Chapter 22

## Chapter 22: New Adventurer Bern (20) – Senior

Bern, who often received the evaluation of “not being adventurous enough,” did not particularly dislike the unique culture of adventurers.

When senior and junior adventurers meet to chat, isn’t it more fitting to do so at a tavern with a beer rather than a fancy house with a cup of tea?

“Kiya! There are a few good restaurants in Phrencia, but this place has the best beer, you know. How do you like it?”

Alseus, after guzzling down a large wooden beer mug that almost covered his face, slammed it on the table with a thud in a manner that perfectly embodied the rough image of an adventurer that Bern had always envisioned, leaving Bern secretly in awe.

Frankly, by Bern’s standards, the beer here was too lukewarm with a weak taste, almost like water, but the ambiance can make even mediocre taste better.

“Yes, it’s not bad.”

“Tsk, an ambiguous response, huh?”

“I imagine that if the alcohol you poured was stronger, my response would change from ‘not bad’ to ‘good.'”

“Hahaha! This guy seems calm on the outside but is pretty scheming inside! If it weren’t strong, what kind of man would I be? Don’t worry, I’ll cover it all, so drink at ease!”

With that cheerful response from Bern, Alseus burst into hearty laughter.

After such a light ice-breaking session,

Blanca, who had hardly touched her drink, spoke up.

“So, can we get to the main topic now?”

“Hmm. I see.”

Alseus, stroking his chin for a moment, said casually.

“Well, honestly speaking, it’s a handover. Come to think of it, it’s like we failed and now have to leave the cleanup to our juniors. But I thought we should at least offer some support before we go.”

“Is that all there is to it?”

Blanca’s voice carried a noticeable tone of confusion and distrust.

Due to the nature of adventurers being both business partners and competitors, the adventurer industry is a place where ‘giving’ rarely occurs.

Unless they are collaborators handling the same quest, there’s little gain in helping unrelated parties.

Even among ruffians, there are very few who faithfully repay the favors they’ve received.

Even if an adventurer has the intention to repay, you never know when or where they might end up dying. This applies to both the adventurer and the person they owe the favor to.

While it’s understood that fostering a culture of helping those in dire straits would increase the survival rate of the industry, benefiting everyone in the long term, adventurers prefer quick profits rather than depending on uncertain and vague future rewards.

As if understanding Blanca’s doubt, Alseus burst into a hearty laugh.

“I get it, I get it. I know what you’re trying to say. Don’t you have a hunch just by looking at me, a lone figure now?”

“Could it be… a quarrel?”

“Yeah. When we couldn’t solve the issue, they blew up and yelled saying, ‘Why should we help if our failure would just tarnish our reputation?’ It was a bunch of petty guys with no class.”

Alseus, as if furious, gulped down the remaining beer in his glass in one go before turning his gaze with an inexplicable sense of emptiness towards the innkeeper who was idly watching over the place.

“This place used to have a daughter who worked as an attendant. She bowed her head to us, asking us to restore the city to its original state because people were anxious. She said she would do anything in her power, even volunteering to act as bait. We assured her, claiming that we would definitely protect her, and accepted her offer. But now, there’s no attendant here.”

Blanca and Renya held their breath.

From Alseus, who seemed like a jolly, easy-going man, a deeply mournful and angry aura radiated out, something he could not hide.

“In my entire adventurer life, it was one of the most disgraceful experiences. My heart wanted to cling to the mission and try to solve it, but I eventually had to accept the harsh truth. Without the necessary abilities, clinging on will only lead to more victims. So, we gave up. And here you are. If I were to help you, what more reason do we need?”

Interrupting the silence, Bern responded.

“No, that’s sufficient. Would you tell us the story?”

“Good. I’ll tell you everything. According to our investigation—”

Afterward, Alseus began to pass on the various pieces of information they had gathered during their stay there.

– The disappearances occur at random intervals. Sometimes, one person is taken away daily, and other times, no one is touched for a few days, followed by someone being abducted suddenly. However, at least one person disappears every week minimum.

– The only way to avoid disappearing is to stay awake. If anyone in the same space as the target maintains consciousness, nothing happens.

– Once all members of a group fall asleep, regardless of how secure the location is, the perpetrator intrudes effortlessly, taking the victim away. Even if physical entrances are sealed, it makes no difference.

– Some families tied their family members together to prevent being taken, but the ropes were easily undone, and the victims disappeared.

– Traps were set, but none of them triggered. We attempted to track footprints, but it yielded nothing.

– The forest initially suspected to be the perpetrator’s location was thoroughly searched, yet no evidence was found.

“As a last resort, we gathered potential victims in several buildings, taking turns to stay up. Even this failed. While our party member wasn’t around, another person on watch duty fell asleep, resulting in the young women present disappearing instantly. It seems this became a trauma, and now even cooperative all-night watches don’t go well anymore because they trust no one other than family.”

After Alseus finished speaking, Renya, with a perplexed expression, questioned.

“Is there even a solution to this? If locking doors doesn’t work, traps don’t work, and tying up victims doesn’t work, what should we do?”

