I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 93

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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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[093] Nihid’s Workshop
Upon arriving at the Empty Lot Behind the Market, Diogenes crawled out from a cardboard box.
He looked up at me with gleaming eyes and clapped his hands.
“Wow~ nicely done. I didn’t expect you to pull off something so grand. Quite the spectacle, wasn’t it?”
“…You witnessed all of that?”
“Of course. When you threatened those soldiers with explosives, I genuinely thought I was watching Antagon. He pulls stunts like that all the time.”
“If you saw everything, then detailed explanations aren’t necessary.”
I handed over the documents I’d retrieved from the Kairon Company basement.
But Diogenes…
“Ledgers? I don’t need those anymore.”
He waved his hand dismissively.
“…Don’t tell me all that talk about redevelopment was just an excuse, and you sent me on this errand with this intention from the start?”
“Well… I simply found those fools irritating. I never imagined they were plotting treason.”
Diogenes feigned innocence, but his expression made it clear he’d known everything all along.
I sighed inwardly and tucked the ledger back into my coat.
Belmont was the same way, and this boy who’d only recently become a god—all the ancient beings in this world were equally blackhearted.
“…Then the trial is complete?”
“Huh? How could it be? I never said there was only one trial.”
“What? That’s… unreasonable!”
“Well, I’ll still grant your request as promised, so don’t worry. You said you were looking for someone named Nihid, right?”
Diogenes pointed at my coat with his finger.
I pulled out the ledger again and scanned its contents carefully, finding a particular entry clearly recorded within.
[Mayfly-Series Weapons and Explosives Supplier: Nihid]
[Workshop Address: Royal Capital West Craftsman Street 17]
“Damn… hell.”
So this was the very person who’d supplied weapons and explosives to the Kairon Company.
That explained why the Reincarnator Assembly had directed me to find Nihid. I’d initially thought he’d merely be an informant.
I turned to my companions and nodded.
“I’ve discovered Nihid’s identity and location. We depart immediately.”
By now, he’d surely noticed the commotion at the Kairon Company. Any delay risked him destroying evidence and fleeing.
“Forgive the intrusion, Diogenes. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.”
“Think nothing of it. See you again.”
“Again…?”
“Yes. You’ll be seeking me out again before long.”
“….”
I bowed respectfully to Diogenes, then drove the carriage toward the address listed in the ledger.
Passing through the bewildered citizens, I reached West Craftsman Street and spotted the building.
A sizable workshop maintained like a mansion—the nameplate at the main gate brazenly displayed “Nihid.”
As I quietly surveyed the deserted grounds, Radi suddenly stiffened, her expression hardening.
“Blood… I sense the scent of blood permeating this place.”
As the wind picked up, I could detect the thick stench of blood wafting through the air with unmistakable clarity.
‘What’s happening? Why is there a blood smell in a place like this…?’
I’d come here almost immediately after leaving the Kairon Company, so there shouldn’t have been time for any incident to occur.
Sensing an ominous current, I quietly pushed open the Main Gate.
The Iron Cage slid smoothly open without any force applied.
The courtyard I cautiously stepped into was nothing short of carnage.
‘There are corpses scattered everywhere…?’
Beyond the Garden’s grass, all the guards lay dead.
Malton and I exchanged glances, then approached to examine the bodies.
“They were struck in their vital points with a single blade. They must have died without even a chance to scream.”
“Judging by the remaining body heat, they haven’t been dead long. At most, an hour or two.”
“That would’ve been while I was still at the Company… What in the world happened here?”
The armor these guards wore was equipment enchanted with magic—you’d need to be at least level 70 to handle it properly.
Yet even they fell to a single blade strike without mounting any meaningful resistance.
‘This is the work of someone with considerable skill…!’
“Everyone stay alert. The assassin may still be inside.”
We each drew our weapons and passed through the silent courtyard into the building.
The Workshop’s interior was even more horrific.
