No One Could Cure It

"Uncle John, how are things?"

Sir Enzo was getting anxious. So much time had passed, and the Master before him still couldn't cure the poison.

At that, the Master set down the potion he was preparing and sighed. "There's still no solution for now. You should ask another Apothecary to take a look."

Another Apothecary... Sir Enzo's face paled. Master John was the most renowned Apothecary in City of Ambition.

"Thanks for your efforts, Uncle John. We've prepared a guest room. You should go get some rest." Phyllis, her purple hair framing her face, spoke calmly.

After a servant escorted Master John away, Sir Enzo asked in a low voice, his expression grim, "Sister, what do we do?"

"Wait."

Phyllis gave him a simple one-word answer.

Just then, a knight entered through the doorway, followed by two people dressed as Apothecaries.

"Uncle Olay, you're finally here." Phyllis beamed, then looked past Apothecary Aulai and smiled. "Apothecary Link, we meet again."

Looking at the girl before him in a long purple dress, Link blushed slightly and hurriedly greeted her. "Miss Phyllis, hello."

Whew, no wonder she's the flower of City of Ambition... Link swallowed and followed his teacher inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw Luxray lying on the ground in a Poisoned State. They also noticed traces of potion preparation in the room.

"Uncle John was here earlier," Phyllis explained.

Even Master John hadn't been able to cure Luxray's poison... Link's expression grew serious.

Although Master John was a little greedy, his skills as an Apothecary were indeed formidable. He was one of the best in all of City of Ambition.

Aulai nodded and walked over to Luxray to examine its condition.

Seeing this, Sir Enzo moved closer to his sister and gave her a thumbs-up.

He'd said before that Apothecaries all had rather odd personalities.

Master John was greedy, while Master Olay was notoriously difficult to invite. This old-fashioned man seemed interested only in researching potions.

Phyllis calmly nodded, but inwardly sighed. Another favor Father left behind has been used up.

Taking a deep breath, Phyllis put on a faint smile and went over to Link to quietly ask how things were going.

"It's... complicated."

"The Poisoned State affecting Luxray is strange. It looks like a Poisoned State, but somehow it also doesn't."

Link chose his words carefully. They had already examined Luxray's blood, and the results were very strange.

"Luxray isn't poisoned?" Sir Enzo came closer.

Link shot him a glance. "It's not an ordinary Poisoned State. It's even more dangerous."

After hearing that, Enzo's shoulders slumped again. He looked at Luxray lying on the ground with a worried expression, his feelings in turmoil.

He truly regretted it now. If he'd known this would happen, he wouldn't have gone to that farm to snatch Petilil even if someone had beaten him to death.

But now he couldn't say anything about it. All he could do was worry in silence. If he admitted that he'd gone to the farm to snatch Petilil, they'd be finished.

The incident would bring disgrace on their viscount family, and if their enemies found out, they would seize the chance to make trouble. It was serious, but not quite a catastrophe.

As he agonized over it, Sir Enzo felt that time was passing unbearably slowly. He wished the Apothecaries would hurry up and cure Luxray, so they could pretend nothing had happened.

Instead, he got a despairing answer: even Master Olay hadn't been able to cure Luxray's Poisoned State.

But Apothecary Aulai was too stubborn to give up. His eyes shone with excitement, as if he'd found an interesting new toy.

That wasn't what Phyllis and Enzo wanted to see. Although Luxray's Poisoned State had eased somewhat, if things continued this way, Luxray would be in danger.

"Apothecary Haren—I know Apothecary Haren," Sir Enzo murmured, hurrying outside.

Now, he wished he could summon every Apothecary in the city. He was willing to pay any price to cure Luxray's Poisoned State.

But when he reached Apothecary Haren's residence, he found Haren wasn't there. Dust still clung to the door, showing that no one had opened it in a long time.

Sir Enzo's expression shifted. He vaguely sensed something, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"Teacher Aulai, Apothecary Link... have you found anything?" After returning, Sir Enzo urgently asked them about the situation.

"It's complicated. The toxin is probably a mutant toxin made from several different toxins mixed together," Link explained in a professional tone.

"A mutant toxin... does that mean there really is no way to cure it?" Sir Enzo looked utterly despairing.

Even Phyllis, who was usually composed, could no longer keep her calm expression. Her face grew terribly grim.

They had already invited the two best Apothecaries in City of Ambition. Even so, neither could get rid of the toxin affecting Luxray.

Now, even if they tried everything to bring in more Apothecaries, they probably wouldn't be able to cure this toxin.

No one could cure it. This poison was truly incurable!

"I do know an Apothecary who might have a solution."

Just then, Apothecary Link came over to the siblings and spoke up.

"Who?" Sir Enzo blurted out.

"His name is Aiven. He's a friend of mine, also an Apothecary..." Link said.

Apothecary Aiven... Sir Enzo looked puzzled. He'd never heard that name before.

Then Link added, "When Baron Reiser was unconscious, it was Aiven who woke him with an Awakening Potion he'd prepared."

This time, Sir Enzo and Phyllis both froze. They'd heard vague rumors about Baron Reiser's situation. The lord had summoned every Apothecary in the city back then.

But for some reason, the lord had ordered everyone to keep quiet. They'd tried to find out more, but hadn't learned anything useful.

So it seemed that the one who had awakened Baron Reiser wasn't Master John or Master Olay, but this Apothecary named Aiven?

"Where is he? I'll go invite him right now." Sir Enzo sounded as if he'd just grabbed the last straw keeping him from drowning.

"Yes. He lives at Darby Farm outside the city. Just follow the stone road in the northern district..." Link nodded and gave him directions to Aiven's home.

He didn't notice that as he gave the directions, Sir Enzo's face grew paler and paler, until all the color had drained from it.