Chapter 26 The Disease Of Self-Destruction
Upon arriving in the capital city, I immediately started researching the Self-Destruction Disease. After finishing my training, I headed straight to the library, gathering and reading the few available documents. As I gathered information, a question began to arise in my mind.
In order to solve that question - I am now lying in wait in front of Arnold's dorm room.
Just after finishing my training, I rushed over, and it seems that was the right move. Arnold quickly arrived in front of his room.
"Arnold-san"
Slightly surprised by the ambush, Arnold calmly prompts, "What is it?"
He probably already has an idea of why I am here.
"May I ask you something?"
Deciding it wasn't suitable to talk in the hallway, Arnold invited me into the room. That should be taken as a silent agreement.
Surprisingly, Arnold's room had the exact same layout as mine and Chelsea's room. However, since we use the room meant for two people by ourselves, this room didn't feel cramped.
Leaning against the door, I asked Arnold who was standing by the window,
"Arnold, you don't have the Self-destruction disease, right?"
Arnold's eyes widened slightly. But he quickly answered clearly in a calm tone,
"Yeah. Just to add, Elvira developed the Self-destruction disease when she was 3 years old. She already had strong magic powers, but compared to me at the age of 3, she's slightly inferior."
I realized that he could see through my doubts. Arnold, who usually gives short responses, specifically mentioned that his magic power is stronger. This meant――
"...Why hasn't Arnold-san gotten Self-destruction disease?"
"I don't know."
Despite feeling a bit rude, I straightforwardly asked my question. Arnold shook his head decisively.
His black eyes staring at me were filled with such intense light that it almost felt like a glare. From his expression, I felt a slight relief that my question was not wrong.
I took a deep breath, opened my mouth, and said,
"I read through various documents about Self-destruction disease. Every document I read concluded with this one sentence."
The Self-destruction disease is a tragic illness caused by the powerful magic hidden in a small body, leading to self-defense.
Imagine a young child having an overwhelming amount of magic within their body. As a result, the body cannot withstand such strong magic and reaches its limit. To avoid this, the body, regardless of the owner's will, tries to release the magic little by little outwardly. However, since the body's owner is unaware of the movement of this magic, they are unable to release it as desired. The magic that cannot be fully released wanders within the body, potentially causing the Self-destruction disease.
Looking at past data, it is evident that all patients had above-average strong magic. The onset of the Self-destruction disease mostly happens in early childhood, around the age of 5, which aligns with the documented 'cause'.
However, at that moment, I couldn't help but remember the face of my senpai who carries the profession of the youngest Royal Alchemist and Knight Order magician.
If the cause is too strong magic power, why hasn't Arnold fallen ill?
"If Elvira-chan has a weak body or allergies?"
"No, that's not the case. Despite suffering from Self-destruction disease, Elvira is usually more active than me. In fact, her body is quite robust compared to others her age."
Arnold's words deepen my doubts even further.
Why did Elvira get sick, but Arnold didn't?
Was it because Elvira is a girl and smaller in size compared to Arnold, who is a boy? Or maybe Arnold is special and has resistance to Self-destruction disease?
No, it's not just about Rocco's little sister.
It was true that the Self-destruction disease was a sickness that affected children with strong magic powers. However, even though they had strong magic powers, there were patients like Elvira who could be considered at best average or below average in terms of being a rare magician.
Magicians with this level of magic power are quite common in the Savila Knight Order. Yet, they have not contracted the Self-destruction disease. There must be factors other than magic power at play.
"Looking at past patients of the Self-destruction disease, it seems safe to say that it does not affect those who do not possess above-average magic powers."
Arnold's words pulled me out of the deep sea of my thoughts.
"In the group of patients, 60% are female and 40% are male. Due to the small sample size, it's not definitive to say there is a gender bias. Over 90% of cases occur during early childhood up to the age of 5. The time from onset to death ranges from as short as 9 years to as long as 42 years, showing a wide range."
