The Banquet
Satou here. There’s an old Japanese saying, “craft brings nothing home,” and I think that holds true even today. For instance, in online strategy games, self-proclaimed “tacticians” tend to fall into traps more easily than newbies who don’t know anything about the theories of the game.
“You bought a house, I’m told.”
“Yes, a place that I happened to have some connection to was on the market, so I decided to purchase it.”
The next morning after we bought the house, Viscount Siemmen brought me along in a carriage to visit the general of the labyrinth army and thank him for preparing troops to rescue me.
“Have you already hired help?”
“Not yet. We’ll be spending a lot of time away from the house. I’d like to at least hire someone to watch the place while we’re gone.”
“Then I have a vassal who might be perfect for you. I’ll introduce you before the banquet tonight.”
“Thank you very much. That would be a great help.”
“If you don’t get a good impression, feel free to decline.”
If I hired the wrong person, the viscount said, they might steal my things or misuse my house or other such things.
Oh right. I should talk to him about those scrolls before I forget.
“I apologize for bringing this up while we’re traveling in a carriage, but…”
I offered Viscount Siemmen some papers containing the chant for Pixie Light, the firefly spell I’d come up with by combining Magic String and Mana Light.
“I cannot read spells, but judging by the confidence on your face, I have no doubt that this one is very fine indeed.” Viscount Siemmen smiled at me. “Are you suggesting the same conditions of sale as the Fireworks spell? If this sells as well as that one, you’d be better off asking for a commission fee, in my opinion…”
“No, the same conditions as before are fine.”
I already had more money than I knew what to do with, and this was my way of thanking the viscount for helping me out in so many ways, so that was enough for me.
While I was at it, I also requested that he make scrolls of two of the spells I made during our travels on the sugar route and three that I thought would be useful for exploring the labyrinth.
As we were discussing these things, the carriage reached the labyrinth army general’s garrison.
“Put that mithril sword from Elder Dohal on your waist.”
As he spoke, Viscount Siemmen put a thin sword in a delicately carved scabbard around his waist.
According to my AR display, it was the Magic Sword Akatsuki I’d sold at the black market in the old capital.
I didn’t know he was the person who had bought it. How nice.
“General Erthal tends to look down upon anyone who is not a fellow warrior.”
In the back of my mind, I pictured a muscular meathead guffawing around.
Just then, an officer appeared to guide us, along with several underlings.
“Oh? Hello again, young master.”
The guide was the foxfolk soldier who we’d met at the labyrinth entrance.
“You know each other?”
“Yes, he was kind enough to educate me about many things when I first entered the labyrinth.”
The foxfolk man led us to General Erthal’s office, with some young underlings carrying the gifts we’d brought.
And when we entered the room…
“Welcome. I am Honorary Count Arueton Erthal, the commander of the labyrinth army.”
General Erthal was indeed a muscular, middle-aged man, but I couldn’t see him guffawing. He looked more like an arrogant noble with the kind of hook nose you’d see in a painting of a Roman military officer.
“Thank you for your assistance a few days ago, General Erthal.”
“Not at all. If you consider us even for your having indulged that selfish nephew of mine, that is more than enough for me.”
“I do wish Duke Vistall would stop this foolish rivalry with the Ougoch Duchy.”
“Impossible. Putting on such airs is a noble’s birthright.”
I had no idea what they were talking about, but it seemed to me like Viscount Siemmen and General Erthal were good friends.
Next, at Viscount Siemmen’s prompting, I introduced myself and gave my thanks as well, to which General Erthal responded with a smile.
“So you are Sir Pendragon, eh? The viscount says you are a living legend who carries the future of the Shiga Kingdom on your shoulders.”
I couldn’t help freezing up a little.
I don’t remember agreeing to carry anything like that…
“Indeed. It is thanks to him that the Muno Barony was saved from becoming a hotbed of demons, and he defeated lesser hell demons in Gururian City and the old capital with shockingly few casualties.”
Viscount Siemmen listed my achievements for General Erthal.
Which one was he talking about in the old capital? The one I beat at the Tenion Temple, maybe?
“His individual strength, as well as that of his party, is on par with any order of knights.”
Stop killing me with flattery, please. My poor “Poker Face” can only take so much.
“And he excels at the magical arts as well as in battle. He has developed many new spells, even Fireworks, a dazzling spell that delights all who witness it.”
“Oh? So this is the fellow who created that Fireworks spell, eh?”
General Erthal seemed to be taking the bait.
Were the Fireworks scrolls popular in Labyrinth City now, too?
“Why, thanks to his cooking and overall character serving as a balm on our people, the clashes between our political factions in my lord’s territory have simmered down. One hardly ever hears of assassinations and other such violence.”
Wait, I’m a balm now?
If there were assassinations in the peaceful duchy, maybe it had something to do with the demon lord–worshipping cult Wings of Freedom?
“If cooking is enough to change such things, I would have him do something about Marquis Ashinen, too.”
“You might be surprised. He even repaired the friendship between Marquis Lloyd and Count Hohen.”
“What?! Those two? But they fought like cats and dogs!”
I had heard rumors that the gourmet-loving noble pair hadn’t gotten along well before, too.
As long as I’d personally known them, they’d seemed like the closest of friends, so it didn’t make much sense to me.
“By the by, is that the Magic Sword I asked about? Let me see it at once.”
“You may look but nothing more. It’s on loan from His Majesty the duke, after all.”
“Yes, I know.”
General Erthal drew the Magic Sword Akatsuki with the expression of a child who’d received a new toy.
“What a beautiful sword.”
It was a blue steel blade, plated with mithril. If I remembered right, I’d made it while messing around with my “Metalworking” skill.
“Is it a mithril blade?”
“No, according to Sir Ipasa, it lacks the unique weight variation of a mithril sword.”
“Just plating, then…”
That was a name I hadn’t heard in a while. Sir Ipasa was Marquis Lloyd’s son, an imperial knight of the Ougoch Duchy whom I’d befriended in our travels from the Muno Barony to the old capital.
“…This is incredible. I’ve never seen a magic blade that produces ‘Spellblade’ so easily.”
General Erthal produced a red light around the Magic Sword.
“I should love to fight even one strong monster with such a wonderful sword as this…”
“My apologies, but I’m afraid I don’t have the authority to permit that. You’ll have to ask Duke Ougoch directly at the kingdom meeting on the dawn of the new year.”
General Erthal’s face fell at Viscount Siemmen’s words.
