“Why is that?”

“He has solved all sorts of dirty things in ways that ordinary people wouldn’t even think of. If it was for revenge, he would have used a more discreet method rather than obvious actions like now.”

“I see.”

“Perhaps that’s the case.”

“Then why do you think he willingly took the risk?”

“He’s not in a state to make rational judgments, so it’s more appropriate to think of it as an impulsive act. For some unavoidable reason.”

“Because of the daughter’s disappearance?”

“No, because of the drug.”

“Drug?”

“The drink he’s demanding is called ‘Aphtal.'”

“I’ve heard about that drink from Cheshire.”

It was said that alcohol was originally made by fermenting fruits or grains, a story that applied to those who had relatively luxurious lives. In impoverished areas, they said that alcohol was made from different ingredients.
“But those ingredients are often dangerous because they are either leftover scraps from making alcohol, or picked from mountains and fields in a haphazard manner.”

“Aphtal is one of those drinks, not well-refined, so it comes with side effects of hallucination for some people, but it became famous because it’s very cheap and tastes better compared to other cheap drinks.”

“Although the sale of the drink is originally prohibited due to hallucinogenic side effects, it seems like it was secretly sold in poor neighborhoods. Strange as it may sound, there were even people looking for it because of the side effects.”

“Is it that important that he was one of them?”

“In the poor neighborhoods, Aphtal was even used as a painkiller.”

“Using a painkiller with hallucinogenic components?”

“It’s difficult to get medicine, but Aphtal is cheap and helps people forget pain. It’s accessible in many ways. It’s addictive and hard to quit.”

During the time when he was a slave, Oppa worked as a doctor. Given that, I could speculate that he had many opportunities to come into direct contact with Aphtal. However, it sent shivers down my spine just thinking about it once again.

In any case, even if it’s a poor neighborhood with the status of a free person, life as a slave was thoroughly controlled, and economic activities were inevitably limited.

Nevertheless, Aphtal was distributed even in such places. Although I couldn’t know exactly how it was distributed, it reached places that were out of reach.

At that level, it became impossible to estimate how big the market Aphtal had conquered was.

“As a great medicine also originated from poison, thanks to Aphtal, many lives could be saved. However, it wasn’t all positive.”

“….”

“I’ve seen more people ruined by Aphtal than those who lived because of it. And I’ve been continuously investigating Aphtal to treat them.”

“Investigating?”

“It was an underground place without even proper facilities, but there were many people. Treatment wasn’t easy, but thanks to that, I could see many cases.”

Oppa said it nonchalantly, but there was a bitter smile on his lips. With that alone, it could be inferred that there was a lot going on, and I couldn’t bring myself to ask more.

Pretending not to know, I decided to continue with the topic of the story.

“What does that have to do with this incident?”

“I met the underground people I had parted ways with. And I found out that some of them had started Aphtal again.”

The underground people Oppa mentioned referred to the slaves we had lived with. Those who escaped with Oppa found their own paths, but most were people with no place to go or goal to reach, so Oppa had collected them.

The reason Oppa was able to save me was thanks to their help. Although I couldn’t afford it now, once the situation was settled, there was a need to compensate them for their lives as former slaves.

“It was also because Aphtal became easier to obtain than in the underground, but there was another reason.”

“Another reason?”

“The side effects became more severe than before.”
“What are you talking about? Side effects getting worse?”

Usually, don’t they try to eliminate side effects? Or is it because there are people who separately purchase and consume it due to the side effects?

Up to that point, those were common-sense questions I could come up with.

However, Oppa’s story didn’t end there.

“At first, I thought it was a stronger desire for Aphtal due to addiction. But it wasn’t. The concentration of the alcohol is gradually increasing.”

“Increasing?”

“The Aphtal coming into the underground is old, and the production year is much later compared to what is distributed in the market.”

“…….”

“While observing that, I noticed a clear difference between the Aphtal in the market and the underground. So, I collected Aphtal from different years and compared them, and the suspicion turned out to be true.”

For a moment, my mouth was sealed.

It’s plausible for poorly refined alcohol to be produced to save on labor and material costs for cheap sales. However, deliberately increasing the amount little by little to make the side effects worse clearly showed an intention.

It was as if…

“……They’re intentionally causing addiction.”

Through the tightly closed gap between my lips, a breath flowed out weakly.

Oppa also seemed to be thinking the same thing; his expression suddenly darkened.

“Getting people addicted is easier than you think. At first, it’s a little, then a bit more, and unknowingly, you become addicted.”

“……That sounds like someone is intentionally addicting people now.”

“I hope it’s just a guess. But going through this incident, I keep feeling like it might not be.”

“…….”

“With the worst assumption.”

Oppa sighed deeply while holding his forehead. Under his hands, Oppa’s face was already pale.

“The hallucinogenic substance added to Aphtal is in very small amounts. In other words, even a tiny amount can lead to addiction. So, what if that amount is increased?”

“…….?”

“And, if it is distributed at the same time, how many people will end up drinking it?”

I was looking at Oppa, but at that moment, I recalled the man who attacked me and shrank my body.

If the cause of him losing sanity was indeed Aphtal, it wouldn’t just end as one person’s problem.