Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Newbie Adventurer Bern (21) - Fishing
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People might just drop dead from sheer injustice.
Malcolm, the woodcutter from Frensia, couldn't shake that thought lately.
-You damn bastard!! Just one hour, you couldn't stay awake for that short time!? My daughter's gone because of you!!
-If you were struggling to stay alert, you could've woken someone else! Couldn't you even manage that much?!
-Die! You piece of trash! Drop dead right now!!
Malcolm felt wronged.
So wronged it was driving him mad.
Having lost his parents early on, Malcolm had survived alongside his younger sister, leaning on each other through thick and thin.
That's why, when the baffling disappearances started plaguing Frensia, he burned with fiercer resolve than anyone.
No matter who or what the enemy was, he'd never let them touch his sister. He'd protect his one and only family with his own hands.
How could someone like him, fail to fight off a mere moment of drowsiness and put his sister in danger?
He'd paced through his entire watch to fend off sleep. He'd even chewed on bitter, sour herbs that were awful but kept him awake.
His mind was sharp, his eyes wide open.
This wasn't just standing watch for a bit—he could've pulled an all-nighter without issue.
So why?
"...My memory cuts off midway. I was pacing around my sister with my eyes wide open, I'm sure of it. Then suddenly, dizziness hit, and when I came to, I was face-down on the floor. That's when the others whose families vanished started beating me senseless."
He desperately explained his side, but no one believed him.
They just saw it as excuses from someone too weak to stay awake, trying to cover his mistake.
Peer pressure is a terrifying thing.
Malcolm had fought back at first, arguing against his accusers. But under the endless blame and resentment, his spirit was wearing thin.
Now, even he doubted his own memories.
Tormented by guilt that maybe he really was to blame for his sister's disappearance, Bern's words—"I'll clear your name"—sounded sweeter than honey.
Sweet enough for him to pour out his woes to these strangers who showed up unannounced late at night.
After hearing the tale, Bern turned to Blanca.
"Blanca, do you know any magic that forces people to sleep?"
"...You mean someone put him under a sleep spell and then committed the crime?"
"Drowsiness often sneaks up without you even realizing you're sleepy. And these folks have been worn down physically and mentally for quite a while. If someone suddenly lost consciousness, it'd be hard to peg it as outside interference."
Blanca nodded at Bern's theory.
"That makes sense. I've never cast one myself, so this is just book knowledge, but mid-level or higher sleep spells have a side effect of fuzzing out memories before you fall asleep."
If the culprit used that kind of magic, it explained Malcolm's claim that his memory felt sliced off.
The problem was, this was all just a hypothesis.
"But without proof, will people buy it?"
"There's proof. Every spell leaves unique traces, and a skilled mage can investigate them. Lucky for us, we've got one right here."
"Huh?"
Blanca glanced around.
Where's this other mage besides me?
That's when Renya, catching her eye, suddenly went into hype mode.
"Ooh, big sis! How much more are you gonna shock this clumsy little bro? I had no idea you had skills like that!"
What the hell is this nonsense?
Before Blanca could flatly deny having any such ability, Bern grabbed her shoulder.
"I believe in you, Blanca. As the top mage of the eastern branch, you can definitely do this."
"Uh, um, well..."
It was easy to forget amid the insane goal of lich-slaying, but Blanca was fundamentally pragmatic and diligent.
She never exaggerated her abilities and often pitied adventurers who spouted empty boasts.
So she should say no firmly. Declare it was impossible for her.
But Bern's hand on her shoulder and his soft whisper kept flipping her resolve upside down.
So.
"Of course. It's tricky, but I can handle it."
In the end, Blanca uttered the very "bluff" she despised.
Falling for a bad boy was this dangerous.
Fortunately for Blanca, Bern didn't actually demand she track the culprit from spell traces alone.
His swordsman concept kept it low-key, but Bern's systematic magical training from the palace outstripped hers.
He knew full well current Blanca lacked that level of skill—for now, at least.
But how did it look to outsiders unfamiliar with the details?
"So the reason everyone's been dozing off isn't just exhaustion—it's actually magic?"
"That mage Blanca? They say she's the best in the eastern branch for raw magic power. The guild offered her a sweet deal to join HQ staff, but she turned it down to stay an adventurer."
"She's going around meeting victims like Malcolm who lost family to unnatural sleepiness. Apparently, there's some trace only a mage can spot that'll lead to the culprit."
Rumors about Bern's party—or rather, Blanca—spread like wildfire through Frensia, still reeling from the disappearances.
And the more they spread, the paler Blanca grew, her face blending with her hair color.
