If You Devour Poison / Doku wo Kurawaba Sara Made

Chapter 8: The Second Accomplice

“This is a medicine I got through a certain contact of mine. While I do not know of its official name, it is called Suimo. In exchange for strong pain-relief and euphoric hallucinations, it is a highly addictive drug, almost a narcotic.”

To think that he even managed to get his hands on the real thing.
I secretly praised Morino in my heart.
That’s right. Suimo was one of the secrets of Head Priest Malacia.
Within [The Dragon and the Sacrificial Priestess] that Nasha was the heroine of, the greatest secret of the hidden capture target, Head Priest Malacia, was the cultivation of the flower [Dragon Sleep], the main ingredient of that narcotic drug.
Malacia’s scenario was a branch route unlocked after capturing the Knight Commander’s son, Lutora. It was the direct opposite of the Crown Prince’s classic capture route. It shone a spotlight on the hidden darkness of the Kingdom and unveiled a degenerate, depraved story. Malacia himself was born of a prostitute in the slums. An abandoned son of unknown lineage who did anything he could to survive. Anything he could make use of, he did, deposing others before he could be killed. After living through such a childhood, Malacia awoke his healing ability and was picked up by the church. There, he greedily absorbed knowledge, climbing to the position of Head Priest.
Having achieved authority, Malacia took over the management of Dragon Sleep, cultivated in secret by generations of Head Priests. With the help of Prime Minister Anderheim, he distributed the drug refined from Dragon Sleep to other countries, padding his coffers.
If the heroine entered the Head Priest’s route, in the bad end, the heroine would become addicted to the drug at Malacia’s hand. Even in the good ending, Malacia would spread the drug within Palcemith’s Capital, bringing about great chaos. The story ends with him fleeing the country, accompanied by (or followed by) the heroine. It was an ending that couldn’t be called satisfying.
And that Suimo was the very reason for the short lives of generations of Dragon Priestesses.
To those ladies of nobility or royalty, their lives as decorations in the church were simply unexciting and boring. Even if it increased their standing in society, they could not leave freely, nor could they meet anyone without prior notice. As it was considered a holy job, even their food consisted of mainly vegetarian dishes. To those young ladies, raised being able to do anything they wanted, they couldn’t endure for long.
That would be when the Head Priest would whisper in their ear. That there was a drug that could bring them pleasure.
Attracted by those words, the young Dragon Priestesses would become addicted to the ecstasy brought about by the drug, quickly becoming heavy addicts. After that, it was a matter of waiting for a suitable moment to withhold the drug, until the Dragon Priestesses sent for money from their family home.
And thus, the Dragon Priestesses’ bodies were deeply ruined by the drug, even if they quit being Dragon Priestesses, they would die one by one.
That was the truth behind the early deaths of the Dragon Priestesses.
By the way, Julieta’s engagement with the Crown Prince had been confirmed by the time she assumed the position of Dragon Priestess. In consideration of the Crown Prince’s future offspring, Prime Minister Anderheim forbade offering Suimo to Julieta. In any case, Julieta was only seven at that time, should she have taken Suimo, she would have immediately died.
Dragon Sleep was originally classified as a type of waterweed. Only the flowers that managed to bloom, watered using nothing other than the water of the underground lake the Ancient Dragon Kharis was submerged in and never having seen sunlight, could be used as the main ingredient for Suimo. While the effects were amazing, it was a rare drug with scarce production numbers.
As it was such a precious commodity, it had never been used on anyone apart from the Dragon Priestesses. However, a few years after Julieta became Dragon Priestess, Malacia became Head Priest and joined hands with Prime Minister Anderheim. As the drug was not being taken by the Dragon Priestess Julieta, there was an excess of Suimo, which was then smuggled out the country and sold at high prices.
Morino managed to trace their steps and somehow managed to confiscate the actual drug.