Dark Fantasy Guide for the Summoner - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 50.
Reorganization Ⅴ
The party had grown to four members, but the fundamental problems couldn’t be said to have been solved.
‘Seigrena is our Vanguard, technically.’
But in terms of role, she leaned far more toward Dealer than Tank.
Of course, a Monk could perform Tank duties adequately enough depending on how she was trained, but…
‘No matter what, how could I ask someone with the Battle Maniac trait to Tank?’
Let me be clear: a Tank is the pillar of a party.
She had to be an unwavering presence, holding the center firm no matter how the battlefield shifted around her.
But someone with the Battle Maniac trait was nothing but a wild variable in combat. You could never predict when it would trigger, or what they’d do after it did.
‘There have even been cases where they chased a fleeing enemy so far they vanished entirely.’
In other words, having just one reliable Tank would be a godsend.
I cycled through possibilities in my mind, then asked, almost casually:
“By the way—how’s the White Knight doing?”
“Lorang? Well… oh, now that you mention it, I forgot to report to Father about it.”
“The incident in the forest?”
“Yes.”
…
Which meant Lorang wasn’t currently facing direct punishment from the Montreille Family.
“Where is the White Knight now? What’s he doing?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe at the monastery?”
“Then let’s go to the monastery.”
“The monastery…”
Seigrena had been lost in thought; she answered a beat too late.
“The monastery? Why on earth would you go there?”
“Because the White Knight is there.”
“That’s exactly why I’m asking—why do you need to see Lorang?”
“…I’ll explain on the way.”
I’d need her help to pull this off anyway.
* * *
Pars Monastery sat in Royal Capital Ward 4, the religious district.
Since it was quite a distance from Ward 7 where the Delver Guild stood, I hired a carriage.
Clatter, clatter—
The carriage interior was unusually quiet, because Seigrena had rented an entire carriage to herself.
As you’d expect from nobility, she had a lavish way of spending.
‘It’s spacious enough, that’s convenient.’
Considering what I was about to discuss, perhaps having other people around would have been better.
“You’re saying you want to bring Lorang into the party?”
…
Or was I not?
Now that I thought about it, someone with her personality would’ve shouted it out loud regardless of who was listening.
“Yes.”
“No, but why? How? What? Of all people…could it be—are you hinting that I should leave? Some kind of subtle, underhanded way of—”
Only a true aristocrat could overthink things like that.
“That’s not it. In fact, without you, I’d never have thought to bring Lorang in at all.”
“What?”
Because without her status, I wouldn’t have been able to access the monastery or even contact Lorang in the first place.
“Let me be straightforward. What sort of level is the White Knight at?”
“That… goes without saying. First-rate.”
He had not only skill but abundant experience as a Delver explorer—finding talent like that was no easy feat. Our party would normally be far beyond our reach for someone of his caliber.
“But he abandoned us in the end.”
The words came out blunt, edged with a chill.
“Skill is one thing you can rely on, but can you really trust someone who abandoned us on the battlefield itself? Especially when Lorang is supposed to be our Vanguard, leading from the front—how can we guarantee it won’t happen again?”
…
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s unexpected.”
I hadn’t realized she understood even his role.
What’s more, her doubts were reasonable.
Once a man betrays you, nothing stops him from betraying you a second, a third time. I’d played POEP too many times not to know that bitter truth.
“Anyway, I’m absolutely against it. That man is not trustworthy.”
“So then? Can you trust whoever you’re bringing into the party?”
“What?”
“You said it yourself. Now that we’ve come this far, the process of learning to trust someone again is exhausting.”
“That’s… well, yes. But why Lorang of all people?”
“If we can’t trust him anyway, he might as well be skilled.”
“Isn’t it the opposite? If someone that skilled turns the party into chaos, how do you plan to handle that?”
Fair point. I’d expected her to bulldoze through without logic or grounds, but she was actually making sense.
“Then let me ask you something in return. Is the White Knight Lorang really the sort of person you need to watch your back against at all times?”
“What do you mean?”
“During a fight, during a break, while eating, even while sleeping—is he really someone you have to be wary of constantly?”
……
Seigrena fell silent.
“We know that Lorang is the kind of person who would betray us. More precisely, we know the circumstances under which he would betray.”
She wouldn’t grasp this yet, but this was an enormous advantage.
“……So you’re saying we just need to make sure those circumstances don’t arise?”
“Exactly.”
To be frank, situations like the last incident don’t happen often.
Dangers in the forest are far more likely to be scenarios where the entire party gets dragged into peril, rather than some either-or threat where only one side can survive.
And in such situations, the White Knight Lorang won’t harbor strange notions—he’ll simply do his best as a member of the party.
