"I pride myself in brewing whatever my customer wants, whether it's alcohol, medicine, or even an Elixir," Virala said as he eyed the duo before him.
"We're not the first group of officers to inspect this place?" The man among the duo, named Pierra frowned, recalling some vague information about the establishment in their records. He readied himself to nab Virala at the slightest hint of movement from the latter and acted casual, revealing his identity to gleam more information.
"You guys are investigating the recent string of alcohol consumption among the populace, right?" Virala said as he stared the duo in the eye, "But for some reason, you've been unable to find any leads. That's why you've stumbled upon this place."
'He knows about our investigation?' Pierra was surprised for an instant before he controlled his facial expression. He extended his hand subtly and pinched Tallua, the female officer accompanying him, slightly, nudging her to remain quiet.
He didn't want her to flip out and cause a scene, which might disrupt this opportunity to peacefully interrogate Virala for information. A moment later, Pierra nodded with a show of concern, "Yes, we're on the case since there have been multiple witness reports of people showing up for work drunk. We even had an accident recently."
"Of course, everyone here has Silver Grade strength, so most of the damage was something we could heal from. However, we don't want this to implicate the children. That's why we're in a hurry to nab the culprits." He said and stared at Virala, "You're a suspect too, Sir Rala."
He then pointed at a man who walked to the wall and picked up a vial from one of the enclosed shelves to drink, following which he left the establishment, "Do you know what those vials are?"
"We have been observing it, but we're not sure." Pierra had just spoken when Tallua walked to the shelf and took out two vials, following which she returned and placed the same on the counter.
"That's alright with me." Virala said and extended his hand towards the duo, exhibiting no resistance, "I'll cooperate to my utmost capacity. I run this place as a means to offer the despairing people some comfort. Reality is often stressful. Of course, I am aware that this is an illegal establishment."
He then pointed at a man who walked to the wall and picked up a vial from one of the enclosed shelves to drink, following which he left the establishment, "Do you know what those vials are?"
"We have been observing it, but we're not sure." Pierra had just spoken when Tallua walked to the shelf and took out two vials, following which she returned and placed the same on the counter.
"May I inspect it?" Pierra smiled wryly at Tallua's actions as he asked Virala. Seeing the latter nod, he uncorked one of the vials and sniffed it, surprised to see his Prana become faintly active in response, "This is…?"
"It's a medicine that jolts one's Prana." Virala said, "When someone's drunk, they can drink this and sober up in a matter of minutes. After drinking it, they'll feel an urge to urinate, through which most of the alcohol content in their body is flushed out, following which their Prana could work on flushing out the remaining."
"It's my creation." Virala smiled smugly, "This medicine is the reason the previous officers haven't shut this place down, since I have taken measures to ensure people can come here to vent their frustrations without any negative effects."
"Then, do you have any ideas of the drunkards appearing recently?" Tallua glared at Virala as if he were the culprit, her expression fierce, "Accept it if you're part of the problem."
"I may not be responsible, but I have something that might help your investigation." Virala reached his hand into the nearby cabinet and pulled out a worn-out book. He brought it to the counter and paused, thinking for a couple of seconds before he gave it to Pierra, "Be careful since it's fragile."
"This is…?" Pierra glanced into the contents of the book as his hands trembled. Sweat dripped down faintly from his forehead as he flipped through the pages, staring up a few minutes later to ask Virala, "This is a recipe book to brew alcohol."
"Where did you get your hands on this?" He stared at Virala.
"Please look into the lines that I have marked in the book." Virala said next, "Exclude those lines from the recipe and see the result."
"With these specific lines…" Pierra noticed small markings across the pages that he had ignored first. Now that he excluded them and stared at the recipes, he frowned, "They are simply tea recipes."
"Yes, in fact, these tea recipes are famously enjoyed by the Mammoth Clan." Virala said, observing the shock of the duo before continuing, "The Bollutiya Kingdom that I hail from served tea from this recipe book to the Mammoth Clan. It's a decently famous recipe book that was supposedly available in their market."
"However," He spoke before the two could say anything, "Someone made modifications to the tea recipes. With these modifications, one could turn tea into alcohol."
"Are you saying you followed this recipe book?" Pierra asked.
"Did you make this recipe book?" Tallua intended to interrogate Virala immediately.
"I didn't live in the Bollutiya Kingdom, since it was destroyed by the Mammoth Clan before my birth. The alcohol recipes I know are something my father taught me in hopes of using them to exact vengeance against the Mammoth Clan." Virala shook his head, "I'm only using my family's recipes."
He then pointed at the book, "I found this in the nearby market. Since it was pretty similar to the one I saw my dad reading when I was a kid, I purchased it immediately."
"Which market did you purchase it from?" Pierra asked the details, frowning, 'If this has been circulating in the market, then anyone can follow the process written here to convert tea into alcohol.'
'And, there's no guarantee that he isn't the cause.' Pierra thought as he stared at Virala, 'Everything feels convoluted but geared in his favour.'
"Actually, I have told this to the other officer groups too." Virala said, changing his words after a couple of seconds of thought, "No, I think I only told it to two other officers. I didn't have this book the first time I was questioned."
"We'll need you to come with us." Tallua felt Virala's response was odd for some reason. She felt like she was being led on a wild goose chase by this individual who she couldn't see through for some reason.
