How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 59

59. How to Profit as an Extra (59/344)

Chapter 59

65. Black Magician’s Workshop Subjugation (10)

A researcher is bound to keep records in some way.

But so far, not a single page of such material has been found.

“There are some traces of something having been here.”

Upon closer inspection, there are signs of luggage being moved.

Some areas have accumulated dust and grime.

Meaning a large object was there for a long time.

Judging by the condition, it hasn’t been moved long ago.

“Wouldn’t it be nothing much? That black magician was probably just trying to move his workshop,” Mr. Soland said casually. Crusade seemed to agree.

“Indeed, there were signs of that. Then it’s fortunate that we eliminated him.”

“But the black magician wasn’t killed by us, but eaten by the monster he created.”

In that case, did we really subjugate him, or did he gloriously self-destruct?

Well, we defeated the monster, so let’s count it as subjugation.

“Then it seems to be over. Now, let’s move the luggage and check the way out…”

Just as Crusade was about to suggest withdrawing and leaving the room,

“…Eek?!”

Suddenly, she screamed.

Well, it seems she reflexively screamed because she found something unexpected.

“What is it? Did some strange bug come out?”

“Ah, no. A monster suddenly passed by.”

Crusade, who wouldn’t normally be scared by a monster, screamed reflexively because it brushed right past her.

“I didn’t expect there would still be monsters left.”

However, for some reason, the monsters are terrified, bristling all over and running away.

We watched it in bewilderment.

“…Those guys, they’re running away? What should we do?”

“We can’t let them go! It’ll be a disaster if they get outside the workshop!”

“Ah~ Well, it’s troublesome if they breed. If we’re not careful, this place might become a famous spot for new monsters.”

“We must not let them escape, even to prevent that!”

For the sake of this forest’s ecosystem, we had no choice but to chase after those monsters.

Their feet were quite fast, so it was a bit difficult to catch them, but we eliminated all the monsters we encountered.

“Hah! Hah… I was already tired… Finally caught them.”

“It seems Crusade is quite scary. They ran away as soon as they saw her.”

“…Spiritist? What did you just say?”

“Anyway. Huh? These guys. …Huh? Wait a minute?”

“Spiritist, I want to ask you again about what you just said… Don’t change the subject.”

“No, it’s not that, but these guys are carrying something?”

Something like an object sticking out from among the corpses of the monsters caught my eye.

“Where, where. Step back for a moment! We need to clear these guys away.”

The mercenaries pushed the monsters’ corpses with all their might, and indeed, objects crushed under their bodies were visible.

“Oh no, I don’t know what it is, but it’s broken.”

“It’s because they were crushed by the monsters’ corpses. …What is this?”

“It’s hard to tell. It’s crushed. There are books, but they’re soaked in blood… Ah, is this perhaps a grimoire [a book of magic spells and incantations]?”

A grimoire, like an artifact?

My ears perked up without me realizing it.

Crusade noticed what I was thinking and denied it.

“It’s not that kind of grimoire. Judging from the fact that I don’t feel any magic, it’s probably a book recording research.”

“Ah… Is that so.”

Too bad. A black magician’s grimoire. I’m a little interested.

Besides that, what they were carrying seemed to be materials or the results of something.

Why are they moving around with this?

And they seemed to be trying to avoid us.

Avoid……?

“Spiritist? Do you have something in mind?”

“…No.”

I shook my head.

I can’t say this. I mustn’t say it now.

This spoiler is something I shouldn’t tell her, no matter what, and more than anything, it’s dangerous.

The current Crusade Elfament cannot handle that information.

If she finds out, we’ll surely be annihilated here.

But thanks to that, one thing has become clear.

There’s one thing I need to do here.

‘At first, I tried to ignore it when I had doubts, but.’

Having come this far, I needed to clean up the mess to prevent future troubles.

* * *

Is it almost time…?

“There doesn’t seem to be anything dangerous, so let’s act separately for a while. At this rate, we won’t have enough time to search all day. How about we each move and search one last time?”

When I suggested that we split up and search one last time, Crusade didn’t seem to care much, but the mercenaries looked around anxiously, as if they were a little uneasy.

“Is it okay to move like that?”

“There don’t seem to be any more monsters. Me, Crusade, and Mr. Soland’s mercenaries. If we each move in three directions, nothing will happen.”

After persuading them, everyone finally understood and decided to split up and search separately.

‘…I’m sorry, but I can’t show this to the others.’

It’s necessary to search separately, but it’s not because of treasure hunting.

There’s something I need to do away from the eyes of others.

The place I went to was where the giant’s corpse was earlier.

No one in the group will ever return to this place again.

I looked around several times and then began to look for it in earnest.

“Let’s see… Surely he’s… Here it is.”

I stirred the liquid-like remains left by the giant’s corpse with a stick, searching for what might be submerged inside.

Finally, something caught on the stick.

“I found it!”

I pushed it out and pulled out the corpse of that black magician.

“…You managed to stay intact.”

The state of the corpse is hard to describe, but it’s definitely him.

Of course, there’s no chance he’ll come back to life.

Not all black magicians overcome death and manipulate it at will.

‘But that guy won’t be.’

If my guess is correct, but I’m probably not wrong.

‘Surely there’s a mastermind in this workshop.’

I pushed the corpse away and kept a little distance.

I have to be careful just in case.

I cleared my throat slightly.

“…Ahem! Hmm! Are you watching? I already noticed.”