“Our factions are different, after all. I suppose I shall have to give up… Hmm? Sir Pendragon, is that sword of Elder Dohal’s make?”
When his eyes fell on the fairy sword at my waist, the spark of excitement reappeared in his eyes.
“Yes, it is a mithril sword Elder Dohal was generous enough to forge for me.”
Since Trazayuya seemed to be a famous name in Labyrinth City, I decided not to mention that the sword was called the Fairy Sword Trazayuya.
He clearly wanted to touch the fairy sword, so I handed it over to the general.
“Oh-ho, a fine sword worthy of Elder Dohal’s seal. And a beautiful one, at that. It might even surpass that Magic Sword.”
The general produced “Spellblade” on the fairy sword and gave it a light swing.
“However, a mithril sword chooses its wielder.”
As he said that, I noticed that General Erthal’s sword was also a mithril sword made by Elder Dohal, even if it didn’t have his seal.
“A mithril blade is light without magic, but if one lacks the strength, it is impossible to swing it while putting enough magic into it to produce ‘Spellblade.’ And it gets heavier when it is supplied with more magic, so it is quite difficult to use.”
That made sense. Even with my “One-Handed Sword” skill maxed out, it took a while to get used to using my fairy sword.
“In the hands of a master swordsman who can use a mithril blade properly, this sword would likely be stronger than the other.”
With that, General Erthal put the fairy sword back in its sheath.
“However, if one can use ‘Spellblade,’ the Magic Sword would be the better choice. Its magic circuits are almost too perfect. I would recommend such a sword for anyone. If we had such a blade in large quantities, the Shiga Kingdom could fight even a demon lord’s army.”
I was grateful for the compliment to my sword, but I wished he wouldn’t say such ominous things. What if a demon lord’s army really did attack?
Although that was probably unlikely, since I defeated the Golden Boar Lord under the old capital, so another demon lord shouldn’t appear for sixty-six years.
“Have I displeased you? If you have the skills to wield this mithril sword, then you would be more than a match for the duke’s Magic Sword. You’ll have to study hard.”
“I will. Thank you for the advice.”
Finally, the general added, “Lesser men would be sorely tempted to steal such a sword. Be careful not to let too many people see it.”
Just as he was handing my fairy sword back to me, the door opened without even a knock.
“We brought you some food, General.”
“It’s from the gifts the viscount brought you.”
The foxfolk soldier and the man he’d called “Captain” in the labyrinth entered. Surprisingly, the captain seemed to be the number-two man in the labyrinth army.
The plate was filled with some of the snacks I’d brought to go with the sweet wine.
Behind them, I saw underlings pushing wagons loaded with food and casks. Judging by the fact that they’d prepared enough for everyone, they seemed fully intent on drinking in the middle of the day.
“…You two, eh?”
“I’m the poison tester, so I have to taste everything first.”
“Don’t you have the ‘Analyze’ skill? Just looking at my cup should be plenty.”
“Not a chance, Captain!”
These two were as entertaining as ever.
“Very well. We can’t well drink all those casks with just the three of us here anyway. You two can join us if you’ll stop the comedy act.”
At that, the captain and the foxfolk officer looked so happy, they almost flung their plates in the air.
I guess General Erthal was friendlier than he looked.
“This must be Zetts County red wine and this Eluette Marquisate fruit wine. But what is this clear liquor here?”
“I don’t know, either. It’s a gift from Sir Pendragon.”
Both of the men turned to look at me.
“It’s rum from the Lalagi Kingdom called Paradise and liqueur from the Ishrallie Kingdom called Calm Seas. Both have a light sweetness and are easy to drink—”
“Paradise from Lalagi, you say?”
General Erthal jumped up in surprise, then picked up the bottle of Paradise rum.
Somehow, it vividly reminded me of events that happened in the Kingdom of Sorcery Lalagi.
“But it is said that this liquor never leaves the Lalagi Kingdom.”
I could understand why people would think that.
The Kingdom of Sorcery was practically a gathering of alcohol-loving nobles, so they probably refused to export good liquor.
“The Ishrallie Kingdom is famous for the Heaven’s Teardrop gems, but I’ve never seen this liquor before. And this red wine is in a different bottle—is it not also from Zetts County?”
“No, that’s called ‘fairy wine’…”
“What?! The drink of the elves that the guildmaster is always bragging about?!”
Guildmaster? The head of the explorers’ guild, perhaps? Fairy wine must not be as rare in Labyrinth City as it is in Lalagi.
When Viscount Siemmen looked envious, I whispered to him that I would send him some of the same later.
“Now then, a toast to our friendship, Sir Pendragon and Viscount Siemmen!”
General Erthal’s toast launched something of a drinking party.
The captain and the foxfolk officer joined in, too, of course.
“Okay, no poison in this one.”
“You didn’t really need to drink it to figure that out, did you?”
“That’s not true, Captain. Even ‘Analyze’ isn’t perfect, you know.”
The foxfolk man was right: If you used a recognition-inhibiting item higher than the observer’s “Analyze” skill, the latter wouldn’t work.
“It’s even mentioned in the tales of the great ancestral king. When King Sharik the Second took over the throne and the ancestral king traveled the world, there was word of a mysterious skill that even the original Yamato stone couldn’t identify.”
“That’s just made-up nonsense that some writer added on later.”
The captain smacked the foxfolk officer on the head. Talk about workplace harassment.
However, the foxfolk man just kept talking. What a tough guy.
“What about the green greater hell demon that appears in history books, then? He fooled a Yamato stone and infiltrated the ancestral king’s army, then made an assassination attempt, didn’t he?”
“I’ve heard about that one. But the ancestral king saw through him, right?”
The phrase “green greater hell demon” made me think of the green-clad noble who said “indeed” a lot—Counselor Poputema—but my AR display said he was human.
If the ancestral king Yamato, who was a hero, could see through it, then surely my Menu and “Search Entire Map” couldn’t be fooled, since they picked up information even Arisa’s “Analyze” skill didn’t.
Unless Yamato figured it out using something other than the “Analyze” skill, of course.
I doubted that anyone, legendary king or no, would have such a convenient, omnipotent skill short of a manga or light novel protagonist.
“Hmm. I thought I’d tasted all the delicacies of this world, but this is truly delicious.”
General Erthal complimented the food I brought.
To go with the sweet wine, I’d made all sorts of canapés, three varieties of deep-fried gyoza, and of course pizza and fried orange chicken.
