Chapter 42

Chapter 42. The Ruins’ True Identity

When Balun brought up the contract, Roton thought Balun was joking.

That was only natural. Who would dare stand before a noble and insolently say that they had to write a contract or anything of the sort?

However, he soon had no choice but to admit that Balun was serious.

That was because Balun took out paper and a fountain pen from his breast pocket.

After carefully smoothing out the tightly crumpled, faded yellow paper stroke by stroke, Balun began writing the contract in crooked, clumsy letters that looked as though a child might have written them. Seeing that, Roton could not help but ask.

“Where did you get that?”

“I bought it in the city.”

“You bought it?”

A fountain pen and paper?

“Why in the world do you carry something like that around?”

“Hmm? Is that not obvious? A working member of society must have a pen and paper.”

“A-a working member of society?”

“Yes. A working member of society.”

Balun’s expression seemed to ask why he was asking something so obvious.

Looking at that face, Roton felt as though his common sense was being denied.

What kind of Barbarian carried around a fountain pen and paper?

No, to begin with, this was the first time he had ever seen a Barbarian who could write letters.

“Come to think of it, compared to other Barbarians, you are unusually good at the Common Tongue. You can even write.”

“I learned diligently. I write fairly well, do I not?”

“...”

“Why are you silent?”

“Uh, y-yes. You write well.”

“Of course. I really practiced until I nearly bled from the rear!”

Roton could not bring himself to say that Balun’s handwriting looked like that of a snot-nosed child.

“Anyway, expedition captain. Stamp this. Ah, if you do not have a seal, a signature is fine too.”

“...Good grief. If one lives long enough, one truly experiences all sorts of things.”

“You survived thanks to me.”

“That is also true. Fine, I will sign it. I can do at least this much for the benefactor who saved my life.”

Heinrich signed the crumpled paper. It was somewhat absurd, but he was not displeased. His first impression of the man named Balun was already too favorable.

He had seen it. The powerful Warrior who had saved him like a miracle at the moment death had loomed over him.

Heinrich was not so narrow-minded that he would feel displeased by such a reliable Warrior.

“Now, is that enough?”

“Excellent!”

In the end, Balun received the signature.

With a beaming expression, he neatly folded the contract and carefully tucked it into his breast pocket.

“Barbarian. No, you said your name was Balun?”

“That is right. Balun.”

“Very well, Balun. What will you do now?”

“We go back. To the campsite.”

“The campsite, yes.”

Heinrich nodded with a bewildered expression.

“I never thought I would be able to return there.”

“There is something we must do before that.”

“What is it?”

“Interrogation.”

Balun had deliberately left two of the men in black alive.

It was for the sake of extracting information.

“Wait.”

Just as Balun was about to approach the two men he had tied up in advance, Roton stopped him.

“Why?”

“Can you yield them to me?”

“Yield them?”

“Yes. We must be the ones to torture those bastards.”

Balun looked straight at Roton.

His eyes blazed as though they were burning.

***

If someone was willing to torture them on his behalf, why would Balun need to tire himself out?

Balun readily handed the two men in black over to Roton and watched him torture them.

And then he was impressed.

The man was truly good at breaking people.

If someone saw him, they would think he was a torturer, not a knight.

“As expected, they were Assassins from Black Moon.”

“Black Moon? What is that?”

Heinrich asked. Roton immediately answered.

“Yes. It is one of the world’s three great Assassin Guilds. They are heinous bastards who will kill anyone if they are paid.”

“I see. Black Moon. So such people existed.”

“The fog you saw earlier is their proprietary technique. It is called the Curtain of Confusion.”

“Curtain of Confusion?”

“That is correct. It is known that no one can survive once trapped inside that curtain... But now, it seems that reputation will no longer be what it was.”

Roton raised a thumb toward Balun and continued speaking.

“They never move of their own accord. They act strictly after receiving a commission. The fact that they moved means someone hired them to kill us.”

“What!”

Heinrich erupted in anger.

“Not only did they interfere with an event of the great Rotenfeld Family, but they even tried to kill me? They commissioned an assassination? How dare they! Who was it!”

He shouted furiously.

“I will not let them be! I will kill them all!”

“That is right. We must take revenge. We must teach them that they should never touch us.”

“Indeed! Of course! If we do not take revenge, the world will laugh at Rotenfeld!”

Heinrich continued speaking.

“What? One of the world’s three great Assassin Guilds? How impressive could they be? As befits a despicable lot, they must only have useless trash!”

