It was a man crouched in a corner, slightly away from the center of the market.
It wasn’t just his isolated position that drew attention; his condition was dire at a glance.
His face was a deathly ashen color, and he was so emaciated that he looked like someone suffering from a severe illness.
“Ruite, let’s move.”
Having finished his conversation, Chester whispered softly.
Ruite glanced back at the man a few more times as they moved to another spot.
This was the black market, after all—not a typical street.
In a place teeming with crime, seeing people in strange conditions wasn’t necessarily unnatural.
On their way here, they had occasionally seen people sprawled out in a drunken stupor.
Moreover, even if he wanted to help, they were currently undercover to gather information and had to avoid any conspicuous behavior.
Following that, Chester attempted to make contact with dealers who seemed likely to possess information.
“It’s only natural that we don’t know the reason why the monsters have become so fierce. How are humans supposed to know why those things act up? But thanks to that, business has been booming lately. The influx of mercenary mages like yourself has certainly played a part.”
“Who cares why the monsters are going crazy? I’m too busy thinking about how to bring in good merchandise to worry about that. Anyway, if you’re a mercenary mage, you must be living the dream lately. Word is the Knights can’t handle everything happening right now, so they’re even borrowing the hands of mercenaries. The guy who was just here was a mercenary too—he said the Ferwin Knights act so high and mighty just because the citizens worship them, so he’s glad to see them struggling. Haha!”
As they listened to the dealers one by one, Chester’s expression began to turn subtle.
“It doesn’t seem like anyone knows the detailed information regarding the increase in evolved monsters.”
The two moved to a corner to catch their breath.
They had heard a fair amount, but they couldn’t uncover any direct information about the masterminds behind these events.
“Chester?”
When there was no answer to his call, Ruite tilted his head.
Chester was deep in thought, rubbing his chin.
“Actually, I think I might be able to narrow down who’s behind this.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll explain once we get back to headquarters. This isn’t the place to talk about it.”
Ruite nodded. Besides, it was about time they left.
If they kept poking around without buying anything, the dealers might start to find it suspicious that two men were doing nothing but asking questions.
Just as they were about to head back to headquarters, someone suddenly let out a loud shout.
Ruite and Chester’s eyes instantly snapped toward the source.
The merchants were doing the same.
A man came staggering out, clawing at his own throat and roaring repeatedly.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he was drooling, unable to steady his body.
It was an unusual sight.
Chester reflexively grabbed Ruite’s wrist and pulled him behind him.
From over Chester’s shoulder, Ruite saw clearly.
The person exhibiting this strange behavior was the same man Ruite had spotted earlier while Chester was talking to the young dealer.
“Tsk, is he on drugs again?”
Unlike the two who were on high alert, the dealers remained nonchalant.
From their whispering, it seemed that when one consumed large amounts of hallucinogens traded through dark routes, their mind could shatter like that.
However, something felt off.
Could a simple drug addiction really change a person that much?
As Ruite watched the staggering man intently, several dealers stepped forward, seemingly intending to drag him away.
The moment they reached for him, the man’s eyes bulged with intensity.
Ruite flinched instinctively.
“Aaargh!”
It happened in an instant.
The man pulled a dagger from his robe and plunged it straight into the shoulder of the approaching dealer.
Ice crystals erupted from the wound, and the area began to freeze over.
It was magic. It appeared the man showing strange symptoms was a mage.
Chester and Ruite moved simultaneously.
They moved with rapid speed.
Chester lightly circled behind the rampaging man and struck the back of his neck with the side of his hand, which was laced with a faint electric current.
The man’s body went limp, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
Ruite used his primary attribute, fire magic, to melt the frozen wound of the injured dealer, telling him to go get treated.
The situation was easily settled by the two of them.
The dealers sighed in relief, saying it was lucky there were mercenaries around.
Then, a few dealers approached, hoisted the unconscious man up, and carried him away.
Watching them leave while cursing at the man to “stay quiet if he’s going to get high,” Chester had to suppress his urge to act as a knight.
