Chapter 96
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“Come in, for now.”
Seeing a familiar face at last, some of the tension finally drained from Samuel’s body. As he stepped inside, Ricola closed the door behind her. The space beyond was another corridor. Ricola took the lead, walking briskly down the dim passage.
“You were guarding this area, Ricola?”
“Yeah. Our people are farther in. Everything that really matters is inside.”
“What kind of things?”
“Clues—Esper enhancers and the like. Looks like this place was used as a storage facility.”
Ricola turned back toward Samuel, her brow deeply furrowed.
“But where are the Espers assigned to your team? How did a guide end up this far in alone, Samuel Norah?”
“Unexpected situations happen anywhere.”
“And your arrogance—charging ahead without regard for your own safety—probably helped.”
With no real rebuttal, Samuel only shrugged. Ricola shot him a look, as if scolding a troublemaker, then sighed and faced forward again.
“Anyway, be careful. This doesn’t look like a bunch of small-time scammers just trying to make quick money.”
“I agree.”
The Espers sprawled outside hadn’t even been aware of their own condition. If someone had checked their necklaces, they would almost certainly have been in the red.
An Esper being unaware of their guiding state was nearly impossible unless they were on the brink of death. Even when deprived of guiding energy, their instinct was to pounce the moment they sensed the faintest trace of it.
For a d**g to suppress that instinct—even temporarily—was terrifying.
“Come in here, Samuel Norah.”
Inside was indeed a warehouse: stacks of boxes and piles of documents whose contents were unclear. Several Security Guard members were already there, most of them unfamiliar to Samuel.
A man sitting atop one of the crates noticed Ricola and greeted her casually.
“Ricola? And who’s with you?”
“Ensign Samuel Norah.”
“…I see. No need for formalities.”
He waved off Samuel’s salute and abruptly held out his hand.
“I’ve been struggling—mind giving me some guiding?”
“Of course.”
In the field, one-on-one guiding was typically done through physical contact. Samuel took the man’s hand without protest, glancing around as he did. He hadn’t expected so many personnel inside.
Come to think of it, had there really been this many assigned to this bar?
His thoughts didn’t last long.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon?”
“What level do you think I am?”
The man asked with an easy grin. Slightly flustered, Samuel instinctively glanced at Ricola, but she was already busy searching the warehouse with the others.
“…Silver level, I believe.”
“High silver or low?”
“High.”
“Nice eye! You’re good—really good!”
In truth, the man seemed squarely mid-silver. But there was no reason to bluntly state that to a superior, so Samuel gave the answer he knew would please him.
Clearly satisfied, the man beamed, gave Samuel’s hand a firm squeeze, then moved toward the others.
“Let’s hurry. If more people show up, we’re done for.”
“I’ll help.”
“Then bag those vials over there.”
“Yes.”
Samuel approached the spot the man indicated. Inside a wooden crate were dozens of thumb-sized glass bottles, being transferred into sacks. The liquid inside them was the same green as monster blood.
‘So it’s injected…?’
Most official guiding d***s—and even illegal ones—were pills. He’d assumed enhancers would be the same. Instead, these were liquid, and judging by the caps, not meant to be drunk.
If the d**g altered blood itself, injecting it directly into the veins would make sense.
As Samuel worked mechanically, a fallen document caught his eye. It detailed the d**g’s effects.
“…The fewer guiding resources available, the stronger the side effects. Adequate guiding is required. If that is not feasible, consuming a guide’s blood…”
What?
A chill ran up the back of his neck, as though he’d been dropped straight into the heart of enemy territory.
Samuel jerked his head up and scanned the room. Everyone was focused on collecting evidence.
No—that couldn’t be it. This sense of dread had to be his imagination. Everyone here was from the Security Guard—Ricola included. There was no reason to feel threatened.
So why did his instincts scream danger?
“Did you see it?”
A whisper brushed his ear. Samuel leapt backward in reflex. The man who had asked for guiding earlier was standing there, smiling.
“So you saw it.”
Thud.
A dull, crushing pain slammed into the back of Samuel’s head, and his vision went black.
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