Chapter 402: Ice Rock (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 402: Ice Rock (3)

"A traitor...?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The team leaders frowned at my abruptness, but it seemed they understood what I was getting at despite the lack of context.

James Calla carefully parted his lips. "...Is this about the lost supplies?"

I didn't bother beating around the bush and confirmed it. "Yes, that's right."

"But that incident was—"

"A coincidence? Judging by your reaction as soon as I brought up the word 'traitor,' it looks like you suspected something about this was off as well."

"That's..." Calla quieted down. Apparently he had nothing to say to that.

As if to defend him, Akurava jumped in, making no secret of how displeased she was. "Thinking it to yourself and saying it aloud are two different things. Betrayal? That's an extremely risky and dangerous allegation to make based on a hunch."

Everything she said was correct. However, she was still missing the most important thing. "So, what's your point?"

"Whichever one of us you suspect, you'll have to have physical evidence capable of convincing us all."

Whew, hitting me where it hurts. Does she think I suspect her? Well, managing the supplies was her job. That might be why she's on the defensive right now.

Before this misunderstanding could go on any longer, I cut her off. "Don't worry. I don't suspect you guys."

"Sorry? But earlier you said—"

"If I doubted you, I wouldn't have called you here to talk to you about it."

To be honest, I had considered all of them suspects at first but that wasn't the case any longer. I found the culprit, and thankfully, he wasn't one of our precious team leaders.

"Then... who do you suspect is the traitor?"

"Pyke Neldine."

As soon as the words left my mouth, everyone's eyes shifted to Calla.

"...That's the warrior on your team, right?" asked Akurava.

"And also the guy who's been running around gossiping about the commander whenever he gets the chance," said Kaislan.

"Hmm... then his goal could be to sabotage the commander," said Jun.

Entertaining the thought that I was telling the truth, the other three seemed to be putting the pieces together in their heads.

Calla, however, hurriedly defended his team. "W-Wait! Th-there must be some sort of misunderstanding here. Neldine might be rude, but—"

"Interesting. I wonder how well you must know him to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be confident enough to say that. I've already finished investigating him. The Adventurers' Guild recommended he join this operation, right? And you also met him for the first time then."

"Yes, but..."

When Calla was left tongue-tied, Akurava stepped forward to help him. "Schuitz, I think we need to hear why you think he's a traitor first. It would be best if you had evidence."

Ugh, that damned evidence. I was getting sick of hearing about it, but I laid out the list of reasons I had compiled for why Pyke Neldine was a traitor in detail. When I was done, all the leaders accepted my suspicions as reasonable.

"That's undoubtedly..."

"I can see you're not just working off a hunch."

"Although it's still only a theory, these are definitely suspicious circumstances."

Ah, except for that guy Calla, of course. "But you don't have the most important thing: physical evidence. You won't be able to convince anyone with a list of what might be coincidences! Some might even think you're retaliating against someone who criticized you!" This was the first time this guy had ever raised his voice at me, but I wasn't particularly offended by it. It was natural for a team leader to protect his teammates.

"Calm down. I know that, which was why I'm having a candid conversation with you guys." I turned to Calla. "Answer this. Do you still think my doubts are unreasonable?"

"I... no."

"All right, that's that, then." Before he could say anything else, I clapped loudly to lift the mood. "Listen carefully. From now on, I'm going to need everyone's help."

"By help..."

"I'll explain." I shared the plan I made with the team leaders and got everyone to agree to it. "The sun should have set by now."

It was night. Well, inside this cave, it was equally dark during the day as it was at night.

"Okay, that's over and done with, then. You guys go get Pyke Neldine."

Now that it was night, we should start the trial soon.

***

The ceiling and walls around us were frozen. A massive sinkhole was located in the center of the large cavity we were in, and the thirty members of our squadron were gathered in the camp built next to it.

"...God, I'm tired. What's going on? Does anyone know?"

"Apparently there's a traitor in the squadron."

"...Traitor?"

"Yeah, apparently they made it so we lost all that food."

It sounded like the team leaders had spread some of the information I told them to. Shock appeared on the faces of the gathered crew members. However, it didn't take long for it to turn into curiosity.

"So, who's the traitor?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"True. If they called everyone here at a time when we should be sleeping, that must be because they figured it out."

The murmurs subsided and eyes began to settle on me. I completely ignored them all and kept my attention on one person in particular.

"Neldine, what's wrong?" Pyke Neldine, the warrior from Calla's team, was the one who had been constantly talking behind my back.

What a chicken.

