Let This Grieving Soul Retire! Volume 8, page 17
As I stood there, the figure shoved a metal water bottle at me, then climbed over the stair railing and jumped down. I froze for a moment, then frantically peered over the railing. The figure was already gone.
Was that some sort of aberration? This place is scary. I’m never coming here again.
“What is that?” Sitri asked.
“Beats me,” I said.
If Liz were here, she totally would’ve caught that person, though whether or not that would have been a good thing was a different matter.
Seeing the glimmer in her eyes, I handed Sitri the water bottle. Cautiously, she opened the lid. I waited a few moments. She didn’t say anything, and it didn’t seem like it was dangerous, so I peeked inside.
Sifting around inside was an opaque liquid the color of strawberry milk. In fact, the smell suggested that it was strawberry milk. I liked strawberry milk. I drank it regularly and always had some in my refrigerator. But this guy had just suddenly appeared and handed me a bottle of it before running off. Maybe he really was an aberration?
Even my sense of caution was developed enough to tell me not to drink milk received from a stranger. I was at a total loss when suddenly I noticed Sitri was still holding the bottle silently. I poked her shoulder, which seemed to bring her back to her senses.
“This color, this scent,” she said, her cheeks flushed, voice intense. “Could this be the legendary potion, sealed away for its power and the danger it poses? Could this be Strawberry Blaze? I can’t believe it. Supposedly, it was all destroyed? To think some still existed!”
“Ohhh. So it’s something special?”
It has “strawberry” in the name, so this is just strawberry milk, right?
It was unexpected, but it wasn’t impossible for a talented Alchemist to make jokes regarding potions. Taking even more care than usual, Sitri gingerly replaced the cap. I didn’t really get it, but it was nice that we got something valuable. However, that naive thought was followed by some bewildering info.
“It is special!” Sitri told me in a trembling voice. “It’s a peerless, extraordinary thrall potion! One drop is enough to entrap a person’s body and heart. It’s brought three nations to ruin. The Alchemist who made it, their family, and the production method were all supposedly wiped from existence, but despite all odds, some still exist.”
“So it’s something special?”
“If it’s real. If we reconstruct the production methods, world domination might be feasible. Until now, nobody’s managed to replicate such a confounding effect, but if we have a sample—”
“Yeah, uh-huh.”
Out of excitement, Sitri spoke in quieter tones than usual, but her face was brimming with joy. I took the bottle from her embrace, eliciting a look of momentary shock from her.
“Krai,” she said in a sweet voice, “I’ll get my reward this time, right?”
“Yeah, uh-huh. Later.”
“Yay!”
Sitri clung to my arm and rubbed her cheek against me. I nodded along and patted her head.
I definitely can’t give this to her. I’ll get rid of it later.
Apparently, while Lucia was being detained by Killiam, Seyge had passed by and ordered her to wait at the bottom. When we got there, we found Killiam sitting with his legs folded beneath him, and Lucia standing around in a bad mood.
Outside, dozens of Magi were gathering up the fallen ashes. Sitri looked like she might wander off in their direction, so I grabbed her by the arm. It seemed she hadn’t fully recovered from the magic circle.
No. Looking at me with upturned eyes won’t change anything.
As we walked, Lucia told me about the situation. She told me new things while looking like she expected me to already know them.
“Honestly, what a godforsaken mess. The imperial capital isn’t your toybox, you know?! Everyone keeps asking me—”
“W-Well, everything’s resolved smoothly enough, so I think it’s fine.”
“Augh!”
I was breaking out in a cold sweat, but maybe it was a little late for that. It sounded like the source of the Black World Tree was the staff from the Sword Saint. It hadn’t even been activated, yet it started absorbing mana and grew into something massive.
In other words, what Seyge had said was right.
But this wasn’t my fault. It was the Sword Saint’s. Sure, I felt bad about all the headaches Luke caused him, but that didn’t mean this was an okay way to get revenge. Honestly, that guy really was something else.
