Episode 2-a. The City Where Night Never Falls, Tevriss.
So.
During the second day, while repeating the same investigative process, a problem arose.
An abnormal phenomenon occurred among us gathered again on a surprisingly bright night of the second day.
Even though we didn’t feel particularly tired, we needed a moment to catch our breath. As we were returning to the lodging to rest with the children, the door swung open abruptly.
“…, what the hell.”
Old Horn entered, shouldering the fainted Avery and threw him down with a thud, then spoke.
“Kid, don’t meddle with the entertainment here. Something feels off. As soon as you start enjoying it, people become strange.”
“Are you saying enjoying the entertainment makes you lose your mind?”
That can’t be true; otherwise, what are those people over there enjoying themselves?
“No, it’s not that. I brought him back because he wouldn’t listen, knocked him out cold to take him here.”
“….”
That makes sense.
No wonder Avery’s head looked a bit lumpy. I wonder if this old man hit him too hard.
“First, help me take out all the reagents and tools on this guy and tie him up with ropes. I’ll explain afterward.”
“Okay.”
So, Old Horn and I dragged Avery, stripped off his gown, searched his pockets for items, and tied him up tightly before throwing him onto the bed.
Then we began our conversation under the gaze of the children, who were munching on snacks.
“So, how’s Avery doing?”
“Phew… We checked out the gambling house and all sorts of entertainment facilities, where a lot of people gathered. Over the course of yesterday and today, I observed and monitored everything, leading to the discovery of something strange.”
“Something strange?”
“Yeah. Those who came to the entertainment facilities for the first time were definitely normal, but after enjoying just a little bit, they started to become strange one by one.”
I nodded in reply, waiting for his words to continue, and Horn let out a deep sigh before continuing.
“Although they don’t become outright insane, it seems that enjoying just a few rounds easily pulls them into the entertainment. Of course, not everyone is like that. Some managed to leave without any particular changes after playing several rounds.”
According to Old Horn, it’s not that everyone is affected, but the speed at which they get swept into it is strangely fast.
“So, the conclusion I reached after observing for two days is that we need to try it ourselves. So, after some rounds with Avery…”
“Wait, are you out of your mind? Why would you do that?”
“I was fine. And it wasn’t done recklessly; it was a process of proving the conclusion I reached after observation.”
So, in attempting to prove that hypothesis by gambling a few rounds, only Avery’s state turned abnormal.
“First, it seems the problem in this city is indeed magic. I don’t know what kind of magic, but there is a spell cast over the entire town that makes people get lost in entertainment. It’s because I, wearing a magic resistance cloak, was fine, while this guy in a plain gown got affected.”
Old Horn spoke, fluttering the cloak he was wearing for a moment.
“Thinking back, the ones who left normally must have had artifacts with magic resistance. However, that doesn’t completely negate the effects, meaning that if they indulge further, they might get caught up in it.”
“Then, if we only carry such artifacts, we could mitigate the major problem occurring in this city to some extent…”
“Do you think so?”
Even with magic resistance, it seems that wouldn’t completely solve the issue.
And.
While we were talking like that, Avery’s eyes opened wide as he lay tightly bound.
He blinked for a moment, then, looking at me and Old Horn, spoke.
“Hm, it seems I’m in the lodging. There wasn’t any need to tie me up like this. Old Horn, it seems you might have a misunderstanding.”
“….”
His eyes look clear.
Unlike what Old Horn said, there doesn’t seem to be any madness or restlessness.
“I’m fine. Now that I’m tied up and in a state where I can’t do anything, I seem to have regained my senses. So, could you let me loose? We need to get back to investigating.”
“….”
He doesn’t resist roughly or foam at the mouth and lunge at us.
He speaks calmly and rationally, suggesting that we should get back to the investigation.
However.
“Ain, the gambling house is very suspicious. The secret we’ve been looking for must be hidden there, so I’ll go back to explore it again. Please, untie me.”
“Hey, shut up.”
This guy.
He doesn’t stutter at all.
That stuttering brat is speaking more clearly than I am, without a single stutter.
I found the situation ridiculous, turning to Old Horn, who was sitting beside me, holding his head.