When he first sat down, he flinched and averted his eyes, but now he made a point of keeping them on me without looking away. It was a common habit of liars. They always worried their opponent would assume they were hiding something if they averted their eyes.

"Now, now, everyone be quiet!" When I glanced at him, Kaislan stepped forward to capture the squad's attention and a cold silence soon fell. It was the perfect atmosphere for a one-sided monologue.

"Pyke Neldine, come forward." As soon as I spoke, everyone's eyes flew to the back of the group.

"...What? It was that bastard?"

"Don't call him a bastard. We don't know anything for sure yet."

Whispers could be heard all around.

"Aren't you going to come over here?" I asked, and those standing around Neldine parted to clear the way for him.

Step, step.

The guy stopped in front of me, his head held high and a frown on his face. "...I'm here."

Ah, except for that guy Calla, of course. "But you don't have the most important thing: physical evidence. You won't be able to convince anyone with a list of what might be coincidences! Some might even think you're retaliating against someone who criticized you!" This was the first time this guy had ever raised his voice at me, but I wasn't particularly offended by it. It was natural for a team leader to protect his teammates.

"Calm down. I know that, which was why I'm having a candid conversation with you guys." I turned to Calla. "Answer this. Do you still think my doubts are unreasonable?"

"I... no."

"All right, that's that, then." Before he could say anything else, I clapped loudly to lift the mood. "Listen carefully. From now on, I'm going to need everyone's help."

"By help..."

"I'll explain." I shared the plan I made with the team leaders and got everyone to agree to it. "The sun should have set by now."

It was night. Well, inside this cave, it was equally dark during the day as it was at night.

"Okay, that's over and done with, then. You guys go get Pyke Neldine."

Now that it was night, we should start the trial soon.

***

The ceiling and walls around us were frozen. A massive sinkhole was located in the center of the large cavity we were in, and the thirty members of our squadron were gathered in the camp built next to it.

"...God, I'm tired. What's going on? Does anyone know?"

"Apparently there's a traitor in the squadron."

"...Traitor?"

"Yeah, apparently they made it so we lost all that food."

It sounded like the team leaders had spread some of the information I told them to. Shock appeared on the faces of the gathered crew members. However, it didn't take long for it to turn into curiosity.

"So, who's the traitor?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"True. If they called everyone here at a time when we should be sleeping, that must be because they figured it out."

The murmurs subsided and eyes began to settle on me. I completely ignored them all and kept my attention on one person in particular.

"Neldine, what's wrong?" Pyke Neldine, the warrior from Calla's team, was the one who had been constantly talking behind my back.

What a chicken.

When he first sat down, he flinched and averted his eyes, but now he made a point of keeping them on me without looking away. It was a common habit of liars. They always worried their opponent would assume they were hiding something if they averted their eyes.

"Now, now, everyone be quiet!" When I glanced at him, Kaislan stepped forward to capture the squad's attention and a cold silence soon fell. It was the perfect atmosphere for a one-sided monologue.

"Pyke Neldine, come forward." As soon as I spoke, everyone's eyes flew to the back of the group.

"...What? It was that bastard?"

"Don't call him a bastard. We don't know anything for sure yet."

Whispers could be heard all around.

"Aren't you going to come over here?" I asked, and those standing around Neldine parted to clear the way for him.

Step, step.

The guy stopped in front of me, his head held high and a frown on his face. "...I'm here."

"You're very confident."

"Why shouldn't I be? Whatever, let's hear it. Why did you single me out?" He glared at me with obvious belligerence in his eyes.

I somewhat expected that. I didn't think for one second that setting the stage and scaring him would make him break down and confess. "Pyke Neldine."

"I'm listening. Speak."

"You are currently being accused of committing high treason."

"...Treason?"

"Since you have caused serious damage to an expedition team established under the king's orders, it would be safe to regard this crime as treason."

"I don't understand what's going on here at all. What are you saying I did? If this is because I criticized you behind your back—"

"Pyke Neldine!" I wasn't going to let him waste time so I cut him off and raised my voice. "You have destroyed the ice below us twice during this expedition, causing the loss of vital supplies! How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, obviously. Because it's not true."

"You're going to keep denying it until the end?"

"Why are you all just standing there?! Is it reasonable for a man considered the leader of this operation to persecute his crew like this without any evidence?" Neldine shouted at his fellow squad members, swaying public opinion little by little.

"It... kind of is unreasonable."

"Dragging someone onto the stand like that..."

"Come to think of it, this is the same guy who's always cursing the commander, right?"

"Even if he calls him a traitor out of the blue unless there's clear evidence..."

"Wasn't it only a coincidence that the ice broke anyway?"

