Galle Gold Leaf and the Knights’ Food Poisoning Incident
THAT EVENING, an incident occurred at the knights’ private canteen.
The knights set up a grill they’d borrowed from the kitchen in the canteen’s front garden and feasted on the meat of monsters they had hunted in the forest—until a massive food poisoning incident broke out, that is.
With a large number of knights incapacitated, a few hurriedly rushed to Sirius to report the widespread outbreak of food poisoning. We were in the dining room eating our dinner at the time but stopped abruptly when we heard the heavy footfalls of multiple people running down the hallway. Sirius seemed to immediately sense that something was wrong, but no sooner had he realized this than the doors of the dining room flew open and several flustered knights tumbled inside.
“What’s going on?” Sirius asked, quick to get to the heart of the matter.
The pale-faced knights rapidly launched into their report.
“There’s been a mass food poisoning incident at the canteen! The knights were grilling some monster meat they’d been given by the Sixth Knight Brigade, but it appears the meat was poisonous. Many of them are experiencing numbness, headaches, abdominal cramps, and vomiting!!”
Sirius’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he asked his next question.
“What type of monster was it?”
“A cockatrice.”
As soon as Sirius heard the name, he shut his eyes tightly in disbelief.
Cockatrices were monstrous creatures with the body of a rooster, the wings of a dragon, a tail like a snake, and poisonous breath. Although certain parts of their bodies were poisonous, the toxins could be identified and, if properly cooked, wouldn’t pose any danger.
However, their toxins were quite potent, so if someone did manage to ingest any of it, they were in serious trouble.
“How many were affected?”
“About fifty men, and maybe ten of them have severe symptoms.”
Sirius immediately stood up, indicating that there was no time to waste. He told Father he was leaving before heading for the door.
“If you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty!” He called as he rushed out, “I will come to your study first thing tomorrow morning to continue our previous discussion.”
I also hurriedly got to my feet and started to chase after Sirius.
“Father, I’ve eaten my fill! Thank you for the meal!”
“S-Serafina! How about leaving the detoxification to the Saint Knight Brigade?”
I froze in surprise upon hearing that. Father had seen right through me, predicting exactly what I was planning to do. I looked up at him and could tell he was upset, so I quietly walked back to the table and grabbed a piece of bread.
“I guess I have a little more room in my tummy, so I’m going to eat this bread!” I announced. Father was probably upset and wanted to give me a small lecture because I’d left so much food behind.
“N-no. That’s not the issue…” he started to stammer, but before he could stop me, I quickly ran out of the dining room—bread in hand—to follow Sirius.
I frantically ran to catch up with him as I stuffed the bread in my mouth. By the time I caught up with his brisk pace, he was deep in conversation with the knights.
“How much time has passed since they ate the cockatrice meat?”
“About two hours for the first knights who ate. The symptoms were only mild numbness and dizziness to start, so the alcohol they were drinking masked the effects. It took about thirty minutes for multiple people to start complaining about their symptoms, and that’s when we realized it might be a food poisoning incident. We put all the eating to a stop at that point.”
It was only at that moment that Sirius finally showed the faintest hint of relaxation. Perhaps if it had only been two hours since they’d consumed the meal, the worst-case scenario could be avoided.
Since cockatrices were highly poisonous, the course of food poisoning progressed quickly, and it was said the shortest time from eating to death was around three hours.
“How many of the men ate it?”
“An additional thirty on top of the fifty who are showing symptoms.”
“How many saints from Saint Knight Brigade can you assemble?”
“Well…due to a combination of expeditions and duties outside the castle, there are only three of them stationed here today.”
That was right about when Sirius realized I was tagging along. He stopped and pulled me into a tight hug, lifting me off the ground in the process. All the knights looked incredibly surprised when he did this, but it didn’t seem to bother Sirius at all as he continued on with the discussion.
“There should be some saints who accompanied the cockatrice extermination. Most likely, they were tired from the expedition and returned to the dormitory early. Send a messenger there immediately and call all of them over.”
Sirius heaved a sigh as the knights scrambled off to follow his instructions.
“Cockatrice, really? Why would they eat something like that?”
“Hm? But isn’t it safe if you prepare it correctly?” I asked, drawing on all the knowledge I had, but Sirius shook his head.
“If it’s prepared by a trained chef, then sure, but that wouldn’t be the case if it were cooked by the knights. The toxins are usually contained in the organs, but there have been reports of toxins being found in the muscle tissue of cockatrices in certain environments.”
“Really?!” I exclaimed in surprise. That was the first I’d ever heard of such a thing.
Sirius nodded gravely. “Yes. It’s especially true for cockatrices found in places where strong enemies are present. Perhaps they evolved in order to protect themselves from those predators. A knowledgeable cook would be able to identify the poisonous parts from the color of the organs and muscle, but the knights would not.”
“I guess that makes sense.” The knights adored meat, so all of it would’ve looked delicious in their eyes. They probably hadn’t considered anything beyond removing the internal organs. The thought of it alone made me drop my gaze and stare gloomily at the ground.
“Serafina.” Sirius’s tone was obviously considerate. “Did you come with me because you want to help the knights as a saint?”
“Yes!” I cried out loudly.
Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before he continued, “I’ve heard detoxification is a bit peculiar among healing magic, and it can be tricky if you’re not used to it.”
Hmm, he did have a point.
“Since I’m aiming to be a saint on the battlefield, I’m not very good at removing poison,” I admitted. However, I figured detoxifying around fifty to eighty people should be within my capabilities.
“I see. We’ll have saints from the Saint Knight Brigade on hand, so you don’t need to worry too much. However, the knights’ conditions are likely to worsen quickly from here on out. If they begin to lose consciousness, that’s a sign that it’s too late. Please focus on healing those who are worst off first. You don’t need to fully heal them—just prioritize saving their lives.”
“Huh? But then won’t they still be suffering?”
“Even if it’s uncomfortable, they’ll be able to handle it as long as they’re alive. All the saints should start returning here tomorrow, and they’ll be the ones who focus on fully healing them.”
“…Okay.”
But despite agreeing, I still didn’t really understand why he wouldn’t let me completely heal them.
I recalled how, after the fight the other day between the groups led by Scheat and Lukbar, the knights were left in a wounded state. It was obvious they were in pain, but when I asked why they weren’t allowed to be fixed up, I was told, “The use of healing magic is forbidden on wounds that result from personal quarrels.”
In other words, it was as if they were purposely left in an injured state to encourage them to reflect on their actions. I wondered if they were being punished by having to suffer for a few days because they tried to cook and eat the meat of a poisonous monster by themselves. Perhaps this was another one of those situations that fell under the knights’ code.
Sirius would likely give me the answers I wanted, but he was incredibly busy dealing with the precarious situation. Besides, even if I did ask any questions, I’d probably be forced to follow the rules. With that in mind, I decided it would be better to keep my misgivings to myself.
If the knights seem like they’re undergoing immense suffering, I can still fully heal them under the pretense of not knowing the knights’ code, I decided silently.
“What is it, Serafina? You’ve gone quiet. It’s not like you need to feel responsible for what happens.”
“I know.” I replied with the blankest look I could muster as Sirius and I made our way to the canteen.