“Sigh.”
Seigrena exhaled deeply.
She furrowed her brow, gazed out the window in silence for a while, then spoke.
“So Lorang is basically the most trustworthy among traitors.”
“Paradoxical, but yes.”
“You could just find someone competent and reliable from the start.”
“Easy to say. But finding someone like that isn’t simple, is it? Look at you and me—if we hadn’t gotten tangled up in that damned disaster, could we ever have trusted each other?”
“……I suppose you’re right.”
In the end, people’s true nature only emerges when they’re backed into a corner.
And you can’t exactly engineer such situations on purpose.
“If it makes you uncomfortable, just think of him as a tool. A tool that’s very useful, but one that can cause serious injury if you don’t follow its proper usage.”
“And what’s this proper usage?”
Of course, it’s avoiding extreme either-or situations—moments when the party splits in two and you can only save one side.
When I didn’t answer, Seigrena sighed again.
“……Fine, I understand. He’ll turn it down anyway.”
“And if he accepts, you won’t object further?”
“Sure, whatever. For the record, I won’t help at all, and I won’t say a word.”
“Just let me meet with him.”
“Hmph.”
Seigrena, looking rather offended, folded her arms and said nothing.
After that, nothing but the sound of carriage wheels rolling—until the coachman’s voice came from the driver’s seat.
“We’ve arrived!”
I stepped down first while Seigrena settled the fare, and the Pars Monastery came directly into view.
‘Impressive.’
That was my first impression.
A fairly large cathedral stood surrounded by colonnades, with smaller buildings clustered around the outer edges.
The distinctive feature was a substantial sandy training ground in the courtyard—young monks were sprinting across it, apparently using it for drills.
“Come now, brothers and sisters! Persevere! Just five more laps to go!”
“Yes, sir……!”
“Already exhausted? You can’t even manage fifty laps? I fear my poor instruction has made you all weak. Very well! In repentance, I shall skip dinner alongside you today—surely you have no objections?”
“No, please don’t……!”
……
There was something oddly familiar about this scene. Seigrena, finished with her business, walked toward the training ground and cleared her throat.
“……Ahem. Kevin?”
“Eh? Oh!”
The middle-aged man leading the pack broke into a broad smile and called out to the young monks—clearly trainees.
“A visitor has arrived, so I’ll step away for a moment. Continue your training, brothers and sisters!”
He bounded over with a beaming face and spoke.
“Sister Seigrena! It’s been such a long time.”
“Yes, it has. I trust you’ve been well?”
“Haha. Nothing to report except a recent dip in my stamina.”
You’re sure you’ve let yourself go?
The sub-prior stood bare-chested, his well-trained muscles glistening with sweat in a way that was frankly intimidating.
He gave the impression of a man who would exorcise malevolent spirits through sheer physical force rather than Holy Power.
“First, I must thank the Lord for arranging this fortuitous meeting. Ah, and how is the Count of Montreille faring these days?”
“The patriarch is always well, thank you for asking.”
In any case, a conversation between a religious figure and a noble tended to be drawn-out with formality. Only after a lengthy exchange of courtesies did the mood finally settle enough to broach the real matter.
The sub-prior asked.
“But what brings a sister to our monastery? Ah! Perhaps you’ve come seeking to wash away the stains of body and soul once more—”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.”
Seigrena, her expression troubled, shook her head hastily before adding.
“I was wondering if Lorang might be here.”
“Ah. Yes. Hmm…”
The sub-prior’s expression became peculiar.
It was an ambiguous face—part taken aback, part genuinely surprised.
“Brother Lorang did return to the monastery some time ago.”
“Specifically…?”
“It would be shortly after his expedition into the forest, if I recall correctly.”
So he’d been here continuously since then.
Seigrena spoke.
“Do you know where he is now?”
“He’s in the Penitential Cell. Now, as you likely know, the brother hasn’t committed any transgression. Brother Lorang has long made use of that place as his training ground. He has, of course, received proper permission to do so.”
Training in the Penitential Cell…
In martial terms, it would be like Closed Seclusion Training.
“If you have business with him, I’d be happy to guide you there.”
“I appreciate it.”
We followed in the sub-prior’s wake.
On the northern side of the shrine stood a sizable but rather shabby structure that somehow evoked the image of a prison.
It might well have been a former detention facility that had been repurposed.
“Here we are. Brother Lorang is likely in the furthest cell.”
“Thank you. Ah, sub-prior. If you don’t mind, from here—”
Seigrena gave him a meaningful look, and the sub-prior smiled gently.
