We returned to the inn with Seras.
"Pyuu〜♪"
Pigi-maru came out from under the bed.
I noticed something.
"I forgot."
I leaned my sword against the wall and Seras asked,
"What is wrong, Lord Touka?"
The curse user group.
The leopard blood gladiator.
The Forbidden Witch.
In the rush I had completely forgotten.
"I forgot to bring food for Pigi-maru."
"Pyuuu〜"
Pigi-maru shook vigorously from side to side.
It looked like he was shaking his head.
He seemed to be saying, "It is fine~."
I placed my hand on my chin.
"Should I use that after so long?"
I took a leather pouch out of my backpack.
Seras asked,
"What is that?"
"What does it look like?"
"It is a leather pouch, right?"
I sent magic power into the gem on the leather pouch.
The leather pouch gave off a faint light.
"This is one of the ways I can prove that I am a human from a different world."
▽
"Mokkyuu〜♪"
Pigi-maru turned a light pink after he finished eating.
What came out this time was a cheese tart.
Pigi-maru ate half of it.
We split the rest between me and Seras.
Pigi-maru had clearly indicated that he wanted it that way.
This slime really has an extraordinary sense of consideration…
"Baked hard bread dough and… is this cheese?"
Seras sniffed at it.
There was no cheese tart in this world.
She put it in her mouth with some caution.
I also took a bite.
Crunch.
The cookie dough was a little hard.
The cheese part had a rich, sweet flavor.
The cheese had a pleasant firmness when bitten.
A faint lemon flavor lingered.
The cookie and the filling blended together in the mouth…
That rich cream cheese really was delicious.
The contrast in texture between the hard cookie and the soft filling was also enjoyable.
"—I have to be careful not to drop any cookie crumbs on the bed."
Well, if it came to that Pigi-maru would clean it up.
Seras finished eating and held her cheeks.
"Delicious…"
Her eyes were wide open.
"Lord Touka!"
Her voice was strong.
She knelt on the bed and leaned forward.
"What is this? Is this a common food in your world…?"
"…It is."
What was with that eager look?
She looked like she was about to push me down.
Seras suddenly realized what she was doing and quickly pulled back.
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture.
"I am sorry."
"Did you like the otherworld food?"
"…Yes, it was extremely delicious."
"I would like to let you eat more, but unfortunately I cannot choose what comes out. I do not know what will appear, and it takes time before I can use it again."
I held out the leather pouch.
Seras took it.
"It is a hero's otherworld item, right?"
The existence of unique items seemed to be known to some degree.
I explained the effect of the leather pouch.
"Thanks to this I was able to survive in the Ruins of Disposal. There was no food or water there."
No drink had come out this time, though.
"This is the first time I have heard of such an otherworld item… I had only heard that hero equipment basically raises status."
Seras picked up the wrapping of the cheese tart.
"A transparent bag…? What is written on it… are these letters? How on earth is this made…?"
"It is technology from our world."
"Hohou…"
Seras observed it with great curiosity.
Just as I thought, the packaging could serve as proof that I was from another world.
"Lord Touka."
"Hm?"
"It is beautiful."
"…"
She found the plastic wrapping beautiful.
When I looked at a high elf, I thought she was beautiful.
"Perhaps things that do not exist in one's own world look especially beautiful."
Well, in Seras's case it probably was not just because she was a high elf.
▽
I sat on the bed holding Pigi-maru.
"Now then, let us think about our next plan."
The location of the Forbidden Witch.
Even a rough idea of the place would be fine.
Knowing that would shorten the time considerably.
It would be many times better than searching blindly.
"It would be nice if there was a way to get some information out of that blood gladiator…"
Solving it with skills seemed difficult.
Put her to sleep and then use hypnosis to make her talk.
If I could do something like that it would be different…
Capturing and torturing her was not an option for now.
"If Eve Speed had been some shitty bastard like that shitty goddess, things would have been easier."
"Shall we gather information on her for now?"
"Let us do that."
"If we learn what kind of purpose she has as a blood gladiator, it will be easier to make a plan."
Seras continued.
"There are those who continue as blood gladiators for money, those who prioritize survival while waiting to be scouted by a mercenary band, and those who use the prize money to negotiate with their owner and buy their freedom… I hear there are many different types of blood gladiators."
"The negotiation method would change depending on their goal. If we can find effective bargaining material, we should actively use it."
I wanted to know the location of the Forbidden Witch.
But I did not want to stay in Monroy for long.
I wanted to finish this quickly.
"There is one thing I want to ask again."
"Ask anything."
One idea had come to me.
I had realized it from Seras's earlier explanation.
There was one thing all blood gladiators had in common.
Depending on Eve's situation…
The solution might come surprisingly fast.
"What is the thing a blood gladiator prioritizes next after their life?"
The thing they would risk their life to obtain.
"Most would say money. Those who willingly fight in the arena do so for money, and even those who want to be scouted by a mercenary band or wash their hands of this life can basically use the system to 'buy back their own freedom' from their owner as long as they have money."
Blood gladiators could buy their freedom for a certain amount.
The blood arena in Monroy had such a system.
It was what they called "graduating."
Thanks to this system many slaves apparently wanted to become blood gladiators.
They could escape their bound status.
They could hold onto that slim hope.
As a result their motivation during fights rose.
The fights became more exciting.
Naturally there were more highlights.
The audience was happy.
It became a topic and brought in more customers.
It was a system that benefited the operators as well.
"However, buying 'freedom' as a blood gladiator apparently still requires an enormous amount of money."
"An enormous amount of money, huh."
I reached into my breast pocket.
I gripped the small pouch containing the azure dragonstones.
"I think we should avoid it because it would stand out, but…"
I happened to have the perfect item for obtaining "an enormous amount of money" right here…