STGB Episode 403

Ice Rock (4)

After I became convinced of the traitor’s presence.

I went around every day, gathering information.

Of course, I didn’t act like a detective; I just casually chatted with people during breaks or when we set up camp.

Otherwise, the culprit might get scared and hide—

“Wa-wait! Please explain so we can understand!”

As the team leaders rushed to restrain Pike Neldaine, one of the watching members interjected.

“An explanation…”

Well, I suppose I can provide one.

It would help clear up the situation.

“I first began to suspect Pike Neldaine thanks to Elkopson Riadkay.”

“Riadkay…?”

“You mean the summoner from Lady Akuraba’s team?”

Perhaps not the boldest person, the summoner flinched noticeably when everyone’s eyes turned to him.

“Uh, y-yes? Because of me?”

“Yes. When I came to ask you a few things, didn’t you mention that the trolls seemed to tire unusually quickly?”

“Ah, yes. I did say something like that, but…”

Why is he looking so nervous?

Is he worried the blame might fall on him?

If so, that’s a needless concern.

I wouldn’t harm the biggest contributor to this deduction.

“Anyway! That’s where it all started.”

Should I say it was the trigger that changed my thinking?

Before, I thought the ground collapses were due to magic or skills that destroyed the earth, but after hearing that testimony, my thoughts changed.

I began to focus on the trolls themselves rather than external factors.

“Believing that something was wrong with the trolls, I checked to see if anyone had approached them around the time of the incidents.”

It made me focus on the ‘trolls’ themselves rather than the external factors.

“Believing that something was wrong with the trolls, I checked to see if anyone had approached them around the time of the incidents.”

I recited my reasoning before the crowd.

“Until then, I suspected Akuraba’s team members or the mages who always stayed near the sled to maintain the ‘Preservation’ magic.”

Enter Barbarian Detective Mode.

“But upon investigation, there was exactly one more person who had approached the trolls.”

I pointed to the man tightly bound with ropes.

“And that was Pike Neldaine.”

“……!”

“He came up with all sorts of excuses to interact naturally with the trolls, and after the incidents, he stopped coming altogether—”

“Th-that’s just circumstantial evidence!”

At that moment, the bound Pike Neldaine objected.

“You’re going to do this to a person over mere circumstantial evidence?”

Haha, I haven’t even finished talking yet.

Paladin Jun tried to gag him, but I signaled him to stop.

He’s digging his own grave; no need to stop him.

“Evidence! So in the end, you have no evidence!”

Yes, I had no evidence.

That’s why I had to use such a troublesome method.

People only believe what they see with their own eyes.

Before I could respond, Akuraba stepped forward.

“The ability you just used was [Overload].”

“So what! What does that matter?”

“Why have you been hiding that ability all this time?”

“E-everyone has a trump card, don’t they!”

“A ‘warrior’ like you has a Level 7 Essence skill [Overload] as a trump card?”

At her sarcastic words, the man shut his mouth tightly.

Because [Overload] is a skill that temporarily greatly increases body weight, reducing movement speed but increasing the damage of ranged attack skills.

It’s a skill unsuitable for a warrior.

Therefore…

“D-don’t change the subject! In the first place, [Overload] is an ability that only applies to oneself!”

As expected, he tried to find an escape in this argument.

“Yes, I’ve seen someone use [Overload] before.”

“Certainly… it’s an ability that can’t be used on others.”

“What? Then we’ve caught the wrong person?”

The members murmured, swayed by his logic.

“He is oppressing an innocent member with absurd logic! Everyone, help me. Otherwise, you might be next!”

He shouted even more loudly.

Well, how kind of him.

Grin.

Actually, I was waiting for that argument to come out.

The logic he set up to protect himself will now shackle him.

From now on, no matter what he does, he won’t escape.

It’s about time to draw the sword.

“Hey, can I borrow your sword?”

I forcibly snatched the sword from a nearby member and approached him.

“W-what are you trying to do…? E-everyone, help—”

“Everyone, stay put!”

“Guh—!”

I grabbed the neck of the bound man and lifted him high so everyone could see.

The members flinched and looked hesitant.

Before they could unite, I raised my voice and shouted.

“A skill that only applies to oneself? [Overload] is indeed such an ability. But—!”

