"This is... poison. Moreover, the kind that turns to smoke the moment it touches air, scattering poison in all directions."
The one who said this was the Hobbyist Shop Owner, who ran an item shop under the umbrella of the Elema Trading Company.
He carefully set the bottle he had been examining with trepidation onto the desk.
The guards beside Daridora watched the Hobbyist Shop Owner closely, ensuring he made no suspicious movements.
They had been attacked during the day, and then attacked again at the research facility — compounding their failures twice over.
Because of that, they were tensed with the resolve that a third failure would not be tolerated.
"...In other words, the person who used this poison was prepared for self-destruction?"
At Daridora's words, the Hobbyist Shop Owner shook his head.
"No. I apologize, but I can't determine the full effects of the poison. I don't have that level of specialized knowledge..."
"I see. But considering the kind of person who would attempt to use this poison, it's likely a lethal one."
Hearing the words "lethal poison," the Hobbyist Shop Owner's cheek twitched as he fixed his gaze on the bottle placed on the desk.
What would happen if he dropped this bottle right now?
That was the fear that struck him.
...Of course, he only felt such terror because he didn't know that the bottle hadn't broken even when the White-Coated Man had dropped it on the floor.
"Seal it tightly."
At Daridora's command, one of the subordinates in the room quickly placed the bottle into a box that had been prepared nearby and locked it securely.
Watching his subordinate's actions, Daridora let out another sigh.
"Good grief. Honestly, my head hurts. ...With the research facility I entrusted with the Tira Tree research in that state, I don't even know what to say to Lord Lyubrand. And Augusto will probably use this as an opportunity to tell me to halt Tira Tree research as well."
Even though they had joined hands for now, it wasn't as though he and Augusto could remain allied forever.
And under Augusto's command existed Rei, a combat power so far beyond the norm that opposing him was never an option to begin with.
At the same time, telling Lord Lyubrand that the Tira Tree matter was impossible was also difficult.
For Daridora, the situation had become one where he was completely unable to move.
(To begin with, why would anyone attack the Tira Tree research facility...? To create a decisive rift between Augusto and me? Or rather — can we even assume that those who attacked the research facility are the same faction that attacked Augusto and me?)
He had many questions, but what he needed to do remained unchanged.
"Gather intelligence. These are people who would hostilely oppose both me and Augusto. They must have left traces somewhere. Otherwise, it would be quite impossible to..."
Just as Daridora said this and was about to issue new orders... the door to the room suddenly opened without a knock, and a man burst in, out of breath.
"Lord Daridora! Lunora's shop has been attacked!"
"What!?"
At the unexpected report, a voice of surprise slipped from Daridora's mouth.
But he quickly composed himself and spoke.
"What's the damage?"
"The shop itself is unharmed, but... Lunora..."
Judging by the way the man trailed off, it was clear that the shopkeeper Lunora had not escaped unscathed.
Mixing irritation into his already nervous expression, Daridora spoke.
"Do we know anything about the attacker?"
"No. Lunora said it was someone they had never seen before."
Hearing those words, Daridora let out a slight breath of relief, understanding that Lunora had not been killed.
And just as he was about to say something... the door opened again, and another man entered.
"Lord Daridora!"
"Now what!?"
He shouted, thinking somewhere else had been attacked — but then realized the man who had entered was the one he had ordered to investigate the corpse of the man who had been hiding in the research facility.
Could it be that this mansion had been attacked too?
Daridora turned his gaze toward the man with that thought, but what came from the man's mouth was a voice filled with the fear of having witnessed something incomprehensible.
"Lord Daridora... we were investigating that attacker's corpse, and something outrageous has come to light."
"Outrageous, you say? Specifically?"
"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure how to put it into words... Could you come with me? It would be faster for you to see it directly rather than me trying to explain."
The man's words — phrasing that Rei himself might have used, echoing the sentiment that seeing is believing — made Daridora furrow his brow slightly, but he stood up anyway.
The man who had come to report was a subordinate Daridora could trust, and he judged that in this pressing situation, he would not do anything pointless.
"Very well, lead the way."
"Yes, right this way."
"Lord Daridora, about Lunora's shop..."
The man who had brought the report about the attack on Lunora's shop called out to Daridora as he stood up.
"Dispatch rescue immediately. If there are no longer any enemies present, tidy up the shop, treat the employees including Lunora, and maintain perimeter vigilance to prevent anyone from doing anything foolish. Ah, and don't forget to explain the situation to the neighboring shops."
"Yes, understood. Right away."
"And also... have a few of your men go with him."
The guards, suddenly addressed, opened their mouths to dissuade Daridora, surprised by this unexpected development.
"But what if this is an attempt to disperse our forces here in order to target Lord Daridora?"
"Even so. Besides, I remain here, and Narcus should soon return to duty here, even if not fully recovered. So for now..."
"...Understood."
"You heard me. Head to Lunora's shop along with the guards."
Nodding at the swiftly issued instructions, the man promptly left the room with the guards.
Watching them go, Daridora left the room along with the subordinate he had assigned to investigate the White-Coated Man and the guards who had remained behind.
Their destination was an area within Daridora's shop that housed a modest research facility.
It was where product research, development, and analysis were normally conducted.
Of course, it wasn't a large-scale facility, so a serious researcher like Kutoga would not have been satisfied with it — which was why a dedicated research facility had been built on the outskirts of Gauche. But that facility was now useless with Kutoga dead.
(Troubling events keep piling up. ...If only there were some good news...)
Walking down the corridor, Daridora sighed and shook his head, but then quickly looked up as though realizing something.
