In Another World with Absolute Awareness

A week went by with Aventine staying cooped up in Hau’goth’s estate. Actually, he wasn’t even leaving the library, other than to shower and eat.

Unbothered by the outside world, he directed his focus solely on his research. Nonetheless, he still kept an eye on the members of Very Sighed and Bliekon, scanning them whenever he needed inspiration.

Ghush, who was still undergoing recovery, was an easy target.

As for Bliekon...

’Oh, her puppets increased in number again.’

More and more of her puppets had intermingled with the Soulless City. Before, there were only hundreds.

Now, they numbered in the thousands.

They kept trickling in with various caravans, or even as lone travellers and adventurer parties.

Bliekon’s methods were varied—at least at first glance.

Aventine, however, could already observe a habit.

’The Spindeiron is a little... prejudiced. Or perhaps she indulges in stereotyping a little too much.’

Her puppets were all lifelike on the surface, appearing as anyone would expect them to appear. Individuals, however, weren’t simply what they appeared to be.

Just listening to Bliekon’s male elven puppets blabber on and on about archery, veganism, and tea made his ears bleed.

Their personalities completely encompassed the idea of <Elf Archer>.

It seemed fine when Aventine only spotted one or two. After all, archery was indeed the elves’ specialty.

However... for over two hundred male elves to be archers who never ate meat or animal products and simply drank tea all day...

’Yeah. The stereotype has been overused for sure.’

In fact, the cafe he visited a week ago had new regulars—and all they talked about were their beloved bows and their freshly fletched arrows.

It was mildly irritating to see, especially as someone who could read deeply into everyone’s lives. However, because of that, Aventine understood Bliekon a little better.

’She’s trying so hard to be a part of the living.’

Despite not having the ability to truly be alive, she assimilated what she did not have and did her best to behave in ways that fulfilled her vision of life.

Hau’goth had also picked up on this, but there wasn’t much he could do.

Stereotypes were stereotypes for a reason. If the Empire’s Guards arrested Bliekon’s puppets simply because of their generic stereotypes...

Well, that would most certainly be a problem.

Hau’goth had no desire to implicate the many innocents who made up those stereotypes in the first place. What he needed was a better way to identify the puppets.

So, he couldn’t help but consult with a certain Info-Hunter over dinner.

** *

Golden Bull Tower.

Eight days after the Aventine and Bliekon had an encounter.

Hau’goth had cooked up a feast today, filling the circular table with a variety of aquatic delicacies from locally sourced farms.

Aventine drooled at this world’s equivalents to prawns, lobsters, and king crabs. The smell was similar too...

What truly made Hau’goth’s cooking stand out, however, were the magical effects imbued in his best recipes.

Taking a bite out of his food meant experiencing it with more than just one’s own taste buds.

Tonight’s dinner, for example, allowed Aventine to once again experience what it was like to have first encountered the sea.

The joy he felt when diving into the water’s cold embrace.

The sound of the waves crashing upon the shore.

The salty breeze that made him a bit emotional every sunset.

The colors hiding just beneath the surface and the freedom of three-dimensional movement.

A tear formed in Aventine’s eye as he took bite after bite. Somehow, he missed those days even more.

"Sigh,"

Just as he was about to drown in nostalgia, Hau’goth served dessert.

Upon taking a bite out of the minotaur’s specialty pastries, his mood shifted in an instant.

A chocolate brownie with a hint of sea salt, a lemon tart with a smooth vanilla sorbet.

Hau’goth called them different things, but to Aventine, this was what he recognized them as.

"Divine."

He almost cried upon finishing all his food. Alas, since it was served for free, Hau’goth clearly had a task for him.

"So, what do you need, Chef Hau? You’ve bribed me with this much... It must be something tedious."

Hau’goth chuckled, no longer bothered by how well Aventine could read his intentions.

"I need you to help me identify all of Bliekon’s Puppets."

"Bliekon’s Puppets?" Aventine raised a brow, feigning ignorance.

"Yes." Hau’goth handed Aventine a folder. "The Empire’s Guards went to access the Imperial Archives, and a few adventurers had spoken about their own experiences near the human kingdoms. All of the clues we have now point only to a single individual who has ruled a few territories in the Lawless Zones."

"Ah, so it’s a monster from the South?" Looking through Hau’goth’s files, he silently admired his landlord’s efficiency.

"Indeed." Hau’goth adjusted his glasses and placed down a pouch of gold coins.

—Thunk.

Instantly, Aventine’s gaze flew over, appearing enticed.

"For your troubles. Twenty gold coins."

A grin spread across the Info-Hunter’s lips. Even if this commission was clearly above his public abilities, the pay was more than sufficient for his goals.

Furthermore, he had just hit the final wall in his research.

He needed to interact with a few of Bliekon’s puppets to uncover the secrets he needed to take the final step.

"I’ll do it, then. Will I be collaborating with the guards?"

Hau’goth nodded and took out a badge. "Take this. It will be your temporary identification as one of them. I’ll introduce you to the captain who manages my territory."

Aventine took the badge and fiddled with it for a moment. It gleamed in a beautiful platinum-bronze, enchanted with various magical spells as diverse as his Adventurer’s Emblem.

With [Absolute Awareness], he gave it a passing glance and discovered two life-saving enchantments, three auto-defense mechanisms, seven identification methods, and four combat-related spells.

It was a comprehensive artifact, made solely to allow the Empire’s Guards to maintain the <Primordial Dragon Empress’s> prestige.

They weren’t keepers of the law, no. They were truly the embodiment of a god-level being’s reputation.

Perhaps that was what made them so terrifying.

Aventine even felt a trace of terrifying Will, deeply hidden in the <Empire’s Guard Emblem’s> mechanisms.

It probably bore a few answers he needed... but angering the empress was definitely an instant-death sentence.

There was no need to court such instantaneous obliteration using [Absolute Awareness].

Thinking this, Aventine looked up at the well-dressed Minotaur before him.

"Alright, lead the way."

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