How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 242

An uncomfortable silence followed.

Unless he was some kind of pervert who enjoyed pain, there was no reason for him not to kill himself. Yet, he just glared at me fiercely.

Was burning the corpse just a way to avoid leaving traces? Or was it because his mana was bound right now?

In any case, I confirmed that he couldn’t die right now. Would something change if I removed the gag? Like, would he die if he said the agreed-upon trigger word.

[Idiot, even if such magic was in place, he wouldn’t be able to use it since his mana is bound.]

‘What if it’s not activated by magic?’

[Then what’s the point of the restraints, and why is he just sitting still?]

Hmm, that’s right. Was I too nervous? It’s obvious if I think about it a little.

I shook my head and got up, approaching him.

“I won’t kill you even if you shout. I’ll just gag you again. Understand?”

Seeing my readiness to strangle him at any moment, he nodded.

I removed the gag from his mouth, and he opened it in a low, dry voice.

“Kill me.”

……Look at what he says as soon as I release him. Too grim to even talk to.

Anyway, he didn’t seem like he was going to shout or resist. Still, I pulled up a chair and sat close, ready to gag him again at any moment.

“Good. Let’s go for a win-win. If you tell me what I want, I’ll give you what you want.”

“Just kill me.”

“Look, your fate depends on how well you cooperate. Who knows? If you defect and help us, you might even get a title.”

The man smirked at my words.

“Did you capture me to make me laugh?”

Well, even I think it sounds absurd. He’ll probably spend his whole life rotting in prison with just his life barely hanging on, let alone a title.

“So, you won’t tell me anything no matter what I offer?”

“No.”

“Oh, you want something? Tell me.”

“Bite my tongue and die right now. Then I’ll tell you everything you want.”

I could feel it in his mocking gaze.

He won’t open his mouth.

Of course, I don’t have mind-reading abilities. Nor do I have the experience to easily understand people.

But still, I’ve been walking on thin ice ever since I came to Midland. There have been many times when death was right in front of me.

Having escaped so many crises, I can say that my intuition is quite reliable. And that sense is telling me that he won’t open his mouth.

Then, giving up on extracting information through torture in this place, all that’s left is suggestive questioning through conversation.

“I have a question.”

“It’s your freedom to ask. At the same time, it’s my freedom to answer.”

Ignoring his cold response, I continued.

“……I can understand the Order. They’re a group of fanatics who have worshiped demons since birth. I can’t accept it, but I can understand it. But why are you Unholy Knights participating in such a stupid plot? Compared to the black-haired man who comes back to life even after death, you’re closer to ordinary humans, aren’t you? It can’t be that you’re going through a late puberty.”

His expression changed slightly at my question. He must have thought I knew more than he expected.

I gave him a grin at that sight.

“That’s a look of ‘How do you know those things?’ I bet you’re curious? Too bad, I won’t tell you either.”

He turned his head away at my sarcasm.

Is he just going to shut his mouth completely?

Whether he did or not, I got up. Then, I rummaged through the cabin, looking for anything useful, and continued to speak.

“It suddenly occurred to me that I think there are only a few reasons why an ordinary person would do something extraordinary. Burning revenge? Deep-seated hatred? Or intense ambition? Things like that.”

“…….”

“Then you can think about why such motives arose. Is he a member of a fallen family? Or a knight who lost everything in the war and returned to his hometown? Or does he want to overturn the world with his lowly status?”

“…….”

“Well, one or two might be like that. They might go crazy with a very sad story. But all of you Unholy Knights are like that? That’s absurd.”

“…….”

“Then what could it be? The reason why an ordinary person started doing extraordinary things. The conclusion I came to is one thing. Equivalent exchange. A format where ordinary people gain power and authority in exchange for their lives and honor.”

The man bared his teeth as he watched the cabin become a mess by my hand.

“Is your hobby writing novels?”

“It’s a hobby. But I only read them, not write them. Anyway, to continue…….”

I found a box of cigarettes in the drawer I was rummaging through. Lucky me. Good stuff at a good time.

I took one out, put it in my mouth, and lit it with the candle on the table. I nodded, exhaling the impure smoke that entered my lungs.

“It was the Baschran Territory War.”

“…….”

“Was it Baron Trill’s castle? There were three Unholy Knights who targeted me back then. I naturally thought they were the black-haired man’s henchmen. But they referred to themselves as only moving for the same purpose, not serving each other.”

Back during the Baschran Territory War, the words of the guys I met while rummaging through Baron Trill’s castle in search of Ilia’s magic sword were still vivid.

‘We don’t serve each other.’

At the time, I thought those words were just uttered because they were followers of Neviros, the demon worshiped by the Order.

But now that I’ve come this far after experiencing many things, my thoughts have changed a bit.

“Maybe the Order, which is plotting shady plans, and the black-haired man, who is like the Order’s action leader, are one group. But they alone wouldn’t have enough manpower to spread their plans across the continent. So they would have drawn other forces with that much power into the plan.”

“…….”

“And that force is Rodkius. Right?”

“You’re trying hard to talk nonsense.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s words.

“Hey, friend. If you pretend to be so indifferent, you’re actually giving me a hint, you know?”

