Chapter 94
[You have purchased 'Originality - Skill Opening' using 150 coins.]
[You have learned Magic Decryption.]
[Current coins held: 100]
Joshua learned the necessary holy magic through the shop before executing the plan.
Decryption.
It was a spell used to treat poison.
He had a use for this spell after infiltrating the raiders' mountain fortress.
When he looked up, the day had already broken.
By the ti he returned to the hut, everyone was awake.
He looked at Berken, the man he had captured yesterday, standing among them.
“The scouting party hasn't returned, so what happens in this case?”
“You can rest easy. Once the Fangs' scouting party leaves, they stay active for several days.”
“When is your scheduled return?”
“This evening.”
Joshua nodded.
He turned his gaze and looked at his companions.
“As planned, a few of you will be captured by them along with .”
Tania raised her hand.
“How many are going?”
“Three. If too many go, it'll raise suspicion.”
“Have you decided who you're taking?”
“Yes. Tania, Serena, and I are going.”
Those who were left out made grumbling noises.
It was absurd.
Waiting was much safer than following along.
Nevertheless, they wanted to follow even while risking danger.
“I could've earned so points…….”
“You even ford the lake request with mages. Surely, you aren't playing favorites, are you?”
Talleon and Gavinu were making a fuss.
Leo, the captain, also looked dissatisfied, though he didn't let it show.
“Hehe, it's a pity, but aim for the next ti. Serena and I will be going this ti.”
Tania muttered happily.
The positions of the hostages and those waiting had been reversed.
It was enough to worry whether their ntal states had been corrupted.
“If you want to stay behind, say so. I can swap you with soone else.”
“I absolutely hate that!”
Tania refused stubbornly.
“As you know, staying behind is safer.”
“I know that.”
“Then why did you choose it without any hesitation?”
“It's a chance to be recognized, so I can't let soone else snatch it away.”
“I don't get it.”
I tilted my head.
Even though I pointed out the possibilities, her expression remained unchanged.
I pushed the doubt aside and approached Leo.
“Leo, wait at the place I marked. We'll join up once we rescue the target.”
“Understood.”
I went back to Berken.
He swallowed hard as if he were nervous.
“I don't trust you.”
“W-What... I'm doing my best to help though.”
“For now, sure. But there's no guarantee you'll be the sa once we go back.”
I grabbed his arm and rolled up his sleeve.
Then I took out a dagger and pressed it against his skin.
“D-Didn't you promise to spare ?”
“I'll keep the promise. But shouldn't I take out so insurance too?”
“Insurance, you say?”
“A curse.”
A curse was a type of magic that restricted a person's actions through a magic circle.
“If you break the set rules, you die.”
“H-Heek!”
“Don't betray us, and don't act suspiciously. Be careful with your words too. If there's even a hint of it.”
I carved the magic circle onto his arm with the knife.
Berken looked at his arm with trembling eyes.
“The curse I carved will kill you.”
He was a human who killed his own comrade without hesitation to survive.
There was no reason he wouldn't do it a second ti.
“Uuugh.”
He knelt down and clutched his arm where the magic circle was carved.
I lowered my knees and t his eyes.
“Let's do this well. If you do well, you live, and I live too.”
Berken nodded slowly.
* * *
“What? What happened to the others, and why are you the only one back?”
The entrance to the Hungry Fangs' hideout.
The man guarding the place greeted the returning Berken.
“Haha, there were circumstances.”
“What kind of circumstances?”
“I had a bit of a hard ti catching these ones.”
When Berken stepped aside slightly, the boys and girls tied with ropes appeared.
The man approached.
They all had decent faces, and one could feel the refinent of a noble from them.
Undoubtedly top-quality goods!
Especially the girls, it looked like they could fetch a high price.
“Aren't they academy students?”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe, you've hit the jackpot.”
The man scanned the girls' bodies with a lecherous gaze.
An uncontrollable desire surged.
“Seeing how their clothes are clean, you haven't even touched them?”
“Showing the captured humans to Cyris cos first after all.”
“You idiot, passing up kids like this is a fool's move. We should put our stamp on them first before selling them.”
The man drooled as he toyed with Tania's hair.
She suppressed her unpleasantness firmly.
“How about taking them to the forest and having so fun together?”
Right at the mont Berken hesitated for a second.
He felt a chill from sowhere.
It was from Joshua, who was right beside him.
He was kidnapped, but he also wasn't kidnapped.
Berken jumped in surprise and pushed away his comrade's arm.
“These are kids I caught. If anyone's going to lay a hand on them, it's , so why would I do it with you?”
“Don't be so stingy, let's share the good stuff.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
The comrade looked at him with suspicious eyes.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“You're strange.”
“About what?”
“If it's the Berken I know, you'd be more active in this kind of thing than anyone else.”
Berken broke into a cold sweat.
It was a fact that his usual behavior was poor.
If there weren't a problem, he would've gladly accepted the suggestion.
However, it was difficult right now.
A tiger was right next to him.
“The guys who were with died. I'm not really in the mood for that right now.”
“Bullshit, since when did you care about things like that?”
“I have those tis too.”
The man crossed his arms and tilted his head.
Sothing felt off.
But he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.
“Let ask one thing.”
“What now?”
“How did you catch them?”
“What do you an by that?”
“As I said earlier, those kids, their clothes are too clean. There's no sign of resistance. It feels as if they followed you obediently.”
Berken's head throbbed.
This was a human who had stood guard at the entrance.
He occupied that spot based on his sharp observation skills alone.
“I-I got lucky. I caught them while they were asleep.”
“Is that so.”
Fortunately, he seed convinced.
“Do I have to tell you about every little detail like this?”
Berken raised his voice so his comrade would be flustered.
Fortunately, it worked.