Not many people were eating the pizza, probably because it was unfamiliar to them, but the fried foods and canapés were rapidly disappearing.
“I’ve never seen such golden food.”
“It’s known as ‘fried gyoza.’ Try it with this sauce here, if you please.”
Viscount Siemmen was surprised by the fried gyoza, which had entered my cooking lineup in the old capital, so I offered him the gyoza sauce.
“I’ve never had anything this tasty! They don’t call this guy the ‘miracle chef’ for nothing. Hey, Captain, don’t hog all the fried goodness!”
“Quiet, you. Why don’t you stick to the moldy cheese or the toasted jerky?”
“That’s mean, Captain.”
Moldy?
“Hmph, that’s supposed to be moldy! Here I thought I’d be kind enough to offer the famous cheese of the Nolork Kingdom…”
“Might I try a little?”
“S-Sir Pendragon, I wouldn’t if I were you…”
Viscount Siemmen tried to warn me off, but it just looked like normal Camembert cheese to me.
The smell was the same, too, and as for the taste…
“…This is delicious. What an excellent cheese.”
“Indeed. Nobles from the Nolork Kingdom brought it, along with this one.”
His mood improving, General Erthal produced another cheese.
This one was just a normal kind.
“Mozzarella, is it? This is delicious, too.”
“‘Mosserella’? This one is from the Garleon Alliance. They only called it ‘white cheese,’ so I did not know it was called ‘mosserella.’”
At this rate, the name “mosserella” was going to stick. To hopefully avoid this, I quickly said I’d confused it with a similar cheese.
The mozzarella-like “white cheese” was sold elsewhere in the city, he informed me, so I got a simple letter of introduction with which I could buy first-rate white cheese.
The Camembert-like cheese was delivered only on the side, along with “Nolork thorn” shipments, and the general didn’t know when they would next get more.
I must have looked disappointed, because General Erthal offered to share half of his with me. I would have to make some kind of Camembert-based dish for him as thanks, along with a portion of the other liquor I had in reserve.
“This wine is delicious.”
There’s nothing like the combination of good cheese and good wine.
General Erthal continued to offer me more of his treasured varieties of cheese, along with equally treasured wines.
“Duke Vistall’s red wine is the best in the Shiga Kingdom. Unlike Lessau County’s bland red wine, it has a luxurious scent and depth of flavor.”
Come on—you don’t need to diss another place’s wine like that.
I seemed to remember it being a delicious, full-bodied red wine in its own right.
Keeping my complaints to myself, I sampled a glass or two of Zetts County white wine and rosé. Both were great beginner wines, easy to drink, if not too memorable.
Thus, we wound up enjoying the liquor and snacks together until noon like old drinking buddies.
Viscount Siemmen enjoyed liquor, too, but he seemed to be a bit of a lightweight, crashing not long into the proceedings.
According to one of his vassals, this was nothing out of the ordinary for him, so it wouldn’t affect the evening’s banquet.
“What in the world is that?”
In the weed-filled field that was next to our new house, some colorful cabbages were growing.
…No. They were children’s heads.
It looked like something out of a horror movie at first, but they did indeed have bodies attached.
I didn’t think they were playing hide-and-seek among the weeds, so what exactly were those kids doing?
I thanked the vassal of Viscount Siemmen who’d brought me home by carriage, then entered the house.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome home, master.”
Arisa was the first to greet me.
According to my map, the beastfolk girls were cleaning the gutters, Lulu and Nana were sorting the pantry, and Mia was looking after the sick children.
“Do you have any idea what those kids outside are doing?”
“Ah, they heard about the food last night, so they’re waiting around in hopes that there might be work today, too.”
So it was something like the bag-carrier kids who waited by the labyrinth entrance, then.
“They haven’t come asking for work themselves?”
“They did, but Liza said us slaves couldn’t hire them of our own accord or we’d inconvenience our master.”
Oh right. I’d pretty much forgotten about it lately, but the girls aside from Nana and Mia were technically still my slaves.
Lulu and Arisa were bound by Geis, so I couldn’t free them, but I would gladly free the beastfolk girls from slavery anytime if they wished it.
“I see. In that case…”
I decided to hire the kids for jobs like weeding the empty plots of land, disposing of garbage, cleaning the ditches along the road, checking the ditches’ covers, and so on.
Just as I’d made up my mind, Nana came rushing over to me, looking strangely excited.
Of course, her face was still as expressionless as ever, but the way her hands were flailing about conveyed her feelings quite clearly.
“Master! The empty plot has become a field of larvae, I report!”
She must have seen the kids outside on her way back from the pantry.
I took Arisa and Nana with me to hire the kids for the aforementioned jobs.
“…First, please cut the weeds on the empty plots, then dispose of the garbage. I’ll hire all of you, so make sure you work hard and listen to instructions from Nana and Arisa here.”
“““Yes, sir!””” the kids chorused.
Like the day before, I was paying them only with food and a copper coin each, but that was enough to send up a chorus of cheers from the children.
I left Nana in charge of supervising them, then went to go help Tama and Pochi.
Mia was to stay in touch with Lulu and keep watching the sick kids.
I asked Lulu to prepare both the children’s food and the pastries I would bring to the banquet tonight.
Then I took Liza and Arisa with me to greet our new neighbors.
“Goodness! You bought that cursed mansion? You’ve been fooled, my boy. If you know any nobles or government officials, you’d better go to the viceroy’s office and complain. You three can stay here for the night if you have nowhere else to go.”
The owner of the first house we stopped at gravely tried to convince us not to move in.
He explained that from the time of the incident to around ten years ago, people had constantly been tricked into moving into the place, only to meet unnatural deaths or to flee under formidable curses.
Ten years ago was when the explorers’ guild bought the whole place up, putting a stop to such occurrences.
“I pass by that place from time to time, and it always leaves me feeling sick. Lots of little birds and bugs die just by getting too close, you know!”
The man’s wife was quick to warn us, too.
“I appreciate your concern, truly. But I had a highly respected saint dispel the curse, so it’s all right now.”
“But no one’s ever been able to—”
“Besides, we spent the night in the mansion last night safely, and not one of the kids we hired for odd jobs has gotten sick.”
“…Really?”
Thanks to my “Negotiation” and “Fabrication” skills firing on all cylinders, I was able to reassure the neighbor and his wife.
I did have the Saint title, so technically it wasn’t a lie.
After sealing the deal by giving them a basket of assorted honey pastries, I moved on to the next house.
