As I [Record] everything that transpired today, I still find it unbelievable that the experiments surface in my mind with the most force.

To such a degree, I could probably fill an entire book about the gold one. And then another book about the soap, except that the second one would be comprised solely of swearing and curses for not even having a chance to start.

And all this despite more significant events happening!

But enough with notes and inner monologue, I should continue recording everything as it went.

_______

Descending to the first floor, I went straight to the kitchen, intending to use one of the big casseroles to start the soap experiment.

From what I knew, it should not be impossible or risky in any way. I only had to boil down the chemical attack that was pure lye soap and then combine it with a softening agent. My first option was a mix of oil and honey. If it worked as intended, or at least softened to the point of being usable for a bath, I could start working on the scent and added effects.

For example, I could use some common aromatic herbs or even the same ones I had seen the girls buy for their baths. After all, the lye was nothing fair on the skin or hair.

Yet, I had just filled the vessel with water when a knock on the door interrupted me. I had to go and check who had arrived.

"... Maester Lindar?" The new arrival turned out to be a man who paused for a bit as if recalling my name before asking while giving me a bow after I nodded.

Between the pause and the bow, I examined the man both with my eyes and the [Status Screen]. The man was in his late thirties and had a muscular build. His broad shoulders and strong arms were indicative of physical labor. He was dressed in a tunic and trousers made of rough-hewn greyish fabric, and he had an unadorned black cloth sash around his waist. His short hair was tousled and dusty, and his face was tanned and weather-beaten, with a faint stubble on his chin.

With his looks and my Status Screen throwing out just three over-the-average numbers — Strength, Body, and Labor, the former two at 11 and the latter at 14 — it was clear that the man before me was one of the day laborers. Yet, between the bow and our talk later, I couldn't help but be surprised by his manners.

"That's me. How can I be of service?" I doubted he had casually learned my name and gone to my house without a reason, so I cut down to the chase.

"Maester Welo and his two young associates asked me to bring you a message." Once again, the man bowed, producing a small piece of paper and extending it as soon as it left the hidden pocket on his sash.

"A note?" Considering the price of paper, it was truly rare for a message to be sent via a written note. But with the girls being involved, I didn't think much of it before taking the small, palm-sized paper from the man's hand and immediately reading it.

Kierra and I will spend the entire day with Maester Welo, as he is leaving tomorrow. Lod is a contracted worker of the Maester who will stay in the store. We asked him to bring you the message as Dart is helping us around.

The note was unsigned, but I had seen enough of Angelique's handwriting to know her style. With the means used and the contents, I grew worried, my eyes landing on the man she named Lod, ready to barrage him with questions.

Yet, Lod turned out to be quicker, starting to explain even before I asked, "In the [Holy State], it is considered bad manners if one's message isn't written by hand, and Maester Welo is always adamant about following that custom. There is nothing to worry about, but if you want, I can show you to the shop."

With Dart accompanying them and at least a couple of pairs of eyes from the [Hounds] around, I knew there was no reason to worry, or at least there shouldn't be one. So, while still a bit nervous, I decided against going. Since the start, the girls made it clear they wanted to take the matter into their own hands, and I wasn't keen on barging in, at least not without a real reason.

"I think there should be no need, but for anything, could you please tell me how to get there?" Knowing where to go was a different matter, though.

"Oh, yes..." Lod proceeded to explain how to get to the store, and not in general but actually going into the smallest detail, which once again surprised me. Even without knowing the city entirely, I found myself unable to get lost, not when I was almost told about the number of steps to take from the ill-fated [Trader's Street] to the gate and where exactly to turn to arrive at the storefront.

Lod left just after making sure I had no more questions, even answering a couple of ones about himself, which basically amounted to a small account of him having worked for Arxibiela several times before, who, in turn, recommended him to Welo. And now he was contracted full-time for the new store.

{So, he's also one of her eyes? Or is it just a coincidence stemming from her openly-known trade?} I wouldn't know the truth, but it calmed me down a lot. After all, whatever I could say about her, Xiela was anything but stupid, and if she recommended him to work there, she was sure he was trustworthy.

{Not that this doesn't raise many more questions, like just why she's doing something for Welo's business, considering that he's basically her competition?} Actually, I had already asked myself before, but I was still unable to answer. She herself had told me that the girls were helping her a lot with her half-fake store, but she made everything for them to go and work for Welo, and now it turns out she even sent another worker.

{I just hope this is not a ploy of sorts, because...} Regretfully, I had not even had the chance to think about what I would do if it was one as someone knocked on the door once again. {Lod just left a moment ago so he wouldn't have a reason to come back, would he?}

***

The new visitor turned out to be Falko, and while I usually genuinely welcomed him, his arrivals were rarely of pure courtesy. And so it was once again, with Falko relaying the summons from Zelindo.

"Huh? What do you mean now? I was fairly sure it was on sunset, not midsun!" It was the third time the visit to the local [Trade Guild] branch head had been moved. While I could take the changes for something suddenly popping up on the man's schedule, such urgency was abnormal.

"Yes, and both the Maester and I are sorry for it. I was even asked to look around for you if I didn't find you. So, if you are busy, I can wait for a bit, but we should make our way to the Guild as soon as you can." Falko excused himself before giving me another indication of the urgency.

"The fuck?! I don't remember being a vassal or servant of Zelindo to appear whenever he wants!" I had planned to spend the day on experiments, not only because I was interested in the results but also as a way to calm down my poor mood, a mood that had declined even further because of Lod's visit. So I snapped at Falko.

