Chapter 33: Powerful Friend

'So, my identity is revealed thanks to Spirit Tracing performed by the Priests from the Guild.' Iota realised what was up as he stared at the Nasp, 'And this creature can track my whereabouts.'

He observed it, watching the Nasp staring at him in excitement, "What's its range?"

"Anywhere the scent exists, it can whiff out the source through it." Menl said, "That's why it's so valuable."

"Which is to say that it's useless if there's no scent, right?" Iota dunked himself in the sludge and got up, ensuring his entire body was fully smeared with it while he held his breath. His lips curled up as he stared at the Nasp, seeing it become inactive. But, the moment he exhaled, it became active once again.

'So, even my breaths are problematic, huh?' It made him realise that primitive scent-concealing methods were useless against a Nasp, for as long as he continued to breathe, he would be revealing his whereabouts to anyone with a Nasp trained to his scent.

"How many Nasps do you have?" He asked next.

"We each have one trained to your scent." Menl said, continuing upon observing Iota's expression, "But it would be difficult to purchase a Nasp. They are exclusively monopolised by the large organisations."

"The Sect must have plenty of them, right?" Iota asked, causing Menl to flinch in response.

In a hurry, Menl retorted, "But that is dangerous. The Sect is guarded by our Branch Leader all the time. He's a Laurel Shaman. It's impossible to go against him."

"If your target is just the Nasps, there's a better individual to attack." Royl gained enough lucidity to talk now as he stared at Iota with a submissive tone, "She's a prominent trader that transports and sells precious jewellery. Her stake in the pearl industry is the highest in Garobu City."

At his words, Menl's eyes widened in shock, "Royl, are you implying we target the owner of the Twinkle Merchant House? It's too dangerous! She's backed by a lot of nobility in both Garobu and Wharu City. We can't touch her."

"We can," Royl stared at Iota, "If sir uses that strange power, she'll be part of us. Through her network, we can legally purchase as many Nasps as we need."

While the two were arguing, Iota cracked the glass sphere taken from Menl and stabbed the syringe's needle through the Nasp within. The plunger moved back as a bit of the Nasp's blood was sucked into the syringe.

There were hardly two millilitres in it, which was all the blood available in the Nasp's body. The Nasp died while Iota didn't even bat an eye at its death, watching the golden stream mix into its blood in a matter of seconds.

Following that, he injected the contents into himself and immediately observed strong scents waft into his olfactory senses, overwhelming him. 'So, this is the intensity with which a Nasp smells a scent.'

The scents were overwhelming, but he managed to focus on himself, observing his scent leaking out through his breaths. As the rest of his body was covered by the sludge, it wasn't emitting his scent.

No…it was still emitting, but when that scent came into contact with the sludge's stench and mixed, it was no longer his scent, 'So, anything with the property of scent mixture is effective. That's good.'

'A gas mask can function perfectly in this case.' He thought of a method to pollute the scent contained in his breaths. He stared at Canl and relayed a set of instructions, "Can you make this item?"

"I know someone who makes such accessories. I'll get one commissioned in two hours." Saying so, Canl rushed out on the task.

Iota continued to listen to Royl's and Menl's arguments before making his decision, "Currently, I'm a fugitive. I need some place to hide for the time being. Since Lady Vonne makes multiple trips between Garobu and Wharu Cities, I can escape the hitlist while on the voyage. She's a good target."

"She has a team of trained soldiers under her command. We can win against them, but it's easy for third parties to learn about our action since many nobles keep tabs on Lady Vonne." Menl said, "There's considerable risk involved."

"Besides, we cannot even legally approach her." Menl sighed, "Shamans are placed with a lot of restrictions on our movements. And it's impossible to set foot in the territory where Lady Vonne has set up residence. Many nobles live there and a couple of Priests are always stationed there for protection."

"Priests?" Iota smiled, "They won't matter. I have a powerful friend to take care of such matters."

He looked at Menl, "Go to this place and reveal my location to the person that approaches you. That'll be my friend."

"…Sure," Menl didn't say anything else as he rushed out of the pipeline.

Royl and Iota were the only ones in the pipeline now. Upon observing Iota's silence, Royl hesitated for a bit before asking, "So, what will happen to me now?"

"Do you wish for something to happen?" Iota tilted his head.

"No, I mean…" Royl clenched his hand into a fist and asked, "Will you make me do something I might regret?"

"You needn't worry about that," Iota smiled chirpily, "You won't regret anything I make you do."

"What…" Royl was confused for a moment before his eyes widened in realisation as despair set in. It was because he was fully a drug addict now, fuelled by the sole motive of getting a dosage every day. That had become his sole purpose in living now.

This meant that even for tasks that he originally would have hesitated, he would execute them without batting an eye. That was what Iota meant by his statement.

It wasn't just physically, but he had mentally submitted his everything to Iota. That was how severe his drug addiction was. After all, when he learnt the truth, he wasn't even concerned about it. The only thought resounding in his mind was when morning would arrive so he could receive another shot of that alluring drug.

…

"This…is the address, right?" Menl muttered upon arriving at a house in a residential area, looking around as he thought, 'Wasn't Yohra supposed to be living in this area?'

His thoughts came to a sudden halt when a sickle touched his neck, the Faith condensed within terrifying him. A cold, emotionless voice resounded in his ears, causing his body to go limp from fear, "Why is a Shaman here?"

Menl slowly turned around and stared at the entity, shocked, 'Sir's powerful friend was…'

"Lord Dullip Garobu?"

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