The Rolling Bootlegs by Ryohgo Narita

organisms that gathered around the “intellect” of an immortal were strongly attracted to one another. In other words, the act of eating was probably an act of fusion, based in one intellect and performed through its right hand. A colony of bees has no use for two queens. So too does only one intellect remain.
    Then there was the issue of false names. He’d been able to give false names to ordinary humans. However, when he tried to do so with immortals, or to write his name on documents…
    No matter what I do, I am unable to give a false name. The demon called it a restriction set on our spirits, but…it felt as though all the cells in my body, from head to toe, were giving me an order. I felt a pulsation, a “trembling,” not from my head, but directly from mybody. …In all probability, every member of this colony of cells wants to fuse with others of its kind… Is that why they won’t let us hide ourselves completely?
    However, he had been able to grant a false name to temporary immortals to whom he’d given the failed product.
    Apparently they know the other is not the same species meant to be fused with, but simply “food”… Kuh-kuh-kuh… What a truly well-designed system.
    That said, many things were still unexplained, such as the question of where the mass of humans who were “eaten” went. Szilard was irritated that the gaps in the knowledge he wanted were not being filled in.
    If he’d known how to blend the finished product, at least, he would have been a little closer to perfect knowledge, but…
    …the man’s little brother had known only half the blending method.
    He’d come to New York this time around in order to eat the man who’d discovered the method, but in the end, it had been a wasted trip. Well, once he acquired the actual finished product, no doubt he’d be able to analyze the blending method on his own. He didn’t care about the order of events, as long as he ultimately gained knowledge and the finished product.
    Either way, if I acquire a complete body of knowledge, loyalty and wealth will follow. For that reason as well, first I need the finished product…
    The way to summon the demon, and the complete method for blending the liquor of immortality.
    Detestable stripling. You who know both these things—both pieces of knowledge I do not know—simultaneously…
    Where are you hiding?
    “…And by the way, Ennis. It seems there’s a man who’s looking for you.”
    Ennis was slightly bewildered by her master’s words. She had absolutely no idea who it could be.
    “Let’s see… I’m able to share knowledge with you as well, in reverse. I’ll show you now.”
    No sooner had he spoken than Szilard laid his left hand on Ennis’s head. Their audience’s eyes went wide, but Ennis accepted it silently. There was a brief pause, and then faces appeared in her mind.
    A group of four thuggish men. She also knew that they were the ones who had stolen the finished product. The face that appeared next belonged to the man who was looking for her. Who could he be? She felt as if she’d met him somewhere, but she couldn’t remember where it had been.
    “…In any case, look for that group of four.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Ennis left the room again. As he watched her go, Szilard grew a little concerned.
    He didn’t think it was possible, but could the man who was searching for her be one of his former comrades?
    No, it couldn’t be that. No one knows about Ennis. I ate everyone who knew what she really is. There are no longer any alchemists who know about Ennis, and if they attack her without knowing, it does me no harm. There was even one who thought she was a mere human, got careless, and was eaten.
    …Come to think of it, that was when it began. When Ennis grew hesitant to dispose of companions. She may have acquired some uncalled-for knowledge.
    Well, never mind. Either way, if she becomes an obstacle, I’ll simply get rid of her.
    Killing her was far easier than