Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: An Eye for an Eye, a Drug for a Drug (4)
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'What a bitch.'
That thought popped into my head right away.
What was most absurd was that if a drug test was conducted, she'd obviously be caught first—so what gave her the guts to call in the Inquisition right away?
Sure, you could say she was willing to burn herself to take down the Menesil Family, but hadn't she already admitted her goal was just the money?
"You'll get burned at the stake too, so what trick do you have up your sleeve that let you call the Inquisition so quickly?"
Sua squirmed under the sole of my shoe pressed against her head as she began to answer.
"I'm a wiiitch... uh..."
"A witch?"
"Yesss... I can turn into a crooow... ugh..."
A question mark or two probably floated invisibly over my head. This woman was a witch?
It wasn't hard to guess her origins. Probably the southern forest.
"A witch from the south?"
"Wiiiitch..."
When drugs first started circulating, the impact was massive, and when the imperial family decided to step in directly, witches were the first targets for regulation.
There was some basis for it back then. People addicted to drugs looked like they were under a spell.
On top of that, the witches' usual behavior played a role—specifically, how they acted toward the imperial family, not the public.
Regular folks rarely encountered witches anyway. They lived clustered in secluded areas.
Imperial mages were quite interested in witch spells, but the witches always responded with cold rejection.
It's natural for humans to fear the unknown, so the imperial family decided to eliminate the risk preemptively. Regardless of facts, they rounded up witches indiscriminately.
Many witches died.
There were hardly any who researched ways to harm people to begin with. Unable to mount much defense, their forests burned, and their bodies turned to ashes.
'We must have revenge.'
'No, we shouldn't stoop to their level.'
Opinions split among the surviving witches, but those were the two main camps.
Those dreaming of revenge headed to the southern forest; those seeking compromise went west.
...Or so the story went. There was no way someone as vicious as Sua came from the western forest.
I figured she'd gotten a lot craftier. Obsessing over drugs instead of spells was probably to hide their identities.
"So you're using drugs instead of spells to cover up any witch involvement?"
"Yesss... wiiitch... We move in paaairs..."
"In pairs?"
"Yesss... One uses spells, the other supports with drugs..."
"No famous witch from the southern forest? Like a leader or something?"
This wasn't just idle curiosity; she felt like the final boss.
"Red Beak and the Rusty Crow are the leaaaders... ugh..."
A sigh escaped me automatically. Worry was already setting in.
"None of them sound easy."
"The Rusty Crow is meee..."
"...?"
What? The final boss was attached from the start? What was the developer thinking when they made this game?
No. Toss out the useless thoughts. I shook my head.
I could pry more info out of Sua anytime I had the chance later.
Right now, the priority was how to deal with the Inquisition.
Everyone burning at the stake leading straight to a bad end? Just imagining it froze every cell in my body.
I grabbed the collar of Sua, who was drooling and moaning "Heh...", and yanked tight.
Her eyes were already completely unfocused, but I tried to meet them anyway.
"Ah, uh... Maaaster~"
Finally making eye contact, I glared murderously and continued.
"Right. You said you wanted to serve me as your master?"
"Ganeghan-nim is already my maaaster..."
"No, I don't accept that."
"I'll do anything for youuu... Lady Dia doesn't even need to get pregnant... I'll be the surrogate moooom..."
"...Cut the crazy talk. Not a single person in the Menesil Family can test positive for drugs. Do that, and I'll be your master. Got it?"
"Got iiiit... heh..."
About then, I released her collar. She'd bowed her head to lick the back of my hand.
"Good. Now spill everything you know. Right now! Inquisition testing methods, test papers, whatever."
"There are a few drug test paaapers..."
Still face-down, Sua rummaged in her underwear and pulled out two long yellow sheets. These were familiar drug test strips.
"They turn purple if drugs are in your system, right? What, does the imperial family just use these too?"
"It's quite diiiifferent..."
Sua cautiously raised her upper body and pointed to a part of the strip with her fingertip.
The end had the imperial seal stamped on it.
"If drugs have ever entered your body, biting the end makes it change color no matter whaaat..."
I startled and shot back.
"What about victims who inhaled it indirectly without knowing?"
"Those ingredients are excluded, of course, but the problem is..."
"The problem?"
"I deliberately packed only the detectable ingredients into the drugs..."
"...Hah."
I changed the vitality stat to negative.
"Hek, ugh!! M-Maaaster! Maaaaster!!! I gave you the test strips toooo!! M-Maaaster!!"
Clutching her chest, Sua slammed her head against the floor in agony.
"You stay right there."
"Heh, ugh! Maa, steeer!!"
I didn't care what happened to her—in fact, I hoped she suffered as much as possible. With those thoughts sorted, I focused on the test strip. This was the main issue.
First, I bit the end of the paper. Only after did I remember it'd come from her underwear.
Damn. It felt sticky and gross.
"...It really changes."
The paper had turned faintly purple.
I immediately used my ability to make a vitality 10 drug and injected it into my arm.
"Please let this work."
"M-Maaaster!! I-I'm gonna pee!!!"
Vitality at 10 was intense. The moment the injection hit, energy surged through me. I bit a fresh strip.
'Damn it.'
But it still turned purple.
It tested for any past exposure, so even perfect current health couldn't fool it.
'I was planning to boost everyone's vitality in the mansion with Dia's blessing...'
Straightforward plan. Since I'd injected the servants before, I figured I could tweak the numbers using Dia's blessing.
But my test proved that impossible. We needed another way.
A way to make the Inquisition see purple as yellow.
"...Hallucinations?"
I didn't have hallucinogens in my abilities yet. I stopped Sua's pain and asked.
"You, can you make hallucinogens?"
"Heh... uh... ah... y-yesss..."
"Get ready now."
"Yesss... ack.."
As I started preparing hallucinogens to feed the Inquisition, a weird smell hit me, twitching my eyebrow.
'Ammonia?'
Far too out of place in this fancy mansion.
Turning around, I spotted the culprit.
"Hey."
"I-I said I felt like I was gonna rice... I mean peee..."
Sua was trembling, clutching her crotch. How could someone be this useless?
Endure it. Just until the hallucinogen's done.
"Hic... It's all soakeeed..."
Sua shoved her hand into her underwear and pulled out several soaked test strips. Same shape, but black.
I waved her off—no more.
"What's that?"
"Test strips... for virginity and experience... Hiiing... Urine test, so the color changed..."
"Not important right now. Throw them all out. How badly do you have to wreck your body for black to show up?"
I sneered subtly, hoping she'd feel some shame.
Her response?
"Black means virgiin..."
...?