Stockwell's head popped into the open doorway of the lab.

"Niven! We're getting ready to for the capital in a few hours, we should—"

"Noooooooo!"

He heard the pained cry of the boy coming from the other room. He quickly made his way to it and opened the door in a panic. He feared that Niven may have been hurt.

"What's wrong!?"

He saw the boy was sitting at a workbench and hunched over an array of petri dishes. He was nearly in tears as he sat at the open window, but he seemed to be unharmed and Stockell breathed a sigh of relief.

"Master…"

He leaned over Niven and put his hand on his shoulder in a fatherly fashion.

"What's wrong? Something happen to the cultures?"

He held up one of the petri dishes and showed it to him, there was some kind of mold growing on it. He began to cry.

"I came to *snif*... to c-check on… *snif*...on my bacteria cultures, a-and I saw t-that *snif*, mold."

He wiped his snot and tears on his sleeve and continued.

"I t-think they're all d-dead."

Stockwell's eyes narrowed. This is…

Upon realizing what was going on, Stockwell couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know Niven, you really shouldn't get too attached to bacteria. Why do you think we're bothering to culture them in the first place?"

Niven sniffed up his tears and nodded sadly. "I know… I know. Just like the rats they're supposed to be bred and killed for study but… I put so much work into ensuring they had a good environment… they're my babies."

Stockwell smirked like he was holding in some good news.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't leave the dishes uncovered while the window is open. " He walked over to an open window near the bench and securely latched it close. "How'd you think a spore ended up in the culture?"

"...oh." Niven looked down sadly.

Stockwell tapped Niven's shoulder lightly. "Hey."

"Hm?"

Stockwell smiled and picked up one of the petri dishes. "You don't need to be so remorseful. This is the kind of thing that'll win you a Nobel Prize."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that your bacteria's sacrifice was not in vain."

Stockwell held up the moldy petri dish to the light and turned it around a couple of times. "The last time I saw a sample like this was back in biochemistry class, but I can tell you for sure that this is penicillium chrysogenum. You can tell by the teal coloration."

"Penicillium chrysogenum?"

"Yes my boy, it's a common fungus that's able to produce an antibiotic compound called penicillin. I was thinking of looking for some later, but it seems like it ended up finding us instead. This find of yours will end up saving millions of lives."

"What!?"

"Mhm. It's a step above sulfa when it comes to massacring bacteria. Pack up all these dishes and I'll teach you how to isolate the penicillin once we're in Re-Estize. We'll need to grab some chemicals before we go."

Niven had completely forgotten about the death of his beloved bacteria in the prospect of new scientific adventure with the bonus of also saving millions of lives. He hurriedly began stacking the cultures.

"We don't have a lot here, but we can always grow more. At the very least, there should be enough mold here to do some experimenting."

…

Stockwell and the Princess have had several meetings like this one before. It was simply just him and her in a closed room so that they could discuss their plans in secret. They had just finished their time together and Stockwell was getting ready to leave, however...

Something really is off indeed. I feel like… I feel like she's hiding something. I was right to bring this.

For several days now, he had been having this ominous feeling that Renner was not being up front with him.

The plans he made with her concerned how best to grow E-Pespel Steel works into an economic force powerful enough to break the tie between the Nobility and Royal factions, as well as assisting her in dealing with the Eight-Fingers. And nothing about that had changed despite him getting into the fold of the Eight Fingers.

The only conclusion was that she was not aware of his new partners.

But Stockwell did not trust this.

Renner was simply too smart for her to not have noticed something off. Afterall, it was thanks to these kinds of meetings that he was given important information about Renner and Blue Rose's movements against the criminal organization.

He thought that maybe she was just testing him, feeding him information to see if the eight fingers respond to it, and thereby prove his connection to them.

But if she really did have her concerns that Stockwell was part of the eight fingers, then why not just ask him face directly? For a psychopath like her who did not really care about the well being of the kingdom's citizens, cooperating with him to gain total control of the eight fingers would be the best way to proceed.

Did she think that he didn't trust her enough to answer truthfully?

She's right though. I don't trust her.

If she did indeed already suspect that he was working with the Eight-Fingers, then the only reason he had not changed her behavior was that she had had a change of plans that she wasn't telling Stockwell about.

Did she alter her goals? Or is she working with someone else? The Baharuth empire maybe? Did she give up on Re-Estize and think of just running away with Climb to Baharuth? It wouldn't be that bad of a decision considering the state of the kingdom right now.

He looked over the princess once more and she smiled sweetly at him. He got up to leave the room.

"I'll just leave your gift here then. Happy birthday. I'm sorry I couldn't make it last week. I was busy in E-Pespel."

"There's no reason to apologize, Wesley-san. I know how hard you work."

Renner nodded and Stockwell picked up a heavy sculpture of a woman carrying a bouquet of flowers sitting atop a pedestal. He had brought it under the pretense that it was an exotic ornament from a country far to the south. He had had it decorated with gold and silver as well. Renner accepted it of course, as it would be the height of rudeness to deny a gift from someone she had been working so closely with.

Likewise, he had waited until there was an appropriate occasion. It was her birthday a few days ago. No one would look twice at a late birthday present.

