Turning
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chapter-396
As befitting someone who had owned and used countless magic tools, Kishiar's movements were fluid and without hesitation. While he tirelessly used the magic tools and recharged them with magic stones, Nathan and Yuder ran about, ensuring that his work never paused for even a moment.
Yuder deliberately avoided stepping anywhere near the magic stones. Yuder did not want to encounter the red magic stone that was tied to his previous life again. After successfully duplicating and disguising items as varied as old, worn-out paintings, unverified small collectibles, and finally objects too large to carry easily, the three took a moment to sit on the ground and rest.
"You take care of these storage magic tools, Nathan. And don't forget to compile the list of items."
"Yes, understood."
In the sack before Kishiar were many illegally smuggled items contained within storage magic tools. As they were sealed using magic tools imbued with magic for weight reduction and appearance disguise, they looked no different from ordinary sacks of grain.Yuder, noticing the sweat on Kishiar's forehead, cautiously asked, "Are you all right?"
"Of course I'm all right. I'm feeling great and invigorated."
Kishiar's eyes, looking down at the sack, seemed incredibly delighted and energetic.
"The duplicated items in this warehouse can't be recognized by just any high-level mage. I've also applied tracking magic tools, so we can use them to trace those who buy these at the auction."
Kishiar picked up a magic tool shaped like a hand mirror and chuckled. This magic tool was used for tracking valuable items if they were stolen.
"Now, let's go handle the remaining Calanesa."
After a sufficient rest, Kishiar was the first to rise. Yuder followed him, carrying the sacks that Nathan Zuckerman had brought all the way here.The drugs, which looked dangerous enough to send chills down one's spine, were, as before, packed in raggedy sacks and piled up in one place.
Compared to the precious magic tools and magic stones, these few sacks of Calanesa would bring more money to Duke Tain. The white powders, piled up like trash, felt even more horrifying to Yuder.
"Now, shall we make the switch?"
Yuder set down the sacks he and Nathan Zuckerman had brought. Kishiar had not been idle while Yuder was meeting with Enon. Inside the sacks were several storage magic tools called 'Bottles of Infinity.'
'They're called infinite only in name; they're not much different from other storage tools... But they can preserve liquids and foods for a long time.'
Magic tools are hard to obtain suddenly, even with money. The fact that Kishiar had obtained so many, and so quickly, likely meant that he had taken them from his personal collection.
As Yuder was about to open the Bottles of Infinity together with Nathan while Kishiar was preparing, he found the tightly sealed caps harder to open than expected.
"Open it carefully. It's not a bottle that opens with force; you need a knack for it. Don't break it; give it to me."
Nathan, frowning at the sight, took the bottle from Yuder's hand with a brusque voice, showing him how to open it properly.
"If the contents touch your hand..."
"Is it dangerous?"
"No. It's white powder, so it doesn't wipe off easily and leaves traces. Just be careful."
The southern man quietly replied.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just wash it off with water and wind, and erase the traces."
"If you use your abilities too much... No, never mind."
"It's fine to use them little by little, as long as it's not excessive."
Yuder guessed roughly what Nathan Zuckerman was about to say and preemptively answered him.
"..."
Nathan Zuckerman looked at Yuder with an inscrutable expression for a moment but soon began to silently continue opening the bottle caps.
"Please be careful this time."
Yuder said no more and repeated the same task by his side.
"Have all the bottles been opened?"
In the meantime, Kishiar, who had easily pulled down and arranged all the bags filled with Calanesa powder, came over to check the progress of the work.
"What's in this bottle is ground grain mixed with Alos grass. It looks no different from Calanesa to the naked eye, but unlike actual Calanesa, it has no hallucinogenic effects or addictiveness and is good for insomnia."
Kishiar picked up a bottle and smiled.
"And there's one more effect. Can you guess what it is?"
Kishiar was smiling as if he somehow knew Yuder already knew the answer.
'Alos grass, huh... It's used for insomnia, but isn't it also usually used to bury food waste?'
Nobles might not know since they don't throw away garbage themselves, but commoners used Alos grass more as a good odor remover and an aid in quickly decomposing garbage. There were other plants good for insomnia, but none were as good for obtaining fertilizer without a rotten smell.
"Was it not merely a simple switch you were trying to make?"
"Unlike other goods, switching everything might cause a headache. But I just remembered that the plant that becomes Calanesa is very susceptible to decay. Unlike Ponesa, it loses all its original effects once it rots."
It was a pity. Looking at Kishiar's smiling face, Yuder felt a refreshing sensation running down his spine.
'I see. They probably made it this way to minimize the chance of decay, but if you mix in ground Alos grass, even that can be nullified.'
The efficacy of Alos grass was that strong. However, it wasn't knowledge that a noble-born Duke should know.
Although Yuder now knew that Kishiar didn't grow up as privileged as he seemed, it was still surprising to see him casually speaking of knowledge that nobles wouldn't know, without showing any signs of hardship.
Yuder watched Kishiar switching the Calanesa powder in the bags. After scooping out half of the Calanesa powder, the Bottle of Infinity was tilted into the bag, and white powder flowed endlessly out of what seemed to be an empty bottle, filling it completely. Nathan and Yuder also tilted their bottles to fill their assigned bags with powder.
Kishiar took only a handful of the collected drug powder and put it in a pocket pulled from his bosom. The remaining powder was transferred to the Bottles of Infinity, and with an impassive look, he nodded to Nathan Zuckerman.
"I will dispose of it as I leave."
"Yes."
Now the warehouse had returned to looking exactly as it had when they first entered. Only the fact that it was filled with fakes was something that the three people present, or perhaps an exceptionally skilled mage, would have known.
'We did it.'
Reflecting on items that, in his previous life, would have been easily sold off without anyone knowing, he experienced a peculiar sensation that slowly spread from his fingertips to his toes. At the very end of it, Kishiar was there, as always.
The three of them were not in the cleanest of states, having handled and tended to old objects. The same was true for Kishiar, who had touched many items. With dust-smeared cheeks, a sweaty forehead, and wearing a cloak that reeked of stale mold, he hardly looked like the well-known Duke of Peletta.
But despite that, somehow, he looked even more like himself. Would it have been strange if it had seemed that way?
"...So now..."
Kishiar, unlike Yuder, began to speak with no hint of pride in what he had accomplished, only meticulously scanning the surroundings with a gaze that seemed to be conducting a final check. He then halted abruptly, shifting his gaze somewhere else. Yuder and Nathan Zuckerman did the same.
In the blink of an eye, a sharp, alert sense informed them that a powerful mass of energy was rapidly approaching from somewhere.
'What is this...!'
Yuder extinguished the dim flame that had been illuminating the area, and the faint sound of Nathan Zuckerman drawing his sword reached their ears. All three moved swiftly, instinctively reacting to their senses. Yuder flung himself behind a shelf that was suitable for hiding.
Following that, a deafening noise, accompanied by an explosion, resounded not far from them. It was not from the direction they had entered. It was the opposite.
'Has the door leading to the tavern been blown open...!'
Yuder, relying on long experience, slowed his breathing to an almost inaudible level.
Soon, unfamiliar sounds and footsteps began to echo.
"...They said a rat had gotten in, but there's no one here?"
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