Zareth, intrigued, asked, "Information? On who?"
"Information on the party I am with."
"Zek, the kobold's former master, disappeared. I want to know everything you can find about him and what happened."
"The Half-Orc is Orin. He grew up in a wandering Orc tribe. Find out who his father was and what happened to him."
"The Wolf is Ark. He is from the northern wolf tribe in Beastia, and his grandfather made a deal with the headmaster. Find out what it is and the situation with his family, including his father, the current alpha of the pack."
"Finally, there is Aaron, the Lion Beastfolk. Just look at him, and you can guess what I want to know," I said, gesturing to Aaron.
Zareth raised an eyebrow and turned to Aaron.
His face paled when he noticed what I was worried about.
"I want anything you can give me on him, but under no circumstances is anyone investigating him to approach him. I don't know what is inside him, but it is strong and could probably kill me if I'm not careful."
Composing himself, Zareth nodded and said, "I will do my best. Get me those Eggs, and I can provide you with their entire life stories."
I nodded, and we shook hands.
(No, I did not make a deal with a devil. I know how to avoid them, and Zareth is too scared of me to try.)
After we made our agreement, I watched as Zareth stood up and started heading back upstairs.
"Aren't you going to clean up the mess you caused?" I shouted up to him.
He flinched as he turned around and looked at the puddle of his pitch-black blood on the ground, small splashes of it on the walls, and marks all over the place from his missed attacks.
(I made sure not to make a mess other than the blood with my attacks.)
He sighed and asked, "Don't worry about the marks. I will hide them away and lie about it in the morning, but as for the blood... do... do you have some Holy Water? I will pay you to clean the blood with it."
I smiled and pulled out a bottle from my ring.
"High-grade holy water I got from a Corrupt Solarian Priest two years ago after he tried to... do something unforgivable to a child. I killed him and strung him up like the dog he was," I said and popped the cork.
Zareth scrunched his nose as he left the room to avoid the smell.
"I will grab some silver for that. Just put the cork back in before I get back, please," he said as he walked away.
"Hm. Guess even devils hate weak levels of holy water," I mumbled to myself with a slight laugh.
I got up and walked over to the main puddle.
I tipped the vial slightly and let a few drops fall.
Like acid, the blood started to sizzle, melt, and quickly dissipate into the mist.
I let a few more drops fall, then went to the splashes on the walls.
I repeated the process over and over until all the blood was gone.
Once I finished, I corked the bottle, put it away, and waited for Zareth to get back.
Once he got back, he gave me some silver, thanked me, and told me to go sit back where I started.
I did so and watched as he put up some illusions to hide the remaining marks.
When he was done, he quickly left the room, and I counted to ten.
Once I finished counting, time had resumed, and hearing so much noise at once compared to the silence a few seconds ago was slightly jarring.
I noticed a few people turn towards the center of the room, where I beat Zareth, as they saw the afterimages of us for a fraction of a second before time and light caught up.
I leaned back and relaxed, waiting for the others to get back. When they got back, they were all happy, and Orin suggested we all head somewhere and get something to eat.
'After the whole thing with Zareth, some fresh air and good food feel like a great way to clear my head,' I thought.
We all agreed.
We wandered for a bit, looking at the different restaurants and stores.
At one point, I noticed a food stall with chairs in front.
I walked over and read the sign.
[Ramen]
Curious, I walked over and had a look.
I was from Canada in my old world, and Japanese food was not something I had ever really tried, but seeing it here was a surprise.
'It is likely another otherworlder who is bringing all this different food here,' I thought as I remembered what Brakos told me.
There are near-infinite worlds out there, and humans rule a lot of them.
People from other worlds are brought/reincarnated here all the time, thanks to spirits and gods, with the help of those with authority over time, like Brakos.
This allows the world to have knowledge and culture from places that haven't even been created yet in the other worlds, considering that time in Primus is always in flux compared to the rest of the multiverse.
I turned to the others and said, "This place looks interesting. Want to try it?"
Everyone looked over, and seeing the strange food (noodles are not a food seen around here), they decided to try it.
We walked up, and the chef behind the counter told us to sit down.
He grabbed a few menus and a box, allowing Zek to sit up with the rest of us, much to the enjoyment of Araki, whose mouth I had to hold closed so he wouldn't laugh out loud. Thankfully, Zek paid him no mind.
We all started reading the menus, and I was surprised. From what I know about ramen, this is very accurate to how it was made in my old world.
There were several flavours and different things to add.
It was more customizable compared to what I knew of, but I wasn't going to complain.
