Chapter 95: A Small Team - I

Kuvie’s heart dropped when the words, Tea Party, were traced out by his lips.

"N-no!"

The Satyress lost control of her magic and bounded forward. In a hurried moment, she tried to grip Aventine’s shirt, pushing him back to cut off his escape routes.

But the Info-Hunter dodged by a hair’s breadth.

Kuvie grabbed at nothing but air.

"You...!"

Something warm was bubbling up from her stomach. A warmth that encompassed her entire face drenched her body with a palpable kind of panic.

Adrenaline surged as she yelled. "Do you know what you just did?!"

Terror laced her tone, so raw that Taylor quivered at the sound of her voice.

However, Aventine merely smiled.

"Take a moment to look around you." He said. "Tell me, what do you see?"

Kuvie froze as her eyes darted around the previously bright room. Clementine and Taylor were also surprised.

What used to be walls made out of carved stone and ceilings held up by wooden support beams... had now been veiled by a layer of still, black shadows.

None of their senses—physical or spiritual—could pierce through the darkened walls.

"This..." Kuvie had a more accurate grasp of the shadows around her.

The connection between her Blood Seed and the outside world... was frighteningly faint.

"It’s the true strength of darkness-attributed mana," Aventine spoke with the same cadence as before.

"Paired with light-attributed mana to create outside noise, even those above A-Rank will have a bit of difficulty looking through here through any kind of remote connection. I’ve walled off their signals."

Kuvie frowned. "But how are you so sure that they can’t see or hear through your barrier?"

"Heh," Aventine chuckled. "Guess."

"..."

Exasperated, Kuvie realized—from Aventine’s confidence and the lack of a reaction from that organization—that they were safe. Nothing bad was going to happen despite the human’s mouthing of their name.

The Satyress couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as she collapsed onto the ground.

"Hahhh..." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Faint annoyance had replaced her earlier panic.

Kuvie glanced at Clementine, and seeing how unbothered her friend was, her annoyance grew.

She sent a glare Aventine’s way. "You could have started with that, you know?"

"Obviously~ But where’s the thrill in a little risk? I am offering you a deal you can’t refuse. Cut me some slack, okay?"

Hearing these words, Kuvie bristled once again. Her green eyes shimmered with frustration.

"Yeah! As if? How can you even help me..." Kuvie bit back the rest of her words as she understood the Info-Hunter’s ploy.

Didn’t he just give her a sales pitch that showed her exactly why he could help?

’What in the gods...?’

Once again, Kuvie looked at Clementine with an expression that seemed to say, ’Is this guy the real deal?’

"Of course I am legitimate." Aventine suddenly answered. "Why else would I dare attempt to utter such a name without the proper countermeasures? You know more than I, just how scary they could be."

Kuvie shivered at those words. Forget about how Aventine seemed to have just read her mind; the reminder of what they were capable of...

It was a set of memories that she would have preferred if they stayed buried deep within her psyche.

Seeing her, Clementine’s worries grew. Now, instead of questioning her friend, she looked at Aventine.

With a raised brow and a small smile that seemed to mirror Aventine’s, she made a simple request.

"Tell me more."

Kuvie felt the blood drain out of her face. ’Oh no,’

The Snakespawn’s anger had seeped into her tone after being filtered through many walls of self-control. What made it scarier was that Clementine was angry for Kuvie’s sake.

Unfortunately, there was no more turning back for the Satyress.

All of her secrets were unravelling in the span of a few short hours. When comparing it to long she had kept it under wraps, it felt like these few hours were putting all her efforts to waste.

’Ah... it really is easier to cut down a tree than to nurture it over centuries.’

Kuvie inwardly sighed.

—Bwoop!

"Very well." Aventine’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Suddenly, the darkness seemed even deeper than before.

"I’ll keep this short then, since I can maintain this special barrier for just about seven minutes tops."

Kuvie realized why the shadows had grown so dark—they were right in front of her face.

No longer blanketing the surrounding walls, the darkness clung to her like skin, spreading towards Clementine and Aventine together.

"Ah, guys? What about me—"

Taylor’s voice rang out before vanishing entirely.

’At least, I still have that bit of dignity.’ Kuvie thought.

"So. The Tea Party is a group of individuals who all share the same goal." Aventine paused for dramatic flair. "That goal is something simple—it is to refine the greatest cup of tea."

Clementine, having expected something far worse, or far more grand, felt her lips twitch at the revelation. "...Are you certain? The greatest cup of tea? Is this a metaphor?"

Aventine shook his head. "It’s not a metaphor, and yes, I am certain. Right, Miss Kuvie?"

"Aventine’s dead on point... They just want to brew tea. It’s the reason why I thought joining would have helped." Kuvie pursed her lips. "But that was when everything went wrong. It’s the reason why my life is in shambles right now. I’m part of five different secret organizations!"

Clementine coughed.

"...Say that again?"

Kuvie’s face—already drained of blood—paled even further.

"Uh—"

***

Suffice to say, Clementine gave Kuvie a stern admonishment. When Taylor saw the shadows writhe and dissipate after seven minutes, the Satyress’s cheeks were a bright red.

It was a tiring seven minutes.

After learning about why the Tea Party’s members were considered herbal terrorists.

Apparently, they used anything and everything to grow their tea leaves, creating various exotic plants and studying an innumerable number of flavors. They also operated drug dens using the failures of their experiments and were the main reason why the psychedelic substance trade was so prolific despite the variety of races in Walvaskaz.

With inadvertent, cutting-edge psychedelic innovation, all of Walvaskaz’s races could be catered to, one way or another.

They had hallucinogens that could even affect the Dragonkin!

Unfortunately, nothing worked on the Dragons. As Mortal Gods, their own bodies never failed to heed their respective wills and commands.

No matter how dense the magical effect created by a certain flower was, unless it was another Dragon’s illusion magic...

There was no way to sell such products to a Dragon other than to satiate their collector’s urge.

Clementine could better understand what kind of organization Kuvie had gotten entangled with.

’But aside from <Angel’s Bane> and the Tea Party, she still has three more?’

Was Kuvie accumulating secret organization debt?