Chapter 147
Chapter 147
Event Shop (1)
Vice-Commander Sheila began disinfecting herself with a reverent attitude. The person she was about to meet was classified as a top-level dangerous individual.
He was someone who had to be approached with the utmost focus and seriousness. Deep within the academy.
"Attention!"
Passing through the gate guarded by the Imperial Knight Order, she descended underground. The deeper she went, the stronger the smell of mold and fish became.
With a mask covering her face, Sheila walked along a passage barely wide enough for a single person. Eventually, she reached the deepest part and stood before a massive door.
Slowly exerting her strength, Sheila pushed the door open. A wave of hot, stagnant air trapped inside swept over her.
"You don't look very good."
Sheila spoke as she looked at the person hanging in the center of the interrogation chamber. She wasn't particularly cruel by nature, so the sight made her frown.
The limbless man hung naked from a hook in the center of the room. A hook had been driven through his ribs, and it looked as though a hemostatic agent had been carelessly sprayed over the wound.
No blood flowed, but his ribs remained caught on the hook, subjecting him to constant agony. Hearing Sheila's voice, the man slowly raised his head.
"Heh."
The red-eyed man grinned at Sheila.
Sheila brought over a chair from the corner, placed it in front of him, and sat down.
The tortured man's condition was terrible. Only one eye remained, and his nose had long since been cut off.
Strange objects hung from his ears, stretched so far they were on the verge of tearing, and his groin was empty as well. Even after enduring torture this severe, he had not revealed a single piece of information.
"You're making something simple unnecessarily difficult."
"Heh. I suppose I am."
Even so, there was unwavering resolve in his voice. He was precisely the kind of person Sheila had to deal with personally.
"Is there more torture left? As you can see, I have nothing else to give."
"There won't be any more torture. You'll die if we continue."
The red-eyed man continued speaking without the slightest tremor in his voice.
"So, you're going to interrogate me instead? Think I'll help you?"
"I'm not sure. Torture failed, so I wonder if interrogation will succeed."
The red-eyed man chuckled at Sheila's reply.
Without showing the slightest agitation, Sheila quietly stared at him.
"I'll give you one last chance. Answer my questions honestly, and I'll let you pass peacefully."
"Heh. Kuhahahaha!"
"I see. Very well."
A booming laugh echoed through the room as if rejecting Sheila's offer of mercy.
Watching him, Sheila let out a faint chuckle.
He still had no idea what was about to happen to him, yet he remained so full of confidence. It was the fitting end of a terrorist.
"I've had my fun."
Leaving those words behind, Sheila released her magic power.
It wasn't the familiar blue magic power she had displayed before, but something deeper and purer.
"W-What!? You...! Y-You..."
For the first time, the red-eyed man showed panic as he noticed the bizarre Sorcery floating in midair.
But before he could finish speaking, Sheila's magic activated.
The focus in his once-clear red eyes gradually faded.
It was illusion magic that only fairies could use.
A tremendously dangerous magic that directly interfered with a living being's mind and soul.
"Name."
"Al Capri."
"Affiliation."
"Executive of Magus."
The red-eyed man answered Sheila's questions honestly.
Sheila frowned as an intense headache assaulted her almost instantly.
"Purpose of the attack."
"To secure the Guardian's genes and carry out a terrorist attack on the academy."
The objective was exactly as expected.
Sheila looked at the red-eyed man with a cold expression.
"What are the genes for?"
"Strengthening Fiendbeasts."
The questions and answers became increasingly simple.
At the mention of Fiendbeasts, Sheila's eyes sharpened.
"Components used for the Fiendbeasts."
"Hellhorn Bull, Desert Great Fang, Sea Wolf, Snow Mountain... Sama... Gui."
As if his brain had reached its limit, the red-eyed man began stammering.
Tears, mucus, and saliva streamed uncontrollably down his face.
"Du..."
"Du?"
"...hein."
