Episode 965

“No matter who you are, this is a bit much.”

The imperial palace dining hall was empty.

A circle of mages stood around Beric, all eyes fixed on him. The kitchen staff and cooks watched with curious glances—well, more precisely, they were all focused on Beric.

“What’s the deal here?” Beric muttered, confused by the chatter among the others—some named Atani or something. He sniffled, and Naum smiled faintly.

“We came to eat. What’s wrong with that?”

“Everyone’s just staring at me.”

“Guess they’re full just from looking at your face.”

“Is that what they have to look at because there’s nothing else?”

“It’s entertaining. And it’s a slow time for everyone anyway.”

“Why is Ian here then? I thought he wasn’t eating.”

“Hm. If Beric eats well, Ian will too, right?”

Ian gave a small nod in response to Naum’s question.

Beric, clearly annoyed, propped his chin on his hand and tapped the empty table. If they came to eat, they should at least bring some food. Naum gave a subtle signal to the cook, asking if anything had been prepared.

Clatter.

“Huh?”

The cook brought out a single plate—one serving. There were easily a dozen people here. Beric spun the plate around, confused.

“Who’s this for? Hey, sir, this is reportable, you know? If you slack off, you get arrested—what’s it called again?”

“Dereliction of duty.”

“Yeah, that.”

Ian whispered the word, and Beric nodded vigorously in agreement.

But the atmosphere was strange. The cook crossed his arms with a sly smile, and the mages seemed to be waiting for Beric to start eating.

“…What’s with everyone? Are you all crazy?”

“Come on, Beric. Eat first.”

“Eat?”

“Don’t want to?”

When Ian suddenly pulled the plate toward himself, Beric grabbed his wrist. Still suspicious, but reflexively protective when someone tried to take his food.

Ian sat beside Naum, grinning.

“Then eat.”

“Seriously, do you think I can’t eat if you tell me to? I can handle this in one spoonful—”

Just as Beric scooped a big bite, Naum covered his eyes with a black cloth.

“Huh?”

“Eat, eat. Keep eating.”

“…? The Atani have some kind of super taste, right?”

“Something like that. Don’t worry about it, just eat.”

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have come today. I should’ve just gone back to the dorm like Varsave said.”

Beric grumbled but awkwardly started eating with the spoon. Covering his eyes didn’t stop him from eating! As he got more used to the clumsy spoonfuls, the sound of another dish being placed on the table reached his ears.

“Here, Beric. Next dish.”

Sniff sniff. Beric flared his nostrils, identifying the smell. Beef stew, slow-cooked! He reached out eagerly, but there was nothing to grab.

“What’s this? Not giving it to me? Feed me! Ah—”

“Beric, can you tell what this is just by the smell?”

“Meat. Meat. Slow-cooked. My mouth’s watering.”

“…Really?”

“Ah! Ahhh!”

Beric opened his mouth wide, begging to be fed. But still, nothing came, only more mixed scents.

“How about this one?”

“Huh? What’s this? Fish stew? Looks like they poured a ton of lemon juice on it. But what’s the point of this? I heard messing with food means you go straight to hell. Ian, aren’t you smart enough to know that?”

Beric snapped irritably, but Ian didn’t answer. Instead, the clatter of dishes being cleared away sounded. At the same time, the murmurs among the watching mages grew louder.

“No way, that guy’s serious…”

“Thought he’d eat anything, but this is next level.”

“Told you, Beric’s not exactly human when it comes to eating.”

“Atani are still human, right?”

“Well, we’re not pigs just because we eat pork.”

“Basically, he eats everything.”

What are they talking about? Beric yanked off the blindfold and locked eyes with Ian, who was holding a plate.

“Oh.”

On the plate was a chunk of meat with a strange bluish-green hide. Even a fool could tell it wasn’t beef or fish.

Beric blinked stiffly, and Ian casually said,

“A monster. Beric, you’ve never seen one before, right?”

In the past ten years, even though monsters had been rampant, ordinary citizens living in Bariel’s center hadn’t seen a single monster hair. Thanks to the empire’s army and mages, their daily lives remained secure.

Beric scratched his cheek and asked,

“Did I… did I just eat that?”

“No, you only smelled it. This is beef, and that’s fish.”

The monster carcass was covered in sticky slime.

Beric jumped up, protesting.

“This is too much!”

“I didn’t make you eat it. I just covered your eyes because the appearance might disgust you and cause prejudice. Beric, you were drooling earlier.”

“Still!”

“Enough with the ‘still’—”

Ian handed the plate back to the chef. Though he’d encountered all sorts of ingredients in his long career, monster meat was a first, and his face twisted in disgust.

“You’re Atani.”

“Yeah. Atani.”

“Definitely Atani.”

Ian and Naum nodded, followed by the mages. They all swallowed hard after smelling the revolting monster scent. It was undeniable proof.

Beric tilted his head, asking again,

“So what if I’m Atani? Do I get kicked out? I like it here.”

“No, nothing like that. But you’ll have to train harder.”

To hone the rough Atani traits and develop combat advantages.

Beric crossed his arms and looked at the empty table.

“But isn’t it kind of ridiculous to just make me smell stuff and say I’m Atani? I don’t want to hurt your pride, but I’m starving right now.”

