Glenn groaned, his eyelids pressed together with no intention of opening. He held his head, stretched out on his bed, feeling as if someone had taken his Arcane Auger and drilled a huge hole inside his skull. Very carefully, he gently turned his head to the side, struggling to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged: in his stomach.
After struggling for a long moment, Glenn finally managed to pry his eyes open, the world spinning in front of his very sight. He waited a few more seconds to calm his churning stomach and finally took in his surroundings. To his right, another bed held a particularly bizarre sight – something strange affixed to the wall. Glenn rubbed his eyes lazily and, upon closer inspection, realized that the strange something was Sahro sleeping in an incredible position, his feet in the air and his head dangling toward the floor, all while being entirely naked.
"What the f... Again?" Glenn muttered in disbelief.
He summoned his strength and somehow managed to hoist himself up from the bed and perched on the edge, each movement provoking a tumultuous upheaval in his belly. He remained still for several minutes, waiting for the queasiness to subside.
Sahro tumbled from his strange position and landed awkwardly on the bed. His face turned an unhealthy shade of green, and he abruptly shot up, all color draining from his complexion. He rushed to the window, threw it wide open, and leaned on the sill, vomiting whatever had plagued his stomach. After he finished, Sahro remained still, basking in the sunlight with mouth agape and droopy eyes.
Glenn observed the scene with bewilderment, struggling to recollect the events of the previous night.
‘I am almost certain that I’ve been careful not to drink too much. I don’t want a repeat of the Cold Beer accident after all…’ The last thing he remembered was reclining in his chair at the inn, immersed in the relaxed atmosphere while digesting the hearty meal he had been served.
There was something strange. Usually, he would have at least a few strands of memories left, even if he was dead drunk. Yet, he had absolutely no recollection of what happened the previous night.
Glenn cautiously rose from the bed, each step precarious as he moved toward the mirror. He had slept in his clothes, and aside from a parched tongue, an agonizing headache, and the lingering stench of alcohol, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There were no injuries or signs of a brawl this time, or if there had been one, it left no lasting marks.
“Shit…Diamanes?” Glenn called out to the entity aloud, hoping for an explanation this time. He glanced at his left hand, only for his stomach to churn violently. He hurriedly joined the unconscious Sahro by the window, puking his insides out. Conveniently, a large bucket had been placed there under the window, seemingly prepared for such an occurrence.
After relieving himself of the mix of acid and alcohol, as well as a few misplaced mashed potatoes, Glenn went back to sit on his bed, leaving Sahro hanging on the window frame. A voice nudged at him mockingly.
"Finally done? I told you, always drink in moder–"
"Diamanes," Glenn interrupted, his tone urgent, "What happened? I was careful this time!"
The evil hand grinned, all his teeth showing."Well, perhaps you weren't careful enough, or you succumbed to the terrible temptation of alc–"
"God damnit, Diamanes! I'm not joking right now!" Glenn shouted, provoking a small moan of dissatisfaction from Sahro, "Something is seriously wrong. What. Happened?"
Diamanes' grin vanished as he ceased his antics and clicked his tongue.
"In short, you and Sahro drank yourselves to death. I didn't expect it to go this far, as you started quite reserved, ordering water and the like, but you had a change of heart at some point."
Glenn arched an eyebrow, clutching his left hand with the other.
"When? How did it happen?
Diamanes smacked his lips, collecting his thoughts.
"Well, after you finished eating, you laid down in your chair, and that guy joined your group. A skinny man, with a badly shaved beard and brown hair. You went on talking and celebrating, ordering beer after another, when you said you could drink a whole bottle of Fiery Spirit without flinching. That's when things started to get messy since you also challenged Sahro to do the same, who, by the way, is hilarious when he is drunk, but–"
Glenn shook his head, interrupting Diamanes' enthusiastic storytelling, "Did you see anyone put something in my drinks or anything?"
"Nope," Diamanes replied firmly. Glenn groaned and massaged his temples, trying to make some sense out of that mess. He closed his eyes and attempted to piece his fragmented memories together, only for his headache to worsen. Perhaps Sahro could provide some insight, but…Glenn glanced at the Black Heir hanging on the window like an old rag and sighed.
The blackout had occurred when Glenn reclined in his chair after eating. Could it be magic-related? He had only consumed water, served directly by the waitress, and his food had been served the same way. He should have seen something amiss if they had put anything there...
Wait.
Glenn hastily checked his pockets and belongings. His dimensional pouch remained, and everything seemed intact, except for two things: all his coins were gone, be it gold or copper, as well as the damned plate from Tom, the recommendation for the Magi Brotherhood.
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"Why didn't I secure it in my pouch? No, wait my coins were in my pouch too, yet they’re also gone! What the fuck?!?”
Diamanes chimed in, "Actually, during your drunken state, you took it all out, be it the plate or the coins. Oddly enough, when you're drunk, you don't seem to heed my advice, which is rather frustrating... You know, after you went to play cards with..."
Glenn disregarded the rest of Diamanes' remarks. He could understand the disappearance of his money, but what about the plate? If he had removed it from his pouch, it indicated someone had taken an interest in it. But why? Why would someone want his recommendation to the Magi Brotherhood? It made no sense. What use would that even have?
"...after displaying the plate, several other candidates joined your table. You became the center of attention, thanks to your impressive displays of strength during the test. Maybe..." Diamanes continued rambling, relishing his newfound freedom now that the bandages 'gagging' him were off.
