Poison Removal Magic

"I-I'm sorry! I only just thought of it, so I'll verify it later and report back to you."

"No, since you've brought it up anyway, tell me now. Besides, this is good news, isn't it?"

"Yes... I believe it's good news."

If it means we no longer have to worry about being poisoned, that's good news. But we probably can't make it public...

"Then tell me about it."

"Certainly. Do you remember when I explained Sterilization magic when I made crepes before?"

"Yes, the magic that made it possible to eat raw eggs."

"Exactly. That magic removes the things inside eggs that are invisible but harmful to the human body."

"There are things like that!?"

Richard-sama looked extremely shocked and nearly stood up from the sofa, but somehow managed to stop himself.

"You mean we've been eating things that dangerous all this time...?"

"No, eating them raw is certainly dangerous, but heating them kills them. Therefore, there's no problem as long as we don't eat them raw."

"I see... Then that's all right. But what does that have to do with poison?"

"Yes. The harmful things in raw eggs and poison are similar in that they can both harm the human body. Therefore, I thought poison might be removable in the same way as with Sterilization magic."

"I see... If that truly is possible, the danger of being poisoned could be completely eliminated. Can that magic be made into a magic item?"

"We managed to make the Sterilization magic item practical by limiting its applications, but with this magic-stone-linking technology, we should be able to make it practical without limiting its uses. So I believe a poison-removal magic item should be possible as well."

"I see... Could you try making one now?"

As he said this, Richard-sama handed me the magic stones and magic iron he had prepared earlier. But I wanted to test whether poison could be removed first, so I needed some poisonous plants or something like that.

"Thank you. However, before making the magic item, I would like to test whether poison can be removed. Could you prepare some poisonous plants or food? It would also help if you could prepare dishes laced with poison."

But could poison really be obtained so quickly? It probably wasn't something one could buy casually... If that was difficult, potatoes would do instead.

I was thinking that as I opened my mouth to speak, but Richard-sama agreed before I could get a word out.

"Understood. I'll have them prepared immediately."

...Poison could be obtained that quickly? Nobles really were frightening.

About ten minutes later, several delicious-looking dishes and a few plants had been set out before me. There was no way to tell from their appearance that the dishes contained poison. The thought of being poisoned was seriously scary...

I had to make this magic work if we were going to eliminate the danger of being poisoned. With that resolve, I decided to start by testing the plants.

I started with a potato, something I knew well. The sprouts are poisonous, right? When I spread Recovery-attribute mana throughout it, the poison became clearly visible.

It was hard to put into words what it felt like when I spread Recovery-attribute mana through something, but when there was nothing there, I pictured a pure-white cloud covering it as a whole. When something harmful was present, the cloud turned purplish. The severity could be gauged by the cloud's size, density, and range. Now I just had to see whether I could remove it.

I used magic to remove the poison just as I did when curing illnesses and sterilizing things.

The poison came out easily. I knew it would work, but it really was easy. Afterward, I checked the potato again with mana, and there was no poison left.

After that, I tested a succession of beautiful flowers, leaves, and other plants, and I was able to remove the poison from all of them.

"Were you able to remove the poison?"

"Yes. It seems I was able to remove the poison from everything I tested. Now I'll try it on the food."

I wondered if the poison in cooked food could be removed. If the toxins had spread through the entire dish, it might be difficult... Thinking that, I picked up a bowl of soup that looked extremely delicious and spread mana through it.

Whoa, there was an incredible amount of poison in it. It had gone beyond purple and was almost black. Would eating this really be life-threatening?

I recoiled a little as I removed the poison. I was able to remove it without any trouble as well, but since the poison was so strong, it used quite a bit of mana.

As expected, the stronger the poison and the greater the amount, the more mana it consumed.

Well, my mana had increased to the point that it practically never ran out anymore, so I didn't have to worry about it at all. The only time I needed to be careful was when using Teleportation magic. I needed to practice Teleportation magic again, too.

"Richard-sama, I've removed the poison from this soup. May I try eating it?"

When I said that, I picked up the spoon that had been prepared along with the food, but Richard-sama hurriedly stopped me.

"W-Wait! No, you can't. If the removal failed, you would be very likely to lose your life."

So it really had been that potent... Then I should test a milder poison first. Even though I had removed it myself, I was still afraid to eat it.

"Then which one would be best to test?"

"Hmm... I would rather you didn't test any of them, but if you must, try that jam toast."

"Understood."

I drew the jam toast toward me and ran mana through it. Oh, it was a lovely pale purple. It was still poison, though. It must have been a small amount of weak poison.

"Then I'll try it."

Richard-sama and Lucien were watching me with extremely worried expressions, but I ignored them for the time being and took an unhesitating bite of the jam toast.

Hmm. It tasted perfectly fine. But if I'd only eaten one bite, I might have happened to get a part that had no poison. Thinking that, I ate the whole piece.

So far, I didn't feel any different. I tried casting Recovery magic on myself, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with me anywhere.

"I'm all right for now, but what effect does this poison have?"

"Apparently, it causes severe diarrhea soon after you eat it."

"Then I should be fine."

"So you really can remove poison..."

"Um, Richard-sama, are there any other weak poisons that aren't life-threatening?"

"Yes. That tea should only cause diarrhea as well."

"This one?"

I picked up the tea after hearing Richard-sama's words. Then I took a sip without removing the poison first. Gulp... Even without removing the poison, the taste wasn't much different. I might not have noticed it was poisoned at all.

As I thought about that, I drank the tea, then covered myself in Recovery-attribute mana. Oh... There hadn't been anything wrong with me before, but this time I could sense something abnormal in my body. It didn't seem like a particularly strong poison, but I should cure it quickly.

I cast Recovery magic on myself just as I did when curing an illness. I was able to cure it easily.

All right! Poison wasn't scary anymore. Basically, I could check things before putting them in my mouth, and even in the worst case, I could cure myself after eating them.

All that remained was to turn it into a magic item, and it would be perfect.

"Then I'll try making a magic item. Would you and Alexis-sama be able to wear a bracelet or a ring?"

"His Majesty and I? We could wear them, but why?"

"I thought that you and His Majesty would need poison-removal magic items more than anyone else. Would it be all right if I made them for the two of you?"

When I said that, Richard-sama's expression changed from surprise to one of deep emotion, and he bowed his head deeply.

"Leon-kun, thank you so much. Please, I'm counting on you."

I hurriedly got Richard-sama to raise his head. Richard-sama had once been the head of the ducal household and was now the chancellor, yet he bowed far too deeply to a commoner like me. It was bad for my heart!

"Richard-sama, please raise your head! It's not such a grand thing, and you've already provided the materials..."

"No, this is something wonderful. Let me thank you properly."

"Then please wait until after the magic item has been successfully made."

"Well, that's true... Then could you try making it?"

"Yes."

And so I began making the poison-removal magic item.