Ink-Filtration

Inside his workshop, Merlin was almost finished with his experiment.

Currently, he was crushing the flowers that he grew with a mortar. When it was refined enough, he poured the content into a bigger bowl. The wizard then picked up a bottle of ink; not an ordinary one, but one that was from the Demon Realm. After he poured the ink, he mixed the dark liquid with the refined flowers.

As he did so, Merlin added refined ores into the bowl. Once he was done, he put the content into an ink bottle. After that, he walked towards the papers and quill that he had prepared with it. He then performed the final phase of his experiment; testing the newly-made ink.

With it, he wrote two letters; one was a declaration of his love towards the receiver, filled with flowery words that were adorned with various compliments. The other was a statement of his hatred towards the receiver, filled with curses from many places and ages along with the demand from the gods to damn her.

"Now, if I did it right..." Merlin put down the quill. "O, Katou!"

His call was followed by the sounds of a footstep. Turning his head towards the source, the wizard watched as the life-sized Karakuri doll approached him. Said doll was dressed in ninja garb.

"What is it, Merlin?" She asked with an emotionless voice, though with a hint of annoyance.

"Read these," He said as he gave her the two letters that he wrote earlier. "And tell me what you think of them."

Tilting her head, the doll – Katou – nonetheless accepted the letter. She opened one of them and read it. While her face remained passive, there were signs that she became relaxed upon reading it, reading the content with care and happiness.

She opened the other one and all of that soon disappeared. Her face looked as if it was losing its color, her hands trembling as she tried to not drop the letter. The doll also tried to control her breath, making sure that she didn't have a panic attack.

"So, what do you think?" The wizard asked, clearly satisfied with her reaction.

"If…If this is the result of that experiment," Katou replied as she folded the papers. "Then you either possessed two personalities that are so polar opposite to the point that it should be impossible for you to remain sane…or you succeed."

"Ha! I know I could do it!" Merlin exclaimed. "There's nothing that a Grand Caster can't do! Every mage – humans and monsters alike – is second-rate compared to me!"

The ninja doll rolled her eyes at his boast. She remained silent as she observed him creating a bottle of the same ink that he used earlier.

"Alright, I am going off to execute the next phase of the plan." The wizard declared as he put the bottle into a bag along with other items. "Katou, you stay here and get used to your new body. Don't worry, I'll be back with a souvenir."

"Make sure it's not something strange." She spoke back.

"Come on, it's me." He replied as he walked towards the door. "I know a good quality item when I see one."

"That's what I mean." She said it just in time as Merlin exited the workshop.

Sayaka was currently inspecting the market of the town she was currently in, trying to figure out how she could make a profit here and how much that she could gain. With the place being monster-friendly, she had no need to conceal her true nature, unlike several previous ones.

Her mind couldn't help but wander towards that certain town when she met that wizard. He was attractive, she had to admit, but not exactly a good husband material for her. For one, he had quite a large amount of Demonic Energy inside him, meaning that he was an Incubus or close to become one. She had no intention of being the second in a relationship.

On a related note, she felt rather bad at whoever his wife was, for having such a skirt-chasing husband. She lost count at how many times the guy was hitting on her female employees, regardless of their marital status. When a harem was formed, it was usually because a bunch of monsters was attracted to someone's husband. That was because one wife was more than enough for a man.

Actually, now that she thought about it, how the heck that wizard managed to still have energy flirting other women considering…

"Oh my? Is that you, sweety?"

Oh, gods…

Accepting her misfortune, Sayaka turned her head to the one who called and lo beholds, that wizard was there, approaching her excitedly. She sighed upon seeing that he was smiling. Nothing good ever came from that kind of smile.

"Nice to meet you again, Sayaka." He greeted her. "Business is going well, I presume?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" She said with a hint of pride before frowning. "Never mind that, what are you doing here? I thought you went off to another direction after we parted away."

"Yes, I did," Merlin explained. "However, after my business was done and I returned to my workshop, I decided that the next thing to do is to look out for you. That's why I am here."

"If this is about your proposal…"

"No, of course not. It's business." He winked. "I want to convince you to help me sell this product of mine."

Upon hearing the word "business," Sayaka soon became interested. Even more so when she heard "product." Since he was a powerful wizard, whatever that he created would likely be something valuable.

"Alright then. Let's find somewhere suitable to discuss it." She said before jabbing her finger at him. "This better be worth my time, got it?"

"Don't worry. I am sure you won't regret it."

After walking for several minutes, the two of them managed to find a coffeehouse and decided to have their discussion there. They took a seat outside of the building, on the table protected by an umbrella. In a matter of seconds, a waitress approached them.

"May I take your order, sir, ma'am?" She asked them.

"A coffee. With milk." Merlin said. "Oh, and a pinch of sugar. Brown sugar, if available."

"I'll have green tea," Sayaka said.

"Alright then." The waitress wrote down the order. "Will be back in a minute."