"B-Bern, is this really okay? If they find out I can't actually detect spell traces, we won't be able to handle the fallout...!"
But Bern was utterly relaxed.
"No problem. The key is making the culprit believe we have that ability."
"You sure it's human?"
"Not human, maybe, but definitely intelligent. And one that knows the city inside out. Too many odd details for random abductions without intel."
Bern predicted that once the culprit—gathering city info—learned a master mage was sniffing out spell traces, it'd react somehow.
"But if it's a skilled mage, it'll know how hard tracing spells is. You think it'll buy that a rank-3 adventurer has that skill?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Because I'm the kind who can casually take down a domain's top knight. People assume teammates are on the same level, right?"
Arrogant, in a way.
Yet from Bern's lips, it sounded like plain fact, not bravado.
"Sure, it might flee in fear or go underground, but we can pivot to new tactics then. Predecessors wasted a month at minimum, so with our timeline matching, we've got breathing room."
Bern shrugged playfully.
His attempt at levity didn't quite suit him, making Blanca chuckle softly.
"True. It's just the start—no need to tremble over results yet."
She felt tension easing from her shoulders.
Just like always, things would work out with Bern by her side.
Luckily—or unluckily—the "new method" never came up.
On the second night of their investigation, the fish bit.
Frensia's nights were deathly quiet.
Not the peace of calm, but the hush of tension—what might happen next?
Proof: sizable buildings glowed with lanterns, while the poor lit braziers at least, desperate to stay awake.
Fools, thought the man overlooking the city.
Whether watches, lights, or locked doors—meaningless to him.
If he willed it, watchers slept, fires died, doors opened.
Magic's power was that absolute.
No human trick could defy it.
Only magic countered magic.
Thus, unusually cautious, he headed to his target.
A small mansion near the lord's estate.
High walls and bars deterred thieves, but he shrugged it off.
Breaching walls wasn't his job.
He pulled a black orb from his pocket and channeled magic into it.
His mana surged manifold, turning to mist that seeped inside.
Presences inside quieted; the door opened from within.
A sky-haired woman in her early-to-mid twenties emerged, eyes eerily vacant.
The first subdued obstacles; the second made targets walk themselves out.
These two spells let him kidnap freely, barriers be damned.
High walls and sturdy gates meant nothing when victims opened up.
Even tough spots? Manipulate guards to escort them out.
He targeted easy marks to conserve mana—could've hit a hundred-watch mansion if pushed.
Cheat spells, really.
"Came to check the rumors... fake, as expected."
No need to flee now, he relaxed.
"Hm... unexpected bonus."
Smiling at the stunning, defenseless adventurer before him.
As his fingertip brushed her cheek—
"Hands off?"
Courteous, almost.
But laced with fury.
Before his brain processed, agony exploded in his gut.
"Guhk!"
A full-force body blow from spell-enhanced strength.
Solar plexus crushed, he folded like a 'ㄱ'; Blanca smashed his face with her sheathed blade, no hesitation.
Thud!
He sprawled eagle-spread. As Blanca lunged to bind him—
Mana burst from the orb in his other hand; his body sank into shadows like quicksand.
"Tch?!"
Blanca startled, grabbed—but shadows swallowed him first.
Then the shade itself raced across floor and walls, fleeing.
Simple reason he'd come without knowing her full strength:
This third spell guaranteed escape, worst case.
Racing hidden in shadow, he mused.
'Damn, baited me by pretending to be spelled. If she'd resisted upfront, I'd have noticed. But pulling that off? Way above my estimates.'
Blocking a sealed gate versus luring inside? Worlds apart in difficulty.
Not mana quantity—quality. Her spells outclassed his.
'Better bail on this city. Short on sacrifices, but wrap the ritual quick—'
Sudden pain!
Whoosh!
Ripped from shadow-space forcibly.
"H-How...?!"
He gaped at the red-haired youth like he'd seen a ghost.
His first two spells? Mid-tier at core.
Boosted by master's "treasure," still deflectable by rank-4s.
He'd boasted he could hit the lord's place but hadn't—Frensia's knight Gudrun might resist them.
But this last one, 『Magic to Command Shadow Monsters』, was different.
True advanced spell, bound to the treasure itself—a magical lifeform.
Shadow beasts shrugged off physical hits, took 1/10 from mana strikes.
Yet this swordsman one-shot it critically, yanking him from its gut.
Incomprehensible.
Unless this adventurer ranked with his master?
"What the hel—"
"—You've got questions, and so do I."
The redhead cut him off.
Bern added softly.
"Plenty of time for talk later. For now, sleep."
Crack!