“Horn, do you think hitting him with a hammer three times might make him come to his senses?”
“No matter what, he’s not a metal ingot, so hitting him won’t help.”
I sneakily glanced at the iron hammer at his side and spoke again.
“Usually, kids who don’t listen return to normal after a few whacks, and it’s not like we’d lose anything, so why not give it a try?”
“Hm, is that so? Then I’ll hit him once more. You better wake up sane next time you come to.”
Moreover, it seemed Old Horn liked my suggestion, smiling as he lifted the hammer.
What’s funny is that despite us approaching while saying that, Avery remarkably continues to speak calmly.
“Wait a minute, you both seem too excited; could you put down that weapon for now….”
Bang—
So I lightly hit him again, knocking him out once more.
“This kid seems really broken. They say hitting something broken will fix it, so let’s keep at it until he gets fixed.”
“Yeah, that sounds right.”
Hmm.
I learned one more fact.
It appears you can sleep when you’re knocked out.
Avery is lucky.
At least he can sleep for about 10 hours, so there shouldn’t be a problem if he stays with us another day.
In other words.
Old Horn had a talent for knocking someone out just right.
He would ask Avery if he was feeling okay each time he woke up, and if Avery still seemed off, he’d knock him out again with the hammer.
“Wow, waking up again in just 30 minutes. Old Horn, all those years hammering away are still in you.”
“Having hammered for centuries, you think I can’t control this? Trust me, I’ll get him back to his senses.”
Each time Avery fainted, exactly 30 minutes later he would open his eyes again, speak clearly, and immediately get hit by the hammer and go back to sleep.
Additionally, it was a strange skill, as even though he was hit with a hammer, no injuries, bruises, or lumps appeared.
So, I couldn’t help but be amazed, and while I was applauding every swing of the hammer, Old Horn seemed to get excited and started hitting Avery more vigorously.
“Could they be demons, Tori?”
“Hey, Yaki, who cares? As long as they’re nice to us.”
“That’s true. Let’s just focus on investigating.”
Thus, the children took their time watching the process of Avery getting hammered.
And finally.
“I-I, uh… that’s enough… If this continues, someone’s going to die… Ain, you all… this is too much, isn’t it…?”
“Hey, this guy finally came to his senses. You okay?”
“Hm, I can’t be prouder of my hammering.”
Avery seemed to have returned to his senses and was stuttering and pouting.
“You both… that’s just too much…”
“What’s that, Avery, are you cursing us?”
“Now that’s an issue. Let’s hit him again.”
“P-please stop…”
Finally, we untied Avery from the ropes that were binding him and faced the normal stuttering, quack doctor.
According to Avery, with each game he played, he unknowingly got drawn into the gambling, filling his thoughts with the urge to play.
He said he could hear Old Horn’s words but didn’t even remember whether he was answering or not.
“How about now?”
“Y-yes, I feel alright… And I’m sorry, but even wild animals would talk if they were tortured like that…”
No, Avery.
Tortured? What are you talking about?
“Old Horn, this guy is now dismissing our concern and worry as torture.”
“Hm, it seems the hammer has been crying out frequently today.”
“Just letting him stay alone for a day or two would have restored his sanity, so hammering him repeatedly, isn’t that torture?”
Of course.
“I’m not saying your words are wrong.”
“That’s right, quack. It was torture filled with concern and worry.”
“….”
There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with what Avery said.
There was also a hint of revenge for the strange antics he often pulled.
Anyway.
We set a rule for our investigation.
First Principle.
Regardless of our desire to uncover the secrets of the city, we will not take risks that could endanger our lives.
Just like the dangers of entertainment, there could be lurking dangers in the city, so we prioritized our lives above all else.
At least if we had a magician as a companion, things might have been different.
For now, we were just a dwarf blacksmith, a quack doctor, a mid-level adventurer without mana, and a cheerleading twin.
Magicians are valuable beings and don’t just join any party.
So.
Three days passed, four days passed, and inevitably five days passed without any significant progress.
It’s fair to say that with only two teams, searching this vast city was quite a challenge.
We couldn’t afford to search individually, wary of potential dangers lurking around.