With that, she walked into the coffeehouse, leaving both of them behind.

"So," The Gyobu Danuki spoke. "What is it that you want to discuss with me?"

"These." The wizard stated as he took out a bottle of ink from his bag. "My version of Demonic Realm Ink."

"What could it do compared to the normal one?" She asked, already guessing that there must be something special about it.

"Watch." He then took out a paper and a quill.

First, he tore the paper into two sheets. He then dipped the tip of the quill into the ink bottle. Finally, he wrote on both half-papers before giving them to Sayaka.

When she looked at one of them, she found that he had written the word "Love." She could felt the warm feeling that he put into the ink, causing her to blush a bit. She shook her head before picking up another one. This one had the word "Hate" on it. It was at that moment that she realized what was special about his ink.

"H-How do you do it?" She asked, shocked by her recent experience. "There are many variations of Ink. Some making the letters last longer, some making the letters impossible to tamper, and some can convey the meaning of the letters even if the receivers don't understand the language used."

"But?" Merlin simply spoke.

"But none of them allows outright lying! What you created is supposed to be impossible!"

"Oh, look! Our drinks have arrived!"

Shocked by the sudden mood change, the Gyobu Danuki nevertheless managed to maintain her composure and not fell from her chair. Just as Merlin said, the waitress returned with their order. After she gave them their drinks and returned inside, they enjoyed their respective drink before continuing the discussion.

"Yes, it must be a surprise." He said as he put down his cup. "Lying – while much lower than murder – was still something that monsters don't like to do unless there's no other choice."

"Indeed." Sayaka agreed. "People who said that monsters are liars are liars themselves or do not understand the difference between lying and saying the truth from a certain point of view."

"The best lie is one wrapped in truth." He clapped his hands. "Anyway, back to the topic, my Ink doesn't make it possible to lie. Merely a side-effect of its true property."

"And the true property is…?"

"For the letters to be able to express themselves."

The wizard paused and once again drank his coffee milk. As he did so, she tried to figure out the meaning of his words. When he was done and put down his cup, she was still unable to do so. The Far Easterner simply sighed and shook her head.

"Well, to put simple, you know about fictional literature, right?" Merlin said. "Stories about things that never happen in the real world?"

"Of course. I have sold a few in the past, in fact."

"Right. Now, I am sure you're familiar with some of the scenes that make a story good; in horror, the feeling of terror slowly reaching your heart. In suspense, how your heart beats as harm about to fall on the character. In romance, how the feeling of two lovers touched your heart."

"Can you just get to the point?" Sayaka grumbled.

"Alright. A good story is the one where you can imagine yourself either in the position of the character or experiencing the event as if you're there." He stated. "So, upon finding out about this ink, I wonder 'hey, why nobody ever writes a book using this ink? Would be awesome if we could feel the intent of the author!'"

"I know some books that are written with Demon Realm Ink…" She was about to correct him when she finally realized what he meant. "Oh. Oooohh."

"Correct. The third type of ink that you mentioned, one that can make people understand the letters despite not knowing the language. Why no one ever used that kind of ink for stories? Can you imagine how awesome simple words would be with that kind of ink?"

"Because the Demon Realm Ink cannot be used to make someone believe a lie."

"Yep. It is absurd to call a fiction and a lie one and the same. Nevertheless, they share one similarity: they're based on something that doesn't and never exists."

Slowly, the Gyobu Danuki started to put the pieces together. She knew how popular that type of ink was, especially among the monsters. The difference between how a monster thinks and how a human thinks meant that some of the gentler monsters were rather nervous in confessing their love, afraid that they would scare them away instead.

The Ink was basically a blessing. All they needed was write a letter with their entire heart poured into the paper and their crush would immediately know about their feeling the moment the letter was read.

Already, she could imagine how popular Merlin's ink would be. For every writer that has their book published and sold well in the market, there were dozens more that couldn't even finish their scripts, largely because they were struggling on how to make the sentences enjoyable and not boring for the readers.

This ink would sell like hotcakes. Every writer – even famous ones – would scramble upon knowing the property of the wizard's ink. They wouldn't need to think much about their scripts; just poured out the content of their heart and mind and people would understand.

"Considering your grin, I can see that you're about to agree with my proposal," Merlin stated with a smile.

Sayaka touched her face and discovered that he was right. She immediately changed her expression.

"Alright," She spoke, using her business tone. "So, what is your initial price?"

"None." He shrugged. "I leave that for you to decide."

"W-What?!" She was unable to hide her shock.

"I don't really care that much about profit. I already have my own source of income."

"So…" The Zipanguese stared at him. "What caused you to do all of this?"

"To make the world a better place, of course!"

She stared harder.

"And because it's fun." The wizard sighed. "But seriously, why do you care so much as long as you make a profit?"

"I just need to make sure I am not involved in something fishy." She stated. "However, I admit that you're right on that point."

The Gyobu Danuki offered her hand.

