And now a small interlude with our favorite doctor and archaeologist.
Chopper had explained the situation to Robin as Zoro had to him. The problem was that there was a serious deficiency in lust from the chastity bell and because of that Zoro would become a demon. They had to prevent him from becoming dangerous since he couldn't consume the energy he needed. Not to mention, a sexually deficient town didn't really help with the small population on the island, but that wasn't their immediate concern.
He had found the chastity bell plant in his books and found that it was not a plant suited to temperate climates of the island. It was from a dryer land, something closer to Alabasta's climate and grew more in small bushels rather than the tree that flaked constantly in the square. It didn't thrive on Libertine. The islanders had to devote a lot of time to the plants to make sure the soil wasn't too wet and that they were warm enough. It was a good plant to aid with sleep and was suggested as a tea for pleasant dreams. It was also listed as a medically proven anaphrodesiac, which Chopper had guessed before, but having it confirmed made him feel better.
Robin didn't have any books dedicated fully to mythologies or demons so they hit the library together. It wasn't a very large, which matched the town's small stature. Robin found history on Piety itself but Chopper did not find any books on demons in the medical section. He found humans and fishmen, but no paranormal entities. Doctorine had also never given him any books on demons. She'd only once mentioned that demons used to be blamed for sickness in place of true medical knowledge, but he wondered, since Zoro did have to exist on human energy, did it not hold some truth? Not that any of them had been consecutively sick once he had made sure Nami was healthy after Drum Island.
What Robin found was interesting but not particularly helpful. Piety had apparently been a very active alcove for a growing town with less than pure intentions. It was apparently a good harbor for sea traffic about 100 years ago and with such advances there were also businesses to cater to the masses; brothels, prostitutes, drugs, and so on. Just like many advancing towns. But then someone introduced the chastity bell and it was cultivated, being very popular as a sleep aid. The history claimed many things, such as it had ended rampant sicknesses, pregnancies out of wedlock, and even violence was eased with each successful plant to be sewn. That was perhaps why the plant was sacred there. But as Zoro had pointed out, no lust meant no children and within the last 100 years a thriving town of 1500 had dwindled to a third of the original and the town's progress had ground to a halt with lack of trading.
It WAS peaceful, Chopper agreed, and he supposed he should be happy that the town seemed to be in a flowery scented bubble, but some parts didn't sit right with him
All of their research required time. He and Robin poured through books for a few days, learning what they could on the subject of demons though history and Chopper was frustrated with the medical community for not having a single mention of things like Zoro. Unfortunately, what mythology had was not facts, but stories. Those stories fluctuated with each book and even the same story could have different details. Chopper liked his concrete facts, they let him know what to give a sick person. A broken bone needed to be set and given time to heal. A specific recipe of plants could be used for rashes or burns.
Robin suggested that they were looking at the situation too logically. Chopper wasn't sure how that was. After all, they were trying to find out how to keep Zoro from becoming a demon when he didn't have any lust for two weeks.
"Well the situation itself isn't very logical," Robin said as she sat at the library table where several books were open. Chopper sat next to her while skimming one of them. "We have a demon who enters dreams and takes lust; which shouldn't be a consumable good."
"Hm..." Chopper rubbed his chin and his brain was throbbing. "The only things the books say is how to get rid of demons, but we don't want to get rid of Zoro. I like him the way he is."
"Mr. Swordsman is very good the way he is," Robin agreed and with the wave of her hand, several others rose up and closed all the books on the table, causing Chopper to blink. "We can't learn anymore from these books. I think we have a better chance of asking the locals since they are so invested in our problematic plant."
Chopper agreed and was not going to protest a break since his eyes were so tired of reading. "I wonder if I could put Zoro into a drug induced sleep until we leave the island," He said, only half curious but really, he didn't have the equipment for that.
Robin informed him that the best place to start was with the elders of Piety. It really didn't take long for them to find a chatty old woman who had started sweeping the peddles from the town square to talk about the significance of the chastity bell to Piety.
"My grandmother was here long before the chastity bell," she said wistfully. "She didn't much like it because she was young and enjoyed the excitement that the harbor brought. She used to say it brought all sorts of rambunctious men and women like yourselves that made trouble." She gave a mild shrug. "Then again she also said there was a demon who lived in the mountain."
"Demon?" Chopper asked nervously.
"Yes, yes," the old woman confirmed. "She said it would come down at night and breed with the whores and the sinners. Then after the chastity bell, they say demons disguised as children turned into monsters and ran back to their father. So in the eyes of the town, it was purified."
"Sounds like a miraculous tale," Robin said and she nudged Chopper. "Didn't the captain run up the mountain?" Chopper thought for a moment and he jumped, gasping.
"He did! He hasn't come back yet." Chopper looked up at the slouching mountain, maybe trying for a moment to see if he could see Luffy trying to climb it, but he gave up immediately afterward. "That was days ago."
The old woman tisked. "I do hope he brought some chastity bell with him. The woods are dangerous without it."
"You don't say," Robin said conversationally.
"Yes, yes. Everyone in the town knows it. My mother raised me smart, I never go outside of town without a fresh branch of chastity bell. Many people who do come here now a days may wander off and they don't come back." Chopper made a worried sound but Robin patted the top of his hat.
"I'm sure Luffy is fine," Robin said confidently and Chopper agreed with a nod, if only because he thought Luffy could also be lost in the huge island forest. "Do you know what exactly is in the forest that makes it so dangerous?" Robin asked the old woman.
"I suppose it could be the demon children," she said airily, as though never doubting it's authenticity. "I never saw one myself in the woods." She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, I think the only things we've seen that are in these woods are the eyes that watch when we're picking wild herbs."
"We're rather curious about those creatures, actually," Robin mentioned. "But we couldn't find anything in the library about them."
"Oh, nothing?" The woman said. "I guess you wouldn't find anything there. But grandma told me a great deal about them. Even wrote about them. She was very into the occult at the time."
With a little prodding the old woman agreed to let them see. She seemed happy that young people were taking an interest in the world around them, most specifically at something a relative of hers made. At first it was slightly disappointing to Chopper. It was full of hand written poems describing a demon that invaded dreams that left one wanting and tired afterwards. Poems of paranormally charming people that were flesh and blood. Then some of monsters like vampires that leached the life from humans. But then they came across an odd thing, a recipe for a curse.
"An Incubus Curse." Robin read curiously, "'for that back stabbing Penny Gretchen'. How thoughtful." Chopper shivered, not thinking very highly of the peddle sweeping old woman's young grandmother.
"Creepy." Chopper was ready to move on but Robin pointed out the ingredients, which were mostly plants and some bark.
"Off the top of your head, do you know what these plants are, doctor?"
"Hm, let's see." Chopper eyed the list and saw they were actual plant names and not something such as 'eye of newt' or 'rat tail'. "Oh, ginseng, that's actually very good for you. Nutmeg is a spice. Maca root and Horny Goat Weed... None of these are poisonous. They're very good for blood flow and..." He paused. "Well, they ARE rumored to be aphrodisiacs."
"Well, maybe we shouldn't focus on stopping Mr. Swordsman from becoming a demon. Instead, we should focus on getting him fed," Robin suggested and Chopper smiled, glad to finally find something that would help their nakama.
"Something to combat the effects of the chastity bell," he realized. "Alright, let's do it. I have most of these at the ship."
They copied the list and thanked the old women for her time before Robin said, "How about we start brewing up a curse?"
"Can we not call it a curse?" Chopper asked. "I'd prefer it be called a super vitamin."