Chapter 190 – Seedlings and Hunting

After finishing my conversation with Isabella, I left the brothel—the Western District—behind.

Though I needed to head to the Royal Castle and had things to discuss with Sheila, my first priority was to escort Miriam to the location in the Eastern District that would become her shop.

The eaves were bathed in sunlight. It wasn’t exactly a large house, but it was tidy and had a rather nice feel to it. Hmm. If it were to become a shop, it might just suit my tastes.

“It looks like it’ll make a good shop.”

“Thank you.”

Miriam bowed her head.

“And about the design matter… I came up with this. It was a bit of a mess, so I apologize for the delay in handing it over.”

I took out a stone medallion I’d made with Earth Magic. It depicted a mermaid with wings, extending her hand as if offering a handshake with a gentle smile. Being a logo, it felt quite stylized.

“…I see. Seeking mutual friendship, then.”

“If there seems to be a problem, I can think about it a bit more. What do you think?”

“No. I think this is a good design. It might be nice to display it as a signboard.”

“A signboard? Then I’ll make something that can be hung from the eaves.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Miriam bowed her head. Well, with the logo decided…

“Ashley, has anything unusual happened?”

“Nothing so far.”

I asked Ashley and Irmhild, who were on guard duty at the shop, but they shook their heads.

Hmm… So Dexter hasn’t made a move yet.

“Miriam-san, will you be staying here from today?”

“Yes. I’ve checked out of my lodging, so I plan to sleep here from now on.”

“Understood. Given the matters with Randolph and Dexter, I’d like to station some people here for security as well. Is that alright? I’ll make sure the situation settles down quickly.”

At my words, Miriam looked somewhat apologetic.

“I feel bad relying on you so much… If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“Understood. That said, this is a shop I’m involved with too, and it’s part of my work as well. So please don’t worry too much about it.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

The one holding a grudge against Miriam is Dexter, not the Thieves Guild itself. Still, I doubt he’s the type to draw such distinctions, which makes him a troublesome opponent to deal with individually.

“Well then. I’m planning to head to the Royal Castle now… I’ll mobilize Caduceus, so Sheila, could you stay here for security too?”

“Got it.”

“Later, I have some Guild-related matters to discuss.”

“Mhm.”

Sheila nodded while looking straight at me.

I then headed straight for the Royal Castle. When I showed my face at the North Tower, Rosemary was, as usual, facing an Ancient Document at her desk. She must have been deciphering it.

“Ah. You’ve come.”

“Yeah. There’s something I wanted to ask about. This is a little gift.”

“It’s not… cotton, is it? It has a sweet smell.”

When I handed her the cotton candy, she analyzed it with a rather serious expression.

“Is this… sugar melted and spun into threads like yarn? Between this and that bubbly drink you showed me before… you come up with interesting things, don’t you?”

And she was right, too. Well… I suppose this is Rosemary’s area of expertise. Rosemary pinched off a piece of cotton candy with her fingers, put it in her mouth, and shared her impression.

“It melts away so easily. I don’t dislike sweet things, but it makes me want some tea too.”

So we moved to the table, sat facing each other, drank tea, and continued our conversation.

“Today, it’s not about the usual topics… I wanted to ask about this.”

I showed her the drawing of the sapling I’d received from Miriam. Rosemary covered her mouth with her feather fan, stared intently at the drawing for a while, and then finally spoke.

“I feel like I’ve seen this in a document before, but perhaps it’s not that one?”

Rosemary stood up and brought over a book.

She compared the information on the paper with that in the Ancient Document and nodded.

“Just as I thought. Slugthrow’s Tail. Medicine made from its sap has analgesic and hallucinogenic properties. It also has the effect of making one forget their anxieties. I hear a certain minority ethnic group uses it in rituals as well… but it says here that they pass down a warning orally that it shouldn’t be used indiscriminately because if you use too much, there’s a backlash when the effects wear off.”

“And if they don’t stop using it?”

“Here, it’s expressed as being led away by fairies and never returning. Poison and medicine are two sides of the same coin.”

…So it’s that kind of thing, as expected.

“The fact that you have something like this means… there’s someone bringing this into Termwills, I suppose?”

“I’m going to track them down and smash them to pieces. I wanted to know what would happen when it grows from its sapling state. It would be a problem if I couldn’t identify it.”

“…Then I’ll write down its characteristics for you.”

I’d already obtained information from Isabella about Randolph and Dexter’s base, as well as the ship owned by the two. I’d already set Caduceus in motion.

All that’s left is to locate the cultivation site and crush it. Ideally, eradicate the cultivated Slugthrow’s Tail roots. It would be preferable to capture Randolph or Dexter alive to extract information about their clients and trade partners.

Caduceus is currently at Randolph’s mansion, the primary target. Isabella said that if we end up hostile, we should be careful since he seems to have gathered people suited for rough work… but in this case, it’s actually better to explore the heavily guarded locations.

“…I see.”

Randolph’s mansion—underground in the inner garden. There’s a water channel leading to it, with a skylight above. It’s just like a greenhouse. Plants matching the information obtained from Miriam and Rosemary.

A whole field of Slugthrow, huh? Also discovered a section where they’re holding slaves captive. Naturally, this is improper treatment even for debt slaves. Really… they’re causing all sorts of trouble.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Sorry for the rush, but I’ve got a lead so I need to get moving. First, I have to report this.”

“Is that so? Just like with me, you’re not giving any time for information gathering, I see. I’d like to discuss other matters too, but it does seem better to prioritize that one.”

“Well… I’ll come back soon to hear about those too.”

I’m also curious about the information I can get from the two Silvatorian magicians.

“—And so, there’s a possibility that saplings like this are being brought into Termwills.”

When I reported about Slugthrow’s Tail in the salon, King Melvin made a sour face.

