The Loser | by Isaac7525

Shinso made his way back into his apartment room, catching sight of Aizawa sitting by the bed. He then noticed I was sitting up with a pained expression on my face. 

"What's wrong?" Shinso's expression furrowed as he approached the bed and sat down beside Aizawa, who wore a concerned expression. 

"My stomach feels weird," I grumbled, clutching my lower abdomen. Beneath my hands, the duo could see the surface of my stomach rippling and contorting as if inflating and deflating like a balloon. 

Seeing this, their expressions hardened. "I called a few Pollinators over here; they'll help you out." 

"Heh," at that moment, I couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

"I never got paid by Madame Fitzgerald; I'm just glad she's happy." My body leaned back into the pillows. 

The corners of my vision were still darkened around the edges, with illusory cracks creeping towards the center. When Aizawa entered the room, one of the first things he did was take note of my peculiar appearance. Due to my weakness, I could only partially open my eyes, so I mostly relied on audible descriptions. 

From what I had heard, my skin was dark gray like a corpse with a few warts. My eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles. If I were to walk into the streets, I'd probably have some organization on my back thinking I was a dead man walking. 

"So the captain burst out the door and collapsed into the street?" Aizawa turned to Shinso and asked a question. 

"He did, though, it's weird you never heard."

Aizawa scratched the back of his head. "I guess I was too tired from all the bullshit that's happened tonight. The entire thing with demon cocoons and demon women."

Even amidst the current situation, Shinso couldn't help but smile. "I don't blame you."

"But, …you're not the only people in the apartment," I noted, my voice hoarse and dry. 

"Damnit, you're right. Someone must have heard something."

"Then why didn't many people in this apartment wake up and check to see what happened?" Shinso questioned. 

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. We all turned towards the door in unison, and Aizawa was the first to stand up. The man walked over to the door and opened it, catching sight of a small group of Pollinators. Among them was the woman and the teenage boy from earlier. 

Without saying a word, the group shifted into the room and approached the bed. "How is he feeling?" the woman asked, turning towards Aizawa. 

"He's been weak since I came to see him not that long ago," he replied, resting his hands on his lap. 

"James," the brown-haired lady called the boy over. This time, he was clad in attire similar to the other Pollinators. In his hands, he carried a small cup of herbal tea. 

As he brought the tea to my lips, Shinso turned to the group. "Why didn't you immediately react to your captain losing control?"

At that moment, the woman turned to look at Shinso, sighing softly. "Demon Maggot Disease, along with other happenings tonight are all linked to the Demon pathway."

"Are you sure you should tell them this information? They aren't Seekers," a man with darker skin spoke up, standing in the doorway. 

"Actually, I am," Shinso said. 

The woman's brows furrowed slightly. "What?" 

Upon realizing what he had said, Shinso felt the urge to jump out the window and run away. "Damnit."

"Don't worry, kid," she said, her previous demeanor eerily changing. "You're just an inexperienced child. If it were someone more profound with mysticism or someone linked to a secret organization, we'd have you apprehended on the spot."

Hearing her words, the indigo-haired boy was suddenly engulfed in confusion. "You're assuming my condition, are you not?"

The woman's smile widened slightly, and she felt the urge to laugh. "If you were a seasoned Seeker, you most likely would have engaged in combat and walked out with some sort of injury."

"I apologize." A burly man with curly black hair approached the bed, peering down at the brown-haired woman. 

"Ms. Jasmine here is somewhat inexperienced with this sort of thing. It's best that she remains the surgeon of the division," he bent down, whispering coldly into her ear. 

Ms. Jasmine's eyes widened with fear as a trail of goosebumps littered her skin. 

"Y-yes, Captain Silas." she gulped, refusing to make eye contact with the figure.

"Captain?" Aizawa cocked an eyebrow. 

Captain Silas looked towards Aizawa, his expression cold and calculating as he looked the taller man up and down. "After your friend brought Captain Moffin's corpse into the cathedral, I was immediately promoted."

He then turned back to Ms. Jasmine, scoffing. "If this church bell over here kept gawking and told you some things, you all would have surely lost control."

The brown-haired woman looked away from him, staring into the floor as she let out a shaky sigh. "I'm sorry, dear,"

Hearing the word 'dear', Shinso immediately had some guesses. Could this duo be engaged? Though he wanted to ask, he found that it would be rude considering the rules and standards of a world like this. Shortly after a brief silence, Ms. Jasmine stood up from her seat. 

"This has been a …peculiar visit. Now I must be back to the cathedral for the autopsy," she said, her smile twitching slightly as she left the room. The muscular man with curly black hair stood up beside her, placing a large hand on her shoulder as he guided the woman out of the room. 

"This tea will temporarily help any ailments, but it doesn't mean they'll completely disappear," James commented, stepping back from the bed and bowing. 

"What now?" Shinso asked, arching an eyebrow. Aizawa looked in James' direction, slightly eager to hear the answer. 

"This Demon Maggot Disease is something we don't know much about, so your friend here will either have to undergo severe medical transplants or be condemned to a medical facility elsewhere in the kingdom."

