Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Newbie Adventurer Bern (22) - Clue
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Bern let out a hollow chuckle as he stared at the man who had passed out face-first on the ground.
Lucidra tilted her head in confusion at the sight.
[What's so funny?]
'No, I just can't wrap my head around it. We hadn't even secured the area yet, and this guy still tried to make a move on Blanca in the middle of it all. Isn't that just ridiculous?'
[That's men for you. They'll lose their minds peeking at a woman's chest even mid-swing. And my outfit is all practical anyway!]
'Hoo.'
[...Hold on. What was that "hoo" just now?]
'Oh, I just thought it was a matter of personal taste.'
Bern half-ignored the self-proclaimed great demoness's shrill protests as he secured the black orb clutched in the man's hand.
It felt like any ordinary glass bead—hard and cold to the touch—but the magic contained within was thick, murky darkness, like oil sludge clumped together.
"Bern!"
Blanca arrived a beat late, sighing in relief at the sight of the fallen culprit and Bern standing unscathed.
"Sorry. I tried to grab him right away, but he slipped away."
"No, it's fine. If you hadn't played the bait, we wouldn't have hooked him in the first place. If anything, I was just along for the ride."
Even if it was to lower the target's guard, letting herself get caught in his spell without resistance couldn't have been pleasant.
Yet Blanca had willingly taken the risk, and Bern felt a measure of respect for her because of it.
Blanca's cheeks flushed slightly at Bern's lavish praise, and she quickly changed the subject.
"Th-that was nothing. More importantly, what's that orb?"
"It was on this guy. I have a rough idea, but let's save the details for after we get back."
Bern hooked his foot under the criminal's midsection, flipping the body into the air before grabbing it like a sack of luggage.
There was much to do before dawn broke.
"Ugh..."
"Feeling better now?"
In the mansion's drawing room.
The man who had regained consciousness narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings before letting out a defeated sigh.
He was tightly bound to a chair.
All his tools had been confiscated, and three adventurers surrounded him with sharp gazes. There wasn't the slightest gap for escape.
"You spread those fake rumors from the start just to lure me out?"
"No. If you hadn't shown up, we were still planning to do the backtrace anyway. Honestly, either way worked for us."
The man's eyes twitched.
If the red-haired adventurer was telling the truth, it meant the blue-haired mage was a monster on par with him.
He considered it might be a bluff, but the redhead spoke with the casual certainty of stating plain fact.
"Now, I'll ask a few questions."
"You think I'll just spill everything?"
"Where are the abducted women? Are they still alive?"
The man scowled at the redhead, who acted like he hadn't heard a word, but quickly adopted a relaxed tone.
"Who knows. But the moment anything happens to me, their safety vanishes too. That's for sure."
—So if you care about the hostages, don't lay a hand on me carelessly.
He spat the threat in a bid to seize control, but the response was unexpected.
"I see."
The redhead simply nodded impassively.
"Blanca. Looks like rescuing the victims won't be possible."
"Yeah. We'll just say this guy killed them all."
Scribble scribble.
As Blanca calmly jotted down notes, the man felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
"So, what was the motive this time?"
Ignoring the man's turmoil, Bern pressed on indifferently.
But the man couldn't move on so lightly.
"Hey, I think you didn't quite get what I said, so let me explain properly. If I don't send a signal by a certain time, my comrades at the base will kill all the women. So untie these ropes right—"
"Hmm. Seems like there's some misunderstanding."
Bern cut him off and continued bluntly.
"We're adventurers. Our commission was to 'catch the culprit behind the disappearances,' not 'rescue the abducted victims.'"
"......"
"Got it? Whether the women you took are dead or alive doesn't matter to us. Of course, rescuing them safely would let us negotiate extra pay with the lord who's our client, so it'd be nice, but looking at this territory's state, even if we succeeded, I doubt the lord would cough up much."
The man nearly nodded in agreement despite himself.
Even to him as an outsider, Frensia's lord didn't seem the type to open his wallet easily for the people.
"Wasting time and energy bickering with you is just a drain. So let's say you killed all the victims. Then we skip the money-losing hassle of searches and rescues, and wrap up the commission neatly."
No money in it. Too much trouble. So let's just call them dead.
Bern's tone as he uttered each word was far too detached for discussing human lives.
The man felt a cold chill creeping up his back.
A sensation he hadn't felt in ages, not since meeting his master and gaining power.
Its name was fear.
"Anyway, victims are down as all killed by you. Next up: motive and backers. Anything to say? Like orders from a neighboring lord, or someone paying you to ruin Frensia."
"I-I..."
"Nothing, huh. 'No particular motive' it is."
"Brother. Shouldn't we at least give him a chance to talk?"