Even if Renner is smart, she isn't omniscient, she won't be able to predict this having never seen a radio before. Hopefully I catch something soon.

He gave her a polite bow before exiting the room.

After closing the door, he waved goodbye to the guard outside, who responded with a cold stare.

"Work on that glare of your my boy."

Climb averted his gaze in embarrassment. It was extremely improper for some of his station to look at Stockwell like that, and he had been chided for it before.

Stockwell rolled his eyes and left the palace.

He swiftly boarded the carriage waiting for him and made his way back to his residence.

...

It had only been coincidence in the first place, but he silently thanked himself for getting a house that was so close to the palace. He was able to get back in less than five minutes.

He hurried through the door and Vera met him.

Stockwell didn't break his pace as they both headed for a back room.

"Vera, anything coming through yet?"

She nodded hurriedly.

"Yes, the audio's a little fuzzy, but it's just clear enough to make out what they're saying. Renner's meeting with someone, he came in just after I heard you leave. From his voice it sounds like a young adult."

"Probably Climb. Did she mess with the transmitter at all?"

Vera shook her head. "It sounded like she bumped it around a bit, but I don't think she found anything."

Stockwell nodded and they opened the door to the back room.

"How are you even doing this? I can't detect any magic from it at all. Is it really electricity?"

Stockwell pulled out a chair and sat at a large metal box that looked very similar to the one he had just left in Renner's room.

"Radio waves are not electricity, nor are they magnetism. It's electromagnetic radiation. You shouldn't be able to detect with your experimental magic. Didn't I tell you already? The microphone in the bouquet converts sound waves into electronic signals which are then sent to a transmitter and transmitted as waves on the electromagnetic spectrum where they are received and reconstructed via a magnet in a speaker to create sound, this of course….Never mind, it'll take too long to explain, ask Niven later if you want the full explanation."

He turned a knob receiver and the static died down a little, they listened to the muddled voices.

…Bzzz….zzzz… "Climb! It's not that embarrassing! It's just a part of my body like any other girl…"

After listening to the conversation for a little while, it sounded like Renner was teasing Climb by bludgeoning him with details about her menstrual cycle. Something along those lines.

He exchanged a glance with Vera. She shrugged.

"This sounds like it's going to take a while. Could I trouble you to pick up some food in the market while I monitor this psychopath?"

Vera looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, you know as well as I do we can't have staff in this household." Stockwell said. "They'd choke on chemicals or something or other."

…Brzzz….zzzz. "It tastes a little different than normal blood."

"You taste it, Your highness!?"

"Well yeah! I was curious, do you want to try!"

Vera exchanged a glance with Stockwell.

"Sure. I'll be back in a bit."

Vera left the room.

Stockwell sighed and turned the volume down on the radio to a low setting that he could still hear. Unfortunately, he'd need to listen to this in the background for if and when something important happened.

He brought out a few data sheets to do some research analysis to pass the time.

…

Some time later.

...Bzzerp….Zzzz…."Climb, could you go out and guard the door again please? I'd like to have some alone time."

"Of course."

Stockwell heard what sounded like someone in full plate armor bowing and the sound of heavy footsteps followed by the opening and closing of a door.

Stockwell sighed in relief. "Finally."

He figured that it would be a while until he would hear the door open again. As such, he should turn the radio down to conserve some power.

But as he was about to turn the knob of the radio, Renner spoke once more, followed by an eerie voice that exited the receiver

….BZzerb...ZZzz…."We should be alone for a while now."

…."I will call Demiurge-sama then."

Stockwell quickly turned the volume back up and gave the radio his undivided attention. What? What was that voice? I didn't hear the door open again. Was someone inside the room the whole time she was teasing Climb?

The mysterious voice spoke up again.

...zzzz…."Done. Demiurge-sama will be here shortly. I will be returning to your shadow then."

He waited in silence for a long time as though he were hiding, listening to the static hum of the radio receiver. The metal box was a receiver only, and as such, even if he were to say something, Renner would not be able to hear them from the transmitter in her room. Even so, he waited in silence.

Shadow? He thought. Does she have someone hiding in her shadow? I think those blue Roses ninjas are capable of something like that… but there is no way that voice belongs to either of them.

...Buzzz…

He heard an alien sounding noise followed by a couple footsteps. He then heard what sounded like the princess dropping to the floor in a bow. He then heard a male's voice.

….Bzert….Zzzzz…"Has the room been warded yet?"

"No. Your servant called you the moment we were alone."

"I see. I will cast anti-divination magic then."

Several seconds of silence passed.

"Done, no one should be able to cast any divination magic on us now."

Stockwell nodded slowly to himself. There's nothing magical about the way he was spying on them. If all that magic did was prevent sound waves from leaving the room, or prevented people from casting magic to eavesdrop on them, then it shouldn't have affected the radio in the slightest. It was good to have confirmation of that

"You may raise your head."

"Yes."

"You have done an excellent job so far in just the short time we've been in contact, the information you've provided us has been invaluable in setting up our lord's plans."

"Thank you very much."

"Then tell me, how goes your investigation on Rhamnusia?"

"So far we know very little of him. I have Marquis Raeven and the Grey Wolf investigating the matter. We have confirmed the rumors that he has ties to the Eight-Fingers, however, we have yet to deduce if these ties are amiable or not."

