Solving the Case with a Single Taste
Thanks to Mist's request, I'd been staying temporarily in a house where I ended up meeting a member of the Nebla Duke Family's execution squad—and I froze at the utterly unexpected sight.
Execution squad member.
What image comes to mind when you hear that?
Scarred faces, expressionless and ruthless killers, right?
Honestly, it was bound to conjure a far from pleasant picture.
"Hello!"
No one would picture a bubbly blonde kid barely reaching my solar plexus greeting me so cheerfully.
"..."
A beaming smile.
Luxuriant golden hair overflowing with such vibrant life it seemed ready to burst—like a sapphire gem embedded right into that golden-haired, blue-eyed child.
I flicked my eyes up to Mist, who stood silently behind the girl, and started a wordless conversation.
Is this for real?
What do you mean, sir?
No, is this kid actually an execution squad member?
Yes.
She affirmed it way too casually.
"Well, nice to meet you."
"Yes! Allow me to introduce myself properly! I'm Lena, the appraiser for the Nebla Duke Family's execution squad [White Shadow]! I'm 11 years old. Please take good care of me!"
Lena spread her arms wide and bowed deeply, the picture-perfect greeting of a child to an adult.
"..."
Hand angle, intonation, even her breathing—flawless childlike behavior.
It was acting so convincing that even a trained expert might have been fooled. Hell, if I hadn't been tipped off that she was from the execution squad, I'd probably have bought it too.
"...Your real age?"
Surprised by my lack of reaction, Lena's eyes widened slightly before she flashed a smile that seemed oddly mature, nothing like her earlier childish grin.
"Ahaha. As expected, this heir candidate is different, huh?"
"..."
"Or did Mist tip you off... Eek! Sorry, Mist. I didn't mean to be cheeky."
Her expression had changed. And her voice even more so.
If her previous tone had been a high-pitched child's voice, now it was that of an adult woman.
"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Lena, appraiser and spy for the execution squad [White Shadow]. I just look young because of my racial traits."
With that, Lena revealed her ear hidden beneath her golden hair.
ZZZzt.
Like static noise, her ordinary human ear morphed in an instant.
Her round ear sharpened slightly at the tip.
Racial trait. Pointed ears.
Putting the clues together in my head pointed to two possibilities: dwarf, or...
"A gnome, huh?"
Too slender hands for a dwarf.
Dwarves, born blacksmiths, had sturdy hands and feet from birth—hers were a bit too delicate.
Hearing that, Lena smiled softly and confirmed it.
"Correct. I'm Lena, a gnome who just turned 25 this year."
"So why the prank?"
I sat in a nearby chair in my room and eyed her.
I considered lighting a cigar to kill the boredom, but even knowing she was an adult, it felt off with her childlike appearance.
Either oblivious or not to my mood, Lena rolled her eyes at my question before bowing her head deeply with a serious expression.
"I'm sorry. Due to my racial traits, I couldn't resist playing a needless prank. This was all my own doing. If you're offended, please punish only me..."
"Eh, whatever. Lift your head."
I knew gnomes were pranksters who couldn't contain their curiosity.
And even if it was a prank, she hadn't gained anything from the child act, so there was no real harm.
She said spy, right?
I'd thought I'd misheard at first, but given her race and looks, it made sense.
Gnomes were a curious bunch.
Kids were curious too, so pairing childlike behavior with that fit surprisingly well.
People let their guard down around kids.
That must've been the point of the act.
"So you want to appraise the Miraz?"
"Yes. The execution squad [White Shadow] is examining it now, but the supplier has cut off all distribution."
That much I knew.
The supplier had halted everything the moment the church intervened and moved to crack down fast.
Dealers who'd only gotten tiny regular shipments hadn't even thought to stockpile.
"Of course, given time, we could secure some, but that would just waste it."
Even for the Nebla Duke Family, tracking down a drug just starting to spread—especially with the supply chain severed—was near impossible.
Hearing Lena out, I voiced the question I'd had from the start.
"But even if you appraise it, what's the merit?"
Our goal was finding the source—the supplier.
We weren't cops warning citizens about dangerous ingredients.
To my reasonable query, Lena stuck out her small scarlet tongue playfully.
"My ability is Absolute Taste. I can discern the components of any food or substance I've tasted, plus the lingering mana traces like an aftertaste."
Everything had mana.
Inanimate objects too, even non-awakened people.
"The strongest mana residue on that drug. I can taste it and pinpoint the culprit. Sound good enough reason to appraise it?"
Enough? It was more than enough.
Felt like finding a shortcut in a game.
"Obviously. Let's go."
