Volume 3 Chapter 98 Did I… Like Sarah…？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”You mean, like, he’s a good guy or whatever?”
When Serena said that, Sarah shook her head.
”From what I hear, he’s not exactly trustworthy.”
”Huh…?”
Sarah glanced around at everyone, checking their reactions.
”Barghest’s a Wolfman, born and raised with the ‘Storm Herd.’ He’s 40 now. When he was 20, he went to study at the Academy in the Royal Capital. Came back 3 years later. After that, when he was 23, he got picked up as a personal magician by Captain Glen Silverwooloo. Even though Glen’s old enough to be his dad, he really valued Barghest.”
”Wait, Glen… That’s Serena’s father, right? How old is he now?”
”He turned 72 this year.”
”Wow, still going strong, huh.”
”What’s that supposed to mean?”
Serena shot Kian a look──eyes narrowed, deadly stare.
”After Barghest became Glen’s magician, every high-ranking magician above him started dying. Sickness, battle, magic accidents──you name it. Not weird for a mercenary guild, but… among some of the warriors, there were rumors. They said Barghest was cursing his own teammates to death.”
”It’s just gossip! Barghest would never do something like that!”
”Would you let me finish, Ms. Serena? …Barghest, like most magicians, was obsessed with immortality. People say he’d buy up prisoners of war and use them for weird experiments.”
”──”
”About 3 months ago, Glen suddenly announced he was taking the Herd north, to the Nordende river domain. Ordered everyone to go hunt Bloodsuckers. The other clan leaders were pretty suspicious. No one hired them, there was no reward, but Glen wanted his men risking their necks anyway. Of course they didn’t trust him.”
”Wait, so that’s why Serena got left behind?”
”That all started when they warped into the Nordende River domain, maybe? After that, Glen──the commander──just stopped showing up at HQ. Barghest, who’d climbed up to Chief Magician, started running the whole mercenary band like a stand-in. At the elders’ council, whatever they decided, Barghest would write it up, send it to Glen, and Glen would stamp and sign it. That’s how ‘Storm Herd’ works now. Still does, apparently.”
”What even is that supposed to mean?”
Kian frowned, lines furrowing deep between his brows.
Across the table, Ninini muttered, “Smells fishy-nya.”
”So Glen just hides away while the Chief Magician runs everything, just rubber-stamping whatever he gets? Come on, isn’t that suspicious as hell? Did none of the elders ever bother to check where their own commander actually went──or if those signatures were even real?”
”There were people who tried, sure. That’s why ‘Storm Herd’ is falling apart now──folks keep breaking off. Yelmar, that one guy who led the younger crowd? He bailed, took all his friends, and started his own thing.”
”Well. If some old guy told me to go kill Bloodsucking Kind for free, I’d walk too-nya. People died, gear got trashed, supplies ran out. Didn’t Glen ever notice how messed up his own orders were-nya?”
Sarah shook her head.
”I don’t know. I just heard the members say… Glen’s old, you know?”
”──Father isn’t losing his mind!”
That was too much for Serena──she shot to her feet, kicking her chair back.
”My father was noble. Brave. He always did the right thing, even if it didn’t help the herd. Just look around──these people are suffering because of the Bloodsucking Kind! He couldn’t just stand by and watch. He wanted to help them!”
”Ms. Serena──”
”…!”
Serena could feel everyone at the tavern staring at her.
She just sat down in silence, not looking up.
Then she quietly muttered, “Sorry for all the noise…”
”No, I was out of line too.”
”So? What’s this got to do with Rean and Vest-nya? Don’t tell me──you’re saying this Barghest guy locked Vest up just to experiment on her or something-nya?”
”That’s exactly it, Ms. Ninini.”
Sarah’s gentle brows suddenly sharpened.
”I’ve heard Barghest regularly brings in women with strong magic power to his lab. Back when Glen was around, it was just a rumor. But ever since Barghest became acting leader, people have actually seen him dragging girls away.”
”Ms. Lyritisse, if I remember, got taken too. That was down in the Erynys temple. They turned her into some breeding ground for thorn monsters.”
