Picked Up (1)
Running away from home.
A dangerous act of leaving a perfectly safe house for no good reason.
As someone who had already become a hardened veteran of a full year of survival, it was a choice I simply could not understand.
And in this world there are no police or CCTV. Why the hell would anyone go out?
Had he taken a serious blow to the head or something?
“Was there truly no reason other than repentance?”
“He left only a single letter on his desk that said, ‘I am going to repent,’ and vanished…….”
“Hmm.”
Evan scratched his chin.
Seriously, why did he leave?
That wasn’t even stubbornness anymore—it was pure stupidity.
And the reason was repentance?
Theodore, an atheist?
This was starting to smell fishy.
The Alcarte ducal house was famously a family that did not believe in gods.
—Gods are things only the weak believe in.
The true mastermind who even ruled the underworld, the real power behind the throne.
An atheist who valued only his own strength and wealth.
That was Duke Alcarte.
His children were all pretty much the same.
Of course the reason looked strange.
Could it be that people who held a grudge against the Alcarte house, or worshippers of an evil god, had kidnapped him?
Nah. No way. They’d have to be insane to try a kidnapping.
To break through the ducal house’s security you needed at least a sixth-circle mage or an Upper Expert knight.
Someone of that caliber wouldn’t be hanging around a backwater like this.
Even if they were, success itself was far from guaranteed.
“Any traces of the culprit?”
“We still haven’t found any…….”
And yet they still hadn’t found the culprit.
A perfect crime.
To pull something off this cleanly you’d need someone on the level of Arthur Modriter.
But Arthur can’t be the culprit.
He was a lunatic, sure, but not the kidnapping type.
Then what the hell was going on?
Evan sank into confusion!
Ah, screw it. I don’t know.
He shook his head hard to clear the fog.
The world spun.
Drip!
“U-ugh.”
“Y-Young Master! Your nose—quickly!”
Blood streamed from his nose.
Evan tilted his head forward and grumbled under his breath.
This piece-of-trash body. I really need to fix it soon.
That was exactly why he was busy recruiting helpers…….
For now he had to focus on the matter at hand.
What Evan needed to do was simple.
Make potions and write letters.
Except—
From the next helper onward, sending letters is going to be tough.
Roughly four helpers remained.
After filtering by personality and ability, the candidates had dwindled.
The Wandering Dark King.
The Shaman of the Starry Sky.
The Witch of the Swamp.
The Northern Grand Duke.
Every last one of them was someone difficult to meet right now.
The Wandering Dark King and the Shaman of the Starry Sky appear in random locations.
The Northern Grand Duke and the Witch of the Swamp had fixed locations.
In exchange, the difficulty skyrocketed.
At this point the North is off-limits. The swamp requires passing a trial first…… this is rough.
To meet them right now you’d need strength on the level of Adrianne or Arthur, wouldn’t you?
Both of them were already counted among the strongest even at this stage of the story.
Or maybe other helpers…….
I can’t just order them around however I like…….
Don’t forget.
I am the underdog.
If I get too full of myself I might get killed.
It was unfair, but there was nothing to be done about it.
In this world the strong were the ones who held the leash.
Still, it’s a shame.
Wasn’t there someone strong yet low-profile, with low self-esteem, easy to boss around?
Then, like a flash, certain figures crossed his mind.
……There are, actually.
The Sins.
Villains who, in the late game, become enemies of both the player and the entire continent.
Each embodying one of the Sins, monsters capable of wiping an entire nation off the map—surely they could do anything?
In pure talent alone the Sins surpassed the helpers.
The Sin of Wrath alone ground an entire kingdom into a mountain of blood.
A mountain of blood made from an entire kingdom.
Even though he had only seen it through a monitor, the scene was still vivid.
That was how insane the power and temperament of the Sins were.
But it was only a passing thought.
He had no intention of doing anything about it.
Am I crazy enough to try recruiting them?
Whether human nature was good or evil didn’t matter.
What mattered was that they would later become monsters who slaughtered countless lives.
You can’t tame a bear or a tiger.
The moment they get hungry they eat their owner.
Dangerous things must never be touched.
Thump-thump!
Right then, someone knocked on the door.
“!”
Dolf nearly leapt out of his seat.