You think you can deceive me?

After all the years I’ve spent in Dungeon & Stone?

“It’s different if you possess a conversion ability like [Imbue].”

As I spoke, I brought the sword down on his forearm, aiming directly at his veins.

Splat.

Blood began to drip down.

Thanks to the wide cut in the vein, the difference in pressure didn’t cause a fountain of blood, but the amount of blood flowing out was more than enough.

“At that rate of bleeding, he won’t last a few minutes.”

“…We need to t-treat him… P-priest!”

The members panicked at the sudden execution scene.

“Everyone, stay calm!”

“Please trust us and wait. What you’re thinking won’t happen.”

Since the team leaders intervened, they couldn’t act rashly.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes…

As time that felt like an eternity passed, a few sharp-eyed people noticed something odd.

“…Why isn’t he dying?”

“With that amount of bleeding, he still has consciousness?”

“Look at the pool of blood on the ground. Even if all the blood in his body flowed out, it wouldn’t be that much…”

As expected of explorers who are specialists in hunting and killing.

They realized the truth faster than I expected.

Anyway, the situation is ripe enough…

“What you’re witnessing now is an ability called [Blood Well], a physicalization skill from a Level 5 monster, the Blood Lurker!”

“Physicalization skill”—a term in this world for a passive skill.

“…[Blood Fountain]?”

“What’s that?”

“I’ve read about it in a book before. It’s an ability that prevents death from blood loss.”

“Wait, Blood Lurker wasn’t that one of the monsters with [Imbue]?”

“That’s right. I remember that ability being quite troublesome because it always formed groups with other beasts.”

“If that’s the case…!”

The members began to understand without me having to persuade them further.

Then I threw the man I was holding onto the ground.

Thud.

The impact must have been intense, but he didn’t even groan.

He must have judged that he didn’t have time for that.

“W-Wait! Yes, I consumed the essence of a Blood Lurker, but that doesn’t mean I have [Imbue]!”

Even now, he was trying to argue?

I didn’t even need to say anything.

“Then, show us the other Blood Lurker abilities.”

“That… I….”

“I believe there were four in total. And all easily recognizable.”

“I… I admit it! I have [Imbue]! But that doesn’t make me a traitor!”

“Then why did you deny it at first?”

“I-I was just scared…! I was afraid I’d be accused of being a traitor!”

His last plea, uttered with a trembling body.

His figure, rolling on the ground, body covered in blood and tightly bound with ropes, was pitiful, but I wasn’t worried.

“E-everyone, why are you doing this! Just because I have the ability to do such things doesn’t mean I’m the culprit!”

Presumption of innocence.

If this were a modern trial.

No, even if it were a bit barbaric, it would have worked in a city’s trial where ‘law’ exists.

But…

“Pike Neldaine, are you still going to spout that naive nonsense?”

This is the labyrinth.

And more importantly—

“What are you all hesitating about? His expression and tone clearly show he’s lying.”

Explorers aren’t fools either.

“Come to think of it, it’s strange that the ground collapsed twice. That never happened when we came before.”

“So, it was all because of that bastard?”

Pike Neldaine is indeed the traitor.

The fact that all the hunger and discomfort during the journey stemmed from him.

Step by step.

The man who had been crawling towards the others to avoid me quickly changed direction and came towards me.

“P-please! Spare me! I’ll answer all your questions honestly!”

Good, then let’s move on to interrogation time.

***

Rank 4 explorer Pike Neldaine

An explorer who had worked here and there, from small elite teams to large clans.

Then why did he betray the expedition?

No, to be precise…

“Who is behind you? Noark? Alminus Trading Company? Or is it the Explorers’ Guild?”

Come on, hurry up and tell me.

If you tell me honestly, I’ll press the happiness button on your head with this hammer. Okay?

“…Th-there’s no one behind me! I just hated you…”

Haha, this guy still hasn’t come to his senses.

“Jun.”

When I called his name briefly, Jun, who was waiting beside me, mercilessly drove a long awl under his fingernail.

“Aaaaagh!!”

“A body that doesn’t die no matter how much it bleeds—this is quite valuable.”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh!”

“Even if you can endure bleeding, you won’t survive if your organs are damaged, so be careful.”

