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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Berus the Dwarf
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"Hey."
I tossed a question into the empty air.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Please address me as the Librarian.]
"Surely among those halls, there were at least a few techniques based on aura, right?"
If my knowledge was correct, even the occasional Spear Masters or Bow Masters you saw around used aura.
And in some fields, people even combined aura and mana.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [That is correct.]
"So, every time I recover memories, the base energy comes with them, meaning my aura here keeps growing?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [That is correct.]
It hit me just how insane the space I'd been trapped in really was.
At the same time, anxiety crept in—if I didn't start circulating my aura now, it might become truly impossible to control later.
Thanks to the aura that had begun cycling on its own without my input, my body was rapidly strengthening. I picked up one of the wooden swords nearby and sank into thought.
It felt impossibly light.
Even though it had a fairly heavy iron core embedded inside, making it quite weighty.
Right now, it felt no heavier than holding a thin wooden stick.
I closed my eyes and focused, trying to swing the sword.
But...
"Ah... I'm too tired for this."
Irritated by the crushing fatigue that had been building for a while now, I had no choice but to set the sword down.
My body was only just beginning to strengthen, but living creatures need sleep to survive.
The problem was that I couldn't fall asleep.
"Guess I should look for a way to sleep first, leave everything else for later."
That was when it happened.
"Young Master Leon."
"Hm?"
I turned my head to see a maid hurrying toward me.
"The Young Lady is looking for you."
"Sigh... alright."
With our parents gone, it was Melissa—not me—who was leading House Cascadia now.
The reason was simple.
The heir to the Border Count had to be at least a Sword Expert. And it had to be a realm officially recognized by the royal family.
Before falling into the Labyrinthos, I hadn't even been an Aura User, let alone properly held a sword. I had no talent for it, so I never bothered straining myself over something like that.
Melissa, on the other hand, had shown exceptional talent for aura from childhood. At just sixteen, she had reached the Sword Expert realm and made her mark.
Unlike other noble houses, the Border Count family—which directly defended national territory—prioritized strength above all else, creating a very different atmosphere.
That was why the eldest daughter, Melissa, had become the next in line instead of the eldest son, me.
"You're here?"
She looked up from the papers her face was buried in, her expression weary from lack of sleep.
"You look like you haven't slept."
"Quit nagging. I'm handling my sleep on my own, so butt out."
"Can't do that."
I plopped down casually on the sofa and averted my gaze.
On one side sat request forms commissioning searches for our parents and youngest sister.
Search commissions.
The targets were the Cascadia Count couple and their youngest daughter, Arsha Cascadia.
Six months after losing three people in the accident. Even with their deaths all but confirmed, she refused to give up and kept the searches going.
"You still doing those?"
"...Of course. We haven't confirmed they're dead yet."
I knew full well those requests were steadily draining the Border Count family's limited funds.
"I won't call it foolish and tell you to stop cold. I want to keep tracking them if we can, too."
Searches cost a fortune, but if it was keeping her going, what couldn't I do?
"Thanks for understanding. But take a look at this first."
She handed me a document in a tired tone.
"Remember the weapons business we manage? The dwarf overseeing it lately, Berus, just submitted his resignation. Says he can't renew the contract."
I flipped through the document at her words.
There were various infrastructures in Cascadia territory.
Among them, Berus's Weapons Shop—the one listed here—had long supplied arms to the family or sold them to other territories for profit.
In fact, House Cascadia had made the initial investment and kept funding it regularly.
"If it was just bad circumstances making him bail on the contract, fine. But Berus's shop has been doing great sales. The sudden change doesn't add up."
"Hmm..."
"Feels like external pressure. I'll assign you an escort—just check out the situation. I should go myself, but..."
"You have other stuff?"
"Truth is, there are a bunch of similar cases... Hard to step away. We're seriously short-handed. Please. You're the only one I can trust..."
She was swamped right now, too busy to handle every little thing personally.
I'd been helping out sporadically anyway, so I didn't refuse.
And "external pressure" wasn't wrong—I'd seen similar signs in business reports I was investigating before the Labyrinthos.
"Smells like trouble."
"Bad feeling about it. If you spot anything off, pull out immediately. Got it? Don't play hero and get hurt."
How did I handle this before?
I stepped up, but I hadn't exactly welcomed it.
After the Labyrinthos, though, even this felt precious—an ironic twist.
"And Leon."
"What."
"You sleeping properly? Your skin looks wrecked."
She was one to talk, pulling all-nighters herself.
External pressure, huh...
With Father gone, the current countship really was ripe for the picking.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Cascadia Countship was a fairly large territory.
Surrounded by natural fortress walls, it was also a hub where countless adventurers passed through.
