"Gurgle...! Gurgle...!!"
Normally, by this time, I would be putting items on the store's display shelves or sitting at the counter handling customer service.
"Cough...co...cough...?!!"
The reason why I'm now foaming at the mouth, crawling on the floor of my room, and gasping for breath?
'You said it was weak! Weak, you said!! It's not weak at all?!!'
It's because I injected poison into my own body.
"Sputter...gurgle...gulp...cough?!!"
Breathing was difficult, as if my throat was blocked, and muscles all over my body were convulsing and thrashing.
'What kind of poison did my senior give me?!!'
In front of my eyes, the syringe and vial that had fallen to the floor while I was thrashing were rolling around... I saw it.
Handle with Care
Contains poison that requires extreme caution when using
Be sure to have at least one guardian or
pharmacist's assistance nearby
The warning label written on the vial said so. Stupidly, without knowing the proper dose, I filled more than half of the syringe and injected it into my body.
"Gurgle?!!...Cough?!"
All substances are poisons.The dose determines whether it is a medicine or a poison.-Paracelsus-
As I recalled someone's words from a book I read long ago, I spent a long time gasping in pain before dying from respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.
.
.
.
"Huff...huff..."
About 3 seconds after I died, I regained consciousness.
"Whoo...whoo..."
The sensation of not being able to breathe properly, as if my throat was blocked, and my heart beating erratically just moments ago... frankly, it was scary.
"Ha, haha, hahaha..."
When I was killed by a robber on Earth, when I first died to a kobold in this world, and even when I recently died to the Minotaur, I wasn't particularly afraid or scared.
"I think there was a manga I saw before where the protagonist, because of his immortality ability, was captured by the government and subjected to all sorts of experiments and torture..."
I just thought it was my nature and brushed it off lightly, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
"I'm now mentally drained and struggling from just one poison, how did they endure it? As expected, protagonists in manga must have a screw loose somewhere..."
I know saying this sounds a bit like middle school syndrome, but I felt once again that I'm not a protagonist, just an ordinary person.
"Was it because I died too quickly without much pain until now, or was I just stupid..."
I sat silently on the floor for a long time like that.
.
.
.
5 minutes
.
.
.
10 minutes
.
.
.
30 minutes
.
.
.
Only after about an hour had passed could I sort out my thoughts.
"Sigh... Nothing will change even if I stay like this, what am I doing..."
After sorting out my thoughts, I picked up the vial and syringe still rolling on the floor.
"I'm originally a simple guy, so I should just keep it simple to the end."
I injected poison into my body again.
"...Gurgle?!!"
...Without even checking what the proper dose was.
.
.
.
After repeating death dozens of times like that, perhaps because I developed resistance to the poison, from some point on, I stopped dying and instead gasped in pain, fainted, or felt a slight electric current flowing through my body.
"The hours of suffering weren't for nothing..."
It's just an excuse, but from the middle, I realized through my body what the proper dose was, but I just injected more than the proper amount to quickly build resistance.
"My body still feels a bit tingly... but it should be fine."
Since evening was approaching, I took off my clothes soaked in sweat and fatigue.
"In fighting manga, they bite down on things and break their teeth or something, but now it's really happening."
To feel less pain, I randomly picked up things around me and bit down on them, and as a result, several teeth were broken and rolling on the floor.
"...It's really not something a person should do."
I checked if any teeth were missing or broken, then wiped off the sweat and blood with a damp cloth.
"It's about time for that guy to come now..."
After finishing all preparations, to move my tingling body a bit more, as if I had cramps all over, I added weight bands to my limbs.
"...It was a bit noisy, but was there any achievement?"
Preparing for the highly likely event, I even took my wallet and went down to the store, where Naza was sitting at the counter.
"I think I died about 30 times..."
When asked about the aftereffects of using the poison, I answered honestly.
"...Really? I prepared something relatively weak, but how much did you inject each time?"
"At first, not knowing anything, I filled about half..."
When I said I filled about half of the syringe, Naza smiled bitterly and rubbed her forehead.
"I marked the proper dose on the syringe, but you didn't see it... Fortunately, I gave you the smallest syringe, but that amount is already four times the lethal dose..."
"But after repeating it a few times, I started to feel what the proper dose was."
"...You can feel that?"
"It's hard to explain, it's in the realm of sensation... When I inject more than the allowable amount, my body seems to scream to stop?"
"Hmm... If it's that kind of feeling, it's ambiguous to explain in words..."
"But thanks to that, I've already developed some resistance."
As soon as I said I developed resistance, Naza made a surprised expression.
