Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Ambush in the Warehouse
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Esterro Academy is incredibly vast.
Not just horizontally, but vertically as well, boasting a considerable scale.
Even the smallest student cafeteria, including the kitchen, is so massive that the term "large-scale" falls short.
Naturally, the dormitories, student halls, and main building all feature high-rise structures.
Moreover, the extravagantly towering main building even has dedicated underground spaces.
“Hey, wake up.”
In the main building’s underground warehouse, piled high with boxes of unknown contents, where dust balls rolled around despite the humming ventilator.
I patted the cheek of Jayst, whom I had dragged all the way to this area that no one usually entered.
After confiscating his wand and binding him tightly with rope, it took a few more slaps before he barely lifted his eyelids.
“H-Here….”
Whether trying to grasp the situation or not, Jayst rolled his eyes this way and that.
But in the dimly lit underground warehouse with scant proper lighting, all he could see was darkness, no matter how hard he stared.
“That’s not my concern.”
I knelt down in front of Jayst, who was straining to roll his eyes.
I had no desire to go this far out of my way for the hassle.
But as usual, I had no choice.
“The relic from the vault—where is it?”
It was the relic that Jayst should have already stolen by now.
But I had inevitably thwarted that attempt, so it shouldn’t have been stolen.
Yet, in reality, it vanished amid an explosion not in the script….
Things had gotten utterly tangled.
I couldn’t just leave it be without knowing what would happen, so I was forced to track down the relic’s whereabouts.
Naturally, Jayst just twisted his lips and glared at me.
Of course he wouldn’t spill where he’d stashed something he’d gone to such lengths to steal.
Villains in Broken World would ramble on about their motives and plans unprompted, yet clam up precisely when it mattered.
Making him talk would require considerable effort.
Still, handling it now was better than dealing with the hassle later.
“You think that’ll make him talk?”
Out of nowhere, a gravelly voice spoke as someone lightly tapped my shoulder.
Turning my head, I saw Guard Jin yawning widely as he squatted down beside me.
“Look at that fierce glare. Takes me back.”
“…What are you doing here?”
“Can’t you see? I’m a guard. A guard. When an incident blows up, I have to come whether I like it or not.”
“This isn’t the explosion site.”
Precisely the underground area.
When I pointed that out, Jin scratched the back of his head and thumbed at Jayst.
“Who drags this guy along, so I followed. Got a problem?”
Even as he asked defiantly, it was nothing but problems….
If anything, I was the biggest problem.
Jayst was officially a mid-level mage from the Magic Tower.
The moment it got out that I’d bound and dragged such a person underground, the risks would skyrocket.
“This is….”
“Ah, spare me the explanation—it’s a hassle. I can tell at a glance this bastard’s the perp, right?”
Before I could even explain, Jin casually stated the truth.
As I silently stared at him, he smirked with a smug grin.
“Who do you think I am? A guard. A guard. If I couldn’t pick up on this much, I couldn’t hack it as one.”
“Th-That’s impressive.”
“Whatever. If this guy stole the relic, we gotta go easy and simple. Why bother interrogating?”
Crack, crack. As if to match his words of “easy and simple,” Jin cracked his knuckles.
I could clearly picture the scene that would unfold after that….
But I didn’t particularly want to witness it firsthand, so I grabbed Jin’s shoulder to stop him.
“Give us a moment.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got an even easier and simpler method.”
“Oh? Then show me.”
Jin readily relaxed his fists.
Of course, he hated hassle as much as anyone.
If there was an easy fix, he’d lean on that naturally.
A strange sense of kinship welled up, but I set it aside for now.
I turned my gaze back to Jayst.
His expression was still hard to read, but not entirely inscrutable.
“The fruit shop in Block 4 owned by Valero.”
The moment I uttered those words, Jayst’s eyes shook ever so slightly.
A faint flicker of agitation, forcibly regained composure—fragments of emotion flashed by.
“The drug den in the slums at the border of Blocks 4 and 5. The Milan Merchant Association’s storage in Block 5. Or is it 213A Bitrock Street in Block 6?”
One by one.
Each name caused Jayst’s expression to shift subtly.
What I recited were the Precursors’ hideouts in Eset.
I pinpointed the one with the strongest reaction.
“The Milan Merchant Association’s storage. Looks like that’s where you stashed it.”
Jayst gave no reply.
But his reaction was undeniable affirmation.
The relic was in the Milan Merchant Association’s storage in Block 5.
With that certainty secured, I stood up straight.
I’d found the location.
As expected, it was one of the hideouts, so raiding it wouldn’t be too hard.
As I finished my calculations, Jin shot me a sharp look.
“Figuring out where he stashed the relic after just a few words? Impressive.”
It was raw suspicion, like that from a wild beast.
No wonder—he’d suspect me.
To him, it must’ve looked like I unilaterally drew conclusions out of thin air.
In truth, I was simply observing Jayst’s reactions.
No matter how adept someone was at masking their expressions, unless they were a machine, completely hiding physiological responses was impossible.
Especially under pressure.
Pupil dilation, micro-movements in extremities, fluctuations in breathing—humans inevitably react to external stimuli in some form.
Reading those reactions lets you discern truth from lies without a word spoken.