The moment he finished those words, the red-eyed man's head slumped completely.
He had broken far sooner than Sheila had expected.
Sheila slowly checked the red-eyed man's pulse.
There was no heartbeat beneath her fingertips.
"Haa..."
Sheila let out a quiet sigh.
His final word had caught her completely off guard.
A Chimera was an artificial lifeform.
She had asked what genes had been used to create the Fiendbeasts, yet the word "Duhein" had suddenly come out of his mouth.
What connection could there possibly be?
Sheila assumed the worst.
"Her Imperial Highness, the Imperial Princess will be heartbroken."
The organization behind it all appeared to be Magus.
Was that organization deeply connected to the Duhein Family? Or had Magus interfered with the Duhein Family and stolen their genetic material?
Sheila, who knew the Duhein Family—especially Nerva—very well, found the former possibility more convincing.
Crunch.
Sheila immediately released her magic power and summoned a massive spear of ice.
She hurled it straight through the dead red-eyed man's heart and head.
Watching both his head and heart explode, Sheila quietly let out another sigh.
***
"Wow."
Having been the first to meet the quota and return, I couldn't help but exclaim when I saw Worden arriving with Canis.
The quota I'd assigned was one hundred horns.
But the horns neatly stacked in Worden's carrier clearly exceeded that amount by a considerable margin.
"Ta-da~ Canis is here~"
I ran over to Worden and helped unload the cargo.
Canis said something, but it never reached my ears.
"How many did you hunt?"
"A few? A lot? There was plenty of prey."
Having finally gotten to stretch his body after so long, Worden wore a thoroughly refreshed expression.
Around two hundred and fifty horns.
That was an unexpected haul.
As expected from someone who specialized in hunting, not only was the quantity impressive, but the quality of the processing was exceptional as well.
"Well done."
"What about me~? Me?"
As I patted Worden on the shoulder and praised him, Canis kept hovering around us.
"You didn't do anything. That's exactly why I brought Worden."
"Correct~ Applause!"
"...Good grief. What a pain."
Seeing Canis clap without the slightest intention of hiding it, I clenched my fist.
I swung it straight at his head, but he effortlessly dodged with his bizarre movements.
He was strangely good at avoiding forehead flicks.
"Where's Winter~?"
"She hasn't come back yet."
"Hmm."
We sat on the crystal chairs Canis had made and decided to wait for Winter.
Resting my head against Worden's sturdy thigh, I ate the roasted garlic I'd brought.
"I seriously~ don't get it~"
"Get what?"
"I mean~ what's so tasty about that~ that you keep eating it?"
Canis said what Winter would normally have said.
Instead of answering, I simply popped another clove of garlic into my mouth.
Its fluffy texture and the subtle pungent aroma that occasionally spread through my mouth...
It tasted like the very spirit of Korea.
"Hm? Whitey's over there."
Aro, who was perched atop Worden's head, pointed into the distance.
Sure enough, just as Aro had said, Winter and Soloven were walking toward us.
"...What happened to them?"
I couldn't hide my bewilderment.
I had expected the most from Soloven, but she wasn't carrying many horns.
On top of that, both of them looked absolutely miserable.
"...What happened?"
As soon as Winter saw us, she collapsed to the ground.
Canis hurried over in a panic to support her.
Watching Canis quickly tend to Winter, I turned to Soloven.
Her body was covered in numerous minor wounds as well.
I couldn't understand how someone as strong as Soloven had ended up so battered.
"We ran into something rather powerful. It was almost on the level of a Hellhorn Bull."
"Hah."
Only then did I realize what kind of monster Soloven and Winter had fought.
It was the field boss of the event island, the Floating Island.
The Grassland Horn Whale.
Originally, that field boss was supposed to be defeated at the very end, after the main event had begun.
"It was stronger than expected, so we suffered a few injuries. I judged that continuing the fight would be impossible, so we retreated immediately."
"No. You did the right thing. Thank you for protecting Winter."
