Chapter 72 - 10
The remaining Ritz stretched slightly and groaned. It had been a really long time since he had been this badly injured.
"We've had a casualty…"
Gerald muttered in a low voice to Ritz, who was sitting next to him. In this rather large room, there were now three seriously injured people, Gerald, Ritz, and four corpses.
Those who had lost their lives in the previous battle, those who had turned into monsters and were struck down by their comrades, and those who had been found dead from the start… It was sad that they were all from the Military Police. Gerald, unable to find the words to say to Altman who never mentioned it, looked like he didn't know what to say.
After the Military Police and inspectors worked together to carry in the bodies and treat the injured, they returned to their search. The injured were laid on the floor, treated with medicinal herbs brought by the Military Police.
Unfortunately, there was no effective treatment for Ritz's broken bones, so he could only sit and lean against the wall.
About an hour later, everyone except those standing guard outside the door gathered in this room on the second floor. Kenny, who had come up to the second floor after finishing his search of the first, was at a loss for words when he saw the state of the corridor for the first time.
Even without knowing the details, it was obvious at a glance that something horrific had happened there. The look of relief on his face when he confirmed Gerald and Ritz's figures beyond the door was more exhausted than any he had ever seen before.
First, the Military Police in charge of the second and third floors gave their report. The shock and anger of the inspectors in charge of the first floor when they heard about the monsters was considerable.
"How cruel… Is such a thing permissible…"
Kenny groaned, his voice trembling, and slammed his fist on the floor. He must have been thinking how great the sorrow would be if it had been his own subordinate.
Kenny looked up at the great man who had made the decision to send off the monster that had been his subordinate with his own hands.
"I can't find the words to say, Lieutenant Altman… But I respect your courageous decision and conviction."
"…Thank you."
With those short words, Altman offered a faint smile. First, complete the mission, then mourn the deaths of his comrades to the fullest. He knew that was all he could do now… It was, after all, the conviction of a man who lived on the front lines.
However, the results of the search were not good. In conclusion, there was nothing on the second and third floors.
The rooms where the people who had turned into monsters were thought to have been were clean, and it was strange that they seemed to have been cleaned in order to confine them.
Another strange thing was that food and drinks had been placed in all the rooms. All but one had been eaten.
Since it was cold, it was unlikely they had been eating until just now. The one untouched meal was in the room where the deceased Barry and the monstrous Denzel had been together.
From this situation, Altman reported his inference to Gerald.
"It is believed that the drug was mixed into the food."
Barry hadn't touched the food, and Denzel had. That was where their paths diverged.
…Into the killer and the killed…
"But that's strange, isn't it…"
Ritz muttered in a low voice. A loud voice would hurt his ribs.
"What's strange?"
Gerald, who was next to him and had heard Ritz's low voice, asked.
"It's been bothering me. This drug."
"The drug?"
He shifted a few times, searching for an angle that would allow air to flow easily into his lungs. The current angle had become a bit painful. Finally finding a comfortable angle, Ritz took a breath and then started talking.
"Hey, does anyone have the actual drug? I haven't seen it once."
As Ritz said this while sitting, Altman approached and took out a small bottle from a leather pouch attached to his waist.
Ritz took it and casually opened the bottle. A soft, sweet fragrance tickled his nostrils. It smelled like perfume. This must be the scent of the Moonlight Cherry Blossom he had heard about at the meeting. He tilted the bottle and took out its contents. It was a small, pale yellow tablet.
"I see, so this is it… It looks like a sweet."
Ritz held the tablet, which looked like a sugar candy for children, between his index finger and thumb and showed it to everyone.
"This drug was sold at the port as a fatigue recovery agent. Taking it causes hallucinogenic and muscle-enhancing effects, and there have been many cases of assault… This is the information we've been given."
As Ritz suddenly started talking about the basic information, everyone fell silent, not understanding what he was getting at, and waited for his next words.
