Chapter 78

At the end of the place where Noah followed the mana was a cave.

It was a little ambiguous to call it a cave as it looked artificial.

“It looks more like a warehouse than a cave.”

They had haphazardly stacked things at the entrance to hide it, but the foreign feeling of it protruding from the middle of the swamp couldn’t be hidden.

“Is this where the traces ended?”

“To be exact, the traces continue inside this warehouse. But…”

“But?”

“If the machine were here, I should be able to feel it faintly, but I can’t.”

It could have been stored deep inside, or this might not be the final destination.

In the end, we would only know by going inside and checking.

I pushed away the reeds piled up at the entrance and instinctively grabbed my nose.

A very foul, burnt smell flowed out thickly.

“Did they burn the evidence?”

“We’ll find out when we go in.”

Surprisingly, the inside of the warehouse was quite large, so I wasn't uncomfortable at all, even when I bent my head slightly.

As we went deeper, it was dug deeper, and soon the ceiling was much higher than a person's height.

As we went deeper, the foul smell became more intense, and on top of that, I couldn’t see anything in front of me.

I snapped my fingers and summoned light, and the source of the smell was clearly revealed.

River trolls were leaning against the wall with bloodshot eyes wide open.

“I think they’re dead.”

“There’s no need to state the obvious. What I'm curious about is why they died.”

“Did they gather in the warehouse and commit suicide?”

“How about you make a more plausible guess?”

“I was just saying.”

There were a total of six dead trolls.

Since four had escaped yesterday, there were two more than that.

And all of them had a strong smell of something burnt.

I approached the nearest troll and opened its mouth with Mana Grasp.

A pitch-black object mixed with a yellowish stomach acid fell out.

“That doesn’t look like something that could come out of a living body.”

“It’s charcoal. Or something similar to it.”

The condition of the other trolls was similar.

Looking at the smell of burnt protein that came out whenever their mouths were opened, the reason for their death was certain.

“They burned to death from the inside? Is that possible?”

“There must be a way. What's strange is that these guys just sat there and died.”

There was no trace of a fight in the warehouse.

It was possible they were taken down in an instant and had no time to fight back, but considering their durability and regenerative ability from yesterday, that possibility was slim.

“I think it’s most plausible to assume they committed suicide.”

“So they really did a mass suicide?”

“The possibility can’t be ruled out, but the probability is low. It’s more plausible to assume they were tricked by someone.”

“They don’t seem like the type to blindly trust a stranger’s words. They must have been tricked by someone they knew.”

I thought so too.

They didn’t seem naive enough to blindly trust a person they had just met.

“Are there any mana traces left here?”

“There are traces but they definitely stop here. To be precise, they are too faint to tell.”

“That's a very trustworthy piece of evidence.”

Noah scowled, as if he thought I was being sarcastic.

I didn't bother to correct him, but it really was a good piece of evidence.

“If the machine that came here disappeared, it means someone took it. And the trolls were tricked by someone and died from being burned from the inside.”

“Ah, so they must be the same person.”

“It must be someone who had a lot to hide to have to deal with two things at once.”

“You’re talking so much because you have a guess, aren’t you?”

Noah, with his arms crossed, stared at me with an expression that told me to hurry up and give him an answer.

Instead of answering, I just smiled lightly and changed the subject.

“Do you smell something?”

“I don’t smell anything other than burnt meat and disgusting stomach acid.”

“As I was opening the mouths of these poor things, I faintly smelled strong alcohol. And a little bit of an oily smell.”

I hadn’t noticed it at first because of the burnt smell and the disgusting smell of stomach acid, but after checking all six of them, I was certain.

It was a strong smell of alcohol that was covered by a stronger smell.

“Did they put something in the alcohol to kill them?”

“But there are no traces of them having drunk alcohol. If we were a little later, we wouldn’t have even noticed.”

This was the work of a professional.

There were many skilled people like this in the novel, but only one had multiple pieces of evidence overlapping.

“In my opinion, it’s the work of the Raven.”

“Wait, the Raven is our client!”

“To be exact, the organization our client belongs to.”

The Grand Duke of Leitche’s eldest son who escaped, the river trolls who suddenly appeared and took over the swamp, Professor Zain’s machine, and a cold-blooded and clean mop-up operation.

The only thing that overlapped with all of this was the Raven of the Grand Duchy of Leitche.

“The client, Regina, didn’t seem to know anything about it. Did it come from a higher-up?”

“Don’t you trust people too easily? It could all be an act.”

“If it was, they would have used a simpler method instead of bringing in an outsider and making it complicated.”

He had a point.

Regina probably never thought that the Raven was closely related to Benjamin’s escape.

She might have noticed by now, but at the very least, she wouldn't have asked the Eight Council for help if she had known.

“Ms. Regina is a high-ranking official, so if it’s someone higher than her, it can only be the head of the Raven.”

“Who is that?”

“The Grand Duke of Leitche.”

The only person who had a connection with Professor Zain and could use the Raven without Regina’s knowledge was the Grand Duke.

“That person who’s coming tomorrow, you mean. But even if that human is the culprit, don’t we have no evidence to prove it?”

“That’s right. Dead trolls can hardly be considered solid evidence.”

