I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 79

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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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[079] The Grand Mage Abduction Incident
In that instant, every gaze in the room turned toward Doran before awkwardly scattering away.
But lost in thought, Doran failed to notice the subtle shift in atmosphere.
‘Belmont was abducted?’
Under normal circumstances, I would have scoffed at such nonsense.
That cunning old fox getting kidnapped? I’d sooner believe Malton’s true identity was—surprise!—actually a Dwarf all along.
But if Evil Spirits were involved, the situation became considerably different.
‘…Transmigrators introduce far too many variables.’
Their power levels vary wildly.
A novice with one hour of playtime and a hardcore veteran with ten thousand hours are both Evil Spirits nonetheless.
The real problem was….
‘…I still don’t know the conditions for transmigrators to arrive in this world…!’
They could selectively summon only the most skilled players, or they could drag along casual quitters.
They might even have indiscriminately abducted people who’d never touched the game at all.
I wasn’t even certain yet whether those who took Belmont were genuinely Evil Spirits.
So the best I could do right now was….
“Damn it! How dare those filthy, despicable Evil Spirits lay a hand on our Lord Belmont?!”
｢Your companions are staring at you intently once again.｣
‘Good, that was perfect acting…!’
I absolutely could not appear sympathetic toward transmigrators!
With my black hair, suspicion came easily enough—I needed to be even more careful.
Doran shook the Butler’s shoulders as though ready to charge out and pummel the first person he encountered.
“Tell me! What kind of vile wretch would commit such an act?!”
“Well, you see… Lord Belmont’s abduction is actually classified information….”
As the Butler trailed off awkwardly, Karen exhaled a sigh.
“These people are trustworthy. You can rely on them.”
“…Are you certain?”
The Butler stared at Karen with wide eyes.
“For Miss Karen, who always kept her distance from others, to say such a thing… it seems you’ve found good companions…!”
“Never mind that—can you guide us to the last place your master was seen?”
“Of course! I shall take you there at once!”
The Butler bowed respectfully and moved ahead, beginning his explanation.
“In truth, Lord Belmont has long sought contact with Evil Spirits to pursue knowledge. While hardly commendable, thanks to this practice, he has foreseen and prevented countless threats to the Kingdom.”
‘Well, considering his position as Court Wizard….’
He’d shared information with me, so there was no guarantee he hadn’t done the same with other Evil Spirits.
“This time, as always, he secretly summoned an Evil Spirit to his mansion for a private audience. The last time I saw him was….”
The Butler opened the Study door.
The room was absolute chaos.
Books lay torn, inkwells overturned and rolling across the table, and expensive furniture lay shattered everywhere.
“…We’ve preserved the scene without touching anything. Lord Belmont has been missing for approximately two days, and we only recently became aware of it.”
“It’s been two days, and you didn’t notice…?”
“He despises being disturbed during his work, so it’s not uncommon for him to lock himself away in the Study for over a week without emerging. The meals left outside his door remained untouched for the second day, and when the Maid opened the door to check on him, we discovered this situation.”
The Butler bowed his head in shame.
Doran walked quietly across the crumpled carpet.
The scene bore the unmistakable marks of a violent struggle.
Yet upon witnessing this devastation, Doran felt oddly reassured.
“That’s actually fortunate.”
“F, fortunate…?”
“Yes. If I’m not mistaken, Belmont should be unharmed.”
The room being this thoroughly ransacked meant there had been time to resist.
And if Belmont had truly fought back with intent, not just this room but the entire mansion would have been reduced to ash.
“Now that you mention it, that does make sense… I was too panicked to think that far. But if that’s the case, what on earth caused this chaos?”
“That’s… could everyone step back for a moment?”
「The Ring of Secrian greatly amplifies magical sensitivity!」
「Faint mana fluctuations woven throughout the space have been detected!」
Doran ushered his companions back before transforming into the Selurian Golem.
Extending his crystalline arms to absorb the magical energy, the chaotic room began to restore itself as if rewinding, becoming pristine once more.
“This is….”
─An illusion.
Belmont possessed exceptional mastery over flame magic, spatial magic, and illusion magic.
When escaping the Dungeon, he’d even shifted the real Portal beneath the ground and deceived everyone flawlessly with illusions.
─He feigned resistance against the intruders while casting illusions, then went willingly. The old fox was indeed kidnapped, but his life isn’t in immediate danger.
Belmont must have allowed himself to be taken for some purpose of his own.
Doran dispelled the illusion cast over the Study and returned to human form.
He’d revealed his transformation ability in front of the Butler, but since he also held leverage over Belmont’s secrets, it should be fine.
As he casually adjusted his clothes, the Butler stared at him in astonishment.
“…Now I understand why Belmont held you in such high regard.”
“You’re too kind.”
“But… if he had the leisure to do so, why didn’t Belmont dispel the magic and simply allow himself to be taken?”
“Ah, well…”
If I know Belmont at all….
“…Perhaps he left a trail for someone who would arrive afterward?”
“A trail… you mean?”
“Anyone skilled enough to see through the illusion in the Study would recognize his intent and pursue him immediately. Hmm… but who did he have in mind when he did this?”
As Doran pondered with his hand to his chin, Karen, Radi, and Malton all turned to look at him simultaneously.
‘It’s you.’
‘It’s because of you, Doran.’
‘Anyone can see it’s because of Doran.’
Karen pressed her temples, which were beginning to throb, and finally spoke aloud.
“If you ask me, it looks like he left it for you to find.”
