Chapter : 139

They say strike while the iron is hot, so I headed to the campsite where the mercenaries were staying.

“What’s an intern doing at the campsite on a golden weekend?”

“I came because it’s the weekend. Cecilia-sunbae told me to get some practical experience.”

With tears welling up in my eyes, I grumbled to the person who appeared to be the mercenary captain.

Just as Cecilia-sunbae was about to say a word, Lilia-sunbae spoke first.

“I’m Lilia, I came here through an introduction from Laurel-unni.”

“Are you an Academy student too?”

“No, I’m a mercenary who used to work with her in the Bellone fief.”

Lilia’s move was unexpected, and Laurel-sunbae’s jaw dropped.

I went up to Sunbae and closed her mouth for her.

A fly might get in there.

“Really?”

“Yes! She said it would be difficult to stay in the Bellone fief, so I told her to come to the Loren fief!”

Smiling awkwardly, Laurel gave a thumbs-up.

This is definitely suspicious.

Even the clueless Lucian would be suspicious of this.

I had no choice but to subtly intervene.

“Still, you should have gotten permission from Cecilia-sunbae.”

Laurel-sunbae and Cecilia-sunbae have absolutely no talent for acting. Lilia-sunbae, probably knowing this as well, cut in and said.

“What, Laurel-unni.

You didn’t even tell her?”

“It’s just an introduction, so Cecilia-sunbae wouldn’t be so petty about it.”

She fired off her words without giving anyone a chance to speak, and although they looked at her with suspicious eyes, they thankfully seemed to let it go.

“Actually, I wanted to get into the Academy, but I failed the exam.”

Since Lilia was the heir to the Viscounty of Bellone, she could have gotten in no matter what, even if she had failed the exam.

Besides, being the vice president of the Vivian Rose Society, she would be much stronger than an ordinary Academy student.

The reactions of Cecilia-sunbae and Laurel-sunbae also proved that.

For such a Sunbae to say she failed the exam was a ridiculous thing to say.

Although I didn’t show it directly.

“Come to think of it, Bell-unni also said she took the Academy exam, right?”

As if the information had just come to her, Laurel brought it up at the right time.

“That was Ray, not Bell.”

“Really?”

“That was more than three years ago.”

A boy called ‘Ray’ emerged from the crowd, smiling brightly.

I hadn’t seen him last time.

At the appearance of the strangely sharp-feeling young man, I unconsciously frowned.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ray.”

His name wasn’t missing from the documents.

It also matched the photo in the documents, but it didn’t have this kind of feeling.

“…I didn’t see you last time?”

“I couldn’t come out then because I was helping the captain with the paperwork.”

It was a perfectly valid reason.

But why do I have this strange, uneasy feeling?

Even under my suspicious gaze, Ray smiled without wavering.

Unaware that his smile only added to the suspicion.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt the suspicion. Lilia-sunbae also frowned slightly and watched Ray as he naturally blended into the crowd.

A person who felt out of place, suspected of some kind of intervention.

Whether he knew he was being suspected and was doing it on purpose or was just pretending not to know, Ray blended in with the mercenaries and chatted amicably.

I was just thinking of observing him slowly.

Ting!

+++

<Sudden Quest>

Interrogate ‘Bell’.

If you use your skill, you will be able to find out about the ‘mysterious person’ who gave her the life-saving elixir.

However, there is someone who will try to interfere with your interrogation, so be careful!

-Time Limit: 2 hours

-Reward: 2,500 EXP

-Upon Failure: No penalty

+++

A sudden quest.

The person who will try to interfere with the interrogation is probably… Ray?

Or someone else in the mercenary corps?

Either way, let’s move cautiously.

* * *

Although the variable named Ray had appeared, the plan did not change.

The dungeon, discovered two months ago, was a misty cave, a rather common type of dungeon.

“Seeing as how monsters appear once a week, it’s certain that there’s a boss monster.

But why isn’t it showing up?”

The mercenary captain, who had instantly cut the neck of a snake that had rushed at him with its mouth wide open, expertly shook the blood off his sword and grumbled.

“So we’re going to keep exploring until we find the boss monster?”

“I suppose so.”

The mercenary captain answered my question nonchalantly.

In any case, the people would be safe once the dungeon was cleared.

“I’ll try learning some exploration magic.”

“We’d be grateful if you did!”

I felt this last time as well, but the mercenary captain was definitely a good person.

As expected, to be a representative of anything, you have to have a good personality first.

Seeing Laurel-sunbae and Cecilia-sunbae take the lead and clear the path, I signaled to Lilia-sunbae with my finger.

At my glance and gesture to hold Ray back, Lilia-sunbae put her arm on Ray’s shoulder and spoke to him in a friendly manner.

“She’s amazing because she’s an Academy student, right?”

“Ah, is that so?”

Lilia-sunbae will draw Ray’s attention well.

Then it’s time to move according to plan.

“Are you getting used to the crossbow?”

I spoke to Bell with a bright smile.

