The church auditorium was already packed to the brim with scholars from the three great empires.
Hel's group arrived late, and since they were merely students here to observe, there was naturally no chance of getting good seats. They could only stand in a corner at the back, listening in.
At the very front of the hall, an elderly scholar with graying hair was already standing on the platform, speaking passionately.
"According to our research, bloodletting is the cheapest treatment method. This approach is absolutely far easier to popularize than plague-dispelling magic...Based on our Four Humors Balance Theory, this plague disrupts the balance of the four bodily fluids within the human body. Therefore, appropriately releasing blood is the only way to restore that balance."
"Bloodletting therapy?" Another scholar in the audience immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.
"You Night Physicians have been performing bloodletting treatments across so many countries—how many of those patients actually survived?"
"Out of ten people, being able to save even one would already be impressive, wouldn't it?"
"Uh… well…" The white-haired old scholar discreetly wiped cold sweat from his brow, but still maintained a composed expression.
"The equilibrium point of blood is an extremely delicate value, and each individual's balance point differs. This is highly meticulous work. Our Night Physicians are still in the process of exploring these patterns. In the early stages of research, some necessary sacrifices are only natural."
"Give me a break." The scholar below spoke again, clearly displeased.
"Rather than gambling on that ten-percent survival rate, why not try the latest research from our Botio Academy—a plague-dispelling potion specifically developed for this epidemic?"
"So what's the price?" Before he could even finish speaking, someone else immediately retorted.
The meeting quickly devolved into utter chaos.
The solutions proposed by these scholars fell into only two categories: those involving the supernatural, and those that did not. The supernatural methods were outrageously expensive and difficult to popularize, while the non-supernatural ones were, for the most part, highly unreliable.
At this moment, Old Chui-de descended from a room upstairs and walked to the front of the auditorium.
With trembling hands, he slowly took out a small vial of emerald-green liquid from his coat pocket.
"Gentlemen, do you know what this is that I'm holding?"
"Could it be the legendary healing potion?" A plant arranged by Chui-de immediately jumped up from the audience, staring at the vial in his hand with a shocked expression and almost shouting the words.
Soon after, others began enthusiastically explaining, calling it a miracle medicine and the like.
Once the atmosphere below had been sufficiently stirred, Old Chui-de gently shook the vial and smiled at the crowd.
"That gentleman is correct. This is a recovery potion. Just this one small bottle is enough to completely purge the plague and all other diseases from an ordinary person's body.
"Of course, its price is equally impressive—ten gold coins per bottle.
"The reason I've come here today is to seek everyone's help in finding a suitable dilution method—one that can reduce costs while still keeping those ordinary people alive."
As he spoke, he cast a crafty smile toward the assembled scholars.
Besides scholars, there were also many envoys sent by various nations present. Their status back home was not low; many of them could even influence a king's decisions.
Old Chui-de understood clearly that no matter how eloquently he spoke to Irina, it would be useless—she simply wasn't the one who could make the final call.
Rather than that, it was better to contact buyers directly on the spot. Only this way could he truly sell the healing potions at a good price.
The Kingdom of Chui-de was a commercial nation, and Old Chui-de himself had once been its king. Maximizing benefit from what one controlled was something that had long since been etched into his very bones.
And sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, several men seated with notebooks in hand all turned their interested gazes toward him.
Before any of them could step forward to strike up a conversation, however, a disheveled man—who looked more like a vagrant than a scholar—jumped out from below.
"Our team has recently developed a new type of alchemical formation that can atomize medicine into a mist and allow that mist to enter the patient's body.
"Using our formation not only saves ninety percent of the medicine used, but also allows patients to absorb it more easily.
"Surely, with this technology, we should be able to join you."
Chui-de looked at the man, whose appearance was unkempt but whose bearing was extraordinary. Without hesitation, he extended his right hand.
"Of course. We welcome your participation."
At that very moment, however, two figures in white cloaks pushed open the doors and entered.
"Your plan is indeed excellent," one of them said, "but implementing it would take far too long. You should know—the enemy has not left us much time."
A relatively young Holy See envoy stepped onto the platform, glancing at the two men still clasping hands.
"A variant of the Activated Mercury Array… or perhaps the Mist of Hermes."
"What?" The scruffy man was completely confused—he had never heard of either name.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," the young envoy said calmly.
"To be able to develop a similar formation despite such knowledge being sealed away is already quite impressive.
"However, that is not what we came here to discuss today."
Turning toward the crowd, the young Holy See envoy spoke loudly:
"I've already said that our time is running out. Therefore, I plan to deploy a forbidden-spell–level alchemical formation across the Southern Continent to combat this calamity.
"At that time, the Holy Tribunal Church hopes that all the scholars present here—and the powers you represent—will offer us your full support."
The moment his words fell, the hall once again erupted into chaos.
Hidden among the crowd, Hel focused all her attention on what Chui-de had said earlier.
'Healing potion… Could it be that the Healing Witch is connected to that old man?'
With that thought, Hel activated a trait inspection on Old Chui-de.
The information she received only caused her brow to furrow even more deeply.
'Name: Franz Chui-de.
A member of the Chui-de royal family, with strength at the peak of the sixth rank.
'And yet such a person brings something suspected to be a witch's product to this conference…Does he really think the witch-derived items in his possession can completely resolve this plague?
'Even draining the Healing Witch dry probably wouldn't be enough.'
As Hel was thinking this, the Holy See envoy spoke once more in a clear voice:
"Before the arrival of next New Year, I will completely resolve this plague.
"And before the forbidden spell is cast, I will publicly execute a witch."