Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.39 – Two Men Go All the Way (2)
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Sometimes crime movies or dramas have that trope.
They set scenes in dimly lit places that make the already drab atmosphere even more depressing.
Construction sites, docks, empty lots, dark forest clearings, abandoned buildings, that sort of thing.
Just gloomy, sticky spots that drag down the viewer's mood too.
I get it, though.
Crime stories can't be shot in bright places.
You can't commit crimes out in the open, proudly flaunting them.
But...
'If it's out in the open, isn't it not a crime anymore?'
If you're confident in yourself, and even if others see what you're doing, you can look up at the sky without shame—then it's not a crime.
So...
"We can just hang out in a bright place, out in the open, no need to hide."
"......"
"Right?"
"......"
"The punk won't even answer."
Lee Han scolded him, saying it was just like a spellcaster to lack any humanity.
Adults ask questions, and you don't even reply?
"They say the cake here's pretty good?"
"The world's come a long way. Who'd have thought a cafe for commoners would pop up?"
"I heard the owner here's some black-haired young noble. You don't think..."
"Nah, no way. It couldn't be him. Ho ho!"
A dessert cafe.
One of the trendy spots in the capital lately, famous for cheap desserts and coffee that even commoners could enjoy freely.
Mostly women customers, but with a few men sprinkled in, it proved the temptation of sweetness didn't discriminate by gender.
So a big burly knight sitting there wasn't all that strange.
"Ready to order, sir?"
"One fruit crepe cake and one milk tea, please."
"And the gentleman in front?"
"Just a coffee for him. Oh, and he likes his coffee iced, so load it up with ice."
"Ah, got it..."
The waitress shot a cold glance at the blond man seated across from Lee Han, muttering to herself that he looked fine but had weird tastes.
As if putting ice in coffee was some barbaric act.
"!?!!"
But the blond man was wronged.
He had no habit of icing his coffee.
Why was he getting this misunderstanding, and why couldn't he even correct it? The blond man, Huey de Baylor, pounded his chest in deep frustration.
Unfortunately...
"Eup..."
He couldn't open his mouth.
Couldn't twitch a finger. Rolling his eyes was all he could manage.
Huey's body was completely paralyzed.
...Against his will.
He glared resentfully at the knight who had taken his freedom.
But the knight...
"Oh, this cake's loaded with fruit. Nice. Here."
Was just delighted at finding a cafe worth becoming a regular at.
It had been a full 17 hours since Huey de Baylor's kidnapping.
As a VIP guest of the kingdom, countless troops must have been mobilized to find him, and the Mage Tower's wizards were no doubt frantically tracking him too.
Yet here he was, still captured after 17 hours. That was highly unusual.
And...
Slurp.
"Been a while. Coffee's best iced, after all."
"......"
"What? Want some?"
"......"
"Why won't this guy talk?"
"!?!"
Out in the open in a cafe, and no one had found them yet. Talk about a twist.
Was that why?
"How the hell are you still alive when none of your buddies have come looking? I figured we'd run into at least one or two spellcasters by now, but they say everyone's just chilling in the palace. Well, spellcasters have always been like that, so not surprised."
"...Eup!"
Lee Han teased, and the blond wizard fumed.
But he couldn't retort to the mockery, which only turned his face beet red with shame.
Less about being called a spellcaster, more like realizing his title as the Mage Tower's top disciple was worthless after all.
But to Lee Han, it wasn't surprising.
He'd been certain from the start that spellcasters in the Mage Tower had no camaraderie.
'How many spellcasters have I caught?'
Back when Lee Han was on his 'spellcaster hunter' rampage, he'd sometimes see them in packs, but their lack of teamwork was unprecedented.
Extreme selfishness.
Social misfits obsessed only with their research and hobbies—that was the spellcaster race.
'Like group project teammates from university.'
All trolls, at that.
So he'd predicted kidnapping this one wouldn't cause much fuss. Just dodge the soldiers, and he could leisurely sit in a cafe like this.
...His brazen attitude of "What's the crime in kidnapping a spellcaster?" helped too.
Anyway.
"I figure we could wander around for days or weeks out in the open, no problem. It's not just the soldiers being incompetent—the guilds are helping out too. If I wanted, I could make you vanish for life. So, mind answering my questions now?"
"......"
"Greg Bin. Where's that bastard? You know, don't you, blondie."
"!"
"By the way, if you don't talk today, I'll have to get rough, unfortunately. So please, just spill it nicely."
Crunch...!
"Fine, what do you even talk about with spellcasters? My bad for trying."
Lee Han grumbled.
Conversations were for people, not spell-weaving scum.
But...
"Eup!"
'You crazy bastard, let me speak so I can say something!!!'
After 17 hours with his mouth sealed, Huey was beyond aggrieved.
Just let him talk, damn it—!
...He was going mad.
Currently, Huey de Baylor's body was under Lee Han's pressure points.
Technically similar to [Acupressure].
It locked the muscles for gestures, steps, and speech— a natural precaution for Lee Han.
Mages treated their tongues and hand signs like blades.
Letting him speak was giving him a chance to attack, so Lee Han couldn't allow it.
No helping the lack of conversation.
But.
"I said blinking or signaling somehow is fine, but you keep trying to talk with your mouth? Why can't you get it?"
"...Eup!"
"Stubborn pride's all you got, huh."
Lee Han knew he wasn't cooperating just because his mouth wouldn't move.
Pure defiance.
Pride, or maybe the guy was just bad at reading situations.
...Someone might say just torture him.
'Spellcasters mix 50% truth, 30% lies, and 20% bullshit in their words.'
The man who'd hunted more mages than anyone knew.
Torture didn't work well on spellcasters.
You could inflict pain, but not trust the words.
So he had to make him speak willingly, of his own volition.
Otherwise, no truth.
...However.
'Time keeps ticking away.'
Couldn't waste it forever on this standoff.
Storming the Sultan directly to flush out the outlaw mage was an option, but if the mage went into hiding, that'd be a headache.
Needed this guy's cooperation.
He definitely...
'Knows something.'
Lee Han was convinced the blondie knew about the outlaw mage.
Not mere intuition, but judgment from experience and knowledge—as a knight who'd hunted more mages than anyone in the last century.
So.
'...No choice.'
It'd be tiring, but time for a surefire method to get answers from him.
Speaking to the blondie's 'body' directly.
"You're probably thinking, 'Why'd this lunatic kidnap me outta nowhere and hunt for an outlaw mage?'"
"!"
"And maybe, 'Even if he wants the outlaw mage, ask nicely—why act like this?'"
"...???"
"Nailed it."
The guy looked dumbfounded.
'If you know that, why treat me like this?' Pure disbelief.
"So why am I roughing you up? Rewind to two years ago. One spellcaster I caught was Kristin. Famous for human experiments—an outlaw mage."
"!!"
Huey was shocked.
Kristin, master of lightning magic.
Even infamous in the Mage Tower.
Once upon a time...
"-He told me himself he was Mage Tower affiliated."
"──."
"And I heard something fun. 'Once you're in the Mage Tower, even if kicked out, your whereabouts get reported back'—something like that?"
"......"
"...So that bastard was telling the truth."
"!!"
...Suddenly, Huey de Baylor got chills.
He hadn't said a word, yet this brute of a knight seemed to be conversing with him.
'...How?'
Incomprehensible.
Before the 'fear of the unknown,' the mage trembled.
'Ugh, headache.'
But unlike the terrified opponent, what Lee Han was doing wasn't that hard.
After all...
'Reading heartbeats and muscle contractions at once is a pain.'
Just mimicking a [Lie Detector].
...A trick only he could pull off.