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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Overeating is Bad for the Body - 3
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Even Neril's eyes sparkled with interest.
Well, the capital was located a bit south of the continent's center.
It made sense that rumors of Kaild, who operated in the southern regions, would have reached there.
"It seems the rumors haven't spread here yet. To be precise, it's not that I've heard the name before—it's a name I've heard so often my ears are ringing."
"Hmm."
"He's the one who's accomplished all sorts of good deeds and feats in the southwest. Listing them all would wear out my mouth. If I hadn't been tracking this witch, I'd probably be meeting him in the capital by now."
"Yes?"
"A while back, Kaild did something incredible. I remember the captain even heard his name and invited him to the capital. I was supposed to attend as well."
Ah.
So that's why, before my regression, Jenia became Kaild's fourth companion around this time.
Before the regression, Neril had caused the Atrocity at Gray's place, and Dame would have kept it from his daughter appropriately.
But this time, because I clashed head-on with her, things escalated, and Dame couldn't hide the witch's appearance from Jenia anymore.
[Thanks to that, Jenia stayed in the capital instead of meeting Kaild and tracked you and Neril instead.]
'Right. I almost lost Jenia to Kaild. Lucky me.'
Anyway, there was a strange note of admiration in Jenia's voice.
As expected, she said exactly what I thought she would.
"He must be the true hero. He helps people simply because he wants to, without calculating personal gain. Unlike someone like you who chases fame by digging into incidents."
"Thank you."
"That's not a compliment."
"I thought you were praising me for being calculated."
"Sigh. Anyway, pretend you didn't hear that. It was a pretty problematic statement... but I have enough on my mind already."
Jenia's words were tantamount to rejecting my proposal.
I tried to persuade her further, but Neril stopped me.
"No point talking now."
"Why not?"
"Dame was pretty stubborn. Like father, like daughter."
Jenia shot Neril a glare.
"Stop bringing up my father."
"Anyway."
"That's not 'anyway'!"
"I have something to say about that red jewel Ters swallowed."
Perhaps because it was such an intriguing topic, Jenia stopped being angry.
Neril spoke in a low voice.
"That's probably the Withering Jewel."
"What?"
It wasn't a "what?" out of ignorance.
The Withering Jewel.
It was the core of the fourth Demon King, the Withering Demon King.
Just like the heart Kaild extracted before the regression was the core of the Demon King of Lies and Deceit, Idria.
If anyone else had said it, I might have laughed it off as a funny joke, but the Witch of Atrocities's reputation wasn't that light.
I swallowed a groan and muttered.
"So that's why even all of us together couldn't handle it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing. More importantly, how are you so sure it's the Withering Jewel?"
"It was originally the Withering Demon King's authority. The power to wither crops and plants, to sicken people and livestock. It all stems from draining life force."
"I get that much. But you sounded like you knew the jewel itself."
"Yeah. No."
No, she says.
Guess it's not, then.
[You gonna let that slide? She clearly looks like she's hiding something she doesn't want to say.]
'...'
[Want me to use the Eye of Omniscience?]
'No thanks. I don't feel like digging into what she's deliberately hiding. ...She's a comrade, after all.'
My chest fluttered oddly as I said the last part.
[Hmph. Can't be ruthless, huh?]
Trail sounded a bit dissatisfied but didn't push further.
That was when it happened.
Murmurs came from the table behind us.
"Heard the rumor? The Unyielding Sword Emperor's gonna duel the Martial King."
"Ha. Unyielding Sword Emperor my ass. I used to like the guy, but this time he crossed the line big time."
"Yeah. How dare that punk challenge the Martial King."
"Total lunatic. Thinks a little fame in the mercenary world makes him worthy?"
"Still, he's pretty famous around Quelk Territory next door lately."
"Yeah, his name's been going around."
"So his ego got too big? He's gonna learn the hard way."
That was the gist of it.
And it wasn't just them.
The territory felt less like Lazybones' domain and more like a gossip hub—people clustered in groups of three or five, trash-talking me and praising the Martial King to the skies.
With nothing else to boast about in this backwater, I must have looked like the perfect villain for daring to challenge their one pride, the Martial King.
Neril asked.
"So, what about it?"
I shrugged.
"You think I'm scared enough to slice open the Martial King's belly?"
"Hehe. ...Huh? Slice open his belly?"
"Yeah. I'm after that jewel. I plan to take it."
"What happened to your title?"
"Not killing him. Just cutting it out of his stomach."
"People die from stuff like that, you know."
"We don't have a high priest here, but there's an amazing holy knight. She'll heal him right up."
I said that and looked at Jenia.
Jenia looked appalled as she replied.
"You planned to use me from the start. Since that spot two days ago."
"My desire for you to join us is sincere. Think about it."
"You think I'd allow that? I've already reached my patience limit by not arresting the witch right here. And now the Withering Jewel? No way I'd let something that terrifying fall into the hands of you and the Witch of Atrocities."
"Then you should stick with me even more. To keep watch."
Jenia chewed her lip before answering.
"That all assumes you beat the Martial King first. I'll watch the duel and decide."
"..."
"The technique you showed me two days ago was certainly awe-inspiring. But I can't be sure it'll beat the Martial King. It was probably your trump card."
I tried mimicking Neril for once.
Yeah. No.
Alright, time to plan.
First, I secretly called Neril aside from Jenia.
"The goals here are two-fold. Get the Withering Jewel. And make a name for myself."
"Yeah."
"But they conflict."
"Obviously. To get the Withering Jewel, you have to cut a hole in the Martial King's gut, and the territory folk won't like that."
"Right. So I need to create a 'justifiable' situation where even if I do something that brutal, the locals will accept it."
"Hmm."
Surprisingly, Neril crossed her arms and pondered seriously.
