, I’m an official from the Imperial Palace.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“To be precise, I’m an agent of the Security Department, currently on a royal expedition.”

His mouth hung open. Then he covered it with both hands and tears welled up in his eyes.

“You’ve grown so well all on your own. It’s truly remarkable.”

“…Thank you.”

“I’m genuinely amazed. Isn’t it incredibly hard to get into the Security Department? How did you even think of pursuing such a prestigious job?”

“Well, it just sort of happened. I just went with the flow.”

“Wow, saying it so nonchalantly makes it even more impressive. Honestly, our race isn’t known for intellectual pursuits. Everyone thinks we’re a bunch of blockheads. I’m really touched.”

Can I really go to the village? My mind momentarily went blank. While I was lost in thought, Serige’s expression turned serious after wiping away his tears.

“Anyway, your situation is more complicated than I thought. If simply abandoning a mission could lead to treason charges… is the antidote needed for the Emperor?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“Wow, the actual Emperor. You mentioned it was a poison that couldn’t be cured, right? Was it an assassination attempt or a slow poisoning over time?”

“It was an assassination attempt.”

“Symptoms? Any blisters on the skin or blackened fingertips, things like that?”

“I haven’t been told the exact symptoms. It’s only assumed that he’s fallen into a deep sleep.”

“Deep sleep? Is it the same method I used? Ah, then it couldn’t have been an assassination. This requires several days of meticulous work. Are you saying there’s a poison that can induce deep sleep instantly? Who would create something so unnecessary?”

I was about to explain that it wasn’t poison but the blood of a Demon beast, yet Serige seemed to have already drawn his conclusion. “Ah, well, I guess there’s no helping it.” He sighed and scratched the back of his head, looking up. I couldn’t help but freeze at his next question.

“Is it enough just to deliver the antidote?”

“What?”

“Honestly, I still don’t think you need to go back. But forcing you to stay would only leave regrets, wouldn’t it? It’s also unfair to suddenly ask you to settle your entire life till now. So I’m asking: if you deliver the antidote, will you be able to come back free of any burdens?”

“…That sounds like you can get the Lupinus fruit.”

“Well, it depends on your answer.”

Could he really get it?

I swallowed instinctively. How? Wasn’t the secret recipe lost here? But judging by his expression, he wasn’t joking. After a moment of hesitation, I nodded, and Serige chuckled and stood up.

“Alright. Then follow me.”

“To where?”

“This place isn’t really suitable.”

He winked with a smile.

“I’ll show you something interesting.”

* * *

“Come inside.”

After pushing aside the bushes, a small passage appeared, just big enough to crawl through. Though the entrance was narrow, the interior was quite spacious. There was a separate resting area and kitchen, along with various small pieces of furniture. For a cave, it was a rather luxurious setup.

“This is one of our surveillance outposts. We’ve set up places like this all over and use them comfortably.”

“I see.”

After a brief introduction, Serige headed toward the kitchen area. He started taking out what looked like medicinal herbs and began grinding them in a bowl.

‘Does he really know the secret recipe for the Lupinus fruit?’

I watched him carefully without revealing my thoughts. The unexpected happened when the finely ground mixture turned into a paste. Suddenly, he drew a knife and cut his own palm.

“…! What are you doing?”

“Hm, this should be enough.”

I gasped in shock, but he casually let the blood drip into the bowl and mixed it with the herbs. The final product took on a dark bluish hue. Serige shaped it into a pill form.

“Alright, all done.”

Placed on a plate, it looked convincingly like a medicinal pill. I wanted to ask if he knew the method for making Lupinus fruit and if that was really the medicine. But the fact that blood was mixed in stopped me.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity. It was a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘Is mixing blood into medicine a trend these days?’

Such thoughts crossed my mind.

Meanwhile, Serige began another task. This time, he filled a basin with water and poured in some kind of powder. Seeing the bubbles frothing up instantly, I realized he was making lye used for washing. Once it settled a bit, Serige brought it over to me.

“Watch carefully.”

Then he suddenly dipped his hand into it. Wasn’t lye harmful to touch with bare hands? Though it was the hand without a recent cut, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Sure enough, his hand began to turn red and swell. I sighed and forcibly pulled his hand out.

“Why do you keep doing these things?”

“Hm? Just showing you proof.”

“Proof?”

“Seeing is believing, right? Oh, were you worried about me? It’s fine, this will heal quickly.”

I wanted to argue, but his hand indeed healed quickly right before my eyes.

“We naturally have a fast recovery.”

While I stared at him in bewilderment, he pointed back at the lye.

“You know how dangerous this is to ingest, right? Even a small amount can be deadly to humans.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Now, add the pill I made to it.”

Not understanding his intent, I hesitated before finally following his instructions. The pill, which had partially solidified, began to dissolve quickly in the lye. As it spread, the liquid lost its sliminess. Serige’s face showed triumphant satisfaction.

“Now it’s just water.”

“…What?”

“See for yourself.”

Before I could stop him again, Serige plunged his hand back into the basin. This time, even after submerging it for a while, there were no symptoms. Had I not seen the redness and swelling firsthand, I might’ve thought it was just water from the start.

“What did you do?”

“I added the antidote. In this case, a neutralizer.”

“So the pill you made is an antidote? Is it really from the Lupinus fruit?”

“To be precise, it’s Serige’s fruit.”

“…What?”

As I questioned him, Serige’s face twisted in discomfort. He quickly raised his hand and yelled,

“Ah! Ugh! Cancel! Just forget I said anything. Let’s pretend we heard nothing, okay? Wow, how could that guy do something so embarrassing without a care?”

I looked at him in stunned silence as he seemed more embarrassed than I was. Even before I could process or empathize with his words, I needed to understand the situation. When our eyes met, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Do you know why the Lupinus fruit is named that way? It’s because the person who created it was named Lupinus.”

“No way…”

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. The creator was a Clonne.”

I was speechless for a while. Serige chuckled at my dumbfounded expression.

“Surprised?”

“Well… But why did you put your blood in it?”

“Because it’s necessary to complete it. To be exact, it’s the most critical ingredient.”

“Blood?”

“You know plants have various medicinal effects, right? Our bodies are the same. Among those, our blood is the most potent antidote and cure in the world.”

“…!”

“You can use it alone, but mixing it with other medicinal herbs multiplies the effect severalfold. With that, there wouldn’t be any illness in the world that couldn’t be treated.”

I couldn’t help but think of someone at that moment. Almost hypnotically, I inspected Serige’s hand. The wound on his palm had already nearly healed.

“Why do you ask?”

“You mentioned that Clonnes’ hair changes color with the seasons. So, is everyone’s hair green during this time?”

“Mostly, though there are exceptions. Why?”

“It’s about the apothecary I met in the village. I saw him mix a red liquid when making medicine. A companion who was treated with that medicine recovered at an astonishing rate.”

“Really? That apothecary had a similar hair color to mine, right? Tell me more.”

I explained the situation as concisely as possible, trying to exclude personal impressions. That alone seemed sufficient, as Serige’s expression became serious.

“It sounds like his a Clonne. The only race that can use that kind of treatment is ours. Besides, an apothecary or herbalist is an ideal disguise for us.”

“So it’s true…”

So that was why he had been observing me so closely. It felt strange to think that the man I had found particularly odd was my kin. Given that this was the second Clonne I had encountered, it seemed there were more of them blended into human society than I had expected. However, what was bothering me was…