3 bar menu

140. Before the Choice

「So you’ve got a goal, but no intention of telling me, huh? Just so you know, poison won’t work on that guy.」

「Yeah, I know.」

There was no way it was just regular alcohol. The fact that they gave it to him while knowing about his poison resistance skill meant it had to contain something threatening enough to bypass even that—so Altora surmised.

If it came from the Elves, who were masters of medicine, that wouldn’t be surprising. Even the painkillers Altora now relied on had a side effect: if overused, they warped your skill.

「Exactly. That dark green pill—its official name is Verdant Decay. You drank far more than a lethal dose and still survived. Not only that, your unique skill mutated and became even more powerful, didn’t it? Whether you could control it or not is another matter.」

「…So you know that much.」

「That’s what we focused on. We’ve developed a few drugs that strengthen or alter skills. Like, for instance, a potion that lets someone with the [Stealth] skill become completely untraceable by any enemy.」

「That just sounds like giving your underlings the perfect opportunity to slit your throat in your sleep.」

「Hah! Not a problem. These drugs twist the skill so badly it becomes like a poison. Without the antidote, they’ll be dead in no time—writhing in agony so bad they’d beg to die.」

At the word ‘poison’, Altora’s brow twitched.

He knew firsthand what it was like when a drug turned into poison—he’d lost everything to that pain. If someone were to use that pain as a leash, humans would have no way to resist.

「Suffer eternal torment unless you get the antidote—only the boss knows how to make it. ‘Even in death, don’t betray me,’ huh? So touching I could cry.」

「Reward and punishment—that’s the foundation of control.」

「Starting with punishment pretty much throws the ‘reward’ part out the window.」

‘Well, whatever’, Remonde said, brushing her hair back and handing Altora the bottle.

「What matters is that this alcohol contains something that works on Marge. It’s colorless, odorless, and even an alchemist wouldn’t notice it. Only the Elves could make it. Only they would. That’s what’s inside.」

「Hmph. But what’ll you do if he asks you to drink it first?」

「There’s a little trick. It only works on Marge and his crew.」

「Always a backup plan, huh. So if I get him to drink this stuff…」

「How you do it is up to you. Just one sip is enough.」

Think it over carefully—for your own sake.

With those parting words, Remonde and the green-haired men left the shop. Altora didn’t even glance at them. He just stared intently at the bottle. Seeing this, Eria tilted her head.

「Request for explanation. That was a long conversation. I didn’t follow all of it.」

「It’s simple.」

If Marge drinks it, he’s finished. Altora’s failures would be forgiven, and he’d have access to Verdant Decay as much as he wanted.

If he doesn’t, the Vehl Family becomes a full-on enemy. The bar wouldn’t survive this time, and they wouldn’t be able to live in Fathie anymore.

「Understood. It’s obviously a one-choice scenario.」

「Hey, Altora, are you really gonna do it?」

「…Of course. I kill Marge, Remonde sides with us—it’s a win-win.」

It was an unexpected chance. A heavy air of tension and anticipation settled between the three of them, and they stayed quiet until Mina returned from shopping.

◇

「…Altora?」

「Yes, he’s here to see you, Master.」

After destroying one of the Elves’ bases, we’d holed up in an inn to analyze the data. I’d been wondering if the Elves would make a move—then someone unexpected showed up.

Even Angelina, flipping through the documents at lightning speed, tilted her head in confusion.

「Why does he know where Gelli and the others are staying?」

「He says he asked around. Since taverns and inns share a customer base, exchanging information wasn’t difficult.」

「Well, I suppose if he wanted to find us, that’s the way to do it…」

It was just the night before last that Altora had said, ‘Next time we meet, I’ll slit your throat’. We weren’t about to visit Fancy Mina again, so if he wanted to talk, he had no choice but to come to us—but even so, this was way too fast.

「Don’t tell me… he actually found a way to kill me…?」

「What shall we do? Shall I turn him away?」

「No, I’ll meet him. He might have information.」

「You think that Pervert-san has anything useful to say?」

「We won’t know unless we hear him out.」

「Understood.」

The ones who entered were Altora, Eria, and Gordon. They looked completely out of breath—must’ve been running all over to find us.

「H-Hey, Marge. You’re looking well.」

「Last time we met, you said you’d kill me. Have your plans changed?」

「That was just a figure of speech! I mean, come on—I’m just a tavern waiter now, right? Kill someone and I’m in chains before I can blink.」

「…I see.」

Their flushed, sweaty faces were hard to read. I couldn’t tell whether it was exertion or anxiety. It was impossible to guess what they were thinking based on their expressions or movements.

Still, what he was saying made enough sense, so I let the conversation continue.

「So, what’s this about?」

「Heard through the grapevine you took down one of the Vehl Family’s bases.」

「Word travels fast.」

「That’s the countryside for you. Anyway, you know how it is around here—the Elves run the show from the shadows. Everyone plays along, but nobody’s happy about it. You gave those guys a bloody nose. That makes you a hero in our book. I just wanted to thank you.」

As he spoke, Altora pulled out a bottle of alcohol. I didn’t know much about liquor, but I could tell it was high-end.

「A token of thanks. Have a drink.」

「You? Thanking me? What’s going on here?」

「Did you poison it or something?」

「H-Hey, come on now. Don’t be so paranoid. In the first place, poison doesn’t work on you. I know that better than anyone!」

What he said was true.

The Elves were a thorn in Altora’s side. Praising the guy who hit them hard made sense. And at this point, Altora didn’t have the means to hurt me anyway.

Angelina still looked suspicious and turned the bottle over in her hands, inspecting it carefully—but she didn’t find anything odd.

「Let me see. …No signs of it being opened.」

「Don’t shake the bottle! You’ll stir up the sediment. If it makes you feel better, I’ll drink it first.」

「If it’s that easy to detect, it wouldn’t be a very good trap. And the fact that you offered to drink it first is exactly what makes it suspicious.」

「Geez, no trust at all.」

「If Skill Lender-san is a hundred in trust, Pervert-san is about a dried-out tick.」

「Didn’t I used to be a dried-out slug? I’ve been demoted again…」

「Correction. Ticks should be dried out during the day, not at night.」

「Eria-chan’s right. Sunlight reacts with the fibers in bedding to create that nice smell. You know, Gelli heard once that’s actually the scent of dead ticks—nearly died laughing.」

「…What are we even talking about? Whatever, I’m opening it.」

I watched as he poured the deep purple liquid into a cup. I still couldn’t make a call one way or the other and sighed quietly.

They definitely had some kind of angle. In that case, the skill I stole from Kirmiji—[Placebo Master’s Golden Spoon]—might come in handy. With it, I could make them spill everything.

Not that I actually want to hear the scumbag truth, but…

Personal feelings aside, it was time. The skill required visual contact from both sides, so I had to meet that condition first.

「Altora, look at me.」

「…Before that, Marge, answer me this.」