"But once the drug wore off, they were able to respond to the Military Police's interrogation, right? That would be impossible for those monsters from before."
The monsters' blood had even discolored. There was no possibility of them returning to normal after the effects wore off, as he had heard. As the group pondered, Ritz continued, as if talking to himself.
"If ingesting a large amount of the drug turns you into that monster, it would be difficult to mix it into food. They would definitely notice a tablet, right? And yet, the Military Police, who should be professionals, consumed it…"
Ritz paused and looked at Altman, who was stroking his beard and thinking. As Altman looked up, noticing his gaze, Ritz asked quietly.
"Why, Altman? Were the three who died the type to not notice something like that?"
Altman shook his head powerlessly. He didn't know either.
"Absolutely not. The informants are first-rate. And that distinctive scent. Even the slightest hint, they would have smelled it. Let alone a large amount, there's no way they, who are familiar with it, would have consumed it."
"Right. If that's the case, weren't we being led to think in the wrong direction?"
…By someone who had access to the information.
Ritz played with the drug in his palm. The yellow grain, rolling around, didn't seem like a terrifying thing at first glance. But it contained a fearsome ingredient that created that monster.
A sigh escaped him at his own thought. The possibility that the informant was inside the military had grown.
Someone who knew the date and situation of this operation in advance, and could erase the evidence… He didn't want to think about it, but the mole was either within the Military Police or the Inspectorate.
Ritz didn't voice this thought. If everyone were to fall into mutual suspicion now, it would mean the complete failure of the operation.
But surely, even without saying it, everyone had noticed.
"What do you think the wrong direction is?"
Gerald prompted the silent Ritz.
"For example… maybe the drug doesn't actually have a scent."
He returned the drug to the bottle and capped it. The strong floral scent vanished, leaving only a lingering aroma.
"…Tasteless and odorless, is it?"
Altman nodded slightly. If that were the case, they might not have noticed if the drug had been mixed into food they thought was safe because it had no scent. Shaking the bottle unconsciously, Ritz muttered to himself.
"Yes. And it might not be a solid either. There's a possibility that they deliberately made it in that form to add a scent or reduce its effects. From the beginning, their goal might have been to implant a false image of this drug in our minds."
He shook the bottle lightly, and the drug inside rolled around with a dry, clattering sound. In other words, the form it should have, the thing they should be looking for, might be the exact opposite of this drug.
"We've been looking for something in a familiar form, based on the information we had. But what if that's not the case?"
As he put his thoughts into words, his mind gradually became organized. Yes, if that drug was, as he thought, a tasteless and odorless liquid…
"Ritz-san, maybe…"
Kenny, seeming to have realized it too, looked at Ritz with a start.
"That's right. The drug was probably made here. Not brought in from abroad to the port. We thought it was imported. We were looking for it based on that scent, so we couldn't crack down on it in the port area, and the Military Police assumed they had a secret warehouse somewhere and were trying to find its source. Right?"
"That's right. We were investigating this place thinking it was the transaction point, but…"
"But it was different. This isn't a transaction point. But the informants were looking for it by scent, so they didn't notice."
By now, everyone had realized. Gerald looked back at Ritz with a face that said he finally understood.
"The drug was manufactured here, scented at the time of sale, and transported to the port district by land. To fake it as if it had come from overseas… Is that what you mean?"
"Yeah. It's just my theory, though."
Altman groaned once and then fell silent. If there was a drug manufacturing facility here, it was easy to imagine what had changed the form of his subordinates.
There must have been the raw liquid or raw materials for that drug here. It was dozens of times more powerful than that drug, and a terrifying thing that, once ingested, you could never return from…
"Then let's hear from the inspectors. Did anything happen?"
Gerald broke the situation that seemed like it would freeze in time. Come to think of it, they hadn't heard Kenny's report yet.
"…We found what appears to be a basement, Your Highness."
"What?"
Altman stood up.
"Why didn't you report something so important sooner?!"