“…….”

“Anyway, to continue, I eventually concluded that the Unholy Knights are a separate organization from the Order and are closer to Rodkius’s subordinates. Then here’s the question. What method did Rodkius use to offer them power and authority and take away their lives and honor?”

“…….”

“In addition, what is the origin of those who became Unholy Knights? Surely the number of knights Rodkius has is limited. What method did they use to train and nurture that many candidates?”

Clack!

As I continued to speak, I could find a tightly locked drawer.

Yeah, there should be one of these.

I forced the drawer open, smashing the lock with force. Inside were scrolls sealed with wax.

Seeing that they were all untouched and pure white, it was clear that they were written here from the beginning, not received through people.

I glanced at the man and shook the letter.

“I have a feeling the clue is in here?”

“…….”

The man still had a nonchalant face. But his gesture of consciously trying not to make eye contact with me was too obvious.

I chuckled and was about to take the letter to see the contents when Acheon warned me.

[It’s a letter with sealing magic.]

‘If I force it open?’

[You know? It’ll burn!]

‘Can you open it?’

[I can’t do it here. It would be better to take it to the Capital Magic Tower, where there are many wizards and plenty of materials.]

I want to open it now, but it’s a shame.

I nodded, put the letter in my subspace bag, and turned around. I’ve searched everywhere I could.

Finally, I headed to the table. After that, I took the map placed there. I don’t know how to read maps, but the captain of the Golden Honor should be able to know the route they’ve been moving on.

In addition, I also took the navigation log. As I flipped through it roughly, the contents near the end caught my eye.

[An unidentified brigantine has invaded the area. There is a concern about escape, so we plan to track it from a distance. Judging from the size of the ship, it is likely a treasure hunter aiming for the treasures of the extinct pirate group. To ensure a thorough disposal, we plan to wait for them to land and wipe them out.]

“Oh my, how embarrassing. I was being stalked?”

The man twisted his lips at my appearance of picking up evidence while sneering.

“……So, is the reasoning over?”

“It hasn’t even started.”

“I feel like I’m going to be disgusted if I listen any longer, so can’t you just kill me?”

Ignoring the man’s request, I took a light breath and lowered my voice.

“Let me ask you one last thing. I saw the villages on the island. Weren’t you bothered at all when you drove the people there into pits and set them on fire?”

“You have a lot of questions.”

“Don’t avoid the question and answer.”

The man smiled at my assertion.

“Wasn’t I bothered at all?”

“…….”

“I was just thinking that I wanted to finish it quickly and rest.”

It’s baton touch time now [metaphor for handing off responsibility].

If I keep talking, I feel like I’ll really kill him. Let’s leave the aftermath to Peter, who will join us later.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to back down like this.

I clenched my fist. And then I punched him in the jaw.

Pow!

The man’s head turned sharply, and he groaned. Then, he mumbled in his mouth and spat out broken teeth and blood.

At that sight, I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Oh, you didn’t faint?”

“…….”

“I’ll do it right this time.”

After that, I beat him up a few more times with pure emotion. I adjusted my strength appropriately, so he didn’t faint or die.

The man laughed, blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

“Is that all?”

“No. It was just a personal venting of anger.”

“Venting anger?”

“Did you think it was a righteous trial?”

“You’re so relaxed.”

It seemed like he was waiting for the colleague who died on the island to return to Taylor.

He probably thinks that our paths have diverged. There’s no need to tell him that his expectations are in vain.

“Unfortunately, the conversation ends here. Don’t be disappointed. There are many people waiting for you besides me.”

“Do you think you can get out of here?”

“Yeah.”

I answered briefly and gagged him again. Then, I tore off the hem of his cloak and used it as an eye patch. After that, I strangled his carotid artery to block oxygen to the brain.

After a while, I grabbed the back of the neck of the man who was slumped over and headed for the cabin door.

Then, I kicked the door open. It doesn’t matter if I get caught now. The door shattered with a sound like a bomb exploding.

“What?”

Hearing that sound, the pirates began to gather. They all had engravings on their chests.

Were they also captured by the Order and forced to be together? So should I treat them like dark elves or beastmen?

That’s ridiculous. They’re the kind of guys who would have made a living by piracy even if the Neviros Order didn’t exist in the first place.

Swish!

I drew my sword. Then, I slowly started to move.

“What are you…… Ugh!”

The pirates were horrified when they saw the man who was unconscious and held in my left hand.

Whether they did or not, I cut down the pirate blocking my way and slowly moved forward.

Bang!

Once again, I smashed the door and got out onto the deck. After that, I enjoyed the night air blowing and looked around. I found a torch and brought it to the sail.

Whoosh!

The large sail instantly caught fire and began to burn. Could there be a better signal than this? I glanced at the white beach and saw a blue light flashing.

It meant that Taylor had taken action.

After confirming him, I infused mana into my sword and looked at the pirates surrounding me.

“Just one person.”

The pirates who saw the blue mana on the sword were horrified and began to back away.

Feeling the fear they were exuding, I continued to speak.

“I’ll spare only one of you. Opportunity is for those who seize it first.”