Chapter 167
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: Undercover (3)
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There’s a common scolding people give: “Does money come out when you dig the ground?”
It means money doesn’t just pop out of bare earth.
Of course, that’s usually true.
It’s rare for cash to turn up when you dig.
But today, Lloyd’s situation was a little different.
“Why isn’t it coming out? It’s popping out left and right like this!”
His satisfied gaze turned to the pit he’d just dug.
A hole about 50 centimeters deep.
Inside lay a skull.
Not some school biology lab model, but a real human cranium.
Anyone with a normal mindset would’ve shrunk back at the sight.
But Lloyd was different right now.
“Whew. My little gold nugget.”
The way he looked at the skull was just like an old miser staring at a golden calf. Or like someone spotting a fluttering 50,000-won bill amid autumn leaves.
It was only natural.
A precious gem was nestled inside that skull.
“So, all I have to do is dismantle the condensed mana, and the gem’s mine. Like this. And like that.”
Kiiiiing!
His three mana circles spun vigorously, laden with dreams of wealth and glory.
The magic on the skull.
The mana condensed in the gem.
He sucked it all in.
Through the rotation of his mana circles, he dismantled the mana’s structure.
Like defusing a timed bomb’s circuits.
Or carefully extracting blocks from a towering Jenga stack.
He broke down and decomposed the mana structures built for sinister purposes.
Then released them through his opposite arm.
Fsssh...
The now-ordinary mana dispersed into the air.
How long had he been at this mana dismantling?
Just as sweat trickled down Lloyd’s forehead.
The dangerous aura from the gem in the skull finally vanished completely.
A proud smile bloomed on Lloyd’s lips, naturally.
“Now this gem is mine. Heh heh heh.”
Clatter!
The gem rolled out of the skull and into his palm.
How pretty and endearing it looked.
Lloyd examined the gem from every angle, his eyes dripping with honeyed affection.
“Perfect. No scratches. Flawless.”
This was already the 24th one today.
Lloyd had spent half a day prowling the cliffs around Namaran.
He’d found 24 skulls in that time, and pocketed that many gems.
His bulging pockets warmed his heart just as much.
But he wasn’t purely thrilled.
“I don’t know what hardships you went through, but rest in peace. Sleep well.”
After pocketing the gem, he set the skull on the ground.
He bowed politely to it.
Then, with careful hands lest he damage it, he tucked the skull into a bundle.
Three more such bundles already surrounded him.
They held all 24 skulls he’d found so far.
“Good thing I had that cloth in my backpack to make bundles.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dreamed of hauling this many skulls around.
“I can’t give them a full funeral, but I should at least bury them in a sunny spot.”
These were torsoless skulls.
Even they had been exploited by black mages.
How great their resentment must be, buried haphazardly in cold earth with evil gems inside.
Thinking of that, he couldn’t just discard or abandon them.
It was a bit tedious and bothersome.
But more than that, it felt disrespectful to the dead.
Even if he couldn’t hold a proper funeral, burying them respectfully in sunlight felt right.
That’s why.
Lloyd meticulously collected every skull alongside each gem.
Before he knew it, the sun hung over the western horizon.
Night would fall soon.
Darkness would blanket the area in an instant.
“Guess I’ll head back to the inn for now.”
Lloyd gathered his skull bundles.
He dropped them at the inn. Then headed out again, with even more bundles in tow.
“Of course. Is there any reason to stop grabbing gems just because it’s dark?”
Strike while the iron’s hot.
Hoist sails with the fair wind.
The same went for scooping up buried gems.
Ride the momentum for all it’s worth.
Like stuffing your face at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Like seizing the chance when your crush messages first.
When opportunity knocks like this, Lloyd thought, you stay up all night to grab every last gem.
“This chance probably won’t last forever.”
These were gems infused with black mages’ spells.
Sneaking them out one by one.
Give it a little more time, and the black mages would notice. They’d realize the foundations of their painstakingly crafted and buried magic circles had vanished.
“So grab as many as possible before they catch on. I can do this.”
Like rushing to a one-day bomb sale.
Like lighting up for limited freebies on a first-come basis.
Lloyd dashed out of the city, sweat soaking his calluses.
He dug and dug.
Unearthed and unearthed.
With the heart of a farmer harvesting a bountiful crop.
With the diligence of a fisherman hauling his net.
He found countless skulls, dismantled their mana, and pocketed the gems.
In the process, he even scored some unexpected bonuses.
Ding-dong!
[Skill level up!]
[Asrahan Heart Method: Triple Circle Lv 3]
[Mana Amplification Rate: 560%]
[Skill Exclusive Options: ① Energizer (Modified) ② Mana Burst (Modified) ③ Power-Saving Mode (Modified) ④ Circle Shift ⑤ Rapid Charge]
[RP needed for next level up: 600]
[Current RP: 3,005]
“Take that!”
Confirming the popup, Lloyd clenched his dirt-caked fist.
The evil mana condensed in the gems.
Dismantling it required running the Asrahan Heart Method at max output.
The process itself seemed great experience for the skill.
“Ah, coming to Namaran was the best decision.”
Thwarting the black mages’ plans.
Raking in pricey gems.
Leveling the Asrahan Heart Method.
He even scouted spots for terraced fields along the way.
Underground scanning option.
Plus the Asrahan Heart Method.
Only he, with both, could pull this off.
“Lalala, la la la.”
A merry hum escaped his lips.
Singing work songs to the night, Lloyd gathered gems like wild ginseng all through dawn.
♣
“What happened to you?”
The next day, around midnight.
