Episode 26.6

The following day, Lecan was feeling somewhat jovial.

He's still not sure what happened, he just knows that Shira was fine even after taking on Skalabel's <Purification>. And from their conversation yesterday, he won't be casting any more <Purification>.

Meaning there's no need for Skalabel to stay in this town for nine days, the entourage should head back to the capital earlier than planned.

The trouble is leaving. That's a good thing.

The breakfast consists of the same members as the lounge talk yesterday. As Lecan and Norma made their way to the guesthouse, everyone besides Skalabel and Cawin was already there.

Lecan was chewing on his bread and thinly sliced meat when Skalabel entered the room supported by Cawin.

The whiteness of his skin really sticks out like a sore thumb. White to the point of looking sickly.

Skalabel had breakfast as well. Cawin ordered the maids to serve only soft food that goes down the throat easily. Skalabel silently had his meal like he was on a journey.

After meal, when everyone was relaxing, Norma spoke to Skalabel.

"Guide Skalabel. Please pardon me, would you allow me to perform a check up on your conditions using my wand?"

"Ooh. Norma-dono. I would love nothing more than having a medic approved by Shira-sama examine me. Please by all means."

"Thank you. Oh you can stay on your sofa."

Norma stood up, took her wand, and began examining Skalabel sitting across the table.

Her mana control is as exquisite as ever.

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"Eeh."

The one who sounded surprised was Skalabel's young pupil, Cawin.

Apparently this young man can see the flow of mana. Must be some sort of skill.

If you can see it, Norma's mana control is simply superb. Its exquisiteness may as well a work of art. Very thin and fine mana threads got into blood vessels, circulating into every fiber of his body.

Priest Amamir has a complete trust on Norma, her being the daughter of a researcher he respects. Priest Kotojia is Priest Amamir's direct pupil, quite a bit younger than him. A middle-aged priestess with a cute womanlike face. Kotojia doesn't seem to doubt Norma either.

Once she was done with her check up, Norma sat down on her sofa and got lost in thought for a while.

"Guide Skalabel, you have been casting <Purification> on yourself, haven't you?"

"That is indeed the case."

"How many years have you been doing it?"

"Right, well. It should be more than 40 years. A little less than 50 years."

"Have you had another person cast <Purification> on you in the past 30 years?"

Priest Kotojia replied to this question.

"Norma-dono. When you have a choice between multiple <Purification> users, you should pick one that can cast the highest class of <Purification> among them."

"Yes. That is because casting lesser classed <Purification> will overwrite the lingering effects of higher classed <Purification>. That's how it works in short terms. If it's done over a period of tens of years however, the rules differ a bit."

"Ah. There were implications of problems regarding long term <Purification> written in the [Research on Entrails Functions]. It was vaguely written however."

"It could only be written vaguely. Since mother was still alive at the time."

"What's the connection between the vague writing of <Purification> and your mother being alive. No wait, it couldn't be."

"My mother was a <Purification> user. It was kept a secret by the House of Marquis Mashajain."

"My goodness."

"Father continued to examine grandfather during the long years he received mother's <Purification> up until grandfather's deathbed. As a result, he arrived at a hypothesis."

"What, what is that hypothesis. What is this Sasfrey-dono's hypothesis?"

"The body will build up a resistance to <Purification> if it keeps receiving one from the same person over a long period of time. That is his first hypothesis."

"Hahaa. I see now."

"O Master. Have you come up with something?"

"No. Hearing that just put sense into some things. That first hypothesis is likely correct. So if that's the first, there's the second then?"

"Yes."

"Would you tell us. That second hypothesis of your father."

"This hypothesis is yet to be verified. Mother continued to cast <Purification> on my grandfather for 14 long years, and yet even then father could only observe a very faint tinge of symptom."

"It's fine, it's fine. Just what's the second hypothesis like?"

"Crystallization will manifest on patients that have built up resistance yet keeps receiving one particular <Purification>."

"Crystallization?"

"Crystallization is it?"

"Oh I see, make sense."

"O Master. Would you grace this ignorant me with the meaning of her words?"

"Every part of human body is alive down to the farthest corner. They have the characteristic of living creatures. But fingernails, hair and teeth closely resemble to stone more. If you cut your body, the flesh under it is of a living creature, yet the body also possesses a slight property similar to stone despite being a living creature. By having that property, those parts gain a way to protect living creatures, serving a purpose that cannot be fulfilled by living creatures alone."

"I see. I understand."

"The same applies to horse hooves and magic beast horns. They obtain toughness and sturdiness by becoming something akin to stone."

"And that would be Crystallization?"

"No, that's not it. If you look inside that stone-like matter, and then even further into its composition, its miraculously systematic structures are what we call crystals. The term itself has existed since bygone era."

"Ah. Crystallization is it. I am familiar with that term. However, I never thought of correlating that to my condition. Fumu. So that means my flesh is in the process of changing into a stone-like matter, is it not?"

The young helpers kept moving their pens to write down what was said, their faces were pale.