"I see. Then speaking of that steel trader, do you still have suspicions that he is Rhamnusia."

"Yes. But I'm afraid it's only a suspicion. It is based on his company's movements and the subtle way he reacts during conversations about the eight fingers."

"Hm. But you say he has no combat power?"

"As far as I know. I offhandedly asked Blue Rose what they thought, but they unanimously agreed that Wesley-san looked no more powerful than a simple human. Climb also seems to think that he could easily defeat him."

"Then it's far more likely he is simply working with Rhamnusia."

"I suppose so."

"But that is not to say he isn't dangerous. Last you said he is still plotting to take over the kingdom, yes?"

"Correct. I've been feigning cooperation with him. He will meet his end before he accomplishes his goal. I am only using him to break the nobel faction and to bring this kingdom to economic stability in preparation for our lord's take over. Even if he has ties to the Eight fingers, he should not pose you any trouble. I'll simply use him for as long as I'm able until, if and when it comes time for you or I to dispose of him."

"Then I will leave that matter to you."

"Of course. Then if I may make a request?"

"Yes?"

"I would like you to continue to keep my knight, my Climb, for the time being. He seems to have become more reckless recently."

"Of course, that was always my intent.

"Thank you very much, Demiurge-sama."

"I will visit you again shortly. Continue to faithfully serve our lord."

"Yes."

"Oh, my apologies. One more thing. How's the progress on opening up the grain stores?"

"I am almost there. The magistrate thinks that the legislation left by the last king is iron clad, but I've already found a work around in the wording. Once Raeven's letter gets to him next week, there should be nothing left preventing him from selling."

"Exceltcent. I'll be off then."

He heard the strange alien noise once more and it seemed that the man named Demiurge had left.

….Zzzz…."Climb! You can come back in now…"

He listened for a little while longer but heard nothing meaningful. Stockwell turned the knob on the radio receiver and the static faded into silence.

He leaned back in his chair.

"Well then… I didn't expect to learn so much so soon…"

Stockwell clenched his fist as he thought about the princess's betrayal.

Whoever this lord is, he's controlling the princess from the shadows as well as actively searching for me. This couldn't be any worse. And what was that grain thing about?

He took a deep breath and calmed himself.

Think, Wesley. What should I do?

It was obvious to him that a group of powerful entities out there searching for Rhamnusia, and they've already got their hands on Renner.

Or rather, they had to be powerful or else Renner would not be working with them.

Just think this through. What's my play?

Firstly, it's clear that Renner's plotting for E-Pespel Steel Works business to fail at some point, I'll keep a lookout on that end. Secondly, we'll maintain control over the Eight-Fingers but distance ourselves enough so that they can't track us back through them. And finally, it seems like Raeven's going to be investigating us as well, let's see if we can't convince him to come to our side instead.

Stockwell hid his sinister grin as a novel idea came over him.

He got up out of the chair and went around to the other room that held the mini laboratory. Niven was hard at work making penicillin.

"Hey, Niven, remember when you went to the temple and collected all those bacterial samples?"

Niven looked up from his penicillin making.

"Hmm? Yea, why?"

"Where did you put the culture of meningococcus? I need it for an experiment."

"An experiment? What kind?"

"It's a secret."

…

Vera carried her bag of produce as she walked happily down the capital's unpaved roads. She was enjoying her walk so she had decided to take a roundabout way back to the house. It was about 5:00 in the afternoon and the shadows of the buildings had grown just dark enough to summon criminals in back alley ways to begin their dubious dealings.

She stopped when she noticed a commotion in one such alley way.

"What is she?"

Vera leaned around the corner to see the bizarre image of an immaculate butler effortlessly hoisting a man in the air by the lapels. The man squirmed and flailed in the butler's grasp, kicking the air.

The flailing man replied, his voice off-key from panic. "She, she's a worker in our place,"

"I asked you what she was. And your answer is that she is a worker?"

The man's eyes were growing wide in fear. He was trembling like a frightened animal. The butler gave him a murderous gaze.

"It's nothing. It's just that some of my colleagues view humans as objects, so I believed that you too viewed people as objects. If you held that point of view, then you would not consider yourself to have done something wrong. However, you answered that she was a worker. In other words, you considered her a human being. Am I correct? Then, allow me another question. What were you going to do with her?"

Vera's gaze narrowed. What is he talking about?

She then remembered where they currently were from when they had been visiting the department heads of the eight-fingers.

This is Cocco Doll's place. Are they fighting over a prostitute?

The man gave off a queer squeal as the butler tightened his grip.

"She, she was sick, so I was taking her to a temple—"

"—I do not like being lied to."

"Aiiiieee!"

The butler tightened his grip on the man's shirt and he began to suffocate.

Vera pondered if she should get involved. She didn't like the business Cocco Doll was running and Stockwell too expressed concern with the way he did things. As such she held very little sympathy for the man.

But that being said, it wouldn't be good if the situation got out of hand. If Cocco Doll ended up doing something rash because of some altercation over a prostitute, then Rhamnusia would have to pick up the pieces.

The butler looked to be in control of the situation right now while the other man was a squirming mess, therefore, the quickest way to settle this situation with minimal heart ache would be to put the man out of his misery.

