Organ rental company in another world

Mussolo, carrying a bronze candlestick with fluorite attached, led Norn up several flights of stairs.

The staircase changed from wood to blue bricks, and the two arrived at the third basement level of the chief's mansion.

Using the light from the fluorite, Musolo found a wooden box, opened it, and took out a stick-shaped magic crystal.

This magic crystal is of very low quality and has a murky color; it can only be used to light lamps.

Musolo inserted the magic crystal into a slot, and after a while, the fluorite lamps on both walls slowly brightened, soon illuminating the entire room.

There were many odds and ends scattered around: weapon racks filled with swords, battle-worn armor, and open wooden crates. Norn curiously peered inside and saw some dusty, worn-out clothes.

"This is where my great-grandfather Valhiri's belongings are kept. My father asked me to come here and clean it often before he died, but I haven't had anyone come down to clean it for a year."

Musolo spoke as he walked forward, and Norn, though he wanted to stop and look, could only follow.

"Why are Lord Valshiri's relics placed in a place like this? Wasn't he the founder of the Demi-human Federation? I thought his things should be in a special exhibition hall."

"There was indeed a small exhibition hall before, but it was burned down by some demi-humans shortly after it opened. Not all demi-humans want to unite; in some tribes, Valshiri is synonymous with traitor."

As the towering Musolo walked to the side, a giant, snow-white tiger appeared before Norn.

"It's called Bengshan, and it was my great-grandfather's mount."

"Valhiri's mount!? How old is it?" Norn asked in surprise.

"It's probably over eighty years old. It had a serious illness last year and has been in this half-dead state ever since."

Musolo moved a wooden box over, rummaged through it for a while, and took out a bottle of purple potion.

Soul-stealing water!?

Norn was startled. How could a chief who strictly prohibited the production and sale of this poisonous water be hiding such a thing?

Recalling Mussolo's expression when he learned he was immune to the Poison of Souls, a hypothesis popped into Norn's mind:

Could it be that the chief is also an addict and is specifically learning drug rehabilitation techniques from me?

Musolo uncorked the bottle, held it up in front of Norn's eyes and waved it, then placed the bottle opening under Norn's nostrils.

"You don't have to hold back. I'll allow you to drink this Soul-Stealing Water. Drink it if you want."

Mussolo wanted to use this opportunity to see if Norn had truly given up the Poison of Souls.

If someone is not deeply addicted, they can indeed force themselves to remain normal through willpower, but when the drug is in front of them, the wall of reason they build is simply no match for it!

Norn felt the bitter and pungent smell of the Soul-Stealing Water enter his nostrils, and immediately frowned at the stench.

"Take it away! This stuff stinks!" Norn said, pinching his nose and waving his hand.

Seeing that Norn's reaction didn't seem like an act, Mussolo completely believed Norn.

It plugged the cork back in and said to Norn, "Come with me."

The two bypassed the sickly white tiger "Bengshan" lying on the ground and came to a wall behind it.

Musolo turned sideways and slammed into the stone wall, creating a crack in it.

No, it wasn't cracked. The crack was as smooth as a straight line. It was a hidden door!

With a few more muffled thuds, Mussoro successfully broke open a narrow opening, just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

Mussolo dusted off his shoulders, picked up the candlestick, and went inside, with Norn following behind.

After passing through a passage that was somewhat narrow for Mussolo, the two stopped outside an oak gate.

Musolo placed his bear paw on the doorknob, took a deep breath, and pushed it open.

A very messy room came into view, with various torn rag dolls scattered all over the floor and stuffing everywhere.

The wooden table was overturned, the bed curtains were pulled down, and Norn took a step forward, stepping on a thin red dress.

"Norn, could you please step aside?"

Musolo picked up the red dress from the ground, and Norn, understanding the implication, quickly turned to face the wall.

After a while, Norn heard Musolo's voice, turned around and saw Musolo sitting by the bed beckoning Norn over, with a dried bear carcass sitting beside him.

When Norn got closer, he realized that the "corpse" was actually alive.

It was a female bear-woman, so thin she looked like a dried corpse, wearing the same red dress she had just worn, her slender arms holding a strange container.

"She is my wife. She drank the potion of death a year ago and has been like this ever since." Musolo embraced his wife and gently stroked her head, as if he would break her neck with the slightest force.

"What is it drinking?" Norn asked, noticing his wife licking the strange container.

"I tried tying her up with the diluted Soul-Stealing Water before, thinking that if I didn't let her drink that ghoul, she would return to normal. But it turns out I was too naive. A week later, she bit off her tongue and stuck the severed tongue in her trachea, trying to commit suicide. Luckily, I found out in time."

"So you want me to help Madam break free of the Soul-Stealing Poison?"

"Please, if it really works, I'll agree to whatever you ask for!" Musolo stared at Norn with expectant eyes, while his wife in his arms also turned her eyes and cast a pleading look at Norn.

Norn sighed deeply and had no choice but to tell Mussolo why he was immune to addiction and the mechanism of his ability.

The source of addiction lies in the brain. Although Norn's transfer of his brain can temporarily cover up the damage caused by the Soul-Stealing Water, it is only a temporary solution. As long as Norn takes back his brain, his wife will revert to her original form, just like the human-faced monkey infected with the Neptune virus.

Musolo wasn't too surprised by the answer, but Norn could see that it had fallen on hard times.

"Chief, please don't be angry with me for saying this. Since the lady has been trying to quit for so long without success, it means that the hope of recovery is slim. Rather than letting her continue to live and suffer, it would be better to..."

Norn didn't say the second half of the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

After hearing this, his wife struggled to lift her head from Musolo's arms, shaking her head and making muffled noises.

"As long as it hasn't given up, I believe it can recover. I'm sorry to have taken up your time, Mr. Norn. Please don't tell anyone about what happened here."

After Musolo finished speaking, he gently put his wife back on the bed, picked up a bag of black smoky powder from the bedside cabinet, mixed it with water, and fed it to his wife.

After it fell asleep, Mussolo picked up the strange container, poured in a little of the Soul-Stealing Potion used to lure Norn, added a lot of water, sealed it, and placed it by the bedside.

"let's go."

Emerging from underground, Mussolo led Norn to the room that had been prepared for him in advance.

"Get some sleep now, thank you for saving the children."