It was the first time I'd seen her rack her brain so hard for someone else's issue, and it felt novel.
Unaware of my stare, Neril spoke uncertainly.
"It's tough. Can't think of anything."
"It's fine. Just do what I ask."
"Yeah. Tell me."
"So..."
I whispered to her in a low voice.
Neril perfectly understood what I meant.
"You'll expose his dirty deeds at the duel? In front of all the territory folk gathered like clouds."
"Exactly. Can you do it?"
"I have just the right spell. But the dirty deeds have to be convincing enough for the locals... No, you'll uncover something no matter what."
She seemed to swallow the words, *like always*.
Anyway, what a relief.
This plan would be nearly impossible without Neril's support.
Soon after she left the room, Trail's voice rang out.
[What sin are you planning to expose, anyway?]
'I'll find out starting now. Together.'
If I could see Trail, his face would probably be pale as a ghost.
[No way... right?]
'...'
[Come on, don't mess with me.]
'Relax. I already have a hunch. The lord's son.'
[Oh? Ah, the son everyone loved.]
'Healthy kid suddenly drops dead. Clearly drained of life force down to his bones by the Withering Jewel.'
The Martial King is obviously gunning for the lord's seat.
So he killed the troublesome heir, and to prevent the lord from having another, he's got him right there, sucking him dry.
[Why not just kill the lord too?]
'If the lord dies without naming a successor, investigators come straight from the capital. If the Knights of Light show up and notice something fishy, it'd be a hassle.'
[Got it. He's forcing the lord to name him in the will before killing him.]
'Probably. He's laying the groundwork... but the lord's holding out. Tough old guy.'
Trail seemed convinced.
Then, in a relieved tone, he continued.
[Anyway, if we get the son's name, we can investigate his secrets. Same family name as the lord, so no need to comb through days like with Gray.]
'You were worried.'
'Of course. Once was enough hell.'
'But here's the thing. The secrets tied to the lord's son are definitely about draining life with the jewel, but like I said, I don't plan to reveal the jewel to the world.'
[...Then?]
'Don't worry. No need to check all two million.'
My Blood Letters arrange sins in order of what the target most desperately wants to hide.
And the sin the Martial King fears exposure of most is draining the life force of the territory folk led by Gert Britz. No need to see that.
'In other words, start from the bottom of the Blood Letters and work up. There'll be a sin related to the young lord's death that doesn't expose the Withering Jewel.'
[Excuse me?]
'Start from the bottom and stop at a suitable crime.'
[Excuse me, calm down and hear me out.]
'It'll hit bingo within a few hundred, probably. A bit of grind, and done.'
I continued warmly and gently.
'So, let's pull an all-nighter together.'
[Aaahhhhhh.]
Luckily for Trail, after three days holed up digging secrets, I uncovered a satisfying sin of his.
[Burned out. White as a sheet.]
'You okay?'
[Why'd you come out fine after three sleepless nights like me?!]
'My record's two weeks without sleep.'
[Monster. You're a monster!]
'Ahaha. Aw, shucks.'
Why the compliment out of nowhere?
Anyway, time flew, and duel day arrived.
The arena was the territory's widest clearing.
Packed so tight there's barely room to stand.
Ters and I faced off dead center.
The lord wore a nostalgic expression, like wondering how long it'd been since his people were this fired up.
A soldier acting as temporary judge raised his voice.
"Today, this duel was arranged because the Unyielding Sword Emperor Maide Mohan..."
"Boooo!"
"Unyielding Sword Emperor? More like a moth to a flame."
"Kneel and beg now!"
The judge cleared his throat and continued.
"Ahem. Maide Mohan, pride of Rior Territory and the empire's tenth strongest, has challenged the Martial King Ters Kline."
"Woooaaah!"
"Martial King! Look this way!"
"We admire you always!"
"Win for sure! Crush that reckless mercenary scum!"
What a night-and-day difference in reactions.
Neril tapped my shoulder.
"How's your condition? You haven't slept these past few days."
"Didn't sleep, but not from nerves."
"Can't imagine you getting nervous anyway. You're confident, right?"
"Yeah. Winning's a given. More worried if the plan'll work."
"Don't worry. I'll do my best."
I nodded at her reliable words.
Meanwhile, Jenia glared at me, arms crossed.
"I'll cheer for now."
"Thanks."
"...And as a cheering tip, only use that unnamed technique for a finishing blow at the last moment."
"Yes?"
"It's surely burdensome on the body. If it doesn't take down the Martial King, you'll get countered fast."
This girl's got the wrong idea.
I shrugged and opened my mouth.
"I'm a top-grade mercenary."
"I know."
"And that's only because there's no higher rank."
Jenia flinched at my words.
I continued calmly.
"Even wandering as a mercenary, I've never gone all-out on a job. Never needed to—things always worked out."
"...Overconfidence much?"
"You'll see."
Thud.
I turned and walked up to stand before Ters.
"Good morning."
"Hmph. Shut up. Don't want greetings from you."
"I'm not the one who ruffled your feathers—it's the woman behind me. Why take it out on the wrong person?"
"You're the one who brought her. I've investigated you plenty this past week."
Thud.
He slung his scabbard over his shoulder and continued leisurely.
"The Witch of Atrocities and the Knights of Light vice-captain. Traveling with them is impressive enough, I'll admit. But you're still no match for me."
Oh.
He knows about the vice-captain, fine, but even the Witch of Atrocities?
I hadn't spread that around openly.
'Must've deduced from the mana residue left in the last territory.'
I replied nonchalantly.
"Is that so?"
"If you kneel and beg now, I might—"
"Do you perhaps remember the name Dwey Marco?"
He froze.
His smug expression hardened stiffly.
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