“Are you okay?”
“……This is……not something that people should drink…… Ugh……”
I smile bitterly at Theo, who took the medicine but is less energetic than before taking it. This medicine is very unpopular with patients. It tastes too bad.
However, healthy people should not drink it, so if it tastes bad, there is usually no mistake in drinking it. In a sense, it may be good that the taste has not been improved as it is.
“You understand very well. This is not something people drink. Because it’s something that people who are demonized drink.”
“……Will there be any effect if a monster drinks it?”
“In the first place, monsters won’t drink such a bad thing, and it’s impossible to make a monster without reason drink it.”
“Even monsters won’t drink it.”
No matter how favorably you look at it, it doesn’t look delicious, so even monsters avoid it. ……If a monster is about to eat me, will the monster run away if I put this on my head? I’m a little curious.
“That’s right. Grandpa. What about Mr. Alfie?”
I can see that he still has an appetite, but he’s perfectly turned into a mushroom. It’s a delicate line whether he will drink this bad medicine obediently. Even if you mix it with meals, it’s a presence that doesn’t feel like it’s mixed.
“If you pinch his nose, he’ll open his mouth.”
…It’s a demon.
But it’s necessary, so I think that’s the only way.
“No. If it’s Alfie, wouldn’t he drink it if you tell him to drink? If you told him it’s a meal, he would eat it himself.”
Theo, who seems to have felt bad about pinching his nose and forcing him to open his mouth, advised. Certainly, it’s troublesome if it enters the trachea and causes him to choke because of forcing him to open his mouth.
It’s a medicine that you take.
“You drank it too, didn’t you? Are you sure he can really drink it?”
The taste is something that even monsters can understand from one bite. I don’t want it to be spit out.
“I think Alfie can do it. I feel that this taste is about the same as the saint’s dish that Alfie normally eats.”
…Rather, what kind of handmade dishes does a saint who is not good at cooking show off to those around her? It’s the same as poison, to be honest, I’m scared, and Alfie who was eating it is too amazing.
“What kind of saint would cook something like poison? Never mind. For now, let’s try it. Hey, Alfie, it’s medicine. Drink it.”
My grandfather untied the rope that was tying Alfie and offered the medicine in front of him.
“Yes. Understood. Thank you very much.”
Unexpectedly, when Alfie returned the rational words, he put his mouth on the bowl with medicine without hesitation. I was worried that it would be so bad that he would blow it out or throw it out, but he swallowed it.
…Amazing.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“……You drank it well. You’ll get a little sleepy, so take a good rest.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
Alfie hugged the log like a pillow again and closed his eyes.
It’s really amazing to drink it all at once. I understand why it is said that being about to eat anything is a special skill.
“As Theo says, Alfie really isn’t picky.”
“Ah. That’s been the case since I met him at the temple.”
Have you always been the type of person who doesn’t like or dislike?
I honestly thought it was amazing, but my grandfather turned his pitiful and delicate face at Alfie.
“……I guess he’s hiding it, but he has a taste disorder. If you are his friend, be careful not to let him accidentally eat spoiled things.”
“Eh? Taste disorder?”
Theo rolled his eyes and tilted his head. And after looking at Alfie, he looked at my grandfather twice as if in a panic.
“Eh. No. But Alfie likes sweet cookies with nuts, and I thought he likes sweet things in general?”
“Taste disorder does not mean people have no sense of taste. It refers to things that have caused taste abnormalities from the environment, mental pain, injuries, etc. And sometimes it’s not that you don’t know all the flavors, but only a part of it, such as not knowing the salty taste. That’s what it is to drink that poison calmly. Even if the taste disappears, they know the texture, so some people prefer things like nuts.”
The moment he heard those words, Theo looked more shocked than ever. He looked at Alfie with a pale face.
“Alfie… do you have a taste disorder?”
“Hmm? I wonder if it’s like that?”
Alfie, who answers with a half-sleeping voice, doesn’t seem to notice and feel awkward.
“If that’s the case… I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay? Because it’s good to be able to eat anything. ……Theo, I’m sorry. I’m sleepy.”
“Ah. I’m sorry to wake you up.”
Theo was very depressed when he saw Alfie, who started to breathe easily.
In this situation, maybe Alfie doesn’t even realize that he has a taste disorder.
“……What kind of background does he have?”
“I also want to know more about it… I heard that he was originally an orphan abandoned in front of the temple. And by the time I met him, he was eating anything. Even if it’s a dish that failed.”
He said Alfie was processing the hellish food made by the saint. At what point did you lose your sense of taste?
And orphans are in a very weak position.
He may have lost it quite early to protect himself because he was weak. If you live in a world without a sense of taste from the beginning, it’s hard to realize that you have a taste disorder.
“I didn’t notice at all.”
“If you don’t have the knowledge, and if that’s been the case for a long time, you wouldn’t have noticed it, and it’s not your fault he lost his sense of taste. People often hurt others without knowing it. After you know it, you can take better care of him.”
Although grandfather is cold to Theo, he comforts Theo, probably because of his terrible depression.
“I think so too. Mr. Theo is kind enough to help Alfie collect the materials he asked for, so I think Alfie will be troubled if you care too much.”
It may be bullying to feed people with taste disorders food that is like poison, but I know that he was properly giving and taking care of what he liked.
I don’t know if Alfie was hiding it or if he didn’t really know his medical condition, but I don’t think he wants Theo to get hurt. Being able to sleep peacefully next to you like this is proof that he forgives him in his heart.
“That’s right. You just took the medicine, so if you take off your clothes again and show me the magic manufacturing organ before taking the medicine tomorrow-”
Pashin.
My grandfather grabbed a bundle of paper that was nearby and hit me on the head.
“Grandpa, it hurts.”
“Are you a pervert? I’ll look at it, so don’t pretend to take off a man’s clothes.”
“But Theo took it off before, didn’t he?”
It was getting dark, so I don’t think you have to hit me because I was trying to change the topic.
Besides, I also talked about the reason why I wanted to see it the other day, so isn’t my grandfather a little too inflexible?
“It’s different from actually seeing it with your own eyes and reading it as knowledge in writing, and you may get new awareness by actually seeing it. That’s why there is a practice of autopsy in the magic class.”
“Eh?”
Theo looked surprised by the word autopsy.
We don’t openly talk about dissection, so maybe he didn’t know.
“Of course it’s not the human body, right? If there is a specimen, some teachers will dissect it and show it to you.”
If I had such an opportunity, of course I would have participated. But unfortunately, I didn’t have it when I was in school, and I learned the human body structure that was dissected by pictures.
“Maybe you want to dissect me too?”
“I won’t. As expected. I’m curious, but it’s more important to follow up as the demonization heals.”
I think whether you want to dissect or not depends on what you are aiming for. Personally, I want to dissect a monster a little. Because then you might know why it’s irreversible.
“Oh, I-I see. Good. I don’t mind showing my nakedness if it’s necessary for Amelia.”
“Thank you, Mr. Theo. But when I want to do something, I often can’t see my surroundings, so if there’s anything you don’t like, please refuse it clearly.”
“Ah. I will do that. For the time being, I don’t want you to do an autopsy.”
I replied with a smile that I understood to Theo who had a troubled face. I would be satisfied if you could actually show me the changes in the magical manufacturing organs.
My grandfather looked at us with disgusted eyes and sighed.
I think her grandfather should just give up at this point.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!