"Do we have to? Honestly, even this back-and-forth is wasting time."
"If he cooperates, it might open ways to boost the reward."
"Hmm. Blanca, what's your take?"
"Eh, unless it's a huge case, it won't affect the pay much. No guarantee he's telling the truth either. If we chase fake leads and waste time, we'd lose out on other commissions we could've taken."
"That's the verdict, Renya. Stick to the plan."
"Tch, fine. Got it, brother."
Money, profit, gain.
Every word from the adventurers before him revolved solely around that.
Humanity, morality, honor, pride.
As if they'd long since tossed those concepts aside.
The man's gaze drifted to the report Blanca was steadily filling out.
That report.
What happens once it's complete?
The red-haired adventurer named Bern seemed utterly disinterested in his answers.
Ask, get something juicy—great. Nothing? Just write in what they want.
So no yelling, no torture.
But was that really a good thing?
These people who didn't care about the lives of the abducted victims—would they handle his life with any more care?
Especially since one wrong word from him could turn that 'report' into nothing but lies?
Realization dawned, and the man's face paled.
This was no time for negotiations or posturing.
The moment those questions from the redhead—however many more there were—ended, he was certain he'd be next to die.
His mouth flew open in desperation.
"W-wait! I'll tell you everything! Everything! There's info here that'd interest you and the guild too! I can testify in front of others if needed—yes, I can!"
'Hmm. Who knew a bit of acting like that would work so well. Turns out his mental fortitude was weaker than expected.'
[No, even a tough guy would've cracked under that.]
It hadn't taken long for the man's arrogant attitude to flip like a pancake.
His subtle attempts to wrest control despite being captured melted away like snow, replaced by eager spilling of answers—even unasked details.
According to the man, he had originally been just another unaffiliated mage of middling skill.
But then a 'master' appeared before him, granting power in exchange for a steady supply of live sacrifices.
Blanca frowned at that part and asked.
"Live sacrifices? So all the abducted women are already dead?"
"N-not exactly. For the ritual my master is preparing, it's crucial to offer multiple lives at once."
Meaning they'd keep them alive until the ritual, to sacrifice them simultaneously.
Bern asked.
"Are you the only one collecting live sacrifices?"
"No. I know master's disciples are scattered across Birka Kingdom. Different methods, but they're all offering live sacrifices too."
Even in just Frensia, over fifty young women had vanished.
If that was happening kingdom-wide, the total victim count would be beyond reckoning.
Which made it all the more baffling.
What kind of being was this master, and what ritual required so many live sacrifices?
"As for that—"
The moment the man opened his mouth to answer.
Vwoooong!
The black orb Bern had secured suddenly trembled violently, bursting free from its leather pouch into midair.
It unleashed the energy within in a horrific surge of magic, morphing into a black sword that pierced toward the man's throat.
Or tried to.
"Predictable to a fault. Don't underestimate people."
If Bern hadn't drawn his sword in time to block, it surely would have.
Clang! Claaang! Clang clang!
The black blade flew erratically through the air, seeking to impale the man, but Bern deflected every strike without so much as blinking.
Vwoooooong!
Realizing it couldn't overpower Bern, the shuddering blade transformed into a massive beast and charged at the man.
Even if Bern slashed it, the beast's sheer size and momentum would crush both man and adventurer alike.
Slaaaam!
But Bern shattered that expectation effortlessly.
The instant he realized it planned to bulldoze through even if cut, he gripped his sword sideways like a baseball bat and smashed the monster away.
The monster tried shifting forms mid-flight to continue the assault, but Bern gave it no further chance.
Bern's blade traced dozens of arcs.
A sword barrage beyond a net—approaching a curtain of blades—with overwhelming density didn't just shred the monster; it pulverized it utterly.
As everyone gaped at the superhuman feat, Bern alone clicked his tongue.
'My arm's numb.'
Even specialized as it was, recreating the crown prince's techniques with a clone body had limits.
Using sword energy instead of aura and toning down the output, yet it still reverberated through him.
Unlike previous foes, though, that shadow beast had been tricky enough that even Bern couldn't half-ass it.
Not that he'd lose, but with a key witness's throat at risk.
'The classic trope of the villain about to spill the big secret getting silenced by the mastermind is cliché as hell, but I have no desire to live it.'
Having finished off the shadow beast, Bern turned back to the man.
"Continue where you left off."
The man's lips quivered.
Bern's indifferent gaze from above sent shivers down his legs, but hesitation might irk him further—a fear that spurred him on.
"My master's name is... Mortius. Mortius Barmore. A lich seeking a new realm through a ritual of a thousand sacrifices."
Blanca's eyes went wide.