Evan stared at the door with his usual blank expression.
Holy shit! My heart.
Inside, he clutched his racing heart.
“W-who is it?”
“Pardon the intrusion. Is Young Master Evan inside?”
“Yes? Yes! He is!”
“Would you open the door for a moment?”
A polite tone and voice.
An attitude of respect that was extremely rare in this mansion.
Evan and Dolf exchanged bewildered looks.
Someone in this house treated Evan like that……?
“W-what business do you have?”
“A light investigation. The thing is…….”
The voice beyond the door hesitated briefly.
“There have been eyewitness accounts claiming Young Master Evan is the culprit.”
……Me?
Theodore had gone missing.
The beloved youngest son had vanished.
Naturally the entire mansion was turned upside down.
But for someone else, it was an opportunity.
The eldest son seized upon his rival’s disappearance and poured out criticism.
—Youthful recklessness is fine, but it is unfitting for a successor.
—Still, as a loving older brother I shall find my younger sibling.
Thanks to that, Feroc—the knight commander who had been away on a business trip that doubled as a vacation—was struck by a bolt from the blue.
Feroc, who had rushed back.
“……Who did you say is the culprit?”
Feroc doubted his ears.
What? Who’s the culprit?
“Eyewitness accounts keep coming in that Young Master Evan appears to be the culprit.”
……Young Master Evan?
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
“I’m surprised as well. He clearly doesn’t have that kind of capacity, yet…….”
The knight giving the report scratched his head.
But the nature of their surprise was slightly different.
The knight’s reaction was “That guy?”
Feroc’s was “That person?”
“I thought the maids were simply mistaken, but even the newly arrived knights claim they saw him.”
“Hmm.”
Feroc stroked his rough chin.
He knew Theodore had always bullied Evan.
Yesterday had probably been no different.
Had Theodore crossed a line?
Even so, would that Evan truly resort to kidnapping?
Strange.
That Evan shouldn’t have so little patience.
“Will you go confirm it yourself?”
After a moment’s thought Feroc slowly rose from his chair.
Creak!
The chair gave a short scream.
“……I suppose I must. I have a duty to uncover the culprit first.”
“Then allow me to go.”
“No. I will go.”
“The commander himself, sir?”
The knight looked puzzled.
Evan Alcarte was a rare alchemist even on the continent, but that was all.
A weak body, a weak mind, and a troublemaker who only caused havoc.
He had been quiet for the past year, but how long would that last?
Most people believed that once he came of age he would simply return to being a wastrel.
A parasite who bought strange herbs and drained the family’s money.
Not someone a knight of common birth who had risen to the rank of viscount through sheer ability needed to deal with personally.
“Why am I going myself?”
Feroc snorted.
“Because of the attitude all of you are showing right now.”
“……My apologies.”
“I’m not asking for apologies. I’m telling you to learn from now on. Even I am sometimes afraid of that person.”
“……Afraid? Of him? Of Young Master Evan?”
“Yes.”
“Haha! I didn’t know the commander could make jokes like that!”
The knight burst out laughing.
The laughter died almost immediately.
Feroc’s expression was deadly serious.
“You people don’t know. How terrifying Young Master Evan truly is.”
Feroc’s realm was Upper Sword Expert.
A knight qualified to reach the level of Sword Master.
His eyes saw a great deal.
Enough, at least a little, to guess at the duke’s intentions.
But—
From Young Master Evan I can read nothing.
Nothingness.
What a terrifying word.
Humans feel fear toward the unknown.
It was the same when facing someone whose intentions could not be read at all.
Evan was always expressionless.
Some said he was simply frightened, but Feroc was certain that was not the case.
From the set of his eyes to the slightest twitch of his lips—
Everything remained as still as stone.
And yet when he did change expressions, they looked completely natural, did they not?
It meant he was delicately and completely controlling every single muscle.
Unless, of course, he had simply turned to stone.
Perfect facial control…… something only His Grace the Duke should be capable of…….
And then there were the rumors about Evan.
More precisely—
the rumors circulating in the “underworld,” where the duke mainly exerted influence.
……Even if only half—no, even a fraction—of those rumors are true, he can never be called a mere wastrel.
Evan had studied alchemy for a mere three years.
And in that short time rumors of that magnitude had spread through the underworld…….