She dropped her groceries and rushed to the two of them.

Upon seeing her, the butler dropped the man on the ground without any kind of care.

"You're making a lot of noise. Is something going on here?" Vera asked.

She did her best to put on a bored expression and glanced between the two.

The butler was unmoved by Vera's arrival. He had already noticed her presence long before she even stepped into the alley way.

"I would like an answer to that question as well." The butler said.

He stepped aside to reveal a dirty burlap sack lying on the ground behind him. Vera blinked wide when she saw the upper half of a woman sticking out of it.

The woman inside the bag looked like a withered corpse, her blue eyes were dark, clouded over and empty of life. Her shoulder-length hair was messy, with split ends from malnutrition. Her face was swollen like a ball from beatings, and there were numerous pale red spots all over her dried-out, bark-like skin.

It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on.

Vera had been around death and decay for a long time and considered herself fairly desensitized to such things. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

She wondered if she could ask Stockwell to kill Cocco Doll later.

"Okay, I see something is indeed going on." Vera said. She glared at the man.

Upon seeing that a second witness had arrived and taken the butler's side, the man had realized he had run out of options.

His resolve visibly melted.

"P-Please! Don't take her away!"

The butler nodded silently to Vera, as if telling her, Thank you, your arrival ended up speeding things along.

The butler scooped up the woman into his arms. "I'm taking her with me."

"If you take her away, things will be very bad. You'll be inviting disaster upon you and your master! Have you heard of Eight Fingers?"

Vera scoffed at the man. She almost smiled at how empty the threat was.

"I'll take my chances with the Eight Fingers."

The man bowed low to the ground.

"P-Please ma'am, they'll kill me!"

She looked back at the decrepit corpse of a woman still barely hanging on to life in the butler's arms.

"You'd better start running then, 「Shock」."

A small bolt of lightning jumped from her hand and collided with the man on the ground. He spasmed before passing out.

She turned to the butler.

"You should come with me, I'm friends with the Grey Wolf. The Eight-Fingers would dare mess with his residence, We'll be safe there. I'll also see what we can do about her injuries, since I doubt the temples will touch her."

She picked up her bag of groceries and the butler gave her a polite bow.

Sebas was enticed by the prospect of getting guaranteed healing for the woman, as well as being able to justify his behavior to Solution. He could say that he was able to use the dying woman as a means to gather information about a prominent figure in the kingdom.

"You have my thanks, ma'am."

…

Vera opened the door to their residence and walked in, the butler walked in behind her carrying the sickly woman.

"Wesley! We have company!"

She turned to the butler and gestured to one of the many lavish furnishings in the room.

"Go ahead and lay her down on the couch, Sebas-san, and we can go ahead and start healing her."

Sebas nodded and layed the woman down. While he was doing so, he was examining the room closely.

So this is the residence of the Grey Wolf. He is one of the targets of my information gathering. I never intended to meet with him face to face, but here I am. So while I have the opportunity, I should endeavor to make friendly relations with him.

"I'm using one of the waste potions!" Vera shouted into the house as she rummaged through a cabinet. She retrieved a clear blue liquid and brought it over to the woman.

Stockwell appeared at the other end of the room. His face scrunched up with confusion when he saw Sebas and the beaten woman lying on the couch.

"Uhhh, Vera? What's going on here?"

Sebas quickly stood and looked towards Stockwell. He recognized him as the man he had met in the magician's guild library quite some time ago. He also then remembered that Vera was the woman who had been stalking him. It seems that the lovely affair between humans had been resolved, he mused.

"Pardon the intrusion. I believe we've actually met before. Your name is Wesley, correct?"

Sebas bowed with an extreme level of elegance.

Of course, Sebas knew his full name was Wesley Aamon, but while he had the first word, it was beneficial to set the tone of their conversation as though they were old friends reuniting.

"Hmm?" Stockwell looked at the butler.

Ah! It's him!

"Sebas! The butler, yes! You helped me pick out books in the library, right?"

Sebas smiled. "Yes. Good to see you're doing well."

"So what brings you here?"

"Your friend Vera and I ran into this woman on the street and she recommended that we come here for assistance."

Vera seemed like she was struggling to heal the woman's wounds with the potion. She leaned back and added to the conversation.

"We suspect she got this way due to a brothel run by the Eight Fingers."

Stockwell scrunched his face once more. What? Vera is rescuing people off the street now? And a brothel? Ah— Cocco Doll, makes sense. Vera must be trying to smooth something over. Whatever. I'll ask her for details later.

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, this house is safe. Feel free to stay as long as you like, Sebas."

Hehe, what a fitting name for a butler. Only thing that would make it better is his last name being "Tian."

Sebas bowed. "I am in your debt."

"No problem." Stockwell waved nonchalantly. "You really helped me out back there in the library. Without you I'd be pretty far behind in my studies."

Stockwell looked over the woman on the couch once more. I'm not a trained physician, but I can already tell from just one look at her skin that she's got syphilis.

Suddenly he perked up. Wait! This is a perfect chance to test the drugs out.

He addressed Niven who had been watching from the doorway.

"Could you grab a couple of things for me, my boy?"

Niven nodded.

