304 That's why I won't forgive you.

"This is what has happened to Master Yumiess. Master Chisanthe.

The nobles who belonged to Yumyess' faction all betrayed him at once. There is nothing wrong with using fear to subjugate people and make them suck the honey. But Yumyess made his honey too poisonous.

"Da-ha-ha! I knew this was going to happen when I gave the pleasure to the nobles.

Even if Yumiez himself is not careful, if the nobles are, that's all that matters. I'm not going to deny that buying and selling people is a good pastime, but it should be a preference that is limited to those who can carry it.

Of course, the fault of Yumyess lies not only in that, but also in the fact that he allowed the people of Yugra's planet and the nobles to have free access to each other.

I've already given instructions to the merchants. They will not appear before the people of Yugra in the future.

"Unlike the nobles, they live by their heads, but they're still your opponents. You don't have to go out there and do what they're good at.

You should always take into account the possibility that your opponent will outperform you. The difference between the strong and the weak is the difference in the size and number of stages where they can win.

In order for a weak person to win against a strong person, he must drag the other person to the stage where he can win, and the strong person need only refuse to do so. If you don't make the mistake of thinking that way, you will never lose.

It's the same with the people of Yugra. He will always try to lead me to a stage they are good at. This is a battle that those who rush into it will lose.

We'll continue to monitor your movements in the vicinity, Master Umies.

"You may. Now, let's continue with breakfast. If you have anything else to report, you may do so. It's better than a cold meal, duh!

In response to my words, the poisoner silently begins to poison the food. Thanks to this process, I've never had a truly fresh and hot meal, but I have to accept this as a necessary expense for me to be me.

"No problem. Here you go.

"Mm. So, what's changed? Anything at all, not just about the people of Yuggra, but anything at all.

If the Yugra people are serious about setting me and Ymyeth up, it wouldn't be surprising if they're doing something unseen in their actions. Even if it's just a minor change, there's something to be seen from it.

Yes, ...... I saw a trinket merchant at the market the other day.

It was the poisoner who was peeling the fruit that opened his mouth. He is a skilled hand at arranging the fruit in a variety of colors on a plate, but he is still poisoning himself. If you had a small appetite, this would have saved you a lot of money.

A merchant from Trine. I don't see you around much. ......, tell me what you were doing.

He was trying to expand his market and was giving free samples of his country's fruits to his suppliers. They were trying to expand their market, and they were giving free tastings of fruits from their country to suppliers. It wasn't a bad experience, because the taste of the same fruit can be quite different from each other.

"Well, that's interesting. Well, that's interesting. You don't happen to have any of those fruits on your plate, do you?

You've got to be kidding me. How can I put something on the table of Lord Chisanthe if it comes from an unidentified merchant?

As long as there is even the slightest possibility that the people of Yugra's planet are involved, we must never create an opening for them. Unlike Youmies, my subordinates are very thorough in this regard, which makes me feel much better.

"Da-haha! But it's true that I'm interested. Next time I'll prepare a distribution route for the fruit. I'll probably have to wait six months to a year, but I'm used to it.

As I was finishing my meal and having a smoke, one of my men who was guarding this mansion appeared. I'm sure there was something wrong with the way he appeared in front of me while I was having a smoke. .......

"Master Chisanthe. The people from the planet Yugra have appeared. They want to speak with you, Lord Chisanthe. ......

"What?

I knew they'd make a move, but I didn't expect them to come see me in person. I'm not sure what to make of that.

The look on the guard's face told me that was not the only reason. What tricks has he been playing on us?

Of course I'm not going to meet him, but tell me more.

That's why ...... he doesn't have an escort and wants to talk to you alone. ......

...... Is that true?

I'm not doubting my man, but I don't believe him. The man may be smart, but his physical strength is hopelessly lacking. We are certain of that, because it is information that is known not only to us but also to other countries.

The man showed up unguarded ...... and you think I can't touch him? No, of course not.

Yes. But I've got one condition on top of that.

A condition?

When I meet with Master Chisanthe, I want her to allow me to bring two bottles of liquid. ......

Bottles with contents, normally considered poison. ...... What's the point of that? It's impossible to make him drink by force, in fact, only I can do it. You can't make me drink it by force. I'm sure he's seen what I'm capable of. It's not like he doesn't understand that it's easy to create one of those wards that repel liquids on the fly.

...... Are you sure you don't have an escort?

