Chapter 61

I grabbed a passing staff member and asked, “Have you happened to see Mr. Izack?”

“Oh, that old guy? Haven’t seen him, nope.”

I tried another administrator. “Excuse me, have you seen Mr. Izack today?”

“He hasn’t shown up yet.”

“He didn’t come into work? Has this ever happened before?”

“He’s been away from his post quite often lately,” the administrator said, scratching his head. “But he’s never just not shown up at all… It is a bit strange. Still, if you wait around, won’t he eventually show up?”

“Hmm…”

‘I don’t think he’s coming,’ my intuition whispered.

I stared blankly at the administrator. You’re the resident of this fief, not me. Yet, I feel like I understand the nature of this absolute dump of a territory better than you do.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing,” I muttered, brushing it off.

What I really wanted to say was: ‘Look here, Mr. Administrator. I haven’t been in this godforsaken fief for long, but I’ve learned one thing—nothing ever goes right when you start thinking optimistically.’

Because of that, I’d developed a bad habit. My first instinct was always to assume the worst. I only felt at ease once I’d assumed the absolute worst-case scenario and prepared a countermeasure.

As expected, even after waiting a long time, Izack never appeared.

Ronari and Pietro were already part of the expedition… and there wasn’t really anyone else I could ask about his whereabouts.

‘Did he follow them because he was worried about Ronari?’

No way. No matter how much of a doting father he was, that seemed extreme.

But even by the next day, Izack was nowhere to be found.

‘Maybe that man really is a terminal case of doting-father syndrome that no medicine can cure,’ I thought as I made my way down the sloped path of the lower district.

I was planning to visit Izack’s house. But even at his home…

-Knock, knock, knock.
-Creeeeak.

“Is anyone here?”

My voice echoed into a void.

‘There’s nobody here…!’

I searched the kitchen, the second floor, and even the moonshine brewery in the basement. I scoured the entire house, but I couldn’t find a trace of Izack.

“Where did he vanish to?!” I grumbled as I stepped out of the house.

Right then.

-Thud.

Someone grabbed my shoulder.

“Mr. Izack?”

…Apparently not.

Someone shoved a leather sack over my head.

“Dammit! What the—!”

Losing my vision, I was instantly pinned down by the assailants. From the feel of it, there were at least two of them.

‘Should I have assumed an even worse scenario?’

The regret flashed through my mind.

-CRACK!

Suddenly, following a thunderous boom, the grip holding me slackened.

What was that?

I hurriedly pulled the sack off my head. The first thing I saw were the two assailants collapsed on the ground. A man and a woman—both of them were built like tanks.

Had someone saved me? I hoped, this time for sure, it would be Izack.

However, in Denabi, pleasant expectations are always meant to be missed.

“You…”

“Hello there, handsome.”

A nonchalant voice. Standing before me was Adele, her hand moving as if tapping invisible piano keys in the air.

“Why are you coming out of there?!”

I definitely sent you away on the expedition! Why are you here?! I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

She kicked at the ground with her toe and said, “Hmm. I thought you’d start with a ‘thank you’ first. Isn’t that common sense?”

The entire situation has already spiraled far beyond common sense. And above all else, I can’t wrap my head around the fact that you’re the one lecturing me on common sense.

“…I am grateful, for now.”

“That sounded half-hearted.”

Man, she’s persistent!

“Regardless, shouldn’t you have followed the dungeon expedition? You shouldn’t be here!”

“Says the guy who’s only alive thanks to me.”

I gnashed my teeth. “…I am sincerely grateful that you saved me. Happy now?”

Adele let out a satisfied smirk. “Don’t mention it.”

“…”

I rubbed my face with my palms. “Seriously, why are you here?”

“Because my boss told me to. He told me to keep an eye on you.”

“Your boss? You mean Yulian?”

Adele nodded.

‘It was Yulian’s call?’

I stroked my chin. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Given his personality, he wouldn’t want to be dragged around by me forever. But to think he decided to watch me specifically.

Then Adele spoke up. “Well, I was the one who suggested it, though.”

“What? Why would you…”

“I told you. I like you. From where I’m standing, you’re the most interesting thing on this board. See? It’s already getting fun.”

My head started to spin. “Fun or not… so you followed me without permission?”

“That’s right. It’s not a crime to follow someone and then save them from a crisis, is it?”

It is a crime! In modern Korea, stalking is illegal!

Well, this isn’t Korea, and I am grateful she saved me, but still…

Adele looked around the area. “So, what were you doing? And who are these people?”

‘The information I gave you guys about the Sword of Four Seasons was fake, there’s actually a real one, and I came here to find the person who knows its whereabouts.’

…There was no way I could answer like that.

“Why should I tell you that?”

At that, Adele put on a pouty face. She held up three fingers.

“That’s mean. Petty, too. And suspicious.”

She thrust her three fingers right in front of my face.

“…”

-Sigh.

I let out a long breath. “Look, it’s nothing that grand. I just came to find a subordinate who didn’t show up for work. As for these people, I have no idea who they are either.”