"...Already?"
"Not completely, just a tingling sensation in my body? Frankly, my body still feels a bit tingly."
"...How much did you inject the last time?"
"About one-third of the syringe you gave me."
"You injected that much and only showed initial symptoms of poisoning? Even with a skill, the adaptation speed is unbelievable..."
"Well, I used almost all of the vial you gave me."
"...You used a lot. I expected it to last at least three days if used properly."
"What... Isn't it good as long as it's good? We decided to experiment with making antibodies from my blood later."
"That's... true..."
While I was out wandering with Bell, God Miach persuaded Naza in various ways, and one of them was to extract antibodies from my blood that had developed resistance to a specific poison using my Adaptability skill.
"Whether this will work properly is still unknown, but just developing resistance is good for me."
When discussing with God what could be done using Adaptability, I recalled a documentary about extracting venom from snakes on Earth and mixing it with horse blood to create antibodies, so I asked God if this was feasible, and we said we'd experiment when the time came, and now that opportunity has arrived.
"Sigh... As a doctor and your senior, I want to give some warning, but I have nothing to say..."
"You say that, but senior, you're secretly expecting it, right?"
"Well, that can't be helped... What pharmacist wouldn't expect to possibly get antibodies for a specific poison?"
At Naza's honest answer, I smiled slightly and headed to the kitchen.
"There's still pot-au-feu left and plenty of other side dishes, so it should be fine to go out."
Confirming that I didn't need to make dinner, I left the kitchen.
"I'll eat out today, so please help yourselves."
"...Huh? You, eating out?"
"I met someone recently, and he said he'd treat me to dinner."
"...Then what about our meal?"
"There's still pot-au-feu made this morning, and there's plenty of bacon or sausage left."
"You made our tastes picky and have no responsibility..."
"Goodness... You're saying things that would cause misunderstandings without any hesitation."
This senior often teases me by mixing words that others can easily misunderstand, and sadly, I have no resistance to this kind of joke, so I'm not good at teasing back or such.
"If you're going somewhere, you should at least take responsibility..."
So, I was thinking trivial thoughts like 'How should I answer to avoid rumors?' when
"...Responsibility?"
A familiar female voice came from behind.
'Hmm... A familiar cool beauty type female voice... Surely not?'
In manga or novels, in such situations, there's usually a heroine when you turn around... For some reason, even though there was none, the gaze I felt from behind was very sharp.
'...It must be because of the remaining poison energy making it sharp, yes, that must be it.'
As I froze, denying reality, a white, delicate hand suddenly rested on my shoulder, and
'...Tap'
Just like that
'Crack...!'
It slowly started to exert force.
"Hyahhhak?!!"
"...Huh?"
Well... From her perspective, it might have been just a slight force, but for me, who was poisoned and feeling an electric current-like sensation all over my body, it was considerable pain.
"Ah, Ah, Amid-san... It's a misunderstanding, so first, loosen the grip a bit..."
After barely escaping from Amid? I cleared up the misunderstanding with Naza and had a conversation while waiting for Bell to arrive.
"...So, you're currently poisoned?"
"I injected it myself to build resistance to poison, so please don't have strange misunderstandings."
"Even if it's your own will, injecting poison into your own body is something hard for a healer to overlook."
"I already said that, but she didn't listen..."
Since I had no rebuttal to what the two were saying, I hurriedly changed the topic.
"Umm... Rather, Amid-san, what brings you here at this time?"
"I had some business nearby and was on my way back after finishing it."
"Ah, treating those people?"
"...How did you know?"
"I occasionally hear rumors. A small saint with silver-white hair healing sick people."
"Small..."
"Oh dear..."
But at the word "small," Amid's expression darkened, and she bowed her head, and
"...Huh?"
Feeling like I had become a sinner in an instant, sweating cold sweat, Naza hurriedly approached me and whispered in a very small voice.
"Despite her appearance, she has a complex about being short..."
For reference, Amid's height is 149cm, shorter than the average for a 19-year-old woman.
"How was I supposed to know that..."
I prayed in my heart for Bell to come quickly so I could escape this place, and
'Jingle!'
"Excuse me."
As if God answered my prayer, Bell immediately opened the store door and came in.
"Is there someone named Kai here..."
"Ooh! My savior!!"
"...Yes?"
"Ahaha! I'll be back after dinner!!"
I hurriedly grabbed Bell and rushed out of the store.
"...Thanks to you, I'm saved."
"Uh... That's good...?"
Bell, not understanding what was happening, started walking along the road.
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