But the Cascadia Countship now was different.
"No energy here. It's lifeless."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. Berus's Weapons Shop was up ahead, right?"
"Yes."
The street vendors' faces were grim, and no children ran about playing.
If the main market where commoners bought and sold was like this, the rest was obvious without looking.
Declining inflows meant collapsing commerce and a harsh existence for the people.
It was a Border Count family bordering the Demon Realm, after all.
Compared to other cities, it couldn't have that much vibrancy anyway—but it hadn't been like this before.
Most strikingly, the number of mercenaries and outsiders entering the city had plummeted.
Partly because there was no money in it, but mercenaries were sensitive to profit and loss.
If staying here offered no gain, they had no reason to linger.
Finally, we reached a sparsely populated street, where a sizable but rundown weapons shop came into view.
"A weapons shop managed by the count's family, and it's in this state?"
I immediately touched the shop's door.
Rattle, rattle.
Closed? At this hour?
Berus's Weapons Shop shouldn't close this early, as far as I knew.
If I couldn't talk to anyone, investigating would be a pain.
It was a smithy run by a dwarf craftsman, traditionally backed by the count's investments to produce, supply, and export weapons—a major operation.
"Can't keep the contract," my ass. Look at this mess.
"What happened? Where is everyone?"
"Maybe they stepped out briefly?"
One of the escort knights following me cautiously offered.
"Was it closed like this before?"
"No. Just recently, my colleague and I came by, and it was running fine."
As I recalled, the shop had quite a few workers.
But the forge was cold, no hammering sounds.
The sudden shabbiness in such a short time bothered me a bit.
Then a nearby merchant passing by approached.
"Well! Isn't that the Young Master?"
"Uh... yeah, hi."
Face looked familiar, but the name escaped me.
"What brings you here?"
"Here to see Craftsman Berus. Closed at this hour?"
"Ah, old man Berus..."
The merchant fell silent for a moment, averting his eyes with an awkward expression.
"Haven't seen him outside in days."
"Not coming out of his house?"
"Yeah. Heard he suddenly locked the doors for some reason. So his apprentices and employees aren't showing up either."
The business was entrusted to the dwarf craftsman Berus from the start. Without its pillar, it couldn't function properly.
From my perspective, a risky setup—but Father had always judged by the person, so it didn't matter to him.
"Know where Craftsman Berus's house is?"
"'Course. Head right at that street over there—look for the red brick dwarf-style building. That's it."
"Thanks."
"Um... Young Master."
As I turned to leave, the merchant called out hesitantly.
"What?"
"Actually, a few others besides you have been asking around... Most of them suddenly went quiet."
Something was nibbling.
I nodded at the cautious merchant, then whispered quietly so the escorts wouldn't hear.
"Yeah, I know. Got a tail on me already."
For some faction to tail the countship's eldest son? No back-alley gang was crazy enough to touch the land's lord.
Let alone provoke the mighty House Cascadia?
"Pardon? Then..."
"Let's see how far they follow."
He must have some backing.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As the merchant directed, we arrived at a red-brick dwarf-style building.
Bam! Bam!
"Berus! Craftsman Berus, you in there?"
The escort knight knocked on my behalf, calling for the dwarf craftsman Berus, but no reply came.
"Young Master, looks like Craftsman Berus isn't home."
"Not home, my foot. He's inside."
I walked up calmly and spoke quietly at the door.
"I know you're in there. I'll count to three—open up."
No sign of movement at my words.
"Three."
Of course, when I say I'll do it, I do it.
"One."
Boom!!!
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Single Strike] reacquired.
I ignored the pointless report from the Librarian.
I kicked the rickety door to splinters. The escort knights behind me stared in shock.
"Y-Young Master?!"
"What the?!"
"You two stay here. I'll talk to him. The door? He's a craftsman—he'll fix it himself."
I left them and headed inside.
I'd planned to keep it peaceful, but the foul stench assaulting my nose after circulating aura made me scrap that.
"What a sight."
When Father was alive, he'd often dealt with the dwarf craftsman named Berus.
Melissa met him frequently as Father's successor, but since I wasn't in line for that, this was my first time.
I spotted the dwarf sprawled in the dark room, chugging liquor straight from the bottle. I approached slowly, crouching to meet his eyes.
"Skipping work to drink in broad daylight... Sorry about the door, but a dwarf technician should fix it easy, right? Might as well repair the hinges while you're at it."
"Does the count's Young Master not know basic manners? And you said you'd count to three—where'd you skip to two?"
"You weren't coming out anyway."
The dwarf, who'd been gulping booze, glared at me with half-lidded eyes.
The stench of alcohol wafted everywhere.