"I believe this is how they seal a deal in this continent, am I right?" Sayaka asked. "With a handshake?"

"Indeed, it is." Merlin accepted the hand and shook it. "By the way, on a related topic…"

"Yes?"

"Did you wet yourself upon imagining the amount of profit that you will gain? Since if I am not wrong, you're the type that salivates upon…"

He was unable to finish his line as he was splashed by green tea.

"Well, that could've been better," Merlin said as he entered his workshop. "Then again, I don't exactly displease with the result. So, nothing to complain about, I suppose."

Once he stopped talking, the wizard finally noticed the two people currently taking a seat on the table. Both of them were staring at each other, not blinking in the slightest. Made sense as none of them needed to blink due to being inorganic.

"Katou." He spoke, causing them to look at him. "Avi."

"Merlin." The other woman, Avi, greeted back. "You have returned."

"I have, my friend-with-golem-fetish." The wizard smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Ingredient searching." She answered simply.

"Eh? Last time I check, you create your workshop in place with enough material necessary for your golems."

"Indeed. I can hardly ask for better materials." Avi turned her entire attention to him. "However, that is no reason to not experiment on a more 'exotic' material."

"Exotic material, eh? Is that why you come to me?"

"Correct. You have visited the two regions that I am about to visit; the Dragon Kingdom of Dragonia and the Aquatic Nation of Court-Alf."

"Well, I have nothing else to do, so you're lucky in that regard." He turned his attention to the ninja. "What about you, Katou?"

"Nothing to do here." The doll shrugged. "Might as well see the world."

"Awesome! Let us pack and…"

"By the way, what's the result of your ink?" She suddenly asked.

"Ink?" Avi said curiously. "Are you talking about your experiment to create a Demon Realm Ink that allows a lie to be written?"

"Yep." He smiled slyly. "I admit that I have switched the side effect with the main property. But in the end, it's not that important."

The truth was that Merlin did indeed created the Ink for the purpose of being able to lie.

"I still don't understand what makes you so happy about creating such an ink," Katou confessed.

"You see, my dear Katou," The wizard began his explanation. "One of the most famous types of Demon Realm Ink is the one that can show the writer's true feeling to the reader. One of the less convenient, yet genius, usage of the ink is to write a letter that could convince an Order region to defect to the monsters."

"Won't they just burn the letter, believing that it's merely a trick?" The ninja asked.

"You can't write a lie using the ink." Avi joined in. "If they doubt the authenticity of the letter, the monsters simply need to show how impossible it is to lie using the ink."

"Indeed." He continued. "But, imagine what would happen if the news spread, that there's an Ink that allows one to write a lie?"

"…the trick that you mentioned won't work anymore." The doll concluded. "It doesn't matter if the monsters don't use your ink. Simply the reputation being tainted is going to be enough for people to lose their trust."

"Yep. The letters are capable of convincing the Order regions because they are lie-proof." He showed the palm of his right hand. "Destroy that reputation, however, and…"

He clenched his hand.

"…the entire thing falls apart without any chance of recovering."

"It takes a lot of time to establish trust," Avi commented. "Yet it takes only a second to burn it to ashes, unlikely to be regained."

Merlin was a famous wizard; the advisor and mentor of King Arthur. He was also the one who engineered the birth of the King of Knights and ensured that the throne of Britain would be inherited by the child of Uther.

It was not something that one can do without any skill in manipulation.

"Anyway, the tourist season is about to start." He suddenly stated. "So we better pack up and immediately go to those places."

"Already done." Avi declared.

"Good. Katou?"

"Don't have much, to begin with."

"Ah, that's right. We should fix that." The wizard then smiled brightly. "Well, that means there's nothing that will interrupt me watching Mary and her friends taking a bath~"

The two women simply rolled their eyes as the Grand Caster used his Clairvoyance for something so trivial.

As she walked towards her destination, the Commander of the Knights of Dragonia – Alto-Eris – was preparing an introduction of herself to the group of tourists that she was going to take care of today. While this was not the first time she did that, she always sought a way to improve herself.

People always became confused upon seeing a commander of the military being a guide. She wondered if it was one of the main reasons why her rating was 3 stars out of 5. Not a bad grade, she had to admit, but certainly still leaving a lot of room for improvement.

Once she finally arrived, Alto-Eris watched as the tourists – humans and monsters alike – talked among themselves. She cleared her throat, attracting their attention.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!" She began the introduction. "I will be your guide for your tour around Dragonia today! I am Alto-Eris and it is nice to meet you!"

"Nice to see you again, Alto!"

She immediately froze upon hearing his voice. Already, she looked among the crowd and lo behold, there he was. It was hard to miss his white hair and staff. With his stupid smile, the wizard waved his hand.

The Commander of the Knights wondered if it was not too late to ask for a replacement.

And it's done.

Yeah, I admit it's shorter than the previous chapters. But I can guarantee that the next one would be longer!

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!