Chapter 451
Maru Grass
Sherlock did not dare to answer Isabel’s words.
With his eyes on his nose, his nose on his mouth, and his mouth on his heart, he pretended he hadn’t heard anything and focused on the document Eivass handed him.
After confirming that Eivass and Isabel did not intend to continue the discussion on this topic, little Sherlock suddenly spoke, drawing Eivass’s attention and shifting the sensitive topic: “According to this document, Miss Freya is studying in the Fifth Ring. And coincidentally, Mr. Yunus is also in the Fifth Ring.”
The Eternal Holy Kingdom is divided into twenty-two rings from bottom to top.
Generally, the closer to the top, the greater the proportion of long-lived races, the fewer people, the quieter it is, and the slower the pace of life.
Below the tenth ring is basically a mixed dwelling of various races, while the first ring is the most lively and prosperous place—various goods from all over the world, various advanced magical technological products, and various entertainment venues are all built here.
In a sense, it can even be called the center of the World.
“The Eternal Holy Kingdom has almost no factories within its borders, and thus basically no industrial population. The few industrial facilities are all built below the Fifth Ring, and those dangerous research projects are also placed in the Second to Fifth Rings.
“Among them, the Fifth Ring belongs to the fields of medicine, chemistry, biology, and paleontology. It is very reasonable for Miss Freya to study in the Fifth Ring.”
Sherlock flipped through the document and casually said, “I’m not sure if you know… the ‘Maru Grass’ in Miss Freya’s name was given by herself. It is a special, rare mystical herb that has been lost for hundreds of years, and Miss Freya rediscovered it.
“Its root is black, and its flower is milk-colored. If eaten directly, it can effectively resist the charm, curse, and transformation from the Path of Love for a short period. As for any creature ‘with remaining lifespan,’ if it directly touches the herb, it will quickly wither and rot within an hour.
“Therefore, it cannot be stored and transported conveniently. Only phantom demons, undead without lifespan, or steel machinery can come into contact with it.
“—It is the core ingredient of the ‘Panacea’.”
Sherlock said softly, “It is the herb that was once destroyed by ‘Echidna’.”
In fact, Freya’s accomplishment of restoring the lost recipe for the Panacea from the Age of the Round Table at such a young age is directly related to her finally discovering the lost “Maru Grass.”
The “Panacea” is already just a legend in Avalon.
It is the ultimate potion that can cure all diseases and reach the extreme of “medicine.” It can even extend the lifespan of “mortal beings” and postpone inevitable death.
Eivass had read about this part of Occult knowledge in the school library…
It was a story that happened in the era when giants still ruled this island.
The last giant king had snatched the potion recipe from a witch named “Echidna”… and this recipe was stolen by Echidna from an apostle of the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
Witches are phantom demons on the Path of Love. In essence, they are also a special type of Fairy.
However, unlike fairies born naturally from water, wind, or trees, witches are phantom demons that have been promoted from “witches,” who are Extraordinary beings—they have received the power amplification of the Beast Lord, have beautiful yet twisted bodies, and also possess the ability to breed new monsters.
“I’ve heard of her,” Eivass nodded. “That witch was once a Lizardman—she was a follower of the Beast Lord. After being promoted to a witch, she had a fair and beautiful upper body that remained youthful forever, and a huge, ferocious, monster-like snake tail.
“She usually lived underground, being gentle and kind as a maiden during the day and becoming violent and ugly like a madwoman when night fell. She ate the meat of all sorts of Sapient Creatures, and also ate human flesh—she ate men’s flesh and drank women’s blood. Because of this, she also came into contact with the giant king who kept humans…”
Eivass said this, glancing slightly at Isabel, and stopped speaking.
Because from then on, Echidna’s end was not very harmonious.
Her cooperation with the giant king quickly fell apart. Afterwards, she was imprisoned and raped by the giant king, and the Panacea recipe was stolen.
During twenty years of imprisonment, she gave birth to twelve children and eight stillbirths for him—the names of these monsters are well-known, including Cerberus, Chimera, Orthrus, Hydra…
Eventually, the giant king strangled her in a drunken frenzy.
Although their respective paths were different, they eventually all became BOSSes in different Dungeons.
And the players’ paid mounts.
“Before she died, she cursed the core ingredient of the Panacea, Maru Grass, causing it to degrade and ‘unable to be touched by mortal beings with remaining lifespan.’ She also cursed the giant kingdom to ‘perish like melting snow’—this curse was finally fulfilled thirty years later.”
Eivass simply explained to the somewhat interested Isabel, “Because any animal that touched Maru Grass would cause it to corrupt immediately. The Panacea that the giant king wanted thus became extinct.