Even if we went into the village, the Raven would have already cleaned everything up, so there wouldn't be anything left.

This meant we had to deal with the Grand Duke with only circumstantial evidence.

‘There's no way evidence would just fall from the sky.’

My head was starting to hurt from the thought of meeting the Grand Duke tomorrow.

***

“Do you know what that is?”

“I can feel mana coming from it, so it must be a Magical Tool or Magic Gear but I’ve never seen a shape like that before.”

Karl and Wilhelm, who had finally found the two missing Raven agents after a long pursuit, had not yet decided what to do.

The fact that they deliberately went around in circles to erase their tracks made it clear that it wasn’t for a normal survey or patrol mission.

It was extremely suspicious, but they weren't sure if they should intervene yet.

If they messed up, they could end up going against an entire country.

“If it becomes a problem for Lord Valheit, I’ll back off.”

“Okay, stop talking.”

Right now he had to think about his employer's reputation as well.

At first, when Noah said he was going to work for Valheit, he wondered what he was doing, but considering the current situation, there was no better alternative.

He couldn't risk harming his companions by foolishly provoking people who were in a cooperative relationship with Valheit.

“Let’s wait a little longer, and if nothing happens, we’ll go back.”

“They haven’t moved for an hour now, so isn’t that a sign that nothing is happening?”

“Shh.”

As Wilhelm had said, the ravens, who had been still for an hour, started to move.

They were standing in one spot, as if waiting for someone, and kept looking in the opposite direction.

Soon, two people carrying the same machine appeared.

“A heat haze, a symbol of the Acceleration spell, was rising from their feet.Why are you so late?There was an unexpected situation.’’

An unexpected situation.

Didn't they, as well as the Ravens, have nothing to do and were just goofing off until this morning?

“It's too far away, I can’t hear what they're saying.”

“I can hear them, so it's fine.”

The newly arrived Raven agent looked around and then plopped down.

That would have been enough for a human, but it was far from enough to go against a Dark Elf.

The one who was already there handed the newly arrived raven a water bottle and asked a question.

What happened?

Valheit got a scent and came looking.

Karl’s eyes narrowed at the name Valheit.

They were starting to become more and more suspicious.

Did he catch you?

Do you think I’m you?

I shook him off.

He’s probably groaning right now because the traces are gone.

But still, your opponent is that Valheit.

Even if he’s an old snake, he can’t do anything without evidence.

In other words, the machine they brought was the evidence.

He didn't know the exact situation, but it was clear that they weren’t just suspicious people.

“Wilhelm.”

“Yes?”

“From what I heard, that machine seems to be the evidence Valheit needs.”

Wilhelm’s eyes flashed.

It seemed that following his hunch wasn't in vain.

“The remaining problem is how to secure it.”

“Just charging in there are too many of them.”

There were four of them, including the ones who had just joined.

They were people who were in charge of a country’s intelligence, so their skills would be top-notch.

A head-on battle would have a low chance of success.

“In the end, all we need to do is get that machine, right?”

“That’s right. We steal it and don’t get caught, and that's it.”

They rarely agreed on something.

“Should I do it, or should you?”

“Have you stolen a lot? I’ve done it as often as I breathe.”

“You do it. Even if you draw their attention, they won’t all come after you.”

“If you can’t steal something because there are guards, you’re not a thief.”

Where did Valheit pick up a guy like this?

His confidence was so outrageous, but seeing his skills from the way there, he didn't think it was an empty boast.

Now that a plan had been decided, all that was left was to act.

***

“So you’re saying you came to investigate under Count Valheit’s orders and found us by coincidence?”

“That’s right.”

Karl answered without a hint of hesitation, and the raven who seemed to be the highest in rank scratched his face and frowned.

“I can’t trust a word a Demon says. Did the Count send you to follow us?”

“I’ve told you all the facts I have to say. The rest is up to you to figure out.”

Karl shrugged his shoulders and tried to walk past the raven, but the raven grabbed his shoulder.

“We’ll investigate this area, so get lost and go somewhere else.”

“Since when have we been so friendly and cooperative?”

“You little…”

The atmosphere became hostile, and the gazes of the four ravens were focused on Karl.

It wasn't even three seconds after Karl received the ravens' sharp glares.

“C-Commander!”

“What is it?”

“One of the machines is gone!”

There was only a mark where the machine had been.

“Are you in trouble? Should I help?”

“You two, follow the traces. This Demon bastard…”

A flashing blade barely grazed Karl’s nose.

If he hadn't tilted his head, his nose would have been cut off.

“Is this how Leitche treats a person who offers to help?”

“First, we don’t take help from demons. Second, you appeared, and the machine disappeared. You’re not going to say it’s a coincidence, are you?”

“…You’re not completely oblivious. I thought you were idiots because you were so easy to rob.”

Karl smiled wryly as he dodged the opponent’s blade and created some distance.

Just by looking at his swings, he knew the opponent was quite skilled.

But that was about it. He had fought countless opponents like this in the Northern Federation.

‘Should I thank that damn thug?’

He had a wry smile on his face as he remembered Cesare, who was chasing after them with bloodshot eyes at the port.

“What are you doing? If you’ve drawn your sword, then charge.”

Soon, only the sound of clashing metal echoed.

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