Lloyd was at the inn, counting the gems he’d dug up all night. A pleased grin on his face when a familiar voice came from the window.
A tone that was a bit curt, almost cold.
Turning, he saw Haviel climbing through the window frame.
Lloyd tilted his head at the sight.
“And what earth-shattering ordeal turned you into a fancy lady, huh?”
It wasn’t a joke. The Haviel clambering in matched the look from the relief center yesterday.
A plain, unassuming dress.
Long silver hair in a neat straight style.
In short, he was in full “Lady Ella” mode.
Maybe self-conscious, Haviel wrinkled his nose.
“I had no choice.”
“No choice? Instincts kicked in?”
“...I’d love to call that a disgusting misunderstanding. Absolutely not.”
“Then?”
“As I mentioned before, there were areas in Mr. Cannavaro’s mansion I couldn’t access.”
“The magically secured spots?”
“Yes. The basement.”
“You dressed as a woman to sneak a chance in there?”
“Yes.”
Haviel nodded.
“No matter my swordmaster skills, I can’t counter magical wards. This was the only way in undetected.”
What memory crossed his mind?
A faint furrow creased his brow.
“At first, I didn’t plan on full drag. But my looks were the issue.”
“Too handsome?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa. Not even denying it.”
“It’s plain fact.”
He stated it matter-of-factly.
“I stood out too much. Couldn’t alter my face with disguise alone. Then I had a reversal idea.”
“Figured if you went full woman, even if you stood out, no one would link it to you?”
“Yes. No one’d suspect a famed knight in drag. That’s what I thought. So.”
He lifted his apron slightly with both hands.
“Worried at first, but no one batted an eye.”
“And thus, the peerless beauty Lady Ella made her debut.”
“...Please forget that.”
He laughed it off with a weary chuckle.
“Anyway, on the third day in this getup, I got into the basement. Used an errand as cover. But it was odd.”
“How so?”
“There was another basement below the basement.”
“Oho. You check it out?”
“Not yet. Seems only Mr. Cannavaro and a few aides can enter.”
“I see. Suspicious indeed.”
“You still suspect him?”
“Naturally.”
Lloyd shot Haviel a skeptical glance.
“You still think he’s a good guy?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“No links to evil deeds yet. He still pours every day into caring for refugees.”
“Tch. Even after finding a basement under the basement?”
“That could just be a rich guy’s secret vault.”
“Then why the drag if you’re still defending Cannavaro?”
“As I’ve said repeatedly, to thoroughly carry out your orders, Lord Lloyd.”
“Good answer.”
“Thanks to using you as a mirror, Lord Lloyd.”
“Shameless too?”
“Thank you.”
He smiled faintly, as if it were nothing.
Then turned to Lloyd.
“Anyway, as I asked earlier—what happened to you, Lord Lloyd?”
“Hm? Why?”
“Your dark circles are brutal. But your face is brighter.”
“That obvious?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Sigh. Well, found stuff like this.”
Lloyd pulled out a black gem and showed it.
Then recounted everything from yesterday, no detail spared.
Skulls found underground while surveying.
Suspiciously condensed mana.
Gems revealed after dismantling the mana.
Haviel’s expression grew subtle after hearing it all.
“So you spent all night excavating—er, unearthing—those gems?”
“Yeah. And I think the skulls and gems tie to Cannavaro.”
“Evidence?”
“That’s for you to find.”
Of course, no hard proof yet.
Buried skulls and gems.
Nothing clearly proved Cannavaro’s hand.
But Lloyd knew.
“This has to be Cannavaro’s doing.”
He’d read the novel Iron-Blooded Knight.
Cannavaro.
The one who raised Namaran’s barrier.
He’d pull something similar here.
“So, about that basement under the basement? Investigate it. Something’s there for sure.”
“Lord Lloyd, aren’t you jumping the gun on Cannavaro?”
“That’s why you check if my hunch is right?”
“...”
“Plus, if the gems are his, he’ll show changes tomorrow. He’ll think they’re stolen. His behavior shifts, aides scramble. Exploit that gap.”
“...”
“Wanna bet my hunch is spot on?”
“What kind?”
“If I’m wrong and Cannavaro’s clean, I’ll call you ‘big bro’ for a year. When we’re alone.”
“Three years. Deal?”
“Whoa.”
“Scared?”
“Nope. But if I’m right and he’s guilty, you wear that outfit back to Frontera Territory.”
“...”
“Scared?”
“No.”
“Good. Be honest when truth outs. Got it?”
“Of course. It’s just for fun.”
Naturally.
Haviel had sensed from the skull and gem story this was no trifle.
Evil magic.
Sinister plot sprouting in the city.
Feeling the chill, he nodded gravely.
“I’ll report back the instant I find something. Stay safe till then, Lord Lloyd.”
“You too.”
Lloyd saw Haviel out the window.
Cool midnight air rushed through the open pane.
Breathing it cleared his mind.
He reviewed his plans.
“Need evidence first. Proof linking skulls, gems, and Cannavaro as the burier.”
Find that?
He’d go straight to Namaran Count.
“Game, set, match. Even if Cannavaro’s a black mage, caught off-guard by territory knights’ raid, he’s nabbed.”
No need to move himself.
No risks.
Namaran’s barrier crisis averted.
“So, Haviel, I’m counting on you.”
He’d pull it off.
Lloyd sat at the table, thinking.
Meticulously counting the gems gathered all night.
And the next morning.
Cannavaro realized the cursed Noctanium gems buried around Namaran’s walls had all vanished.
His eyes flipped in rage.