In the border of Triaria Kingdom lies a large city. A deserted pub exists in the slums there. In the cellar of that pub, three men were having a private talk under an overhanging dim lamp.
「……so, what I am saying is, the dispatch failed. We can try again, but the target would be wary. It’d be better to not do anything now and wait for things to cool.」
「Fumu, it would seem the target is stronger than expected. So, how were the effects of the drug?」
The person who received the report from the subordinate-like individual was a seemingly kindhearted slim man in his prime who had the presence of a president of a company somewhere. This man is the boss of the dark guild 『Moonlight Owl』.
The dark guild 『Moonlight Owl』 is a gigantic criminal syndicate rooted in this continent. Its headquarters is in this city located at the border of the Triaria Kingdom.
Compared to the three kingdoms Valkyra, Lomaria, and Samandour, the noble’s corruption runs deep within Triaria Kingdom, having more work for criminal syndicates like the 『Moonlight Owl』 and their connections with the nobles are thick.
A dark guild is an illegal criminal syndicate. Assassinations, drugs, thievery, illegal slavery, robbery[1], they are an organization that move secretly in the shadows of this continent.
「The effects of the drug were tremendous, but the guinea pig’s body was unable to endure it. Since it is a precious sample, we had intended to retrieving the corpse that had been brought to the station of Margrave Volton’s Knight Order, but unfortunately, there were no knights in Margrave Volton’s territory that would fall for money. As such, we have given up on the retrieval.」
As if expecting it, the boss nodded at the report of the man with an owl tattoo on his upper arm.
「Well, that can’t be helped. Now leaving that aside, it’d be unreasonable unless we ask the client for a fee increase.」
「That’s right. I did not see it firsthand, but I can say the target’s abilities exceed our guess.」
Waiting diagonally behind the boss is a man acting as both the boss’ guard and advisor. He was in his mid-thirties, with a well trained body covered in scars and sharp, raptor-like eyes.
「We had rushed the test of the drug too much that our investigation on the target was inadequate.」
「Even so, one of the primary factors we failed is that the investigation had been difficult because the target this time is elusive.」
「The guinea pig’s faculty were also mediocre, but the range of increase in faculty was extreme. The duration of the effect must be verified.」
「The guinea pig died by destroying himself, didn’t he?」
Despite the failure of the request, the boss’ attitude as he listens to the report of his subordinate was relatively calm. To him, the completion of the drug was more important than the client this time.
「Yes, the direct cause was the target’s counterattack, but the guinea pig had reached his limit by the time he fell.」
The fact that the guinea pig’s corpse’s muscles and bones were tattered was the only information they grasped. After the guinea pig was defeated, organization members mixed in with the curious onlookers listened in on the conversation between the Knight Order who rushed in and Takumi who was the target.
「The issue of the drug is that the user abuses their body to surpass their limits, so there is an issue with using it on anyone but disposable personnel. Moreover, first class swordsmen and warriors do not want a radical increase in physical abilities. Rather, if they are unable to control their body, they would feel weakened instead. In actuality, they would likely be swept along by their own body.」
「So those areas need to be improved on. Extending the duration of the drug’s effect and weakening the impact it has on the body?」
「Yes, we’ll start the next experiment.」
Upon saying so, the man who reported to the boss left the cellar.
「If the drug is perfected, Triaria would probably want it.」
「Yeah, we’ll sell it as high as possible. Those guys are getting poor recently. And we the 『Moonlight Owl』 would use it in disputes with enemy organizations.」
「We won’t sell it to the Divine Empire of Sydnia?」
When the guard mentioned the Divine Empire of Sydnia, the boss’ face directly soured.
「I’m not having anything to do with those wackos crazed about their strange god who’ve been violent everywhere. They’re doing their own research to make their own insane fighters. They’re madder than us.」
「I see, “no curse befalls those that don’t interfere with a god”, isn’t it? Then, I will contact this time’s client that gathering information on the target will take time. If they complain, I will demand an increase in the request fee.」
「Fumu, then I’ll leave it to you.」
The dark guild 『Moonlight Owl』. They only targeted Takumi at the request of a noble, but in the near future, the fate of their organization would surely come to an end. The fact that Takumi incurred injuries in the latest attack angered Sophia and the girls more than Takumi had ever imagined. Furthermore, since the sword was coated with poison that was most certainly fatal, the women who love Takumi dearly had united, determined to crush the offenders completely.
***
Footnotes:
1. There’s a difference between robbery and thievery. Information here.
2. A proverb similar to “Better to let sleeping dogs lie”.