“The small amount of Panacea that already existed at that time had also been used up or expired over the years.
“And Freya found the degraded ‘new Maru Grass,’ proving that it was not yet extinct.
“Finally, she succeeded in recreating the Panacea for the new era—”
“The Panacea was indeed created, but the raw material itself degraded, so its effects were also different. It can heal most ailments, but it can no longer extend lifespan. At the same time, if taken in excessive amounts within a short period, it can cause strong addiction. Its value has thus greatly decreased.”
Eivass greatly admired his “never-before-met” elder sister.
This kind of Panacea was a byproduct obtained through gacha in the mall—an expensive Consumable that could instantly remove most negative effects, a “universal debuff removal potion” with a 30-second cooldown. It was also called the “Big Purple Bottle” by players.
Its formal name was “Freya’s Tears.”
Eivass had thought Freya was the name of some goddess or apostle back then… only now did he roughly understand the origin of the medicine’s name.
Sherlock analyzed seriously, “I infer that Miss Freya went to the Holy Kingdom because she believed the new Panacea had too many impurities and the active ingredients were not completely purified, and Avalon could no longer help her. So she sought help from the Elves—after all, she couldn’t take her technology to Star Antinomy or the Iris Flower. At least the Holy Kingdom and we are on the same side.”
“There’s also a possibility that she simply went to look for the Old Elves who lived through the giant era.”
Eivass added, “We cannot ignore this simple possibility.”
“That’s not important. We’ll know when we go to the Holy Kingdom. She and Mr. Yunus are very close anyway.”
Sherlock shook his head slightly and became serious. “Compared to that… the fact that your family lost their memories of Miss Freya might be more important.”
He looked at a section in the document that Mycroft had highlighted—Freya’s invention, the “unstable resurrection potion,” had no effective experimental records.
Mycroft had also repeatedly searched the pharmaceutical research institute where Freya had worked. He confirmed that this medicine had no related experimental records.
—It was not erased, it simply never existed. Because the serial numbers of other records were consecutive, and the dates also matched.
In other words, this drug had never even begun to be experimented on. No one could prove that it had ever been effective.
Then why did the Silver and Tin Hall still list this as Freya’s accomplishment?
Mycroft, sensing that something was wrong, specifically went to find the artist who was responsible for painting Freya’s portrait at the time.
And then he obtained crucial information.
This item was personally added by Old Moriarty.
“There are now three possibilities.”
Sherlock analyzed seriously. “First, the ‘resurrection potion’ does not exist, and Professor Moriarty added this item for other purposes; second, the potion exists, and Miss Freya verified it in front of Professor Moriarty and expressed some ‘unstable characteristics,’ which led to your family’s specialized amnesia; third, your amnesia is not directly related to the side effects of the ‘resurrection potion,’ but is related to the experiment itself—after the experiment, your memories were wiped, either voluntarily or involuntarily.”
“Which one do you lean towards?”
Eivass immediately asked, “I think the first one can be ruled out first. Among the second and third, I lean towards the third…”
“—I don’t lean towards any of them, Eivass.”
Little Sherlock said coldly, “Until real evidence is obtained, speculation is just speculation. If you have already determined your speculation and then go searching for evidence, it is no longer seeking the truth, but merely comforting yourself.”
Hearing this, Eivass was slightly stunned.
His pupils trembled slightly, realizing that Sherlock was correct.
“Haha…”
Eivass suddenly laughed, reached out, and vigorously ruffled Sherlock’s hair until it was a mess. “How embarrassing, I said something like this to others before… but I forgot myself first.”
—In his heart, he still couldn’t let go of Professor Moriarty, who would become a world-ending BOSS in the future.
Or rather, because the professor had been missing for so long and Eivass couldn’t find any trace of him, he felt even more anxious.
Now that the matter had come up again, it made it difficult for Eivass to remain completely objective and calm.
“Hey, Fox.”
Little Sherlock, with a grim expression, suddenly spoke. “You’re wary of your foster father, James, right?”
Hearing this, Eivass turned his gaze to Sherlock.
He had guessed correctly.
A few months ago, Sherlock’s keenness would have made Eivass flustered and troubled. But now he felt reassured.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
Sherlock replied concisely.
He glanced at Isabel and added, “Her Majesty the Queen, too.”
“—’Her Majesty the Queen’ especially!”
Isabel glared at him and corrected him loudly.
Then the three of them exchanged a smile.
Eivass felt that the slight anxiety in his heart, like clumpy milk powder, was washed away.
Indeed. Eivass thought.
I am no longer alone.
