Chapter 21

5. Your true nature

Having received the tea, I headed to Hennes.

“It’s an acarotia, isn’t it? How the hell did you get this?”

The master, who checked the pack of tea leaves, seemed perplexed.

“Well, it’s a trade secret. I’m not selling information, I’m here to buy it.”

“Apologies, I forgot my duty as an informant.”

He laughed and pulled the rope.

“Morris, bring me all the information about acarotia.”

“Yes, Master.”

The master lowered his voice as his men left.

“How much are you going to pay?”

“Let’s talk about money before the serious talk. Does it mean that the information provided will be different depending on the amount paid?”

The master shrugged his shoulders without a word.

Judging from his attitude, he seemed to know a lot about Acarotia.

‘Then he must have deliberately let his men go on purpose.’

That’s how confidential the information about Acarotia is.

“I’ll pay whatever you ask of me.”

“How much do you think I’ll ask?”

“You don’t think I can afford it?”

You know I have a mine full of mana, right?

When she answered confidently, the master burst into a small laugh.

Since I have been steadily trading mana stones, Master knew more about my property than anyone else.

“All right, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

According to the master, acarotia was a plant that disappeared into history.

Acarotia was common in ancient times. It was a useful food because it was easy to get and is able to energize the person who consumes it.

However, there was a dangerous poison hidden in Acarotia that could take human life.

It is said that only after many people died did people learn about the dangers of acarotia.

“As far as I know, it disappeared after being designated as a prohibited crop a long time ago, but I was surprised that you brought it today.”

“I understand that acarotia becomes a problem when taken for a long time. What happens then?”

“Slowly the heart beats faster. I heard that when you drink alcohol, your heart hardens like a stone.”

– It’s all as I told you, isn’t it? Roselina doesn’t believe me, does she?

said the Spirit, who had been sulking all this time.

“Is there a way to detect it?”

– No! I’m telling you.

“There’s a reason why it disappeared into history. No matter how long you’ve been addicted to acarotia, you can take a detoxifying potion made of Etra.”

This time, the answer is…

It was.

– What? That’s impossible.

The Spirit protested, but I did not listen.

‘Well then.’

It was very clever to mix up the wrong information while pretending to help.

‘I almost believed it. ‘

– Roselina. Wait a minute. There was certainly no way to decipher it when I was young.

The Spirit opened his eyes pitifully and pretended to be pitiful.

‘Who would fall for such a trick?’

Again.

‘Never believe in spirits.’

I asked the Master, ignoring the spirit.

“Are there any symptoms of withdrawal?”

“No, but if you’ve been taking acarotia for more than 10 years, you may take detoxification potion and bleed.”

“I see.”

That’s enough information about Acarotia.

“I have one more request.”

“Yes, I see.”

“I need a ticket to Memento Mori.”

“What do you mean, Memento Mori?”

“No matter how great Henness may be, I guess it would be difficult to get a ticket for Memento Mori, is that it?”

For a moment, the master’s gaze beyond the mask was filled with interest.

At first glance, the sound of his laughter seemed to touch my ears.

“Please don’t forget. Madam is asking for Henness’ help today.”

I could feel the pride the Master has for Henness.

“That’s good then. Tell me the total price of the tickets and I’ll pay.”

The Master paused for a moment, lost in thought.

‘How much is he going to ask for?’

I brought enough mana stones, but I was a little worried.

“Today’s request will be paid with information, not money.”

“Really? It doesn’t matter to me.”

It’s good because the mana stones will be saved.

Then I thought of something, so I added quickly.

“But I can’t tell you where the Acarotia came from.”

“I don’t care about that. What I’m concerned about is something else.”

Tock tock.

The master’s index finger tapped on the table lightly.

After seeing each other a few times, I understand what that means.

Either you’re organizing your thoughts, or you’re at crossroads.

After a while, the Master asked in a slightly hushed voice.

“Do you have any reason to go to Memento Mori?”

｡+.｡☆ﾟ:;｡+ﾟ ☆*ﾟ¨ﾟﾟ･*:..ﾞ

Two days later.

The Colosseum is as high as the blue sky.