While Zelindo had hired me initially, since the start, I was somewhat of a free agent. Since my so-called easy work in Chubu, I not only had the status but also all the desire to ignore further work from him.

Granted, I half-accepted the fact that I would have to do a few things for Zelindo before leaving, even going as far as renting or buying out the house if he decided to go that way, but to suddenly rush there as if someone died?

No matter how grateful I was to him for extending his offer after I arrived with Reuben's caravan, it was nothing but a way to get me to work for him. And I think the deal with the dwarves should be enough to consider his help repaid.

"I'm sorry, I'm not privy to all the details, but we should definitely make haste. From all I know, something bad is happening." Not only did Falko ignore my lack of respect, but he also revealed he was in the dark, and that's even when Zelindo himself told me that Falko was one of the few he truly trusted.

{What's going on?} With nothing else to do but go to the Guild and find out what was happening, I decided that this would be an opportunity as good as any to finalize our deal with the branch head.

After all, thanks to the rewards from Chubu's misadventures, especially the ones related to the Guild, like the bronze-member status and a hefty sum of 300 gold coins, ironically the same one paid by the Earth-mage Renrith to Eithne, I had a way out of all the damn games. At least the Guild's ones, for Arxibiela and company, it seemed it would be harder, far harder, given the current events in the city.

***

Although I had visited the Guild just two days before, and everything had seemed normal, it was now clear that something was amiss. The usually open gate was closed, and even after Falko knocked, it didn't open immediately. It wasn't until his identity was confirmed by someone inside that the gate opened. The increased security measures were alarming, as Falko was a familiar face to the Guild, yet he had to present his badge through the slit in the gate. Then, as we entered, I was asked to pass over an [Identity Plate], which only added to my surprise and concern.

Falko wasn't required to step on the plate, but he did so, probably as a form of showing it wasn't suspicion directed at me. Not that it was required, as I wasn't reluctant to comply, merely surprised by the heightened security measures. It wasn't just the gate that was now actually closed; there were six fully-armed warriors stationed before us, including two elites who stood out from the rest in place of the usual pair of average fighters.

{What the hell is going on here?} Looking at the fully armed, with a crossbow on their backs, shields in hand, and swords on the belt pair, a woman with striking golden hair and a man whose features were hidden by a nearly enclosed helmet, I nearly whistled at their stats.

Elites they were, although as I examined them with [Status Screen], I found myself more interested in the bronze-colored title of [Monster Hunter] than their above-average, between 12 and 14, martial skills and physical numbers. And indeed, [Monster Hunter], not [Trade Guild], could only mean that they were contracted, not part of Zelindo's or the Guild's actual forces.

"Maester Lindar here is an associate of the Guild-" Falko just began to say as he was interrupted by a shout from both so-called elites, nothing more than mercenaries, as I found out thanks to their titles, "Mage!"

Looking back and examining my memories calmly, I can comprehend that the [Identity Plate] didn't feel just like one, but something more advanced. Maybe not a [Analysis] spell-infused one, but close. But now it isn't even required to think about it. After all, if it were just a simple title-identifying [Identity Plate], I wouldn't have been crossed out as a mage, right?

Two swords left their scabbards in less than a blink-time, points aimed at me. A few moments later, the four guards from the Guild followed suit, the what-appeared-to-be mercenaries being their commanders.

"Stop! I am still a damn captain of this Guild branch forces, and when I say that Maester Lindar is an associate, he is one!" I was yet to respond to the sudden hostility, enough for my [Danger Sense] to activate, as Falko shouted out, stepping in and interposing himself between the guards and me.

Even if I didn't expect Falko to step in, which was a lie as I did, I didn't feel scared by the guards' blades. Granted, they could attack me, but since Chubu's events, my mindset had changed. Now, if someone struck at me, I would definitively not hold back, not even if it could be nothing but an error. {Dying is out of the question, right?}

***

Falko's words and me summoning the bronze badge given to me by Gudea was enough to calm the hostility, although it didn't help much with the unexpected suspicion, as in place of being allowed to walk freely, we would actually end up being escorted to Zelindo. And not to his easily accessible cabinet, the one I had visited already, but to one of the warehouses, from where we descended to the basement and moved to an enclosed, heavily protected room.

Not protected by people, though, even if two more elite-like fighters were standing near the doors, but a whole load of magical stuff, my [Mana Sense] going crazy, and several things appearing on my own [Status].

{Mana and Spell blockers, both of strange nature. And even something I can not identify? Just what is going on?!} Indeed, there was nothing more I could ask myself, the nearly automatic alerts surfacing in mind, the other limited to an effect that I couldn't make head or tails of.

Afflictions/Effects (Unknown*): No-Spell Zone, Spell Usage Impossible, Area-effect. No-Mana Zone, No Mana Recuperation & Use, Area-effect. ???, ??? Usage Impossible, Area-effect.

While [Status Screen] usually used Afflictions for outer, non-controllable stuff, and Effects for things I could influence or already influenced, in some way, this time it give me a mixed reading, both screens showing the same, as well as an Unknown word?! {Damn, how I wish I could consult with someone about just what means what!}

***

"Lindar, you don't know how sorry I am to bring you in like this, but..." Zelindo stood up from the only chair in the room, one of the only two items of furniture, the other being a small desk, even going so far as bowing to me as I entered, following the uncalled escort.