Roch, walking through the crowd in a white top hat, sniffed. "Damn City of Spices, and those natives who love smearing strange perfumes all over themselves. They've made the air here weird, turned breathing itself into a torment, and covered me in all sorts of bizarre smells."
"Maybe Laffy would like it, but I don't!"
A barely perceptible malice flashed through his eyes. An urge to slaughter every resident of Bayam surged within him, and images themed around blood and corpses had already surfaced in his mind.
Then he lowered his head and carefully reined in his malice.
As he walked through the streets, he sometimes took detours to change direction and sometimes pretended to be drawn in by merchandise, stopping to inspect it while secretly surveying his surroundings. He was extremely cautious, determined not to be followed.
Roch even slipped into a clothing store. When he came out, a locally styled cloak concealed his white formal attire. Naturally, he had put away that conspicuous hat.
At dusk, he arrived at a house near the sea and knocked on the door in a particular rhythm.
The door opened, and Roch saw Laffy. He slipped inside and asked, "Did you catch Flame?"
"Of course. With the captain and Zote working together, how could they fail to catch a wounded Flame?" An exaggerated smile appeared on Laffy's face, causing white powder to flake off in droves.
After taking off his cloak and putting his top hat back on, Roch entered the living room and saw Danitz curled up in a corner. He was unconscious, his eyelids twitching from time to time as though he might awaken at any moment.
Roch took a glass bottle from his pocket. It seemed to contain some kind of essential oil. He walked over and waved the