After Stealing Hero's Mother, I Reincarnated in the Fantasy World!

"First of all, what is it?"

Beginning their educational conversation with the Thug Boss, Rain pointed slightly to the side, to where a pile of his teeth and the White Powder he had previously spit out lay in the middle of the dirt.

Now the whole thing, including the prized drug, was now stained with his saliva, gastric juices, and blood, so it was hardly fit for either study or use. Most likely even the most addicted of addicts wouldn't eat it.

Of course, Rain still had a much purer version, obtained personally from Lapielle, so he wasn't worried about that loss.

"It's a special thing called Gilgamustra Extract..."

The bulldog squeezed open his mouth, showing an honest smile with his toothless mouth.

"Uckhhhh!!"

The sword pierced through his left arm. His pale face turned even paler.

"Haaaa... just answering my questions is really that hard? Why this pathetic lie?"

"I told the truth...! What's the point of me lying!?"

Bulldog shouted loudly, calling out to the young man's mind, secretly hoping that his shout would attract at least someone to this dark alleyway. Even the Imperial Guards he usually despised, feared, and avoided now seemed like a great option that he would grab onto with both hands... or rather, with his one remaining hand.

Unfortunately, Bulldog didn't know that his faint hopes were doomed to failure. Rain had long ago ordered the system to set up a soundproof barrier around this place, preventing even the smallest of sounds from escaping.

Exactly as he did when his women became too loud in bed and threatened to attract other people's attention.

'Just look into those honest eyes. Maybe he should have changed careers to artist... or con artist, at least?

Rain shook his head, pressing the blade in harder and eliciting a muffled groan.

"Wouldn't it be best if we both get what we need as soon as possible and be done with it?"

He roughly understood this thug's train of thought, but it was still annoying.

"Ahem...Ugghhh...It's a special formula, Locher's Extract,"

Rain nodded his head at that words. It matched what the system was showing.

"Describe its effects."

"Haha, you're really thinking—my nose, my nose!!!"

"I don't think, Rotten Teethy, I only do."

"..."

"Describe its effects."

He hesitated, but once the blade gleamed in his field of vision again, he quickly laid out what he knew.

Though his speech wasn't as crisp and clear due to his missing teeth, Rain's keen hearing managed to interpret it.

After listening to the end, he nodded once more. It also matched what the system was saying.

Had he finally decided to be honest?

That couldn't have been more gratifying.

"Okay, one last question then. Who is 'Mistress'?"

Rain didn't believe that a second-rate thug like him could know anything of real value, such as the plans linking White Powder and the Academy. Or the role of the missing students in all of this.

That kind of information never got to people like him, who was only good for battles and impulsive decisions, which was just the job of a hunting dog.

If there was anyone who should know everything, it was the one they referred to as 'Mistress'.

"..."

He remained silent.

"Ah, you again..."

Rain annoyedly muttered and repeated what he had done before.

...But this time, no matter how much pain the Boss received, his mouth didn't open.

Even after five minutes, he was still stubbornly silent. It was unknown whether it was his fear of 'Mistress' or his unwavering loyalty, but he didn't respond no matter what was being done to him.

At this rate he would simply die of blood exhaustion and the witness would be lost.

'Nari, any idea what to do?'

So Rain turned to his system. It was sent here to help him, so he had to use it to the fullest.

[I think Honest Pinocchio might be able to help.]

'Honest Pinocchio? What's that?'

In two lifetimes in two worlds, Rain had never heard of it.

[The infamous poison. More specifically, a sort of truth serum. An inexpensive but effective method for low cultivation].

Not that the Ethereal Disciple was low stage... but I guess in her eyes, it was.

'Hmm, let me see.'

Closing his eyes for a moment, Rain plunged his consciousness into the system's store. Soon, with the name in his mind, he found what he needed.

[Honest Pinocchio]

[Type: Poison]

[Once taken, causes an uncontrollable urge to tell the truth and only the truth.]

[One of the Maggot Queen's 13 masterpieces, personally created to make her husband confess his sins.]

[Lasts for 2 hours. Does not work on Transcendent Soul stage and above. Requires ingestion.]

[3,000 SP] (old price)

[Discount!] [999 SP] [Today only, don't miss out!]

'...Nari, did you do this?''

She had said before that she could interact with the core system to a certain extent, sometimes changing quest rewards or giving discounts on items.

[I wish I could, but no. It's really a discount that randomly appeared today].

'Haha... let's talk about fate.'

[Yeah, it's hard to call it anything other than 'fate'.]