The blacksmiths lay dead, thrown into the furnace, while the potters were dead with their heads thrust into jars.
We searched the Workshop thoroughly without lowering our guard, and on the second floor in the central Office, we finally encountered the person we’d been searching for so desperately.
However…
“This person is already deceased.”
“…We were one step too late.”
A single corpse with a dagger lodged in its chest, life already extinguished.
I checked for a pulse out of hope, but the more I did, the more certain it became that the man before me was dead.
Radi muttered in bewilderment.
“Are we certain this is really Nihid? There’s a possibility we have the wrong person…?”
“There’s embroidered lettering with a name inside the garment’s hem. A nameplate hung outside the private room as well, so the likelihood of this being someone else is low. And…”
Malton carefully lifted the hood, revealing jet-black hair under the light.
My companions drew sharp breaths, but having already suspected from the circumstances that Nihid was a Transmigrator, I showed no surprise and scanned the surroundings.
Scattered across the table where the corpse lay were various parchments and traces of experimentation.
Up to this point, it appeared like an ordinary craftsman’s Workshop…
‘The materials I saw at the Kairon Company were definitely this person’s work.’
There lay not only the manufacturing methods for the Mayfly Equipment Series, but also complex chemical formulas detailing the production process of dynamite—technologies that could not possibly exist in Belheim.
It was now certain that this person had used knowledge from their previous life to aid the rebellion.
‘Then was the plot to assassinate the King exposed, and the Kingdom Army dealt with them?’
No, if that were the case, they would have dragged them to the Underground of the Royal Palace for interrogation instead of assassinating them like this. There would have been at least an attempt to uncover the masterminds.
For now, it seems most reasonable to conclude they were purged by their own faction.
If I could discover who assassinated this person, I could dig deeper into the true instigators of this incident, but…
‘Nobles, military supply companies, and Transmigrators too… This situation keeps growing larger.’
I realized it was time for me to step back from this affair.
If I became too deeply entangled, I might find myself unable to extricate myself from the situation. At this point, the wisest course was to hand the matter over to Belmont and the Kingdom Army.
However, I detected something peculiar about the corpse.
“Wait, this body… something feels unnatural about it. As if someone deliberately moved it…?”
“Come here for a moment, Doran.”
I examined the wooden floor where Malton pointed, but found nothing there.
“Look carefully. There are signs of cleanup work.”
“…You’re right. There are faint bloodstains remaining.”
It appeared someone had wiped it down with a cloth, but the blood that had seeped between the wood grain remained.
Following the faint trail of blood leading out from the office, I arrived at what was presumed to be the location where Nihid was first attacked.
And there lay a single silver object on the ground.
“Is this… a torn piece of plate armor?”
“Since Nihid was wearing cloth garments, this must have come loose from the attacker.”
Perhaps it was a trace left behind when Nihid resisted before dying.
I focused on the red emblem carved into the armor fragment.
I couldn’t quite remember, but I felt as though I’d seen such a crest somewhere before.
“Wait, isn’t this the coat of arms of House of Count Valter?”
“Pardon? Karen, have you seen this before?”
“Yes, the House of Count Valter’s family crest looks like this. I saw it clearly at a social gathering once. …Could it have been someone employed by the Count’s family?”
“I’m not sure… It does seem odd for an assassin to openly commit murder while wearing armor emblazoned with the Count’s family crest…?”
“Hmm… But this is the Royal Capital, after all. A member of the Count’s family could have visited this workshop as a guest and then turned violent.”
“True… Now that you mention it, there were no signs of the main gate lock being forced either. If that’s the case, the guards likely opened the door willingly…?”
If they had visited the workshop as guests and then suddenly turned violent, it would make perfect sense.
If they were truly accomplices, it would also explain why the guards let them in without resistance before falling victim to them.
‘…The outline is becoming clear.’
While it was unfortunate to miss Nihid, who was deeply involved in this treason, the investigation was not entirely fruitless.