"Go ahead and get a syringe of the penicillin, and a syringe full of that diamorphine we just made."

"Understood."

Niven disappeared into the backroom and re appeared a little bit later holding a pair of syringes. He handed them to Stockwell and he walked over to the woman.

"Having trouble, Vera?"

Vera was indeed having trouble healing the woman.

The potion she was using was reclaimed blue potion from the concentration process. It was far more dilute than normal blue healing potions, but it should still have more RHC than the average woman. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't have any problem restoring her to full health.

"Yeah, her head wounds are infected and she's riddled with diseases so it's making it hard."

Stockwell nodded and got onto one knee. He leaned over the woman and Vera backed off. They all watched closely as he gently took one of her arms and searched for a vein.

He spoke to her softly and held up one of the syringes.

"This one is a powerful painkiller. It won't help your disease, but it will atleast give you a little bit of peace."

He stuck the needle into her arm and she flinched slightly.

"Sorry, I should've warned you."

He drained a small amount of the fluid into her body. The effect was immediate. Her whole body visibly relaxed and she began to cough.

Perhaps I gave her a little bit too much... but I doubt she minds. Seems like we successfully made heroin, excellent, I'm sure Hilma would be happy to know that we just made her drugs a hundred times more powerful.

She began to move her lips. And even if it was only barely, she felt like she could speak again now that a lot of her pain was gone.

"T-Thank you."

"Not a problem, but that dose was not only to numb your already existing pain, but also to numb you for the other injections, so prepare yourself. This will sting a bit. You have a lot of infected wounds beyond just your syphilis."

He lifted the other syringe containing the penicillin.

He brought the needle to her swollen, puss ridden face. He inserted the needle and she flinched.

"Sorry. Just bare with it."

He emptied a little bit of the liquid into her system and withdrew the needle. He made several more injections near various infected regions.

"The only way for you to get better is to kill the bacteria, and unfortunately, healing potions can only heal living things, not kill them. That is why we're trying to invent a potion that's capable of doing that job. Vera, give her the rest of the healing potion, orally this time."

He gestured to Vera and she nodded.

She gently brought the potion to the woman's lips.

There was a subtle difference between before an after the application of the penicillin. The boundaries of the infected wounds which had previously refused to budge slowly began to close. Her bloated, puss filled head wounds began to shrink, and her bark-like skin began to clear and regain color.

In a few minutes, she would probably be back to normal condition.

"Excellent. Niven, mark it down. And also, get some cultures off these wounds a little later. I want to see if there's any novel effects to this. Looks like we got something promising."

Stockwell nodded proudly. "Though, considering she's from a brothel that would leave her in this kind of condition, she probably has some viral STDs that antibiotics won't be able to solve."

Niven and Vera recovered from their amazement quickly. They were used to seeing Stockwell create such miracles with his science. Vera smiled and nodded and continued to cast her spell.

Sebas was still staring in awe however. A healing potion from this world might be able to heal her in real time under an ideal situation if the alchemist was skilled, but this is far from an ideal situation. My ki could easily heal physical injuries, but curing diseases and infected wounds with such ease is something that only high tier healing spells could manage in such a short amount of time. I was convinced that we were going to have to use the healing scroll given to us by Ainz-sama. I have never heard of or seen such medicines before, and they most certainly didn't appear to have been made by alchemy.

Suddenly, Sebas's eyes narrowed. I am to follow all leads concerning knowledge and technologies unique to this world.

After the potion finished running its course, the woman on the couch fell into a peaceful sleep. The result was promising and the infections would likely clear quickly.

Vera turned to Niven and they nodded silently to each other. They picked up the groceries that were still sitting near the door and left the room to go and prepare dinner.

Sebas realized he was still staring and quickly turned and bowed to the master of the house, who was still investigating the woman. "Thank you for lending us shelter and aid. I am in your debt."

Stockwell hid his smirk. Personally, I don't give a damn about the woman. I just wanted to see if the drugs worked and to see how they interacted with magical healing. But I can't just say that outloud now can I?

He stood and gave the butler a friendly smile. "Again, it's no problem at all. Just trying to help out. Actually, it was quite the favor, my apprentice and I have been meaning to test out our new inventions."

"Yes. Ahem." Sebas cleared throat. "If you don't mind me asking. Those truly were some remarkable elixirs you gave her. I take it you're the alchemist who made them?"

Stockwell realized he had made a small blunder. He really shouldn't have been going around showing strangers their technology without planning.

Stockwell shook his head. Luckily the new world already had a concept of germ theory.

"Those medicines were not actually of my own design, all the credit should really go to my apprentice. He discovered some fungus a few days ago and saw that it was able to kill germs. After he brought it to my attention, we played around with it for a little while until we were able to put it into a form that could treat infections. "

Stockwell shook his head and laid it on thick. "Diseases are so hard to treat, once we perfect our process, the number of lives we could save could be in the millions. I hope that answers your question. Can you please keep quiet about this? There are greedy bastards that would try to steal our research if word got out."

Sebas nodded, deep in thought. Hmm, a likely story. It's for reasons like this that Ainz-sama is investing so much in that one alchemist.

The more Sebas thought about it, he couldn't help but come to the conclusion that the Gray Wolf was just a nice man.

