Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Chapter 20: Gift (3)
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“I-I can’t accept something like this!”
“Even if I needed money, how much could I possibly need? I’m already eating and sleeping at your place.”
I didn’t need the money in this vault right away.
‘I can grab whatever I need for Earth later.’
If I ever required operating funds on Bihar, I could just ask Rashar.
She was eager to do more for me anyway—she wouldn’t refuse such a request.
‘Besides, there’s a limit to how much I could use personally.’
To make the vault’s original owner scream “Aigoo!” in dismay, personal spending alone wouldn’t cut it.
‘He’s Bihar’s version of a tycoon, after all.’
To drain the vault dry, it’d be better to involve an organization operating across the entire continent.
Rashar happened to owe me plenty of favors, too.
We could call it settling some loans, and everyone would come out ahead.
That was why I figured handing over the key was the more rational choice.
Yet Rashar was stubbornly refusing.
Not wanting this standoff to drag on, I casually glanced to the side.
‘I wish he’d step in about now…’
As if refusing to disappoint my expectations, a hand smoothly inserted itself between Rashar and me.
“Thank you, K-nim.”
With fluid grace, Jordan snatched the key that had been between us.
“Jordan, High Priest!”
Rashar yelped in alarm and tried to stop him, but it was pointless.
He and I had already exchanged everything with a single look.
‘You know how to handle this, right?’
‘I’ll live up to your expectations.’
It would be a little later that Belego would foam at the mouth and faint upon seeing the vault stripped bare by Jordan’s thorough work.
* * *
It took quite some time to stop by the Kerman Bank in Havon Castle and notify them of the key transfer.
Not that I had to go through much hassle myself.
‘Jordan handled all the necessary paperwork.’
Someone like me, who barely knew this world’s laws, couldn’t possibly manage that.
So I’d left it to Jordan, and in the meantime, I browsed the vault’s contents.
That’s how I discovered a pretty decent item.
[Solpenito’s 87th Work: Face of Shadows]
• Classification: Accessory
• Acquisition Difficulty: Special
• Grade: ★★★★
• Description: The 87th magic tool crafted by Solpenito, a craftsman and mage renowned across the continent. Shadows are everywhere, yet no one remembers their faces. When worn, it activates a facial recognition impairment spell.
• Effect: Facial recognition impairment magic (inactive)
It was an earring to be worn on the ear, enchanted with facial recognition magic.
‘Not sure if it was a collector’s item or something he actually used.’
With a special acquisition difficulty and an effect I desperately needed, there was no reason to leave it behind in a vault that was mine anyway.
Having scored this unexpected haul, I returned to the Bennett estate under a darkened sky.
The outing had run longer than expected, leaving me a bit fatigued, but unfortunately, my tasks for the day weren’t over yet.
Instead of heading to my room, I descended into the estate’s basement.
Since I’d already coordinated with Rashar’s side, no one tried to stop me.
The knight guarding the area even led the way ahead of me.
Following him deeper underground, I stepped into a space chilled by rising cold air.
The first thing visible was the lighting magic tools illuminating the darkness.
Next came the long shadows of iron bars stretching in their glow.
‘Basement prison.’
At first, I’d been genuinely shocked to learn a private estate had such a facility.
It meant a private individual could capture and imprison someone, without any public authority like a government or police.
Of course, now I found it more convenient than surprising.
After a quick scan of the interior, I followed the knight onward.
When we reached our destination, the gazes of those huddled together in chains poured toward us all at once.
I leisurely surveyed the scene beyond the bars, tugging one corner of my mouth upward.
“Nice to see you all again?”
These were the mercenaries who’d handed me over to the guild members, then fled like cowards—only to get caught by Rashar’s people.
Not all of them were here, of course.
Only six remained in the cell; the rest had escaped before handing me off to the guild.
But they’d be caught soon enough. The ones nabbed first had already spilled everything on their fleeing comrades.
‘No need for me to worry about that side of things.’
Palao’s holy knights would handle the arrests.
Strictly speaking, restraining them should’ve been the Palao Church’s responsibility too.
The attempted otherworlder kidnapping was tied to the church, not the Bennett family.
But Rashar had brought them to the estate’s prison instead of the temple.
At my request. I had business with them before they were turned over to the law.
Barely time to reassess the six faces, I pulled an item from my storage and spoke.
“No long speeches.”
The mercenaries’ eyes locked onto my hand.
“Exactly one spot. First come, first served.”
With steady clinks, I placed three items before the bars.
‘Neck and both wrists.’
The very restraints Belego had tried to slap on me.
Magic tools identical in form to the shackles Ahel wore.
Their effects? You could probably guess from the looks alone.
‘Restraints that control the wearer through pain.’
Wearing them also meant you couldn’t defy the will of the person imprinted as your master.
I hadn’t asked directly, but Ahel’s restraints were likely imprinted to Rashar.
