Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 40

40. Descendants of Angelus (2)

Admun left the bathroom first and headed straight out of the inn.

[Can he handle this alone? He’s still so young.]

‘I have to trust him. If he doesn’t have the guts, he can’t hang out with me.’

Soon after, three men claiming their belongings had been stolen came into view at the restaurant.

‘Should I fleece these guys too?’

If the Eccentric Council took the Egg of Ratatoskr, I could just extort it from them, but…

‘There’s a good chance it’s not the Eccentric Council.’

If someone else did it, I needed to identify them quickly. I couldn’t waste time waiting for the Eccentric Council guys to show up, so I immediately approached the three men.

‘Perfect timing, the kids aren’t around. I can ask comfortably.’

The children had scattered to search the inn’s empty rooms. Noah Grentel had also gone upstairs with the children.

“Mr. Rgo, could you show me the visitor list you mentioned earlier?”

“Ah, the guestbook? Of course.”

The owner quickly ran to the counter and brought a piece of paper, placing it on the restaurant table.

“Mr. Aslan, and Mr. Rgo, does anyone here seem suspicious to you?”

“Hmm.”

The two men lowered their heads to look at the paper as I pointed to each name written in the guestbook.

“No, these are all unfamiliar names.”

“This person is a regular at our place. There’s no way they’re the culprit.”

But they just kept shaking their heads.

‘Guess it’s hard to find them like this.’

I was pointing to each name one by one when…

“What about this person?”

The inn owner spoke up first at the name my finger pointed to next: Bamun.

“Not this person either. They’re with Mr. Aslan. The person below, Bomun, is the same.”

The giant’s brow furrowed deeply at those words.

“What are you talking about? I don’t know these people.”

“……Pardon?”

“Those are names I’ve never seen before. I don’t have anyone with me except for these two brothers here.”

“But, these people followed Mr. Aslan and said they were with him… right?”

At the same time, the expressions of the two men hardened. Everyone’s gaze turned to the names on the paper.

‘Well, well, well.’

It seemed like I was catching a clue to the culprit.

“These people said they were with Mr. Aslan and asked for rooms nearby… So I assigned them to the rooms next to Mr. Aslan….”

Rgo cautiously spoke, watching the giant’s reaction.

Bamun and Bomun. It was clear that these guys were the ones who did it.

“You, you! What have you done! Then these guys must have stolen it!”

The giant shouted at Rgo.

“Let’s calm down first.”

I stopped the agitated giant and asked Rgo.

“When did they check out?”

“……About a week ago. They left about an hour before Mr. Aslan checked out.”

The giant was so furious that he just clutched the back of his neck and stammered.

“Did they say where they were going?”

“Not at all… I don’t usually ask guests things like that.”

“Then do you remember what they looked like?”

“Not in detail, but I think I know their general features.”

Rgo narrowed his brow, trying to remember.

“They were both men, and one of them had long hair tied back. He was quite tall, very thin, and his cheekbones were very prominent.”

“What about the other one?”

“The other one was relatively short and a bit chubby. He had something like a hand axe hanging from his waist. And….”

Before the owner could finish his explanation, the giant slightly opened his mouth.

“……Moonba, Moonbo brothers?”

His expression was dazed.

“Do you know them?”

He didn’t answer for a long time, just maintained a frozen expression. However, one of his subordinates spoke up instead.

“Boss, could they have been following us from there?”

They definitely seemed to know the people on the guestbook.

‘Look at these guys.’

It was time to settle things.

“Mr. Rgo, could you go inside for a moment? I have something to discuss with these gentlemen.”

“Ah, yes.”

Rgo glanced around and went upstairs.

* * *

Aiteo, who had disguised his name as Aslan, was in a tight spot.

“Where did you get that thing?”

He was having a terrible time because of the Delema boy in front of him. After sending Rgo upstairs, the kid kept persistently asking about the origin of the item.

“I told you, it’s a family heirloom.”

He consistently stated.

“Haa. This is your last chance. Tell me honestly.”

The boy’s eyes sank even colder.

‘……What’s with this kid?’

He had been living off thievery for over a decade and considered himself a good judge of character.

But he couldn’t find any openings with this kid in front of him.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

He didn’t know what to answer.

“You. What’s your real name?”

Eventually, the boy opened his mouth again.

“The name Aslan Comas is fake too, isn’t it?”

The kid had even noticed that he had lied about his name.

‘Let’s just deny it.’

But since there was no evidence, he just played dumb.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“You know that freckled kid from earlier? He’s from the Comas bloodline.”

However, his expression couldn’t help but twist at the boy’s next words.

“It seems like you just picked the name Comas because it’s the most popular in this area, but if you’re uncooperative, things could get quite troublesome, you know?”

It was as the boy said. The price for impersonating a prestigious family would be quite high.

‘Damn it. How was I supposed to know there would be a Comas kid around?’

At the very least, he would be treated as an enemy of Comas. In other words, he wouldn’t be able to set foot near this place.

“You’re not going to say it until the end, are you? Then I’ll have to contact Comas and have them take you away.”

The boy started to get up from his seat, and he desperately grabbed his wrist.

“S, sorry. You’re right, I’m not a Comas. I’ll tell you my real name.”

