ISMFF 70

CHAPTER 70………………………

Infiltration (10)

Because his body hair had grown so thick that he could no longer be called human, his clothes—unable to withstand the size of his body—ripped apart with a loud rriiip, buttons scattering everywhere.

But at that moment, a voice stopped him in his tracks.

“My, my. I suppose it’s time to say farewell. You know whose front yard this is, and yet you dare to commit murder here?”
“……!”
“There’s no fool quite like you. Even that last incident with the magician caused such an uproar that we were forced to cut ties, but this time I can say it for certain.”
“W–wait! Please!”
“This is to inform you that you are hereby expelled from Prometheus. Ah, since you’ve already been exposed, you can deal with the attendant there as you wish. Otherwise, you’ll be our next target. I’ll be taking my leave now—good luck.”

At the sudden voice, Temia snapped back to her senses. A bad premonition struck her—if she let this man escape now, she might never catch him again.

“…Move!!!”

Temia sprang up and charged at the baron’s monstrous figure that stood in her way. She had to catch the dealer fleeing behind him.
Lowell and Rio, who had been watching from behind, seemed to have the same thought—the hurried sound of shoes clattering followed right after.

“N–no! I’ll do anything! Don’t go! Please, bring me the medicine!!!”
“Stop right there—!!!”

The baron’s scream and the others’ shouts mixed together, throwing the scene into complete chaos.

But when the baron collapsed in front of them, blocking their path, the group faltered for a moment—and in that brief window, the dealer pulled something from his coat.

A scroll…? No—could it be teleportation?!

It was an artifact used for spatial travel—far too valuable for an ordinary dealer to possess. Recognizing it, Lowell’s eyes widened.

“That’s not something easily obtained… especially here?”

Realizing the situation was more urgent than expected, he reached out quickly. Through the flickering trail of magic, the dealer’s sly smile was visible for an instant before he vanished completely.
Grinding his teeth, Lowell snapped his fingers, sending a small orb of light chasing after the distortion—but before he could confirm the result, the dealer was gone.

Temia bit her lip in frustration, and Lowell patted her shoulder.

“It’s alright. We’ll handle the rest. You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No, but… that man got away! What do we do?!”
“It’s fine, really. Look—we caught the baron, didn’t we? We’ll make him talk.”

Indeed, while they were speaking, Rio had subdued the stunned baron, binding him tightly with a magical restraint device—probably borrowed from Kalisland. Efficient and precise, he wrapped the man’s wrists and torso, pressing him to the floor as he nodded toward Lowell and Temia.

“Still, things might get busier—depending on what Temia overheard.”

But his next words carried an ominous tone, hinting that peace was still far off.

“Ah, that…”
“You don’t have to talk about it now. Focus on resting first—you did well.”

Seeing Temia’s trembling hands, Lowell quickly ended the conversation. Without another word, he gently steadied her shaking and escorted her back to Kalisland. There, he informed the other attendants and mages of the situation, advising them to support Rio as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the baron—now subdued—did not resist at all, staring blankly into space. The sight only made him appear more monstrous. His grotesquely swollen muscles, bristling hair, and drooling mouth made him look less like a man and more like a beast.

Rio dusted off his clothes and looked down at him indifferently.

“Baron Lycanthrope. This appearance—clearly the result of magic cast on a person. You know the kingdom forbids using magic directly on humans without permission. You’ll have plenty to explain.”
“…Grrk.”
“Was this the result of a magical experiment? Who was that man earlier? Someone involved in your experiments hiding in Kalisland? Or the one conducting them? But Kalisland doesn’t employ magicians as dealers.”
“…”
“Keeping your mouth shut won’t help you. He abandoned you, you know. Well, there’s time—we’ll hear the rest at the palace.”

It was an oddly quiet conclusion to such a chaotic encounter.
But as reinforcements arrived and the baron was taken to the palace, the interrogation dragged on endlessly—because aside from one sentence, he refused to speak.

Medicine… I need medicine… bring me the medicine…

“Still, things might get busier—depending on what Temia overheard.”

Busier? Was this what he called “a little busy”?

Temia’s face was pale from exhaustion—after being summoned from place to place for several days, she hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep. She hadn’t even recovered from travel fatigue before being dragged to Kalisland, and since then the interrogations had been nonstop.

She hadn’t so much seen the morning sun as survived until it rose, having been awake all night. Even though Lowell had warned her things would get hectic, the pace exceeded all expectation. It was relentless—punishment by association for being caught up in a criminal case.

“So the dealer wasn’t affiliated with Kalisland, and just followed the orders of Rush & Gold’s merchant master?”
“Yes! It’s true! I only followed the workshop mage’s request. That’s all I know! We were caught right away, so I didn’t even hear much.”
“And you have no knowledge of this ‘Prometheus’ group you mentioned? The baron we caught seems to have been experimented on by them of his own will—yet you truly know nothing about it?”
“O–of course not! I swear, I know nothing!”

Temia felt a small pang of guilt—but technically, it wasn’t a lie. The current Temia truly knew nothing about that organization. In fact, this was the first time she’d even heard its official name.

Though… if it’s the same as before, the odds are high.

One peculiar thing had happened during the investigation: she had accidentally revealed her true identity.
Apparently, the investigator questioning her had been summoned away midway, spoken to Rio, and returned pale-faced.

“U–uh… pardon me, but your name isn’t just Temia… it’s Temia Etval? As in, the young lady of House Etval, the duke’s daughter?”

Perhaps because Duke Withrow, the “Ghost Duke,” had been the one to assign her the mission—or perhaps because of her noble birth—the interrogators quickly decided it was safer not to press her.
After that, things went smoothly. Acting under Rio’s supervision as Withrow’s representative, Temia was finally released from questioning—alone, that is.

“Is Lowell still not done?”
“The situation’s complicated. The tracking spell he placed on the dealer seems to have vanished mid-way. To shake off a mage of his level… whoever they are, they’re no ordinary opponent. The investigation’s gotten bigger, so he’s focusing on that.”

She had suspected as much, given how long her own questioning had taken. Nodding wearily, Temia gave Rio a small, grateful smile.

“Thank you… I was already exhausted.”
“No need to thank me. If anything, I should apologize for keeping you so long. You’ll be properly compensated, of course.”
“Still, Duke Withrow is amazing. Even Lowell never figured out I was from a noble family, let alone my house. How did the Duke know? Wait—Rio, you didn’t tell him, did you?! We promised to keep that secret!”
“Haha. I’m not one to break promises. I didn’t tell anyone. Probably… anyway.”

But as Temia looked at Rio—the man who had likely informed the higher-ups to get her released—she couldn’t help but wonder.

“Come to think of it, shouldn’t you be under investigation, not me? You’d make a better witness. What’s your relationship with Duke Withrow anyway? You seem untouched by all this.”
“Hmm? We’re… quite close, I’d say. Almost like looking into a mirror.”
“…You mean that ghost duke? There’s never been any mention of a successor, no family ties… and your surname is Felix! You can’t mean you’re friends—he’s much older than you!”
“Age isn’t everything. Relationships aren’t always bound by that. Like you and me, for instance—we’re rather close, aren’t we?”
“W–what?!”
“You must be tired. A carriage is ready to take you back to the workshop. I’d go with you, but there’s still work to finish here. Lowell will need more time too, so rest first.”

Temia’s curiosity went unanswered, but she was too relieved at the thought of finally going home to protest. She climbed into the carriage Rio had prepared.

And now—