“Understood. I doubt our expedition leader wishes him dead just yet.”

A paladin is like this…?

His words were so merciless that I wondered if this was really a paladin, and his torture was unnaturally skillful.

‘What is this guy’s deal… was he an Inquisitor or something?’

It’s a matter worth suspecting.

Given that he abandoned his family name, and the name ‘Jun’ wasn’t known in the city…

It’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it?

Well, for now, that ability is quite helpful.

“S-stop…! I’ll tell you everything…!”

The man who had held out for over an hour, being a warrior, finally broke and began to confess.

“Who’s behind you?”

“Iria Ardnus…”

“The guild master of the Explorers’ Guild.”

What the hell…

Suddenly such a big shot is mentioned?

“Speak properly. Are you sure?”

“I-I’m sure! I didn’t meet him directly, but it was his assistant who hired me for this job!”

Sigh, it doesn’t seem like he’s lying.

Leaving the Guild Master issue aside, I continued the interrogation.

“What were your orders?”

“….”

“Jun?”

“T-The order was to sabotage the expedition!”

“What specifically were you instructed to do?”

Soon I was asking a series of questions to get the details.

In brief summary, this is what happened:

The Guild Master knew about our journey to Ice Rock and tampered with the food and supplies to ensure we’d fail.

“I-I swear, I had no intention of harming anyone. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have done it!”

“What are you talking about? Two of our members almost got caught up and fell below. If our team’s mage hadn’t acted in time, they would have surely died.”

“T-That…! I didn’t think they’d go to such lengths to protect the supplies!”

He shouted as if he was genuinely aggrieved.

Hmm, it doesn’t seem like he’s lying about that…

Whack!

After hearing everything I needed, I knocked him out with a punch to the jaw. Then I called in the team leaders who were outside, shared the information, and we held a discussion.

“To think he was really the traitor…”

“More than that, the fact that the Guild Master is behind this makes the situation even more serious. Who knows what will happen when we return…”

“It would have been better if it had been Noark’s doing.”

They had agreed to my request to help root out the traitor, but perhaps they secretly hoped I was wrong.

Their expressions were uniformly grim.

However, unlike most people, they were quick to accept reality.

“First, let’s discuss this. What do you think is the reason the Guild Master wanted the expedition to fail?”

“The most likely reason is political maneuvering. If the expedition fails, he can place the blame on the Marquis.”

“Perhaps the Explorer’s Guild didn’t want the tide of this war to turn in favor of either the royal family or Noark.”

“I can’t believe it, but… it’s not entirely unreasonable. After all, the ones benefiting the most from this war are the explorers.”

“Jun, what about you? No opinion?”

“……”

The meeting didn’t yield any significant results.

We had various speculations, but there was no way to know the truth yet.

“Um… what should we do about Pike Neldaine?”

James Carla cautiously asked, and each team leader shared their thoughts.

“Of course, we should execute him. If someone who disrupts military discipline walks free, morale will surely drop.” —Melend Kaislan.

“I think differently. If we let him live and return, it could help us corner the Guild Master back in the city. Jun, why aren’t you saying anything?”—Titana Akuraba.

“This matter is solely for Sir Schuiz to decide.” —Paladin Jun.

“……”

Their gazes all turned to me.

Well, isn’t it obvious what I’m going to do?

“Execute him.”

We have a long journey ahead; we can’t afford to bring along a rat.

***

The execution took place that night, witnessed by all the members.

We chose decapitation, the simplest method during wartime.

Hanging required too much preparation and was bothersome, plus I sensed everyone wanted blood.

Swish—!

The execution ended with a single stroke, literally.

However, some were still unsatisfied and approached the lifeless corpse to spit on it.

Well, explorers do hate traitors more than looters.

“Where are you going…?”

“Patrol.”

After the execution, I immediately withdrew and headed to the outskirts.

And then…

[The character has equipped No.6111 Fate Tracker]

I put on the ring I had been carrying in my pocket.

But what’s this now?

[The ring has detected character’s fate]

I thought the light would go out now that we’d caught the traitor.

But as soon as I wore it, the ring emitted a soft glow.

Swoooosh—

Seeing the color, I let out a deep sigh.

Well, at least it’s turned yellow now, so I guess that’s some relief.

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