He snorted.

“I will eliminate them and the ones who commissioned them! I will eliminate them without fail!”

However, for some reason, Balun had grown silent.

Curious, Roton glanced at Balun and saw that his expression was rather serious.

“Balun. Why do you look like that?”

“There is something I am curious about.”

“What is it?”

“What does one of the world’s three great Assassin Guilds mean?”

“It means exactly what it says. It is a guild counted among the top three in the world.”

“I see.”

Balun’s expression grew even more serious.

‘Damn it, they were that impressive?’

No wonder they had used that strange smoke bomb.

‘Ah, I am doomed. I think they marked me.’

It was lamentable.

Why was it so hard to survive?

“Let us return for now. There is much we must handle.”

“Yes, Lord Heinrich.”

When they headed to the campsite, they saw people moving busily. When Balun returned with Heinrich and the three knights, every gaze turned toward them.

“E-expedition captain! You are alive!”

Everyone’s faces brightened.

They had known Balun had gone to search for him, but to think he had truly found him!

However, Heinrich’s expression was not particularly good. That was because the campsite was a mess.

The fences they had built had all collapsed, the tents were torn in various places, and a considerable number of the many people who had been there had disappeared...

“For now, please receive treatment. You have lost too much blood.”

“Yes. Let us do that.”

After that, he received treatment. Originally, they had prepared emergency Healing Potions for times like this, but they had all shattered, so they could not be used.

Fortunately, there were still Mages. Including Gregory, there had been four Mages in the expedition, and among them, one had died, leaving three.

However, Gregory was not at the campsite. He had gone out to scout, saying that he wanted to check something.

That left two Mages.

When those two poured healing magic onto Heinrich, new flesh grew. Watching the two Mages sweat profusely as though their strength had run out, Balun could not help but be amazed.

‘Wow. Magic really is ridiculously overpowered.’

It could attack, heal, and even had utility skills.

Was this not completely broken and overpowered?

What was even more impressive was that the healing magic of Mages was said to be crude in performance.

Compared to the holy magic of Priests, it was said to be nothing but a drop in the bucket.

No, if something crude could make new flesh grow, then just how much more impressive were Priests?

“Phew, I feel as though I can finally live. Thank you, everyone.”

“Not at all. It was only natural for us to do.”

The two Mages bowed their heads.

Heinrich accepted their greeting and let out a deep sigh.

“By the way, this is a serious problem.”

“What is wrong?”

“With the situation having become like this, how are we supposed to resume the exploration?”

At those words, Roton nodded.

After excluding the mercenaries who had run away and those who had died, roughly forty people remained.

With this number, resuming the exploration of the ancient ruins would be impossible.

“I absolutely want the exploration to succeed. No, I must make it succeed.”

Balun looked at Heinrich as he said that.

His eyes gleamed.

It was truly a satisfying gaze.

‘That is right. Of course you must. That is how I receive my 250 gold.’

If not for that, I would not even have thought of saving you.

“If I give up here, Rotenfeld’s honor will fall to the ground. People will point fingers at us, saying that we ran away with our tails between our legs without even properly attempting to conquer the ruins. Even if I die, I cannot bear to see that.”

Balun felt relieved.

With his will that firm, the exploration would resume.

He would be able to receive the remaining payment.

And receive an additional reward too.

‘What will he give me? Money? Or a good treasure?’

If he was going to give something, Balun would prefer money.

“However, resuming in this state would be no different from running toward death.”

“Yes. So what should we do?”

“Then how about recruiting more personnel?”

“You mean in the city?”

“Yes. We can challenge it again after replenishing our personnel. It will cost quite a bit of money, but that is better than losing honor.”

“Hmm. That is true. That seems to be the most realistic method.”

Balun was watching the command group discuss their plan when a tapping sound rang out.

It was the sound of Gregory walking while resting his staff on the ground.

“You came at the perfect time. Mage Gregory. Over here, over here!”

“Oh, oh? Lord Heinrich? You were alive! What a relief!”

Gregory’s face lit up.

Heinrich sprang to his feet, grabbed him, and brought him into the command tent.

“This is perfect timing. We were just discussing a plan for exploring the ruins, so lend us your insight.”

“A plan, you say...?”

“I want to make the exploration succeed at all costs. So, what do you think about returning to the city and recruiting expedition members again?”

At those words, Gregory’s expression darkened rapidly.

He shook his head.

