Chapter 25

# Chapter 25: New Adventurer Bern (23) – Prelude to the Purge

“Are the newly arrived adventurers looking for the culprit, and have they also recovered the victims?”

The next day.

Upon hearing Bern’s report, the Lord’s reaction was close to incredulousness.

Of course, it was inevitable when the adventurers, in just three days, declared they had resolved a problem that their predecessors had been unable to solve for over a month.

“More precisely, we rescued around ten people who had been held captive at the temporary base after they had gone missing. However, due to their abduction by the organization to which the culprit belongs, it’s difficult to retrieve the remaining victims immediately.”

At the Financial Officer’s words, the Lord’s expression became even stranger.

“Organization? Are you saying there was a slave trader behind this incident? What nonsense is this!”

“T, that is…”

“What are you hesitating about! Speak up!”

Pushed by the Lord’s demands, the Financial Officer hesitantly began to speak.

“Richi, it is called.”

“What?”

“This means the culprit is Richi’s disciple, who abducted people to present as a blood offering to his master. The other citizens we couldn’t yet rescue are believed to be locked away within the dungeon of Richi, wherever that may be.”

“…”

A long, drawn-out silence fell.

After a moment of silent lamentation, the Lord glanced at his retainers’ faces.

Normally, his retainers would scoff or yell at such outrageous jokes, but now, they all remained silent, their eyes merely blinking.

Notably, Gudrun, who usually raised her voice and took the lead in such situations, was quietly waiting in a very composed manner.

If she realized her earlier recklessness and was now awaiting her lord’s judgment, one might say she had grown as a knight. But that was not the truth.

‘He’s observing…’

Is he observing the Financial Officer? Impossible. Gudrun had always disregarded the Financial Officer for being a commoner’s son; why would she start observing him now?

Nor was she observing the Lord himself.

‘Bern, wasn’t it?’

The red-haired adventurer.

The one who had completely dismantled Gudrun while playing with her, making her look foolish.

She refrained from stepping forward, concerned about his reactions.

Even though the Financial Officer was the one who brought up the subject, in reality, it was Bern and his party who provided this report.

Secretly lowering his evaluation of his bodyguards, the Lord asked the Financial Officer.

“So, what happens next?”

“The citizens have already been returned to their families, and the adventurers are awaiting your response after making a certain demand.”

“To me? What are they asking?”

“The culprit. The adventurer said they want to take Richi’s disciple with them. They argue that it’s better to have a witness when informing the guild about the incident. However, they’ve also said that if you wish to personally punish the culprit, they are willing to hand him over to you.”

“Hmm…”

The Lord paused briefly.

Had Bern’s group come declaring they were going to take the culprit without his permission, he would have flown into a rage, ordering them caught. But now that the decision was placed in his hands, he was deep in thought.

If the matter were judged purely by emotion, naturally he would relish the idea of thoroughly punishing these criminals and feeding their bodies to the crows.

But what if the story about Richi being behind the scenes is true?

Who could guarantee Richi, angered by the death of his disciple, wouldn’t retaliate?

“Then, are there no further immediate risks to our side?”

“If the culprit’s confession holds true, then no.”

“Is that so.”

The Lord began to feel the scales tipping toward one decision.

Though the suffering of dozens of young women was painful, compared to the region of Phrencia as a whole, it wasn’t irreparable.

The Lord had sought to resolve the case not merely due to civilian casualties but because the fear-stricken citizens were falling into a state of helplessness.

Now, with the local villain apprehended, the citizens would likely begin to feel safer gradually if no more incidents occurred.

Finally, the Lord spoke.

“Propose this to them. If they accept these conditions, we will hand over the culprit.”

***

– The culprit will officially be executed by Phrencia. If they acknowledge this, bringing or leaving the actual person is none of our concern.

Upon hearing the Lord’s offer delivered by the Financial Officer, Renya blinked with confusion.

“What does this mean? Ultimately, it’s that they’re going to execute the culprit, right?”

Bern shook his head.

“No, they’re going to hand the culprit over to us. Instead, they’ll designate an appropriate criminal from their side, present them as the culprit, and execute them.”

“What significance does that have?”

“If we can announce to the citizens that ‘The Lord of Phrencia has punished the malevolent force disturbing our land’, then it doesn’t matter whether the actual culprit lives or dies. Additionally, since the culprit’s capture could provoke Richi’s retaliation, this is also a way to prevent that.”

It was a cunning plan, but Bern was unconcerned.

If the Lord insisted on executing the culprit himself out of misplaced pride, it would have been far more troublesome.

After settling the off-the-books agreement, the group delivered the disguised culprit (though ‘disguised’ is a bit of a stretch since he was literally bundled up in a large cloth and treated like literal baggage) into the carriage’s luggage area and sent him straight to the guild headquarters.

As expected, the guild headquarters exploded into chaos.

“Richi is behind this? Is preparing for a ritual with offerings in the thousands? His disciples are dispersed everywhere?”

The guild was not primarily an organization advocating for justice or defending the weak.

Therefore, they wouldn’t step into dangerous situations without proper requests or payment.

This time, however, the information Bern had uncovered was something different.

“Richi is at the very least a Level 5 monster. If Richi is attempting to elevate his strength with mass human sacrifices and succeeds, it would mean the birth of a Level 6 monster.”

“A Level 5 expert can go against a fief alone. And a Level 6 expert can confront an entire country alone. If such a monster perceives humans only as experimental subjects or sacrifices, the damage would be unimaginable.”