“Is that so? There are plenty of people with greater abilities, so why….”
“Well, you’re the same kind of undead… no, wait. …Help me find Uncle’s whereabouts. I need your strength.”
Karen swallowed her pride and made her request to Doran.
‘Since this man is an undead like them, he’d understand the kidnappers better than I would.’
Uncle wouldn’t go down without a fight, but one could never be too careful.
If something happened to one of the Royal Court’s greatest mages, the repercussions for the Ignas Family and this kingdom would be… catastrophic.
Borrowing the hand of an undead left a bitter taste, but at least her experience thus far had shown her that this man wasn’t inherently evil.
Upon hearing Karen’s reasonably polite request, Doran scratched his head sheepishly.
‘I was planning to go rescue him anyway.’
There was still much I needed to extract from Belmont.
For one, he was among my few allies, and his aid would prove invaluable in facing the great calamity that loomed ahead. I couldn’t afford to lose him so pathetically.
More than anything….
‘…if transmigrators are involved, this is no longer someone else’s problem.’
I currently possessed virtually no information about the undead. This was a chance to learn about them.
Doran smiled wickedly and spoke.
“Trust me, Miss Karen. We’re already comrades who’ve weathered hardships together, shoulder to shoulder.”
“Comrades….”
“First, we need to identify the kidnappers.”
Now that the illusion had lifted, it became easier to distinguish genuine clues from false ones.
What stood out most were the overturned inkwell on the table and the clearly imprinted palm print.
Radi examined the table closely and spoke.
“There’s a handprint here. Belmont wore a magic ring on his right index finger, but there’s none here, so this must be the kidnapper’s handprint.”
“At least two different types. Since you said the undead acted alone, there must be an accomplice.”
“The entry point… the window? There’s dirt on the frame. The moisture has completely dried, so it’s been at least a day. …Miss Karen, do you have any idea where this footprint leads?”
“Ah, well… beyond this window should be the backyard and a small forest….”
“I see. Then let’s check directly.”
Doran leaped from the second-floor window without hesitation.
The mansion’s backyard bore haphazardly scattered footprints that led into the forest.
“They even mapped out the escape route… This is undoubtedly a meticulously planned crime. But how can the estate’s security be this lax?”
“This is a temporary estate. Besides, there are few fools audacious enough to attempt something like this against a Court Wizard.”
“That’s true.”
Doran and Karen pursued the footprints alongside their companions.
‘…There’s no trace of Belmont himself.’
Since there were no signs of clothing being dragged, they must have carried him between them.
Suddenly, Malton murmured.
“Hmm… one of the kidnappers is quite massive. They’re easily over two meters tall.”
“Oh, how can you tell?”
“By the depth of the footprints. The kidnapper probably wasn’t wearing heavy armor.”
Beyond that, there was the stride length, shoe size, and the height of the snapped branches.
Karen’s eyes widened in surprise as she listened to Malton’s explanation.
“How… did you manage to deduce all that from such meager clues?”
“Malton has a knack for tracking people.”
The footprints ended at the forest’s edge.
Beyond that lay the Gravel Field, making it impossible to track further by footprints alone.
“There’s a pile of horse droppings here. They must have switched to a carriage stationed in advance from this point onward.”
“Leaving this many traces suggests they’re not a professional organization. They’ve definitely dropped a crucial clue somewhere. Let’s search this entire area thoroughly.”
Doran conducted a final search around the point where the trail vanished.
While examining the area, Doran discovered a small scrap of paper wedged between rocks.
“Hm? There’s something here.”
Unfolding the crumpled paper, he found a drawing of a creature alongside text smudged by moisture.
‘It feels like some kind of betting ticket…’
The Butler observed the paper in my hand and spoke.
“This appears to be an admission ticket to the Monster Arena issued by the city of Ludus Magna nearby. Could the kidnappers have come from that region?”
“Tch… surely they wouldn’t make such an obvious mistake…”
Perhaps it was intentionally left as false evidence to confuse the search.
Yet something about it felt oddly authentic. The issuance date printed at the bottom was recent.
“Doran, come over here for a moment!”
At that moment, Malton’s voice called out.
Near where the carriage had been waiting, a tobacco-leaf-like object lay scattered.
“This is what they call Widra—a recreational substance with psychoactive properties.”
“Hmm… is it a regional specialty?”
“Precisely. It’s a crop cultivated and sold exclusively in Ludus Magna for regional economic development.”
“Then the kidnappers likely originated from that location.”
When clues converge, the reliability of information increases.
Doran racked his memory diligently.
‘What kind of place was Ludus Magna again?’
Beyond fragmented recollections of a massive arena standing amid ruins, he recalled nothing else.
Countless cities throughout Belheim had been swept away by the great calamity, leaving only castle foundations in their wake.
“Ludus Magna is reachable by carriage in half a day… should we head to the City and procure one?”
“I took the liberty of arranging a dragon carriage before we departed from the Mansion.”
“Ah, thank you. That saves us considerable trouble.”
Doran immediately turned to leave.
Yet the Butler’s expression seemed oddly strained.
“…Is something the matter?”
“Well, you see… while visiting Ludus Magna is unavoidable, I do hope you and the Young Lady’s party won’t linger there long.”
“Is the security really that poor?”
“That’s not quite it, but… please, return safely.”
‘Is there some particularly dangerous element there?’
Doran acknowledged his words and climbed into the dragon carriage, shouting.
“…Let’s go! To Ludus Magna!”

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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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