Episode 24: Murishi, The Species That Eats Monsters (10)
Inside a small glass bottle the size of a finger, there was a transparent liquid.
“It looks like water.”
She shook the glass vial, but didn’t feel anything particularly special. She thought there would be some dazzling energy since it was called a love potion, but it looked quite disappointing.
“Be careful. Don’t touch things recklessly. There are many items here that react to magic.”
Kaiton took the potion from Muriel’s hand. His expression twisted as he glanced at the glass bottle. He put the bottle back on the shelf and moved Muriel away.
“There’s no way I can cause trouble just by looking at it.”
Muriel, who was treated like a landmine, grumbled, but Kaiton didn’t even pretend to hear her.
“This isn’t a toy store, so don’t get too excited. I’m afraid it’ll be a disaster if Muriel and an item here collide.”
“…Please don’t treat people like disasters. Why? Are you afraid I might take the love potion and confess my love or something?”
“….”
Perhaps he’d imagined Muriel running at him and confessing, Kaiton’s face crumpled like he’d chewed on shit.
“I…I don’t actually mean to confess…?”
Muriel said to the chilly Kaiton.
“..I know.”
Then why are you so cold…?!
Muriel, who was dumped even before she confessed, was bewildered, but the owner who’d gone inside the warehouse returned with a black cloth.
“Were you looking at the elixir of love? Don’t worry. It’s nothing in its current state. Before using it, you have to mix it with hair or blood.”
“Look. I told you nothing would happen if I just touched it.”
“Why? Are you interested? Do you want to buy it? This is already a reserved item, but I can make one for you if you want. The ones I make are the real deals. They’re different from those that make you drunk on love for a day and then wear off.”
“How long does the magic last?”
“Until the lady desires. If you get tired of it, you can simply undo the magic. It’s very convenient. What kind of love do you want? Carnal love? Emotional love? If you want carnal love, mix it with blood, and if you want emotional love, mix it with hair. The way to undo it is to say ‘I love you’ and kiss.”
“No…I’m not saying I’ll buy it.”
“If you want them to pour out words of love when they reach the climax, you don’t have to mix in the hair. It works best even with a small amount.”
“No… I really will not be buying it.”
Muriel, embarrassed, stepped back, but the shop owner persistently recommended it. It seemed like he was determined to also receive the three gold lamina that Muriel had brought.
“Normally, I should take three gold laminas, but I’ll make an exception for you and take three. I’ll cut you some slack since he’s a regular customer. Let me tell you, it’s also great to use on someone you have a grudge against. Imagine giving the person you’ve fed the elixir with your hair a terrible curse. They’ll feel the pain of their heart tearing apart, you know? They might slowly wither and die while longing for your love. It’s a steal for three gold laminas.”
“Three gold lamina is a year’s salary for a junior knight, you know?”
“That’s just how effective it is. Do you want to make a reservation?”
“I’m not buying it. I don’t need that kind of thing.”
“Is that so? You’ll regret it. There won’t be any special discounts next time. Other people can’t wait to buy it because it’s so unique. What a strange lady.”
The owner, seemingly disappointed, pursed his lips and placed a black pouch on the counter.
“Here’s the nihil you ordered. If you want, I can put decorations on the outside of the box. It’ll just take three gold laminas.”
He really was persistent.
Feeling like it would be useless to retort, she opened the pouch without saying anything and found a small box with a rough design made of stone. It was the size of Muriel’s palm.
“I don’t need decorations. This is perfect as it is.”
“If you keep it close, it can block any magic power. It’s especially good for storing talismans infused with Pacio and sealing evil objects.”
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
After Muriel and Kaiton left, the owner of Shop 0 couldn’t contain his excitement and shook his head, which Muriel thought resembled a poodle.
His usual stingy regular, who would never pay the proper price for items, paid more than double the value of the goods this time.
Seeing him pretending not to notice the outrageous price and turning a blind eye that he normally wouldn’t, the owner felt a bit sorry for being so cheap to the woman.
“To come across such a high-end pacio talisman… Today is my lucky day… Kuhaha.”
Creak.
A figure dressed in a pristine white robe entered cautiously, scanning the surroundings. Seeing the petite shop owner, they quickly pulled their robe closer, but the owner with keen eyes didn’t miss the gap.
A blonde this time?
Just before, it was a noble young lady with blue hair, and now it was a blonde.
His eyes sparkled as he received one noble after another. He always treated nobles with special care. This was because he wondered how desperate those proud nobles must have been to come all the way to this gloomy and secluded place, so he wanted to tease them a little.
“The Love Potion, is it ready?”
“Ah… You’re the customer who made the reservation.. But there’s a bit of a problem.”
“A problem? When did you ever hesitate to boast about your confidence?”
“Well, that’s true… But this time, it was difficult to find the ingredients. I need to charge a bit more. Fifteen gold lamina.”
“What? You want five more?Do you have no honor as a merchant?”
“Take it or leave it. There’s a line of people waiting to buy it.”
“You despicable…! The product must be reliable. Otherwise, I’ll wipe out this entire place!”
The young lady in the robe swiftly grabbed her purse after paying and hurried out of the shop like the wind.
“I’ve been getting showered with money today, my my.”
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
The two arrived at the palace only when night fell.
Flying through the night sky felt truly enchanting.
But weren’t they too close to each other..?
Even though Muriel knew she had to stay close to avoid falling, being so close to Kaiton made her uncomfortable.
It was a belated realization.
However, the night was completely different from the day. The night was silent.
