84 A boy kidnapped by a harpy (2/2)

I say and sit up.

Unlike the restaurant with Justy, this diner doesn't have a waiter.

You have to order your food and go get it. And when you receive your food, you eat at an empty seat.

So I go to the cook to place my order.

Hey, sister. Are you going to eat now?　Then why don't you eat with us?

Suddenly, I'm approached from behind.

I turn around and there are five demented-looking men standing there.

I click my tongue in my mind, ”Aha!

I haven't seen this development in a long time. I have been involved in this kind of hand-to-hand combat several times when I first became a freedom fighter.

This kind of tactics are persistent, and if you treat them poorly, they can take root.

I had a hard time with a guy who was persistent in hitting on me before.

The only way to deal with these guys is to avoid running into them.

Lately I've been going to the restaurant run by the temple of Lord Ishtia with Justy, so I'd forgotten about it.

The prices are high, but I should have gone there. They wouldn't get any of these thugs there.

The men are standing around me.

I'm sorry. We can't accept your offer because we have company.

I say no softly.

By ”companion,” you mean that woman over there. Then why don't you take her with you?

I approach with a smirk.

Apparently, he's been watching me and my sister Kayna since we were talking.

'Sorry, but no thanks. I'll go.

When I try to move aside, I am blocked from going. He is persistent.

I'm frustrated.

I think to myself, ”What am I going to do?

With Raina-sama's blessing, I don't want to lose to these guys.

But if we fought here, we could be banned from the dining hall.

Why do I have to do such a thing for these people?

What are you doing there?

Someone sees us and calls out to us.

I look at the person who called out to me and feel relief.

'An?'　What are you?

One of the men threatens the one who called out to him in a low voice.

'Wait!　It's a Knight of the Law!　It's not a good idea to mess with it here!

A fellow man stops him when he sees the one who called out to him.

The standoff continues for a while.

The five goons move first.

They move away from us.

'Thank you, Mr. Decius. Thank you for your help.''

I thank Lord Decius for stopping the thug.

Master Decius is a law knight in the service of the god-king, Odis, who protects law and order.

He is a polite and beautiful man.

He investigates crimes in order to protect the law.

I've known him since I helped him with his investigations in the past.

It's all right, Mr. Sisyphe. I just can't seem to deal with that kind of stuff at all: ......

Shenna, Lady Decius' sister, emerges from behind Lady Decius.

Shenna is a dancer and actor who belongs to the Donkey Ear Theater Company. She is very popular in the Republic of Ariadia.

I met Shenna two months ago during the ”Black Storm” incident.

She had been captured by that dark knight, apparently.

She doesn't like to talk much about that time.

She must have had a terrible experience. Once again, I'm angry at the Dark Knight.

That's why I don't ask her about it.

But I heard that the witch hunter was going to question her severely about it.

If the black-haired wise man Chiyuki-sama hadn't stopped her, she would have been in danger. I'm really glad to hear that nothing has happened.

It's okay, Shenna. I'm glad to hear that you're okay, Shenna. By the way, what are Decius-sama and the others here for?

Why are Master Decius and the others here? Is this some kind of investigation?

Since this Free City of Thessia is subordinate to the Republic of Ariadia, the investigators of the Republic of Ariadia, the Knights of Law, also have the authority to investigate.

However, the actual maintenance of security and investigation is carried out by the Freedom Fighters Association.

The investigation of crimes that occur in this city is generally carried out by freedom fighters who are requested by the Association.

However, if it's a serious case involving the citizens of the Republic of Ariadia, they can come and investigate.

'It's just a little investigation, Mr. Siszfe. To tell you the truth, I'm investigating a drug that has been circulating in the Republic of Ariadia lately and I'm curious about it.

As he says this, Master Decius takes out some medicine from his pocket.

''What is it?''

It's a drug that's circulating among the citizens of the Republic of Ariadia. Haven't you seen it?

I look at the small black round grains in Master Decius' palm.

What is this potion? First time I've seen it.

'No, I've never seen it before. What is this medicine?

”Uh, ......

I ask, and Master Decius seems to have some difficulty saying it.

'What are you doing already?　Brother. You're not making any sense. This is a power tool, Mr. Sisyphe. It's what men use when they spend the night with a woman.

Shenna explains.

I understand why Lady Decius seemed to have difficulty saying it.

Lady Felia and Lady Odis' congregation are not supposed to say s*xual things in public.

'Shenna, women shouldn't talk about such things.

But, brother. As long as you're investigating, you won't be able to proceed unless you ask. Well, that's why I'm helping you.

When Shenna-san said that, Decius-sama grunted, ”Ugh.

It's true that if it's an energizer, Shenna-san, who is a follower of the Goddess of Love and Beauty, will have more opportunities to hear about it than me.

And since Shenna-san has a deeper connection to the temple of Lord Ishtia than I do, it should be easier to find out.

It must also be difficult for Decius, who is a devout follower of Odis-sama, to find out because of the objects.

That's probably why the two of them are working together.

