Chapter 147 – Potions Again

What wonderful weather we’re having. Grace’s baked sweets also pair perfectly with tea—absolutely delightful.

“Hmm. Well, I admire Ashley-sama’s beautiful hair.”

“Ah, Ashley-sama’s hair color is truly lovely.”

“R-really? If I may say so, I think Ophelia-sama’s hair is also beautiful and looks so soft—it’s wonderful.”

“My, thank you. I suppose all the effort I put into it is paying off.”

The women seem to have shifted the conversation to hair. Ophelia’s vertical curls in particular give off a distinctly aristocratic Young Lady vibe.

Before long, they began enthusiastically styling each other’s hair—brushing it, trying out different updos… They put Grace’s hair in a chignon, Ashley’s in twin tails, and Marlene’s in a ponytail… Yes. A feast for the eyes.

Sheila and Irmhild got pulled into it too. Sheila’s cat ears seem to be quite the novelty, as everyone appears fascinated by them. When Marlene gently stroked them, they twitched and quivered.

Sheila maintains her usual expression… but she seems to be enjoying the situation in her own way. While having her own hair played with, she’s also changing Irmhild’s hairstyle.

“Hmm…”

Just as they were undoing Cindy’s braids, Talcott—whose concentration must have wavered—failed to dodge an Aqua Golem’s attack. Talcott shook his head and returned to his combat training with the Golem.

Hmm… I’ll save some of the baked sweets for Talcott and Chester.

“Ambassador. So this is where you were.”

While we were all drinking tea like that, Mercedes appeared at the workshop.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well…”

Mercedes hesitated after briefly glancing around.

…Must be something difficult to say here. But conversely, I can infer it’s not particularly urgent.

“I’ll go hear what she has to say over there,” I told everyone and moved to a slightly distant spot to listen to Mercedes.

“My apologies for interrupting your relaxation.”

“Not at all. Has something happened?”

“It’s a report regarding the cult’s followers. Since everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, I wasn’t sure if I should deliver it in that setting.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

When I replied, Mercedes gave a small smile before her expression turned serious.

Alright. Time to switch gears.

“In the western district slums, a person believed to be a cult follower was discovered dead.”

Well now. What in the world does that mean?

“What was the cause of death?”

“It’s thought to be a sacrificial ritual performed by their own hands. A simple altar-like structure had been set up.”

“And you’re certain they were a cult follower?”

“A tattoo was confirmed, and we’ve already conducted identification checks with other captured followers. One of them recognized this individual.”

I see. It seems there’s likely no mistake about that.

If so, the issue becomes the reason behind it.

“…Perhaps because the vigilance and patrols were stricter than anticipated, they offered up one of their own as a sacrifice?”

“His Majesty mentioned that possibility as well.”

Maybe because we triggered the alarm at the orphanage and easily wiped out their operational unit, they judged that resorting to forceful methods—even with tattoos and the ability to use demon Techniques—wasn’t the best strategy.

Or perhaps it was a time-limited ritual, making it difficult to procure a sacrifice, forcing them to use one of their own…?

The possibilities of punishment or internal conflict should also be considered… but we shouldn’t view this optimistically. It’s better to assume there’s someone with enough leadership to make them carry this out, and simply writing it off as fanaticism probably isn’t the best approach either.

In that case… I need to carefully examine what the follower I fought said.

He said something about offering sacrifices, gaining the cult leader’s recognition, and receiving power, didn’t he?

But there must have been a compelling motive that made them carry it out.

If we consider that the cult leader doesn’t freely grant power, but rather the ritual itself is an essential step to gain power… that makes some sense.

…He also mentioned making the cult’s name known, but given that they used one of their own, that reason was likely secondary.

“…Cannibalism. Reminds me of Gu poison.”

“Gu poison?”

“No, just something from my world.”

Although it turned into a fight and we repelled them there… Even if they’re performing rituals to gain power, it means the cult still hasn’t made its move.

It sounds better to say they’re lying low, but if they’re timing their actions to coincide with the Sealed Door’s opening, that would be troublesome.

I considered one possibility for the tattoo mechanism—that they’re borrowing power from demons… but thinking about it the other way, that would mean there’s a real demon behind them. Either those organized demons approached the cult with a proposal… or—

We need to question the ones we captured alive.

