「I examined the herb garden’s soil, and it appears there’s an issue with the water.」
「Water… Has something changed in its quality?」
「That seems like a natural assumption.」
「Yes, but….」
William-san remains unconvinced.
「Even if someone tampered with the water source, I find it hard to believe such a thing could happen within the academy.」
「True… Given that many noble sons and daughters attend this school, security measures are tho—rough」
However, it seems the headmaster has a clue.
「Intensive security is in place for the main buildings and student dormitories. But honestly, if we compare it to the herb garden…」
Slafin-san hesitates.
—Perhaps it’s not surprising.
Even if these herbs were laced with deadly poison, they’re strictly used for research purposes and wouldn’t circulate in the market. Moreover, experts here would quickly detect any abnormalities.
If that’s the case, the culprit’s goal is simply to wither the herb garden.
That is something considerably less difficult than targeting students.
「Regardless, let’s verify the water source.」
「Agreed.」
「O-over here.」
Guided by Slafin-san and William-san, we head toward the water source where the anomaly occurred.
The herb garden’s water source lies in a corner of the campus.
It’s drawn from a nearby river and managed within a well-appointed cabin equipped with a waterwheel.
「Hmm?」
As we reach the cabin, William-san senses the oddity immediately.
「Strange… There should be an attendant on duty.」
Inside the cabin, there’s a room where the caretaker can rest, and an attendant is supposed to be there for emergencies. However, no sign of a human presence is evident.
「Who was on duty yesterday?」
「A man named Danny.」
Perhaps something happened to this Danny.
As William-san and I approach to check on his well-being, Kiara suddenly shouts.
「Wait!」
We instinctively step back.
「Seems like there’s a trap on that door.」
「「Eh!?」」
We’re taken aback.
「….Indeed. It appears to be an explosive mechanism triggered when the door opens.」
Terrifying!
If Kiara hadn’t stopped us, disaster might have struck.
「Thank you, Kiara.」
「It’s my duty.」
「Well, I was just—out of caution, I used detection magic and found it.」
「But the magical energy is quite faint… Probably, the one who set this trap didn’t expect it to be detected.」
「So, is their intention to blow up this entire cabin because there’s something inside?」
「We’ll find out through investigation.」
Slafin-san decides to call in the trap-disarming team from the academy to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, William-san and I head toward the stream for further investigation.
Just like in the herb garden, I thrust the Dragon Tree Sword into the ground.
「Indeed, this seems to be the source of the problem.」
「Unbelievable… They tampered with the water supply. Damn!」
William-san punched the ground in frustration.
The scale of this… The total damage is substantial.
Our challenge now is to identify the culprit.
To prevent such incidents in the future, we must find some leads.
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