Chapter 63

“It seems there’s a rat among our comrades who’s colluding with those Black Round Table bastards.”

I couldn’t believe it. Even after scouring the original work and the first DLC, I found no hint of such a thing.

“Are you saying… there’s a traitor among us? Are you sure about that, Older Sister?”

“The probability of a traitor is 90%, and the probability of there not being one is 10%… or maybe even less.”

A traitor—those scum who should never be forgiven. Betrayal is treated as a grave crime in any nation or religion. Even in Dante’s *Divine Comedy*, Satan is chewing on three traitors. One of them, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus with a kiss, that damn traitorous scum.

If there’s such a traitorous bastard among us, isn’t it the duty of the youngest and a fellow comrade to kill them personally?

“So… what’s the evidence?”

We should be careful not to accuse someone of being a traitor without proof. Blindly hunting for traitors is no different from the mindless #MeToo trends in 21st-century Korea.

“…First, they knew we were embarking on this journey. Only a very few knew about it, aside from those directly involved.”

“What’s the chance that the traitor is among that ‘few’?”

“I thought so too at first. But here’s the thing…”

Melissa put down her fork and knife and started tapping the table with her index finger.

“That ‘few’ doesn’t know our destination or our route.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every time we go somewhere, those bastards ambush us.”

Those damn bastards attacked us? If their top brass ambushed us, even a party of heroes like Zick and the others wouldn’t come out unscathed.

“Older Sister, Older Brother, you weren’t hurt by those bastards, were you?”

They’re a group that wields magic swords capable of destroying a sorcerer’s mana circuits. They’re cowardly bastards who might use dirty magic swords or poison. Even if we overpower them in skill, falling for their underhanded tricks would be disastrous.

“No, they were so pathetic it made me yawn.”

What’s going on? Did Werner get beaten by some weaklings as a kid and is still traumatized? That fragile, weak-bodied sorcerer.

“The leader and the Heavenly Demon Old Man handled it alone. We didn’t even get a chance to step in.”

Melchior, who had been quietly listening, chimed in.

“We captured one and even tortured them, but we didn’t get any useful information. They’re probably just low-level grunts.”

“And they sent those low-level grunts to deal with you and Older Sister? Are those bastards insane?”

It’s like sending a few kids to stop a T-Rex. As the wise Jirobo-sensei once said, “If the leader is foolish, the subordinates suffer.” Your philosophy seems to apply here too, sensei.

“That’s what we’re wondering too. At best, they’re just annoying pests, not even worth tying our shoelaces for.”

“Hmm… That’s definitely strange. I don’t get their angle either.”

“Anyway, the fact that they know our route suggests there’s a mole among us. There’s no other explanation.”

Melissa’s analysis made sense. Unless one of us is colluding with them, there’s no way they could ambush us at every turn. Though the low level of those ambushers is a bit suspicious.

“Do you have any idea who the traitor might be?”

“Not at all. The suspicion of a traitor only arose recently…”

At least, from what I know, Werner’s comrades aren’t the type to betray. But that’s just based on their ‘character traits’ as I’ve analyzed them. Real people’s personalities and backgrounds are far more complex than any game’s ‘character traits.’ If those comrades have unavoidable circumstances or hidden sides to their personalities… even I can’t pinpoint the culprit.

“At least it’s not Older Brother or Older Sister…”

“That would be a problem.”

“What?”

Could these people be the traitors? That would be such a cheap twist.

“Listen, youngest. I have no proof that I’m not the traitor… and no proof that my wife isn’t the traitor either.”

“Yeah, I also have no proof that my wife isn’t the traitor.”

“But Older Brother and Older Sister wouldn’t betray me…”

Before I could finish, Melissa and Melchior’s hands were at my throat. If they applied even a little more force, I’d be a headless corpse.

“Youngest, you’re still so naive.”

The traumatic line ‘Youngest, you’ve been fooled’ came to mind, but I decided to let it go.

“To survive, you must never stop doubting others, even me. The one who stabs you in the back is always the one you trusted the most.”

“So don’t trust us too much. You’ll die if you do.”

Ah, so that’s what they meant. The world may seem peaceful, but it’s a jungle full of schemes. Trusting even your closest brother or sister can lead to disaster. Even in real life, debt scams often happen among family and friends.

“Got it. Now step back… before I blast you away with magic.”

“What kind of attitude is that toward your older sister?!”

“If there’s a suspect who might be a traitor, isn’t it natural to blast them away?”

“Fine, let’s beat each other up with magic and have a magical conversation about who the traitor is.”

Melchior eventually got so angry that he lifted Melissa, who was flailing in the air, making her look quite ridiculous.

“Let me go! I’m going to teach the youngest some proper manners today!!!”

“Werner’s been like this for a while now. Maybe you should get used to it.”

Melchior, who was subduing the raging Melissa, turned to me and spoke.

“So, Werner, I have a request for you…”

“What is it, Older Brother?”

“Investigate that damn knight captain bastard… no, Ricardo, that piece of trash.”

There’s no point in correcting his words… no, actually, the latter is even more of an insult. Come to think of it, their relationship has been the worst since *Draghinty Fantasy 1*.

Ricardo Carven, the party’s second tank in the game. He’s from a knight family loyal to the empire, and his past and personality have always clashed with Melchior’s. When Melchior’s father was accused of treason, the Carven family, during the investigation, impulsively killed Melchior’s parents.

Of course, it was later revealed to be a misunderstanding, and the parties resolved it… but Melchior still hates the Carven family. Naturally, he doesn’t get along with Ricardo, the family’s successor. I thought things had improved a bit, but it seems their relationship is still bad.

“Why him? Isn’t he in the capital?”

“Yeah, he just showed his face at the leader’s summons and then left, that damn homosexual bastard!”

I remember Ricardo having a wife and even a daughter… but people tend to remember things as they please, so maybe my memory is a bit distorted.

“But he wouldn’t know our destination.”

“Werner, we have to regularly report our movement routes and next destinations.”

That’s true. Since each party member is like a nuclear weapon, such reports are necessary. If we suddenly decided to rebel after announcing our journey, it would be chaos.

“And the one receiving those reports is that damn Ricardo bastard. While we’re all together, he’s off on his own, making it easy for him to collude.”

The level of his swearing is getting worse, but it’s probably just his mood.

“So you and Older Sister are convinced Ricardo is the traitor?”

“I’m still suspicious… but my husband seems pretty convinced.”

“It’s definitely that bastard!!! Just wait until we catch him! I’ll crush his skull and suck out his brains!!!”

Melchior’s excitement led to some gruesome talk… but I also found Ricardo suspicious.

If there was something suspicious among the party members who were always together, we would’ve noticed. We’ve been through thick and thin together—how could we not notice?

That leaves Ricardo as the only suspect. In mystery stories, the one who’s always alone is always suspicious.

“Alright, I’ll investigate Ricardo. You and Older Sister keep an eye on the others.”

“Got it.”

We can’t rule out the possibility of someone else being the traitor or there being more than one traitor besides Ricardo.