Kenny, who was yelled at, glared back at Altman while still sitting.
"We found a basement, but we can't get in, Lieutenant. It was impossible with the four of us."
Altman stared at Kenny with an expression that said, "So what?"
"Even so, if you had reported it sooner, we could have quickly entered and seized the evidence."
Kenny, who seemed to have been annoyed by the overly forceful method proposed, also stood up.
"There is no legitimate reason to prioritize something that is not yet certain. Investigation and reporting take precedence over everything else."
"…I'm amazed at the logic-first thinking of the inspectors. What a carefree attitude…"
Just when it seemed they were about to achieve some coordination, it was Gerald who stepped in between the two who were about to clash again.
"Both of you, calm down."
He chuckled wryly, stood up, and spoke to the two. The bleeding from his side seemed to have stopped.
"With many injured and our strength diminished, are you going to bicker again?"
"But…"
"However…"
As the two looked down resentfully, Gerald continued with a sigh.
"I am asking you to do something even a child can do. Listen well, I will not say it again."
"Sir!"
With a tone of unprecedented authority and a manner of speaking similar to the current King, Gerald silenced the two and then, smiling brightly, commanded them.
"Get along."
Kenny and Altman, stunned by Gerald's words, stared blankly for a moment, then looked at each other and their expressions softened.
"…As you wish, Your Highness."
After observing the two, Gerald nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
Ritz, who had been watching without saying a word, let the corners of his mouth turn up. His method of resolution was completely different from Edward's. He would probably have talked them into submission with various examples and then governed them by command.
But Gerald had settled their quarrel with a single gentle word. Edward had the makings of a lord to be followed, but Gerald might have the talent to make his subordinates want to walk with him.
In his heart, he spoke to Edward. There's no need to worry at all. This guy can stand at the top in his own way. His way is just different from yours.
"Now then, let's investigate the basement. We'll consider this room secure and use it as a temporary aid station. Let's see, please leave three from the Military Police for guard and nursing duties."
Gerald decided on the deployment while thinking.
"What about you, Ritz? If your ribs are broken, shouldn't you rest?"
To the concerned Gerald, Ritz showed a fearless smile and stood up.
To be honest, the pain in his ribs was quite severe. But for Ritz, who had been injured countless times, it wasn't a serious injury. He could hide this pain from them.
Besides, if he rested here, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the duty entrusted to him by Edward and Shasta.
"A broken rib or two is nothing. This is normal on the battlefield."
Shouldering his greatsword, Ritz gave a cheerful smile to the injured joint investigation team and Gerald.
"Come on, let's go."
An hour and a half after storming the mansion. It was already ten o'clock.
The entrance was in a corner of the floor of what was once probably a party room, right after entering the front door. The entrance to the basement, hidden by a carpet, was sealed with a heavy iron plate.
At a glance, it was completely unnoticeable, but if you walked on that spot, you could immediately tell from the difference in the sound of your footsteps. Although it was covered by a carpet, it was doubtful whether the enemy had any real intention of hiding it.
The iron screws that held the plate in place were brand new, indicating that it hadn't been closed until recently. It was probably more natural to think that their information had been leaked. The inspectors and Military Police worked together to remove the screws, and finally, the iron plate was moved.
The scent rising from the basement was a foul odor that hit the nose and a faint sweet smell. The strangely warm air, mixed with a very faint sweet scent, was the scent of flowers.
Ritz realized it was the same as the drug tablets. The Military Police, who had seen the real thing, must have noticed this scent too. But this scent was also incredibly faint compared to that single tablet. The strong foul odor was more overpowering.
Unconsciously touching his pocket, he felt the drug bottle he had borrowed from Altman. As he thought, this tablet must have been strongly scented after it was manufactured.
"…This wasn't on the floor plan."
Gerald, standing next to Ritz and peering into the dark basement, muttered softly.
"Yeah. The construction crew must have been brought in to make this."