Sitri was supposed to be as ignorant of the situation as I was, yet she clapped her hands with a knowing look on her face.
“I see,” she said. “That explains why Professor Seyge pulled back. Even this academy wouldn’t want to start a fight with the Sword Saint and his cohorts.”
“Hmm, so one monster saved us from another?”
“Goodness, would you two stop acting like this has nothing to do with you?!”
It just didn’t feel at all real. Looking back on it, this had been an incredibly strange series of events. I had planned to take it easy in the imperial capital for a bit, but then it turned out the sword from Eliza was a Devil Sword? And I gave that away, then got a staff in exchange, which then turned out to be something dangerous? And now, for some reason, a dangerous potion had ended up in my hands.
“That reminds me,” I said, “was there some reason that tree was so focused on that one tower?”
“Unlikely,” Lucia replied. “That tree was just drawn to powerful mana, and a cursory search didn’t find anything. But all laboratories have secrets, and as I understand it, it’s possible something could’ve been smuggled out.”
“Oh. See, Krai, sometimes mysterious things happen,” Sitri said with a broad grin.
It looks like you have something to say.
“Huh?!” Lucia also looked like she had something to say. “Brother?”
There was nothing I could say. The only thing I had gained today was knowledge that Lucia was a popular girl.
My Sounding Stone vibrated. As always, it had terrible timing. Did Franz know this mess was my fault? Well, it wasn’t my fault, it was, if anyone’s, the Sword Saint’s. But everything had been resolved smoothly. There wouldn’t be any more curse troubles. Even I wouldn’t step on a land mine once I knew they were ahead of me! And what even was a “thrall potion”?!
With a small sigh, I activated the Sounding Stone. The first thing I heard was Franz’s yelling.
“Thousand Tricks! I heard what happened!”
“Oh. You know about that? Don’t worry, we won’t have any more curses or whatever giving us trouble.”
“Hey, one mome—”
“I’m busy now, so I’m cutting it here. Later.”
I looked down at the Sounding Stone. I waited for a moment, but it didn’t vibrate again. I guess he gave up.
I’m sorry, Franz. I’m just a bit tired. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure there’s no more trouble.
“Sitri, you’re in an awfully good mood,” I said.
“Well, of course I am,” she replied. “It’s my turn next!”
Even from a sideways glance, I could tell how high her spirits were. She was twirling around with each step.
I’m afraid you won’t get a turn. You’re my best friend, I owe you lots of money, and I don’t want to make you sad, so there’s nothing I can do.
“You’re going to come with me to apologize later!” Lucia said.
“Yeah, I know. You’ve done a lot for me, and as your brother, I need to have my act together! I’m your brother and all!”
“That’s right.”
After all, being her brother had pulled me out of the fire.
But at the moment, I had to worry about Sitri. If I didn’t deal with this potion matter very carefully, I’d have to do a lot more than just kowtow. Forgetting to do things I had meant to do was a very bad habit of mine.
I walked into my office. Even though it was off-limits to hunters, Lucia and Sitri followed me in as though it was perfectly natural.
Without actually saying anything, Sitri implored me to hand over the potion. Lucia had probably followed us with a malcontent look because she had sensed something was up with Sitri. Our Alchemist was intent on badgering me until I gave her the bottle. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to win in a battle of wills against her. I’d figure that I could trust my dear friend and hand her the potion.
But I still hadn’t forgotten how she had clung to me while pretending to sleep.
“Wait here a moment,” I said.
Let’s deal with this before I forget.
I made them wait in my office while I pressed the mechanism and headed for my private quarters. This was a space designed so I could live in comfortable seclusion. There was, of course, my Relic collection and my bed, but there was also a refrigerator, toilet, bathtub, and sink, all hooked up to plumbing.
With a long stretch, I entered my private space and placed the potion on the desk. Then my eyes fell on the fridge next to my bed. I opened it and pulled out a bottle of strawberry milk. The almost-expired cake had been given to me, but the milk was something I had bought covertly, because my sweet tooth was a secret.