By this point, the bleeding from the thug's severed arm had stopped, though he wasn't receiving any help or treatment.

'What a monstrous survivability.'

Everything was healing on him like a dog. No wonder he'd lived so long with his insane behavior.

"Now drink this."

Since there were no more barriers in the form of teeth, getting him drunk was not difficult, despite all his resistance.

Sensing his helplessness, Bulldog looked at Rain with hatred.

"Don't look at me like that. In fact, you should be grateful to me for this. What's that saying? No teeth, no trouble?"

Smiling weakly and glaring at the former Rotten Teeth, he uttered.

"Now your mouth will never stink, and your dental problems will never bother you again for the rest of your life. In the place where I lived, they would have charged a lot of money for this service."

But the bandit didn't seem to take kindly to his benevolence, only scrunching up his face more, muttering "That's not how it works, bastard...".

Sure enough, Rain heard it.

'What a tactless asshole. He's no better than Gray for running away at any sign of danger.'

Rain again had to add a bit of manners to him with his fist.

Soon the toothless lad's pupils dilated and his breathing slowed. Honest Pinocchio seemed to have fully embraced the effect.

'It seems like it's time to begin.'

"What's your real name?"

To begin, Rain asked a simple question and after a moment a clear answer followed.

"Pin Pin."

Realizing what had just happened, Bulldog hastily covered his mouth with his remaining hand.

Of course, if such a simple action could help, it wouldn't be the infamous poison.

"Next, where is your dugout located?"

"Northwest of Haerin, near the Rebellion Tower, in a black ruined house under the rubble."

The dugout was the blood and flesh of the thugs. It was where they kept all their loot, including money and jewelry. Usually, even if they were threatened with death, they didn't reveal it.

But now, the words were pouring out of his mouth as if a schoolboy was telling his mother what was for lunch today.

"Okay, what's in there?"

The man began to sweat profusely, trying to hold his tongue, but it was no use.

"Everything I have."

Rain nodded satisfactorily at the Boss's answer. By everything he has he must have meant his whole gang's stuff.

'I'll have to stop by there later and pick that up.'

Rain didn't need money, his family was rich enough that he didn't even think about such things. But those who had suffered at the hands of these thugs might have thought otherwise.

Deciding to take what he would need and just give the rest to charity, he got to the main point.

"Who is 'Mistress' again?"

The man's hand clenched desperately around his jaw, but no matter how hard he clenched his mouth, it couldn't prevent the words from leaking out.

"She..."

His pupils fluttered wildly to the sides, and his eyes showed the ultimate fear.

"...My Mistress."

With that, staring cloudy-eyed into the gray sky, he closed his mouth.

Rain frowned.

"That's it?"

As much of a second-rate thug as he was, he should have known better.

However, despite the question, there was no response from the man.

Rain frowned even more, checking his pulse and breathing.

The man was dead.

"..."

'...Nari?

He had his doubts that it could be a side effect of Honest Pinocchio...

[There were no deaths from Honest Pinocchio even in my databases. Although it's labeled as poison, it's not designed to kill.]

But Nari's words completely negated that.

This madman was unlikely to kill himself, and besides that, there was only one possibility.

"Damn it."

'Mistress'. It seems that whoever this woman was, she was used to keeping her dogs on a short leash.

Then both his incredible loyalty and his inordinate fear of her figure was understandable.

Had someone known that their life was no longer their own, would they have acted differently?

Looking at the thug's body, Rain couldn't say for sure if it was the ability of her bloodline, some special technique, or simply poison. But the fact remained. He was dead.

Now everything that led to the identity of this mysterious woman and the Academy's connection to it all had turned into a cold corpse.

'Though I still have a trail leading to her.'

A puny fellow nicknamed Rat, who had left earlier.

Rain had let him go when he mentioned an appointment with the 'Mistress', hoping he'd lead him to the others, but considering how she treated them, it seemed like a futile endeavor.

Of course, he still had to be found. Rain had memorized his mana trail, so that wasn't a problem.

'But this 'Mistress'... her methods are truly ruthless. A far cry from what those trash thugs showed.''

He had mixed feelings about her.

'I wish I could meet her.'

Rain chuckled to himself while thinking about it, but his smile soon faded.

'...No, wait. Perhaps I've already met her?''

The Academy's connection to this case, the words of the bandits, the sudden appearance of White Powder, the recent cases of missing students... there were too many indications that 'she' was very close to the Academy.

Perhaps even closer than he thought.

"Rain, are you okay?"

Evelyn, who had been standing silently to the side until then, quietly approached him.