Previously: At Goldrun’s pre-inauguration celebration for becoming the director, participants were poisoned. Becker reveals that the victim from fifteen years ago had a fiancée.
“A choice of life…?”
Goldrun croaked, looking up at Becker towering over him.
A rally for his faction aimed at the director’s election.
In reality, it was a pre-inauguration celebration.
At the pinnacle of glory, he was struck by an unforeseen nightmare.
“To poison everyone… what are you thinking—”
Suddenly, Goldrun’s eyes snapped open.
“That’s right. You must have the antidote. Hand it over quickly. I’ll lighten your sentence. Stop this foolishness—”
“I am perfectly serious, Professor Goldrun.”
Becker said in a chilling voice, then took a sip of the wine from the table.
He coughed several times, choking.
“What are you…”
“I only drank enough to stay conscious, but it’s more potent than I expected. My life will also be consumed by the poison eventually.”
“What does this mean?”
“Well, the choices have increased. You can choose to believe I have the antidote and save me.”
Goldrun slammed his fist against the floor.
“You think you can get away with this…”
“We don’t have much time for idle chatter.”
“What?”
“The more you hesitate, the faster the poison spreads, and the less life force you will have to exploit.”
Becker’s voice was utterly flat. It was clear he wasn’t joking.
To think the ghost of the incident fifteen years ago would reach out and grab him now.
“Damn you…”
Goldrun placed his hands on the floor and shakily rose to his feet.
The paralysis in his body was severe. It would be difficult to go outside for help.
But calm down.
There was still time.
Prioritize.
Who to save?
Goldrun took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.
First, himself. If he died, everything would be meaningless.
He was so close to glory; he couldn’t afford to die here.
And then, Lord Fennel.
Becoming the director would qualify him to enter the aristocracy, but he still needed a recommender for his final acceptance.
Lord Fennel’s backing was essential.
After that, whether to save Becker, believing he has the antidote.
No, there was no guarantee he had it, and even if he did, he might not provide it.
He would have to abandon that man.
Which meant, the ones he had to sacrifice were his faction members.
Goldrun looked down from the stage at his unconscious faction members and drew a magic circle with trembling hands.
“I see. That is your choice, then.”
“The duty of faction members is to serve me.”
But… his hand stopped.
How much life force would he need to overcome the poison’s advance?
If he reduced the number of faction members too much, he might lose the election to the other factions.
However, needs must.
If he died here, it would all be over.
Goldrun began to chant, activating the Transfer Healing magic.
Numerous threads of light extended from him towards the backs of the fallen faction members.
“How disappointing, Professor Goldrun.”
Becker’s voice reached his ears.
“I told you, the poison’s effect on you was weakened.”
“So, what of it?”
“In other words, among those poisoned, you have the most life force remaining. If you used your life, you could save the most people.”
“Our worth is different. I am not the same as these mere healers!”
Goldrun spat out.
“The value of life is not equal?”
“Like coins, there are gold coins and copper coins… life is the same!”
“…You’re making the same choice as fifteen years ago. Your faction members would be so saddened if they heard your words.”
“Hmph… it’s only natural to save the valuable ones!”
“…”
Becker gave Goldrun a pitying look, coughed, and brought his hand to his mouth.
Some of the wine he coughed up clung to his palm, looking like blood.
“Poison…”
Just as he was about to say something, the hall’s entrance doors burst open.
“Mr. Becker!”
A girl wearing glasses stood there, catching her breath.
“Umin, why are you here…?”
“I… I found a photo in Mr. Becker’s room. It had your old fiancée in it. I had a bad feeling…”
“…This situation. You poisoned them?”
A man wearing a black coat appeared from behind Umin in the backlight.
“…Zenos. You came too?”
“Mr. Becker, why would you do this…?”
As Umin cried out in a grief-stricken voice, Becker shifted his gaze to Goldrun, who was still kneeling on the stage.
Then, he began to speak quietly.
“Is the value of life equal? I have been thinking about that constantly.”
“…”
“Fifteen years ago, my fiancée and I were fledgling healers. She used to say, with shining eyes, that she became a healer to save as many people as possible. I found her so dazzling.”
Slowly, dragging his feet, Becker walked across the stage.
“When I heard that she had died in an explosion accident, I grieved greatly. That even such a wonderful person as her could die without mercy. How merciless God was.”
Becker stared at the sunlight streaming through the skylight with a somewhat detached expression.
“At the time, I thought it was an accident, so I tried to continue her legacy and save as many people as possible. If God gives death equally, then I will give life equally.”
And he actually made many medicines.
He even pressured people to distribute them to the slums and saved countless lives.
“Yes. Mr. Becker has saved so many lives. And yet—”
Becker cut off Umin’s cry.
“However, after Professor Goldrun’s dinner party last time, Alfred visited me and told me that Goldrun was involved in the explosion fifteen years ago. That it wasn’t just an accident.”
“Huh? Something like that…”
“Thinking about it now, he probably heard it from a drunken Bonds, but he didn’t elaborate and disappeared after saying those words. I couldn’t remain calm. Because my fiancée also died in that accident.”
And he thought.
“Could it be that my fiancée didn’t just die in an accident, but was intentionally killed?”
A freezing silence enveloped the hall.
“However, there was no proof. I couldn’t find Alfred or get any more information.”
“So, you hired me?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. I thought it would be good if Alfred could be found, and if that was impossible, I hoped to get some information by infiltrating the dinner party. You have done even better than I expected.”
Becker nodded in response to Zenos’s words.
Umin took a step forward and raised her voice.
“But, even so—”
“I’m sorry to cause you trouble, Umin. But I—”
“Shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!”
It was the man standing next to Zenos who shouted, his voice echoing through the space.
“You are… Cresson, right?”
Having apparently understood the general situation, Cresson clenched his fists and said.
“Yeah, I get it. I wouldn’t forgive it either if my lover suffered such an unreasonable fate. Well, I don’t have a lover, though. What I can say for sure is that Goldrun over there is definitely a son of a bitch.”
“Y-You…”
Blue veins popped on Goldrun’s forehead.
However, whether due to the poison gradually taking hold, he didn’t project much spirit.
“But, still…”
Cresson said with a pained expression.
“That’s wrong, that’s not right, to poison even unrelated people for revenge, that’s not right!”
Because—, Cresson cried out in a tearful voice.
“You’re a healer, aren’t you? Isn’t our job to save people!”
“…”
The heartbreaking cry shook the atmosphere.
Becker raised an eyebrow, silent.
“Well said, Cresson.”
Zenos, placing a hand on Cresson’s shoulder, took a step forward.
“Hey, Becker. You told me before that when a bunch of coins are scattered on the floor, which one would you pick up? That’s a stupid question, because I’m from the slums.”
Staring intently at the face of the Special Class Healer, Zenos grinned and continued.
“—Of course, I’d pick up all of them.”
A/N: The protagonist is finally taking action…!