Yes. There are two guards outside the villa, Ilias-Ratzel and Ecdysiac-Sulph, but .......

Yes, those two are a particular problem. Ilias-Lazzell is definitely no match for anyone in this country, and Ecdysiac-Sulphur has the ability to compete in the underworld. As long as we don't deal with those two, it will be impossible to kill the people of Yugra from our side.

As far as I'm concerned, meeting him is risky, but ...... the fact that he doesn't have a bodyguard makes it a better opportunity than ever. No amount of trickery can make a weak man defend himself against too much one-sided violence.

Fine. But I want a thorough physical examination. Have them change into the clothes we've prepared for them.

Where would you like your room, sir?

I don't want to have to call for help. Room number six.

I'll instruct my men and go to the sixth parlor first. This house has different parlors that can be used for different situations. The sixth room has no windows, no sound inside or out, and the magic seal stone is perfectly capable of blocking detection.

But even more important than that is the door used to enter and exit the room. This iron door is rigged and can only be opened by me and a few of my men. In other words, once I let myself in, it will never open unless I want it to. To him, this parlor could be a coffin.

The only thing in this room that can be used as a weapon is the sword I carry on my hip. Even if this sword is taken away from me, with my well-trained body, I will never fall behind that man.

"Master Chisanthe, I have brought you here.

One of my men showed up with a group of Yugra's star people. He's dressed in the clothes we prepared for him and he has no weapons. The only thing is that he has two of the vials in his hand, as if to show them to me.

"Well, thank you. Close the door.

My man bows and leaves the room. This man will never leave this room again, and I don't think he's foolish enough to not understand that. ...... Still, his relaxed expression is creepy.

I'm not so sure I'd be so stupid as to not understand that. How dare you allow yourself to be alone with a man you consider to be your enemy?

"Da-ha-ha! That's what you say! I can defend myself, why can't you?

I don't have to.

I soon realized what I was feeling. This man had changed his tone and the way he called me. It's not surprising, considering he's identified me as an enemy, but what's with the eyes?

It is true that black eyes are rare, but this is not a matter of color. They don't seem to reflect anything, but they make you feel as if you're being captured in a mirror.

...... Well, good. Do you want a drink? I have some fruit.

I'll pass on the alcohol. But I'm glad there's fruit. Saves a lot of time.

"......?

I don't understand what you're saying, but I know in my gut that I shouldn't get too caught up in it. This man is a verbal deceiver, don't be lured by his words.

The secret of Yumiess is the auction of inhumane people as merchandise. The secret of Ymies is the auctioning of inhumane human goods, buying and selling their own people to other countries and other people in their own countries. Serende is a country with a high concentration of non-animal sub-humans such as elves and dwarves, so the value of people as commodities was quite high. But using one's own people as merchandise is not acceptable.

"Dahaha! That foolish sister was doing such a thing? No wonder she got her foot in the door when she was selling people as goods!

That's right. When it comes to transporting people, the distribution channels are limited. The same goes for the disposal of used up goods. On the other hand, Chisanthe, your product is very convenient and can be easily distributed through normal channels.

"......?

Your secret is a special potion that is being researched in Selende, right? If you've got a lot of time and energy, you're going to want to make sure that you're able to get the most out of it. Such as, say, an addictive drug that gives you a great sense of well-being when you use it.

I don't think it's a trick. I don't think it's a trick, but perhaps this man used some means to sniff it out. I had a hunch from the first time I met him. This is the man who can get to my secrets, and he must be eliminated.

First of all, I need to find out how far this man is willing to go.

"Well, it's true that we sell some drugs to other countries, but we do so legally and with the approval of the other country.

"I could have figured that out in a second if I had checked the drug sales records. Chisanthe, I heard that you set short expiration dates on medicines and exchange expired medicines for new ones locally.

"It's a processed herb. It doesn't matter how much you dry it, it can't be preserved forever. If the medicine that you have gone to the trouble of buying does not work, it will not lead to profit later on. So we decided that it would be better for them to continue using the new medicine, even if it means some loss to us.

You have a condition that the box used at the time of purchase must be used as a condition of exchange. I'm guessing you were hiding the real medicine in the bottom of the box?

...... I'm afraid I don't remember that.

He stopped his hand from grasping the sword. It's too early to tell, the man hasn't told us everything he knows. I'm sure we'll kill him, but we should let him talk some more.

