Gauss didn't ask that question just to be annoying—he was genuinely curious.
Out here in the middle of nowhere, the man hadn't even spoken to his companions. He'd just silently reached into his clothes, wearing that smug, I've-got-something-good grin the whole time.
Has no one ever told him he's terrible at hiding his emotions?
He might as well have worn a sign that said I HAVE A BIG SECRET.
When Gauss's gaze shifted toward the spot where the map was hidden, Felix's heart lurched. Even through the fabric, he felt exposed.
He yanked his hand back out immediately.
And he tried to calm himself down.
We haven't had any conflict. Until today, we haven't even met. Maybe he's just scouting around the temporary camp and happened to bump into us. An adventuring-company leader personally checking the area is weird, but… not impossible.
Relax. Relax…
His mind raced, trying to figure out how to strike up friendly small talk with Gauss—how to blur their purpose into something vague—when Gauss spoke again.
At some point, a small vial of familiar-looking liquid had appeared in Gauss's hand.
"So this is what you were planning to use on Laevin and the others?"
Gauss sounded almost like he was thinking out loud. He cast Identify on it, and the details surfaced in his mind at once.
"Oh, wow. Deadly poison."
His eyebrow lifted. The look on his face turned pointed.
These guys really wanted Laevin's group dead—that badly?
Not long ago they'd already tried to get the beastmen to kill Laevin and failed, and now they were immediately cooking up a second plan.
And from Laevin and Meva's story, there'd only been one minor friction between them before all this.
They'd been stolen from—Night Owl didn't even retaliate—and yet this rogue team's leader was the one obsessively hunting the victims down.
Talk about flipping the script.
Anyone who didn't know the situation would think Night Owl had stolen his stuff.
Gauss shook his head.
He genuinely couldn't understand how people like this thought.
He was constantly at odds with evil people simply because his brain wiring was, apparently, too normal.
When did he take it?
Felix fumbled at his coat pocket—empty.
The poison was gone.
Sweat beaded out from his hairline and seeped through his messy bangs.
Is that… sweat?
He stared at Gauss, pupils shrinking.
For some reason, in front of this man, he felt completely transparent.
As if Gauss could do whatever he wanted—and Felix couldn't stop him.
"Sir—who's this Laevin you're talking about? I don't know him."
"W-we… are you sure there isn't some misunderstanding?"
"Rogues like us aren't built for head-on fighting… carrying a couple of poison vials is totally normal, r-right?"
He was denying everything on instinct—because he had to. If Gauss had just guessed his next move, then admitting anything would be suicide.
And besides… Gauss seemed to know Laevin's group.
So Felix couldn't "confess and hope for mercy." Not here.
What Felix failed to grasp was the simplest problem of all:
The gap between them was grotesque.
Even Felix—the strongest—was only Level 2.
Gauss listened to the denial without any visible reaction.
Then a heavy wave of magic rolled off him.
All four men felt something invisible sweep over them—
And the next moment, their minds dropped into darkness.
"Sleep."
Gauss cast Sleep.
Normally, Sleep worked best on the willing or the weak-willed—when the gap between caster and target wasn't absurd.
But with the difference in power between Gauss and these men, their resistance might as well not exist.
They went down instantly.
Gauss did it so decisively because there was no point wasting time.
Compared to these men, he trusted his former teammates' account far more.
Under Sleep, the four slipped into a state of utter helplessness, and Gauss confirmed the truth quickly.
First: yes, they were here to kill Laevin and the others.
And yes, even after Gauss saved them, they still had a follow-up plan.
Second—
Gauss pried the real prize out of Felix's clothes: two leather map pieces, one large and one small.
Those were what Felix had been clutching the whole time.
And they were the real reason he'd targeted Laevin's party.
For some reason, Gauss felt an immediate sense of familiarity.
He thought for a beat—then pulled out a third leather map fragment from his own storage pouch.
He spread all three out together.
Almost immediately, he saw it: the edges could match.
They were part of the same set.
And when he aligned them, a faint magical pulse flickered through the seams.
"Still missing two pieces," Gauss muttered, frowning.
His own fragment had come from a goblin nest last year—loot from a coastal purge commission near Sena. He'd briefly suspected it was a treasure map, failed to decode it even with Comprehend Languages, and shelved it.
He'd long since stopped thinking about it.
Yet now, without trying, he'd obtained two more pieces.
And Felix—still asleep—claimed his family's "master page" could draw the other fragments toward itself.
"Lucky," Gauss said softly, and pocketed all three.
Then he continued questioning Felix about his family and the cipher.
Felix even had a "translation key," and with Comprehend Languages, Gauss absorbed it quickly.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a normal map at all. It was a magical item—one that apparently only revealed its full truth when all pieces were assembled.
"Where do the last two pieces even go?" Gauss wondered.
Felix's ancestors were supposedly a count's house, with land spanning much of Coldemerald Province back in the day—meaning the missing pieces could be anywhere in the province… or farther.
His own fragment had been found on a goblin nest on a remote island, of all places.
If luck turned against him, this could easily become a life-long scavenger hunt.
And Gauss still felt uneasy.
