Poison Removal Magic Item

Magic stones are beautiful enough to have been used as gemstones, so they're perfectly suitable as accessories as well. Even the simple bracelet I came up with turned out beautifully.

I made a magic-stone bracelet and a ring made solely of magic iron, and arranged for the magic to activate when they were brought together. Wearing them on opposite arms should make it easy to activate the magic.

For now, the activation range is a sphere about fifty centimeters in radius. Activating it near a plate should remove any poison on it. Recovery magic inevitably produces light, so I improved that aspect as well. It consumes slightly more mana, but if light were produced, people nearby would notice.

The biggest problem was whether it could reliably remove poisons whose type and strength changed each time, so I tried modifying the magic imbued in the magic stones.

I used the technique I always use: channeling Recovery-attribute mana into the target. I suppose you could call it a scan. I always scan first to find the problem, then use Recovery magic on it. So I imbued the magic stone with mana while envisioning the scan and poison removal as a single spell.

This should use the appropriate amount of mana according to the poison's strength and quantity.

"I've finished it for now. Combining this bracelet and ring activates the magic. The magic's range is a sphere about fifty centimeters in radius, so please activate it near a plate."

"Amazing... So this can remove poison? A bracelet and a ring won't get in the way even when worn. Would people nearby notice when the magic is activated?"

"No, I made sure it doesn't produce any light, so I don't think anyone nearby will notice."

"That's even more impressive..."

"May I try it?"

"Yes, please do. Use that beef stew."

"Certainly."

I clicked the bracelet and ring together near the food, then separated them a few seconds later. Nothing happened, so I couldn't tell, but it had probably removed the poison. I channeled mana into the food to check, and found no poison whatsoever.

If I tested it on something with a stronger poison, I could find out whether it really could remove every kind of poison.

"Richard-sama, which dish contains a stronger poison than the beef stew?"

"That chicken steak does, but what are you going to do?"

"I want to confirm that it can remove strong and weak poisons equally well."

"I see. Then go ahead and try it."

"Yes."

I used the poison-removal magic item on the chicken steak as well, and all the poison was removed without a problem. Perfect!

Combined with poison tasters, this would almost completely eliminate the danger of being poisoned.

"I checked with my magic as well, and it completely removed every kind of poison."

"Truly amazing... How long will its mana last?"

"Let's see... I can't say for certain, but if it never encounters poison, I think it can be used about a hundred times. However, when it actually finds and removes poison, its mana decreases all at once, so you should be able to tell whether there was poison by checking how much mana remains. Strong poison consumes mana equivalent to about one-third of a fully charged magic stone, so please recharge it before the remaining mana falls to one-third or less. Also, if the magic item is used until its mana reaches zero, it may only remove the poison incompletely, leaving some behind. Please do not eat that food under any circumstances."

"Understood. I'll make sure to explain these precautions to His Majesty as well. However, only Leon-kun can recharge this magic item. Would it be all right to ask you to do so every time?"

That was certainly true. I was the only one who could use poison-removal magic in the first place. Most people could only heal minor injuries, after all.

Once I graduated from the Royal Academy, I wanted to give more people lessons like those I had given Martine. That should make it possible to heal injuries much more efficiently.

However, poison removal and curing illnesses depended on one's mana capacity, so they were difficult for other people to perform... In the end, all Martine had been able to do was cure a mild cold over the course of several days.

Could mana capacity be increased somehow? If we could find a way, that would solve the problem. Even if it didn't become as absurdly high as mine, increasing it two- or threefold would make a considerable difference.

For now, I had no choice but to imbue these items with mana myself.

"Of course. It might be best to make two identical sets and always keep one as a spare."

"Yes, that would be a great help. Also, could you make some for the other members of the royal family and my family as well...? Of course, I will pay you appropriately."

I had been planning to suggest that myself. Lucien, Stefan, and Martine were probably at considerable risk as well. I would feel more at ease if they had one.