I've already got one of his distribution channels under control. Even if it doesn't prove that you ordered it, it does reveal the fact that there's an ineffective drug coming out of this country. It will soon come to light that your merchant has been taken advantage of, and there will be strict monitoring of the goods leaving Serende in the future.

To that extent, the damage would be minor. We'll just have to come up with another way to get the drugs to other countries. The coffers will be temporarily shut down, but they will not disappear.

The only thing I know from talking to you, ......, is that you don't have any evidence to destroy me. You see through all of this, and you're trying to rush me, but you have nothing to use but words, don't you?

"I'm not trying to rush you. I'm not trying to rush you. There's no point in getting a confession here.

Exactly. You and I are the only ones listening to this conversation. No matter what I say here, it will only be in your memory. You probably thought I'd be upset and willing to negotiate, but ...... you're not thinking straight.

That's enough. The more I look at this man, the worse I feel. Let's kill him quickly and make arrangements to cut off the captured route.

As he drew his sword, the Yggra Starling placed both of the jars in his hand on the table with the fruit.

Not really. What we've been talking about is just a way to buy time. ...... It's just small talk. The reason I'm here today is to have a little fun with you.

"...... Play?

"I'm glad you allowed me to meet you. I'm glad you allowed me to meet you, so I wouldn't be just another murderer.

What are you talking about? Stalling? You think this conversation had no meaning? No, you can't take him seriously. If he knows I'm trying to kill him, he'll be desperate to save his own life.

There's no need to play games with him.

"What?

As soon as you grab your sword and stand up, your body wobbles. I can't move my body as I want to. What is this, what is this, what is this?

It's poison. "It's a poison. You're used to using them, you'll know what kind right away, right?

In my head, I compare my body's symptoms with my memory and narrow down a few candidates. Judging from the numbness all over his body, it was probably something he could mix into his food. The fact that he doesn't tend to die immediately after the symptoms appear suggests that it's a slow-acting ....... And the bottle he's holding, well, that's the bottle that my underlings have been holding.

You! You're the one who gave me the ....... ......?

If you're familiar with poisons, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's the breakfast you were eating just a few minutes ago.

No, it can't be! My food has been examined and poisoned in multiple steps!

Even if it's tasteless and odorless, the poison taster I have can detect it just by putting it in his mouth. Even if it's tasteless and odorless, my poisoner can detect it just by putting the poison in his mouth. The poisoner ate all the food for breakfast today, so there's no way it contains poison.

"Here, here. This fruit. This fruit is a tangerine--can't you tell? It's the type of fruit that has clusters of fruit inside the rind. I put the poison in one of the bunches. You're not going to take a bite out of the whole bunch, are you?

The Yugra Star People peeled the fruit and pulled out a bunch to show me. The bunch is covered with a thin layer of skin, so if you inject it from the outside with a syringe or something, it won't immediately spread to the whole bunch. At most, there would be a few neighboring cells.

No, that's not possible. When I buy fruit, I buy it in boxes. If you were to sneak in and poison the fruit in the box, you would be discovered by tasting the fruit beforehand if you tried to poison all the fruit. If only a few fruits are poisoned, there's at least a chance they'll be on my table.

But this time, there is no guarantee that the poisoner will not eat that part at breakfast. If he did, the poison would be discovered and I would not have eaten that day.

Then he couldn't have poisoned me and he would have just come here to die. He's not the kind of guy you can just leave to chance.

"No, it's not luck. When you open the box, the first thing to be poisoned is a bad shape. On the other hand, the one that is put on the table is the one with the best shape. Then put the best shaped one on the top side of the box and gather the worst shaped ones around it. That way, you can manipulate the fruits that will be on the breakfast table today.

"......

If you put them on a plate so that the prince can see them, he will think about their orientation. If you understand their tastes, you can read how they will be arranged. If you know the direction, you can figure out where the poisoner will grab the skin and peel it off. After that, you need to understand which bunch the poisoner will pick up when he peels the skin. If you place the poison at the farthest point from there, you will see.

This makes sense up to the point where the arranger chooses. However, there was no way I could understand which direction the platter would be placed, or which bunch the poisoner would taste.

What came to my mind, however, was the story of the poisoner this morning. He offered to taste the fruit ...... for the purpose of detecting the poisoner's habits ......?

I'm not sure if you can do that.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea. And you're suffering from poison.

