Chapter 273: Chapter 206 Part 1

Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”

A popular restaurant near the central square of the royal capital.

At a table in the corner, three men were eating and discussing.

They were adventurers, and they were familiar with this restaurant. Originally, there were four of them, but now they were one man short.

「As I thought, it’s strange」

The sullen old man who is the leader of the group squeezes out his voice with a more sullen expression.

The thing that troubled them right now is the absence of the vanguard old man. He had recently become so addicted to a brothel that he had stopped coming to work.

「I’ve seen him get excited about a woman before. But this is unusual」

A skinny old man with a red face from drinking crossed his thin arms and growled.

A while ago, they had headed south to Awoke for a job from the merchant guild.

In the end, they were only kept on standby and were shrugged off, but they still earned the minimal request rewards.

「I just don’t feel refreshed, like this. I’m going to go and clear my head」

They lacked a person, and one of them still stopped by the high class brothel 『Elsailles』 in Awoke.

『A destined meeting』

That’s what the old man vanguard said when he came back to the lobby after playing.

Since then, he has been forcing himself to make time to go to Awoke on a regular basis.

「Guess the time for him to tie the knot has come huh?」

「Nah, frequenting a high-class brothel will only lead to heartbreak, I’m sure. Maybe I should start preparing for a consolation party now」

At first, they just shrugged their shoulders and watched over him while talking about it lightly.

『It’ll cool down soon, anyway』

That’s what they were thinking at first.

But this time it took longer than ever. As a team, they could no longer overlook it.

「Hey, Vince, what do you think?」

The leader calls out to the youngest member of the group.

The sorcerer called Vince stopped the fork with the sausage stuck in it and turned to him with a puzzled look on his face.

「No, even if you ask me about it…」

He joined the team only recently. So he didn’t know that much about the old man who went to Awoke.

He didn’t know what they expected him to answer.

「I mean, you’re also addicted to a brothel, don’t you?」

(Ugh!)

His voice stuck at the unexpected remark.

You’re just like the old man who commutes to Awoke. He was disappointed that they saw him that way, but he himself couldn’t explain what the difference was.

「……Isn’t it alright as long as it doesn’t trouble anyone?」

「It’s already become a trouble for us all, why do you think I asked for your opinion in the first place?」

The skinny old man with a red face from drinking said in exasperation and continued.

「Anyway, there’s definitely something strange with him. Anything’s fine, do you have any idea what might cause it?」

Vince searches inside his head.

(Even if he said that… But, if they have people like Twintail-san and Mini twintail-san, then I can see why he can’t help wanting to visit that brothel)

The other members’ gazes pierce his skin even as he thinks about it.

Anything’s fine, I should say something here. Vince decides to do so, and remembers the pillow talk with Twintail.

(She said she was drugged with an aphrodisiac once, didn’t she? I’m sure he intends to make her his prisoner by using drugs)

When I heard the story, I was so angry that my vision turned red.

It was already resolved, though, so I calmed down immediately.

「This is a story from a while back ago, but there was a case where a woman in a brothel was drugged by a customer with an aphrodisiac. If her behavior is too different from the way she normally is, there is a possibility that it involves drugs」

The members of the group had a convinced look on their faces.

The aphrodisiac incident at the brothel about half a year ago was still vivid in their memories.

Although in this case, the culprit was reversed from the customer to the woman, it was worth considering. It was pretty convincing to them.

「Drugs, huh? We will have to confirm this」

Vince’s idea was surprisingly well received. As soon as the old man who went to Awoke returned, they decided to look into it secretly.

***

And the next day, the team’s workplace.

This is where they keep all their adventuring equipment, potions, and such.

The old man who goes to Awoke appeared there a little late, looking somewhat light-headed.

「Take this!」

The leader suddenly sprinkled an F-rank cure status abnormality on him from behind.

Vince opened his eyes wide when he saw it.

(Weren’t we supposed to do this secretly?)

Naturally, the old man who commutes to Awoke was surprised.

