The Son-In-Law of the Magician Is a Transcendent Sword Master - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34

The night in Rodel was deep, and the lights of the Mercenary District were going out one by one.

However, in the middle of the street, only the most magnificent stone building remained brightly lit.

It was the office of Gerkin, the captain of the Black Crows mercenary group.

“Damn it.”

Gerkin emptied his glass. He was clearly drinking the finest Imperial brandy, but the taste going down his throat was no different from bitter ash water.

“Those mage bastards are treating people like livestock.”

Gerkin slammed down his glass irritably.

This commission was extraordinary. The advance payment in gold coins alone was enough to fill a wagon.

However, perhaps as the price for such compensation, the black mage clients were endlessly nitpicky.

They found fault with everything, saying the condition of the ‘goods’ was poor, or that the magical sensitivity was lacking.

Of course, thanks to the commission, he could rent the finest building in Rodel’s Mercenary District, but for Gerkin, it was all the same.

“Damn it, if only that bastard Reagan hadn’t…”

His teeth ground at the face that suddenly came to mind.

Half a year ago, the traitor who ran off with several months’ worth of the mercenary group’s funds.

If not for that bastard, he wouldn’t have had to take on such a dirty commission.

No, to be honest, Gerkin had done it because he liked money too.

Isn’t selling your conscience for gold coins what being a mercenary is about?

“Tch. Still, my dreams have been restless.”

Gerkin had once glimpsed how the clients processed the ‘goods’ they received.

Even for Gerkin, who was crazy about money, it was a horrific sight that turned his stomach.

But it was too late to back out. Gerkin had already taken the black mages’ money and learned too many of their secrets.

Running away now would be like rushing to a cliff’s edge to avoid the guillotine.

“What can you do? You have to live according to your given fate.”

It was at the moment he muttered this while pouring another drink.

Bzzzzing—.

The crystal sphere on his desk vibrated with an unpleasant sound. It was a direct communication line with his clients.

“Damn it, what are they going to complain about now.”

Gerkin swallowed dry saliva and straightened his clothes.

[Mercenary, are the goods ready?]

“Ah, yes. Of course. I’ve selected only the freshest ones!”

[Hurry up. The ritual is right around the corner. This time, there better not be any defective products mixed in like last time. That person is watching closely. If there are delays, know that your neck won’t remain intact.]

“Ah, ahahaha… Of course…”

Gerkin continued the conversation with a servile laugh.

His throat was dry. Whether from tension or alcohol, he felt flushed.

These damn black mages casually spoke of murderous things. It was truly maddening.

“Don’t worry. This time they’re very lively ones. We even raided an orphanage, you know.”

[Make sure you can send them by tomorrow. Time is of the essence.]

“Of, of course! I was just about to send them off anyway!”

Gerkin bowed and turned his head toward the door.

“Hey, Hector! Are the wagons ready to depart! The master is waiting!”

Normally, his adjutant waiting outside the door would have immediately responded and rushed in.

[Is there some problem?]

“Ah, no! No problem at all.”

Gerkin broke out in a cold sweat and shouted irritably.

“Hey! Hector! Can’t you hear me? Hurry up and get in here!”

——Creeeeak.

The office door opened.

Adjutant Hector entered with staggering steps. Gerkin was about to unleash a string of curses.

“This bastard is so slow, when I call you should immediately…”

Thud.

The words couldn’t continue to the end. Because Hector collapsed forward.

It wasn’t because he was drunk as usual.

In the back of his neck, precisely between the cervical vertebrae and spinal cord, an ice needle was embedded.

“…Wh, what!”

Gerkin was horrified.

His adjutant was dead. Hector was a guy he had favored because he could even use aura, but that guy was dead. Silently, at the mercenary group’s headquarters.

[Mercenary? What’s happening?]

The black mage’s voice echoed from beyond the crystal sphere.

But Gerkin didn’t answer that call.

He couldn’t answer.

——Shing.

Because cold steel had somehow wrapped around Gerkin’s nape.

The touch of cold metal.

Sharp killing intent piercing his skin.

Someone was behind him.

‘Wh, when did they come in?’

Just when and how had they entered the room, killed Hector, and put a blade to Gerkin’s neck?

His mind went blank.

Could it be an assassin sent by the Assassin’s Guild?

Had the evil deeds he’d accumulated finally come back as karma?

