Do you know what’s most important when lying?
It’s not eloquent speech or a carefully constructed reputation.
It’s your expression.
“Th-This is… a m-misunderstanding…!”
No matter how logical your words are, they won’t be convincing if your face says otherwise.
“I was just testing you… but it seems like it really is human blood.”
So professional liars could control even the slightest twitch of their facial muscles, but thankfully, this wasn’t one of them.
“…I-It’s a misunderstanding—!”
“Just tell what happened. I’m listening.”
I didn’t have to say much. Bersil, understanding my intentions, activated the Verification spell.
But…
“…He’s stronger than he looks.”
The spell failed.
It didn’t work if the target’s Magic Resistance and ntal Power were too high.
Well, it was understandable.
He might be the leader of a small, unknown clan… but he was still a leader.
“What should we do?”
It didn’t matter who we interrogated.
There were plenty of witnesses.
“Try him.”
I pointed at the archer, who looked nervous, and Bersil cast the spell again.
“It worked.”
I had a feeling it would work on him.
“You there.”
“…Y-Yes, Baron…”
“Tell . What happened here?”
The archer’s face turned pale, and he glanced at and his leader.
“Um… well…”
It was ti to crack the whip.
“So you were lying about the misunderstanding?”
I lowered my voice, and the clan leader bit his lip and nodded.
“Jason, it’s okay. Tell him.”
“Y-Yes…”
The archer, relieved to have received his leader’s permission, finally spoke.
It turned out that he hadn’t been completely lying about the misunderstanding.
They had indeed discovered this place first.
But then a team of six explorers had appeared, and that’s when the trouble started.
“Did they try to steal your discovery?”
“N-No, but…”
“Just tell what happened.”
“Well…”
The explorers had realized that the clan had found sothing.
Or at least, the clan thought they had.
So they had captured the explorers to prevent them from revealing the information.
“Th-There was an accident…”
“An accident?”
“One of them… attacked us and killed one of our mbers…”
A fight had broken out, and the explorers had been killed.
“What about the bodies?”
“…We disposed of them with dissolving liquid after taking their equipnt.”
So that’s why I had slled sothing strange.
“I-I’m telling the truth! Please believe ! They attacked us first—”
What was he talking about?
“So you were planning to just let them go if they hadn’t resisted?”
“Th-That’s…”
He trailed off, unable to continue the lie.
The clan leader spoke up.
“So what if we did?”
“Huh?”
“Do you think those six would have been any different? If we had been outnumbered, we would have been the ones who were killed and robbed.”
Hmm, he wasn’t wrong.
But…
“That’s the only difference. No one can bla us. Not even you, Baron Yandel!”
He dared to use that logic against ?
“So I can just kill you all right here and now? No one will bla .”
I used the sa logic against him, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
“If you do that, your reputation—”
“What? Are you going to spread rumors as a ghost?”
“……!”
He finally realized.
Bjorn Yandel, the Giant, wasn’t as noble as the rumors made him out to be.
“Anyway, that’s enough.”
I ended the conversation and called for a eting.
There was only one item on the agenda.
“What should we do with them? Speak your mind.”
“I say we kill them.”
Erwen was the first to speak, her opinion clear and unwavering.
“Misha, what about you?”
“W-Well… I think… it’s better to… kill them…?”
“I agree with Carlstain.”
Misha and Bersil voted for execution, while Auyen and Ainar voted for sparing them.
And…
“I also vote for sparing them.”
Alia’s vote was unexpected.
So I had to ask,
“Why?”
“If you want to punish them, it’s better to leave it to the guild. It’s the proper procedure.”
What?
I had never expected such a by-the-book answer from her.
She avoided my gaze.
“And…”
“……?”
“I think it’s better for you.”
“…What?”
“Better for …? What do you an?”
She hesitated for a mont and then answered.
“Yandel, don’t take this the wrong way. You’re in a very unstable state right now.”
“…Unstable state?”
“Have they hard you? Or tried to kill you? No. They’re not a threat to you, even if you let them go. And yet, you’re looking for a reason to kill them.”
A reason to kill them?
Did she think I was a psychopath?
“Emily, you’re misunderstanding sothing. I’m not—”
“Really?”