After that, we went to quite a few more houses. All of them either reacted the same way as the first place or shut the door as soon as I said where I had moved in.
At least most of them fell in the former category.
Before heading to the ranches, I went around to the local farms and bought some fresh produce. In one case, I even got talked into signing up for a regular delivery.
We’d be away from the mansion more often than not, but I paid for several months in advance, and I requested that they leave the produce by the front door, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Besides, if I hired the person Viscount Siemmen was going to introduce me to, that would all be taken care of.
“Th-the mansion behind us…?”
When I visited the ranch behind the estate and told them I’d moved in, the farmer and his wife looked horrified, but their attitude softened once I gave them the same explanation that had worked for the first family I encountered.
“A recurring order?”
“If possible. Once a month is fine for cheese, sausage, and other preserved goods, but I’d love to get milk and eggs delivered every morning.”
I made this request because they said they offered deliveries, but they looked at me like I had several extra heads.
They seemed to have a pretty good amount of chickens, so I assumed they’d be willing to sell me enough eggs for making pastries and such, but maybe they had a contract somewhere else or something?
“T-truly…?”
The farmer’s words jogged my memory.
I’d been told that since this ranch just happened to be behind the “cursed mansion,” they had difficulty selling their produce for good prices.
“Yes, if you don’t have any other contracts. Would that be all right?”
“Contracts? Heavens, no! That would be wonderful!”
“All right, then.”
It was strangely cheap, so I made an offer that was only slightly lower than the market prices of the other ranches. I love a good bargain, but too cheap and I would have felt like I was taking advantage of them.
In addition, they didn’t have any contract cancelation policies or anything like that, but I added a clause that if I were to end the contract, I would pay three months’ worth as a fine.
I also paid that same amount in advance as a deposit.
When I first arrived, I’d noticed that their equipment seemed to be considerably worn out, so I figured they could use that money as working capital.
They must have been thrilled, because they sent me home with more dairy and meat products than I could carry and even came down to the road to see me off.
As a bonus, I also hired them to take care of the runosaurs and horses when we were away from the mansion.
It was always good to be friendly with the neighbors, especially if they owned a ranch.
“My name is Miteruna. Ignorant as I may be, I will work my very hardest under your employ. Thank you for your consideration.”
“Of course. Nice to meet you.”
The woman I met at Viscount Siemmen’s place was very polite indeed.
Her cool expression and rigid posture showed clearly how serious and dedicated she was.
Miss Miteruna was a human, twenty-six years of age, and fairly attractive with a slender frame. She was around my height, with long reddish-brown hair in a braid. Below her thin eyebrows were rust-colored eyes.
She had been married, but her husband had passed on, so she had moved back in with her family and devoted herself to work.
Though she’d called herself “ignorant,” she was just being modest; in fact, she had graduated from the royal academy in the royal capital.
She was level 9, with skills like “Etiquette,” “Service,” “Negotiation,” and “Education.”
“She was working as another family’s maid until recently, but the head of that household was a bit…difficult.”
Viscount Siemmen was being vague, but I eventually learned that she’d been fired after rejecting the master, who had been sexually harassing her.
“Since that barone—I mean, that family relieved her of her duties, she’s been working as my maid. However, she’s far too talented to be wasted on such a position, which is why I thought to introduce her to you.”
The viscount nearly let slip that the harassing bastard was a baronet but corrected himself.
There were several baronets in Labyrinth City, but the only two with mansions in the nobles’ quarters were Mr. Jelil of Red Dragon’s Roar and a man called Dyukeli.
Baronet Dyukeli— Ah, that was the name of the man to whom the innkeeper tried to sell my carriage.
That didn’t necessarily mean that one of those two was the pervert, but I would have to keep the girls away from them, just in case. I didn’t know them well enough to trust them completely.
It was decided that Miss Miteruna would come to work at my mansion starting the following morning.
If possible, I wanted to hire two or three maids or butlers to work under her, but it was difficult to find anyone willing due to the reputation of the cursed mansion.
I could probably give it another try once that rumor was dispersed.
“No wonder they call him the miracle chef.”
“Yes, I’ve never had such delicious pastries.”
After my meeting with Miss Miteruna, dinner began, and I got to enjoy some old-capital-style food for the first time in a while.
The castellas I offered for the after-dinner tea party seemed to be quite a hit with the ladies in attendance.
Trying to reproduce the texture of granulated sugar, Lulu and I had experimented with the sugars we’d acquired in Lalagi, until finally we were able to accomplish it by breaking down some rock candy.
As a symbol of friendship, I gave the women the same light stone accessories and pastry assortments that had been so popular in the old capital.
“I thought that rum was only a drink for lowly sailors, but this is on another level.”
“It’s a little too strong for me. I like this orchid mead.”
“Isn’t that the stuff that’s made with monster materials?”
“Yes, but it’s been completely purified. It’s not a problem anymore.”
I wasn’t sure whether to bring out the orchid mead, but Viscount Siemmen gave it the okay, so I went ahead and brought some out.
Luckily, most of the attendees had sophisticated taste.
For the men’s gifts, I chose white penholders I’d made from narwhal horns and a sampling of Lalagi rums.
Considering the nature of the orchid mead, I brought only enough to drink at the party.
“Hmm, so you clashed with Sokell, eh?”
Once I’d gotten friendly with the nobles Viscount Siemmen introduced me to, I decided to ask them for the latest scoop about the aristocrats of Labyrinth City.
“He’s from a royal capital family, but he couldn’t get a decent governmental position there, so he crept into Labyrinth City on Counselor Poputema’s request.”
“Though at the time, all he had going for him was that he was the viceroy’s lover.”
Since they were speaking so frankly about it, maybe same-sex relationships weren’t unusual in the Shiga Kingdom?
I didn’t lean that way myself, but I wouldn’t discriminate against someone for it, either. Love is love, after all.
“…But when he offered a medicine that worked on the viceroy’s daughter’s illness, the viceroy’s wife took a liking to him, too. That’s why he’s even trusted as the acting viceroy now.”
“Under Counselor Poputema’s supervision, of course.”
Ah, so that’s why Sokell didn’t seem to like Poputema.
From the way that was worded, though, I got the impression that the viceroy’s wife had more pull than the viceroy himself.
I thought that was unusual, since the Shiga Kingdom tended to have chauvinistic leanings. I asked more about it and learned that the viceroy’s wife was the heir to the house of Ashinen, while the viceroy had only inherited the marquisate by marriage, so the wife had more political power.