Glenn rubbed his glabella in contemplation.
'There are quite a few people who knew that I got this recommendation plate – every candidate at the test, in fact,' he thought.
"Diamanes, did you see the one who took my shit?"
Diamanes paused, “...Hmm…nope. What I did see, though, were those three guys who were salivating at Sahro when he took his clothes off, which was really funny too…” The entity trailed off once again with his lengthy explanations. Sahro emitted a feeble moan, his head hanging out the window, clearly disturbed by Diamanes' chattering.
'So Diamanes didn't see the act happen, which means I wasn't aware of it either and didn't just give it away,' Glenn deduced. There weren’t many explanations for the night’s previous events. Could he have been drugged? Maybe. But this was a magical world, maybe there was some kind of mystical bullshit that compelled him to consume more alcohol despite his reservations. Maybe…mind control?
Wait.
“Holy shit…!” Glenn gasped, interrupting Diamanes’ nonsensical tales, “Fuck, Diamanes, can magic be used for mind control?”
Diamanes stopped abruptly, his smile fading.
"...Yes." He finally responded after an agonizing pause. Glenn felt his blood freeze inside his veins as his heart missed a beat.
Unbelievable.
"But you can't be subjected to mind control," Diamanes added casually.
Glenn blinked, “Ah?”
"Why?" he asked, before answering his question, "You, of course."
Diamanes clicked his tongue in agreement. Glenn leaned back in his bed, his mind racing to piece the puzzle together.
"So that indeed means I got drugged, something similar to the shit used by rapists back on Earth maybe," Glenn surmised, furrowing his brow, "I just don't see any other explanations."
A wheezing sound came out of the body–no, from Sahro, who remained slumped against the window frame, uttering a few unintelligible words.
"Food...Urghhhh..."
Glenn laughed, “Damn, he really is off the deep end—BURP!” He ran back to the window, another fit of nausea seizing him. He blocked his mouth with his left, purple hand, making Diamanes scream and retch in horror.
“NO! DON’T YOU DARE THROW UP ON ME!”
After spending a few more hours in their bed, recovering, and drinking a lot of water, Glenn and Sahro finally both felt a little better, at least good enough to hold conversations.
“Ughh…I…I can’t remember anything…” Sahro wheezed, now dressed and a little more lively. Glenn slowly shook his head, carefully making sure he wouldn’t worsen his headache by doing so.
“Me neither. I believe we might have been drugged, so let’s be careful when we go out,” He said with a worried tone. Sahro’s expression hardened and he nodded slowly. They finally got out of their room, with slow and unsteady steps.
Since they were both still lost a little in the fog of alcohol, or whatever drug was used on them, they also decided to stay in the Auberge until they got completely better. And until they got their stuff back. Sahro had nothing worth stealing though, so he wasn’t as annoyed as Glenn. They sat at the same table as yesterday and tried to put their thoughts together, witnessing other customers doing the same thing as them, all with a serious hangover.
“Seems like we’re not the only ones who got affected…” Glenn muttered. Maybe he was wrong, then? Perhaps the tablet wasn’t a goal, but one expensive-looking thing among many others? Still, this whole thing smelled of trouble. After inquiring with other customers, it became apparent that no one remembered the events of the previous night. Everyone agreed it had been a wild night, but no one could recall specifics.
They all seemed to have lost something, some a necklace, other expensive rings, others pouches of money. Glenn also concluded that each person had been drugged, as it was the only explanation for everyone losing their memories. For such a thing to be possible, the drug had to be planted when and where no one looked, like in the kitchen. In the damned food, the only thing he hadn’t been careful of.
“Shit, is that why I got hit even harder than you?” Sahro muttered when Glenn shared his theory, “...I think I ate four or five plates of that stuff yesterday.”
Glenn scoffed and shook his head, “If it were truly drugs, it’s a miracle then that you survived. You probably ingested enough to kill a horse.”
‘Remember he’s an Aura user, though. His body is different from mundane humans,’ Diamanes reminded him from the back of his mind. Glenn had made sure to hide the purple hand under a thick cover of bandages before leaving his room. Glenn rubbed his chin, “...I endured relatively well too…Shit, once again I have to thank the physique the Thorn’s Church gifted me, huh…” He shook his head dejectedly.
“But Glenn…” Sahro muttered while glancing at the kitchen discreetly, “That means that the one who drugged us was…”
Glenn gritted his teeth, “Yes, they’re probably members of the Auberge’s personnel. The cook, or anyone with access to the kitchen, which pretty much means every member of the personnel then…”
Sahro froze, “Wait, do you think…?”
Glenn nodded gravely as he gripped the edge of the table tightly, “Yes. They’re probably all in on it.” His anger flared up as once again he suffered from being drugged, but he hurriedly calmed it down.
“...Let’s keep a composed mind, though. They might be framed, or there might be another explanation. Let’s do this methodically, look for hints and proofs, and then bash the head of the culprit or culprits. I’m sure we are not the only ones angry at our situation…” He said while glancing at the other customers, who were getting increasingly rowdy and angry while looking for their lost belongings.
Glenn moistened his lips, “I swear I’ll find the person who broke my vow of being responsible…” He muttered through his clenched teeth, “...I swear it…”
‘...You never swore anything, though?’ Diamanes remarked confusedly. Glenn’s face suddenly paled down and he bent over to reach for a bucket conveniently placed by the owner, vomiting whatever was left in his stomach.
“Damn it…” He wheezed.
Fucking hangover.