I told her the truth. I peered down at the faces of the attackers. I really didn’t recognize them. They weren’t people I knew, nor did they seem to be characters from the original story.

‘To begin with, not many people from Denabi appear in the original work. The fief was ruined by the Mana Plague, so almost everyone died except for a few refugees. There was no reason for them to show up.’

Well, even if they had appeared, it’s not like I could recognize a character from a novel just by their face.

“It would have been nice if I could have asked them myself. Since someone decided to knock them into the next life in one hit…”

I grumbled, looking up at Adele.

Adele shrugged.

“Oh, they aren’t dead. I made sure to hold back.”

Seriously?

I looked back and forth between Adele and the fallen assailants.

‘…I don’t think there’s anyone in the world who fits the word “restraint” less than you.’

“I thought you said you were going to burn all of Denabi to the ground…”

“You know how it is. That was just a bluff.”

‘A bluff, huh…’

Between hiding her true strength and returning here on her own initiative, this girl was far more calculating than she appeared.

Regardless, it seemed Adele was telling the truth. The attackers were breathing, albeit shallowly.

I turned back to Adele and asked, “Can you wake them up?”

Some time passed.

The male assailant groggily regained consciousness. He was tied to a pillar inside Izack’s house. Naturally, I was the one who did the tying, though Adele provided the muscle for moving them.

She might be an uninvited guest, but she certainly was useful.

“Dammit… what the hell is…” the man muttered, his voice thick with sleep. It seemed he had finally realized his predicament.

I crouched down and waved a hand at him.

“Hello. Do you know who I am?”

“What? How did you—”

I cut him off and repeated myself. “I asked if you know who I am.”

“You’re…”

This time, the man cut himself off. He fell silent, seemingly realizing my intent. But it was already too late.

‘He definitely knows me.’

That confirmed a few things. First, this ambush wasn’t targeting ‘whoever happens to visit Izack’s house,’ but Shane Astrier specifically. They had been waiting for me. At the very least, this wasn’t the work of some low-level thugs from the lower district looking for a fight.

I asked the man, “Who sent you?”

“Hah… what a stupid question—”

-CRACK!

In that instant, the man’s jaw swung to the side. It was Adele. The foot she had used to strike him slid back into place.

I looked up at her and said, “You startled me.”

“Sorry,” she replied, sounding not sorry at all.

“Gahhh…” the man groaned in agony.

Yeah, that looked like it hurt.

Adele addressed the man. “If you’re planning to keep your mouth shut forever, you should reconsider. I’ll powder your jawbone so it’s physically impossible for you to ever speak again.”

Adele’s mace pressed down on the man’s collarbone.

“Uuuugh…”

“Unless you want to spend the rest of your life never eating solid food again. Well, feel free to do as you like.”

That was a rather ‘gentlemanly’ threat.

What’s gotten into her? Adele was being surprisingly cooperative.

‘She saved me earlier, too… she might have a reason to watch me, but she has no reason to help me.’

I wasn’t sure why she was doing this, but I figured I might as well make use of it.

I pointed a thumb at Adele and said, “You heard my friend, right? So…”

-Spit.

The man spat something at me. A bloody molar hit the floor.

I hurriedly held Adele back. “Adele, don’t break him just yet.”

Her right leg was already wound back into a prime kicking position.

‘You should be grateful, buddy. If I were a second slower, this lady would have turned your jaw into a ventriloquist’s dummy.’

I wiped the man’s saliva off my cheek.

The man spat at me, “You brat from the upper district. I know your type. You’re all talk. You don’t have the guts to actually kill anyone, yet you dare try to shake someone down?”

‘That’s why I’m asking who the hell you are.’

God, what a dump of a town. Even a simple introduction was like pulling teeth.

I stood up from my crouch. “Whew. You caught me.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You’re right. Honestly, I don’t want to do anything to you. Beating and killing people might be a daily routine for you, but it isn’t for me.”

“Then untie me. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“Why did you attack me? And where did Mr. Izack go?”

“You think I’d tell you? Don’t be stupid.”

Right then, Adele’s mace spun in a circle, grazing the man’s cheek by a hair’s breadth.

Adele’s gaze shifted toward me. “Can I break him now?”

“No.”

-Tsk.

Adele clicked her tongue but didn’t go against my word.

I asked her, “Do you have a knife? Preferably a short one.”

“?”

She tilted her head in confusion. At the same time, she pulled back her cloak, drew a dagger from her waist, and handed it to me. She didn’t hesitate for a single moment.

“Thanks.”

I took the dagger and walked behind the man. The blade was razor-sharp and glinted with a cold light.

The man swallowed hard.

But I simply cut the ropes binding him.

-Thud.

The severed ropes hit the floor.

“Go.”

“You… are you serious?”

A tedious question.

“I’m serious, but this lady next to me might take it as a joke. You’d better leave before she does.”

However, the man hesitated. His eyes weren’t fixed on the exit, but elsewhere. He was looking at his companion, who was still unconscious.

The man asked, “What are you going to do with her?”

I smirked. ‘Right. This is where it gets interesting.’