I stood and headed for the Nostra Family building.
The basement of the building used by the Nostra Family.
Disguised as the Dale Newspaper, it was piled high with old issues—theirs and competitors'.
Looked like any ordinary newspaper basement.
But push through the stacks to the deepest door, and a whole different scene unfolded.
Top-secret files on rival families, nobles' dirty secrets—rumors and scandals ripe for blackmail, all meticulously organized.
The inner sanctum of info brokers.
"Man, this is my first time down here too."
"Hm... We usually never let outsiders in."
Breck eyed Lena as she poked around, then added,
"But it's a request from the Nebla Duke Family's [White Shadow]... No helping it."
"Huh. But is it okay for her to browse freely like that?"
I pointed at Lena casually flipping through files like they were picture books in a library.
Breck answered with the face of a man who'd puff a cigar hard if he had one.
"No choice. Part of our deal with [White Shadow]—in emergencies, we provide info almost free."
"Ooh, the Nebla Duke Family lives up to the name."
Impressive, even for the massive info network of Nostra.
As I thought that, I discreetly scanned the room with my smoke senses unleashed upon entry.
Thirteen explosion magic circles...?
One carved into each ceiling and secret bookshelf holding the intel.
Probably to obliterate intruders—and the info—in one go.
"Ooh, Abel! Look at this."
Lena's voice pulled me from admiring Nostra's thoroughness with a smirk.
Maybe from our chat on the way, she seemed a tad friendlier.
"Check it out! It's the file on Count Ishta's only daughter and the legendary Seven-Legs Incident!"
"What...?"
Seven legs? How physically possible was that octopus shit?
"It's true."
Mist, standing quietly by my side, confirmed it lightly.
"The blight on House Ishta. A famous tale of her seducing a promising heir from another house. The family head spent a fortune burying it—common knowledge among nobles."
"Holy..."
Wouldn't have cared if it was some rom-com war story, but that physics-defying number had me dazed, reaching for the file—when
"Ahem. Weren't we here to investigate Miraz first?"
Breck's voice snapped me back. I followed his lead to the secured Miraz sample.
Sealed in a clear glass tube: pristine white powder. Surprisingly coarse grains, like sugar.
"This is Miraz? Got some crystals, huh."
Why the coke-snorting trope from media?
Stuffing crystals up your nose? Major downside.
All the drugs I'd seen here were finely powdered.
"Means it's so potent, pop it in your mouth and bam—effect."
"Hm? You haven't tried it?"
Breck scowled at my casual remark.
"Obviously. Can't fathom why anyone would touch that crap."
"Good... Lena, appraise it."
At my go-ahead, she expertly unsealed the tube, dabbed a bit on her fingertip, and licked.
"Hmm..."
Eyes closed, she focused entirely on her tongue. Then, opening them, she stared at me, baffled.
"About 80% is sugar?"
......
"What?"
Sugar?
I gawked at her finger and the tube's contents.
Looked like sugar from the grains—turns out it was sugar?
Lena nodded, putting the nail in my confusion.
"Yes, sugar. About 80%. Rest is standard addictive compounds. Hmm."
"So just basic drug?"
Miraz's rep wasn't just addiction.
It awakened abilities in normals—that's why [White Shadow] moved so fast.
But basic drug? With mostly sugar, it was lowest-grade purity. Didn't add up—straight-up weird.
"Abel, mind if I take more Miraz?"
Main ingredient: sugar.
Rest: basic narcotics.
What's left?
"Probably mana-based. Need more to tell."
"Breck, cool?"
"Fine. Faster the better for us."
I nodded to Lena at his okay.
She dumped half the tube into her mouth and savored.
Mana flowed from her mouth—likely her ability probing the substance's mana.
After about a minute, she opened her eyes, pulled paper from her bosom,
and plopped down to sketch furiously.
"Mid-50s, half-bald, doctor's coat?... And that mana aftertaste..."
She muttered intensely while drawing.
Mist watched casually.
"She's pinned the culprit—the supplier."
"For real?"
"Yes... Her ability reads mana memories left in substances via tongue. That's why she's [White Shadow]'s appraiser."
"Huh."
"Combat-wise, she's below average—needs special care."
As I listened, Lena's mutters quieted.
Instinct said it was done. I turned.
"Whew. All set..."
"Good work. Supplier's description?"
"Right away."
She stood, brushed dust from her butt with short limbs, and showed me the sketch.
A balding mid-50s man. Bland except hazy, druggie eyes.
"The supplier, right? But his biggest trait isn't that."
[Mage]
"The one who made this drug is a mage and alchemist."