It was clear what this guy wanted: to make people think I was acting on a personal grudge.

"Schuitz, you just made a big mistake." Neldine looked at me with confidence in his eyes. "If you want to frame and persecute me, shouldn't you at least have evidence that everyone here can accept?"

"Evidence, huh?"

To be honest, this had been the biggest thorn in my side since I figured him out. I couldn't get a confession out of him using torture, for obvious reasons. It wasn't like I had Misplaced Trust on me, either. Lie-detection magic? Most adventurers who operated above the fifth floor were immune to verification spells, so how many of these people would magic like that even work on? I turned the issue over in my mind over and over again.

There's no solution.

I eventually came to a conclusion. Unless I somehow tricked him into confessing using leading questions, there was only one other way.

"Looks like you don't even have—"

[You have cast Giantization.]

My body instantly grew.

Grab.

In a flash, I threw a hand out and grabbed the guy's neck. The entire squadron looked surprised by this, but no one immediately went to move. This was a habit adventurers had. Unless they already had a full grasp of the situation, most people took a wait-and-see approach.

"Keugh—what are you—!"

"Looks like you like making friends. But none of them are coming out of the woodwork to help you when you're in trouble, huh?"

"S-Stop—!"

I haven't even started yet.

Squeeze.

I gripped his neck tighter and obstructed his airways.

Smack! Smack!

He punched my arm as hard as he could. In my opinion, it was the most pointless escape attempt in the world.

Slide.

Ignoring his flailing, I bent my elbow and pulled him toward me.

"Neldine, did you know?"

"...M-Mm!"

"I don't need any evidence. The commander has the authority to summarily execute any member of the squadron in an emergency."

"K-K-Keugh!"

"I think this is an emergency."

When I relaxed my hand even slightly, he didn't miss the opportunity to let out a desperate shout. "You think... the outside world will believe—!"

"I'm sure they won't believe it."

Nobles weren't stupid, and there were plenty of witnesses here. The moment I executed this guy, Tercerion's rivals would all hold me responsible and force me to resign from my position.

"But that's none of my business. I don't care about those things." With the sincere intention of killing him, I applied force to his windpipe.

Before long, Neldine's veins began to protrude, and his entire head turned bright red as it filled up with blood. He no longer looked at me as he tried his best not to lose consciousness. He instead looked around for salvation.

"Um... is it okay to let this go on?"

"This is definitely an issue..."

"Sir Kaislan! Shouldn't we stop him now?"

The crew expressed their concern, but the team leaders all kept their mouths shut and watched the situation unfold. That was the promise they made me, after all. And, was it because the team leaders stood back and silently showed their support for my decision? Before long, the concerns and insistence on stopping me disappeared.

"Ah... no..." The one who was hit the hardest by this realization was none other than the guy in front of me.

What do you mean 'no'?

"Just die." I let murderous intent from deep within my chest loose and poured all my strength into the hand around his neck.

Crack!

His neckbone gave way. His eyes rolled back to reveal the whites, and his eyeballs bulged.

"Damn it!"

An onlooker cursed, and another screamed. And then...

[Pyke Neldine has cast Overload.]

Unable to withstand the way his weight exponentially skyrocketed, my arm started to bend.

So, you finally used it.

Kwaaang!

As the angle changed, Neldine's feet touched the ground.

Gasp...!

When I released his neck from my grip, he slumped down and took a deep, agonized breath. "Y-You piece of shit!" he shouted the moment he had enough air in his lungs. "W-What are you all doing?! We have... to stop... this savage!"

The crew began to stir at the cries of a man who came back from the dead, wondering if they should step in now.

"Why are you all just standing there?!" Neldine yelled, looking to the team leaders for help. But their faces were as cold as the ice around us.

"I hoped it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wasn't true."

"He really has Overload. Something a warrior would have no reason to possess."

"Let's tie him up first. If he commits suicide, we won't be able to hear the backstory."

Today's lesson: If you had a hunch, you could make the evidence you lacked.

"You're very confident."

"Why shouldn't I be? Whatever, let's hear it. Why did you single me out?" He glared at me with obvious belligerence in his eyes.

I somewhat expected that. I didn't think for one second that setting the stage and scaring him would make him break down and confess. "Pyke Neldine."

"I'm listening. Speak."

"You are currently being accused of committing high treason."

"...Treason?"

"Since you have caused serious damage to an expedition team established under the king's orders, it would be safe to regard this crime as treason."

"I don't understand what's going on here at all. What are you saying I did? If this is because I criticized you behind your back—"

"Pyke Neldine!" I wasn't going to let him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waste time so I cut him off and raised my voice. "You have destroyed the ice below us twice during this expedition, causing the loss of vital supplies! How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, obviously. Because it's not true."

