Chapter 58 : Expedition Leader

Chapter 58: Expedition Leader

Lorraine followed me around all day.

And in between, she also took on the role of guide.

“Over there is the Ancient Relic Research Lab. If you discover a relic, you can take it there.”

“That chimney’s huge, right? That’s because it’s a Mana Stone Processing Plant. To increase the capacity and output of mana stones, you need extremely high heat.”

“This is the Magical Armor Design Room. What’s designed here gets built next door in the Magical Armor Workshop.”

Kurururur—

Carrying all these buildings, the steel wheels called the Infinite Tracks crushed the mountains beneath them as they advanced.

Since they stopped here and there to conduct investigations and measurements, their speed wasn’t fast.

It seemed we would reach the entrance of the ruins only around the time Master Eodran had told us to gather earlier.

Through all that long time, Lorraine seemed determined to pester me.

“Ah... really... I truly want to study this...! A physique that can handle mana directly! Other than His Highness the Grand Duke’s disciple, it’s unheard of in history! But he’s not someone I can easily meet... You’re the only one. Isn’t there some way?”

“No chance.”

I brushed off her persistent advances halfheartedly.

The truth was, I had something else bothering me far more at the moment.

‘What’s with that guy?’

It had been about fifteen minutes ago.

When we passed in front of the Mana Stone Processing Plant.

That was when some guy started tailing us.

Judging by the standards of this era, his shadowing skills were quite good.

No sound, oddly hard to spot, and no presence felt at all.

But there was no way he could slip past my senses, honed even to the stage of Rebirth of the Flesh.

‘He keeps staring?’

Light yellow hair and light yellow eyes. Freckles across his face, looked about 169 cm tall. His age? Maybe twenty? Twenty-one?

That young man kept following us.

I wanted to catch him and ask, but for now, I endured.

After all, I didn’t know the situation here well yet.

However...

‘Why’s he like that toward me?’

The hostility directed at me was unmistakable.

As if lightning crackled in those pale yellow eyes, he glared at me with the intent to kill.

What was this about?

Judging by how people around us greeted him as they passed, he didn’t seem like a suspicious individual....

I couldn’t figure it out.

“Ah, just tell me straight! How much? How much will it take?”

At last, Lorraine—who kept clinging—let the word ‘money’ slip from her lips.

That was right. Negotiation truly began at this point.

“That’s something Lady Lorraine should know, since you’re the one who wants me. How would I know?”

This was the ancient technique of Roberland’s negotiators.

The first offer.

*         *         *

Kurururur—

The Infinite Tracks, rolling slowly but surely, finally came to a stop.

The entrance to the ruins, which had seemed quite far away in the daytime, was now right before us.

In the end, it was Lorraine who guided me all the way to the front of the ruins.

It seemed the conversation dragged on because the price we each had in mind simply didn’t match.

Lorraine kept talking about gold coins, but what I needed wasn’t gold coins.

“If you pay me with Magical Armor, I’ll consider it.”

When I said that, Lorraine’s face stiffened.

“Are you insane? Do you know how much that’s worth...!? It’s not just about the money, it contains our core technology! Do you think we just sell that to anyone?”

“Ah, I see. Then forget it.”

“Kkyaaaak!”

So, continuing that parallel conversation, we eventually arrived together at the entrance to the ruins.

“Huh? There’s the Director.”

“Hello, Director~”

At the entrance, a tent was already set up.

On one side, the word ‘Exploration Team’ was written.

“Yes. Hello, everyone~”

With a pout like a whining child, Lorraine quickly plastered a bright smile over her face.

“This here is Ransen Banroa. Since he’s a First-Class Mercenary, the ruin exploration will move along even more smoothly, right?”

“First-Class!”

“Ooooh—”

Four men and women freely looked me up and down.

They were clearly mercenaries.

It seemed I was to be on the same team as them.

The mercenaries introduced themselves one by one, and each shook my hand.

Once the round was over, a mercenary in his fifties who introduced himself as Ruko looked around.