If someone saw me, they’d think I was crazy.

Because I’m talking to a corpse that doesn’t answer.

If my guess is wrong, this will end up being a pointless act.

But that won’t happen.

The settings of the original work I read have never been wrong.

Furthermore…….

This is also referencing one of the developments that happened in the original work.

The place and time are different, but the protagonist also learns about the mastermind in this way.

Surely that voyeuristic lich [a type of undead creature] is watching.

[…Khehehehehe. How bold, young spiritist. I didn’t expect you to talk to me directly.]

He really answered.

The black magician’s corpse raised its head.

Creak.

The twisted bones made a sound as they forced the corpse to move.

As I stared at it, the corpse seemed to be dumbfounded.

[…Oh? You’re not even panicking at this? Usually, they’re sobbing.]

“I’m panicking enough. I’m so scared that I’m completely frozen. Can’t you see my goosebumps?”

[I don’t need nonsense, young spiritist. How did you know? Just confess that.]

He’s not even listening.

The corpse just creaks unnaturally and glares at me.

He reacted because I was sure and spoke to him.

‘I see. So that guy really existed.’

The reason I could pretend not to be surprised is that I fully expected it.

And… Because of the name engraved above his head.

I didn’t expect to see the name of the person influencing from across the corpse.

Well, even if I couldn’t see it, I’m already sure of his identity.

Kmelz Alpheus.

The villain who will start appearing in earnest in volume 13 of the original work.

And the easy-to-understand name known to the world is…….

…Mad Lich.

The worst black magician in history, consumed by madness and even twisting death.

And the one the protagonist will have to defeat someday.

I’m talking to that guy right now.

‘That corpse is just a medium for conveying his will.’

It’s just like a telephone.

So he’s not here.

But he knows the situation here.

Since when has he been watching?

I tried to swallow my dry saliva, but it was already parched from tension.

The negotiation starts now.

“You’re the real owner of this workshop. Did you ask how I was so sure a little while ago?”

[……]

“I thought this workshop was a little strange.”

First of all, I have to keep making excuses.

That’s the first thing to do.

“There are no records that should be in any workshop… More than anything, isn’t it suspicious that the monsters are moving under control even though he’s dead? It means there’s someone else operating them.”

[…It’s suspicious enough. I admit, that was too much. I understand.]

Somehow, his voice seemed to have a bitter smile in it.

He’s quite calm.

Why were the monsters from volume 9 being produced here?

And the situation where a completely unrelated magician was controlling them.

I kept thinking about it and finally became convinced of the existence of that lich.

‘This is one of the workshops he was running…….’

Kmelz is a black magician with a unique disposition.

Like any lich, he has a strong tendency to hide, but this man hides himself with even stranger behavior.

He doesn’t even turn a page of a book with his own hands.

In other words, he’s the ultimate shut-in who doesn’t even feed himself.

Well, he’s a lich, so he probably doesn’t eat.

‘That guy is proceeding with his research without lifting a finger in other ways.’

That method is the parallelization of research.

Before hiding, he found some black magicians, suppressed them directly, and used a trick.

Interfering with their minds and twisting their direction.

Everyone has a purpose.

If they’re black magicians, they each have a reason for dabbling in black magic, and they have a goal they want to achieve.

He arbitrarily brainwashes them and decides that for them.

To make them work for him.

To give an analogy, he’s like a university professor, and the black magicians are like graduate students.

In that way, without moving himself, he only collects the research results of the black magicians he controls and uses them to draw his big picture.

This place is probably one of them.

In the end, the black magician brainwashed by that lich proceeds with the research according to his intentions without realizing it and cherishes it.

…More than his own life.

When the time comes, it will be harvested and recovered.

‘The reason why the black magician who appears in volume 9 is a different person is probably because of that.’

The black magician here will be defeated by Crusade as originally planned.

That’s the original flow.

But that’s only on the surface.

In fact, he had already recovered all the research results and the giant, and then he would have taken another black magician, brainwashed him, and handed it over.

Like replacing parts.

So the Crusade in the original work didn’t know about the existence of that mastermind.

Because by the time she arrived, everything had already been withdrawn, leaving only the shell behind.

It was truly a matter of timing.

‘This time, we ran into each other because of that.’

The monsters that should have appeared in volume 9 are here.

The reason why the giant was left behind is that we arrived early.

Originally, Crusade should have broken in at least a day or two later.

Everything should have been taken out in the meantime, but we couldn’t because we entered before that.

‘Even if the timing is early, problems arise.’

It’s not difficult to guess that far.

If you just follow the contents of the novel, you’ll naturally know the purpose.

The problem is…….

‘So the problem is, what does that lich think of us who attacked this place?’

The giant from earlier and that mad lich are on different levels.

Simply put, in terms of realm, he’s a monster among monsters who has reached the 8th circle.

What if that lich dislikes our actions and opposes us?

‘It’s over. There’s no way to solve it at this point.’

Even if we’re safe now, we’ll die within a few days.

He’s indifferent to the affairs of the world, but once he has a grudge, he’s persistent.

Especially if it’s related to his purpose, he’s more tenacious than anyone else.

Even the protagonist had a hard time.

I don’t want to be chased by a mad lich who has reached the 8th circle.

‘If I had known from the beginning that this was the place where he was the mastermind, I wouldn’t have come.’

But I came, and since I’ve gained something, I have to clean up the mess.

That’s why I felt the need to talk to that lich.