“No ordinary person would find those smells pleasant, no matter how hungry. And Beric, if we want to be absolutely sure, we’d have to pierce your abdomen again. You okay with that?”

Ziiing. Ziiing.

Naum grinned as he activated his golden eyes to intimidate Beric.

No doubt, Naum wasn’t exactly sane either… Beric enjoyed sparring with strong opponents, but surrounded by mages ready to pummel him, his fighting spirit quickly faded.

“…No, I’m not okay.”

“Right. I don’t really want to either. This is enough. Besides, if you get sick now, the imperial guard will give you hell. They’re short-handed as it is.”

Ian sat across from Beric, who leaned back and scratched his ear.

“So? Now that you know I’m Atani, should I just say ‘Hi, I’m Atani Beric’ when I meet people?”

“No, nothing like that. Think about how you acted when you met Crony.”

“Crony? I already said, I was surprised because he looks nothing like me. Annoying, kind of a jerk?”

“Not that. Didn’t you notice a smell? Like the beef or fish you mentioned. Something that whets your appetite.”

“Hm.”

Beric rubbed his chin, trying to recall. There was a faint scent of well-dried cloth, but that was probably from his clothes. After thinking it over, he shrugged.

“Don’t know about that. No memorable smell.”

“Really?”

Ian sighed softly and glanced at Naum. So Crony’s body hadn’t turned into a monster or anything.

“But—”

Beric smacked his lips, losing his appetite.

“There’s someone in the palace who smells kind of strange.”

“…In the palace? Who?”

“Name’s Soyf, I think. Ian said you two went to the same school.”

“Don’t know him. Never heard of him.”

“I met him while on duty near His Majesty’s quarters. He said the scent was from the incense used there, but it was totally different from the emperor’s usual smell. Weird, right?”

Naum tilted his head for a moment. Just because someone smells unusual doesn’t mean they’re suspicious.

“Beric, was Soyf in charge of the quarters?”

“Yeah. Probably? I don’t know much about his job, but he’s part of the direct secretariat.”

“Then it’s suspicious.”

“Right? Isn’t it? Ha, that’s the empire for you.”

The emperor’s bedroom was a space beyond the watchful eyes of the three commanders, a place where one could get close to the emperor unguarded. No matter how vigilant the guards were, no one was closer than the servants who lifted the covers and fluffed the pillows.

“The imperial guard…”

Ian suddenly remembered something from the office. For Crony to swallow Bariel, the emperor’s position would have to be vacated first. It was time to be wary of poison seeping in from within, rather than attacks from outside.

Ian stood up abruptly, and Naum, Beric, and the mages all looked up at him.

“Ian?”

“I need to see His Majesty for a moment—”

“Ian, your necklace.”

It gleamed. The small magic stone, hidden beneath his clothes around his neck, sparkled as if silently pleading for help.

Ian felt his heart drop with a thud and turned toward the emperor’s chambers.

“…Your Majesty?”

This was the very magic stone the emperor had personally given him in his youth, instructing that if anything ever happened to him, Ian should use it to request freezing. He had long believed it lost to the passage of time, forgotten—but the stone was sending a desperate signal with all its might, as if refusing to be ignored.

---

A soft creak.

The attendants knelt by the emperor’s bedside, carrying warm water and clean cloths. The old man’s breathing was faint, fragile, as if it might cease at any moment.

They gently rolled up the sleeves of his arms and legs to clean them, while Soif dampened a white gauze cloth and carefully wiped the emperor’s face.

“Your Majesty.”

His eyes, full of warmth and kindness, asked softly, “Are you comfortable?” Standing by the bed, the three commanders watching saw nothing unusual in the routine care.

A slight twitch.

The emperor’s brow furrowed minutely, and his fingertips twitched in quick succession. The attendants checked his condition cautiously, but that was all.

“Your Majesty, it pains me to see you lie here so.”

Soif wiped the medicine from his own wrist with the cloth, then gently rubbed it along the emperor’s nose and mouth.

“Please, now be free.”

As his final counsel, Soif let out a quiet, bitter smile to himself.

Earlier, that man named Beric had clearly caught the scent of the medicine on him. Whether from innocence or stupidity, the way he sniffed around made Soif realize his own end was near.

“They say I have a special connection with Ian Hadel. No doubt my story has reached them in some way. Beric might be careless, but Ian Hadel will suspect and investigate. Before they catch my trail, I’m grateful to have finished what I came to do. Foolish dog.”

Soif’s hand grew rougher as he wiped the emperor’s face. An attendant standing nearby noticed the change and looked at him with growing suspicion.

“…Soif?”

His voice was barely a whisper. No conversation was allowed in the chamber, for fear of waking the emperor.

Hearing this, one of the three commanders turned his gaze toward the bed.

“Soif.”

Ignoring the call, Soif continued scrubbing the emperor’s mouth and nose with increasing force. Just as a colleague reached to grab his wrist—

“Cough—!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Your Majesty? Someone, anyone, is there?”

“Call the doctor!”

The emperor erupted in a harsh cough, spewing dark, crimson blood.

Everyone recoiled in shock for a moment. Amid the chaos of calling for a doctor, Soif smiled with a thrill of triumph, as if his mission was complete.