I’d seen her inflict pain on him through them, after all.
‘Put these on, and I gain pawns who’ll obey me.’
I’d already imprinted them with my attribute mana.
Better to turn them into obedient pieces than leave them as examples.
But I couldn’t save them all.
‘Then they wouldn’t truly grasp how dire their situation was.’
The relief of surviving when all others died.
The vigilance that they could be discarded anytime if useless.
Implanting both emotions at once would be ideal.
It’d reduce the chances of them stiffening their necks in defiance or scheming.
The reason for this initial show of dominance? Their pasts.
While I handled bank business, Jordan had finished background checks on the captured ones and shared the intel with me.
Thanks to that, I knew what sorts of deeds they’d lived by.
Most of it was repulsive enough to make me grimace involuntarily.
To me, it was a signpost showing just how ugly humans could be.
‘No need to treat trash like that with human decency.’
I don’t glamorize crime.
Excuses like “I had no choice” or “extenuating circumstances.”
Those are just justifications for personal gain.
‘Better the ones who own their sins and act shamelessly.’
At least they’re honest about their desires—no hypocritical disgust.
In the end, I wouldn’t treat them like people.
They’d treated others like goods to buy and sell—why afford them any?
After setting down the restraints, I straightened up and added,
“If you’re hoping the guild will bail you out, forget it.”
The guild had already disavowed the mercenaries caught red-handed.
Claiming they’d never accepted a kidnapping commission involving otherworlders.
That those involved weren’t actual guild members, but criminals impersonating them.
It was a swifter, sharper cut than I’d anticipated.
‘Maybe because I didn’t loot Belego, they moved faster.’
Whatever the reason, the guild’s stance was clear.
-The attempted otherworlder kidnapping had no guild involvement; it was the work of a few criminals.
They denied any ties, from the guild executives who issued the commission to the mercenaries who took it.
‘Meaning these guys are destined for doctrinal trials and death.’
I was reinforcements summoned to this world via a deal with the Seven Gods.
Attacking someone like that insulted the face of all seven churches.
To maintain friendly ties with us players, the churches couldn’t handle this sloppily.
Word from Palao confirmed the other churches’ leaders were already mobilizing swiftly.
Since Bihar had erred first over Earth, their prestige was in tatters.
Thus, these mercenaries’ lives were prime for making an example.
And I planned to spare exactly one.
‘Gotta pick the right one.’
The ones in the Bennett basement prison fell into two categories.
First: Those who quickly gave up, figuring escape was futile.
‘At least they’re the smart ones.’
Second: The idiots who stuck around stubbornly, unwilling to abandon the payout.
No need to even consider them.
‘I need the former.’
What good is assigning tasks to someone incapable of basic judgment?
‘Might as well take the sharpest mind, quickest on the uptake.’
That’s why I offered no explanations—just “first come, first served.”
Anyone grasping their predicament wouldn’t miss the chance.
Obey me and get out, or refuse and face doctrinal trial.
“So, what’ll it be?”
No sooner had I asked than two lunged forward.
Clank clank!
Crawling desperately to the bars, they reached out frantically.
Two vied for the chance, but I’d brought only one set of restraints.
Someone had to lose—and the winner was the man with three long scars across his face.
Without hesitation, he seized the restraint magic tool I’d offered and locked it around his own neck.
I couldn’t help but smirk.
According to Jordan’s documents, he’d been this group’s leader.
‘Radriol Ban.’
The so-called leader had abandoned his men to save his own skin.
‘I did give him the choice.’
What a pathetic leader.
‘Not my problem, though.’
Whether Radriol’s leadership was pathetic meant nothing to me.
Sweeping an indifferent gaze over him, I asked the knight to separate and isolate him.
The rest would soon be transferred to the temple prison.
That wrapped up my business in the basement.
As I emerged, an unexpected figure awaited me.
“Rashar?”
She was supposed to have finished at the bank and returned to the temple.
The church was in the midst of reorganizing forces around its core, so she’d been swamped.
That’s why I’d come back to the estate first—but her return was quicker than expected.
“Back early?”
I could’ve mentioned Radriol’s disposition right then.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone.
“Someone I wanted to introduce you to just arrived.”
“Introduce?”
As I shifted my gaze and approached, Rashar continued calmly.
“He’s Count Shamel Perrota, former Captain of the Perel Royal Knights.”
Standing beside her was an elderly woman about my height.
Striking green eyes sharp enough to feel cold, paired with snow-white hair—what a memorable figure.
Before I could fully take in Shamel’s appearance, Rashar added,
“He’s also the instructor you requested before.”
With Rashar smiling between us, urging greetings, our probing stares met.
If it was fate, then fate; if enmity, then enmity—the day Shamel and I first crossed paths.
「A new squad member accesses the homepage.」
[2/5,000]
A junior had joined.
Damn system.