Numerous people in robes and masks were sitting in the audience.

Their attention was focused on the host standing on the podium.

“Everyone, thank you for coming to Memento Mori again today. Memento Mori always tries to entertain you.”

The host picked up a megaphone-like magic tool.

“As part of that, we’ve prepared a surprise event today. You’re all curious, right? Let’s start right away!”

He beckoned, and there was room on the floor, and the cage came up.

Ku-kung!

A cage made of oriharcon stood on the ground with a heavy sound.

When the dust settled in, a man who’s tied up appeared.

“Now, gentlemen, introducing the new gladiator of Memento Morri. Please welcome the brave warrior Kali with a round of applause!”

However, the atmosphere did not heat up.

The audience tilted their heads as they watched the skinny, scarred man.

“He’s too thin, isn’t he? Is he even strong enough for this?”

“I don’t think this slave will last long. That’s not fun.”

“I heard that Memento Mori is not what it used to be these days. It seems to be true. I’m very disappointed.”

Memento Mori.

‘Remember you must die.’

It was a gladiatorial gambling house where beasts and humans had a death match.

A great deal of money was spent here on numerous slaves, rare beasts, and different races.

People cheered and bet money on a slave gladiator who fought bare-handedly against a beast.

But no matter how strong a warrior he was, he was helpless against a beast with sharp claws and teeth.

Gladiators died every day.

A slave gladiator appeared like a comet when the Colosseum’s popularity waned because there were no more gladiators to fight.

No one knew about his identity. Age, name and nationality were all unknown.

He gained sensational popularity against beasts with overwhelming ability and quickly became a symbol of Memento Mori.

But this will happen later on, and today was his first time at Memento Mori.

‘No one knows Kali’s ability except for me who knows the original novel.’

The ground cracked again according to the host’s gesture.

On the other side of Kali, another cage appeared.

“In front of you, Kali fights bare-handed with the King of the Beasts! What will happen to Kali? Can he bring victory to the audience?”

The crowd laughed.

The lion’s ferocious howl rang loudly in the Colosseum.

Some were frightened by lions and dropped their handkerchiefs.

“Do you call this a fighter? Look at that skinny figure.”

“And what’s more, he doesn’t have any weapons. Of course, the Lion will win.”

“Since today is Kali’s debut, I’d like to make a little special bet.”

The host smiled kindly, regardless of the people whispering.

“You and Memento Mori are betting on Kali’s victory or defeat. Today, Kali will fight a lion, orc, goblin, troll, and ogres. At the final round, he’ll fight the golem. How many matches will Kali win? Will he survive this?”

The Colosseum fell silent as soon as he finished speaking.

“The lion alone is enough, but he’ll fight a bunch of monsters? That slave is going to die today.”

“Memento Mori is done too.”

“All you have to do is bet on how many times Kali will win. Those who get it all right will be given a very special prize!”

Finally, what I am aiming for has come up.

The host lifted a fist-sized jewel into the sky.

Those who recognized the jewel whispered.

“Isn’t that a healing artifact? “

“A healing artifact came out as a prize?”

“What is it? I’ve never seen it before.”

“That’s better than a panacea. It is said that it can save anyone, and it will work well for poisons and curses.”

The host waited for the crowd to make a fuss and then resumed speaking.

“I’m sure that for those of you who don’t need an explanation will appreciate the value of this item! Then, please write down the prediction results on the magic tool you each received.”

“Ah, I must get this right.”

“But isn’t it too easy? He’ll lose.”

“I don’t know. Will he win at least once?”

No one got all the answers right today.

‘If it’s like this, then… ‘

When I wrote 6, the magic tool shone for a while, and soon the letters disappeared.

– ‘Roselina. Do you need that? I can give it to you too!’

As the Spirit said, I needed a healing artifact.

It’s a specialized item for purification and treatment.

‘I tried not to come here as much as I could.’

I couldn’t help it.

An evil spirit was summoned as the token of the fairy, so it was necessary to find something to replace him.

A healing artifact would be of great help to Leodor.

“Thank you, everybody’s predicting the outcome! Then we’ll start the match soon!”

With the excited voice of the host, the entrance to the cage opened.