What am I doing? Mr. Wesley is clearly a man of just disposition. And even if it was only out of deference for a friend and the testing of his potions, he still opened up his home and offered aid to a pair of strangers, I doubt he could be connected to Rhamnusia.

"Of course, Wesley-sama. Thank you for satiating my curiosity."

Stockwell nodded. "Please, just call me Mr. Wesley, I'm not one for outlandish honorifics."

"If you insist, Mr. Wesley."

They smelled the aroma of food being prepared in the other room.

"Will you be staying for dinner?"

Sebas looked back to the woman happily sleeping on the couch. He was still responsible for her, as neither Stockwell or Vera promised to take her in indefinitely. He had also been gone for too long and needed to return to his and Solutions residence.

He bowed one final time to the master of the house. "I'm afraid I've imposed upon you for long enough, I will take my leave now."

With that, he gracefully scooped the woman into his arms and left. Opening and closing the door behind him.

Vera popped her head around the corner after Sebas left.

"What are we going to do about the slave trafficking?"

After pondering it for a moment, Stockwell went to join Vera and Niven for dinner.

"Cocco Doll is probably getting desperate. His slave trafficking business is withering by the day and he no longer has the six arms to back him up. If he shows any weakness now, it'll be the end of him. We'll just watch him quietly from afar, and if it looks like he's going down the drain, we'll scuttle his ship."

…

Before Lockmyer had become an adventurer, he had worked in the underground as a thief, and as such, he was no stranger to shady alleyways and backwater deals. This had made him a good candidate on Marquis Raeven's private forces to investigate the leads on Rhamnusia pertaining to his supposed association with the Eight-Fingers.

Lockmeyer kept his head down and continued down a street called Beggar's Row. Aptly named, the backwater street in the Re-Estize capital boasted the highest concentration of paupers in the kingdom.

Charities often ran campaigns which served as a beacon for more beggars to gather, which of course then incentivised more charities to gather as to more efficiently serve more people in need. However, as is true with most things, a high concentration of desperate people in close quarters often leads to a less than healthy atmosphere. It was not an uncommon sight on Beggar's Row to see quarreling drunkards and rampant drug abuse.

Still, Lockmyer was used to it. He kept his head down as he headed down the street.

However, he soon began to notice that something was off.

"Has this place really changed that much…?"

Though it had been several years since the last time he had visited, there had been at least some commotion, pleasant or otherwise.

But now, it seemed like a ghost town.

There were plenty of people, mind you, in fact, there were too many. The problem was simply that they were all void of life. The people simply ambled aimlessly with dead looks in their eyes.

"What's going on here…?"

He thought to himself when he suddenly felt a tug on his pant leg.

"Hm?"

He looked down. A thin, corpse-like arm was grasping his pant leg. A dirty beggar had reached out to him.

He looked up at the thief with hollow eyes. His voice was just a thin stream of air.

"...sugar water…"

Lockmyer knew better than to give a man a fish for a day. He broke away from the man's grasp and continued down the street.

"...please…just a little... I'll pay you back..."

Lockmyer continued on, but not very long, he stopped and sighed. He rolled his eyes at himself for what he was about to do.

"Perhaps I have softened up a bit."

He turned and went back to the beggar. He kneeled down and took out his canteen.

"Here. It doesn't have any sugar in it, but it'll keep you hydrated."

The beggar took the canteen, but after opening the spout and sniffing it, he immediately spilled the contents on the ground in disappointment.

"...I mean sugar water! Sugar water!"

"What?"

The beggars around them noticed the commotion and stumbled out of their lifeless state. They approached them like a horde of zombies.

"...Hey...He's got sugar water over here..."

"What the hell?"

Lockmyer quickly broke away and continued down the road.

"What the hell was that? What's their obsession with sugar?"

...

Lockmyer continued for a long time until he had found the alleyway he was looking for. After looking around to make sure nobody was paying attention to him, he turned a corner and scanned the alleyway.

He saw a man leaning against the shadowy walls of the alley. He noticed Lockmyer was looking at him.

The man stepped out of the darkness and beckoned the thief over. He gave Lockmyer a wry smile.

"Well I'll be, if it isn't the almighty Lockeroo the unseen. Haven't seen you in awhile. What brings you to our quaint little pauper's paradise?"

"I'm working for the big wigs now, gotta track someone down. I'm looking for a demon by the name of Rhamnusia."

The information broker whistled and leaned back up against the wall.

"So the almighty Lockerino got tired of playing monster hunter and became a sellsword, what has this world come to?"

He gave the thief a devious smile.

"If you want some info on good ol' Rhamy boy, It'll cost ya—"

"—I know."

Lockmyer revealed a small satchel of coins. He continued.

"But before that though, what's the deal with this 'sugar water' thing? I nearly got myself trampled by a herd of beggars at just the mention of the word."

"Hey hey hey, you know as well as I do that information isn't free."

After taking the small satchel of coins, he smiled a little bit.

"Buuuuuut, I'll let you in since you're an old friend after all. Supposedly our fair lady Hilma found a way to supercharge her happy dust. Hit the streets a couple days ago and it made a huge splash. It usually comes as a clear to brown liquid which is why the bumerinos have been simply calling it water, but it also comes in a pure powder that I've seen people smoke and put into tea and what not."