'That's certainly true ...... Shenna. The truth is, Sisyphe, this drug has recently been circulating among the citizens of wealthy families in the Republic of Ariadia. If you see it, would you please let me know?

Decius-sama changes his mind and asks me to do the same.

'Yes, I understand, Master Decius. By the way, I was wondering, could that potion be dangerous?

When I say this, Master Decius shakes his head.

'I don't know. I have had the priests of the Society of Magicians and the Temple of the Goddess of Medicine, Phanakea, check it out, and it seems to contain ingredients that neither the Society's magicians nor the priests can understand. So far, no one seems to be complaining of any dangerous symptoms: ....... But there's also the black storm thing. I thought I'd look into any drugs whose source I don't know.

I nodded my head in agreement with the incident of the Black Storm two months ago, when a magical potion called ”Sand” was discovered on the market.

The ”sand” makes people have pleasant dreams, but then turns them into horrible ratmen.

The same kind of demon might be pouring out this energizer.

That's why Master Decius is looking into it.

''I see, I see. If I see it, I'll let you know.''

Thank you, Mr. Sisyphe. I'll leave you to it.

So long, Mr. Sisyphe.

Master Decius and Mr. Sisyphe leave.

I watch their backs.

Energizer. I'll let you know if I see them.

With that thought in mind, I head out to get my meal again.

Kilius the Magician.

Why at all do I have to do this?

I think to myself in the dark room.

This is a house in a corner of the Republic of Ariadia.

It is not the place for me, a brilliant sorcerer.

However, since I have nowhere else to go, I have no choice but to put up with it.

''Kirius-dono. Is the potion ready?

A fat man comes down into the cellar.

'This is Lord Tormarkis. That's the ...... material we're running out of. We can't increase production any more.

I bow to the fat man.

The fat man's name is Tormulkis. He is the man who shelters me when I have nowhere to go.

I was once one of the great sorcerers of the magical city of Saria.

However, I was ousted from Saria because Master Tarabos, the vice president of the Magicians' Association I served, lost his job.

The reason for his disqualification was because he had made a pact with an evil god and acted hostile to humans.

I decided to flee to the Republic of Ariadia with Master Tarabos and the rest of my companions to reestablish myself.

But while I was away on another errand, Master Talabos was killed along with the others by the brave men of light.

With nowhere to go, I turned to my old acquaintance, Tormarkis.

I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to find a way to get a job.

But I didn't know anyone else I could rely on, so I ended up going to Trumarkis' place.

I was a little anxious, but as I expected, Trumarkis accepted me willingly. It seems that he has no intention of selling me to the brave men.

I thought that Tormulkis would never pledge allegiance to the brave men considering his character, but I was right.

Rather, Tormulkis seems to be dissatisfied with the brave men and women.

Tormarkis blurted out to me that he had less money at his disposal than before.

Now Tormarkis is not the husband of a great merchant, but the servant of a daughter of a brave squire named Ligena or something like that.

Most of the property that Tormarkis had was taken away and left to Regena and the others.

It is said that there is very little money that Tormulkis can use.

Tormulkis loves good food and drink, gambling and women. The fact that he doesn't have much money to play with must be unbearable.

It must be intolerable for this man who once lived a life of luxury.

It seems that the reason why he hid me is because of the rebellion against such brave men and women.

And Tormulkis asked him if there was any way to make money in return for hiding me.

I couldn't refuse Trumarkis's request for help, so I thought of a way to make money.

After some thought, I came up with the idea of selling the magic potion to a rich man.

But if it was an ordinary potion, the Temple of Phanakea would sell it. So he would sell them something they couldn't normally buy.

It's a magical energizer.

When I was at the Academy in the magic city of Saria, I studied demons.

Some of the females of certain demons, such as goblins, orcs and harpies, produce a secretion to attract males.

The female's secretions can be used to create a magic energizer.

They could then sell it to the rich people of the Republic of Ariadia.

However, we cannot sell the potion openly.

If they try to find out how to make it, they might find out about my existence. Besides, it would be dangerous for others to know how I got the ingredients. Therefore, it would be better to keep it a secret.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them, but I'm going to be able to use them to make a living.

Tormulkis has a wide range of faces and it was easy to find a buyer.

Thus, with my environment in place, I set about making the potion.

Also, thanks to a group of warriors that Tormulkis knew, I was able to obtain the demon's bodily fluids to use as an ingredient for the potion.

And just a month ago, the potion was completed.

This energizer was very popular with Tormulkis' playmates and sold for a high price.

When he had some free money, Tormulkis was in a good mood and asked me to increase the production of the drug.

'Well, I see, I don't have enough material. I'll have to tell the Commander again to get some of the Harpy's bodily fluids.'

Yes, please. We can increase production as much as we can as long as we have the materials.

Well, I'm looking forward to it. The potion you make, Lord Kirius, is very popular with my friends. I'm sure you can sell this as much as you want. ''Nuh-huh.''

Tormarkis laughs.

It was a lowly smile, what a lowly smile it was.