The merchant stared in shock at the scene before him.
Faced with this supreme Potion, the Chienthrope girl had actually wept as she regained her senses.
"You... you know the ingredients now?" the merchant asked anxiously.
Though different from what he'd anticipated, understanding what was missing would be enough.
Naaza wiped away her tears, her entire body weakened considerably.
"I don't know."
She shook her head, concealing the fact that a [God] had been involved.
Before the merchant could press further, the mercenary stepped forward. "As agreed, I'll take you back immediately."
"Wait! I already put a bottle of medicine in there! If you still want money, you're not taking her with you!" The merchant, enraged by the fruitless outcome, shouted in frustration.
The mercenary stared at him, tugging slightly at his unsettling, toothed mask. From the start, he had never intended to actually harm anyone—only to scare the merchant into behaving himself. But judging by the man's current state, mere intimidation clearly wasn't working.
Several adventurers were stationed outside the room, though all were Level 1. Taking on multiple opponents would be difficult.
"I told you—this is raising the risk of getting caught," the mercenary said. Hired to do a job, he still tried to reason with the man.
The merchant paced back and forth. "Give me a little more time. Maybe the Potion wasn't strong enough earlier, so she couldn't sense it."
He pulled several vials from his pocket, his expression twisted with madness.
The mercenary said nothing, retreating to the doorway as if tacitly agreeing to the plan.
Naaza's pupils widened in fear as she stared at the vials.
She had barely resisted the divine will once. If she drank another large dose, her sanity would be completely destroyed.
Should she reveal the Potion's ingredients to him?
No, she couldn't.
The emblem of the Miach Familia depicted a fully limbed human—her God revered healing and medicine. How could she commit such blasphemy?
But perhaps, even if she told the merchant that a [God] had been involved, he still wouldn't be able to gain access to such divine means?
After all, once she drank the Potion again, she would likely confess anyway.
No.
Naaza felt a wave of disgust and shame at the thought.
When she had lost her arm, at her lowest point, the God Miach had poured out all his wealth—and even gone into debt—just so she could once again hold another's hand.
And now, after enduring the torment of a single Potion, she was thinking of betraying him?
How foolish.
There had to be a better, more righteous way to stop this evil.
Naaza glanced at the shards of glass on the ground and took a deep breath.
She would fight, even if it cost her life.
Her body was frail from the effects of the Potion; even one strike would be enough to bring her down.
But that was fine. That was enough.
The secret of the Potion must never fall into the hands of someone so vile.
The merchant smiled as he advanced, eyes fixed on the crystal-blue potion gleaming under the Magic Stone lamp.
Naaza steadied herself, every muscle tensed, ready to attack. Even in death, she would tear a piece of his flesh away.
The deep blue Potion shimmered beneath the cold light.
Just as Naaza prepared to strike, a sudden ripple spread across the potion's surface.
"Oh no!"
The merchant flinched at the shout from outside, nearly dropping the potion.
"Calm down! What's going on?" he barked, cursing under his breath.
A thug-like man burst through the door. "There's... an intruder!"
Both the mercenary and the merchant frowned.
This hideout was remote. Since they began brewing potions here, there had never been a single disturbance.
The Adventurer Guild was still occupied investigating the Potion incident. Even if they had discovered the kidnapping, moving so swiftly in this downpour should have been impossible.
"How big is it? Any Guild staff?" the mercenary asked sharply.
"N-no..." The man gasped for breath, his forehead slick with cold sweat.
If there were no Guild staff, could someone have spotted them on the way here? That didn't make sense either. If someone had seen Naaza being kidnapped and wanted to intervene, they wouldn't have waited until now to act.
"So how many people were there?" the mercenary pressed again, his patience thinning.
"Well..." The man hesitated, stammering without giving an answer.
"Tell me—how many?"
The mercenary was growing tired of this group. Though they were involved in shady dealings, they were no different from him—men who worked only for money. They lacked discipline, their coordination was a mess, and they barely functioned as a team.
If the reward hadn't been so generous, he would've walked away long ago.
Under his glare, the messenger finally stuttered out, "Just... just one person."
...
A lone intruder attacking the stronghold?
The merchant and the others froze in disbelief, murmuring among themselves about who this person could possibly be.
They had always operated cautiously. Since the potion hadn't yet been perfected, the merchant had tried disguising fakes as genuine goods and sending them to the black market. But anyone could tell the difference after a single sip, leaving their counterfeits unsold.
They had resorted to selling them cheaply to naive rookie adventurers, but as negative rumors about the potion spread, even that route quickly collapsed.
By all logic, unless it was a Guild-ordered investigation, no one should have come after them.
"Who would attack us? And alone?" the merchant muttered, completely at a loss.
Listening to the chatter, the mercenary couldn't shake the image of that white-haired boy from his mind.
He found himself replaying that strange, inexplicable intuition.
Looks like after finishing this job, he really needed a proper break.
That rookie adventurer had been gravely injured. Even if he had somehow recovered, there was no reason he'd come here to die.
"So, what did the intruder look like? If it's a top-tier adventurer, we'd better get out fast," the mercenary said calmly, trying to assess the situation.
Anyone reckless enough to come here alone had to be dangerous. His job might be to guard, but there was no reason to throw his life away for this band of fools.
Under everyone's gaze, the trembling messenger finally managed to speak.
"It was a white-haired kid."
!
Just a rookie adventurer—and yet the mercenary was utterly shocked.
How had he gotten back up?
A healing potion? Or did someone rescue him?
And how had he even found this place?
Questions flooded his mind like an oncoming tide.
The mercenary scowled, grabbing the man by his collar. "You sure you saw that right?"
"O-of course! He's got a dagger in hand, moving carefully, checking the area as he heads this way."
The casino was massive; only the back half had been converted into a potion lab. The front was an abandoned section guarded by a single sentry.
Aside from the occasional vagrant, no one ever came to this dusty ruin. There was no doubt—the intruder was heading for the inner base.
The mercenary stared down the dim corridor, lost in thought.
Setting aside how he'd even managed it—had that kid gone insane?
He'd already taken a severe beating before. Any sane person would have backed off, knowing the kind of overwhelming strength they were up against.
And yet, despite being on the dominant side, the mercenary couldn't shake a creeping sense of dread.
The merchant noticed his expression and asked, "Don't tell me—you know the intruder?"
"Yeah. Just some rookie adventurer with a bit of skill," the mercenary said with a mocking tone, as if trying to dismiss his own unease.
The merchant let out a long sigh, then snapped, "Next time, make sure you know what you're talking about before you report. Go get rid of him."
The others laughed, scattering back to their stations.
Only the mercenary remained, his right hand unconsciously resting on the sword at his waist.
That ominous premonition—like the approach of a monster—refused to fade.
Naaza, trapped and weakened, had overheard their discussion.
The shout she'd heard before losing consciousness hadn't been a dream after all.
Bell was really here. Alone.
Was he okay?
He was just a rookie adventurer—she had to find some way to help him. At the very least, she couldn't let Bell, who had risked himself for her, get hurt because of her.
The torrential rain wrapped around the stronghold, sealing it off from the world, turning it into a battlefield unknown to anyone else.
A storm of thoughts churned within her—doubt, mockery, fear, worry...
Amid those clashing emotions,
Bell Cranel stepped alone onto the battlefield.