“Ah, but the Expedition Leader isn’t here.”

“Yeah? Where did Cask go? He was definitely going to see Miss Lorraine earlier....”

“Hey. Hey.”

When a female mercenary named Mitsi voiced her doubt, a male mercenary named Defuan quickly nudged her in the ribs, giving her a warning glance. The woman hastily covered her mouth.

For some reason, they all seemed oddly conscious of Lorraine, though Lorraine herself didn’t appear to notice a thing.

“Well then, since I saw you exchange greetings, I’ll get going now~ Hang out for a while, and once it hits six o’clock, you can start the exploration~ Make sure to earn lots of money!”

With a smile, she walked away into the distance.

And as she disappeared, he approached.

The one who had been tailing us all along, with light yellow hair, freckles, and a small stature paired with a rather delicate face.

He strode right up, looked me up and down without hesitation, and threw just one line.

“You? It was you?”

What was?

“Hey, Captain. There you are.”

“Well, if Miss Lorraine’s here, of course Cask wouldn’t be absent.”

The mercenaries chattered beside me.

Ah. So the one who had been tailing me this whole time was the Expedition Leader?

His name was Cask?

Around twenty-one years old, perhaps. Looked young....

That was all I was thinking when—

“Don’t act so high and mighty!”

A sharp voice pierced my eardrums.

The short mercenary leader with light yellow hair glared at me furiously.

“Listen well! I don’t know why Lorraine was hanging around with you... but that’s just because she’s kind and friendly to everyone, that’s all...!”

Even before he finished speaking, the surrounding mercenaries murmured.

“Kind?”

“Friendly?”

“Are we talking about that research director obsessed with money?”

“That witch...?”

At that moment, a flash of light flared in Cask’s pale yellow eyes.

“....”

“...I didn’t say anything, Captain.”

Oh.

He looked young, but he had clearly established his authority as the leader.

Mercenaries who seemed much older than him didn’t dare move.

Cask glared at them for a while, then fixed his gaze back on me.

“Anyway. Lorraine isn’t interested in you at all. So don’t go getting the wrong idea and pestering her... or you die. Got it?”

Got it.

That you were a brat hopelessly infatuated with Lorraine.

It felt like I should answer, but since I had nothing to say,

“Mm... Sure! She’s yours.”

I just accepted it.

“Hey!!!”

Why get angry? I said I understood....

Cask trembled, glaring at me, then suddenly sneered.

“Hmph! I asked for them to send a skilled one, and instead they send some rookie brat? These research lab people never do their jobs. They always make Lorraine do all the work.”

Impressive.

Even then, he blamed the employees instead of Lorraine....

Quite, amusing.

“By the way. Cask, was it?”

When I asked that, Cask reacted sensitively.

“Cask! Expedition Leader Cask! Address me properly!”

“Right. Captain. How old are you?”

“Hah? What, you want to be respected for age? A mercenary? Instead of proving yourself by skill?”

“So how old are you?”

“Twenty-four. Why? Hurts your pride to be under someone younger?”

Oh, he was older than he looked.

Then why did he act worse than a sixteen-year-old?

“No. Age doesn’t matter....”

I lightly set my hand on my sword’s hilt and stared straight at Cask.

“I just wonder if your skill matches up.”

“Hah?”

“I don’t like being judged by someone weaker than me.”

Cask’s face twisted.

He almost seemed relieved as he snorted.

“Fine. Since it has to be done anyway, let’s do it right now. A skill test.”

The guy started walking toward the open ground in front of the ruins.

“But if you fail the test, I’ll use my authority to fire you on the spot. I’ll even cover the penalty fee myself.”

Overflowing with confidence, wasn’t he?

I followed him toward the open ground.

Then I threw out the bait.

“Then let’s make it a bet.”

“A bet?”

“If I lose, I’ll leave without taking the penalty fee. But if you lose, you’ll do whatever I ask.”

“Hah? You think you can beat me?”

“You betting or not?”

“Let’s hear it then. What do you want?”

