episode_0080

“Well, you’ve waited a long time.”

When Sylvia returned from the kitchen to the living room, she was not alone.

There were drinks to quench our thirst.

Three glasses of a red drink containing lemon, orange, star anise, and cinnamon.

A glass of clear yellow tea with unusual leaves, and a glass of red cocktail on ice with red berries inside.

“This is for Chris and Sheila.”

“Wow! It’s a bang show!”

“Wow! I like this!”

Hololololo!

Bangsho is a drink that can be said to be what Ssanghwacha is to Korea and Bangshos to the West.

Because various ingredients were boiled in wine, the alcohol had already evaporated a long time ago, making it a beverage rather than alcohol.

Scylla and I changed from bat form and cat form to human form one after another.

Scylla, in her human form, was still Odd Eye. It appears that this was not a temporary phenomenon.

Anyway, the sight of the two of us chatting brought a warm smile to everyone in the living room.

After us, Sylvia handed Solas a clear tea and Lund a red cocktail.

“…This?”

“It is a tea brewed from the leaves of the world tree.”

‘What? Wasn’t the World Tree important to the elves?’

From the elves’ perspective, I thought it felt like tea made with the hair of a god.

Of course, Solas answered with a smile on his face.

“I didn’t ask because I didn’t know. I said this because I was curious about how the young director had such an item.”

“Because I have an elf acquaintance I used to have.”

“Oh, really?”

When Sylvia’s past, which I had not known about until now, was mentioned, I asked while my ears perked up.

“Chris, is there any reason for me to lie here?”

Because it was a seat, it seemed like Sylvia was a little sensitive.

“Wait a minute, Sylvia. Why am I the only one drinking? Plus, this fruit inside the ice… it feels just like an eyeball.”

“This is a cocktail that is meant to be enjoyed that way.”

“…?”

Lund’s question was not resolved, but Sylvia gently clapped her hands and invited everyone to have a drink.

“Ah~ It’s nice because it’s warm.”

“ugh.”

Unlike me, who easily sipped the hot vincho, Silas repeatedly stuck her tongue in and out.

Oh, is it because it’s a cat’s tongue?

Seeing as how he couldn’t drink hot things, he looked like a perfect cat beast.

No, animals tend not to eat hot food in the first place?

“Sila, should I ask for ice?”

“Eh, it’s okay.”

I suggested an appropriate prescription to Sheila, but she didn’t seem to want to take it that far.

“Chris, then the ice will melt and the taste of the vincho will become bland.”

“…?”

In response to Sylvia’s answer, Lund stared at the ice in his cocktail again.

Of course, Sylvia did not explain that part.

Well, since the cocktail was made with that in mind, there didn’t seem to be any major problems.

***

“Oh, I have something to tell you at the moment.”

“What is it?”

“This is related to the Procaine Association.”

“This is the association that the person who came last at the last meeting belongs to.”

Silvia mentioned Oleg Langabes in Lund’s words.

“Yes, it is the association led by my uncles. Recently, there was an unexpected change in the association.”

“…Did you really get hit?”

Even if the word “incident” was mentioned in the Procaine Association, it would have been obvious what had happened.

Lund and Solas nodded almost simultaneously at my words.

“The first uncle passed away, and the whereabouts of the second uncle are unknown.”

“Then what about Oleg?”

“The youngest uncle said he was safe.”

As Lund said this, he turned his gaze to Solas. He probably heard this news from Solas.

“I think it was probably the elder who did this.”

“…You are calm considering that your uncles suffered a disaster.”

When Lund was about to mention the main culprit of this incident, Sylvia pointed it out.

“Because it is difficult to be happy about someone’s death when you have already chosen this path.”

To her point, Lund simply responded calmly.

If he had lived for nearly 100 years and had many encounters, wouldn’t he have had a heartbreaking farewell?

“Finding meaning or reason in death is also an old-fashioned way.”

Solas, who was next to him, helped Lund speak.

I don’t know exactly how old Solas was, but considering Magusfall’s values regarding death, it was clear that the trend these days was not to attach much significance to death.

“By the way, this car is more authentic than I thought.”

“Yes, even if you look at it like this, both the former troubleshooter and the bartender came up from the bottom.”

“Heh, me too.”

Solas responded to Sylvia’s remark with a face that seemed to recall his past.

“Then what about Lund?”

“Lund is not a case of coming up from the bottom. Because the runner-up took over the branch they had set up in the south.”

“What, you were the only one with a golden spoon?”

“…Noisy. I also had to use everything that was available back then.”

While savoring a cocktail, Lund responded as if he felt unfair to the slurs directed at him.