It was only natural that Feroc felt fear.
Someone with that level of self-control would never suddenly kidnap Young Master Theodore.
He needed to clear up the misunderstanding.
The moment he offended Evan’s mood—
the entire mansion might be rewritten according to Evan’s will,
or golems might slaughter everyone,
or everyone might be poisoned with some unknown disease—
every kind of misfortune would surely follow.
Deaths for which the culprit could never be found.
An alchemist who could reshape matter with a single gesture and create whatever he desired.
As one of the few true-blooded alchemists on the continent, the things Evan could do were endless.
“I will receive no further reports. Block any talk about Young Master Evan. Not only outside the mansion—make sure it doesn’t circulate inside either.”
“……Understood.”
Having sealed all mention of Evan just in case, Feroc walked with heavy steps.
“Hah.”
Knock-knock.
Standing before the door, Feroc knocked.
He intended to speak to Evan with the utmost respect.
Fortunately it worked well.
Now all that remained was—
“A light investigation. The thing is…….”
—to ask about Evan’s intentions.
After composing himself for a moment, Feroc spoke.
“There have been eyewitness accounts claiming Young Master Evan is the culprit.”
—
A brief silence.
Feroc swallowed dryly.
He had no idea how Evan would react.
If he became angry?
Feroc would have to be prepared to offer his own neck.
—Open the door.
—Y-yes!
Creak!
The door opened.
The moment it did, a thick scent of herbs and the smell of unknown potions washed over them.
Evan sat at his desk with his usual blank face.
“……I am the culprit?”
“It is not certain, but eyewitness accounts are circulating.”
……He doesn’t seem angry.
If he were angry, the polite speech would have dropped.
In fact, ever since Evan began using formal speech, he had never once used casual language.
Feroc could only guess it was some kind of “restriction” Evan had placed on himself.
He did not want to imagine the aftermath if that restriction ever came off.
“……Are those eyewitness accounts reliable?”
“They are not certain.”
“I see…… ahem. I see.”
He’s holding back his anger.
“For the record, I am not the culprit. All of my golems were inside my room as well.”
“Understood.”
“Commander. Further investigation—”
“Quiet.”
Feroc silenced the knight.
There was no need to needlessly provoke Evan.
If he said he wasn’t, then he wasn’t.
That was how the strong operated.
“……But at this rate the suspicion will not disappear.”
“Pardon? That is not—”
“I will send a few of my golems. Use these children to search.”
Creak—
Several golems walked forward.
They looked rather like dogs.
Not as an insult—they literally did.
Though they were a little unusual.
……Six legs?
Six legs and slightly elongated necks.
Closer to a monster than a dog.
Why on earth did they look like that?
Feroc swallowed the words that nearly slipped out and hurriedly bowed his head.
Thankfully his expression was hidden.
“……I am grateful for your consideration.”
“The gratitude is mine. Both of you have worked hard.”
Feroc and the knight offered a knight’s salute and withdrew.
Once they left the room, Evan let out a long sigh of relief inside.
Haaaaah…….
Fortunately they hadn’t asked why the golems were in the room.
If he had answered wrong he might have blurted out “Because I’m scared.”
More importantly—I’m the culprit?
……Me?
Why?
I’m just an ordinary transmigrator, a regular citizen.
Why had a rumor like that spread?
Ah, PTSD.
An old memory suddenly surfaced and Evan rubbed the back of his neck.
Dolf asked in a worried voice,
“Young Master…… do you think the misunderstanding will clear up properly?”
“We’ll have to hope so. Still, I sent the cutest ones.”
“?”
Dolf looked at Evan as if asking what he was talking about.
Evan looked back with the exact same expression.
They exchanged glances for a moment.
Dolf hurriedly spoke.
“……Those golems are truly adorable!”
“Thank you.”
Golem Dogs.
Originally just golems shaped like puppies.
Golems that Evan had modified on his own.
It would be nice if he could mod them a little further.
His still-low proficiency was frustrating.
“Please rest comfortably while you wait.”
“Ah, no. I’ll bring lunch right away!”
“Yes.”
Evan moved the golems.
Just in case, I should make more recovery potions. Wouldn’t want someone to suddenly snap and come kill me…….
Night deepened.