“Slave traders and mind-bending drugs…”

“I have a lead on Randolph’s methods… but I cannot reveal the source of the information itself. There are circumstances regarding the provider’s origins.”

“…Hmm. A resident of the Western District, then?”

“It seems they aren’t a unified front either. I ask for your leniency.”

“I understand.”

King Melvin gave a wry smile at my words. He changed his wording, but he seemed to have inferred it was related to the Thieves Guild.

“It’s a drug not widely known to the public, but how is this handled?”

“For the sale of new drugs, one must submit a notification and disclose their efficacy before selling them. Therefore, arbitrarily selling an unknown drug like this is illegal. Of course, such a drug would likely be prohibited even if a notification were submitted. That said… if it’s an item we’ve never seen before, enforcement becomes difficult in some aspects…”

…I see. So there’s no loophole prepared where changing the composition slightly makes it permissible regarding distribution.

“I’d like to mobilize the soldiers, but…”

“Is there a problem?”

“I have a notion about this medicine made from Slugthrow’s Tail. There are stories of a similar drug circulating in a distant country.”

“…Ah. So it’s difficult to openly mobilize the Knight Order under the pretext of drugs and make arrests publicly.”

“That’s right. Cutting off the supply is an urgent matter, no doubt… but thinking about the subsequent communications and compensation gives me a headache.”

The reason Randolph doesn’t distribute it domestically—is it because if he handled it in Verdgar, he’d be reported by rival factions? That’s probably where his title as a trade merchant comes into play.

But I have no intention of being lenient enough to overlook it just because we know it’s there.

“Even from the angle of his connection to slave traders, Randolph has problems. If it’s about maintaining relations with the Labyrinth—”

“Hmm… That would be a reason for the Otherworld Ambassador to act.”

I finished reporting to King Melvin and obtained his permission. I contacted my companions via the Communication Device, and on the way to Randolph’s mansion, I told them what I’d learned about Slugthrow’s Tail.

“Well… drugs like these are just nasty by nature. It’s a different kind of nastiness from Magic Potions.”

And so, it somewhat turned into a lecture about the dangers of drug-like substances.

“I see…”

“It’s not that the plant itself is evil. The fact that Miriam-san didn’t know about it probably means it’s rare. And if it’s not widely known, it’s more convenient to keep it that way. So for now… our policy is to destroy all the plants in Termwills.”

“Understood.”

Since we were all going to storm the place and smash it, Miriam ended up accompanying us. The shop was just the building; the interior and furniture weren’t in yet. If we were attacked while we were away, in a worst-case scenario, I could rebuild it using Magic Construction.

Because we were on a combat footing, my home was locked from the gate to the door, and everyone could evacuate underground. That way, if my house were ever breached, they could retreat to the Labyrinth Village at any time.

“…Sheila.”

“What?”

“I want to talk about Sheila’s parents. Is that okay?”

Sheila looked at me and nodded quietly.

“Sheila, do you know what kind of work the two of them did?”

“…I don’t know. They didn’t talk to me about work. Even if I asked, they wouldn’t tell me. But… thinking about it now, I wonder if that’s because it wasn’t normal work. Like, the Thieves Guild or something.”

I see… So Sheila herself has some idea that her parents belonged to the underworld, to some extent.

She probably doesn’t imagine they were at the level of bodyguards for the Guild Master, though…

“I was told that one day, Father and Mother died in a carriage accident. Isabella and the others never told me the details, so I stopped asking, but…”

Sheila closed her eyes, paused for a moment, then looked straight at me.

“No matter what it was, I always wanted to know. If it’s related to what’s happening now, even more so. If Theodore heard anything, I want you to tell me.”

…Yeah, that’s right.

“—We’re going to investigate that right now.”

I told her about the work of Sheila’s parents that I’d heard from Isabella.

“Looking at the information from a bird’s-eye view and speculating… Randolph might have been involved in the accident involving Sheila’s parents. The timing of him obtaining the saplings is too close.”

At my words, Sheila’s eyes widened.

He got the Slugthrow saplings from Dexter, and Randolph’s ambitions grew. So he tampered with the carriage of the previous Guild Master, who was unifying the Thieves Guild, and killed him. That’s the background.

“This is still just speculation on my part. We won’t know for sure unless we squeeze Randolph, but—I support revenge if that’s the case, and I’ll help too.”

“…Okay.”

Sheila nodded quietly. Looking around at my companions, they were all nodding as well.

I believe that about her parents is something Sheila wants to know and should know. That said, even when telling her, I have to be careful she doesn’t rush off alone.

That’s why I made sure it wasn’t asked about at Isabella’s place… and why I can tell her now is because we’re all on our way to Randolph’s place together.

So from here on out, it’s not a battle. It’s just hunting down some pests. Not acting alone, but crushing them thoroughly and surely, all together. I absolutely refuse to allow a situation where we suffer losses from Randolph’s counterattacks.

Now then—we arrived near Randolph’s mansion in the Western District. I’d heard his description from Isabella, and confirmed that Randolph was at home.

“What’s the plan?”

“We could charge in head-on, but… if they escape and take the Slugthrow with them, or if remnants remain, that would be problematic. If we’re doing this, it has to be thoroughly, leaving not a single one.”

I placed my hands on the ground. Concentrated my mind. Not performing circulation, just expanding the range and reach of my Earth Magic as much as possible. This preparation takes time. I can’t do it once combat has started. That’s precisely why this is the opening move.

The building’s structure, the size of the grounds—already grasped.

“Let’s go.”

From where my hands touched, stone walls swelled up, completely enveloping Randolph’s estate. In an instant, Randolph’s mansion was isolated from the outside world.

Now they’re rats in a trap. Well then—let’s go smash them to pieces.