I poured a glass of it and returned the bottle, then compared it with the eerily named potion on the desk. As expected, the two hues were identical, and so were their scents. Could this really be such a dangerous potion? I found it pretty hard to believe. This thing was apparently called “Strawberry Blaze,” which I guess was because it smelled like strawberries. There sure were a bunch of odd potions out there.
Experimentally, I brought the water bottle close to my lips, but then one of the rings I was wearing started to heat up. It was Red Alert, a ring that could detect approaching danger. It couldn’t have been reacting to the milk, which meant the potion was clearly hazardous.
I didn’t think Sitri would use it for evil, but it still was a dreadful potion that had destroyed a few nations. It was too risky to give it to Bad Sitri.
Sorry, but the Thousand Tricks is going to learn from those who came before and ditch this potion.
Without hesitating, I dumped it down the sink. The liquid that looked and smelled just like strawberry milk swirled around as it went down the drain. Just to be sure the potion would never come into contact with my skin, I filled the bottle with water and rinsed it thoroughly.
What a relief. Zebrudia had been saved. All I had to do was apologize to Sitri. The only thing I had done was dispose of a potion, but I had the sense of a job complete.
I stared at the metal water bottle. I thought for a moment. My eyes darted between the strawberry milk on the table and the water bottle. Nonchalantly, I picked up the cup and carefully poured its contents into the freshly washed metal bottle.
I did a double-check and saw that the liquid rocking around the bottle was indistinguishable from the stuff I had just gotten rid of. The only difference was that the Relic on my finger wasn’t giving me any warnings. What sort of potion was identical to strawberry milk?
As I stood there, Lucia and Sitri came down, probably tired of waiting for me.
“Krai, are you not done yet? Hm?! Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Ah, this is, uhhh—”
Sitri dashed up to me when she saw the cup and water bottle in my hands. When she noticed the contents of the water bottle and the traces of strawberry milk in the cup, she looked at me with horror.
“There’s a bit less. D-Don’t tell me. Did you drink some?!”
“No—”
“This is bad. We need to make an antidote, and quickly. You drank so much of it undiluted. Worst-case scenario, you could end up a puppet of flesh, only capable of taking orders—”
“Huh?! Siddy, what was that?!”
Sitri was losing control. The blood had drained from her already pale skin, and tears were welling up in her eyes. Panicking, she was almost cross-eyed. If someone as calm and composed as she was losing it, the potion must have been crazier than I had realized.
Sitri grabbed the water bottle from my hands and said to Lucia in a fretful voice, “I-I’m going out! I’ll do whatever I can to make an antidote! Lucy, look after Krai!”
“Ah, wai—”
Before anyone could stop her, Sitri flew up the stairs. I didn’t even get the chance to say anything. All I had been able to say was “Ah, this is uhhh” and “No.” In those days, Sitri was organized, but you’d be surprised how scatterbrained she had once been. I guess that part of her hadn’t actually been fixed, just subdued.
Lucia was looking around wildly. With her lack of information, I couldn’t blame her for finding this incomprehensible.
“I told her I didn’t drink it.”
“Mm-mmm. Brother, do you feel all right?”
Now that you mention it, I feel a little weary. So yeah, nothing out of the ordinary.
I went to the refrigerator and poured myself a cold glass of strawberry milk. I gave my ring a cursory check to make sure it was safe, then took a drink. The sweet scent of strawberries mingled with the aroma of the rich milk. This was it. This was strawberry milk. But how had a pro like Sitri been fooled?
“She’s off to make an antidote for strawberry milk,” I said.
For a moment, Lucia looked at me silently, her gaze turning just as icy as her professor’s.
“Perhaps we should go after her?” she said.