Soloven looked at me in surprise.
A field boss of that caliber would have been a difficult opponent with Winter tagging along.
On top of that, Soloven avoided using flames in forests whenever possible, so the fight must have been even harder.
"Ugh... Senior."
"Yeah. You worked hard."
Winter's face looked noticeably haggard, showing just how much she had been through.
She was oddly good at dodging attacks, so she probably hadn't suffered any serious injuries, but I checked her over anyway out of courtesy.
"Fortunately~ she doesn't have any injuries~"
Canis muttered quietly after apparently finishing his examination.
I nodded and effortlessly picked Winter up.
"Little Sparrow, sorry, but could you carry the luggage?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
Since Worden didn't look tired at all, I asked him to carry the baggage.
After readjusting Winter—who weighed less than a 39-kilogram sack of rice—I patted Soloven on the shoulder.
"You worked hard too."
"It was nothing. It was something I had already agreed to do. Though it's a shame. I wanted to defeat that creature."
"Let's go hunt it together next time."
Soloven coolly nodded.
Team Soloven had brought back one hundred horns.
That made a total of four hundred and fifty horns.
It was a harvest that far exceeded the three hundred I had originally expected.
Smiling in satisfaction, I led everyone back.
After working that hard, it was time to eat.
We returned to the lodging first, and I brought the horns to my room.
After patting the exhausted Worden on the back, I headed down to the first floor.
"You awake?"
"...I was awake the whole time. I just couldn't move."
Winter, who had been gasping from complete exhaustion, was gradually recovering.
I teasingly asked as she lay limp while drinking cold water.
She pouted as she offered what was barely an excuse.
"I'll make sure you're properly compensated."
"I don't need compensation. It was something I'd already agreed to do. Instead, call me when you go after that big one."
"That's easy enough. I'll buy the beer."
I said that to Soloven, who had taken a seat with us.
She nodded and downed an entire mug of cold beer in one go.
"Come to think of it, where's the Vice-Head? The two of you were always together, but I haven't seen him around much lately."
"He's just being lazy."
At the mention of the Vice-Head, Soloven snorted.
The two of them had been inseparable until before the vacation, but lately I had only seen Soloven.
"As you know, it seems he's become completely obsessed with that wisteria or whatever it is. Even I started smelling like trees because of him."
"Oh. Is that so?"
I chuckled at Soloven's words.
She looked slightly sulky.
Like a child whose playmate had been taken away after always having someone to spend time with.
I couldn't help laughing at the sight.
"To be precise, he started wandering around more and more after the first attack."
"Hmm."
Soloven spoke with a sigh.
I stroked my chin.
Something about that bothered me.
"You don't think something happened to him, do you?"
"Who knows. As far as I know, nothing has. I haven't heard of any major problems with his family either."
Listening to Soloven, I shrugged.
Whatever was going on had nothing to do with me.
I handed her some roasted garlic.
Without the slightest suspicion, she picked up a clove and popped it into her mouth.
"Th-... Are you trying to kill me?"
"See, Senior? I told you! That's not food!"
The moment Soloven absentmindedly ate the roasted garlic, her face twisted dramatically.
She glared at me with a fierce expression.
Not missing the opportunity, Winter loudly voiced her opinion.
"Hey! Do you even know how good garlic is for your body? It boosts your immune system, lowers your blood pressure, and all kinds of things. It's good for you."
"Oh. Is that so?"
As I gave my usual explanation about garlic's health benefits, Soloven suddenly interrupted.
She took several more cloves of roasted garlic from my hand.
Having my garlic suddenly stolen, I stared at her in bewilderment.
"It's spicy, but not bad. Like a spicy potato, perhaps. Since spiciness is just pain, it should be something that can be trained."
Everyone else stared at Soloven with utterly deadpan expressions.
"...The Rahorakti have genetically high blood pressure."
I handed all the remaining garlic I had to Soloven as she awkwardly tried to justify herself.