(No. Setting Augusto aside, not having to fight Rei — rather, being able to cooperate with him on this matter — is unquestionably good news.)
He had been gathering information on Rei, and his guards had told him that Rei was strong.
And at the research facility, Rei had effortlessly defeated the opponent who had attacked them.
Considering all of that, the fact that he had formed a cooperative relationship with Rei without becoming his enemy was undoubtedly good news.
(Furthermore, being able to observe Rei — a person bearing the alias Crimson — up close means I can observe his tastes, preferences, and character firsthand. He will only grow more prominent from here on out. When that time comes, the value of the information I possess may even surpass Orichalcum.)
He felt gratitude toward Rei, but at the same time, he planned to turn it into a business opportunity.
That held no contradiction whatsoever for Daridora.
It was precisely because of that kind of personality that he had been able to expand the Elema Trading Company into an organization with the highest influence in Gauche.
Advancing through the corridor while thinking about what lay ahead, they eventually arrived at the research room.
When Daridora and the guards entered the research room, what they saw was the corpse of the White-Coated Man placed on a table-like platform.
Seeing Daridora's gaze directed at the white coat, the man apparently noticed and opened his mouth to speak.
"Regarding the white coat, it doesn't appear to have any particular significance. Most likely, this man stole it from someone when infiltrating the research facility... or more specifically, when lying in wait to ambush you, Lord Daridora."
Compared to when he had burst into Daridora's room earlier, some time had passed, which may have contributed, but he spoke in a calm manner.
At both the man's demeanor and the content of his words, Daridora let out a breath of relief.
At the very least, it was now clear that there had been no traitor among those he had employed.
(No... there is the possibility that some were leaking information.)
Even though they were treated as his subordinates, since they were originally Kutoga's subordinates, they could be considered outsiders.
Because of that, even if there had been no outright betrayal, it would not be strange for some to have been leaking information.
"Let's set the white coat aside for now... More importantly, what I want you to see is this. Please come here. To be honest, it's not a pleasant thing to look at."
"You're being oddly evasive."
"Yes. Honestly, I'm not sure whether to call this a technique... or perhaps 'such people' would be more accurate. I don't know what to call it, but I've never seen anything like this before."
Saying that, the man led Daridora to the area around the corpse's head.
The green liquid that the corpse had vomited from its mouth had already been wiped away.
Noticing this, Daridora spoke up, curious.
"By the way, did you find out what that green liquid was?"
"Ah, that. You said Rei was the one who made this corpse, right? Just as he said, there was what appears to be suicide poison hidden in a molar. It was designed so that biting down hard would cause the liquid to be swallowed... He probably swallowed it involuntarily when he received a powerful impact."
At those words, Daridora's expression showed understanding — so Rei's prediction had been correct after all.
"Once the investigation of this corpse is complete, I'd also like you to investigate the poison inside the bottle this man was carrying. I showed it to the Hobbyist Shop Owner who sells a lot of herbs and such, but he couldn't determine what kind of poison it was."
"Understood. ...Now then, this is it. Are you ready, Lord Daridora? I won't tell you not to be surprised, but please, whatever you do, don't lose your composure."
Being told such a thing, Daridora displayed a slightly displeased expression.
Daridora had overcome countless ordeals to make the Elema Trading Company the foremost merchant company in Gauche.
For someone like him to be surprised — let alone lose his composure — was a rare occurrence indeed.
But the man had also spent a considerable amount of time as Daridora's subordinate.
The fact that he still felt compelled to say such a thing meant that what he was about to show was beyond the bounds of common sense.
Seeing that Daridora was prepared, the man reached out toward the corpse's face... and deliberately touched the skin of the face before sinking his fingers into the boundary between the forehead and the hairline.
...Yes — he was not stroking or touching the skin. He was inserting his fingers beneath it.
"Wha!?"
Naturally, a cry of astonishment escaped Daridora's mouth as well.
As if peeling off paper, the skin of the face came away.
What lay beneath that skin, of course, was flesh with no skin covering it — something that instilled disgust in anyone watching.
"Ugh!"
Daridora finally understood the reason why the man had told him not to lose his composure, but once he settled down, he turned his gaze toward the surrounding guards.
"Can you understand the reason for doing something like this?"
"Well... I suppose. ...Though I'd rather not think about it."
One of the guards spoke while quietly averting his gaze from the corpse that now lacked facial skin.
"Probably for disguise... I would imagine. Under normal circumstances, a person with brown skin couldn't disguise themselves as someone with white skin — I won't say it's impossible, but it would be extremely difficult. But if you can freely peel off your own facial skin, then..."
He didn't need to finish the sentence for Daridora to understand.
In other words, by affixing someone else's skin — or something similar — to the face, disguise became possible.
"...Does someone really do such a thing? For that matter, to what end?"
The guard muttered in disgust as he looked at the skinless human head before him.
In response, the master of this room gave a small shrug and spoke.
"Without anyone ever finding out... and yet becoming an entirely different person. Complete with a different skin color and everything. Now, what kind of people would need to do something like that?"
"...Assassins..."
That answer required no thought whatsoever.
After all, the corpse before Daridora and his guards was already the corpse of someone believed to be an assassin.
"Did the third faction hire an assassin to take my life?"
Daridora muttered, but something about that answer felt wrong.
It was his instinct as a merchant, and more than that — targeting him while dragging Augusto into it was irrational in many ways.
"Then, someone who holds a grudge against both me and Augusto? ...I can't imagine such a person exists."
Setting himself aside, Daridora — who could think of no one who would hold a grudge against Augusto — muttered shortly.