“We must strike before Richi completes his ritual and ascends to the next level. Otherwise, both the Virka kingdom and all of us will be done for! We must request reinforcements from the headquarters immediately!”

The faction that demanded Richi be struck down at all costs.

“Wait a moment, isn’t this too rash? After all, it’s based solely on the testimony of a single mage. How can we be sure he’s telling the truth?”

“To defeat Richi, we must tackle the dungeon he’s prepared. It’s not about confronting an already formidable foe in an ambush, but we’ll need to incur significant losses to kill him there.”

“Why should we be the ones to solve the kingdom’s crisis? Who would offer us rewards for that? Let those damn kings and nobles figure it out themselves!”

The faction opposing the guild’s involvement.

“A deeper investigation is necessary. After all, what guarantees this isn’t a trap set by Richi?”

“Let’s inform the kingdom and see their response. This isn’t something we alone can resolve.”

The cautious faction advocating for further observation before acting.

The conflict within the Eastern Branch of the guild grew, evolving through branch council meetings into a larger dispute that spread throughout the entire guild.

Soon, the following request was posted in all branches:

– Title: Richi’s Purge

– Client: Adventurer Guild

– Entry restriction: 3rd-class adventurer and above.

We’ve received intelligence that the powerful Richi, Mortius Varmor, is preparing a massive ritual involving human sacrifices to obtain immense power. Save the sacrifices and thwart the ritual. Hunt down the malevolent Richi.

“Richi? How do we capture someone like that?”

“The guild itself is posting a request? That’s a rarity.”

“Look at the reward—its amount is incredible! With this, we could relax for years.”

“I’m passing. No matter how valuable the reward, it’s of little use if you’re dead.”

Listening to the murmurs of the adventurers, Bern turned his gaze to the side.

There stood Blankah, looking at the request with a very complicated expression.

“You seem to be lost in deep thought.”

“Honestly speaking, yes. The opportunity has come so suddenly that it feels unreal.”

Originally, following Blankah’s plan, even after reaching Fourth Tier, there would still have been many steps before tackling Richi’s purge.

The information the guild had might provide clues, but tracking down his precise location and assembling forces capable of successfully eliminating the threat would be far from easy.

However, the guild’s full-scale operation led their informants around the continent to rapidly uncover the location of Richi’s dungeon. Across the branches, his disciples were either hunted down by high-ranking adventurers or fled, stopping their capture of sacrifices.

In a way, it was obvious.

Even though Richi was evaluated as equal to a fief in power, the collective power of the guild could easily overwhelm a fief.

“This request will involve the guild’s master himself. No matter how strong the foe, he won’t survive. The time for Richi to pay for his crimes has finally come.”

It should have been a joyful moment.

The certainty of defeating an archenemy, the prospect of freeing her mother quickly—how could these not be good things?

Yet, for some reason, Blankah couldn’t suppress her unsettling feelings.

If this was the end, if it was this simple…

Then, what was the point of all her efforts until now?

With these questions floating in her mind and the guilt of not being able to fully rejoice, Blankah couldn’t help but detest herself.

How disloyal and ungrateful was this sentiment she harbored?

“Are you okay, Bern? This situation seems quite different from the adventure you might’ve originally anticipated.”

Without meaning to, her question struck her as embarrassing.

Was she subtly hoping Bern had some discontent with the current situation?

How could a man like him—this red-haired adventurer who seemed to personify perfection—share such ugly feelings with her?

“Um, well, a bit disappointing. But not much.”

And yet, he said it so offhandedly,

So genuinely accepting of the ugliness within her.

“An adventure where you delve into a dungeon with a small group is different from a hunting expedition where a large crowd storms in. Honestly, I was hoping for the former, so there is some regret.”

“…You’re not being diligent. That way, other victims might still occur.”

What kind of response was she really expecting from him?

Her questioning would likely just wound his feelings when it came to something like this, yet for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself.

Instead of getting upset, Bern offered a bitter smile while agreeing honestly.

“Yes, it’s lack of diligence. But isn’t it natural to have feelings regardless of what societal norms say?”

“Isn’t it wrong according to society’s standard?”

“Adventurers don’t move based on notions of good and evil, do they?”

“You’re different though. You were the one rushing in despite personal gain.”

“No, I just do it because it seems ‘cool.’ Extremely selfish.”

As Bern chuckled, it felt like the perfect embodiment of the word.

“And besides, it’s all because of us anyway, so I think we deserve some emotional freedom. If we hadn’t handed the culprit over to the guild after capturing him, Richi and his disciples would probably still be roaming free. So, it’s because of us that they couldn’t.”

-So, your efforts are meaningless then.

Had that line been implied somehow?

Blankah gazed steadily at Bern’s face.

A man who seemed to see through others’ innermost thoughts so clearly yet concealed his own intentions completely—how unfair.

But the mere act of conversing with him somehow made her feel oddly better.

“Fine, you’re right. As renowned contributors, we deserve to feel what we feel. But still, don’t let your guard down. Accidents often happen in this field when things seem to be going smoothly.”

“Good advice coming from a senior adventurer. I’ll be prepared for anything to go wrong.”

After tossing the conversation back and forth like a ball of thoughts, both of them shared a small, amused grin.

“Big brother! Senior sister! We’ve completed the supply checks and camping gear inspection!”

Running towards them from a distance was Renya.

With that, the two walked towards him.

The purge of Richi was drawing near.