After returning to the castle, Ernesta hurriedly went to the office assigned to her.

This is because she must come up with a plan against the bleeding disease and present it to Greio Elballard, the Head Magician, and King Alexius by evening.

“Ugh, I don’t want to waste my time eating lunch… Maybe I’ll just skip it.”

Deciding to skip lunch, she opened the door to her office and saw that a person had been waiting inside along with a large number of reading materials delivered from the Great Library.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Vest.”

“It’s my pleasure, Lady Elballard. So, what can I help you with?”

Despite his humble manner, the youthful, gray-haired, and thoughtful-looking man called Christ Vest was one of the most prominent biologists in the Kingdom of Riastize.

Although he has taken on the old family name of Vest, he was originally a mere adventurer, and his wife, who inherited the peerage was left to take care of the household while he, along with his daughter who was in the same profession, conducted field studies on monsters and the like.

“Nobody but you and I are in this office, so as Muriel’s dad you don’t have to be so formal around me, Uncle Christ. Rather, I’m the one who should be grateful to you for coming all this way.”

“Very well, then I’ll be more casual with you.”

“Have you read the materials already?”

“Yes, I’ve skimmed some of them over and chose some books that I think would be useful to you.”

“Let’s split it up and read it then.”

……………

………

…

The first confirmed case of the bleeding disease was approximately 200 years ago, in Sedona, a city in the southern tip of the continent in the Kingdom of Zerba. During that time, the mysterious, white-masked person had not been around yet, and the source of infection was unknown. However, there are records scattered about that the first patient who had acquired the bleeding disease was an adventurer who became ill after being bitten by a green monkey, the Forest Ape, in the forest area.

Its symptoms were extreme lethargy and a high fever that would impair the infected person’s mobility. After three weeks, the patient would enter the last stage of the disease, dying due to bleeding in the oral and nasal cavities, the skin, and other body parts. Additionally, those who come into contact with the blood also become infected.

Not long after the first outbreak, the disease spread next from Sedona to the nearest city called Alve, where the first victims were the people of the Holy Church, and the mysterious, white-masked entity was spotted when the disease scattered throughout the city. 

Since then, similar incidents have occurred throughout various cities within the continent every 20 years, with the clergymen becoming the first victims every time while the eerie, white-masked entity was spotted whenever the black rain fell.

The information was spread throughout all branches of the Holy Church as they were always the first to be affected, and the mysterious entity was given the name Alvesta. And due to the magnitude of the damage made by the black rain, they were classified as one of the Seven Plagues, which were S-rank monsters considered to be huge threats to humanity… 

Eventually, Christ, who had finished compiling the material, shared his thoughts on the matter. 

“I would think that the first and second breakouts of the bleeding disease were separate events, but…”

“Yes, the second occurrence seemed to be man-made since the infections started from the clergymen first.”

“There’s a marked difference that anyone can see.”

“… the first case infected large numbers of livestock that died of the bleeding disease and became a further source of infection but from the second case onwards, only people were affected.”

Yes, pets and livestock were unaffected after the second case occurred, and even now, none of the animals were affected in places where the black rain fell.

“Ah, so Alvesta of the Black Rain is a threat that specifically targets humans.”

According to the records of the second case, when the Holy Church became aware of the mysterious entity spreading the disease, they dispatched a squad of Templar Knights to subdue them. However, when they had pointed their swords and cornered the entity in question, the surrounding Knights were sprayed with blood that gushed out from Alvesta, and the disease-ridden soldiers ended up being unable to carry out their orders.

They were unable to stop the white-masked entity from leaving and in three weeks, the Knights passed away due to the bleeding disease.

In the third instance, having learned their lesson from the last time, the Holy Church attempted to launch a remote attack with magic and bows and arrows, but they were unable to deal with Alvesta who quickly moved from place to place as if it were a phantom. They were unable to stop the entity during that time either, and it escaped while looking down on its pursuers.

As a result of their numerous failed attempts, the entity, who killed people by indirect means, was recognized as man’s “natural enemy”. No matter how strong the Tempest Witch was, she did not dare to face it head-on either. 

(It would be the end once it gets close to you… It’s too dangerous!)

“…… What do you think of this one? I would like to hear your opinion on this.”

Ernesta showed Christ an old journal.

It was the diary of a nameless doctor who lived in a city where he was the 7th person to fall to the disease. Hoping to find a clue in curing the illness, he took blood samples from the infected and conducted various experiments on it. 

The results confirmed what had long been whispered among the doctors and the priests, and proved that except for humans, various animals and monsters could not contract the bleeding disease even after coming in contact with the contaminated blood. The doctor himself also contracted the disease during an experiment, which led to his death…

“I’ve read it, but what would that do? Releasing a monster inside the city would only create more harm than good.”

“But what if it were a monster that could communicate and cooperate with us?”

Just then, someone knocked at the door of the office.

“Lady Ernesta, the Adventurer’s Guild sent some documents over.”

“Thank you, come in.”

“Excuse me.”

Bowing as he entered the room, the young mage handed the documents over and immediately exited the room.

After skimming through the materials, Ernesta passes the documents to Christ. 

“…I have something interesting for you. I was told about it when I asked about Muriel through the guild.”

A look of astonishment appeared on Christ’s face as he looked at the material she gave him.

“… A High Kobold? And not just that, one that can understand human language too!?”

“What do you think about it?”

“… There are a few cases of Kobold sightings, and there are a lot of unknowns about them. Of course, I cannot deny that possibility and it’s unthinkable that my daughter would tell such a lie. But why didn’t that child tell me such an interesting story!?”

His interest already seems to be on the Kobolds rather than the countermeasures against the disease…

“Based on the doctor’s diary from earlier, it seems that Kobolds are not affected by the disease either.”

“Are you suggesting that I take a group of intelligent High Kobolds and have them take down Alvesta?”

“Yes, since that thing cannot be defeated by humans… According to the report, the Kobolds headed to Balberra Forest, but where do you think their actual whereabouts are?”

“Looking at the accounts of the battle in Viel village and how the bandits were made to submit, it may be possible that they tried to hide their retreat route… Balberra forest is a dangerous place to live in, after all.”

Christ thought for a while.

“As I recall, there was a story where a group of fledgling adventurers were attacked by abnormal-looking Kobolds and robbed of their weapons in Easteria forest near Viel village. But the case was pegged as the work of bandits since they were cleanly stripped of their equipment and did not present with wounds from fangs, claws, or stone spears, but…”

“Then let’s send out a scout there. I will also leave for the Forest once the countermeasures against the infection have been established in the Royal Capital.”

The silver-haired, blue-eyed witch smiled mischievously.

“Fufu, it’s time to hunt.”