If their goal hadn’t been an undercover mission today, he would have rounded up everyone here, ensured the man received proper treatment, and made them pay for their crimes.
“Ruite, let’s get out of here while we can.”
“Yeah.”
Since things had become chaotic, they could leave without drawing suspicion.
But then, Ruite’s foot caught on something.
Looking down, he saw a transparent glass bottle about the size of his palm.
Upon checking, he found it contained a thick white powder.
He opened the cork stopper, and a sharp, peculiar scent brushed past his nose.
It was something he hadn’t seen until moments ago.
Had that man dropped it when he collapsed?
Staring intently at the bottle and recalling what had just happened, Ruite pocketed the item and followed Chester out of the black market.
As soon as they returned to headquarters, Ruite and Chester were summoned by Ciel and headed to the laboratory.
Cedric, another member of the dedicated team, was also there.
“Cedric and I found out a few things while doing research, so I called you both.”
Aside from his usual duties, Ciel was also in charge of the research regarding the evolved monsters.
Although he hadn’t officially joined the dedicated team, as the Captain of the Knights and head of the research department, he couldn’t be excluded from such a critical task.
Ruite and Chester put on their masks first.
Since the lab usually stored live monsters or carcasses, protective gear was essential to guard the respiratory system against the foul mana they emitted.
On a long, wide metal tray in the lab, parts of monster carcasses were laid out.
They were all remains related to the recent incidents.
“Want to see this first?”
Ciel held out a small tray to the two.
On it lay small, oval-shaped fragments.
Some were intact, while others were broken in half.
“What are these?” Chester asked.
“These were extracted from the bodies of some of the evolved monsters we’ve seen over the past month—though not all of them.”
It certainly felt alien for something like this to be inside a monster’s body.
At that moment, Ruite’s eyes sharpened.
He suddenly pulled down his mask and picked up the tray.
“Ruite! What are you doing? It’s dangerous.”
Startled, Chester grabbed Ruite’s hand to stop him and pulled him close.
Since they weren’t yet sure what the substance was, it was unknown how it might affect the human body.
However, in that moment, the laboratory fell silent.
When Chester turned his head, he saw Ciel and Cedric blinking slowly, staring at him with bewildered faces.
And for good reason—Chester was currently standing extremely close to Ruite, holding his wrist and making a fuss.
Even though it was common for research department members to gather information through senses like sight, touch, and smell.
There was no way Chester didn’t know this, but his sudden outburst made the atmosphere incredibly awkward.
Ruite narrowed his eyes and looked at Chester.
“Ahem, you two really are close, aren’t you?”
Chester cleared his throat, perhaps realizing he had overreacted.
“So, Ruite, do you recognize something?”
Cedric quickly tidied up the awkward atmosphere.
“Ah, yes. About the smell coming from this… isn’t it a bit strange?”
“Hmm, it’s definitely unique. I figured it smelled like this because it was inside the monster’s body for so long.”
If Ruite hadn’t gone undercover at the black market, he would have thought the same as Ciel.
More accurately, if he hadn’t found that bottle on the ground.
Ruite pulled the glass bottle from his robe and showed it to everyone.
“This happened while I was undercover at the black market with Commander Chester today.”
Ruite explained the events at the black market, including how he came to pick up the glass bottle.
Chester shot Ruite a look as if wondering when he had managed to pick such a thing up.
After finishing his explanation, Ruite opened the cork stopper and held it forward, as if inviting them to smell it.
Everyone’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“The scent is the same, right?”
Ruite pointed to the extracted fragments and asked.
The peculiar scent was identical to the substance inside the glass bottle.
“You’re right.”
“But I’m not exactly sure what this is.”
Ciel took the bottle from Ruite.
After coating his hand with mana, he took a small pinch of the powder and felt it.
“In my opinion, this is…”
Ciel paused, deep in thought, before tilting his head and speaking again.
Someone is making the monsters go crazy to make drugs?