"Of course. However, we still can't reveal this magic item publicly, can we?"

"That's right... We probably won't be able to reveal this magic item until after Leon-kun graduates from the Royal Academy. I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, that should be my line. You've taken such good care of me, and thank you for protecting me. Since we can't reveal the poison-removal magic item, we should make sure we have a plausible explanation if anyone asks about it..."

If we couldn't reveal this magic item publicly, we needed a cover story if anyone asked. Its appearance made it obvious that it used a magic stone, and the color of the magic stone revealed that it used the Recovery attribute.

Magic stones are colorless and transparent when they contain no mana, but their color changes depending on the mana imbued in them. Fire is red, Wind is green, Water is blue, Earth is brown, Physical Enhancement is white, and Recovery is yellow. As the mana is used, the magic stone gradually turns colorless and transparent again, starting at the edges.

Therefore, if a yellow magic stone were set in one, people would immediately realize it was a Recovery-attribute magic item.

But now that I thought about it, we were about to start selling the Purification magic item. Maybe making a bracelet-shaped Purification magic item would solve the problem. An item that cleaned your entire body would be fantastic!

Ah... But we can't solve that unless we can make the magic-stone-linking technology public.

"Richard-sama, will we be able to make the magic-stone-linking technology public?"

"No, I haven't discussed it with His Majesty yet, so it isn't certain. However, we will probably make this technology public. Its benefits are considerable, and the drawbacks can be minimized by having the royal family control it. Besides, this would only increase the scale of things that were already possible. It isn't as if zero will suddenly become one."

I see. It was good to hear that we could make it public. In that case, making a bracelet-shaped Purification magic item would solve the problem.

"That's wonderful. If this technology can be made public, I'll develop a bracelet-shaped Purification magic item as well, so people won't find the bracelet and ring suspicious. Therefore, if anyone asks what those items are, could you say that they're Purification magic items?"

"Thank you very much for thinking that far ahead. What will that magic item be used for?"

"I was thinking of making one that removes dirt from the entire body."

"What!? I want one of those bracelets too... But would people find it suspicious if I wore two? No, I could say that one was a spare..."

Richard-sama, was that really what he was worried about!? I gave a faint wry smile and suggested an alternative.

"Richard-sama, I'll make the magic item that removes dirt from the entire body in a different form. For example, how about a pendant that can be hidden under your clothes?"

"That would be good."

"Grandfather-sama, please return to your usual composed self. You're letting your unguarded self show."

Richard-sama was a truly capable, dependable chancellor, but every so often he let his guard down and his unguarded self showed. I was always happy to think that he had accepted me as family.

"Ahem... I'm sorry about that. In that case, I'll ask you to make those magic items. Feel free to use as much of the magic stones and magic iron we have as you need. If you tell Roger, he should be able to prepare them immediately."

"Certainly. Thank you very much."

"Well, our discussion strayed quite a bit, but we will probably make the magic-stone-linking technology public. In that case, the magic-stone-linking technology will be registered as a technology, and the Purification magic item as a magic item. Therefore, please make every magic item you wish to register and bring them to me later as samples. I will handle the registration myself rather than leaving it to an official."

"Certainly. Thank you very much."

"I'll consult with His Majesty again and let you know if anything comes up. I'll also inform him about the poison-removal magic item."

"Yes. Please do."

After that, we brought things to a stopping point and took a breather over ordinary tea with no poison in it. Apparently, the poisoned food would be gathered in one place and purified little by little.

Oh, right. There was one more thing I wanted to discuss while I had the opportunity. Was Richard-sama already at his limit for today?

Still, I thought I might as well bring it up.

"Richard-sama, there is one more thing I'd like to discuss..."

"What is it?"

Richard-sama was so kind that he listened without even looking annoyed. Thank you.

"It's about the Monster Forest... I would like to visit the Monster Forest once."