Chapter 19 – Day-1 (2)
“You must’ve gotten used to cozying up to n, huh?!”
The man barged in, yelling at the top of his lungs and picking a fight.
His face was beet red—clearly drunk beyond reason.
“H-hey! Crayson! You’re drunk! Calm down!”
“Out of my way!”
“Urgh…!”
His companions tried to restrain him, but his violent resistance shoved them aside.
Gale wasn’t in a position to judge soone’s looks, but the man—Crayson, as they called him—really did look like a beggar.
Not in an insulting way—he literally looked like a hobo.
‘But wait… that’s the Rusram Academy uniform, isn’t it?’
A graduate, maybe? Despite his appearance, he didn’t seem like so common street thug.
Crayson let out a bitter, hollow laugh.
“Ha… You’re a real piece of work, you know that? First … and now him, huh?”
His bloodshot eyes didn’t even glance at Gale—they were fixed on the woman behind him: Sercia.
“You stole my rits to qualify for the Hunter Exam, and now you’re planning to pass the exam by stepping on his back too?!”
And in that mont, a dreadful realization struck Gale.
‘Wait a sec… Am I being dragged into so wild misunderstanding right now?!’
A love triangle? With a girl he just t today?!
He felt a sharp sense of danger.
—Haha! Well, Gale is a healthy man. Still, I’d appreciate it if you could keep things professional while we’re working.
Elwin’s gentle smile floated up in his mind’s eye.
…More than the gentle gaze, it was the fact that the brat was younger than him that made it all the more disturbing.
—Gale-nim, I’m sure I ntioned this already. As an adult, please set a good example for Elwin-nim with your proper conduct…
Then ca the image of Nahrhan smiling coldly. Gale shuddered.
‘Terrifying!’
He’d already co to understand, in a short ti, how blindly loyal Nahrhan was to Elwin.
More than a simple servant-master dynamic…
‘He’s like a fanatic… staring at a god…’
A cultist.
Yes, it was the sa eerie gaze that Molga’s followers had. Maybe worse.
At least Molga’s “god” wasn’t real. Elwin, on the other hand, definitely existed.
‘They’ll kill !’
This was bad. Really bad.
“Hey, listen! There’s nothing going on between and this lady! We just t today!”
Gale protested—but neither of them was listening.
‘Wait a sec… why does this feel familiar?’
It reminded him of the ti with Jaigo.
No matter how much he denied it, Jaigo had twisted everything to fit his own delusions.
“Ha ha ha… Is this going to be a repeat of that?”
If Elwin were watching this scene now, he’d surely nod and say:
—As expected, troublemaker! Gale has a natural talent for attracting disaster!
Alongside “troublemaker,” “unluckiest man alive” was another trait associated with Gale’s character in the ga LAMPAS.
Not a good trait, of course… but it did explain how he always ended up at the center of incidents even when doing nothing.
Always.
“Answer , Sercia!”
Soon, the argunt between the two escalated.
“…You’ve beco a pathetic man,” she replied coolly, unfazed by the murderous glare in his eyes.
“You used to be so full of confidence back at the Academy. I thought that was charming. But to answer your question…”
Sercia gave a sweet, mocking smile.
“Whether I used you or not—why does that even matter?”
“What…?!”
“Isn’t it already over? You’re an unqualified failure, and I passed. The result was decided long ago.”
She smirked from one side of her mouth. A scornful smile.
“Why not just accept it? In the end, being fooled is your own fault.”
Even an outsider like Gale could tell.
“To achieve your goals, you use every tool available. Isn’t that right?”
Her words were like gasoline on a bonfire.
“If not for you, I—I could have…! You ruined everything!!”
Unsurprisingly, the man exploded, unleashing a blast of mana from his entire body.
BOOOOOM!
The shockwave rocked the tavern.
“Waaah! Everyone, get out!”
The ferocious surge of power proved he was no amateur.
The tavern descended into chaos.
“…Well, guess this place isn’t good for drinking anymore.”
Gale ducked falling debris with a sigh.
“Ti to make my exit.”
He turned to leave—only for soone to grab his arm.
“Leaving already? Without …?”
The cause of all this trouble—Sercia Edelweiss.
“You—!?”
Gale tried to shake her off, but she was quicker.
“Please… sweetheart.”
She whispered sweetly into his ear.
“I’d really like you to show your strength. For .”
Her breath brushed his skin, and a haze crept over his mind.
“…Urgh.”
He ca to a mont later—only to find she’d vanished.
“Dammit. A honey trap…! She’s a mage!”
Honey Trap—a type of ntal magic.
It bewitched the target, bending them to the caster’s will.
If Elwin hadn’t drilled him recently in resisting ntal interference, he’d already be a helpless puppet.
“That little brat plays dirty.”
Gale ground his teeth.
“I’ll make you pay for that. But first…”
His gaze turned toward Crayson, who was still rampaging.
“Why… why’s this happening?! Stop… STOP… No… AAAAAAGH!!”
