The moment Aoko's group saw this strange mind flayer, they tensed up—anyone who's heard of mind flayers knows these evil, psychic beings are extremely dangerous.
As Aoko and her team approached, the mind flayer finally seemed to notice them. He didn't react aggressively, but calmly put away his tools and turned to face them. "New travelers? How may I be of service?"
The mind flayer spoke in a calm tone, wearing a plain dark green robe with a light blue apron-like garment over it, an eye-like symbol on his chest.
"…"
Xenk, Aoko, and Edgin were all bewildered. Since when do mind flayers converse so civilly with humanoids?
"…And you are?" Aoko finally asked. If this mind flayer had a place in this village, he probably wasn't a major problem.
"My name is Omeluum," the mind flayer introduced himself. "As you can see, I'm a rogue mind flayer."
"Alright," Aoko said, "but why would a mind flayer be in a myconid village? As far as I know, mind flayers treat humanoids as…"
"Evil, enslaving, or just eating their brains, right?" Omeluum blinked. "By the way, your companion is a paladin, isn't he?"
Xenk hesitated, then nodded.
"If you can't trust my words, then paladin, use your 'Detect Evil and Good' on me," Omeluum said candidly. "That should make things easier."
Xenk cast the spell, and with a flash of golden light, his expression changed to surprise.
"…You're neutral? Even more good than Aoko…?"
Aoko glared at Xenk for that, feeling a little embarrassed. Even her teammates looked at her oddly.
"Don't worry," Xenk quickly added, "Though your alignment leans a bit lawful evil, you're not actually evil. Do more good and you'll shift back…"
"Zip it!" Edgin, seeing Aoko's expression, quickly nudged Xenk to stop him.
"Alright, seems we can talk safely now," Aoko said to Omeluum. "So, why are you here?"
"As you see, I'm a mind flayer wizard," Omeluum replied. "But mind flayer society doesn't tolerate arcane casters—I was ostracized."
"I see," Aoko nodded. "So you broke free from the elder brain's control?"
"More or less," Omeluum sighed. "After being kicked out and left to fend for myself, I stumbled upon this myconid village."
"These myconids wield a psychic power similar to ours, but fundamentally different," Omeluum explained. "The king saw my true nature and allowed me to stay. I trade with passing adventurers, offering magical services."
"As for breaking the elder brain's control, I do have some tricks."
He raised a hand, showing a strange ring on his finger.
"I crafted this ring using arcane knowledge and our unique psychic abilities," Omeluum explained. "It can block psychic attacks to some extent, including psionics and enchantment spells."
"Interesting," Aoko noted, watching the ring's gray magical glow. "Does that make you immune to mind control?"
"No," Omeluum shook his head. "It's only a temporary measure. If I were dragged back near the elder brain, I'd still be controlled. The ring just lets me stay invisible at a distance."
"Got it," Aoko nodded. "I'm Aoko Aozaki, a mage from another world, here with friends to explore. Tomorrow we might head southwest."
"Wait…you're not planning to go to the Arcane Tower, are you?" Omeluum asked. "Could I ask you a favor? Don't worry, I'll reward you."
"You know about the Arcane Tower?" Aoko glanced at her companions, then asked, "What do you want us to do?"
"Don't worry," Omeluum led them to his workbench to show his lab. "As you see, I'm also an alchemist, and the tower's former owner was a master alchemist too."
"So the tower must have many alchemy recipes," Omeluum said eagerly. "If you find any and share them, I'll teach you about psychic defenses—even how to make this ring."
"Just the recipes?" Aoko asked. "If I find any, I'll leave you a copy."
"Excellent!" Omeluum was delighted, his four tentacles wriggling. "A copy is fine. Also, if you find these herbs, bring them too—I'll pay extra."
He handed Aoko a parchment listing the herbs.
"Alright," Aoko shrugged, agreeing to the request. "We won't leave until tomorrow—if you need anything, find us at camp."
So, the group left Omeluum's open-air workshop, feeling strange—it was even Xenk's first time meeting such a friendly mind flayer.
"Feels like finding a good-aligned drow," Simon said. "Not impossible, but…how is a mind flayer this friendly?"
"Technically, Omeluum is lawful neutral," Xenk replied. "He's a stickler for rules. I can vouch for that."