“A matter of personal business, I gather. I’ve no wish to intrude, so I’ll wait here.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, I should have asked sooner—the person with you is…?”
Seigrena scratched her cheek for a moment before answering.
“Just a colleague.”
“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Kaindel.”
I’d been about to say Delver but thought better of it. Fortunately, the sub-prior continued speaking with his gentle smile.
“Kevin, at your service. Though humble, I serve as sub-prior of this monastery. I do hope we can count on you both going forward.”
“Of course.”
Had he picked up on the fact that I’m a Delver?
His demeanor was so amiable that it was hard to read what lay beneath.
I pondered the sub-prior’s knowing attitude as we entered the building housing the Penitential Cell. The interior was a series of standardized isolation cells—dozens of them stretching down a corridor on both sides.
Lorang was waiting at the end of this corridor.
“There don’t seem to be any other monks.”
“It was used fairly often in the old days, or so I heard, but since Kevin became sub-prior, it’s been barely touched.”
“Why?”
“The sub-prior prefers corporal punishment—something more physical—rather than confining people to the Penitential Cell.”
“Like running laps around the training ground?”
“Exactly.”
We reached the end of the corridor.
Before us stood the Penitential Cell.
Seigrena let out a soft sigh and looked at me. I nodded and rapped on the iron door.
“Who is it?”
“Kaindel.”
……
The dry voice cut off abruptly, and I found it strange.
Did he forget my name?
“The Delver you met in the forest. Black hair, dark eyes. The one you left behind—”
“What brings you to the monastery?”
“I came because there’s something I need to discuss. You didn’t think I was just asking how you’ve been, did you?”
“Something to discuss?”
“Will you join my party?”
Seigrena, standing beside me, covered her eyes with her palm. I caught a murmur: ‘What in the world is he saying……’
“What’s this scheming?”
“There’s no scheme. Simply put, my party currently lacks a Vanguard, and among the people around me, there’s no Knight better than you. That’s all there is to it.”
Though to be honest, the only Knight I know is Lorang anyway.
“I see. I appreciate the offer, but I’d prefer you to leave.”
“A refusal. May I ask why?”
“I’m awaiting punishment. I cannot go anywhere until my status has been decided.”
“Is that so? But that punishment wouldn’t come from the monastery or the knightly order—it would be from the Montreille Family, wouldn’t it? If so, waiting any longer seems pointless.”
“What do you mean?”
“Seigrena never reported what happened in the forest to the Family.”
“Hey……!”
Seigrena interjected hastily, then glared at me with eyes like axes, but what could I do about it?
‘You said you wouldn’t breathe a word about it?’
When I sent her a look carrying that meaning, this wretch only wore an even more bewildered expression.
Ignoring her, I looked back at the iron door.
“You probably think that because you committed a crime, you must pay the price for it. Even if you didn’t truly believe that. But isn’t it strange that the one collecting that price is the Montreille Family?”
“Are you saying I should join your party and serve as atonement, then?”
“You can interpret it that way if you like.”
“…….”
Lorang is a man with a twisted way of thinking.
He doesn’t genuinely believe he was wrong for abandoning us during the Wood Revenge incident.
The reason he’s locked in the Penitential Cell anyway is because he understands that such confinement is society’s convention. In other words, he’s more sociopath than psychopath.
“Don’t mistake who your debt is owed to. The collector of your sin-price isn’t the Montreille Family.”
“…….”
Having said what needed to be said, I leaned my back against the wall. Seigrena, who had been hesitating, came to my side and crouched down, muttering.
“Was that why you brought me along?”
I didn’t answer, just shrugged my shoulders. If Lorang’s senses were sharp, he could feel her presence even without a single word from her.
In other words, Seigrena’s very existence proved that the Montreille Family had no intention of punishing him.
“Right. How very clever. So what’s the plan next? Are we just going to keep waiting here for a day, two days, however long?”
“No.”
Lorang’s judgment wouldn’t be that slow. Once his mind was made up, he would show himself immediately…….
Creak, creak, creak—
Like this.
“Three times.”
Lorang spoke. With a fractured voice, straw-like blonde hair, and a gaunt face.
“I will assist your expeditions exactly three times.”
“Three times…….”
I let out a small laugh and spoke.
“Is it three times because you abandoned three people back then?”
“…….”
“Well, fine. That’s plenty.”
By the time we completed three more expeditions, our party’s circumstances would be far better than they are now.
By then, we could easily find a replacement for Lorang.
I formally extended my hand and spoke.
“Welcome to the party.”
“…….”
Lorang didn’t respond in particular, only clasped my hand in return.
[‘Lorang’ has become your companion.]
With this, at last, the party’s composition was complete.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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