Well, dressed up fancy, but in reality, it was just a survival instinct honed from years of solitary living.
In short, good intuition.
Having navigated life by reading others without relying solely on words sharpened these observational skills.
But there was no good way to explain it, so I brushed it off vaguely.
“Just a knack I’ve always had for observing people. Nothing special.”
“Is that so? Fine, then. I’ll check out the Block 5 storage. You lot head back.”
“No, I’ll go.”
Jin, who’d been reaching for his cigarette case, glared at me.
“Alone? No way. Know your limits.”
“Of course not alone. I’ll bring two more. I know the boundaries, and besides, the student halls can’t move easily—they’ve been pulled for palace events.”
In Broken World, this was the easiest excuse for Leon to handle all sorts of troubles.
The student halls couldn’t move now or would arrive too late, so he had to act directly.
I spun that excuse, and Jin scratched the back of his head vigorously before pointing at Jayst.
“So you’re saying you go to the storage, and I handle the scene here?”
“That’s how it shakes out. It’s the least hassle and most logical way.”
“True enough, which somehow pisses me off….”
He didn’t deny it.
The conclusion was set.
“Don’t say I sent you.”
“Of course not.”
I parted ways with Jin and exited the warehouse.
As I reached the surface, Ethan, waiting at the entrance, strode over.
“How’d it go? The guard uncle suddenly went in!”
“Thanks to that, I found where the relic’s stashed. But the student halls can’t move right now.”
I broached it casually.
Immediately, as if he’d been waiting, Leon jumped in.
“Let’s go. No one else can move but us.”
Exactly. Even if he didn’t have to step up, the protagonist had to go himself.
And so, we dashed toward Block 5.
7
The Milan Merchant Association’s warehouse was exactly like something out of a picture book.
A simple rectangular structure—big, wide, and tall.
In front of it, Ethan fiddled with his shield and asked.
“If they stashed the relic here, does that mean the Milan Merchant Association’s in on it?”
“Nah, unlikely. This warehouse belongs to them, but it’s up for lease.”
“Ah, so they rented it out and used it as camouflage? Pretty meticulous plan!”
As expected of a merchant lord’s son—easy to talk to.
Anyway, this was another boss fight ahead.
Especially in the Milan Merchant Association’s warehouse—that guy would be there.
“Let’s stick to the plan I mentioned on the way.”
“Yeah!”
“Got it.”
Ethan and Leon nodded.
In that short time, Leon had restocked on training swords, so fighting was no issue.
That said, the guy inside this warehouse was pretty tough to handle right now.
Still, no backing down, so I quietly opened the warehouse door.
Rumble….
The massive door groaned open.
The warehouse interior was brighter than expected, lights on.
Countless boxes were neatly arranged on shelves.
“Oh my, you came alone?”
The bouncy voice came from atop a nearby box.
With black hair cascading down, accented by white highlights, and a black-dyed suit topped with a black leather jacket, she looked like a shadow incarnate.
Her lips were especially red, amplifying the feeling of a shadow speaking.
Luena Monium.
Within the Precursors’ hierarchy of cardinals, bishops, and priests, she was a full-fledged bishop villain.
Uniquely, she fought barehanded, but her strength defied common sense, her martial prowess was exceptional, and as a half-demon, she could even transform mid-battle… Absolutely not an enemy we could face now.
That’s why I’d devised a plan.
Gamers typically avoid “don’t do this” moves, but in Broken World, you had to pull off the impossible somehow.
Especially since it was a trash game you couldn’t beat clinging to rigid common sense.
“You’re alone too.”
What we needed was time.
With enough time, we could win.
“I’m fine alone. I’m strong.”
“Impressive. Maybe I should’ve brought the knight order.”
“Wouldn’t have changed a thing. But for your courage in coming solo, I’ll tell you our plan. Wouldn’t want you dying clueless, right?”
There it was—the unprompted exposition.
Normally tedious, but perfect right now.
Luena waggled a small dagger on the box.
It wasn’t her weapon.
That dagger was the very relic stolen this time.
“This relic bears ancient runes. Nothing amazing, mind you. It absorbs and stores energy. Something easily replicable today… But what makes this relic special is its capacity—it defies common sense.”
Twirl. The dagger spun.
The intricate runes etched on its palm-sized blade glimmered, absorbing the warehouse light.
“This one dagger could light the capital for a month. So, what if a relic with these runes were larger? What if it could generate and supply its own energy? How much power could it amass, and what could it do?”
“Who knows.”
I knew the answer but feigned ignorance.
Satisfied, Luena whispered.
“Revive a god, possibly.”
Reviving a god.
That was the Precursors’ goal.
I already knew, but nodded along appropriately.
“We’ll revive our god. You’re a sacrifice to that grand plan, so don’t feel too hard done by.”
“Done talking?”
“Yup, said my piece. Time to clean up.”
Luena hopped down from the box.
A pair of black horns sprouted from her forehead.
Bat-like demonic wings erupted from her back.
As Luena slowly transformed for battle.
This was the moment I’d waited for. I shouted.
“Now!”
On cue.
Ethan and Leon smashed through the left and right warehouse windows, swinging their weapons at Luena.