Chapter 206 - Episode Two - A Certain Fixer's Visit (2)
I was accompanied by Village Chief Heil to a building on the edge of the Pargas Village, along with Mea.
In front of the building stood a figure wearing a black robe and a large hood that hid his face.
Besides embroidered on the robe was the symbol of Kudor, the tentacles of Kudor, he also carried a stone staff with an eerie design that seemed to have tentacles intertwined with each other.
It certainly looks like a kudor follower, but it’s too suspicious.
Is this Peter ……? No, he’s probably Peter’s men or something.
When he saw us, the Kudor follower-like figure approached, and when he saw the village chief Heil, he pointed his staff rudely away, as if to tell us to go away.
“Please step back, Village Chief-dono. Peter-sama has requested a visit from a small number of people.”
I hadn’t been able to determine the gender until now because its face was mostly hidden, but from the tone of its voice, it seemed to be a woman.
“Ah, yes ……”
The village chief Heil bowed his head and then glanced worriedly at me.
…… It certainly smells suspicious, but we can’t run away from it here.
Even if left unchecked, this is an opponent that is likely to be a problem in the future.
I returned a fake smile and then stepped forward.
“Oh, um …… does that mean that mea can’t too?”
Mea asked fearfully to the woman in the robe.
The woman put a hand to her mouth and then glanced to the corner of Mea’s head.
“…… Doom people?”
She seemed to be pondering something for a few seconds after muttering that, but then she said, “…… Alright”, and opened the door to the building and invited us in.
“Gentlemen, thank you for this noble day. It is a great honor to have an audience with Peter-sama…… but please refrain from being rude. For then I will have to obliterate you both.”
The woman said, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
It was as if she wished it to be so.
“Abel-dono …… Mea-dono ……, well, take care of yourself.”
Mea and I entered the building as the village chief Heil looked on.
As I walked down the aisle, I was thinking about many things.
I wondered if the reason Peter had come here was because of my half-joking, half-serious plan for this and that in the Fage Territory had leaked from somewhere.
It is said that there are many sorcerers in the world who are so absorbed in their research that they deviate from human reason.
Most of them are crazed, self-centered sadists, and on top of that, they are so skilled in magic that ordinary adventurers can’t handle them at all.
I have heard rumors that the church has organized a group of people who specialize in hunting sorcerers who are out of line with humanity.
I wondered if maybe Peter was that.
I’d probably be on the safe side …… but, inexplicably, I can’t help but feel that I’ve done too many things in Fage territory.
In particular, the research proposal I gave to Lark regarding bio-magic was daringly exaggerated in some cases.
Once a person has refused a favor, it is difficult to refuse a favor twice in a row.
That’s why I had prepared a proposal that I dared to make them say no to, in addition to a real proposal.
It’s possible that for some reason or another, the royal family got wind of it and sent Peter to me.
“…… Abel, you’re sweating so much, you know? You don’t have a cold, do you?”
Mea says worriedly.
The woman in the robe glanced back at us.
We walked down the aisle for a while and found the guy in a room at the far end.
He had long, sleek hair and a mask hiding her eyes.
His skin was as pale as that of the Marrens, and his lips were covered in bright red lipstick.
On either side stood two of them, wearing the same robes and headgear as the woman who was guiding us.
At first glance, they were bizarre figures.
“I’m Peter. You have finally arrived. Are you the hero of this territory?”
When I heard his voice, I finally knew it was a man.
“It’s unusual to see the Marren tribe and the Doom tribe getting along so well.”
“…… hmm?”
Suddenly, I noticed the staff that Peter was holding in his hand.
It has a large crystal attached to the tip, with a wicked glow to it.
As I thought I recognized …… from somewhere, a blue-skinned child-woman stood behind Peter, staring at me with a mushy expression.
“Zolomonia’s Staff ……?”
As I muttered, one of Peter’s attendants dropped the stone cane in his hand and took a big step back to distance himself from me.
“Geh, Yo-, you’re ……!”
It’s hard to say because I can’t see his face because of his headdress, but the voice was somewhat familiar.
“I’m sure I’ve said that if you become my man, you’ll not make me angry and not say anything unnecessary, right? There’s will be no next time.”
Peter is blatantly uncomfortable with the man who has raised his voice.
“I’m sorry! B-but, but ……”
The man apologizes and crazily glances at me.
Then he shifted his eyes towards the exit, blatantly pretending to want to get out of the place.
“Mea, do you recognize that red hair?”
“Who knows? I think I saw it on the streets of Lomarn……”
As I was whispering to Mea, the woman who had led us to this room cleared her throat.
She seemed to say it was impolite to whisper and talk about selfish things in front of Peter-sama.
But why does this man have Zolomonia’s staff?
It was supposed to be kept in an appropriate place after Gaston handed it over to the Adventurer’s Support Center.
In the first place, Zolomonia’s staff is too dangerous and is strictly forbidden to be owned by any individual.
It’s not something a church official should be carrying around.
“Um, who the hell are you ……”
“Don’t be so nervous now. I simply came to congratulate you, as a member of the Church’s upper echelon, on your capture of the infidels.”
Peter said, and extended his venomous red tongue to lick.
I looked at Peter’s face from close up and suddenly realized.
This skin …… obviously, it’s not natural. Perhaps they used alchemy to remake it and slow down the aging process.
The use of such alchemy is clearly forbidden.
The chief used magic to slow down the aging process, but that was different from remodeling the body, which only revitalizes the body with magic.
If I look closely, I can feel the flow of unorthodox magic from the ornaments he wears.
“You……”
I had a hunch that he had come to me with a punishment for the use of biological magic, but I was terribly mistaken.
Peter…… This person is probably the same as me.
When I realized that, I got kind of excited all at once.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to enjoy a magic talk with someone.
I loosened my expression and approached Peter with a waxy hand.
“How old are you, Peter-san? What did you do with that skin?”
Peter opens his big mouth.
The robed woman immediately came around to my side and held me around my shoulders with her large stone cane, restraining my movements.
“Ouch!”
“I said so much that you refrain saying disrespectful to Peter-sama……!”
“No, no, I’m purely ……”
I try to excuse myself impatiently, but before long, the two robed men on either side of Peter also have their eyes on my head and hold up their big staff.
“It’s okay, let him go. I’ve even covered myself in insurance, and you recognized it just from one look, you’re quite an interesting kid.”
“Pe-, Peter-sama!?”
The three robes looked unconvinced, but slowly lowered their large staffs.
Good. His subordinate seems to be a bit bloodthirsty, but he seems to be a normal person to talk to.
Peter’s looking at me as if he’s licking me around and licked out again his venomous colored tongue.