[V5C1] Witnessed by the Black Dragon

Inside a warehouse in the Sazandol port, someone woke up behind a pile of haphazardly stacked wooden crates.

He appeared to be a man of around 30, of average build and height. His brick-colored reddish-brown hair was disheveled, falling all over his eyes.

The high-collared outfit he wore was typical of those working in academics, but it seemed worn down, giving him the appearance of a rather unremarkable scholar.

Rubbing his eyelids, the man took a look around. He recalled sneaking into this warehouse to escape the cold northern wind, then falling asleep inside.

(Ah, I slept well… Maybe a bit too well…)

As he raised his upper body and stretched out his shoulders, he heard voices from the other side of the wooden crates. It seemed like four or five men were engaged in conversation.

Wanting to avoid any embarrassment if the warehouse owner discovered him, the man stealthily peeked out from behind the crates.

“Boss Throth, here are the ‘goods’ you asked for.”

“Hoh, seems like good quality. The aroma is completely different.”

“Yeah, one dose will send you straight into the paradise of the Goddess.”

The men were exchanging some sort of suspicious-looking envelope. It appeared to contain a substance that resembled dried herbs.

The man frowned, realizing the nature of this transaction from the conversation.

(Oh no…! Could this be some kind of deal I shouldn’t be witnessing…?)

It seemed that the leader of the men was called Throth, a man in his mid-thirties with brown hair. He wore flashy clothes and covered himself in an excessive amount of what appeared to be magical accessories. The rest looked like typical thugs, possibly former soldiers.

However, there was also a young woman among them. She wore a fur mantle, had neatly trimmed light blonde hair, and carried two impressive guns at her hips, indicating that she was likely a mercenary.

(Eek! So scary…)

The safest course of action was to stay hidden until they left. The man observed quietly as Throth stored the envelope in his bag. At that moment, something glittered inside Throth’s bag.

(W-Wait… What…? No way…)

The glittering object was a black box with various gems embedded in it, small enough to fit in a person’s hand. Delicate and beautiful, it closely resembled the one the man had in his possession until just before he fell asleep.

Panicking, the man checked his own pocket. As he suspected, his jewel box was missing.

(No way, no way, no way!)

As the man turned pale in the shadows, one of the thugs asked Throth, “Hey Boss, what’s that pretty looking box? Is it one of the magical tools you made?”

“Oh, this? I got it from the corpse lying over there. Pretty nice considering he was so poorly dressed…”

“That’s miiiiine…!”

The man found himself shouting and hastily covered his mouth… but of course, it was already too late.

Before he even had a chance to think, the female mercenary had pointed both of her guns in his direction.

Gasping, he strained to speak in a trembling voice.

“Um, I’m not a corpse… so, could you, uh, return that box? I’d really appreciate it…”

Throth gave a wide grin upon hearing the man’s desperate plea, revealing yellow-stained teeth.

“Damn, you slept without budging an inch. I thought for sure you were a collapsed vagabond.”

“…So can you give back my box?”

He tried to tilt his head cutely and look up with upturned eyes, but a 30-year-old man would never appear cute.

Throth burst into laughter, showcasing the jewel box he took from his bag.

“Come on now, I found this thing. Do you have any proof it’s yours?”

“Um, m-my name isn’t written on it… but please, give it back. It’s really important to me…”

“Oh? If you have something this impressive, you must be quite the rich young master from a well-known family… Probably never known any hardships until now, right? I hate pampered rich kids. Whenever I see one, I can’t help but want to drug them and sell them off.”

“P-Pampered rich kid? I’m just normal old Theodore. Please, give it back.”

Throth approached with a lecherous sneer, then roughly patted Theodore’s shoulder with his ring-adorned hands.

“Okay then, Theodore. How about this? Starting today, you work at a shop under my jurisdiction. Work hard, save some money, and I might consider returning this box.”

Theodore looked up at Throth, trembling.