At my sudden appearance, Bell seemed a little flustered, but she didn’t mind and quickly struck up a friendly conversation.

“I’m trying my best to get used to it. I have to live as a mercenary, after all.”

“But how did you become a mercenary?”

“Both of my parents were mercenaries. That’s how most mercenaries start.”

That’s probably the case.

If your parents are mercenaries, you’ll have better access, and it will be easier for them to teach you skills and experience.

“Don’t tell me they both…”

“They’re fine! They’ve retired now and are busy training juniors at the mercenary guild.

By the way, the Academy students are really amazing!”

Admiration filled Bell’s eyes as she looked at Laurel and Cecilia clearing the path at the front.

It’s true that they are amazing, even in my eyes. But, there’s something Bell has overlooked.

“Those two are in a league of their own even within the Academy.”

Even without the information from the game, the two of them are strong enough.

Laurel-sunbae is considered the strongest among the 4th-years, and I can confidently say that Cecilia-sunbae is the strongest among the 5th-years.

“It would be troublesome if you think all Academy students are as strong as them.”

“For that to be the case…”

Bell trailed off for some reason.

I dealt with the head of a snake that was pretending to be dead and trying to attack stealthily with an ice sword.

“It’s normal to enroll at sixteen, so why don’t you try applying, Bell?”

“What? Me?”

“The Academy has good scholarship support, and they give a lot of subsidies for clearing dungeons.

Laurel-sunbae is also attending while earning her own money.”

“So that’s why she’s working as a mercenary.”

Bell mumbled lightly.

“Sometimes there are Academy graduates among the mercenaries, and they are all truly amazing.”

“That’s because they’re graduates.”

The Academy is a place that never lets anyone graduate for nothing.

There were people who eventually gave up on graduating because of the high graduation wall, so if the person Bell met was a graduate, they must have been a considerable powerhouse.

“The person I met last time was also an Academy graduate.”

“The person you met last time?”

At my question, Bell slapped her hand over her mouth as if she had made a mistake.

Aha, so that ‘benefactor’ was also an Academy graduate.

Then does that mean it’s not the Pope?

The Pope would have gone to the doctrinal training within the Church, not the Academy.

“If you’re so sure they’re an Academy graduate, they must have shown you their graduation certificate?”

“…Yes, they did.”

Naturally, the graduation certificate of Lapis Academy cannot be forged.

Not only does it have a magic seal, but it is also enchanted with a special magic that allows the Academy to detect any attempt at forgery the moment it is made.

“Could it be that the ‘benefactor’ you mentioned is the Academy graduate?”

“I, I…”

Her face had gone from pale to deathly white, so that must be the answer.

I couldn’t understand why she was so afraid, but a smile escaped me at the thought that I had at least found a clue.

“Did they ask you to keep the fact that they graduated from the Academy a secret?”

“That… it’s a bit difficult to talk about this any further…”

「Bell’s wariness subsides」

I quickly write with the hand hidden behind my back.

I could have made her tell the truth right away, but since there were other people around, it was most ideal to have Bell confide the truth in a natural flow.

“Is it a secret from the other Academy people?”

Bell, who was looking around, whispered to me.

“Of course. I’m surprisingly tight-lipped.”

At my encouraging words, Bell hesitated for a moment before finally whispering in a small voice.

“Yes, it was someone who had an Academy graduation certificate.”

“Ah, then that’s a relief. Actually, elixirs aren’t that common, so I was worried you might have gotten involved with someone bad.”

At my words that I was worried, Bell chuckled and joked.

“We were naturally wary of that too. We had it checked, and it was all normal.”

“Checked? By whom?”

“We asked a merchant group that is well-versed in potions.”

A merchant group well-versed in potions? It was a strangely unsettling expression.

Our ‘Golden’ is also a merchant group well-versed in potions.

In the first place, its owner is the most famous alchemist in the Empire.

Thanks to that, Lerwon-sunbae is also well-versed in alchemy.

“Could it be Golden?”

“Come on! How would we have any connection with a great place like Golden?”

I’m glad I got the sound-dampening magitool from Zephi this time too.

I didn’t think she would be this surprised.

If I hadn’t prepared it in advance, Lilia-sunbae would have scolded me, asking if I wanted to spread rumors all over the neighborhood that I was interrogating someone.

“We just checked with a place Ray introduced us to, and they said it was a normal potion, so we could use it without worry.”

“Ah, really? Is there any left?

I have a close senior who is proficient in alchemy.”

“Ah…”

Bell showed her discomfort openly.

Judging by her expression, it seems there’s some left?

“I’m sorry.

That would be a bit difficult. We’ve used it all, and they told us not to give it to anyone else.”

If I press her here, I’ll just arouse her suspicion.

Then it’s about time to start the interrogation in earnest.

「Bell tells the hidden truth」, just as I was about to write as I had before, someone grabbed my hand that was hidden behind my back.

“Bell-nuna? What are you doing?”

The culprit was ‘Ray’, whom I had entrusted to Lilia-sunbae.

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