”So the lich you fought… you’re saying it might’ve been Barghest?”
”──Barghest is Wolfmen, not some freaky undead!”
”But, Serena, a lich is what you get when a magician chases immortality so far they go twisted. They’re not born; they’re built.”
”…!”
Sarah pressed on.
”Honestly, we can only guess what happened to Ms. Vestacia. But thinking about what Ms. Ninini saw, it’s pretty much impossible she escaped on her own. Which means it’s way more likely Barghest’s crew dragged her off to his lab.”
”Vest is a rare high elf-nya. They wouldn’t want anyone laying eyes on her, so they locked her up tight. …If that bastard laid a finger on Vest, I’ll rip his head off myself-nya.”
”……”
While the feline Beastmen glared with murder in her eyes, Serena watched her, dazed and hollowed out.
She clearly wanted to say, Please, don’t kill Barghest──but with Sarah’s grim news and Ninini’s dangerous mood, Serena just couldn’t speak.
”So? Trying to negotiate with Barghest to buy back the hostage? Not exactly the brightest move right now.”
”Just like Kian said. Mr. Rean is weak and has a stab wound in his belly. If he’s left in that unclean place much longer, he could die from an infection. And Ms. Vestacia, if my bad feeling is right, they might not give her back even if we negotiate.”
”Hmph, I should’ve just sneaked in from the start and gotten Rean and Vest out-nya! But, you guys, rest up! Once I’ve got my strength back, we’re all making a break for it-nya!”
(Charging in all together is a bad idea. What’s this dumb cat thinking…)
Just in case, it might be better to have one or 2 people wait outside.
On the other hand, sending in Sarah alone isn’t a great idea either.
At least 2 people.
It’s essential to get Rean and Vestacia out safely.
”We’ll wait for Kian to scout out the layout tomorrow before we plan the infiltration route. Ms. Ninini, if you want to help them, please make sure you’re back to full strength by the time we leave. If not, we’ll have to leave you behind.”
”I get it-nya. I’m still a Rank 1 Adventurer-nya. Just you wait-nya.”
Ninini thumped her chest, then placed a pile of gold coins on the table and stood up.
Kian, Sarah, and Serena stood up too.
”Alright then, everyone prepare your gear, or get some rest, whichever you need. Kian, it’s getting late, so no going outside. We two’ll make the map when the sun rises tomorrow. Got it?”
”Roger that.”
”I’ll go negotiate with the village head to borrow an unused cabin.”
”Oh, I’ve already taken care of that.”
Sarah pulled out a large wooden key and jingled it in front of everyone, a feat of lightning speed considering how little time she had.
”The Wolfmen shared some food with us. Let’s all eat later.”
”Haha, Sarah, you’re something else-nya! Once this job is done, I might just hire you as my underling-nya!”
”I’ll have to decline. I’m already a member of Kian’s party~”
Kian actually felt a bit relieved when Sarah turned her down with that bright smile.
Honestly, anyone in her shoes would’ve done the same──if all you needed was to leech some Adventurer Points, any advanced-rank party would do just fine.
Especially one like Rean’s.
Way more connections than Kian could ever dream of.
For a split-second, it crossed his mind──what if Sarah ditched them for a better offer?
Wouldn’t blame her…
(Alright, what now? Guess I’ll just dream up some lame excuse and sneak off to the Storm Herd camp. Who knows──maybe I’ll get lucky and find someone as easygoing as Esther…)
As Kian trailed after Sarah out of the tavern, he was already cooking up a reason for slipping out of bed later tonight.
Not that this was anything dangerous.
He was just… gathering a little extra magic power before the next fight, that’s all.
Serena was heartsick, Sarah was scary──so, really, what choice did he have but to chase comfort somewhere else?
”…Kian? What’s on your mind?”
(Seriously, Sarah’s way too sharp for her own good.)
His childhood friend shot him a suspicious look over her shoulder.
Kian just flashed a harmless grin.
”Nothing. Just lost in your lovely silhouette, that’s all.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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