Gladius lost his cool in front of the same evil, greedy bastard he was talking about. He then controlled his frustration seeing that Tuan was observing him with keen eyes.
Gladius cleared his throat before adding up.
"In any case, thanks for sharing your plight with us. You have pointed our investigation in the right direction. Is there anything you want to ask?"
Tuan nodded his head before asking Gladius with genuine curiosity.
"Sir, what is Format History?"
Gladius expected this question from Tuan. Tuan's inquisitive look prompted him to answer clearly.
"It is a name given to a particular kind of potion by Historians in recent days. Um…. Let us say that the potion was first seen to be associated with a very sensitive case going on in Edinburgh.
So almost all of those who are well known in royal affairs know about this potion. I wouldn't have known about it myself had it not been for the fact that one of our Historians was externally contracted by the army to investigate the recent disappearance of army personnel."
Gladius closed the spectral screen that was in front of him and got up from his seat. He got up from his seat and added some more facts about the potion he knew of.
"This potion is very insidious. It mentally affects every historian who tries to investigate the area affected by the potion's effects. New cases of usage of this potion have popped up in various places within the kingdom.
I'm already inclined to believe that Tim and Langdon are cultists because this potion is involved in the incident. They also managed to sneak into our isolated space. Maybe that was their goal all along. And you were just caught in their plan accidentally."
Gladius' assessment left the butcher with a blank look on his face because he was genuinely surprised. It seemed that he didn't need to come up with any more bullshittery. Its production would be taken care of by Gladius himself.
It was him that had started selling limited quantities of the potion on the black market to cover his tracks. Otherwise, every incident related to the usage of the Potion of Innocence would get linked with Osan Woods Butcher. That was something he didn't want.
The butcher had set things in motion before he made his move on Sid to cover the traces of his involvement. But he could have never imagined that the same move would save him in an unforeseen case he was made part of.
The butcher also found it amusing that the historians had come up with their own name for the potion. To be honest, Format History sounded more logical and mass appealing to him than his version which reeked of personal touch.
"By the way, Tuan. How did you manage to kill the Ogre Lord?"
Gladius asked, narrowing his eyes on Tuan. The latter didn't flinch and told him the truth.
"When I got out of that weird space with a shattered mirror-like sky, I was very close to the Field Boss's territory. I had just evaded a life-threatening attack from Tim and was looking for a place to hide.
At that time, the rankers' live locations were yet to be displayed on the contestants' wristbands. So I thought of using Field Boss's territory as a deterrent and hiding just outside it. I had a basic recovery potion in stock. So I just needed to wait for a while till I could resume my participation in the competition."
Tuan flashed a heartfelt grin after he said that. He continued with a tinge of enthusiasm on his face.
"But who would have imagined that the Field Boss's mana signature would feel so weak after I reached the place? I decided to check the boss out in case someone was battling it to reap the benefits by being... you know… a kind helper."
Gladius smirked at Tuan when he heard Tuan speak about wanting to play spoilsport in someone else's kill. However, this level of cunning was expected from the contestants who had reached this far. So he didn't mind and let the butcher continue.
"When I got near the Field Boss, his reaction times seemed way off. As if he was struggling to even move his neck or walk properly. So I started to test the waters. I started with my flying slashes that worked way too well on the Ogre Lord. Then I got closer to him a bit and executed some more of my mid-range spells.
And the next thing I know, I had already slain the Field Boss.
This was an unexpected gain I hadn't seen coming my way. Hehehehe! Maybe it was a rare occurrence of good fortune I was blessed with. Something that came after I suffered at the hands of my wife first and then by Tim and his other cultist buddy."
Gladius chuckled when he heard Tuan's point of view. He had also figured out why Field Boss was so weak after reading through the report.
Gladius nodded his head at Tuan before responding.
"The reason behind this is also mentioned in the report. I have no problem with telling you. But you'd have to promise that you won't talk about this event to anyone.
We don't want any bad press attached to the Titus tournament, you see. And Tim and Langdon potentially being cultists kind of complicates things for us. If you know what I mean."
Gladius was ordered by his higher-ups in the report to buy Tuan's silence. Titus tournaments getting linked with cultists and cultist activities was something the organizers wanted to avoid at any cost.
Eren had already understood how things would play out when he mentioned cultist activities. His change into the summoner class, usage of Potion of Innocence, and the localization of his ability Life Drain had given him the confidence to set things this way.
Therefore, the butcher nodded before speaking up.
"By all means, sir. Honestly, even I would like to avoid being targeted by Tim's and Langdon's fans. You know how it is. Conspiracies spill out like wildfire. Maybe some ardent fans of Tim and Langdon would come up with a wild theory that I was in fact the cultist. And somehow I set those guys up, painting them as the bad guys.
Therefore, if you could keep my name out of this, it would be much appreciated. This would be mutually beneficial for both of us. So I don't think you'd mind."
Tuan said while bowing to a higher-ranked entity like Gladius. The latter was very pleased with Tuan's reasoning. He was going to ask about him signing the confidentiality contract. But now it seemed unnecessary.
"Alright, Tuan. Things get a bit easier if all are in the same boat of avoiding rumors.
It was a summoner class Tim who was performing some kind of experiments on monsters and beasts slumbering inside the isolated space. For some reason, he also died from the experiments he had performed on those monsters.
In any case, you benefited from Tim's misdeeds. We don't hold it against you though. That first place is yours to hold onto. As long as you keep quiet about the whole incident. We'll take care of announcing Tim and Langdon's disappearance our way."
Gladius smiled and nodded at Tuan, unaware of the fact that he was sabotaging his own investigation. In front of the same man who was the reason behind Tim and Langdon's deaths in the first place.