“In Labyrinth City, the only people who might be able to speak on equal footing with the viceroy’s wife are the leader of the explorers’ guild and General Erthal.”
So there were ways of dealing with the viceroy and his wife if necessary. That was good to know.
I hadn’t met the guildmaster, so if anything happened, I’d have to speak with General Erthal.
Judging by his behavior earlier today, a copy of the Magic Sword Akatsuki would probably be more than enough to earn any favor I needed.
“But with the viceroy’s level of power, would he not be able to acquire any medicine he needs for his daughter?”
Because a doubt was still nagging at me, I asked someone who seemed to be in the know.
“Any ordinary alchemist can transmute that drug—ogredrink potion—but the only way to get the ingredients is to send a party of garnet badges deep into the labyrinth.”
“Not only that, but the ogredrink potion is only a suppressant, not a cure. And neither the potion nor its ingredients keeps for long, so it’s necessary to continue doing those expeditions on a regular basis.”
So no amount of money would be enough, then.
“There is a cure that can be made with the powder of the bloodstone that can occasionally be found in the Blood-Sucking Labyrinth of the Saga Empire, but the imperial family of the Saga Empire has a monopoly on it. And bloodstone powder can only suppress the symptoms like the ogredrink potion.”
In short, it was very valuable medicine.
If Sokell was supplying them with this ogredrink stuff, I could see why they would value even such an ill-mannered man.
“If I only knew his source, I could get in the viceroy’s good graces, too…,” a corpulent baron muttered enviously.
“I doubt it. I looked into it when he first brought in those potions, but all I could figure out was that he has an alchemist protégé make it in his house.”
“There’s even a rumor that Sokell is the one who makes the demonic potions in Labyrinth City, although that might just be out of jealousy.”
“I’d say that’s inevitable, since ogredrink potions, corpse potions, and demonic potions are all made with similar main ingredients.”
“True. If Sokell’s alchemist is as skilled as they say, he could make corpse and demonic potions just as easily as ogredrink potions.”
Come to think of it, I’d seen some explorers with the Demonic Potion: Addicted status, too.
No one would admit to carrying an illegal drug, I was sure, but finding out was simple for me.
Using my map search, I quickly discovered that there really was a stock of demonic potion in Sokell’s basement.
Forget morally gray—this guy was deep in the black.
The only problem was figuring out how to reveal that information without giving away my unique skill.
I had a few moves that might make people believe me, but none of them was necessarily cards that I wanted to play.
While I was thinking about that, I opened the marker section to put a marker on Sokell—and I noticed that one of the trade ships of the Dragonpen Trading Company, the group I’d invested in, was well on its way to the trade city Tartumina.
That was sooner than the travel plans they’d shown me. The trip must be going well, then.
Oh right. Back to marking.
I put one on the noble in green, too, just to be safe.
“Even if Sokell couldn’t do it alone, Baronet Dyukeli might be able to help him, since he’s got medicinal and alchemy guilds under his thumb…”
“In that case, couldn’t Counselor Poputema be part of it, too? I hear he’s well-connected in the underworld.”
“Sokell’s one thing, but I wouldn’t stir up trouble with the likes of Dyukeli and Poputema if I were you.”
“It’s true. Counselor Poputema controls Marquis Ashinen from the shadows. He plays at being an eccentric now, but not long ago he was as feared as a poisonous serpent. Who knows whether he’s really retired, too?”
“And Dyukeli might not have high status, but he’s the viceroy’s right-hand man. Plus, since he has control over the sale of magic potions and tools in Labyrinth City, his influence is nothing to sneeze at.”
I see. This didn’t sound like a situation I wanted to get involved in.
If the time came, I could just become Nanashi the Hero and bring in the Shigan king.
I did save his body double during the yellow-skinned-demon incident in the old capital, so surely he wouldn’t mind helping me out a little.
“The explorers’ guild probably could make demonic potions, too, since they’ve got an alchemist from the royal capital, but that’s unthinkable as long as the current guildmaster’s in charge.”
“Yeah, that old woman hates demonic potions.”
Huh. I didn’t know this guildmaster, but if she was against harmful drugs, then I already liked her.
“Sir Pendragon, you ought to avoid Sokell, too, and try to curry favor with the viceroy and his wife instead.”
“The viceroy’s wife loves jewels and rare, delicious sweets, so once she hears about the pastries and accessories you brought today, I’m certain she’ll invite you over for tea,” one of the noble’s wives informed me.
These two were friends of Viscount Siemmen’s from a royal capital family, not the old capital like many of the nobles here.
“The viceroy enjoys sculptures from the Flue Empire era, especially those of muscular men.”
“If you like, Sir Pendragon, I can introduce you to an art dealer from the royal capital.”
“Thank you very much. If I can’t procure anything through the friend I normally trade with, I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer.”
In truth, I had plenty of that kind of thing among the salvaged goods from the sunken ships in the Seadragon Islands, so I could probably just pick something from there.
“The viceroy and his wife are doting parents. I’m sure anything their children would like would make them happy, too.”
“Sir Pendragon, you’re not terribly far in age from their third son, Gerits. I’ve heard he wants to become an explorer, so that might be your best bet for getting close to the family.”
“If you can deal with that selfish boy’s whims, that is.”
A young noble grinned wryly and smacked my shoulder encouragingly.
Yeah, putting up with a self-absorbed noble brat doesn’t sound like my cup of tea. I’ll probably pass on that one.
At any rate, I accumulated all kinds of information as I bonded with the nobles.
The gathering came to an end around the time that Viscount Siemmen drank himself to sleep, so I saw off my new noble friends before leaving the viscount’s mansion.
I was offered a ride home in the viscount’s carriage, but I wanted to straighten out some information in my mind. Instead, I decided to walk home in the cool night air.
First of all, Sokell was the viceroy’s lover, and since he had provided them with ogredrink potion for their fourth daughter’s illness, the viceroy’s wife favored him as well. He was also almost certainly the source of the supply of demonic potion in the city.
Counselor Poputema—the noble in green—and Baronet Dyukeli were bad news. The former seemed to be particularly dangerous, so I’d have to take care not to get involved with him.
The viceroy and his wife adored their children, and the wife was more powerful than the viceroy.
According to Princess Meetia, the couple had returned to Labyrinth City, so they had probably received the letter from their second son, Rayleigh, by now.
If they read that letter, I got the feeling things would be resolved without me having to do much of anything.
Princess Meetia’s face drifted through my mind.
