How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 177

Episode 177

197. Finding the Magic Tome (2)

‘Well… conversely, there’s no one who stands out from my perspective.’

Everyone’s just an extra.

Well, it’s probably because this place, other than that magic tome, has nothing to do with the elements I’m aware of.

Roughly gauging their skills, there are 14 B-ranks and 3 C-ranks.

Seeing as I’m the only A-rank, I might become the representative of this place in the future.

That’s not too bad either.

If I can seize the initiative, nothing could be better.

‘…However, it feels too good to be true from the start, which makes me uneasy.’

Is it because of all the hardships I’ve been through?

I somehow felt that way.

It probably means to have [mental]余裕 [yoyu, a state of composure], but don’t let your guard down.

* * *

After that, we had a brief strategy meeting with the mercenaries and took time to prepare the necessary things.

And 3 days later.

We decided to head to the forest where the ruins were located to carry out the ruin exploration request as planned.

This request involves exploration by teams organized collectively by the guild, so whether a team gets chosen is mostly a matter of luck.

Some mercenaries are already arguing about how to secure a bigger share for themselves.

‘They usually get caught off guard when they’re so careless, huh?’

I have no reason to be attached, so I’m just pretending to survey the surroundings from a distance.

And around that time, a group of soldiers found us and approached.

They’re probably the ones who will guide and accompany us.

Among them, a knight who seemed to be their leader came forward and looked for the person in charge.

“Who is the person in charge?”

Since I have the highest rank, I had no choice but to step forward.

According to custom, the highest-ranked person takes the lead.

…This is annoying. Is there any way to lower my rank?

“I’m Aileon.”

“I’m Nilton.”

The knight introduced himself and proudly stated that he was a knight receiving a stipend from the lord of this territory.

The name isn’t fake, and he’s just another extra.

“Do you all know what you need to do first?”

“We heard it’s about conquering the discovered ruins.”

“There’s nothing difficult. Just remove anything that gets in the way and keep going up.”

The reward is no different from what we already know.

Just in case, I asked Nilton about the things I knew one more time, as if comparing notes, to confirm.

And the most important question.

“By the way, about the special reward, the magic tome. Sir Knight, is it really okay for us to take it if we find it?”

During the conversation, one of the mercenaries asked, unable to hold back.

I was wondering if I should ask to confirm, but I thought it was a good opportunity.

“Magic tome… you mean that? Well, that was also mentioned. But it’s only according to the scholars’ analysis. I can’t guarantee it. But if you find it, you can have it. The lord has also permitted it.”

Oooooooo!

The mercenaries began to [yongsomeumchigi, Korean for surge/erupt] with undisguised enthusiasm.

If they get their hands on the magic tome, they can live off it for several years just by selling it.

“But… why would you willingly give up something so valuable?”

Of course, there would be questions.

Why would they set such a valuable item as a reward for a group of ordinary mercenaries?

Is it a trap?

It’s natural to be suspicious.

“It’s nothing much. From the lord’s perspective, there’s nothing to gain from obtaining a magic tome.”

I had heard it once as a rumor, and I brought up a reason that I had guessed separately.

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s probably because of the Magic Tome Treaty with the White Tower.”

“Magic Tome Treaty? What is that?”

Everyone looked clueless.

“It’s a kind of promise between the nobles of the Selvas Kingdom and the White Tower. It’s related to magic tomes.”

I only know it as a setting.

A treaty signed about 30 years ago by the king of the Selvas Kingdom and the master of the White Tower who reigned at that time.

It is a treaty that requires all nobles in the Selvas Kingdom to transfer the magic tomes they own to the White Tower.

‘It’s a treaty signed with the intention of managing magic tomes more easily.’

And now, it’s ridiculed as a foolish treaty that’s better off not having been signed.

Rather, the amount of magic tomes recovered by the White Tower has greatly decreased since the treaty was signed.

Anyway, I just said that there is such an absurd treaty.

“In short, all nobles with titles in the Selvas Kingdom must hand over the magic tomes they obtain from their territories to the White Tower.”

“…Hand over? Don’t they get any compensation?”

“They don’t get anything. Free distribution. They give it away for free. Hahahaha.”

They can’t even claim the costs incurred during the excavation.

It’s a losing business in itself.

However, everyone can’t laugh.

“So, I heard that they usually burn the magic tomes when they come out, or just pass them on to someone else.”

It’s a headache when it comes out.

That’s why it’s particularly troublesome to find magic tomes in the Selvas Kingdom.

Everyone knows, but they don’t even say a word.

The lord probably offered the magic tome as a special reward this time as a way to dispose of it if it exists.

“According to the treaty, if the lord doesn’t have it, there’s no problem.”

If they have it, a magician will come, citing the treaty.

But what if a mercenary or civilian who has nothing to do with the treaty gets it?

They can’t interfere with that.

Moreover, if they can roughly cover the request fee with a special reward, it won’t be a loss.

They’re using their heads.

“Then, is it okay for us to get it?”

Of course, there is a possibility of forcibly seizing it.

In particular, they must know how scary it is for a magician to plan a night raid.

“If you’re a mercenary properly affiliated with the guild, you don’t have to worry. War will break out as soon as they touch you.”

Originally, when the treaty was signed, the then-king of the Selvas Kingdom wanted to apply it not only to nobles but also to others.

However, it was prevented because the master of the mercenary guild opposed it.

‘Putting restrictions on the rewards of exploration is an insult to us mercenaries!’

‘No one can touch the fair compensation for our achievements!’