I had discovered that multiple nobles and trading companies were entangled in the rebellion, and there was a high likelihood that House of Count Valter was among them.
By investigating the members of House of Count Valter one by one, I could likely apprehend the conspirators who plotted the King’s assassination as well.
We promptly left the workshop and boarded the carriage.
Upon arriving at Belmont’s Mansion and explaining everything in detail along with the ledger we had discovered at Kairon Company, Belmont stared at me intently.
“The entire Royal Capital is in an uproar over the explosion at the trading company in the middle of the night, and you’re telling me that was your doing? And the King himself has just commanded me to investigate the matter…?”
“Since you’ve heard the circumstances, surely you understand. As for the King… please handle the explanation appropriately.”
“Sigh… Not even a day after arriving in the Royal Capital, and you’ve already destroyed the arsenal of the rebels… Your resourcefulness never ceases to exceed my expectations.”
“Then… will you arrest all members of House of Count Valter immediately?”
“No, that’s not possible.”
“Pardon? Why not? We have all the evidence…?”
I looked at Belmont with a bewildered expression.
I had not expected such words to come from his lips.
Belmont sighed and began with the preface that “the world of nobility is not as simple as you might think,” before continuing.
“…If the target is a Count, such evidence alone is insufficient to make an arrest. Even if a family crest appears at the murder scene, it could have been fabricated. If I arrest a Count without concrete physical evidence, the other nobles will strongly object.”
“Then what you’re saying is, after going through all the trouble of raiding the Kairon Company to gather clues, I should just sit back and watch?”
“Of course, I’ll keep a close eye on his movements. But without directly catching the Count in the act of scheming, or finding more concrete evidence like the ledgers you discovered at the Company, I can’t afford to act rashly.”
“I see… Well then, good luck to you, Belmont.”
“Hmm? Are you running away?”
“Yes. Even like this, I’m someone who values his own life.”
After all, an ordinary adventurer standing against a Count’s family made no sense whatsoever.
With the opponent being a high-ranking nobleman, I couldn’t expect the unconditional support from Belmont that I’d enjoyed until now, and if I wasn’t careful, I could be branded with treason and executed.
Moreover, with my black hair, I could be mistaken for a Transmigrator and killed at any moment—just like Nihid’s words back at the Workshop.
And besides…
‘No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason to bear any more risk.’
Until now, I’d helped track down the rebels partly due to Belmont’s semi-coercive pressure and partly considering the aftermath that would befall the Kingdom if the King were assassinated.
But if the opponent was a Count’s family, the reason to take on such enormous danger simply vanished.
At this point, I’d done more than enough to help—I could leave the rest to Belmont and the Royal Knights and withdraw.
Belmont, seeming to understand this, didn’t try to stop me as I left.
“Yes, you’ve done more than enough. The Main House has villas scattered throughout the Royal Capital, so rest easy for a while.”
“Thank you for your consideration. I hope you achieve the results you desire, Belmont.”
I bowed respectfully and left the Mansion.
On the Main Street, citizens in pajamas were still watching distant explosions flickering far away.
But at that moment, the log window updated.
「[Chaos] has detected subtle emotional fluctuations! Strength temporarily increases by 1.」
‘What?’
Was someone watching me?
As I looked around in confusion, a peculiar figure caught my eye.
A being clad in armor with a black cloak draped over it—starkly contrasting with the passersby in thin clothes, just awakened from sleep.
Naturally blending into the shadows of the Wall, it was a figure I wouldn’t have noticed even with my keen eye, had it not been for the log window’s notification.
“…!”
The moment our eyes met, a sticky malice washed over me.
Just as I was about to confirm his identity, the man vanished like smoke.
‘Something feels ominous about this…’
It was unsettling, but now that I’d withdrawn from everything, there shouldn’t be any problems ahead.
I tried to shake off the unease and drove my carriage toward one of Belmont’s Villas.
Unaware that I would soon come to regret this choice.

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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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