As Gerkin thought this, the intruder held up a piece of paper before his eyes.

– Don’t cut the communication.

[Gerkin? Answer me. What’s all that commotion?]

“…Th, that is…”

Just as irritation began to mix into the black mage’s voice, the intruder flipped the paper over.

– Say it’s nothing.

The moment he saw the writing on the back, Gerkin gulped. His Adam’s apple moved, and the blade lightly scraped his skin, causing a sharp pain.

“Ah, ah… It’s nothing, sir! My subordinate had a bit too much to drink and fell over…”

[Manage your people properly. If things go wrong, you’ll be the first to be offered as a sacrifice.]

“I, I’ll keep that in mind…”

[Send the goods by tomorrow. I’ll be waiting.]

Bzzzz.

The communication ended, and the crystal sphere’s light disappeared.

Only heavy silence filled the office again. Gerkin was completely soaked in sweat and didn’t dare turn around.

“You still follow orders well, Captain.”

“…Huh?”

Finally the intruder spoke, and Gerkin made a dumbfounded sound.

Because it was a familiar voice.

“Security is more of a mess than during our camp days. How did such a sharp guy end up like this?”

Gerkin slowly turned his head.

The young man standing behind him was someone who had been part of the Black Crows as a low-ranking member until just a few months ago.

“Long time no see, Gerkin.”

“Rea…gan!”

“Keep your voice down. Unless you want your tongue cut first.”

Reagan pressed the blade tip under Gerkin’s chin with utterly cold eyes.

* * *

The process of infiltrating Gerkin’s office wasn’t difficult.

Rather, it was easy.

The building the Black Crows mercenary group was using wasn’t structured like a camp built in the wilderness with open surroundings, and the stone building had excellent soundproofing to match its luxurious exterior.

Let alone a first-rate mercenary group’s stronghold, this was a den of ragtag misfits where third-rate or lower thugs stood guard—I could walk through it as easily as entering my own bedroom.

What proved most effective was rune magic.

——Faaaat.

A blue runic character floating in the air.

Perthro ᛈ.

This rune, which I could now freely manipulate after reaching the 4th tier, had the effect of obscuring the caster’s presence, befitting its original meaning of symbolizing mysteries and secrets.

No matter how keen one’s senses, it was difficult to detect an existence erased by magic.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I should have learned magic much earlier.’

A bitter smile naturally emerged.

Even during my Resistance Army days, I had undertaken infiltration missions several times.

If I had known this rune magic back then, I wouldn’t have needed to roll around in sewage to eliminate my scent, or stuff snow in my mouth to hide my breathing.

“It’s been a while, Gerkin.”

And so I entered the office.

When I greeted him with my sword pointed at him, Gerkin’s eyes wavered.

“Re, Reagan… how did you get here…?”

“Well. Many things have happened since then. But tell me, were we ever close enough to catch up on old times?”

I drawled my words while raising my sword.

I had caught sight of Gerkin’s left hand moving toward his waist.

Swoosh!

As I swung my sword, Gerkin’s severed left hand flew through the air.

“Aaaaah… mmph!”

My sword thrust into the mouth of Gerkin, who had been screaming.

Of course, I didn’t pierce through his head. There was still much information to extract from Gerkin.

“It would be best not to try anything foolish. With your current skills, you absolutely cannot beat me.”

Gerkin knew how to use aura, but he was no match for me.

If battles between mages of the same tier were decided by accumulated mana, then swordsmen’s victories were determined by layers of experience.

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of killing you right now. Just answer the questions I ask. If you understand, blink three times.”

When Gerkin blinked, I withdrew the sword from his mouth.

At the same time, I heard knocking on the office door.

Knock knock-knock.

Once loud, twice soft.

It was the signal we had arranged beforehand.

“Come in.”

Contrary to Gerkin’s hope for an ally, the person who entered the office was Brock.

Brock was startled to see the corpse collapsed on the floor, but upon receiving my signal, he quickly locked the door.

“You weren’t spotted on your way here, were you?”

“N-no. Everyone seemed to be having a drinking party.”

“That’s fortunate.”

I turned my gaze back to Gerkin.

He had his mouth hanging open, his eyes fixed on the Benheim crest half-visible between the coat Brock was wearing.

“Be, Benheim? Reagan… you bastard, don’t tell me…!”