Aah!

That's not good. It's true that I've been poisoned, regardless of the truth of the story. But I can't move my body as I want. I can move my arms and legs, but will I be able to walk to the door? Will I be able to unlock the door?

Even if I do get out of this room, will I be able to survive long enough to order my men to prepare the antidote and drink it? I'm too late to notice the poisoning because I've been sitting here talking to you.

There's no point in thinking about it. As I tried to put all my strength into my body, the Yugra Star People pushed the table closer to me. The bottle of poison I don't want to see is now within my reach.

I don't want you to die like this, so I'll explain the rules of the game. These two bottles, one contains the dose of poison I gave you this morning, and the other contains the antidote to that dose.

What?

I'm not going to unilaterally kill you, that would be unfair. This is an equal match between you and me. You can choose whichever you like. I'll drink whichever you don't choose first.

I'm starting to lose my mind. What is this man saying, what is he saying? No, it's not about what he's thinking, it's about understanding what's going on.

One is the poison he gave me, and the other is the antidote: ....... I know that the dark side had the antidote to this poison and that they look the same. Originally, you could tell the difference by the label on the bottle, but that label has now been roughly removed.

I am familiar with this poison. Its original purpose is not to kill, but to scare. It is an interrogation poison, used to break the mind by flirting with the antidote after the symptoms have begun to appear.

Of course, if you don't take the antidote, you will die, and you can't have enough of the antidote. The amount in the bottle is for one dose of both. If you take both, you will get more than one dose of poison and the situation will not improve.

"......

I'm not sure if this guy is telling the truth in the first place. I'm sure you're not the only one. He's turned this place, and more importantly, my territory, to his advantage.

I reached out to one side to see his reaction, but his expression did not change at all. Psychological warfare is pointless against a man who has come this far just by talking. But he's not going to lose his life by luck or fortune. .......

Take your time and observe the bottle carefully. The label has been roughly removed, but only the text has been adjusted so that it is precisely illegible. The only other difference you can see is ...... something, something ......!

"Thanks to your dumbassery, time is less than you think. If you have to choose, do it quickly.

I picked up both bottles and checked their lids thoroughly. I had found both of them in my waist pouch when I checked my dark gear earlier. Poison in the front, antidote in the back, I was sure of their location.

But I also remembered other elements, such as a knife for throwing and a syringe for injecting the medicine. The knife was on the front side for quick throwing. The syringe was wrapped in a soft cloth and stored in the back to prevent it from breaking.

This means that if the dark guys were walking around with them on their hips, the front vial would have been damaged by the knife. ......!

As expected, there is a difference in the slight scratches on the lids of the two bottles. That's enough to win. No, but it's still not a sure thing. We'll need to make another move.

"This way! I'll drink the contents of this one!

Returning the scarred bottle to the table, the Yggra Star People pick it up and open the lid. He smiled slightly at me.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice a scratch on the bottle?

"...!

I'm a citizen of the planet Yugra.

I snatched the bottle that the Yugra people were holding and drank its contents in one gulp. I've always known that people are capable of unimaginable power when they're close to death, but I never thought I'd be able to experience it like this.

"Da-da-ha-ha! You misjudged my last move! You were so proud that I couldn't move fast enough because of the poison, that you decided to show me your victory at the end! I'm not so stupid as to not consider the possibility that you switched the contents of the antidote with the poison!

-No, you're stupid.

What about ......?

The Yuggra Star People picked up the undamaged bottle I had dropped on the chair and drank its contents down.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Don't tell me that the one I drank from hadn't been ...... replaced with the contents!

They're both poison. No wonder "I" have no intention of forgiving you, huh? Your mistake was not in choosing the bottle, but in misjudging how serious I am.

"Ahhhhhh, ......!

The numbness in my body increases and I can't stand. The poison doesn't seem to be neutralizing, in fact I can feel it getting worse all over my body.

I'm dying, I'm dying! I'm dying, dying, dying? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

"Agh, ...... agh!

The people of the planet Yugra are looking down on me with the same expression on their faces. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

If you've taken the potion, you'll be dead soon too. You are not allowed to open this room, so you are not allowed to take the antidote. ......!

I'm sorry to bother you, but there's one last thing. I'm sorry to interrupt your busy mind, but one last thing: I brought two bottles into this room, but I brought three bottles into this house. I'm sure you're smart enough to know what that means.