<448 - The Fruits of the Three Great Evils>
During what felt like 10 minutes in 24 hours, Ishtar was alone in anguish.
-10 points. Your stubborn prejudice shows no signs of improvement, just like my past self.
Prejudice. A one-sided view. The thought of looking down on others without sufficient perspective.
Some might see it as bad, but Ishtar didn’t see it that way.
‘The warrior’s time is precious. You must think for yourself about who to help while requests for assistance come from all directions.’
Even if one saves a single person from somewhere, if ninety-nine others die elsewhere, they’ll hear the curses of the families of the ninety-nine.
Conversely, if one saves ninety-nine but that one dead person is a high noble, they might face the wrath of the supporting forces and the active obstruction of that family.
In truly unlucky circumstances, a noble family could even defect and join the Demon King’s Army.
‘The priority of value judgments recorded by past heroes. If I follow that path, I won’t have to make the same mistakes again.’
The answers discovered through the blood, sweat, and tears of past heroes.
Yet, it was firmly declared wrong by none other than the previous hero, the Destroyer.
Ishtar couldn’t understand that fact.
‘Why? Did you all have that much time? Are you expecting things to change?’
It was painful.
The burden felt different from other lectures because it confronted the very truths Ishtar knew.
Yet, she was curious.
The tales of failure experienced by the warrior who walked a different path.
The fate of those who believed in the Three Great Evils.
‘That will likely be no different than the fate of those who trusted Oknodie.’
Heirs of the Three Great Evils.
Heir to the Foundation’s leader.
Dark Princess Oknodie.
Perhaps it could ring an alarm for her followers.
Yeah, let’s not give up.
I will see the end of this lecture.
Having returned to her seat instead of fleeing, Ishtar caught the Destroyer’s eye, who nodded slightly.
“Let’s begin.”
“Between when Hans left and when we arrived at the Tulip Farm, things went down.”
“It’s time to hear the truth of the incident from a reunited childhood friend.”
*
The Demon Realm variety of the unconventional tulip by former professor Harvest received strangely enthusiastic interest from the Revolutionary.
Instead of feeling uncomfortable about this, Harvest was practically itching to show off.
“People underestimate the potential of the Demon Realm variety tulip. But this tulip unleashed nightmares beyond even the carnivorous plant Nepenthes.”
“Oh, have you seen flowers growing in the Demon Realm, Professor Harvest?”
“Guess who the first researcher was to plant the seeds outside the Demon Realm? That’s right, it was me, Harvest! Naturally, you can’t obtain seeds without seeing them first.”
“What kind of plant was the tulip that grows in the Demon Realm?”
“A nightmare.”
Even Harvest felt his enthusiasm vanish momentarily when discussing the original tulip.
“While a bit of a detour, crossing the Demon Realm is essential to defeating the Demon King. It’s beneficial to aim for the assassination of the Demon King himself if possible.”
“A multitude of investigation teams, including from the Gift Academy and various nations on the continent, were dispatched to assassinate the Demon King. The first tulip was found by the 19th investigation team that my ancestor was part of.”
An exotic purple tulip bloomed in foreign soil.
The investigation team cautiously sent summoned creatures or minions to the tulip fields.
“No abnormalities detected.”
“Is it completely harmless?”
The investigation team concluded the tulip was a non-toxic species.
Even if summoned creatures ate the leaves, chewed the stems, or devoured the petals, there wasn’t a hint of poisoning or death.
Then there came a bewildering discovery.
“Why aren’t the summoned creatures being unsummoned? The duration has already passed.”
“Don’t lie. With mana that strong, how could they possible be acting out? Resummoning them and being coy about it.”
“I swear to the gods, I haven’t recharged or sent back those summoned creatures since summoning them.”
“Intermediate summons?”
“Of course, I haven’t summoned those either.”
“Then those intermediates follow your orders without you having summoned them?”
“!!”
Just being nearby filled the surrounding creatures with mana, and ingesting it increased their mana reserves.
It was a remarkable discovery of a potent herb that could rank among the best instantly.
“This is innovation! We need to gather as many tulips as possible and take them back to the Academy!”
The investigation team was swept away by the tulip craze.
The foolish demons didn’t even realize such potent herbs were growing in their own backyard, patting themselves on the back for traversing the Demon Realm undetected.
As everyone collected enough tulips and headed back on the Return Path, a unicorn rabbit with a horn appeared.
“Get rid of it.”
The investigation team members ignored the small fry.
Even porters could easily take care of such lowly insects.
One porter cast a spell against the low-level monster.
[Magic Missile]
The magic missile struck and killed the unicorn rabbit in one hit.
And that’s when the disaster began.
The tulips surrounding them began to glow.
“What?!”
“Gah, the mana is being forcibly sucked in!!”
The magic missiles generated by the tulips fully replicated the spell used by the porter.
The unspecific spell simply flew east, but every magic missile aimed at the eastern side of the tulips.
Unfortunately, the entire investigation team was east, and the defensive spells laid out in case of emergencies activated all at once.
[Magic Missile]
[Magic Missile]
[Magic Missile]
Even with basic magic, the power varies depending on the volume of mana used.
The tulips, packing lethal mana, shot magic missiles, and the porters were the first to have holes blown in them and die.
Next were the non-combat members.
The combat members with skills to protect them were even more serious.
While consuming the tulips, the mana soaked into their bodies forcefully extracted their own mana and cast magic missiles.
“Ev-e-everyone run awayyy!”
“No, I can’t stop casting!!”
“Ahhhh!!”
The combat members, unable to cast their defensive magic because they were forced to unleash spells, fell.