If that was the case, it made sense that they hadn't touched the second and third floors.
"We didn't notice it during the reconnaissance because there was an informant…"
Ignoring Altman's small murmur, Ritz let out a small breath to release the pain and muttered to himself.
"Creepy place."
The others probably felt the same. This foul odor was abnormal. But there was no time to dawdle in a place like this. He saw that Kenny was holding a candlestick in his hand. There were two.
"It's probably dark inside, so we'll use these."
"You're well-prepared."
He meant it as a joke, but Kenny answered seriously.
"I found these in the dining room. Unfortunately, we were not prepared and didn't have a lamp with us."
"No, it's fine."
Ritz hurriedly corrected himself. Kenny was just too formal. Looking closely, the candlesticks were of the same shape and looked expensive. Were they displayed symmetrically on either side of the room?
It was once silver, but now it was tarnished black from oxidation, yet its craftsmanship was magnificent. It must have been left behind by the merchant who owned the mansion before the low-ranking noble.
Since they would be trapped if the door was closed, they left two inspectors as guards, and the joint investigation team descended the stairs to the basement. Kenny, holding one of the candlesticks, naturally took the lead. The other was given to Altman, who was at the rear. This should be bright enough for everyone to see their feet.
The stairs to this basement were narrower than the stairs leading to the second floor. Two people could barely pass, but then there was no room.
Ritz followed Kenny, then the inspectors, Gerald, and finally the Military Police and Altman. The stairs, with no end in sight, felt longer than expected.
All they could see was the light of the candlestick held by Kenny; nothing else was visible. Although their eyes gradually adjusted, this darkness was unsettling.
Just as the group was getting a little anxious about the stairs that continued into darkness, they heard Kenny's relieved voice.
"We're here."
A sigh of relief that they had arrived somewhere escaped them.
"Man, I thought it was endless."
The group laughed faintly at Ritz's joke. But they weren't completely relieved yet. Just like before, they had no idea what to expect.
Altman, holding the other candlestick, finally descended the stairs and stood next to Kenny, holding up the candlestick. Two were indeed brighter.
"…Within sight, there seems to be nothing?"
Gerald muttered softly. Indeed, there seemed to be nothing in the narrow area illuminated by the candlestick.
"But it's a hidden room. This can't be…"
Kenny cut himself off mid-sentence. Tension ran through everyone.
"What is it?"
As Ritz asked Kenny, who was staring straight ahead, Kenny held up the candlestick in the direction he had been looking.
Two eyes glinted in the darkness.
"Lieutenant Altman, please shine a light over here!"
Faster than Kenny's request, Altman had already turned his candlestick in that direction. The darkness faintly receded, revealing the gleaming eyes.
"Who's there?!"
The gleaming eyes answered Kenny's sharp question.
"Are you an enemy?"
It was a man's voice. Low and raspy, it had definitely asked that.
"What?"
Not understanding the question, Kenny asked back in confusion. But the voice did not answer his question and instead asked its own again.
"…Are you human?"
After a moment of silence, Altman, who was standing next to Kenny, answered.
"We are human."
"I see… Human…"
The air in the room stirred slightly.
"Then, you are the enemy…"
Simultaneously with the voice, the candlesticks were knocked out of Kenny's and Altman's hands.
"Damn it!"
"The light!"
Plunged into darkness, the Military Police and inspectors were gripped by fear. For a moment, everyone tried to run towards the exit. But Ritz yelled at the panicked group.
"Calm down! The first to panic is the first to die!"
An atmosphere of confusion still lingered, but the impulse to flee had vanished.
Raising his greatsword, Ritz sharpened his senses. To knock the candlesticks out of their hands from that distance in an instant was no ordinary speed.
"Protect Gerald and everyone fall back."
Enduring the pain in his ribs, Ritz commanded. Now, with an unknown opponent, was not the time to wait for Gerald's decision.
"Ritz, you're injured! I can't be the only one protected and run away!"