“Has the interrogation been progressing?”

“They’ve maintained their Silence. His Majesty said he’s considering ways to make them talk as soon as possible…”

Silence, huh. They are cult followers after all. They certainly give the impression of being tight-lipped. But we can’t afford to take too much time. The sooner we have countermeasures, the better.

As for quick methods, Rosemary’s Alraune’s Kiss would literally make questioning unnecessary… but that takes too long to prepare and is dangerously unstable. The stock was disposed of, and there shouldn’t be any currently available.

According to King Melvin, one key to ruling well as king is maintaining certain limitations.

He also said that having too much power rarely leads to good outcomes—probably part of King Melvin’s political philosophy. Since Termwills’ rulers swear their governance through rituals, they seem to have many considerations and it appears quite difficult.

In that sense, keeping something like Alraune’s Kiss on hand would risk losing self-restraint, so it’s not allowed. Indeed, that’s a dangerous drug even for the user. Rosemary herself essentially went astray because of it.

“That’s right. I myself have some questions I’d like to ask them, so I’ll head to the Royal Castle later. It would probably be good to convey the questioning content to the inquisitors in advance.”

“Understood.”

“By the way, Dame Mercedia. Do you have some time now?”

When I asked, Mercedes tilted her head.

“Yes. I’ve completed my report to you, Ambassador, so my Task is technically finished.”

“In that case, why not take a short break? The sweets have just finished baking.”

Mercedes blinked as if surprised by the unexpected suggestion.

“Wouldn’t someone like me be intruding?”

“Intruding? I think everyone would be pleased.”

She’s serving as my liaison and all—I imagine Mercedes has it tough too.

It would probably be good to prepare a Magic Communicator for her. The circumstances are different from King Melvin, who can’t use communicators due to his retainers’ watchful eyes.

“…Thank you. In that case, I’ll take you up on your kind offer.”

She’s so serious. If she’d considered herself on duty, it might have been an imposition. But this is also returning the consideration she showed earlier. Mercedes offered a small smile, bowed slightly, and headed toward the table.

And after enjoying Grace’s baked sweets, she too ended up having her hairstyle played with by the women.

“Not necessarily. Even without Alraune’s Kiss, making a silent person talk isn’t particularly difficult.”

When I showed my face at the Royal Castle, Rosemary said she had business with me.

When I went to see her in the North Tower, she hid her mouth with her feather fan while laughing and saying such things.

To facilitate Coordination with me, King Melvin has been providing Rosemary with certain information, but the crucial point is that Rosemary herself seems reluctant to talk unless it’s with me.

“There’s a Magic Potion called Nightingale’s Song. Do you know of it?”

“I’m not very familiar with that type of potion.”

“Is that so? This one doesn’t take much effort to make, but… I don’t want to share the preparation method with unnecessary people… I’ll teach you how to make it, so you should prepare it.”

Saying this, Rosemary wrote down the Recipe on paper.

“What’s the effect?”

“They’ll spill everything—truth or lies—but they become unable to maintain Silence. In other words, they become pointlessly talkative. An interesting potion, don’t you think? Quite suitable for accompanying Magical Inquisition.”

“I see…”

Combined with Magical Inquisition… if you fire various questions and narrow things down from their lies, you could deduce anything. You wouldn’t need torture or similar methods, and interrogations would proceed quickly. Its nature is malicious, but it’s clever, isn’t it?

“…What would you use such a potion for?”

I asked, suddenly curious.

Unlike Alraune’s Kiss, the target would be aware of their abnormal state, so for Rosemary it must be inferior to her secret medicines. Since they can still lie, it doesn’t seem to have much practical use ordinarily.

“Apparently, the story goes that originally a tongue-tied, timid man begged a Witch to make it so he could woo the woman he loved.”

I see. Hence “Nightingale’s Song.”

“Still… you’re being quite cooperative.”

“My, my. This is my country, isn’t it? Of course I’d be displeased to have dirty outsiders sticking their noses in and doing as they please.”

Rosemary laughed as if stating the obvious.

Did she mean it’s the country she rules? Or simply that it’s the country where she was born and raised? Rosemary’s words are often ambiguous like this, which is frustrating.

But well… at least we now have a lead on extracting information from them.