Even the faintest sound of Kaiton’s breaths reached her ears.
She couldn’t understand how she’d been so unaffected during the day. Was it because she was now used to it and no longer felt nauseous, or because unlike the day, there was nothing to look around at?
She could hear the sound of Kaiton’s heartbeat too clearly.
“…The moon is really bright tonight.”
“..Yes.”
Muriel couldn’t bear the silence and spoke. But it wasn’t a good choice. Because she now realized that even though her surroundings were quiet, they were very excessively romantic.
The stars were shining too brightly…!
The two of them walked silently together in front of the large full moon. Their movements were gentle, as if dancing a waltz, but the air was awkward.
“…”
“…”
The pair ignored the unusually romantic moon and stars floating above their heads. She also tried to deliberately turn a blind eye to the sensation that the two of them were the only people in this serene world. That’s how they quietly returned to Sharan’s palace.
“Thank you so much for today.”
Upon arriving at Kaiton’s laboratory, Muriel quickly bid farewell. He came in through the window as if a perfectly fine door wasn’t available.
“Thanks to you, I obtained something good. I’ll use it well.”
“…Yes.”
After gently putting Muriel down, Kaiton retracted and distanced himself from her without hesitation. No, he was actually in such a hurry that he withdrew his hand almost too quickly and moved away.
He turned his back to her, as if waiting for her to leave the lab, but after briefly looking at his back, Muriel eventually spoke.
“But… why did you help me today?”
She couldn’t help but ask.
Why did he help her?
The Nihil wasn’t a trap. It was truly a box that blocked magic. Muriel could now safely store the fragments of Ur in the future. But wasn’t Kaiton hoping for Muriel to quickly become a demon and disappear?
Why did he help her obtain something that went against his plans?
“…Does the reason matter?”
Kaiton briefly looked back at Muriel, then averted his gaze. It was unexpected. He always seemed to glare at people as if he could kill them with his eyes, so it was the first time he avoided eye contact first.
“It’s important. I didn’t know the reason, so I thought I might be dragged outside the border and killed earlier.”
“Yet you still followed along obediently?”
Kaiton responded as if he found it absurd.
“…It was an adventure.”
“So you had no countermeasure.”
“Anyways, I didn’t die.”
“Aren’t you saying ‘Anyways, you didn’t kill me’?”
Kaiton didn’t lose a word. Muriel wasn’t one to be taken lightly either. They stared each other down and were engaged in a war of nerves, but eventually Muriel relaxed her gaze and backed down. Whatever the reason, she had received help from Kaiten and had no intention of arguing with him.
“…Regardless of the reason, thank you. Since you helped me, I’d like to pay you back. Would you like the rest of the remaining gold lamina?”
“It’s fine.”
Kaiton furrowed his brows in displeasure. Was it not enough? Muriel couldn’t gauge the cost of living here. It seemed like a considerable amount of money, but Kaiton and the owner of the 0 shop were treating Gold Laminas like they were pebbles.
“This is all I have.”
“…If you want to show gratitude, you should give me something I need. I don’t need money.”
Kaiton leaned against the window frame. It looked picturesque. Whether it was his arrogantly raised chin, his arms crossed lazily against his leaning body, or his excessively picturesque appearance, he seemed otherworldly.
The pale moonlight gently cascaded along the creases of his black clothes. Muriel awkwardly pulled at the corner of her lips as she looked at his face, which had dark shadows in the dim light.
What Kaiton Ur needed…
All she could think of were ominous thoughts…!
“If you don’t need money, what do you need?”
“Well… I didn’t expect anything from you. So I haven’t thought about what I would receive.”
“Then, should we postpone this for another time?”
Muriel asked quickly. She did want to show her gratitude, but she didn’t want things to escalate like this. Besides, it seemed like Kaiton was going to seize the opportunity to tease her mercilessly.
“But it’s not polite if you refuse to give it to me, right?”
Kaiten smirked wickedly. Was he saying he wouldn’t give her an excuse to run away?
“…”
“Was it just empty words when you said you wanted to pay me back?”
“It’s not like that… I was just wondering if I could give Mr. Crawford what he wants.”
“…Do you know what I want?”
“I think I do.”
What he wanted was probably Muriel’s death. Revenge on Sharan. The destruction of the world. Things that she couldn’t grant at all.
He might need pacio as well, but that was difficult for now too…
“How about I help Mr. Crawford next time? Since you helped me today, when I have the chance, I’’ll help Kait- Kai”
Muriel, who almost called him Kaiton again, coughed loudly in surprise.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Her heart was pounding.
Did he hear it? She was going crazy… Why did the name Kaiton keep slipping out of her mouth?! Kaiton’s face remained expressionless, making it impossible to read his thoughts.
“Oh my goodness…! It’s already this late? You should hurry and go to sleep! I’ll be on my way…”
Muriel took a few steps back towards the door of the laboratory and tried to run away. In this case, it was best to escape.
“Goodbye…!”
“Muriel.”
Pause.
“…W-What? What’s wrong?”
Caught by Kaiton’s firm voice, she couldn’t escape and found herself caught by the ankles.
“…It was just a whim.”
“…What? What was?”
What? Wasn’t he calling her like this because she called him Kaiton?
“You asked earlier, why I helped you today.”
Had he been thinking about that all this time…?
“It was just on a small whim. There’s no other reason.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Then you should go now. Oh… and it’s better to call me Crawford from now on. There’s no need to hide my identity anymore, right?”
The name Crawford was the very thing hiding his identity.
“Isn’t that right?”