「What are you doing, Leader!?」

The leader, a sullen old man, didn’t seem to pay him any mind at all.

「Are you going to Awoke again, next week?」

「Of course I will!」

One side of his face twisted at his answer, and now he poured out an E rank ones.

「How is it? You’re still going?」

「What are you talking about? You’re going too far even if it’s a joke! I’ll get angry if you don’t stop now!」

The sullen old man’s face was filled with bitterness at the sight of the unchanged state of the old man who commuted to Awoke.

He then pointed with his chin at Vince in front of the potion cabinet and told him with a loud voice.

「Bring out the D-rank potion!」

(Eh?)

He was surprised by what he said.

D-rank potion is the highest rank potion on the market. He had thought they would keep it for work purposes.

Perhaps reading his feelings, the sullen old man repeated his words.

「It’s junk goods, so don’t be hesitant. It’s useless in the field anyway」

Looking at it closely, he can see that there is no label on the bottle indicating the manufactory. There was also no seal of authenticity on the bottle.

Potions are a last resort when you’re attacked by a demon beast or caught in a trap. Certainly, it’s not something to be afraid of carrying around, especially if it doesn’t have a brand.

「It was a leftover potion from when I practiced with the mushrooms」

He nodded at the additional information.

He remembered that he said he was teaching how to cook poisonous mushrooms for a fee.

What a glutton there is in this world.

「Please let go of me!」

The old man who commutes to Awoke keeps resisting without knowing what is going on. He is strong even though he’s just a vanguard.

The sullen old man and the skinny old man that’s red with alcohol, who was probably nearing their limit, shouted again in impatience.

「Hurry up!」

Prompted by the two, Vince sprinkled a D-rank condition recovery potion from the cupboard at him.

The effect was dramatic. The old man who commutes to Awoke, his body stiffened and his mouth wide open as he stared into the void.

「………」

Everyone else was holding their breath as they watched, and more than ten seconds had passed.

With a puzzled expression on his face, the old man who commutes to Awoke restarted.

「……Are?」

What escaped from his mouth was a voice that sounded that showed confusion.

The sullen old man looked at him firmly from the front and asked.

「Do you want to go to Awoke?」

「…No, not really?」

The reluctant old man turned around, smiled and gave a thumbs up. Vince didn’t know how to respond to it and just gave a half-hearted smile.

Shortly after that, everyone began questioning the old man about his commute to Awoke.

「So you don’t even know why you are so adamant on going there?」

The fat man answers the questions from his team member with an expression like a person that has been lifted from possession.

He seemed to be aware of the fact that he had spent a lot of money and caused trouble for everyone, so he shrunk back.

Their leader, the sullen old man, put his hand on his chin and groaned.

(It seems it was indeed a drug)

The previous aphrodisiac incident had turned into quite a big deal.

(If it has moved from the royal capital to another city and is still continuing there, then……)

It’s definitely not something that can be ignored. The sullen old man, the leader of the group, swallows his spit and clears his throat.

「We’re going to the guard station. You come with me to give your testimony」

They all walked out, surrounding the old man who commuted to Awoke.

***

At that time, a customer was visiting a brothel in the royal capital.

The name of the brothel was Jayanne. It is a very high-class brothel located along the main street of the red-light district.

「As expected from one of the three big families of the royal capital. I had a lot of fun the other day」

The man in the reception room was a middle-aged, skinny man with a wide, crooked mouth. He is a professor at the Royal Magic Academy, and has been called the best pharmacist in the country.

「I am thankful for your generous words」

The concierge who sat on the other side of the desk bowed his head. The angle of the bow was deeper and the duration of the bow was longer than usual, as if it wasn’t just a courtesy gesture.

(So Thermano-sama rolled a good number, huh? I’m saved)

The concierge wiped the cold sweat in his heart.

It was an accidental encounter that led to the start of Thermano’s play. His partner is a woman who eats the first timer that comes her way.

She is, in a sense, like a dice. The result of a play with her as a partner could fluctuate greatly from one to six.