We have come to cure the viceroy’s daughter of her ailment.
That was what she had said when she first arrived in the city.
With her Breath of Purification, the ogredrink potion might not even be necessary.
Thinking about it that way, I couldn’t help but suspect that Sokell might have been behind the attack on Princess Meetia yesterday afternoon.
I didn’t have any evidence yet, though. It was merely a suspicion for now.
Oh right.
I didn’t want anything to happen to an acquaintance of mine, so I put a marker on Princess Meetia, too, just in case.
“Hmm. I’m still being followed, eh?”
On my way home, I sensed that I was being watched. I stopped at a few bars in an effort to shake off the tail, but they seemed to have no intention of giving up.
I was able to narrow down the suspects somewhat with my map search.
Most likely, the culprit was working for either Sokell or the noble in green.
In fact, there seemed to be two people tailing me who weren’t working together at all.
As I was thinking about this at the counter of another bar, I overheard some drunks gossiping.
This place was in a shopping district fairly far away from the center of the city, so you could hear all kinds of interesting things.
“You got paid? Buy me a drink, then.”
“Shut up—all I got was a producer price for magic potions. All thanks to that cheapskate Dyukeli!”
“Yeah, he’s got all them alchemy guilds and the like under his thumb. Can’t get nothin’ for nothin’.”
“Wish the guilds would try a little harder.”
Most of what I heard about Baronet Dyukeli from the explorers was a lot of complaints.
The only non-complaint was that his eldest daughter, Mary-Ann, was a beautiful girl who often dressed like a man and wore a longsword to go sightseeing near the labyrinth.
I guess they talked about Sokell, too.
“I heard the viceroy’s lover tried to put the moves on that ‘thee-thou’ princess and got totally rejected.”
“Yeah. She’s a princess from some small place, right? But she’s friendly even to folks like us, so I think she’s a good kid.”
The “thee-thou” princess was probably Meetia, right?
“I heard from my bro who works for the government that he proposed to her and got rejected.”
“For real?!”
“Yeah. First a married man, now he’s proposing to a child… Did a woman mess this guy up, too?”
“What do you mean, ‘too’?”
The conversation then shifted to romantic advice among the explorer friends, but I was surprised to learn that Sokell had proposed to Princess Meetia.
And for some reason, I even heard some rumors about myself…
“Did you hear about that noble who got mixed up in the chain rampage?”
“Yeah, the kid who travels with a bunch of girls, right?”
“I heard the guildmaster arguing with some angry lady about it. Since they all survived that rampage safely and brought back garnet-level numbers of cores, they think there might’ve been foul play involved.”
“It is crazy that no one was hurt. What kinda foul play, though?”
“Yeah, if there’s foul play that can keep you from being injured, I wanna do it, too.”
“The angry lady was sure he must’ve used tons of demonic potions while hunting.”
“Yeah, right. Demonic potions only strengthen you and stop you from feelin’ pain, plus they make it easier to level up. They don’t let you fight without gettin’ hurt.”
“Are you talking about that young noble? Let me join in!”
Another explorer pushed his way into the conversation, beer stein in hand.
“…Yep, goblin beer is still gross.”
“Don’t ask to join and then change the subject!”
The rest of the group groaned as the carefree explorer chugged his beer.
“Right, right. What was I saying? Oh yeah… What’s his name, Penpen? I heard he’s the lover of some big shot in the old capital.”
Don’t go spreading baseless rumors about me.
I wanted to sock him in the face, but that would probably be a bad move. The last thing I needed was for him to start spreading even worse rumors out of spite.
Instead, I stood up and strolled over to the relaxed explorer with a smile.
“That’s a misunderstanding. I just happen to be friends with the viscount’s younger brother.”
“S-Sir Penpen!”
That name makes me sound like a penguin.
I didn’t know where we’d met, but apparently this guy knew my face somehow.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Satou Pendragon, a hereditary knight and new explorer. Since you’re all more experienced than I am, I hope you’ll share some of your wisdom.”
I smiled and bowed courteously as the bar fell silent.
The explorers were all staring at me, aghast, so I motioned to the barkeep.
“Excuse me, barkeep! To celebrate our new friendship, I’ll pay for everyone’s drinks tonight. Let’s have another round for my fellow explorers, and let them drink till morning!”
Since I was already standing out, I decided to treat everyone to drinks. At a cheap bar like this, it shouldn’t cost more than ten gold coins or so.
It was essentially a calculated publicity stunt, but now I could ensure I didn’t have any enemies and hopefully even get some positive rumors started about me.
“Sir Knight?”
As the bar erupted into cheers, the waitress addressed me inquiringly.
I hadn’t noticed because of the suggestive barmaid outfit she was wearing, but she was a friend of mine.
“Good to see you again, Miss Ayaume. Is Mr. Kajiro well?”
It was Ayaume, the female samurai who’d trained my vanguard group in the old capital along with the samurai Kajiro of the Saga Empire.
Considering that she participated in the martial arts tournament in the old capital, what was she doing waitressing in a bar? If she was short on money, she should be able to earn some in the labyrinth easily.
“I’m afraid Lord Kajiro injured his leg… I’ve been temporarily going into the labyrinth with an all-women party called Silverlight and working here at the bar on my days off.”
She explained that the money she earned exploring the labyrinth went to paying off Mr. Kajiro’s medical bills, so they were covering their cost of living with her earnings as a barmaid and money from Kajiro’s side jobs.
“Ayaume! I’ll pay ye a silver coin if ye’ll give me some private services!”
“Get out of here, you bum! And don’t come back!”
Ayaume shouted at the drunkard with uncharacteristic harshness.
Clearly, the virtuous samurai refused to take part in the prostitution that often accompanied a barmaid’s job in the Shiga Kingdom.
Incidentally, Kajiro’s side job was making paper parasols.
It was so fitting that I could easily picture it, but I didn’t want to comment given the circumstances.
Oh, I know!
“Actually, I’ve just bought a house in Labyrinth City. If you like, perhaps I could hire you two as security? It can just be until Mr. Kajiro is able to practice martial arts again, if you wish…”
“R-really?! Yes, of course, we’d love to!”
Excited at my proposal, Ayaume zoomed so close to me, I thought she was going to kiss me, grasping my hands as she agreed.
If I hired these two as live-in security, the mansion would definitely be safe while we were away.
Depending on the condition of Kajiro’s leg, it could probably be cured with a lesser elixir, unless he’d lost it or part of it. And if he had, I could probably make him a prosthetic leg so he could return to his practice.