Arnold crossed his arms. He furrowed his brow even more and tightened his jaw, causing his gaze to naturally fall to the floor.
His tone was slow, as if trying to help me sort out my tangled thoughts.
Guided by Arnold's pleasant voice, I reconsidered the Self-destruction disease.
"Of course... the possibility of something like a virus is low."
The infected individuals' residences were scattered all over the place. They were found in snowy regions, then in desert areas, with no common environmental similarities so far. Most importantly, there have been no cases where family members who took meticulous care of the patients got infected.
As for the treatment methods, besides using healing potions, there were experimental treatments involving using magic excessively to deplete excess magic power, but none of them seemed to work. Our ancestors tried every possible treatment method they could think of, only to face failure.
――That's about all the information I could gather from past cases.
Silence fell among us. I was becoming more and more confused.
"I think the cause is definitely strong magic power. But why didn't you, who has stronger magic power than Elvira-chan who is already showing symptoms, get sick? Is it because you're a boy and have a bigger body than a girl? Are you more robust? Is it a matter of constitution? Even looking at past data, there doesn't seem to be a common factor among the patients. Besides, the number of patients seems unusually low. There should be many magicians with stronger magic power than past patients in the Savila Knight Order. So why don't they fall ill? Maybe there are certain constitutions that are more prone to falling ill..."
Questions overflow one after another.
It would be best to solve these questions. However, with limited resources and time left, I don't have the confidence to do that. And maybe the patients had such a fate to bear, which could be an absurd reason.
Above all, there is a voice whispering in my mind, 'me'."
Even if there are mysterious aspects about the illness, ultimately it seems that the person's own magic power is the cause. So, wouldn't it be good if we could somehow control that magic power?
Giving up on thinking about it is just using brute force. It takes quite a bit of courage to express this opinion — or so I thought.
"It's certain that magic power is harming the body. So, if we could somehow suppress that magic power, or temporarily remove it... If we consider a more fundamental solution, I think the treatment would involve taking the magic power itself away from the person... Of course, such a treatment method has not been discovered yet."
It seems Arnold has also come to the same conclusion. He must have researched and thought about the Self-destruction disease for a longer time than me. If this is the answer in the end—perhaps our thoughts are surprisingly similar, or we are quite stuck.
However, I couldn't agree with Arnold's proposed solution as the most fundamental way, which is to simply take away the magic causing the problem from the person.
That's true, if that method could be used, since it would eliminate the magic harming the person, there is a high possibility that the Self-destruction disease would be completely cured. It's a very quick and straightforward method. However, I have my reservations about that approach.
Elvira must accompany Lukas as a magician. If we could just control the magic, that would be one thing, but if we were to completely take the magic away from the person...
Yet, I also think that this method might actually be the most suitable. Even if we manage to control or temporarily remove the magic causing harm to the body, as long as the person possesses magic, there is a possibility of a relapse.
Above all, nothing can be more important than life. If it comes to a situation where there is no other choice, one should carry it out without hesitation.
But completely erasing someone else's magic power, as Arnold hinted at, seems somewhat unrealistic. It seems more realistic to just suppress magic power instead.
Even after pondering about it, Arnold and I still haven't clarified our doubts. There are only two paths now. Even if we manage to clarify them, if the root cause lies in the person's overpowering magic, we might have to resort to this method.
However, it seems like we are leaning more towards the field of magic rather than synthesis. Maybe we should study in that direction as well.
In terms of alchemy knowledge, poisonous herbs might be more suitable than medicinal herbs. While there are potions that temporarily amplify magic within healing potions, the reverse doesn't exist.
"Well... um, thank you for your time. I'll look into it a bit more."
――Suppressing or stealing magic power.
The direction is set. Once decided, I have no choice but to dive back into the books. It's all about quantity. I have to find anything that catches my attention, no matter how small.
As I opened the door and tried to leave the room, a voice called out from behind, "Ampère!" When I turned around,
"Please,"
I was told in a strained voice.
I nodded back at Arnold and then started running.
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