Well, I didn’t know yet. I just needed to secure the promise first, and then I’d think about it later—depending on what he could actually give.

“Are you in or not?”

“No. For a bet to count, I have to know what the demand is...!”

“Are you scared?”

For rookie Cask, those words were a fatal blow.

“Draw... your sword.”

Growling, Cask drew his blade.

Was that a magic sword? The blade’s body was inlaid with geometric patterns.

“You’re saying we’re betting? Say it clearly.”

“Yes! I said yes! Draw your sword!”

“The bet’s settled.”

I also drew my sword.

Not Banroa. That one stood out too much, so I had already tucked it away in subspace. The sword I held now was just a common ancient blade.

Cask gave a sly grin.

“You picked the wrong opponent.”

The mercenaries, buzzing as they watched, all voiced their agreement.

“He’s right about that.”

“Even if you’re First-Class... against the Captain, how long can you last?”

“Exactly. I was fooled by his age at first too... ah, still hurts.”

So he really could fight, huh?

But the strange thing was—though his presence felt impressive for his age, it still wasn’t all that impressive.

I wondered why, when—

Pajijijik!

In the next moment, I saw it clearly.

Cask wrapped himself in lightning, a sly grin spreading across his face.

“I’m a certified Magic Swordsman of Orocera.”

Orocera.

Certified Magic Swordsman.

Wow!

He could use both magic and swordsmanship?

Cask was brimming with confidence.

“Ransen? First-Class, was it? I won’t hold back. Don’t die on me, alright?”

Pajijijik!

With lightning surging wildly around him, Cask charged like a thunderbolt.

But—

To my eyes, which had fought a Grandmaster only days ago...

He was far too slow.

Kwa-jik!

I cut the lightning.

Ah, so magic-born lightning scattered apart like flower petals when sliced.

“Wh... what?”

Cask’s pale yellow eyes trembled violently.

“M-my sword...?”

Tangg-rang!

The blade cut cleanly in two, along with the lightning, clattering to the ground.

Judging by his shock, it must have been pretty expensive.

“Uh? Uh, uh...?”

Clutching the broken half-blade, Cask stammered like a broken machine.

That was the end of the match.

I sheathed my sword and patted his shoulder.

“I’ve decided.”

“W-what?”

“What I want from you.”

“W-what is it?”

“Magic. Every bit of magical knowledge you have.”

I had been thinking about it anyway.

The Infinite Tracks, capable of moving entire mountain-sized buildings.

The Magical Armor, which multiplied one’s strength many times just by wearing it.

Encountering this world of magic had stirred something in me.

The ancient magical techniques. I would bring them back to the present.

Not for me to learn, but still....

“All the magic books you own. Along with every note and annotation you’ve personally organized. Everything. Hand over every last bit.”

Cask’s eyes trembled twice as fast.

*         *         *

“Hoo....”

“Haah....”

Sighs kept leaking out from somewhere.

Of course, it was Cask.

“...I want to die.”

Now he was even muttering.

That was a very good sign.

His suffering was proof that he was taking the ‘bet’ seriously.

Though this was called the Age of Magic, even here, magic seemed to belong to the realm of higher learning, inaccessible to most.

Each book must have been expensive, and the notes he had personally organized would be treasures with deep personal meaning.

The thought of handing them all over was what tormented him like this. If he had no intention of giving them, he wouldn’t have been suffering at all.

Of course,

I still had to wait and see until the end.

There was always the chance that, after all his inner conflict, he’d just snap and tell me to go to hell.

“Hoo....”

Though Cask was clearly in great distress, I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him.

After all, he was the one who had tried to oppress me with force in the first place.

Force for force.

Oppression for oppression.

That was the law of Roberland.

“Hoo....”

Sighing loudly again, Cask suddenly slapped both his cheeks with a sharp crack, then turned back.

“Let’s go in first. It’s time for the expedition.”

At the very least, it was commendable that he hadn’t forgotten his role as Expedition Leader, even in the middle of all this.

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