The man clawed at his head, screaming, unable to control the wild surge of mana within him.
He seed desperate to restrain it, but was clearly failing.
‘Obviously.’
Mana is triggered by emotion.
And right now, Crayson was experiencing extre emotional instability. Few could control mana under those conditions.
“I’d rather not kill you, honestly. I wonder when the other Hunters will get here. They’d be better at subduing him…”
Killing soone with whom he had no grudge, no conflict of interest, wasn’t Gale’s style.
“I’ll try to take you down gently. But if I can’t… Well, bla yourself for falling for her. Sorry, brother.”
As much as he disliked Sercia Edelweiss, he had to admit she had a point.
“In this ssed-up world… the one who gets fooled is the fool.”
Gale drew his weapon—one of the swords Elwin had prepared for him.
Shing—
The blade glead brilliantly as it was drawn.
“If it hurts, too bad. It’s the price of your own stupidity. …And mine.”
Gale muttered bitterly.
“Have I been hanging around strong types like that brat too long? My sense of danger might be getting dull. That’s scary… I need to fix that.”
And with that, he charged straight toward Crayson.
BOOOOOM!
Another huge explosion rocked the tavern.
—
Outside the tavern, in the nearby forest—
Soone hidden beneath the shade of the trees observed the intense battle with sharp eyes.
***
“Ugh… my back…”
Gale trudged along, groaning and thumping his shoulders.
“What a ss during my precious day off. Tired-exhausted-burned-out~”
He humd nonsense lyrics to himself, then suddenly grinned.
“But hey… I really have gotten stronger, haven’t I?”
Even against a berserking Rusram Academy graduate with overwhelming mana, Gale hadn’t lost his edge.
From beginning to end, he’d been calm, controlled.
A flawless victory.
“Damn! That brat should’ve seen ! Look at this growth!”
Puffing himself up, Gale’s mood turned sour just as quickly.
“Ugh… and now I’ve gotta go back. Damn it. I could’ve had more drinks!”
He pouted like a child.
…!
Suddenly, soone approached from behind.
Click!
“That's far enough.”
A cold gun barrel pressed against the back of his head.
“Step away from your weapon. You’d better not move—unless you want my Beretta blowing a hole through your skull.”
Gale swallowed and raised his hands.
But he already knew who it was.
He had figured she might co.
“…So you were after this whole ti, huh?”
Then he corrected himself.
“No, not . You’re interested in the person behind , aren’t you?”
Sercia smirked.
“Only just realized that? Bit slow, aren’t you?”
The seductive, playful aura she’d shown before had vanished—replaced with an icy, composed air.
This was likely her true nature. Cold, calculating.
—Mage.
Gale asked her,
“So what was real, and what wasn’t?”
He’d first suspected her when he tasted the food brought by the tavern boy.
His profession had granted him immunity to many poisons, so—
—…This taste…?
He had imdiately noticed the faint sting of a numbing poison in the fries.
That’s when it hit him.
—…It’s a trap.
He wasn’t just caught in a fantasy—he was under illusion magic.
“Correct. You’re slow, but not stupid.”
“I get that a lot.”
“But yes, Crayson was real. You looked strong, so I needed to drain your strength a bit. He served his purpose well. Now he’s useless.”
Gale let out a short whistle.
“Whhew. You’re one cold lady.”
“Thanks. I’ll take that as a complint.”
Sercia smiled.
“I’m not going to hurt you—as long as you answer my questions properly.”
“What do you want to know?”
She leaned in, her voice laced with strange desire.
“Elwin Krieger.”
“…!”
“I want information about him.”
For the past ten years, Sercia Edelweiss had been waiting for him.
She had clawed her way into the elite, near-impossible-to-enter Rusram Academy. She had studied harder than anyone and graduated with top marks.
Every step of that long journey had been to et him—the fifth Special-Class Hunter.
‘…It took so long.’
Years of effort finally earned her the qualifications to apply for the Hunter Exam.
To get this far, she had used every tool, every trick she could.
Because to fulfill her deepest, most personal ambition—she needed Elwin Krieger.
‘At last… I’ve found him!’
But the World Hunter Association had completely locked down all information on him. Not even scraps were available.
After years of digging, all she had were a few letters of his na.
Nothing more.
Then, three days ago—
—An airship…!
While secretly scouting around diale, she spotted the vessel floating in the sky.
—Got you!
No one else noticed—likely due to a magical barrier.
But Sercia wasn’t “ordinary.”
Arrogant as it may sound, when it ca to magic, she had unmatched talent.
“So, are you going to talk? About him? Better yet, guide to him.”
She pressed the gun harder against his head.
“…Haah. So much for my day off. I got used again, huh. Tch!”
He sighed deeply and scratched his head.
“…Huh?”
Sercia blinked at his unexpected response.
“Hey, you damn brat.”
Then ca the words that widened her eyes in shock.
“He left a ssage for you. Want to hear it?”
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