Renya knows of Bern’s overwhelming power.

Whether the opponent was a mysterious monster or an evil black magician, Renya never considered the possibility of Bern losing after having witnessed him effortlessly subduing a knight emitting sword energy, and so Renya remained confident. However, the situation seemed far more complicated than he thought.

Even if Bern were powerful, the situation needs to escalate to physical combat before determining victory or defeat.

“Hmm.”

On the other hand, Blanca experienced a strange sense of discord, redirecting her gaze. She noticed Bern deep in thought and their eyes met. Bern slightly nodded.

Somehow feeling an emotional connection, Blanca felt a sense of quiet satisfaction and asked,

“Where is the person who fell asleep despite being in a group?”

Alseus raised his eyebrows as if surprised.

“Why do you ask that?”

“It’s strange, don’t you think? Even knowing that dozing off leads to failure, someone still did it, despite this being a crucial all-night watch.”

“Sleep is something beyond one’s control in many ways. No matter how tense you are, a moment of letting down your guard can cause you to fail.”

“Even so, it might be worth investigating, at least.”

“Hmm…”

Just then, the innkeeper silently approached their table, placing a dish down while speaking.

“If you mean Malcolm, he’s probably at an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. People who lost family members or lovers due to him try to kill him on sight, so he couldn’t stay in the inner city and was driven away.”

Bern bowed his head respectfully.

“Thank you for telling us.”

“To the likes of you who’ve come from outside trying to catch the culprit, does this matter at all?”

After speaking, the innkeeper looked at Alseus.

“I implore you. Please ensure that my daughter’s courage wasn’t in vain.”

For a moment, Alseus wore a bitter expression before nodding resolutely.

“I’ll ensure that. I will cooperate with these folks to the best of my ability.”

Understanding the situation from Alseus’s earlier words and the innkeeper’s attitude, Renya, with a face that seemed touched, wiped the corners of his eyes.

Blanca rekindled her determination to capture the culprit amidst all this, while Bern, with an unfathomable expression, picked up the beer mug.

[It seems like something is bothering him. Why?]

“I guess it could be that the beer tastes different this time around.”

[What?]

Bern didn’t respond.

***

“I’m planning to stay in this town for a while, so call me if you need help. And no, I won’t demand any rewards, so don’t misunderstand.”

Adding that he isn’t the type to carry debts, Alseus left.

Renya said in a voice filled with an indescribable sense of respect.

“To be honest, outside of our seniors and the respected female, I thought adventurers were merely ruffians who fought a bit, but it seems that once you reach the 4th rank level, there’s a certain dignity. That drive, responsibility, and pride. The Eastern Branch doesn’t have it’s name for nothing!”

“Well, it is my first time speaking with him directly, but I’ve never heard anything bad about him within the Adventurer’s Guild.”

Perhaps Bern’s frequently talked about “adventurers from a tale” is as close to a real person as Alseus.

While thinking so, Blanca glanced at Bern, but for some reason, Bern said nothing.

She tilted her head with curiosity yet started following Bern as he began walking towards the outskirts of the city.

As the sun set and darkness enveloped the surroundings, a fireball appeared on Blanca’s palm, lighting up the area.

Maintaining an attack spell in readiness without releasing it was quite a taxing act in terms of mana consumption. However, with her recently increased mana capacity, it wasn’t an inconvenience.

If her old self, who once carefully calculated the number of times she could use even a basic spell, could see her now, she wondered what kind of sarcastic comments she’d make.

Walking for some distance,

“…Wow. I knew it was an abandoned house, but this is ridiculous.”

Renya gasped in awe.

Indeed, the building in front of them was in a deplorable state.

Peeling walls, piles of dust, and an eerie atmosphere that seemed to exude decay.

Part of it might be due to the approaching night, but it didn’t look like a place where people could live. It felt like more of a stamina test arena.

“Mr. Malcolm, are you here? We’ve come to ask about the disappearance incidents.”

No answer followed, even after knocking.

Four, five times.

Repeated knocking and calling his name resulted in the same silence.

“Isn’t he here?”

“Yes, elder. It doesn’t seem possible for anyone to be living here.”

Despite their doubts, Bern continued knocking silently.

After about ten minutes of persistence, finally, a grumpy stomping sound could be heard from inside.

The door swung violently open, and a man bellowed in a surly tone.

“What! What is it? Do you know what time it is!?”

Bloodshot eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a smell of alcohol emanating from his body. Not to mention a menacing axe in his hand.

The sight of an evidently dangerous individual sent Blanca and Renya into instant combat readiness.

But Bern remained unperturbed and spoke.

“I’d like to ask about the disappearance incident. Can you cooperate for a moment?”

“Cooperation? Like hell! There’s nothing much to say. If you don’t want trouble, then—”

“Then, do you intend to keep carrying this false accusation?”

“—What?”

Bern’s words caused Malcolm’s body to tremble.

Pointing at his stunned figure, Bern spoke again.

“The claim that you fell asleep during the all-night watch—this isn’t your fault. I’ll clear your name, so please cooperate.

[!– Slider main container –]