I thought about the sprinters at the Paralympics. If I could make him something like that, maybe in time, he could return to the martial arts he loved.
In the meantime, he could probably teach self-defense to the kids who came to the house requesting work.
“I don’t suppose we could start tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course. You’re always welcome.”
The drunkards around us raised a fuss when I told her where I was living, but Ayaume simply said, “Exorcising evil is part of a samurai’s job,” a statement that would probably get her in trouble if any Japanese samurai were to hear it.
Once I’d finished chatting with Ayaume, I left out the back of the bar to return home.
“““Pendragon.”””
I thought I’d shaken the people tailing me, but when I stepped into a back alley, I found three thugs waiting for me with unsheathed swords.
I’d seen them approaching on my radar, but there were some ladies of the night between them and me, so I decided to change my route to avoid getting them involved.
“““Found you.”””
The hoodlums came charging at me recklessly.
It would be simple enough to beat them, but there was a bit of a problem.
Part of it was that the three thugs were actually young nobles of the viceroy’s faction, but even more suspicious was the fact that Sokell was leading a band of guards this way.
Between all this and the people trailing me earlier, someone was definitely trying to catch me in a trap.
“““Die!”””
Their swords moved faster than I expected.
However, there was no skill behind their swings, and their swords crashed into the ground or nearby walls.
They were just normal iron swords, too, so they wound up getting chipped and bent in the process.
But the three attackers didn’t seem to notice.
“May I ask why you’re attacking me?”
“““Die!”””
They spoke in stiff, robotic tones as they swung their swords at me.
That was to be expected, though.
“So this is the effect of corpse potions?”
They had all taken a dangerous illegal drug.
It blocked all feelings of pain and enhanced the user’s strength beyond their limits.
Unlike any body strengthening skills or spells, it completely overrode their bodies’ physical limits, so when the effect wore off, they would experience intensely painful recoil.
According to some old documents from the old capital, the drug was developed by the crazed king Gartapht during the demi-human wars four hundred years ago.
It was said they forcibly administered it to prisoners of war, stealing their free will and forcing them to fight on the front lines as corpse soldiers.
“““Die!”””
Dodging several attacks at once, I opened my map and finally found the kind of person I was looking for.
Happily enough, he was even with another person of interest.
“So long, would-be assassins.”
I used the “Taunt” skill on my words as I fled, running slowly enough that the three men could keep up with me.
Opening my map, I picked an alley without any prostitutes or drunkards around.
Along the way, I saw an old man chasing off some young drifters fishing through garbage and some other kids slumped in the corners of alleys.
I was a little worried about them, but I couldn’t get them involved in this situation, so I kept running without calling out to them.
Finally, I arrived right where I wanted to be.
“Hey, watch it!”
“Good evening, Captain.”
“Hmm? It’s Sir Pendragon.”
Strolling through the business district were the labyrinth army captain, the foxfolk officer, and one other soldier with his face hidden.
The three of them were wearing dark cloaks over their uniforms, suggesting that they were on their way to enjoy some nighttime entertainment.
“““D-die!”””
The three men chasing me closed in to attack, out of breath.
“Oh dear, that won’t do.”
“Hmph, what kind of fools swing their swords around in the middle of the street?!”
The captain and the foxfolk officer knocked two of them out easily.
The remaining one ran at me with his sword raised, but a flash of red light from beside me blocked the attack.
“Did you piss off some noble brats or something?”
The wielder of the “Spellblade”-clad mithril sword was the third member of the incognito trio: General Erthal.
The final attacker was flung backward by the parry, and the captain knocked him to the ground with a brain-buster-like move.
It was rare to see someone so skilled at hand-to-hand combat in a world where monsters were the biggest enemy.
“Far from it. I don’t even know who these people are,” I answered.
General Erthal stroked his beard, deep in thought.
Just then, the sound of countless hooves and footsteps echoed from the direction of the alley I’d come from.
“There they are! Capture those bastards who attacked young nobles!”
At Sokell’s shout, the guards readied their short spears, breathing heavily.
“Just a moment, guards! These men on the ground are the only attackers here!” the captain roared.
“What?! I recognize these young men. They’re from distinguished noble families!” Sokell shouted exaggeratedly, like a bad actor. “You’re the ones wearing black, with your swords out in the street, harming these young men. You must be the attackers!”
“Is that right?”
Underneath the shadows of his hood, General Erthal grinned savagely.
One of the soldiers noticed the red light on the general’s blade and tried to call out to Sokell.
“L-Lord Sokell!”
“Silence! If you must speak to me, do it later!”
At this brusque response, the soldier retreated, bringing a few others with him.
They must have noticed that it was General Erthal they were dealing with.
Standing behind Sokell, they took poses that suggested we don’t want to fight.
“Come now, guards! Don’t hold back—capture them! If they resist, cut them down!”
The oblivious Sokell kept shouting orders, but none of the guards responded.
“Hmmmm? This is strange, Captain.”
“What is it?”
The foxfolk officer smirked unpleasantly, addressing his captain loudly with convenient timing. “These attackers seem to be under the influence of corpse potions.”
“Corpse potions?! The forbidden drug that forcibly controls people like slaves?!”
The captain’s thunderous bellow echoed through the streets.
The brothels shut their windows and faces peered out from the bars.
The foxfolk officer was doing this on purpose, but the captain seemed to be genuinely angry.
“Wh-what?!” Obviously shaken, Sokell responded instinctively. “You accuse my friends of having used corpse potions?!”
Uh-oh. Way to dig your own grave.
In his panic, Sokell had just acknowledged that the attackers were his friends.
“Oh-ho? So these scoundrels who drank corpse potions are friends of yours, Acting Viceroy Sokell?”
At the foxfolk man’s deliberately loud declaration, the nearby drunkards started murmuring Sokell’s name.
“How dare you make such a baseless accusation to these well-known nobles!”
At this point, it seemed like Sokell was in too deep to back out.
I noticed that he wasn’t calling them his friends anymore.
“It’s not baseless. He may seem a fool, but Kinkuri is actually our army’s deputy analyst, since he has the ‘Analyze’ skill.”
At the word analyst, Sokell turned deathly pale.
“Don’t call me a fool, Captain,” the foxfolk officer complained, and he got another bop on the head for his troubles.
“Fine, then! I’ll use my authority as acting viceroy to arrest you! Drop your weapons!”
Getting desperate, Sokell started shouting near-incoherently.