"Is it strong?"

"Strong? You know me, I don't get involved with those kinds of things, but from what I've heard, two silvers worth of sugar water will send you to the moon and back. She gave a little taste test to the druggies who were already shovelin' the dust up their asses, so now she's got 'um hooked on the new stuff."

Lockmyer nodded in understanding.

"Then it sounds like the drug trade is really taking off. I guess the rumors about Rhamnusia protecting the cultivation hubs might actually hold some merit now."

"Indeed."

"And, speaking of the demon…"

"Yes of course, bunch a people comin' through here lookin' for Rhamy boy. Though, I hear he's a hard fella to track down, he likes to keep himself pretty hands off and the like. Only way you're gonna find him is if he's lookin' for you as well. "

"So it's a lost cause then?"

The information broker shrugged.

"I can lead ya to the right people who know how to contact him, but I can't guarantee anythin'. But who knows, maybe the almighty Lockeroo will get lucky."

"Excellent, where do I start?"

...

Raeven's abode was well fortified and well manned, and as such, proved a good challenge to the assassin.

The shadowy figure smiled as he filtered through the shadows of the manor. He was one of the best assassins the assassination department of the Eight-Fingers had on staff, so he liked a good challenge.

He noticed a torch coming his way and dived behind a corner. He waited for the guard to pass.

After confirming his route, he continued down the corridor.

He came to a door and skillfully disarmed the lock.

He quietly entered and closed the door behind him, taking care to make as little noise as possible.

He crept up to his target sleeping on the bed.

It was just a small boy, maybe only five or six years old.

After confirming his target, the assassin revealed his weapons, a pair of small syringes.

He didn't like using poisons and much preferred using a blade, but he had been ordered by Hector to use these poison specifically.

He grumbled.

「Greater Numbing」

It was actually a healer skill that temporarily desensitized patients to pain, but it also had its merits as a useful assassination tool.

He located a vein on the boy's arm and inserted one of the syringes.

He grumbled underneath his breath a little.

"Such a weird assassination…"

The syringe supposedly contained an alchemical solution that increased heart rate, blood flow and as well as temporarily making the target more vulnerable to disease.

After emptying that one, he inserted the second syringe.

It was the actual poison and it supposedly capitalized on the effects caused by the previous one.

After emptying the small amount of liquid into the boy, he snuck back out of the room and disappeared into the night.

…

Marquis Raeven entered his son's room in the morning to a horrendous sight.

"Rii-tan!"

He rushed over to the boy's bed side.

He was barely conscious.

He screamed to the guards outside the room.

"Prepare the fastest carriage we have! We need to get to a temple immediately!"

The boy had dark rashes all across his body. He placed his hand on the boy's head and felt his intense fever.

"...Papa…what's going on..."

Raeven was fighting back tears as he lifted him out of the bed and started running down the hall. It was clear from the boy's condition that if he wasn't on death's door now, he definitely would be soon.

"You're...You're going to be just fine Rii-tan. Papa's going to take good care of you."

"...Why are you crying papa…?"

Raven brought the boy up higher in his arms and kissed his forehead. He continued to run down the hallway towards his carriage.

…

Raeven and his wife sat inside the temple, just outside the room where his son was receiving healing.

A priest opened the door and came out to meet them.

Raeven shot up from his seat.

"How is he! How is my son!"

He practically throttled the priest.

"Please, relax Marquis, you son's alive."

He let go of the priest and gave a small sigh of relief, but he was still far from relaxed. The priest continued.

"He's alive, but just barely. We've done all we can, but the infection has already spread throughout his entire body. You said this appeared overnight?"

"Y-Yes."

The priest nodded grimly.

"Then, you see Marquis, treating infections is a long and hard process, and it only becomes harder as the infection grows. Your son's condition has progressed to such a stage where even all of our best efforts are simply slowing it down. His body has already reached a stage of perpetual infection. All we can do now is periodically cast healing spells on him while he suffers."

The priest saw the look in Raeven's eyes and dreaded what he was going to have to say next.

"Even with fourth-tier healing spells, no one has ever recovered after reaching this stage, it's a miracle he is alive in the first place. With no way to stop the infection, your son...your son likely only has a few weeks to live."

One could almost audibly hear Raeven's soul break.

"We'll do the best we can, but you should prepare for the worst. I suggest you pray to whatever gods or demons you worship."

…

Although it was late at night, the entirety of Blue Rose was present for the meeting with Renner. Climb was currently out on patrol and thus there were only females in the room.

Tina placed a small vial of powder on the table.

"This is it. What the underground is simply calling 'sugar water' or just 'sugar'. This much went for nearly three gold pieces."

They looked at the liquid curiously.

"This is just the powder form of it too. Apparently it can be put into ingestible and injectable forms as well."

"How much stronger is it than the black dust?"

Tina sighed.

"Easily twenty times stronger when smoked or put in tea, and infinitely more addictive when injected. It's taking the underground by storm. I took a little bit of it during my research and I have to say, even though it's made from the black dust, it makes the base drug seem like a joke."

Tina shook her head ruefully.