“W-Will you really return it if I do as you say?”

“Oh!? Looks like the young master needs to be taught some proper manners!”

To Theodore’s dismay, Throth began raising his voice. Theodore could only tremble with tears in his eyes.

Satisfied with Theodore’s reaction, Throth smiled and turned to the female mercenary standing nearby.

“Hey, Veronica. Dayan’s shop mentioned they were short-staffed. Dump him there.”

“Got it… Come along.”

Veronica, the female mercenary, grabbed Theodore by the collar and began walking.

Theodore whimpered, “It hurts, it hurts,” while being dragged away by Veronica.

＊　＊　＊

In the basket in the Silent Witch’s bedroom, the Black Dragon of Worgan, or rather, Nero, woke up from hibernation.

“Nyafaaah… Ahh, slept well, slept well.”

Still in the form of a black cat, Nero jumped down from the basket and dexterously pushed the door open with his front paws, entering the hallway.

Monica was likely downstairs. Hopefully, her talented disciple was also present today.

(If Sparkles is here, I might get a delicious meal when I wake up.)

Thinking such thoughts, Nero approached the staircase and noticed voices coming from downstairs. However, the voices were not Monica’s, and they seemed to be speaking in hushed tones. Suspicious.

As Nero descended the stairs, stifling his footsteps, he saw Isaac and Glenn at the entrance.

Glenn took a wrapped package from his bag and handed it to Isaac.

To Nero, Glenn was always known as “Loudmouth.” However, in an unusual move, Glenn spoke to Isaac in a hushed tone.

“President, here… it’s the ‘goods’ you asked for.”

“Oh, rather good quality. The aroma is completely different.”

“Hehehe. One dose will fill anyone with happiness.”

Nero was shocked. What in the world was going on here?

(I just witnessed a dangerous deal in progress…!!)

Glenn eventually left, and Isaac headed into the kitchen to begin preparing a meal.

Could it be that he planned to spike the suspicious item he just received into the food?

As Nero observed Isaac from the shadows behind the table, the front door opened. Monica had returned.

Monica was wearing an unusually glamorous robe. It seemed she had been on a trip. Though adorned with makeup, her face looked pale, making her seem unwell.

“Welcome back, Monica. Your complexion doesn’t look good. Are you okay?”

“Uh, yes… I just got a little motion sick on the carriage…”

“You should lie down after changing. I’ll make dinner something light.”

Monica muttered, “thank you,” in a soft voice and hastily retreated into her room.

After sending off Monica with concern, Isaac noticed Nero hiding in the shadows.

“Hey, did you just wake up?”

“Oi, Sparkles. I saw that.”

“Saw what?”

Apparently, he’s decided to play dumb. Nero pointed at Isaac with his front paw.

“You got a dangerous substance from Loudmouth! You’re planning to put that in Monica’s food!”

“…Substance?”

After tilting his head at Nero’s words, Isaac eventually clapped his hands and brought a wrapped package from the kitchen.

Inside the package was a red and black powder, emitting a tempting aroma.

“You mean the secret spice of the Dudley family? He brought it as a thank you gift for helping with his studies.”

“…”

“Monica doesn’t like mutton, so I thought this might help cover the taste.”

“…”

Nero slowly lowered his front paw. Then he spoke nonchalantly, as if the events of a few seconds ago had been completely forgotten.

“Come to think of it, I’m hungry after waking up from hibernation. Hey Sparkles, get me some grub.”

Ignoring Nero’s arrogant demands, Isaac put away the spices.

“Too bad. I’ve decided on a gentle-on-the-stomach soup for tonight.”

“Meat! Meat! Meat!”

“Unfortunately, that won’t be happening. Due to the shock of being falsely accused by a certain someone, I don’t think I can stomach meat today.”

“As if! You ate just fine even while facing execution!”

Nero continued to demand meat, but Isaac simply chuckled and returned to the kitchen.

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