Hearing the two options, the duo felt their blood run cold. From what he had learned from historical studies, Victorian-era surgeries weren't the most sanitary or safe way of getting the job done. They were mostly performed in dirty conditions and were littered with a plethora of problems. 

On the other hand, having me sent to a medical establishment like a hospital was also risky, though the reasons were more intimate. 

All of the Pollinators in the room suddenly turned to look at me. "We'll leave the decision up to you. You'll have until daybreak to decide."

James then turned towards the door, looking towards the dark-skinned man. "After Humphry receives your answer, he'll transport it to us, and we'll commence with the proper procedures."

Shortly after that, all of the Pollinators except Humphry left the room. The dark-skinned man adjusted his outfit and sat down in a chair beside the door. 

"Don't worry, kid, I won't watch you sleep." He reached towards the bookshelf, taking out a thick romance novel. 

"Wanna hear about this strange-ass thing that happened earlier tonight?" Humprhy's lips curled up into a smile. 

"I wouldn't mind it…" I said hoarsely.

The man gave a satisfied chuckle. "We had a man named Ryujin burst into here, telling us about something strange he found in the middle of the road."

He suddenly pointed out the doors. "Downtown near the industrial zone, we found a bunch of asylum patients sitting in the middle of the street. We also found a carriage driver tied to the wheel of his own vehicle."

At that moment, Aizawa looked away awkwardly. Shinso's breath hitched in his chest. 

"Aslyum patients?" I asked, my eyes widening. 

"Seraphis Kingdom holds an asylum downtown. Due to the medical budget being overturned by the Food Stability Act a few years ago, we had to move everything from the medical facility into the asylum building, but have it constructed as a different section of it."

Hearing those words, I felt my blood run cold. If I were to choose the decision to hold myself in the medical facility, I could risk a possible run-in with a crazy person. 

"Can the two interact?" I choked out. 

"To a certain extent. The only patients deemed somewhat lucid are allowed to walk around freely during a specific time-frame,"

Aizawa turned back around, cocking an eyebrow. "If they're somewhat lucid, why aren't they just let free and monitored?"

When he took in Aizawa's question, the man flipped open the novel and licked his finger. "Only the administrator knows the answer to that."

Humprhy suddenly chortled. "Or maybe not, he runs half the operations in the kingdom."

At that moment, the door suddenly burst in. Olivia, wearing different attire than previously, burst into the room. 

"Aizawa, come outside real quick," 

The man let out a low sigh as he stood up, walking out of the apartment room and entering the hallway. He positioned himself across from Olivia, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall. 

"Yes?"

Olivia reached into the pocket of her coat and took out the strange vial they had gotten out of the choking woman. "I did some research in the catalog, and I think this is a drug."

"A drug?" When he heard Olivia's inquiry, Aizawa felt a pang of suspicion. "What makes you assume that?¨ 

The blonde-haired woman looked down at the floor below, her face flushing slightly. "Let's just call it an articulated guess."

She then took a hold of Aizawa's shirt sleeve and led him down the hallway. The duo headed down the stairs and out of the apartment. Olivia looked back at Aizawa, clearing her throat. 

"We'll be heading back to that restaurant and asking them about this thing."

…

The tiny overhead bell rang out as they stepped into the restaurant. Strangely, the group of men Aizawa had previously intimidated were sitting there, sipping their drinks leisurely. They all turned to look at them as they entered, but upon seeing Aizawa, they noticeably paled and looked back to their drinks. 

"You're back?" The scrawny bartender asked, arching an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, we're wondering if we could speak with your boss," Aizawa said, looking towards him. 

He was a man with red hair and blue eyes, clad in gentlemanly attire alongside a stiff collar and bowtie. His body consisted of a lanky, almost malnourished build. Freckles dusted his cheeks, which were also coated in a faint amount of blush. 

"The boss?" He asked, adjusting his bowtie. 

"He's in his office," he pointed down behind the rows of tables, revealing a door with a metal sign on it. It was plated with gold and silver, with the words: "Mr. Cecilé" inscribed within the plating. 

"Just knock before entering, he's a regularly calm man."

Aizawa and Olivia slowly approached the door. When they were in appropriate proximity, Aizawa saw Olivia visibly tense. Knowing she wouldn't do such an action, Aizawa knocked on the door. Behind the door, they heard a gruff voice with an accent allowing them entry. 

The black-haired man opened the door. They caught sight of a man with a stubble across his lower chin, and neatly combed yet slightly greasy hair that seemed to shine in the overhead lights. There was a small bandage over his left eyelid, which none of them questioned. 

Though he looked intimidating, his expression was one of relaxation. "Shall I offer you two a drink? How's some Bordeaux sound?"

He gestured towards the counter, which had a bottle of reddish wine. Unexpectedly, Olivia nodded her head. "That sounds good."

Mr. Cecilé let out a low chuckle as he walked over to the counter, pouring him and Olivia some of the beverage. After he walked back over to the desk with the wine glasses, along with the bottle, in hand, he sat back down and sipped. 

"Now, mind telling me the reason for this visit?" Mr. Cecilé asked, absentmindedly spinning the bottle in his other hand. Aizawa suddenly caught sight of words inscribed on the paper wrapping around the wine, which usually indicated the type and flavor. 

"Patented by Maison de Santé Asylum."