“I do not recommend it. No, I would like to tell you to abandon the conquest of the ruins itself.”

“What does that mean? You know what kind of position I will be in if I do that.”

“That will not happen. Lord Heinrich will not lose his honor.”

“What do you mean...?”

“To begin with, these ruins were not ancient ruins.”

“Wh-what?”

Shock swept through the room.

“What in the world does that mean? They are not ancient ruins? They were clearly said to be ancient ruins. Several raid teams had already passed through them as well.”

“No, this place is not an ancient ruin. It is not a legacy of the Magic Empire. Naturally, what is buried underground is not a relic of the Magic Empire either.”

“Then what is this place?”

“I suspect it is a secret laboratory of the Black Tower.”

“The Black Tower!”

Heinrich shouted loudly. Shock filled everyone’s eyes.

Only Balun was not startled.

That was because he did not know what the Black Tower was.

‘What is the Black Tower?’

What was it, for them to react like that?

“Is that true? Are you saying those words are true?”

“Yes. I just found that out and returned in a hurry. I gathered traces.”

Gregory rummaged around in his breast pocket and took out several things.

They were a torn piece of cloth, broken glass, a blackened leather pouch, and debris from the stone buildings left after the ruins site had collapsed.

“You are saying these are traces? I do not understand very well.”

“I will explain.”

Then Gregory lifted each object one by one and explained, but honestly, Balun could not understand what he was saying.

Gregory spoke about a hidden mark symbolizing the Black Tower, traces of sinister mana, and so on, but how could Balun understand when he did not know what any of that meant?

However, there was one thing he understood clearly.

The ruins site inside this basin was actually not a ruin, but a space decorated to look like one.

‘So, we were baited?’

Then there were no relics inside?

“They were probably deliberately trying to lure raid teams. There must be something inside that requires many sacrifices.”

“Are you saying they are conducting some kind of black magic experiment?”

“Probably. Or something involving offerings.”

“Hmm.”

“You said many raid teams had already failed. They did not fail to conquer the ruins. They were lured into a trap and killed. We nearly ended up the same way.”

After saying that, Gregory looked at Balun and continued.

“But we survived thanks to Lord Balun. If it had not been for Lord Balun, I would have died, and I would not have discovered this truth.”

“Ah, Balun saved my life and the lives of the knights as well. He is also my benefactor.”

Everyone’s gazes gathered on Balun.

Balun felt strangely embarrassed.

No, why were they looking at him with such sweet eyes?

After only experiencing racial discrimination, being treated like this felt extremely awkward.

“By the way, what are we supposed to do now? If that is true, it means we were led on a fruitless chase from the very beginning.”

“That is not the case. This is actually an opportunity.”

“Why?”

“What could be a greater opportunity than earning the achievement of uncovering a secret laboratory of the Black Tower?”

At those words, Heinrich’s eyes flashed. He had understood what Gregory meant. 

“If you return safely and reveal this truth, Rotenfeld’s honor will soar to the heavens. People will praise Lord Heinrich for uncovering the Black Tower’s vile scheme. Would they not?”

“That is right! Truly, that is right!”

Heinrich’s face brightened at once.

It was practically a narrow escape from death.

“But is that true? Ah, I am not doubting Mage Gregory. Nor am I doubting the Blue Tower. I merely want to make certain...”

“Yes. I will guarantee it on the honor of the Blue Tower. This is not mere conjecture. There is not a single lie in my words. I will even swear a Mana Oath.”

“Oh, then it is certain!”

Hearing those words, Balun suddenly grew curious.

If even that nobleman was so deferential toward Gregory, just how impressive was the Blue Tower?

“Good! Then we will return. As long as we return safely, there may actually be an even better result. Hahaha!”

“However, it will not be easy.”

“Hmm?”

“Because the Black Tower will not sit still.”

At those words, Heinrich’s face rapidly darkened.

“There will undoubtedly be an attack. We must survive. We must do so.”

“We have to. If we do not want to die.”

Everyone’s expressions turned solemn.

The command group and the expedition members alike.

At the beginning, it had been nothing more than a cold contractual relationship, but after overcoming death, they now shared the same interests.

There was also a sense of solidarity from having suffered together without running away, unlike the mercenaries who had immediately fled.

Thanks to that, the walls between them had been slightly stripped away.

“Fortunately, we have hope.”

“What is that?”

“A splendid Warrior named Balun. He will protect us.”

Pardon?

‘Me?’

So suddenly?

Balun, who had merely been listening, blinked.