It was entertaining to see him act like the bumbling minor villain he was.
If this were a game, he’d be the kind of mini boss who you beat early on.
“You think you have the right to arrest us, eh?”
“Silence, fool! You’re all criminals!” Sokell shrieked at the general. “Guards! Seize them!”
Sokell sprayed spit along with his orders, but the guards still didn’t move to obey. Instead, they looked at one another, as if trying to silently decide which of them should tell Sokell who he was dealing with.
“What are you doing?! Useless men! Who do you think is paying your salary?!”
The men simply looked away, their faces unreadable.
They were probably all thinking, Well, it certainly isn’t you.
“Enough foolishness, brat.”
General Erthal lowered his hood and stepped forward.
“B-brat, you say?! Who do you think—?”
Sokell’s shout faded away mid-sentence.
He had finally recognized the general’s face.
“So you’re the scum who’s been borrowing the viceroy’s power.”
“S-scum…? General or not, I’ll have you rescind those words at once!”
General Erthal snorted at Sokell’s bluff.
“The labyrinth army will take care of these scoundrels until the judicial police from the royal capital arrive.”
“Preposterous! Apprehending criminals is the viceroy’s duty! The army has no such authority!”
The general glared at Sokell, who was yapping like a tiny dog.
“Have you forgotten? You stated yourself that this would be a conflict of interest.”
“Right, since the guys who attacked us were friends of Lord Sokell’s and all…”
The foxfolk officer, Kinkuri, seemed to be enjoying this immensely.
“Besides, these criminals raised their swords against General Erthal, a commanding officer of the labyrinth army. Noble families or no, they won’t get off without a punishment.”
The captain’s words seemed to finally get through to Sokell, who let out a little growl.
The three of them were backing Sokell into a corner, and it looked like his mental hit points were running out.
Just as the foxfolk officer opened his mouth to torment the man further, a new figure arrived on the scene.
“That’s quite enough, indeed.”
I couldn’t see him past the crowd of people, but judging by that peculiar sentence ending, the noble in green, Counselor Poputema, had arrived.
“Hmph, so you’re behind this?”
“Whatever do you mean? I was just out for a stroll when I heard a commotion, indeed.”
“Lord Poputema! Pendragon there is the culprit who assaulted General Erthal and unjustly injured these young nobles!”
Oh dear. Now Sokell was coming after me.
“Is that right? But Sir Pendragon is unarmed, indeed.”
Poputema smiled at Sokell like a devil.
It almost seemed as if he, too, was enjoying having Sokell cornered.
“But a demon slayer like Pendragon could surely defeat three youths unarmed.”
True, I could have taken three or three thousand of those guys, but still.
More importantly, thanks to Sokell’s unnecessary jabbering, now the onlookers were starting to murmur things like “Pendragon the Demon Slayer”…
I guess I didn’t mind being a little famous among ordinary people, but still.
“Well, Sir Pendragon, you have heard Sir Sokell’s accusation, indeed. Did you injure these men, indeed?”
“I did not. In fact, I did not lay a finger on them.”
“What he says is true. This I swear on the name of the ancestral king Yamato and on the Erthal family name. Though perhaps I should share on the family name of Duke Vistall as well?”
“That will not be necessary, indeed.”
General Erthal’s testimony seemed to have cleared my name.
“Sir Sokell, go home and calm yourself awhile, indeed. Guards, carry these unconscious ruffians to the jail at the viceroy’s offices, indeed.”
“…That won’t do.” The noble in green tried to take advantage of the confusion and make off with the men, but General Erthal stopped him. “I can’t have you disposing of the evidence.”
“How preposterous, indeed. I intend to investigate the source of the corpse potions.” The noble in green shook his head.
“You swear on your family name?”
“On the name of the ancestral king Yamato and the house of Duke Poputema, indeed.”
“Very well.”
General Erthal nodded.
I guess corpse potions were just that dangerous of a drug.
“Corpse potions are quite troublesome, indeed. I wonder if the remnants of the Cannibal Snakes group have resurfaced, indeed.”
Despite the grave nature of his words, the noble in green was smiling, as if he’d gotten his expressions mixed up.
“Time to drink this off! Let’s go, Sir Pendragon.”
General Erthal put his arm around my shoulder and led me away.
The drinking declaration was probably just to appease the noble in green. In reality, he seemed to be trying to get me away from any more potential trouble.
While we were at it, I decided to ask him a question.
“Is this Cannibal Snakes group very well-known?”
“They’re a criminal organization that brought drugs like demonic and corpse potions into Labyrinth City long ago,” the general responded.
I searched the map, but I didn’t see any organization by that name anywhere in the kingdom, including Labyrinth City Celivera.
“They tend to reemerge whenever the season of the demon lord draws near,” the general muttered seriously.
“Bringing down criminals who’ve used demonic potions is troublesome enough, but now there are corpse potions, too? Truly, it’s as if the city of Celivera is cursed.” The captain groaned.
“It makes sense, since you can get the ingredients in the labyrinth…”
The foxfolk officer got another punch for pointing out the unnecessary.
It was entirely possible that we’d be drinking through the night, so I used the Space Magic spell Telephone to let Arisa and the others know.
Still, though…
It was obvious that Sokell was trying to catch me in a kind of trap, but why would he go so far as to use some strange drug to make those men attack me?
Given his nature, it was possible that he attacked me to get revenge on Prince Sharorik’s behalf or even that he simply didn’t like me, but this seemed like a lot of effort just for that.
In the back of my mind, I remembered Princess Meetia saying that she was attacked by some well-dressed young hoodlums in masks.
If that was Sokell’s doing as well, then what was his goal?
Next, I remembered other facts like that Sokell used ogredrink potion to get close to the viceroy and his wife and that Princess Meetia’s Breath of Purification could have a similar effect, but I wasn’t sure what the connection was.
Nope, I have no idea.
I’d never been good at solving mysteries like these.
At any rate, I might have to come up with some kind of plan to keep myself safe.
“Oh-ho… So you’re treating us, Sir Pendragon? Even if I order some expensive sake?”
“Of course—go ahead. Order whatever you’d like.”
I smiled at the shameless foxfolk officer.
For now, although this wasn’t just to deal with Sokell, it would probably be best to start by getting closer with these three, since they rescued me from that predicament.
The four of us drank until dawn, resulting in me learning all kinds of labyrinth army information.
The foxfolk man kept ordering expensive drinks, but it meant that I learned about some quality brews, so that was fine with me.
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