Three more days passed, and I got ready to leave the area and turn in the quest. I counted out my gains and losses for the duration of the quest so far.

During the days, I hunted a total of 16 E rank toads, having repeated my space bolt and flytrap combo I’d used during the first day. During the nights, when the toads went out to hunt, and I wasn’t as restricted by the apparently diurnal flesh alligator monster, I gained a total of 22 E rank toads, 3 D ranks, and 3 E rank alligators. Two of the E rank toads died, along with the D rank toad and an E rank cloud goat.

Before I leave to turn in the quest, there’s something I need to figure out. Who exactly made such an odd quest?

I scented out their lab yesterday when in flytrap form, but never got around to actually checking it out.

I returned to bird form and flew to where I found the building. It was a featureless, muddy, stone box, basically in the middle of nowhere, and with no mana well around it. What exactly is this place? What are they researching, and why are they doing it all the way out here? How are they even getting to and from this place? Surely they don’t just live here.

The only entrance is a door with a mana analyzer, so a subtle entrance is impossible. I waited an hour, fueled only by curiosity, before the entrance slid open. A cloaked and masked man walked out, scanning the area, before laying eyes on me.

He tilted his head and asked “Master? Is that you?”

Master? What? What is this man talking about? Why do they think I’m this ‘master’? How do I even respond?

With no other real option, I just cawed once at him.

“I see. Well sire, you’ll be pleased to know that our project has not been stymied. We expect results by the end of the year. As for the Oleum Rubeta nuisance, we sent out a mercenary guild request to cover our tracks while our more permanent solution grows. Unfortunately, it seems as though one of the foolish adventuring groups has been attracting its attention by blowing up oil burrows in the daytime.”

Hey, foolish? Okay, yes. I admit that it was foolish, now that I know what kind of monster has been stalking the area. Wait, are they implying that the alligator is theirs? What in Vorfahr’s name?

“I don’t think they’ll be slaying our monster, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone comes to investigate after they die. If they catch wind of our little project, or Vorfahr forbid, send in the IGIF, I think we’d have to put our research on pause if that happens. I know how important this work is, so if you could pull some strings to prevent that from happening, I would be most grateful.”

“Caw.”

“Thank you, master.”

I don’t know what exactly you’re getting from that, but hey, keep incriminating yourself. Seriously, please do. I want to know more about this ‘master’ that can apparently interfere, and is a target of the Interplanetary Government Investigation Force.

Unfortunately, instead of continuing their one-sided conversation with their fake master, they turned to go back inside the facility. Oh well, I’m just an adventurer, not an investigator. I don’t really need more; I’ll just turn in what I know to Rosh once I get back. Wait, what’s that?

The man took off his glove, and placed it against the mana analyzer. His skin was green — elvish — and on the back of his hand was a tattoo… Of a black sun.

The voice does not control me. The voice does not control me. The voice isn’t even there right now, thankfully, and it does not control me.

I resisted the urge to attack the man, a task I’d certainly have failed if I were in monster form. I don’t have the ability to fight in this form, and I need them alive, lest I tip off whoever’s behind this. Besides that, the band of elven sun’s logo was red, not black, and shaped differently. There’s no proof that this elf is with them. But it’s still worth checking out.

Should I use the mana sampler on them? It could be useful in tracking them down if they end up running away. On the other hand, it could tip them off that I’m not their master. They’re heading inside. What should I do?

I missed the opportunity with my indecision, and they closed the door behind them.