“Okay, okay. Don’t get upset.”

“I have never sulked.”

Even though you say that, your face seems to be sulking, right?

Meanwhile, Solas said he had more important things to say.

“In the meantime, the elder didn’t move, but that is now a thing of the past.”

“Are you saying that the elder and the tribe leader could attack us at the same time?”

“Someday. The second tribe leader is busy restoring his tribe, but the other tribes are still alive and well.”

I next asked Solas.

“In the worst case scenario… won’t we have to deal with the elders and the tribe leader up to second place?”

“No, that won’t happen.”

However, Lund responded to my answer with a confident voice.

“Why~?”

“Because that guy is not that idle.”

“But isn’t there still a possibility?”

Sylvia seemed to have the same thoughts as me. But Solas told me why he had no choice but to think that way.

“The 2nd place is currently carrying out the request entrusted to him by the Sage of the North alone. I won’t move for a while. Even if I’m not busy, I tend not to show much interest in these things.”

“Hmm, you seemed interested in me though.”

“…That’s right.”

Solas did not even deny the possibility of change due to me.

It was true that second place seemed to have a lot to say to me.

“So, we need to deal with this matter quickly.”

“First of all, I think I should say thank you for sharing the information. Regarding this matter, we plan to contact the local public order office and make an official request.”

Sylvia thanked the two for sharing information and also mentioned their future plans.

Lund and Solas asked Sylvia if it was possible and also asked about other details that needed confirmation.

“Yes, of course. I happen to know someone who has connections in that area.”

Sylvia answered confidently every time.

After all, he is our director!

“Let us make the necessary preparations.”

“I will prepare the equipment and supplies.”

Since this was to take place inside a quarry mine, night vision goggles and radios were needed to communicate with each other.

If the CEO of Serotonin Science could help you with that part, it would at least save you some time.

“So Tetracaine is focusing on mobilizing its power?”

“That will happen. We will focus on the offices belonging to the association.”

“We can also mobilize our private troops. There is also something I want to try.”

From Lund to Solas, there seemed to be quite a bit of motivation for this work.

“Wait a minute, everyone is fine, but I have a few things to say.”

“What is it?”

Lund reacted quickly when I spoke as if I was counting down the momentum of the two people.

“The guy who turned the miners into gold at the quarry… If you know him, there’s something I’d like you to consider.”

I started speaking as if I had experience dealing with King Gordian.

‘Well, it’s true that I caught it several times while playing Dream City.’

“First of all, I think it would be better to exclude offices and units that engage in close combat for a long time.”

In addition, an additional condition was to have the flexibility to respond immediately to various situations so that even if access is allowed, it is possible to respond immediately.

Lund and Solas then answered that they knew, but asked if I had had a similar experience.

“I’m curious too.”

Sylvia also seemed very curious about my story, which she did not know.

“I have dealt with similar guys before coming to Magusfall. I don’t know if those guys and this guy are the same type!”

To avoid arousing suspicion, it was best to say this.

It felt just natural to me. However, it could have given the impression that I did not fully understand King Gordius.

“Well, let’s take care of that part here.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Information collection. If you can’t get any useful information from the nearby area, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to dispatch a scouting party inside the quarry.”

It wasn’t a very good idea.

If the scouts are turned into gold by King Gordius, the king’s power will become stronger.

Of course, I held up my arms and mentioned that to Lund and Solas.

There is a big difference between dispatching a scouting party with at least awareness of this aspect and dispatching a scouting party without knowing anything.

***

An impromptu meeting at Sylvia’s house.

A few days later, thanks to Sylvia’s efforts, the incident that occurred at the Sasau Quarry was finally registered as an official request.

The client is the security maintenance office in the district where the Sasau Quarry is located.

It was! It was only nominal.

With the help of the Tetracaine Institute in Lund and Serotonin Science in Solas, our Blue Heart office was involved in selecting the offices and solvers to participate in this commission.

Naturally, we at the Blue Heart Office also invited those designated by Lund and Solas to participate in the request.

In the case of others, those who could not be trusted were entrusted with tasks that were difficult to perform properly or had little influence on the request.

“…Chris.”

“Huh? Why?”

At that moment, Sylvia, who was checking the list of requested participants at the office, called my name while riding in the form of a bat on the back of Sheila, who was riding on Lund’s back.

“….”

As the three of us approached, Sylvia showed us the screen as if to ask us to see it with our own eyes.

“Huh?! What, why did this guy come?!”

The name clearly written on the screen is Jason Spatoy.

He was ranked 6th in the city’s solver rankings and was one of the top solvers, also known as the Bullet Wizard.