I decided to get some spicy chicken. Zek, Orin, and Araki also got spicy chicken, while Aaron and Ark got beef.
The chef took down our orders, but when he heard Araki ask for spicy, he asked, "Sorry, sir, but are you sure you want spicy?"
With an arrogant smile, Araki asked, "Don't think I can take something spicy?"
The chef shook his head and apologized, saying, "No, I'm sorry. Forgive me if I am wrong, but aren't lizardmen unable to taste spicy food?"
Everyone was confused except for me, as I was just watching with an amused smile.
Orin noticed my expression, pointed at me, and said, "Jack, what do you know about this?"
Quickly realizing my mistake in not acting, I hesitated and said, "W-what? I-I don't know anything..." I said nervously.
'Shit! That couldn't have been a more obvious lie!' I mentally reprimanded myself.
Everyone gave me obvious looks and relented.
Sigh "What do you want to know?" I asked.
"What does he mean by lizardmen not being able to taste spicy things? You know something! It's written all over your face!" Araki almost shouted.
Relenting, I explained.
"The most common thing in food that makes it spicy is capsaicin. It's most commonly found in chilli peppers and other spicy plants."
"Most races, mammals mostly, have a specific receptor in their mouth that reacts to capsaicin. Birds, lizards, and, by extension, lizardmen don't have this receptor, so they can't taste spicy food. Compared to the rest of us, you are immune to it, though I'm not sure about kobolds."
Everyone stared as they tried to understand what I just said. Zek, Ark, and Aaron seemed to understand, but Orin, Araki, and the chef didn't.
Araki asked, "Can you dumb it down a bit?"
Realizing that was a bit too advanced for some people, I took a moment to rethink my explanation.
"Capsaicin is what gives something a spicy flavour. It is usually found in certain peppers and a few other plants. Most animals and races react to it, but lizards... well, they don't. It's like their mouths don't recognize it as 'hot,'" I explained, simplifying it so that everyone could understand.
Everyone was wide-eyed as they processed what I just said. Even the chef was surprised by my knowledge and understanding.
Explaining this, I got an idea and made a mental note of it for later.
Zek let out a laugh and pointed at Araki. "HA! I can taste spicy food like the rest while you can't! Hahahaha!"
I snorted, seeing Zek's silly game with Araki and listening to everyone's moods lighten.
Chuckling, the chef asked, "So, do you want the spicy option or not?"
Araki thought for a second. "I guess I will still take it. I do like the parts I can taste anyway, so I will still get it."
Smiling, the chef nodded and began working on preparing our food. [2]
After a bit of talking between each other and the chef, we got our food.
It was steaming with an aroma I had never smelt before. The golden broth simmered, and the noodles, vegetables and meat slices were cooked to perfection
Everyone's mouths were watering as they all looked at the Ramen.
But once everyone realized they didn't have a spoon or fork, they got confused.
I noticed the shop sticks and picked them up with a confused expression.
I knew what they were but not how to use them.
Seeing our confusion the chef directed everyone and showed us how to use them properly.
Araki and Orin reacted surprised that I didn't already know how to use them and I simply responded with "I never said I knew everything. Just secrets from all over the world" and smiled as we started eating.
All of our reactions were of excitement as we devoured the ramen. Even I was surprised, it was very good compared to some other things here.
As we ate the chef came over to me and asked "Sorry if this is intruding but are you a researcher for The Mage's Tower?"
Slurping up a noodle I shook my head and said "No I'm not. Why do you ask?"
"Ah, I see. My mistake then. Sorry, I was just confused about how you knew that about the... um... cap-a-cin?" he responded struggling to say that last word.
I smiled and said "Capsaicin. and it's no problem, it's just something I read a long time ago. Like you, someone noticed lizardmen never react to spicy food the way everyone does so he looked into it and discovered the reason."
Realization showed on his face and he said "Ah that makes sense. Thank you for letting me know. Doo, you happen to remember who wrote it?"
I shook my head and said "No sorry, I don't. It was a few years ago when I first read it."
That was the truth. I read about it in my old world a long time before I was even killed.
'worst case scenario I have to assume a false identity and spread that knowledge so I don't raise suspicion... if that even becomes a problem anyway.' I thought to myself with an amused smile and continued to talk with the others and ate our food.
[1] Solaria or the Holy Empire is the Empire ruled over by Sol, the God of the Sun and one of the 3 publically known gods in Primus.
[2] I am not describing how the Ramen is made but the chef is making it from scratch (he is making the noodles himself in front of the group). If you want to understand how this is done look it up on the internet.