"You're going to keep denying it until the end?"

"Why are you all just standing there?! Is it reasonable for a man considered the leader of this operation to persecute his crew like this without any evidence?" Neldine shouted at his fellow squad members, swaying public opinion little by little.

"It... kind of is unreasonable."

"Dragging someone onto the stand like that..."

"Come to think of it, this is the same guy who's always cursing the commander, right?"

"Even if he calls him a traitor out of the blue unless there's clear evidence..."

"Wasn't it only a coincidence that the ice broke anyway?"

It was clear what this guy wanted: to make people think I was acting on a personal grudge.

"Schuitz, you just made a big mistake." Neldine looked at me with confidence in his eyes. "If you want to frame and persecute me, shouldn't you at least have evidence that everyone here can accept?"

"Evidence, huh?"

To be honest, this had been the biggest thorn in my side since I figured him out. I couldn't get a confession out of him using torture, for obvious reasons. It wasn't like I had Misplaced Trust on me, either. Lie-detection magic? Most adventurers who operated above the fifth floor were immune to verification spells, so how many of these people would magic like that even work on? I turned the issue over in my mind over and over again.

There's no solution.

I eventually came to a conclusion. Unless I somehow tricked him into confessing using leading questions, there was only one other way.

"Looks like you don't even have—"

[You have cast Giantization.]

My body instantly grew.

Grab.

In a flash, I threw a hand out and grabbed the guy's neck. The entire squadron looked surprised by this, but no one immediately went to move. This was a habit adventurers had. Unless they already had a full grasp of the situation, most people took a wait-and-see approach.

"Keugh—what are you—!"

"Looks like you like making friends. But none of them are coming out of the woodwork to help you when you're in trouble, huh?"

"S-Stop—!"

I haven't even started yet.

Squeeze.

I gripped his neck tighter and obstructed his airways.

Smack! Smack!

He punched my arm as hard as he could. In my opinion, it was the most pointless escape attempt in the world.

Slide.

Ignoring his flailing, I bent my elbow and pulled him toward me.

"Neldine, did you know?"

"...M-Mm!"

"I don't need any evidence. The commander has the authority to summarily execute any member of the squadron in an emergency."

"K-K-Keugh!"

"I think this is an emergency."

When I relaxed my hand even slightly, he didn't miss the opportunity to let out a desperate shout. "You think... the outside world will believe—!"

"I'm sure they won't believe it."

Nobles weren't stupid, and there were plenty of witnesses here. The moment I executed this guy, Tercerion's rivals would all hold me responsible and force me to resign from my position.

"But that's none of my business. I don't care about those things." With the sincere intention of killing him, I applied force to his windpipe.

Before long, Neldine's veins began to protrude, and his entire head turned bright red as it filled up with blood. He no longer looked at me as he tried his best not to lose consciousness. He instead looked around for salvation.

"Um... is it okay to let this go on?"

"This is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠definitely an issue..."

"Sir Kaislan! Shouldn't we stop him now?"

The crew expressed their concern, but the team leaders all kept their mouths shut and watched the situation unfold. That was the promise they made me, after all. And, was it because the team leaders stood back and silently showed their support for my decision? Before long, the concerns and insistence on stopping me disappeared.

"Ah... no..." The one who was hit the hardest by this realization was none other than the guy in front of me.

What do you mean 'no'?

"Just die." I let murderous intent from deep within my chest loose and poured all my strength into the hand around his neck.

Crack!

His neckbone gave way. His eyes rolled back to reveal the whites, and his eyeballs bulged.

"Damn it!"

An onlooker cursed, and another screamed. And then...

[Pyke Neldine has cast Overload.]

Unable to withstand the way his weight exponentially skyrocketed, my arm started to bend.

So, you finally used it.

Kwaaang!

As the angle changed, Neldine's feet touched the ground.

Gasp...!

When I released his neck from my grip, he slumped down and took a deep, agonized breath. "Y-You piece of shit!" he shouted the moment he had enough air in his lungs. "W-What are you all doing?! We have... to stop... this savage!"

The crew began to stir at the cries of a man who came back from the dead, wondering if they should step in now.

"Why are you all just standing there?!" Neldine yelled, looking to the team leaders for help. But their faces were as cold as the ice around us.

"I hoped it wasn't true."

"He really has Overload. Something a warrior would have no reason to possess."

"Let's tie him up first. If he commits suicide, we won't be able to hear the backstory."

Today's lesson: If you had a hunch, you could make the evidence you lacked.