He went out strongly, and there is a setting that he even got into a fight with the master of the White Tower at the time.

There is speculation that a duel even took place, which is likely to be true.

The master of the White Tower also judged that turning the master of the mercenary guild into an enemy would be troublesome, so he eventually limited the treaty to nobles.

“Even if we get our hands on the magic tome, if they try to touch us, who are just ordinary mercenaries, the upper echelons of the guild will step in.”

Leaving aside the other mercenaries, the level of the guild master is almost equal to that of the White Tower master.

If they fight, they won’t be safe.

When I said that, they seemed relieved.

“But still, it’s better not to spread rumors too much.”

“…I know that much.”

“Well, we don’t even know if it exists or not yet.”

“If so, let’s worry about it then.”

The mercenaries started chattering again as their enthusiasm returned.

I smiled in relief as I watched them.

‘There’s no way the magic tome will end up in your hands anyway.’

Because I’m going to steal it. Hehehehehehehehe.

And even if I can’t steal it, I have a plan to recover it with money.

So there’s no problem.

* * *

As soon as the preparations were completed, we immediately moved to explore the ruins.

“We’ll spend a day at the nearby campsite of the tower and depart the next morning.”

Knight Nilton said so, stating the schedule.

The structure of the ruins tower is estimated to be about 20 floors.

It is estimated by measuring the height seen from the outside and the scale of each floor that has been conquered up to the current point from the inside.

“The tower is quite old and may have many traps and monsters. Deal with them quickly as soon as you encounter them.”

If it were a simple place to climb, they wouldn’t have requested this and mobilized soldiers to do the work.

“…Come to think of it, you said that the lord has led the attack on the tower before. How far has the exploration progressed at this point?”

When I asked about the progress, Nilton paused for a moment before answering.

He must have been considering how much information to give.

“At this point, about 12 floors have been conquered.”

“The progress is surprisingly high.”

“But he’s been racking his brains because he can’t go any further. The request we asked of you is to bring news that will cure the lord’s headache.”

“Well, we’ll work hard as long as you give us the reward on time.”

When I casually joked, the other mercenaries nodded in agreement.

Nilton also seemed to have the composure to filter out that level of joke, and instead of laughing, he waited for the mercenaries to quiet down before continuing.

“What you need to be careful about is… traps and monsters. Especially be careful of what’s inside.”

“Is there anything special about it?”

“…There have been some reports of monsters that are very similar to humans. …Anyway, among the beings encountered inside, those who do not accompany someone with the lord’s crest are all enemies. Keep that in mind.”

As if giving strict instructions, Nilton said that and turned around.

“…”

“Aileon, what’s wrong?”

A mercenary who thought it was strange that I was staring intently at his back asked.

“No. It’s nothing.”

There’s no need to say it.

I recalled the words and expressions of the knight Nilton a little while ago and muttered with conviction in my heart.

‘That’s a lie.’

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but that knight has been lying from beginning to end.

I have a basic trait that allows me to notice lies, so I naturally notice the discomfort.

What’s strange is that when I asked the same question to the soldiers, the same answer came back, and they believe it to be true.

In other words, the one who’s lying is always the higher-up, as always.

The upper echelons are really dirty.

‘I should prepare myself.’

Usually, this kind of thing always causes trouble in unexpected places.

I decided to focus on the exploration in front of me for now.

* * *

As planned, we took time to prepare individually at the nearby campsite, and the next morning, we headed to the tower.

The moment we entered the first floor, everyone was ready to fight at any time.

Because it’s dangerous.

‘Basically, the fact that a magic tome is stored here means… that the person who wrote it in the past made this place a facility to store it.’

In short, the more valuable the magic tome, the more solid and tenacious the fortress that protects it.

In that sense, the fact that this is a troublesome tower to attack is quite welcome.

However, nothing so difficult happens that we have to suffer as soon as we enter.

Thanks to the efforts of the team that was deployed earlier, the exploration up to the 12th floor has been completed, and it was actually so clean that only dust was flying.

I heard that the floors that have already been explored have been thoroughly cleaned out by mobilizing manpower afterwards.

It means they scraped everything clean.

We went straight up to the upper floors.

The problem is what’s next.

It was when we came up to the 10th floor.

“…Huh?”

When I made a puzzled sound, everyone stopped walking.

“What’s wrong?!”

It’s so funny how they react to every breath I take.

But I don’t mean to joke around either.

“Something’s coming.”

Something was caught in mana visualization.

A faint blue silhouette was vaguely visible.

‘But why isn’t it a living thing?’

It has extremely little heat to be considered a living thing. Almost the level of cold metal?

Well, if it’s certain that it’s there, we should prepare.

We’ve only come up to the 10th floor, but maybe they’re in a hurry to welcome us sooner.

‘They’re aiming for a surprise attack.’

They’ll be careless up to the 12th floor, so they’re attacking before that.

Of course, I’m not grateful at all.

“Prepare for battle!”

“It could be a monster! Prepare the archers in advance just in case!”

The mercenaries took the initiative to form a formation and were ready to attack as soon as they confirmed the appearance.

I stood in the last row and showed only a few water spears.

For now, I don’t want to step forward more than necessary if possible.

‘Above all, I have to be careful because the most suspicious guy is next to me.’

I glanced at the knight Nilton, who was lying to me so diligently.

He seemed nervous and didn’t notice my gaze, and he was instructing the soldiers he had brought to take a defensive posture.

However, he doesn’t seem to have any intention of stepping forward himself.

What is he thinking?