He flinched and let out a long breath.
“Understood. Pass through.”
He cleared the way.
He moved his steps inside while leading the students.
He gained a mont to avoid their eyes before arriving at the hideout.
Whack!
Joshua kicked him in the ankle.
his body swayed from the impact.
“Won't you do it properly?”
“I-I'm sorry. Most of the guys here have black hearts. T-To put it differently, it ans the subordinates are very pretty. Since those guys have high standards too, they don't try to touch just anyone.”
“You bastard, you call that an excuse.”
“H-Heek!”
Whack! Whack!
He was kicked continuously.
He couldn't resist.
He was afraid the curse carved on his hand would activate if he resisted.
“From now on, prevent things before they happen.”
“I'll try my best!”
“Trying your best isn't enough. If you try to brush it off with words like you did your best, you're dead.”
Berken suppressed the tears that were about to flow.
To think he'd be caught by such a cold blooded person.
He thought a rough path lay ahead of him.
“Let's organize the plan. Once we enter the hideout, we're locked in a prison imdiately, right?”
“That's right.”
“Make us stay in the sa room as that person from the Glover family you ntioned.”
“Huh? I'm just a low level mber, so I don't have the authority for that.”
Whack!
He was kicked again.
This ti it was the back of his knee.
He barely endured nearly collapsing as the strength left his knees.
“Even if you don't have authority, there's a way. You just have to persuade the jailer or lie that Cyris, the leader, ordered it, right?”
“I see. Truly, it's a brilliant idea.”
“Are you mocking ?”
“Of course not!”
“Think. And one more thing. Don't let your voice tremble. And wipe off that sweat.”
“If I were good at acting, I would've joined a traveling troupe instead of doing this goddamn looting, wouldn't I?”
“Don't make excuses and just do it if I tell you to.”
At his continued pointing out, his stubbornness flared up.
“Don't provoke too much. Since you don't know what I'll do if I resolve to die. I know your strength. You're…… Mgh-mgh!”
The words wouldn't co out of his throat.
his throat was blocked as if responding to a certain word.
“I should've told you. To be careful with both your actions and your words.”
“Kh-ack!”
How much ti had passed?
He nearly died because he couldn't breathe.
It was a terrifying experience.
“Whenever you try to say sothing regarding and my companions, you'll experience what just happened every ti.”
“K-Kh-ugh.”
“Don't betray us, Berken. Understood?”
“……Understood.”
Joshua looked at him with sharp eyes.
He had almost stolen the horses and hard the companions.
I intended to use him thoroughly if I were to use him at all.
There was no consideration.
If I were hit, I would only pay it back several tis over.
“If the task is finished, you can live. It's a very generous reward as a price for what you've done.”
“But I gain nothing.”
“At least your life isn't taken, right?”
Berken thought it was an unfair deal.
However, he couldn't rebel.
Unlike the other boys and girls, there was no gap for him.
He arrived at the hideout with them.
The resting companions turned their gazes this way.
It was a reaction similar to the sentry they t at the entrance.
But unlike a mont ago, there was no one who tried to openly put a move on them.
The things done here reached the ears of Cyris, the leader.
Maybe it was fine on the outskirts.
There weren't many who acted like ruffians even at the hideout.
“A big catch today, Berken. To catch three of them. And every one of them is stunning.”
The jailer chuckled as they reached the prison.
“Yeah.”
“Go into Room 2.”
The rooms were the numbers that divided the prison.
The more expensive the person, the lower the number of the prison they entered.
Room 2 ant they were high quality goods.
However, that wouldn't do.
The place where the person from the Glover family was caught was Room 1.
Joshua's order was to let them stay in the sa room as him.
“Send them to Room 1.”
“What are you talking about, Berken. As you know, Room 1 isn't a place where just anyone is sent.”
He was right.
Even if they were the sa hostage, the person locked in Room 1 was treated differently.
Their bodies weren't tied.
They were even given clean water and neat food once a day.
“Cyris said to put them in Room 2 at first, no matter how good the goods are.”
“I'm asking you.”
“What's the reason?”
“They look like nobles at a glance, don't they? Maybe she's a lady of a great family like the Glover family. If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to treat them respectfully from the start?”
“……Did you ask them?”
“It's a hunch, a hunch.”
“You bastard! If it turns out otherwise, I'm the only one who gets nagged.”
Berken took out the chocolate he had hidden in his pocket.
The jailer gave a dry cough and then stared at it intently.
“I'll give you another one later. Let it slide for now with this.”
“Ahem, I really shouldn't do this.”
The jailer took the chocolate and quickly shoved it into his pants pocket.
“Keep your word about giving another one. Got it?”
“Don't worry.”
“Hey, put these kids in Room 1!”
When the jailer shouted, other raiders revealed themselves from behind.
They slowly approached the boys and girls.
A mont in ti.
Joshua whispered so only Berken could hear.
“Look around the hideout and report the situation to every six hours. If you're even a minute late, be prepared for punishnt.”
Berken nodded quickly so others couldn't see.
Joshua was dragged away by the jailer.
He felt a sense of relief as his back grew more distant.
However, he shouldn't be intoxicated by that relief.
If he let his guard down even for a mont, he might fail to keep the order Joshua had given.
* * *
Vale opened his eyes.
The door of the prison opened.
He rembered that the door hadn't opened for a very long ti since he was locked in here.
Who could it be?
While thinking it couldn't be.
He held onto a sliver of hope that it might be soone from the family.
“Get along well.”
The jailer pushed the hostages in.
Because of the darkness, the hostages' faces weren't clearly visible.
“Vale Glover?”
Vale's eyes widened.
A calm and soft voice said his na.
“Who are you?”
“My na is Joshua, the person who'll make you the head of the family.”
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