He was a little flustered, but he could just make up another fake name.

‘Besides, how would he know my real name?’

There was no way this boy could figure out his lie.

“My name is actually….”

“Wait.”

Just as he was about to say the newly made-up name, the boy stopped him for some reason.

“If you just say it, you might lie again, so let’s do this.”

The kid smirked and handed paper and pens to him and his subordinates.

“All three of you sit with your backs turned and write your names at the same time. No cheating.”

Aiteo’s forehead was dripping with cold sweat. If he did that, he wouldn’t be able to lie.

“D, do we really have to go that far?”

But the boy was firm.

“The moment even one person writes differently, I’ll immediately call the Comas mages. And I swear, in the name of Delema, I’ll torment you until you die.”

Insight and judgment that couldn’t be expected at such a young age. He was accurately threatening them by using the things they were worried about.

‘Where did this guy come from…!’

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept the paper. Moreover, the kid deliberately added a word.

“You said earlier that you hate repeating yourself, right? It seems like we get along really well. I’m the same way. I hope I never have to ask twice.”

Looking at the kid smiling as he said that, he couldn’t help but think one thing.

‘……This guy is the real deal.’

* * *

[This guy’s expression is completely sour, isn’t it?]

‘It’s all his own karma.’

When dealing with these petty criminals, there was nothing better than blackmail.

‘Oberon, go behind them and see what the other two guys are writing.’

[Sure, why not.]

Looking at the giant who was almost crying, he spat out the first question.

“Okay. Shall we start with your name? Everyone write at the same time. No cheating. I have the ability to check your answers all at once.”

“What?”

“Instead, if you answer all my questions properly, I’ll postpone contacting Comas.”

“Haa…….”

In the end, the men reluctantly wrote down their answers.

[They all wrote Aiteo Kunt.]

The names written by the three people were all the same.

“Good. Aiteo. All three of you wrote the same thing. It seems like you’re finally ready to talk.”

The guy gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

“Let’s get to the point. Where did you get that lost item? You’re not still going to insist it’s a Comas family heirloom, are you?”

He smiled and scanned the men.

“Haa.”

With a small sigh.

Scratch, scratch…….

The sound of a pen scratching against paper.

[They wrote Anti Auction House.]

Anti. It was a rapidly rising trade city recently.

‘An auction house…….’

He had a hunch.

“You guys stole that gem, didn’t you?”

They didn’t exactly look like they had money, and they were hiding their names. There was no way these petty criminals would have legitimately bid at an auction.

“Write down on the paper how you got it.”

In the end, Aiteo’s big sigh echoed again.

“Ha. Fine. We stole it. But the Moonba brothers stole it again, so how wronged do you think I feel? Can’t you just let us go? We won’t argue with the inn owner and we’ll leave quietly.”

He was giving him a sympathetic look, but it wouldn’t work on him.

“Of course. First, tell me who those Moonba and Moonbo brothers are. How do you know each other?”

There were still many things to ask.

“……We were originally going to steal that strangely shaped gem together. The plan was for them to cause a commotion at the auction house while we secretly stole it. The Moonba and Moonbo brothers may be a little slow, but they’re good at fighting.”

He knew enough without hearing more.

“But after stealing the item, you ran away with it without them knowing?”

“……It’s embarrassing, but that’s right.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Actually, there’s a client who asked us to steal it. But once we got the item, we got greedy for the reward. The more people there are, the more money we have to split.”

They were pathetic.

“Don’t look at us like that. That’s how this world works.”

They were truly petty criminals among petty criminals. He couldn’t help but be more interested in the client than them.

‘Then does the client know that it’s the Egg of Ratatoskr?’

Naturally, his curiosity about him continued.

“Then those Moonba brothers must have gone to the client.”

“Probably.”

“Who is the client?”

From some point on, Aiteo had been answering readily, but he hesitated to open his mouth to this question.

‘Does he have loyalty to the client?’

[Or maybe it’s a being he’s afraid to mention.]

Aiteo’s eyes, which had been fine until now, were shaking strongly.

“Could it be a member of the Eccentric Council?”

It was a hopeful expectation, but…

“……It’s not some shabby terrorist group like that.”

Aiteo shook his head.

“Then who is it? I promise, if you tell me properly, I’ll protect you in the name of Delema.”

Only then did Aiteo look up at him. His mouth opened slightly.

“……Raka Bellier.”

“Is that his name?”

“Yes. You greenhouse flowers may not know, but he’s the one who dominates the underworld of the Apate Kingdom.”

“The underworld?”

“Yes. He’s called the King of the Underworld. So, you guys should just go back. They’re not soft like us. He’s not someone you can handle.”

Aiteo was filled with anxiety just from mentioning the name.

“He doesn’t care if you’re from a prestigious family or whatever. He’ll kill you brutally.”

He told them never to look for them, but could he really do that?

‘Oberon.’

[Yeah?]

‘Which is stronger, the Eccentric Council or that Raka Bellier guy’s forces?’

[Hmm. We’ll have to see when Alloy comes back, right?]

A smile appeared on both his and Oberon’s lips at the same time.

“Okay. From now on, just do as I say. Then I’ll protect you in the name of Delema.”