His slight smile lingered as he listened to the boy stammer through his response. Ippo really hadn't changed at all since Izaya had last seen him, even if he was perhaps more nervous now than the times they'd met during the day. Was it because of the night itself, or because of the experiences he'd had during past nights? Was he worried about what Landel had mentioned on the intercom—those who would 'turn'?

The mention of medication was so unexpected, however, that Izaya had to think for a moment to realize what he'd meant: pills, the 'concoction' from about a week ago that Ippo had taken. He'd said he'd been turned to a sheep then, hadn't he?

Izaya wondered whether the 'medicine' from that time had a connection to what was to be starting tonight.

"Not as far as I'm aware," Izaya said, waving a hand along with his verbal dismissal of the idea. "Apparently there's supposed to be some kind of clue there about how to cure the illness that's been going around... I wanted to have a look for myself to see if there's any validity to it."

He'd see what Ippo might do with that first. The young man didn't seem to have any plans, so the road was clear to inviting him along... But would another person finding the clue help or hinder his own goal? It would be a shame if it hindered Izaya, but at the same time... He wanted to see how it would turn out.