“Shut up. I’m the one asking questions. You just need to answer what I ask.”

I kicked Gerkin’s shin and pushed him onto the sofa. I continued speaking while keeping my sword pointed at his throat.

“Explain everything from the beginning. Who were you talking to through the crystal sphere earlier?”

“Th, that was…”

Gerkin turned pale as he looked at Brock beside me. It seemed the reputation of the Benheim name was particularly effective for interrogation. Even without any violence, Gerkin confessed everything he knew.

“…That person is… a Black Mage.”

“I already know that. I’m asking who that Black Mage is.”

“I, I don’t know either. I’m just… their pawn…!”

Gerkin made a pitiful face as if he felt wronged and poured out his words.

“You… because you bastard ran off with all my money, the mercenary group was on the verge of collapse! That’s when they came to me. A guy in a black robe said if I just transported some cargo a few times, he’d give me enough gold coins to live comfortably for life… so I had no choice!”

“…Reagan?”

Brock turned to look at me.

He looked incredulous about the fact that I had run off with the mercenary group’s money.

“Just, that kind of thing happened.”

I deflected appropriately and studied Gerkin’s face. From his eyes, it didn’t seem like he was lying.

It was probably the truth. The Gerkin I knew wasn’t the type to calmly spout lies while his life was being threatened.

“Earlier, you called it ‘goods.’ What is it?”

I already had a guess, but this was a question to demand a definitive answer.

“That’s…”

“Answer.”

“People… it is.”

“What are they doing with those people?”

Gerkin swallowed dry saliva and reluctantly spoke.

“They called them… vessels. I don’t know the details, but… it seemed like they were killing humans and extracting something from inside them.”

“…”

It was a disgusting answer.

I looked down at Gerkin with coldly sunken eyes.

“Location?”

“…Huh?”

“I’m asking where they are located.”

“That… I don’t really know either… ack!”

As the tip of my sword pierced his skin, Gerkin screamed and spilled everything.

“I, I don’t know exactly where their stronghold is, but… I know the delivery point for the ‘goods’!”

“Where is that place?”

“The abandoned northern mine on the road from Rodel toward Mist Valley!”

“How do you get in?”

“Ca, carriage! There’s a barrier that only carriages prepared by them can pass through! When you load the captured humans and send them, the gate opens! I don’t know anything beyond that!”

Barrier.

One of the Black Mages’ specialties.

During the last Hunting Festival, they had used barriers to isolate us as well.

“Right. Let me ask one more thing. Where are those ‘goods’ now?”

At my question, Gerkin trembled and pointed at the floor with his finger.

“Un, underground…! They’re confined in the building’s basement.”

“Is that so.”

I sighed and sheathed my sword.

Shring.

Then, instead of wiping the blood from my sword, I raised it high.

I had obtained all the necessary information.

So this was to finish things.

“Wa, wait!”

Sensing his end, Gerkin shouted. He spoke to me with a servile expression.

“Ha, haha… Reagan. Calm down. There’s no need for us to go this far, is there?”

“Us?”

“Right! Even when you ran off with my money, I didn’t chase after you. So this time too…”

Gerkin pointed at the desk drawer with a trembling hand.

“Mo, money is what you need, right? There are tons of gold coins in there. It’s advance payment I received from those Black Mage bastards. I’ll give it all to you. I’ll take care of that mage lord too! With this, you can live comfortably for life!”

He seemed convinced that I had come for money.

Well, there was no more certain motivation for a mercenary than money.

I chuckled and opened the drawer. It was full of heavy pouches of gold coins.

“Quite a lot indeed. I suppose that’s the price for selling people.”

“R-right? So take that and we’ll pretend we never saw anything…”

“Gerkin.”

When I called Gerkin’s name, his shoulders flinched.

“I’m not a good person, but I’m not particularly evil either. And that has its advantages. I don’t feel any guilt about killing scum like you.”

“Huh?”

“Farewell.”

Those words would be Gerkin’s last memory.

My sword sliced through his throat.

Brock was horrified at the sight of Gerkin’s corpse collapsing while spilling blood.

“R-Reagan… why did you kill him?”

“Why did I kill him?”

I frowned as I looked at Brock.

“Do I need a reason to kill a villain who conspired with Black Mages?”

At least for me, it wasn’t necessary.

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