Gerald's voice was sharp.
"Just go!"
But Gerald didn't run. No, he couldn't run. The gleaming eyes turned to Gerald.
This man, he can see everything…
The moment everyone realized that, they froze. The gleaming eyes were fixed on Gerald. If they moved carelessly now, it would be dangerous.
"Gerald… I've heard that name before…"
The voice and the gleaming eyes muttered.
"I was told not to kill him… no… I was told to kill him."
The gleaming eyes darted violently from side to side. Was he shaking his head? The man seemed to be confused. But that didn't make him any less dangerous.
A single second felt incredibly long. The man was muttering something. His words gradually became clearer.
"Don't kill… Kill…"
The eyes fixed on Gerald and glinted. Ritz instinctively ran towards the eyes. The eyes had revealed the man's emotions.
Simultaneously, the man screamed and started running.
"Kill!"
"Run, Gerald!"
Ritz couldn't catch up to that speed. He couldn't see if Gerald had been able to respond to his shout. But what he heard was Gerald's groan.
"Gerald! Damn it!"
The man's voice overlapped with Ritz's scream.
"You human! Now you know!"
Ritz swung his sword down towards the source of the voice. But the man pulled back a fraction of a second faster. Too fast…
"Altman, Kenny, report the situation! What happened to Gerald?!"
Ritz yelled at the two, his sword still at the ready. But it was Gerald who answered.
"I'm… alive."
The tension inside Ritz eased all at once.
"You're alive? Don't scare me like that, Gerald."
But Ritz noticed that Gerald's voice was filled with pain. He walked towards the sound of the voice and sat down next to Gerald, who was barely managing to sit up.
…The scent of blood. The wound was not shallow. He would need treatment as soon as possible.
"Altman, take Gerald with the Military Police and retreat."
"But Ritz-kun…"
"Go!"
The Military Police, pushed by Ritz's shout, started to move, but in the end, they couldn't carry out the order. The gleaming eyes stood in their way.
Somehow, it had circled around and was now far behind Ritz.
"You humans, I will never forgive you…"
The man, his eyes gleaming, slowly approached Gerald and Ritz. Raising his greatsword, Ritz stared into those eyes.
"…I will kill you. I will kill the humans…"
Muttering this over and over, the man advanced. Ritz suddenly felt a trace of reason in that voice.
This darkness, and his extraordinary athletic ability. He had thought he was a drug addict, but maybe not. For one, although he seemed confused, this person was speaking coherently.
This darkness, and this basement… Maybe they had both made a mistake.
If so, could he be persuaded?
Just as Ritz came to that conclusion, the man declared in a firm tone.
"I will kill them… and return to my homeland!"
With determination, the gleaming eyes once again fixed on Gerald.
"Wait! Are you misunderstanding something?"
Ritz shouted at the man just as he was about to pounce on Gerald. His ribs ached, but now was not the time for that.
"Misunderstanding?"
For a moment, his voice wavered in confusion.
"That's right."
After a moment of silence, the air moved. The next moment, Ritz was lifted up by the collar of his military uniform. His bones creaked, and his breathing became difficult. Grabbing the man's hand, Ritz barely managed to support his body to breathe.
Ritz was nearly two meters tall, but the man was even taller.
"What misunderstanding?! You humans are the ones who did this to me. All the humans who come to this basement are the same. All of them are my enemies!"
Being shaken, his broken ribs screamed in agony. But unable to do anything, Ritz endured.
"All humans are the same! All humans should just die!"
This man was lumping the joint investigation team together with the drug organization. It was partly due to his slight mental derangement, but he couldn't recognize the difference between his enemies and the people who were here now.
"Humans are…"
Under his labored breath, Ritz realized. He hated humans.
He hated the human race.
Suddenly, Ritz understood. This speed, and the glowing eyes in the darkness. Why hadn't he realized it until now…?
—This man was not human. Like Ritz, he was a being that was both human and not human.