"Lethargy, confusion, nausea, itchy skin, photophobia, insomnia, anxiety… everything the black dust did to people is still there, but now only a hundred times worse. It just hit the streets a few days ago so it's still relatively unknown, but it's only a matter of time before it gets out of hand."

They all looked down grimly.

"How are the temples coping?"

Tina looked up.

"Oh? Didn't you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Even though we've confirmed that sugar water is made from the black dust, it seems like it's not just a concentration of it, they were able to change its non-magical nature. The normal cleansing spells used for the black dust don't work on people afflicted with sugar water."

"Shit, that's right. I heard about that."

"So what do we do then?"

"What we've always done, take out the drug cultivation hubs."

"But that's dangerous, we still have to deal with Rhamnusia."

Lakyus stood up.

"And that's why you're all here. It's clear that simply trying to attack the drug cultivation hubs isn't going to do us any good, that's why we've changed our strategy to attacking the Eight-fingers as a whole."

Everyone seemed surprised.

"Oi oi, are we actually going to be doing it at last?"

"Yes, as you all know, the eight-fingers have been steadily growing more powerful as a whole, it's as if the departments are actually working with each other now. It's only a matter of time until we're forced to take action in one way or another, that is why we're acting now when we still have a chance at defeating them."

"Do we even know where to attack?"

"Yes, thanks to the combined efforts of her highness and the Marquis, we've been able to identify several locations that are likely hubs for the organization."

"Well I'll be, when do we start?"

"Three days."

"...That's not a lot of time to prepare."

"I know, but due to possible information leaks, we have no choice but to keep things on a tight schedule."

Lakyus looked around the table but no one seemed to be remiss.

"We're being backed by the Marquis and Prince Zanack's men for this operation, so you can be rest assured that we'll have plenty of support."

They all nodded in affirmative.

"Then make your preparations, the operation starts in exactly 72 hours from now."

After they all nodded in affirmative once more, Lakyus turned to Renner.

"By the way, if it's not rude your highness, what's that weird sculpture sitting on your shelf, where did you get it?"

Renner giggled and looked at the strange metal box that had been sitting on her shelf for the last couple of days.

"I thought that it was curious too, but it's grown on me. It was a gift from Wesley-san, he said it was an exotic ornament from a country far to the south."

Lakyus laughed lightly as well.

"Strange taste."

…

Lockmyer bowed.

"Sir, I've been able to establish contact with Rhamnusia."

They were not at Raeven's manor but actually at a much smaller apartment in the capital. Raeven had rented it in order to stay as close to his son as possible who was receiving healing in the temple just next door.

It had only been a few days, but Raeven looked like he had already aged several years. Sitting at his desk, his reply was full of emptiness.

"Wha—? Oh...yes, Rhamnusia…"

"Sir?"

"Yes, no...no, I'm fine… tell me what happened."

"Yes. As if by incredible coincidence or luck, I was able to work my way through the underground contacts to get to him."

"What did he say?"

Lockmyer shuddered as if remembering his brief meeting with the demon.

"Well...It was quite short but he knew I was working for you before I met him, so I wasn't able to control the conversation as directed. Instead, he simply gave me this note for you."

"What? How did he figure it out?"

Lockmyer stood and gave Raeven the note. He shook his head ruefully.

"I don't know. From what I hear, he has a reputation for being an intelligent eccentric."

Raeven took the note and read it carefully. After only making it a few lines, his eyes popped out of his head.

"What!?"

"Sir?"

Raeven shot from his chair and raced to the door.

"Make sure I'm not followed! No one is to know about this!"

"Yes sir…"

…

Raeven stood shrouded in a dark alleyway.

He called out to the shadows casted by the moonlight.

"I'm here."

A seething voice echoed from the shadows.

"Were you followed? You didn't tell anyone about this now did you?"

He swallowed and shook his head nervously. He needed to work with the demon, he was his only hope after all.

"Good, good, you see Marquis, I know that you've been secretly working for that monster."

"Monster?"

"That is, princess Renner."

How did he find out!?

"Y-Yes…"

"You know, it really was a simple plan. Renner uses your resources to sniff me out, you stage a meeting with me and inform her about it, she then goes and informs her secret masters about the meeting and then the next thing I know, I'm captured and hauled off to god knows where."

"I-I didn't know about that last part, I swear!"

"Oh no, I believe you. There's a lot you don't know about the princess. But let's not talk about the Princess at the moment, such wretched things leave a bad taste in my mouth."

The demon stepped out of the shadows, revealing his form. Raeven gulped when he saw the grotesque mask sitting ablight upon his face.

"You heeded my warning and came here in secret, so now we can move onto the subject that you're truly concerned about."

The demon revealed a syringe.

"I am indeed able to heal your son, and it pains me greatly to see such an innocent child in pain, so here you are, this medicine will cure him."

He gently set it down in front of him.

Raeven bowed low to the ground.

"Thank you! Thank you!"

His thanks were immediately halted by Rhamnusia's words.

"Do not thank me yet, that is only a small sample of the medicine I offer, just to prove to you that it is the real deal.."

"What?

"You will get the rest of it after you complete a small favor for me."

"F-Favor? Wait, no! Anything! Anything to save my son!"

Yes! I would gladly sell my soul if he asked me to!

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, then in that case, listen closely."