Swordsmen with inactive mana circuits couldn’t use their protection and were struck down by friendly fire due to the shock of mana being yanked from their bodies.
In a hellish pandemonium where they killed each other with their own magic, Havi’s grandfather, Harvest’s father, barely escaped with his life.
“The mana with the property to forcibly mimic magic just emerged nearby. A very clever plant!”
Harvest realized the tulip’s secret.
Just as a flower that can’t move lures insects with its fragrance to spread its pollen, the tulip enticed demon kinds with mana.
In that manner, the living beings imbued with mana were forced to cast spells the moment magic was unleashed nearby.
“Whether my magic exhausts itself and dies or is killed by other enraged creatures, the parasitic life form with mana will die right there and become the blood and fertilizer needed for the tulip’s seed to grow!”
Harvest saw enormous potential in the tulip.
He even expressed ambition to submit a thesis to the academic society and participate in the next investigation team.
Unfortunately, that plan attracted a lot of attention from the academic society.
The Magic Tower granted Harvest the position of investigation officer, and ultimately he succeeded in bringing the Demon Realm’s tulips into human territory.
Research began on how to safely utilize the Demon Realm tulips in a laboratory where magic manifestations were strictly managed, and when he succeeded in reducing their harmfulness, he was even invited as a professor to the Academy.
“Half of the research has succeeded. The tulips that have exhausted all the mana to mimic can possess resonance properties without manifesting magic.”
There was no risk of the enhanced species mimicking the hazardous property of contaminated soil found in the Demon Realm generations after generations.
Due to mimicking the characteristics of the safe Middle Realm land instead of the dangerous Demon Realm, their harmfulness was drastically reduced.
“Just a bit more. Just a little more refinement and I can artificially develop land needed for cultivating herbs using the tulips. The Revolutionary Army will fund the research, and if it bears fruit, the Empire and the Academy will have to recognize me!”
Havi felt her heart sting at Harvest’s frenzied shout.
“It’s already been five years, Father…”
Can something that could not be done, despite the support from the Gift Academy, really be achieved with the help of the Revolutionary Army?
Havi was skeptical.
The nobles, who wanted to take a flower so dangerous and make it a symbol of their group just for its beautiful properties of glowing with mana, and the Revolutionary Army were all insane.
“I now understand what your revolution is. It’s like chasing an impossible dream, ruining the lives of others, and collecting the scraps left behind, just like the tulip. Beautiful but a dangerous species that shouldn’t exist in this world, never able to be tamed.”
“I won’t deny it. Revolutions are inevitably accompanied by massive sacrifices. However, Miss Havi, doesn’t your theory contradict your father’s research?”
The revolutionary brazenly countered even as he was pointed out for the reality of his situation.
“The refined tulips lose their risks. There’s a possibility of being beneficial to humanity. The revolution is similar. It will increasingly be of help.”
“Don’t use my father anymore. Your research will kill him.”
“Do you dislike your father’s research, Miss Havi?”
“I dislike you!”
“Then, please bear with us just a little longer. The time for fruition is drawing near.”
“Fruition…?”
“Professor Harvest was just unlucky.”
The revolutionary chuckled as if discussing something quite amusing.
“The Gift Academy. The world’s leading educational institution is located over abundant ley lines where massive amounts of mana swirl. There was far too much mana, and the tulips had no chance to recover mana to possess different qualities from previous generations.”
“…!”
“In contrast, this place is barren land. It’s hard to find even a handful of mana to mimic. The tulips have no capacity to manifest resonance magic that mimics previous generations in this infertile land.”
“So, too much support ended up being detrimental…?”
“An unfortunate reality. Being kicked out of the teaching staff, abandoned by the Empire, and seeking barren soil ended up helping the tulip’s refinement — isn’t it an ironic twist of fate? Thus, I feel destiny at work.”
With arms open, the revolutionary pointed towards the fields of tulips that spread to the horizon.
“The Academy and the Empire both recognized the potential of the tulips but only after meeting our Revolutionary Army can they grow properly. From the moment Miss Havi’s father became enamored with the Demon Realm tulip, it was an inevitable fate to become comrades of the Revolutionary Army.”
“If you get in the way, I’ll kill you too, right?”
The revolutionary looked back at her with sad eyes.
“It’s three days. In three days, a new breed of tulip will emerge that has never existed before. I do not desire your help. At least, please witness the fruits of your father’s efforts. This is the first and last chance for the legacy of his life that has been passed down from his ancestors to be recognized.”
“What do you plan to do with this tulip…?”
“We will weaponize it. More precisely, it will become a one-time mana scroll.”
“…!”
“Even the magic-ignorant commoners will be able to cultivate and use it easily, bringing down the era of the magic wielding aristocrats who rule based on talent and ushering in an era of farmers.”
Many lives would be lost.
There was a clear possibility that her father could become the Empire’s enemy.
His dream of returning to the academy, restoring the authority, and being recognized by the Empire would never come.
But if that’s what her father wished for…
If the only one who could fulfill that wish was the revolutionary…
Havi simply couldn’t voice that wish or destroy the tulips with her own hands.
“I will watch over it.”
“Your father will be pleased.”
Unable to cheer, she could at least not get in the way.
Havi acquiesced to the revolutionary’s persuasion.
The Empire could not do the same.
Just two days after the research bore fruit and the promise of commercializing the tulips emerged, Harvest sent a new thesis and the next generation of extraordinary tulips to the Imperial Academy, and the Empire dispatched a grand army of 30,000 to incinerate Harvest’s farm.