A beastman from the special autonomous region of the neighboring country of Luciana.
"Don't keep repeating 'human, human'…"
Ritz spoke to the man in a raspy voice. It was getting quite difficult to breathe. The man's hand was still gripping his collar, lifting him up.
It was a gamble. If he couldn't escape this, he would die.
Ritz looked into the man's crimson, glowing eyes.
"Killing me… is a mistake…"
"What did you say…?"
For a moment, the man's grip loosened. Not missing the opportunity, Ritz kicked the man in the stomach with both feet.
"Ugh!"
As he groaned, Ritz escaped from the man's grasp. He collapsed to the floor, desperately taking in ragged breaths to get oxygen into his body. That was close.
The pain in his ribs made it difficult to breathe deeply, which was also painful. With his breathing still ragged, Ritz looked up and declared to the still-groaning beastman.
"I'm… not human!"
"Wha…"
The beastman was speechless. Ritz continued.
"I'm… of the Spirit Tribe. You're… a beastman, aren't you?"
His breathing hadn't quite returned, and his words were halting. The beastman let out a confused voice.
"The Spirit Tribe… the Clan of Light…? That's… impossible. Why would you side with humans? With humans who commit such demonic acts!"
It seemed that in this beastman's mind, the image of humans had become the worst it could be. As they stared at each other for a while, his breathing calmed down.
"We're different. We came to get rid of the humans who were doing evil here. There are all kinds of humans."
"Lies!"
Ritz placed a hand on the shoulder of the beastman, who couldn't hide his confusion. The beastman's body trembled. The beastmen were spirit users and revered the long-lived Clan of Light. He had no choice but to bet on the words he had heard when he went to Luciana long ago.
"Believe me, a member of the Clan of Light."
The beastman's shoulders slumped, all the strength gone from them.
"The Clan of Light is the clan closest to the Goddess we revere most… Then I have no choice but to obey."
The man muttered in a quiet voice, as if in prayer. Ritz, while feeling complicated about those words, was grateful that the man's hostility had vanished.
He had never thought that his own race, which he detested, would be useful here.
"Kenny, Altman, it's okay now. Find the candlesticks and light them."
"Yes, sir."
When all the lights in the basement were lit, it became surprisingly bright. The place they had been in was a large hall, just like the one above.
On both sides were several cells with iron bars. Inside, several corpses were lying, emitting a foul odor. The corpses were probably a few days old, but the temperature in this room seemed to have accelerated their decomposition.
There was no longer any doubt that something horrific had happened here. And it was clear that this man who had been locked up had had a blood-curdling experience.
And in the center was a huge device made of iron. From the powder and sticky substances stuck to it here and there, it was clear that this was a tool for creating solids from liquids.
There were also a large number of molds for medicine, perhaps for baking and hardening the drugs. The equipment was extensive enough to be called a small factory. This place was probably a basement prison that served as both an experimental and manufacturing site.
It seemed that the prisoners had been forced to make drugs, knowing that they would be killed.
Other than Gerald, who had been taken to the second floor for treatment, and the few inspectors who went with him, everyone remained here to investigate the cells. In the meantime, Ritz, Altman, and Kenny decided to listen to the beastman's story.
The beastman introduced himself as Lef. He said he had been brought here from a neighboring country and immediately imprisoned.
"This is a terrifying place. All the humans who were brought here turned into horrifying monsters…"
Lef trembled as he said this. Piecing together his halting story, it was like this:
There were several large jars placed here. The jars were filled with a beautiful golden liquid. The liquid was mixed with something by the men, made into tablets using the tools placed there, and carried out every day.
As expected, he had not smelled the strong scent of the Moonlight Cherry Blossom here. The scent seemed to have been added after it left here and before it was sold.
But at some point, that changed. The work of making and carrying out the tablets was still being done, but it had decreased compared to before. Instead, men with ill-looking eyes started coming here.