***
On the outskirts of the imperial capital was the decaying district, Zebrudia’s most crime-ridden sector. On the border between there and the central district, there was a shady shop, and inside, Hugh Regland of the Zero Order was arguing with the shopkeeper. The interior was filled with a varied assortment of items, including armor, firearms, and even dubious medicines.
Zebrudia was the most prosperous of its neighbors, and wares of all sorts gathered in its capital. Taking a look through any of the shops near the decaying district was bound to reveal an item or two of contraband. Though there were crackdowns, it was hard to prevent the circulation entirely.
“This shop doesn’t deal in things like cursed items! As you’re aware, sir knight, it’s illegal to knowingly sell such malign baubles.”
“Indeed, but you must have a few items hidden under the counter, no? If you show me immediately, I’ll show lenience. I’m allowed to turn this shop upside down, you know? Hm. I’m sure there are plenty of violations just waiting to be found.”
Seeing the knight brazenly lean over the counter caused the gruff shopkeeper and some of the shady customers to grow pale. In Zebrudia, the knights had plenty of authority to crack down on criminals, treasure hunters, and dangerous Relics. Though they rarely did, they were permitted to investigate shops, even without solid evidence. On top of this, there was the justification of the Divinarium’s prophecy.
But the shopkeeper just rapidly shook his head in response to Hugh’s intimidation.
“I-I’m not lying, sir. If we handled cursed items, I might end up getting hexed myself. I’d have to be insane to deal with something like that, or even let it into my shop. The other shops are the same.” The shopkeeper chuckled to himself. “Well, it’s possible one might end up here without me knowing—”
Detecting a hint of truth in the man’s coaxing gaze, Hugh clicked his tongue.
“Tsk.”
This was the problem. Cursed items were generally indiscriminate. The Devil Sword found by the Thousand Tricks had been able to eat into even the disciples of the Sword Saint. While none of them had died, that was because they were excellent Swordsmen. Most people couldn’t endure being used by a cursed item. Once a cursed item lost a bearer, the next would likely be someone who didn’t know any better.
Hugh had already been to five shops, and they had all given him the same response. He didn’t know how that Devil Sword had reached the hands of the Thousand Tricks, but this request was quite a burden.
Exiting the shop, Hugh saw another with a gloomy atmosphere. He furrowed his brow. The proper shops had already been checked by other knights. The ones that skirted the law had also been looked into. This meant that any further searching would require contact with the sorts of scoundrels that were avoided even in the decaying district.
The decaying district was effectively becoming a land of its own laws, a wellspring of evil. The Third Order had repeatedly tried and failed to overwhelm the chaos-ridden pit. Former high-level ghost hunters, criminal organizations, and magic syndicates all had bases of operations in the district, and the labyrinthine streets remained unmapped. Not only did the criminals have the surface, but it was said they also controlled the sewers.
Hugh didn’t think of himself as incompetent, but neither did he think he would get anywhere by directly barging in. This investigation was going to require him to shed that armor he was so proud of.
Captain Franz probably hadn’t anticipated this when he ordered Hugh to cooperate with the Thousand Tricks in the name of obtaining information. However, this was most likely what it would take to grab the hunter’s attention.
Hugh found it hard to believe the Thousand Tricks would make him his apprentice either way, but he figured he might be able to see something interesting. He might glimpse the depths of the power that a Level 8 commanded, that which Hugh coveted.
He smiled. Even with adversity further down the road, Hugh Regland pressed onward.
***
A core tenet of Alchemy was that if the conditions were the same, the results would be too, no matter the Alchemist.
The right disposition was necessary to become a good Magus; the quality and quantity of their mana affected which spells they could use, as well as their power. Alchemy was different. Considered to be a melding of science and magic, the unending trial and error by legions of average Alchemists and a handful of geniuses had slowly but surely developed the field.
Lacking the high adaptability and power to break out of danger, Alchemy was a bad choice for hunters, causing Alchemists to be gravely overlooked. But its history stretched back far, and it was no stretch to say that Alchemy had built the foundations of modern society.
