Chapter 868: Source of the Chill
"Senior sister Sylvia is right. Besides, thanks to Izroth, I was able to recover quickly and return safely. If not for his aid, your disciple may not be standing before you right now." Sychia stated.
"It is as you say," Seina said as she looked toward Izroth.
She then continued, "According to the laws of our Order, you are an Honorary Saint. You can no longer be considered an outsider. For saving the life of a Thousand Blossoms Maiden, you have earned the gratitude of the Order of a Thousand Blossoms. But, for saving this one's disciple, Izroth, you have my gratitude. I, thank you."
"I merely followed through with what I felt was right at the time. That's all." Izroth responded calmly.
Seina lightly shook her head and said, "Under such circumstances, most people would hesitate to help and risk making enemies of the Eight Heavens and Fifth Great Clan. However, you still chose to act regardless of the unfavorable outcome. It is easy to say outside of the moment that one should have done the right thing. But, it is often difficult to do what is considered right in the moment itself. It has given me great insight into your upright character, Izroth. I can see why my disciple has decided to place her trust in you."
"Then, based on what you've heard so far, I'm sure you already know why I'm here," Izroth commented.
"I am aware," Seina replied.
Seina was no fool. She knew why her disciple had brought Izroth to see her. But, it was of no use. Even if he was talented for his age, how could he have more knowledge than those great masters of healing she invited? One of them was even a grade eight Apothecary!
That being said, Seina did not have the heart to ignore her treasured disciple's efforts and outright turn Izroth away.
"It's fine. There will be no trouble in allowing him to diagnose me. Once he fails, I can peacefully turn him away. With that much, my disciple can not say that I did not give him a chance." Seina thought to herself.
In Seina's eyes, if Izroth could not even discover the source of her condition, then how could he possibly have a method to cure it?
It took those great masters of healing a few hours of running tests and observations to reach a conclusion. Would a young man have the patience and experience required to perform the same feat?
"You may diagnose me. However, if I am not satisfied with the results, I will respectfully ask that you leave this place. Is that alright?" Seina spoke in a straightforward manner.
'Oh? Is she testing me?'
Izroth was not offended by Seina's decision. After all, he was quite aware of his current circumstances and identity. The fact that someone of Seina's standing was willing to even let him diagnose her could already be seen as a miracle.
Nevertheless, Izroth understood that if he did not impress her with his diagnosis, then she would never allow him to attempt to heal her. If that happened, he could forget about claiming the rewards for clearing an SSS-ranked quest.
'The fact that this is an SSS-ranked quest means that her condition is not simple. Since that's the case...'
"That's fine. Then, I shall begin immediately." Izroth said as he activated his Energy Vision Sense and carefully examined Seina.
"Hm? This is... Source? It is my first time seeing such a young Source user." Seina thought to herself as she was inwardly shocked.
However, just as this thought crossed her mind, she was even more dumbfounded by what she heard next.
"I have completed my diagnosis," Izroth stated as he deactivated his Energy Vision Sense.
"?!" Seina was taken aback by Izroth's claim. And, she was not the only one.
Sychia and Sylvia were also surprised by Izroth's sudden remark. Not even a minute had passed since he began, yet he said that he had already completed his diagnosis.
"Junior sister... Did you actually bring a crazy person with you?" Sylvia thought to herself as she slowly started to regret her previous decision.
"Are you certain that you do not require more time?" Sychia inquired as she furrowed her brows.
Those great masters of healing spent hours trying to figure out what was wrong with her master. How could Izroth possibly discover the problem so fast? If it was like this, then her master...
Sychia glanced over at her master, whose current facial expression had darkened.
Seina did not get a bad feeling from Izroth; however, perhaps her condition was obstructing her ability to evaluate others. He had already finished? As if such a thing was possible! If not for the fact that he saved her disciple's life in the Secret Realm, Seina would have already kicked him out without even entertaining whatever nonsense he had to say!
"My disciple is right. If you need more time, I do not mind giving it to y-"
"You have been poisoned. The traces are faint, but it appears to have been slowly built up over a long period of time." Izroth explained.
He then inquired, "Is there anything you have consumed on a daily basis over the years? Something that perhaps not many others have access to in large quantities."
After hearing Izroth speak, Seina's darkened expression completely vanished. This diagnosis—it was the exact same as the great masters she invited!
Seina shifted her gaze to Sychia. And, as if sensing her master's thoughts, Sychia shook her head.
Naturally, Seina figured that Sychia must have shared the details of her sickness with Izroth in order for him to reach such a quick conclusion. However, that did not seem to be the case at all. After all, her disciple would not hide such an important truth from her.
Seina returned her gaze to Izroth and replied, "The only thing that comes to mind is the Hundred Blossoms Tea. But, it should not be this. The elders of our Order also drink the same tea regularly. We have also checked to see if there were any issues with the batch of tea leaves itself; however, the results showed that there was no foul play at hand."
The fact that Izroth was able to reach the same conclusion as the great masters of healing within a fraction of the time left a huge impression on Seina. Nonetheless, even if he reached the same conclusion as them, it was of no use. The tea leaves had been checked and examined hundreds of times by those experts. If there were something to be found, it would have already been brought to light.
"I wish to examine the tea leaves myself. I assume there is no objection?" Izroth remarked.
"You may do as you wish. Sylvia, bring our Honorary Saint some Hundred Blossoms tea leaves." Seina stated.
"Yes, master," Sylvia responded as she carried out her master's request.
...
Less than a few breaths of time passed before Sylvia returned to the room with a batch of Hundred Blossoms tea leaves.
She immediately turned the tea leaves over to Izroth, who wasted no time examining them.
The atmosphere became somewhat intense as a lingering silence filled the room.
No one wanted to say anything, but they truly believed that it could not be the Hundred Blossoms tea leaves. This was not only because of the judgment of the previous experts that did not find anything wrong with them. It was due to the source of the tea leaves.
The Hundred Blossoms tea leaves were grown right on their Thousand Blossoms Peak and were managed by the Order of a Thousand Blossoms.
This meant that besides the disciples who managed it, no one else had access to it.
It was unthinkable that a disciple of the Order would dare poison its Holy Maiden. Not to mention, how would a disciple be able to get their hands on a poison strong enough to affect someone at the peak of the legendary realm? None of it added up!
'It's just as I thought.'
〈System Alert: [1] Flaw has been discovered in «Hundred Blossoms Tea Leaves»!〉
〈System Alert: Flaw [1]: This item has been contaminated by an unspecified substance.〉
Izroth used his Deep Insight skill to examine the tea leaves. And, as it turned out, they were indeed contaminated. However, there was something that he did not understand.
'How is it possible that not one, but several experts missed this? Something is not right...'
Izroth closed his eyes as he briefly contemplated a few things.
The obvious answer was that those experts were working with whoever was behind the poison. However, Izroth found it difficult to believe that several experts would all be working with the same person.
'There is definitely something going on behind the scenes here, but now is not the time to bring up this matter. Now that I've found the source of the issue, I am confident—she can be cured.'