On the night of Ronadyphe Prison’s conquest, Nagi was unable to get a wink of sleep. After he had been tossing and turning for some time, Tess and Bandore paid him a visit.
“Nagi, I’d like you to come with us,” Tess said. “Crow told us that Dimitri guy is going to talk, so we should bring a representative for the Crestfolk.”
“Why me?” he asked. After all, Nagi wasn’t a Crestfolk himself.
“I’m pretty bad with this stuff, and the others are even worse. Tess here has the chief’s trust. Besides, I have some other stuff to do,” Bandore told him. “Tess is clever, but I’m a little anxious leaving her on her own. She wants to take you along, too.”
“There’s nobody else?”
“Nope. All the people we brought are good at fighting but bad at thinking. Anyway, you’re Keele’s little brother, so you’ve got some clout, yeah?”
“Isn’t Keele exactly the right person for this?”
“That guy’s no good. His personality is kinda... you know. He’s Cobalt, through and through.”
Bandore was hinting at the friction that was beginning to form between the original Cobalt members and the new Crestfolk additions.
“So am I, though.”
“You’re our guest,” Bandore insisted.
“Fine.”
“Thanks, Nagi. You’re a big help,” Tess said.
Bandore nodded. “My work here is done, then. I’m off.”
“Where’s he going?” Nagi asked once he’d left.
“He’s going around the other villages to gather warriors. We know we can win now, so there should be more people out there who want to join.”
“I see.”
Nagi couldn’t say anything else. More people were sure to die. Nevertheless, stopping now would be unforgivable.
“Let’s go, Nagi.”
The main members of Cobalt—including Crow, Senak, and Keele—were gathered in a meeting room in the prison. Dimitri was seated in the chair farthest to the back.
“We’re here as Garuga Village’s representatives,” Tess declared as she and Nagi entered the room.
“You?” Keele asked, looking at Nagi and cocking his head.
“Nagi is a guest of the village. Bandore accepted him.”
“Well, I guess that works out fine. The guys in the village are all dumbasses. You’re more likely to get what we’re sayin’.”
Tess clicked her tongue in irritation.
“Everyone’s here now, so let us begin,” Crow said as he scanned the room. “We have successfully captured the prison. This is only the beginning, however. This fight was for the sake of freeing Dr. Dimitri here. He is the one who developed the very same Halahala that ensured our victory.”
“I told you that stuff was just a failure.”
“Don’t be like that. In any case, now that we have Dr. Dimitri’s cooperation, we can produce our own Halahala. Thanks to that, we can fight without worrying about our inventory.”
“What about the ingredients?” Nagi asked. This was the reason Crow had sought Saya’s help to begin with.
“There’s no need to worry about that anymore. We have procured a reliable source.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nagi asked.
“Let’s save the details for a later date. Right now, the information Dr. Dimitri has brought us takes priority. We’re having this meeting to share this information. Professor, please inform them of what you told me.”
“I’ve been repeating myself quite often, but I would like all of you to understand that what you call Halahala is nothing but a failed experiment. Do you hear me?”
Dimitri glanced around the room as everyone nodded back at him in a hurry.
“Hmm, good. The goal of my research to begin with was to uncover the secrets behind Amrita and the Sovereign’s Blood. To this day, far too little is known about them. There’s no mistaking that they were brought about long ago by the being known as the Intelligence. We still do not understand the reason behind this, however.”
“You mean that Intelligence?” Nagi asked.
Dimitri nodded. “I haven’t delved much into information regarding the Intelligence. Such research belongs in the realm of theologians. My own research concerns Amrita; I aim to learn more concerning the synthesis of this drug of immortality.” He paused as he locked eyes with Nagi. “ You, what do you know about Amrita?” Feeling pressed to answer, Nagi replied, “It’s made using the blood we give during the Blood Offering Festival, right?”
“Exactly! Also, there’s one other important ingredient. Do you know what it is? Then... you there, answer for me.”
“Sovereign’s Blood, right? You just said so yourself,” Senak replied after being singled out.
Dimitri didn’t pay an ounce of attention to Senak’s annoyed expression and simply continued his lecture. “Yes! By mixing Sovereign’s Blood with commoner blood and refining it, Amrita is created. The method itself is top secret and only known to a select few nobles. So, I tried to replicate it.”
The scholar’s eyes were sparkling. He was immersed in his own madness just from speaking about it.
“However, I couldn’t get my hands on Sovereign’s Blood. That’s why I tried all sorts of things by using noble blood as a substitute first. The result was Halahala. I suppose you could say it’s a failed replication of Amrita. Thinking back on it now, it truly was a pointless endeavor. The effect granted by Amrita comes from the Sovereign’s Blood to begin with, after all.”
There was great passion in Dimitri’s voice.
“To put it tremendously roughly, Amrita is the dilution of Sovereign’s Blood with commoner blood. Diluting it too much will make it lose its effect. That’s when I came up with an idea: there’s something the Intelligence planted within the Sovereign’s Blood. Commoner blood acts both as a solvent and as fuel. The foundation of life within commoner blood reacts with something within the Sovereign’s Blood to grant the recipient life itself. That’s how Amrita works. In truth, noble blood can also be used for the dilution process. They simply don’t do it because it’s meaningless to take noble life to grant noble life.”
Dimitri then turned his attention over to Nagi and Tess.
“Oh, you two over there, you’re Crestfolk, right? I don’t know much about the Crestfolk, but it’s said their blood can’t be used as an ingredient for Amrita. It’s as if there’s some sort of impurity mixed within. Tainted is quite the appropriate term for it.”
“How dare you!” Tess snarled.