Ritz and the others understood. Those men were likely the thugs who had been casually recruited in the slums around that time. They had been lured by sweet honey and used as guinea pigs here.
"All the men are made to drink that golden liquid. Then, after a while, they all turn into monsters."
Lef had been here the whole time. Every day, he was made to drink small amounts of the drug.
"No matter how much I drank, I never turned into a monster. I saw hallucinations sometimes, but that was it. The drug doesn't work on us beastmen."
The beastmen had strong bodies and powerful self-healing abilities. Their bodies probably broke down the drug.
"But one day, a kind man told me, 'It's better to pretend the drug is working.' He said if I didn't, they would keep making me drink more and more, and even a beastman wouldn't be able to take it. Right after that, he turned into a monster too."
Lef did as he was told and pretended the drug was working. In other words, he had seen hell here.
"After making me drink the drug, those demonic men would tell me to hate humans, to kill humans. I heard the name Gerald there too. They said if I killed him, I would be at ease."
The same words repeated every day, and the daily hallucinations caused by the not-so-effective drug… That was what had thrown him into confusion.
Altman, who had been listening to the story, sighed.
"What a terrible story, how cruel… Lef, you have suffered greatly."
Lef, who had believed that all humans were his enemies, was confused by Altman's words, which were filled with sympathy and sorrow.
"That's right. We inspectors will never forgive the culprits of such an incident."
Lef seemed to have a strange feeling towards Kenny as well, who was trembling with anger in sympathy with Lef's plight.
At this point, Lef began to talk to others besides Ritz as he was asked questions. Beastmen were originally the most simple and honest of the demi-human races. That was why they were often seen working as laborers in the neighboring country.
What they finally understood was that the golden liquid was the raw form of the drug, and ingesting it would cause that monsterization in a roughly fixed amount of time.
About an hour. That meant the Military Police officers who had been turned into monsters had been given their meals calculated so that they would transform an hour later. That would have been around seven o'clock, an hour before the raid.
But when the joint investigation team, who had finished searching all the cells, came to report, the raw form of the drug was gone. If it had been there until this morning, where could it have gone…?
That question was answered by Lef.
"This morning, the liquid was carried away, jars and all. They were usually dressed nicely, but this morning they were wearing surprisingly worn-out clothes, so it felt strange."
Something clicked in Ritz's head. Large jars, golden liquid, and worn-out clothes. A man's face suddenly came to mind. He had been staring intently at them, and then the man…
That's right, at that time, the man had laughed at Ritz. With a chilling smile, he had laughed… He had caught it in the corner of his eye, but he hadn't noticed until now.
—That honey seller was a high-ranking member of the drug organization. He had been heading towards the capital.
"They got us!"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
At Ritz's sudden shout, everyone looked up in surprise. His face must have changed color. Kenny, noticing this, looked at him with concern.
"It's Ed!"
"What?"
Ignoring everyone's confusion at him suddenly calling the King by his first name, Ritz ran his hands through his hair.
"Their target isn't Gerald, it's Ed! Damn it, I was careless!"
Ritz clutched his aching chest and headed for the stairs. He couldn't stay here.
"Ritz-san, where are you going?!"
In the midst of everyone's confusion at the sudden turn of events, Ritz yelled without looking back.
"I'm going back to the capital."
"What did you say?"
Ritz turned around with irritation.
"Don't you get it yet?! The honey seller we passed this morning is a high-ranking member of the drug organization. They had the raw liquid, didn't they?!"
Kenny and Altman gasped.
"Then… that raw drug…"
"That's right. If they mix it into the lunch of the Royal Guard and the Royal Household Guard, even Ed, who's skilled in martial arts, won't stand a chance. Shasta will be taken down even more easily than Ed."
Ritz ran up the stairs. There was no time to worry about the pain anymore. The situation was a race against time.
Leaving the bewildered guards behind, Ritz left the mansion. He took out his pocket watch.
Current time, eleven o'clock… There's no time, will I make it….