"Okay," Virala nodded and walked out, intending to accompany the officer duo when one of the ladies on the counter that Virala had complimented before stood in their way.
"What are you doing?" Tallua stared at the older woman with a frown, "Do you comprehend the consequences of your actions?"
"Comprehend what?" The older woman glared in annoyance, "All I'm seeing is a snob destroying our sole peaceful session during the day."
"Selling alcohol is a punishable crime by the Empire's laws!" Tallua raised her voice, glaring at the customers, "As patrons of this place, you'll also be held accountable."
"You think that can scare us?" A middle-aged man slowly got up and approached Tallua. He stared at her from top to bottom before saying, "Were you born here?"
"So what?" Tallua glared at the middle-aged man in response, "What difference does it make? It doesn't give you an excuse to commit a crime."
"It's not a crime, lady." The middle-aged man scoffed and waved his hand toward the rest of the customers, "Do you have any idea of the customers of this place?"
He pointed at himself and snorted, "I'm the architect in charge of designing the seats in the railway."
He pointed at the older woman who silently stood before Tallua, "This woman is an agricultural expert who is in charge of ensuring the crop yield satisfies the appetite of the Wean Clan."
Tallua's eyes widened as she stared at the older woman before her, 'This blushing drunkard is someone so important?'
The middle-aged man made a general introduction and snorted at the end, "Have you seen any of us make an issue at work? Never! If any of us had made a single mistake, the consequences would have been felt by a large section of society."
"We face a lot of stress at work, and when we return home, our kids who are sheltered brats like you question everything we're working hard for!" He grumbled, "A twist of your Human Avatar and the activation of a Nature creates an item that we spend weeks to months designing. Since you have Skills for each Nature, you feel everything is easy in life, unaware of the sheer sacrifices we made to get this far."
"You're strong, right?" The older woman looked down on Tallua, "When you consume food and activate the Nature of Bio-Synthesis, do you use any Skill to improve the process?"
"Yes," Tallua nodded and listed a couple of Skills that she used typically.
"I was in charge of the team that created the Skill." The older woman said, "Do you know how much time we spent on the creation of that single Skill?"
"N-No," Tallua stammered, unable to give an answer.
"It took a team of 40 researchers a combined time of eight months to complete it." The older woman said, "Before the Varahan Empire was established, a Skill was created at most once a generation, and only geniuses were said to be capable of creating even a single Skill."
"But how many Skills do you think are in our database?" She asked next, stating upon seeing Tallua's silence, "Thousands! And the number is steadily increasing. These are created by us, those part of the older generation, the ones who are unable to even reach the peak of the Body Stage."
"Our generation survived in times where results were barely a thousandth the invested effort. So, none of you greenhouse saplings understand our pain when you're rewarded with results a hundred times the effort you put in." By the time she was done, the older woman was gasping, having vented all her mind.
The older woman then approached the wall, downed a vial, and regulated her breathing. Once she had sobered up fully, she glared at Tallua, "Every single customer here is well aware of the risks of consuming alcohol. That's why these medicines exist."
"My generation has a lot of pent-up emotions. I'm afraid even the Empress does, since the facilities of her home Kingdom are a far cry from the advancements and convenience we have at the Varahan Empire. This establishment is our only source of comfort." The older woman glared at Tallua threateningly, "I visit here once a week. The next time I come here and I don't see you, I'll go on a strike."
"We all would do." She pointed at the customers, "Your department will be held responsible, for instead of capturing the true scum that is responsible for the cases of drunkards popping up everywhere, you are capturing a gentleman."
"Even though this is an illegal establishment, your department has been aware of its operation since day one." The middle-aged man from before snorted as he downed his vial of medicine and stormed out, "Do what you will with that information."
"This is why I wanted to investigate as peacefully as possible." Pierra sighed as he patted Tallua, turned around, and stared at Virala, "We'll return another day."
"Visit whenever you want. I'll be here unless it's my rest time." Virala gave a knowing smile as he watched the inspector duo leave. He then made a bow of gratitude towards the customers, "Thank you for standing up for me. I'm truly grateful."
"That discussion irritated me." One of the older women commented as she groaned in exhaustion, "Can you make some soothing tea for us, Sir Rala?"
"Right away," Virala nodded, "I'll make one for everyone. It'll be on the house."
"I want one from…" One of the customers raised his voice, stopping when Virala smiled his way.
"Peckurice tea, right?" Virala smiled as he tapped the side of his head, "I remember the preferences of everyone."
"That's why this establishment is one of a kind!" The man laughed heartily, "Whether it's to drink tea or alcohol, I always prefer here to any other place."
"You can bring your family during the daytime. I will be serving only tea during then." Virala said, winking once, "Of course, you need to tell me a day in advance. Otherwise, I'll be fast asleep."
"Hahaha! You have great humour, Sir Rala!" The man laughed as if he heard the funniest joke in history, immediately joined by others.
'Drunkards find everything funny.' Virala thought as he stared at the two drinks on the counters, 'Those two officers didn't touch it. But that's alright. They had a taste of this place. And the moment their work stress reaches a certain level, they'll be here naturally.'
'No schemes are necessary when I have such a great, destructive hand.' Virala thought, letting out a smile.