Was it really a treasure map?
A once-great family burying enough wealth to rebuild itself "for descendants" sounded… suspicious.
Most people don't plan for grandchildren like that. They plan for now.
He stored the maps away.
No sense frying his brain over something incomplete. If there was a trap, he'd learn it when he had the full set.
He canceled Sleep.
The four rogues slowly woke up.
They were confused for a heartbeat—then the moment they saw Gauss, realization slammed into Felix like a hammer.
Damn it. I got slept.
And without even giving him a chance to argue.
Felix's hand went instinctively to his coat lining—empty.
His stomach dropped.
He looked at Gauss. He knew, with absolute certainty, that under Sleep he'd said everything.
The attempt on Laevin's life.
The family "heirloom map."
Even the other murders he'd committed just to build startup funds…
All of it, exposed.
He inhaled, forcing himself to stand tall.
"Gauss," he said, voice tight. "You took my family's treasure map."
"Mm," Gauss replied calmly. "Now it's my treasure map."
Gauss wasn't obsessed with treasure—power was always the real currency—but these men had tried to murder his former teammates.
He wasn't giving anything back.
Felix swallowed. His face tightened.
That was his inheritance—his only future.
Behind him, his three subordinates stared at him, confused.
They'd assumed this was just another job. Kill some people, loot them—same as always.
They had not been told about any "family treasure map."
Gauss lifted his staff.
Felix panicked.
"You—y-you can't kill me! Murder is illegal!"
Gauss shook his head. "You've killed plenty of people, haven't you?"
That line wasn't going to save him.
In the last few years, Gauss had killed plenty of bandits, raiders, and would-be murderers himself.
Rules weren't sacred when people used them as shields.
Felix's eyes darted. Then he lunged for a different angle—one he thought was airtight.
"And only blood descendants can unlock the treasure. It needs our family bloodline. Even if you collect all the pieces, you still can't open it!"
"So you can't kill me."
"I'll join your company! When you collect the last pieces, I'll take you to the treasure site!"
He spoke fast, terrified Gauss would cast before he finished.
And it wasn't entirely made up—Felix truly believed the map required his bloodline. The "cipher knowledge" had even surfaced in his head when he first touched it, like an inheritance.
Felix's confidence returned in a thin, desperate layer.
You want treasure? Then you need me alive.
And he was already fantasizing: endure humiliation now, reach the treasure later… and maybe his ancestors had left safeguards. Maybe he'd turn the tables and kill Gauss in the vault itself.
He could almost taste it.
Then—
Slash.
A crisp sound.
A red line appeared across Felix's throat.
His world spun.
With a dull thud, his head hit the ground.
"Huh…?"
His last thought was confused, distant—that body looks familiar… is that… me…?
Then his mind sank into permanent darkness.
Gauss stared at the four headless corpses.
He summoned a clay construct, had it stack the bodies neatly, then used Burning Hands to reduce them to ash.
He hated being threatened—especially by someone whose eyes were already full of betrayal.
Better to erase the problem early, no matter how small it looked.
As for the "treasure" Felix tried to use as leverage—Gauss honestly didn't care enough to negotiate.
Maybe it was real. Maybe it was bait.
Either way, by the time he actually assembled the full map, he'd likely be stronger still.
If it opened, fine. If it didn't, he'd lose nothing he couldn't replace.
After confirming there were no other threats nearby, Gauss rose into the air with Fly, climbed high, and shot back toward the Red Dragon Company camp.
He dropped down beside Laevin's group as they were picking a place to set up tents.
They turned, surprised, as he appeared.
"Handled," Gauss said simply. "Those rogues really were trying to kill you."
"You don't need to worry about them anymore."
Laevin and Meva looked at each other, stunned.
They knew the rogues weren't a match for Gauss—but this was absurdly fast. He'd left, and he was already back.
"Also… the reason they targeted you was this map."
Gauss pulled out the leather piece Laevin had bought and explained the set briefly—how Felix had been collecting fragments and how the full map still wasn't complete.
"Oh. That explains it." Laevin nodded. "Then you should keep it, Gauss. We don't even know how to repay you for saving our lives."
"No need." Gauss smiled and shook his head.
But he agreed—better the fragments stayed with him. Things like this could be fortune or poison, and you never knew which until it was too late.
He shared his suspicions, and Laevin nodded grimly.
"I get it. I'll be careful."
With that settled, Gauss finally felt at ease.
The next day, the Red Dragon Company began pushing into the swamp.
Because the scouting parties hadn't returned, the marsh beastman clan had gone into full alert—patrols everywhere, layers and layers of sentries around the nest.
Gauss floated overhead under Invisibility.
Before, he would've had to plan carefully to prevent runners.
Now, after absorbing much of the former Fang of the Gray Wolf, the company's strength was in a completely different tier.
In the foggy swamp, sleek figures moved through the reeds like ghosts.
"Positions set!"
"Set!"
Gauss watched every team lock in.
Once everyone reached their assigned place—
"Move."
Above the toxic haze, a blazing sun began to descend. The air's moisture flashed into steam, and the temperature spiked sharply.