Chapter 39
Thanks to Kaizen’s quick thinking (?), we successfully made the transformation potion.
We quickly disguised ourselves as chefs and locked the kitchen door.
‘Just in case someone comes looking.’
While Kaizen stood by the door, scanning for any movement outside, I began surveying the countertops.
Potatoes, leafy greens, onions, tomatoes, apples, green onions, and pork—ingredients with no logical connection—were scattered everywhere.
“You were planning to make juice with this?”
I glanced at the mess, grabbed whatever I could, roughly chopped it, and threw it into the blender.
“What are you making?”
“Mixed-bag juice.”
I didn’t care about the taste. I wasn’t about to serve thieves a carefully prepared dish.
Still, since they might throw it away if it tasted bad, I poured sugar in generously.
Then, pointing at the finished juice, I chanted a spell.
“May your soul feel a hundredfold blood sugar spike!”
A shimmering light appeared briefly over the juice and disappeared.
At least it looked red and refreshing, right? Taste, I couldn’t guarantee.
“Hehehe… perfect. The moment they drink this, they’ll all fall into a deep sleep.”
They’d get to experience just how sweet a blood sugar spike could be.
‘Even in a spiritual state.’
I took off my apron and grinned slyly.
“Alright, time to scavenge the kitchen a bit.”
The cooking was done, but before leaving the kitchen, we decided to gather as much information as possible.
At the very least, we had to know who we were disguised as.
‘Other guys might try to probe us, just like before.’
Tonight was our only chance. Thinking about failing and having to start over, I didn’t want to leave even a small mistake.
I searched every corner of the kitchen, and…
“Hmm?”
Luckily, our effort paid off.
Under the small bed, I found a palm-sized notebook. It seemed to have fallen out of the pocket of Chef 2, whom Kaizen had knocked out.
“Kaizen! Come look at this.”
“It’s a diary.”
“Leo? That must be his name. Even a thief keeps a diary diligently, huh?”
Thanks to the name at the bottom, we confirmed that Chef 2 was Leo.
“I found something too.”
Kaizen retrieved a stack of papers from a shelf and handed it to me. It looked like a grocery list.
At the bottom was signed the name Phillips.
“So this one’s Leo, and that one’s Phillips?”
I muttered, pointing at the two unconscious chefs.
Interestingly, those were the names the thief had called out earlier when he was about to relieve himself in public.
“There might be more chefs. Let’s check the diary thoroughly.”
“Alright.”
Following Kaizen’s lead, I went through the diary carefully.
Phillips’ name appeared here and there, but no other names were mentioned. So it seemed only two chefs worked in the kitchen.
“Looks like that’s all of them.”
“Seems so. We can leave now.”
“Alright. You’re Leo; I’m Phillips. Got it?”
“…Yes.”
After confirming, we carried a pot full of juice out of the kitchen.
The sun had fully set, and the village was swallowed by darkness. Without the ever-burning flame in the distance, it would have been almost impossible to see.
Kaizen and I recalled the location Ria had told us about and moved cautiously.
‘If we go straight from the restaurant’s right side… there’s a temple… the thieves gather there for their ritual…’
Gathering in a temple to do bad deeds? Their conscience must have evaporated.
Careful not to spill the juice, we moved quickly but quietly.
“First time here, yet you navigate like you’ve been before.”
Kaizen spoke, seemingly surprised.
In the flickering torchlight, his eyes met mine briefly. I felt a pang of awareness.
“Uh… Ria explained the way pretty well, I guess.”
Truthfully, I was familiar with the volcano village terrain from the ‘Tales World,’ but I played ignorant.
Finally, we reached the temple.
“Wow… bigger than I thought.”
The temple was indeed grand.
With a spire that seemed to pierce the sky, the entire structure was wrapped in white bricks.
Its scale reflected the villagers’ deep devotion.
“The volcano village people are known for their piety. They believe the essence of the volcano was a gift from the gods.”
“Wow… I didn’t know that.”
I muttered in awe as we entered the temple.
The thieves were also arriving, fully armed, perhaps prepared for Kaizen.
Grouped together, I noticed what Kaizen had said—their shadows looked off.
Some had short shadows despite long hair; others were tall but had small shadows.
The moment they noticed, the shadows returned to normal.
“Hey, Louis. What juice is this today?”
I nudged Kaizen’s side.
Since I couldn’t disguise my voice, I left the juice distribution to him.
Kaizen frowned at the thief who asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Of all names, that one too?”
“Huh?”
“Means don’t use any other name besides Leo.”
Kaizen’s quick thinking made the thief chuckle.
“You understand, Leo. We’ve got a hero in the village, so we need to feel safe. Right, Alex?”
Looks like he wanted to test me too. I shook my head, keeping my voice low.
“Phillips.”
The thief clapped, laughing in satisfaction.
“Just as I thought, you wouldn’t be fooled.”
Thankfully, the early test was done.
Because…
“Boss! You can relax over here!”
The thief had turned and signaled the boss at the back, confirming our identities.
I glanced at the boss and was startled.
‘That’s Ariel’s body?’
Red eyes, red hair—he slowly nodded.
“Good to hear.”
Whoa… Ariel’s body, yet such a rough voice?
Even though the appearance was the same, the vibe was completely different. We needed to find the real body quickly.
“I told you we weren’t Phillips or Leo.”
“True… these guys never leave the kitchen anyway.”
“Enough, just hand over the juice!”
“Damn… My vision’s already blurring. Looks like my soul’s slipping out. Better drink the Mystic Powder fast.”
With suspicion gone, the thieves each held out their cups.
Kaizen and I exchanged a glance, then ladled juice into each cup.
As we were preparing to send each one to dreamland…
“Argh… dammit! Could’ve caught him, that sneaky bastard!”
Someone barged in, slamming the door as they stumbled inside.
It was the thief who had been knocked out earlier and the others who had guarded the mine exit.
My shoulders tensed involuntarily. Without Kaizen subtly holding me, I might have given away my nerves.
“You got caught too? We got taken out earlier. And there was a crazy woman next to the hero too.”
At the mention of a crazy woman, Kaizen’s hand tightened slightly on my shoulder. I patted him back this time.
“A woman?”
“Yeah. Fast as lightning; I couldn’t even see her punches. Definitely not someone to underestimate.”
“Ha… next time, I’ll crush her completely. How dare she strike me from behind while I’m off guard? Not even a bite-sized target!”
He rubbed his nose repeatedly, muttering curses.
Chattering nonstop, the surrounding thieves gathered around him, leaving the serving area empty.
‘Damn. Gotta serve them quickly.’
Why waste time with nonsense like that? Transformation was about to wear off, and that made me uneasy.
“Hey. Is it true you met the hero?”
“Yeah. Moving in Jason and David’s bodies.”
“Tch. Didn’t catch him even after meeting? You’re washed up too.”
“He was sly! Hit me from behind while I wasn’t looking!”
“You got knocked out from a backstab, idiot! Kikikiki!”
“Shut up!”
I glanced at Kaizen. His expression was a mix of disbelief and amusement.
Then my eyes met the peeing thief’s. He sauntered over casually, one eyebrow raised, watching us standing at the serving table.