I should have said yes.
But I couldn’t.
Her eyes weren’t filled with accusation.
They were filled with worry.
“…Three votes for execution, and three votes for sparing them.”
She said,
“Yandel, the choice is yours.”
What should I do?
______________________
To kill, or to spare.
I had never imagined I would seriously contemplate such a question.
And that was probably… the reason.
Why Alia had intervened.
She was genuinely worried about ‘Lee Hansu’, the person who had been trapped in this warrior’s body for years.
“Archer.”
“…Yes?”
I asked him one last question.
“Have you, or any of your teammates, ever looted before?”
“…No, sir. We’re not that kind of clan. We just… lost our judgnt for a mont…”
“It’s true.”
Right.
“Bersil, take their testimonies and record them with the crystal. Emily, search their belongings and find the victim’s ID. And collect any other evidence that might be useful for the guild.”
“You an…”
“I’ll leave it to the guild to decide whether they’re looters or not.”
It was a hassle, but…
It was the right thing to do.
“Don’t cause any more trouble until the labyrinth closes. The guild will be investigating thoroughly.”
“O-Of course!”
Okay, that settled that.
“So what was inside?”
“A… stone tablet.”
“A stone tablet?”
I needed to see it for myself.
While Alia and Bersil were gathering evidence and testimonies, I approached the wall and examined the crevice.
It wasn’t big enough for to fit through.
‘This is discrimination against barbarians…’
I made my decision and swung my hamr.
Kwaaang! Rumble!
The wall crumbled, and a passage appeared.
And…
“Oh! It looks just like a portal stone!”
“That’s interesting.”
“Will a portal open if we touch it?”
A stone tablet stood at the end of the passage, about ten ters away. I approached it and touched it, but nothing happened.
‘I knew it was too easy. There must be another condition.’
But it seed like we were on the right track.
There were no hidden chambers like this in the Crystal Cave.
‘And the broken wall isn’t regenerating…’
That’s why destruction was the key to finding hidden pieces.
If everything else regenerated except for one spot, that spot was usually the answer.
“Anything?”
“Not yet…”
“I see.”
We examined the area around the tablet, and then Alia and Bersil rejoined us.
They had finished gathering evidence and testimonies.
So I released the captives.
“Y-You’re letting us go…?”
“Yes. And don’t cause any more trouble.”
He looked confused, but he gathered his teammates and left.
Bersil spoke cautiously,
“Are you sure about this? They might spread rumors about us.”
Well, that was true.
I had considered killing them to prevent that…
But…
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It doesn’t matter?”
“They found this place before the 3rd day. It’s not exactly a well-kept secret. They might think they’ve made a great discovery, but… anyone could have found it.”
“That’s… true.”
“So let’s stop worrying about them and focus on this. Can you use Mana Detection to see if there’s anything hidden?”
“Okay.”
We tried various thods, including magic, but we couldn’t find anything.
But…
“Yandel, I think we should give up. There’s nothing here—”
“Bjorn! There’s sothing written here!”
We found an unexpected clue.
Ainar had been digging around the tablet, and an inscription had appeared beneath it.
“Good work.”
“Hehe, a warrior’s intuition is as good as magic. That’s why barbarians are superior.”
“…….”
I ignored Ainar’s nonsense and bent down to read the inscription.
“It’s in ancient language.”
“It’s fine. I can read it.”
“Y-You can…?”
Ah, I hadn’t told them.
Show, don’t tell.
I read the inscription aloud.
“One star, one sun, one moon.”
“On this land we look upon, all are equal.”
“I will look up to you.”
Bersil and Erwen’s expressions changed as soon as I finished reading.
“Yandel, this is…”
“It’s the sa as the inscription on the Witch’s statue!”
“Yes.”
It was the sa inscription we had seen in the Witch’s Cabin.
Ainar didn’t seem to rember.
“…Huh? The Witch’s statue? What are you talking about?”
“It’s a long story.”
We dug around the tablet, but we couldn’t find anything else. We restored the area and left the hidden chamber.
“This is troubleso. We didn’t find any clues.”
Alia seed frustrated, but I didn’t understand.
No clues?
‘One star, one sun, one moon.’
It was practically a giveaway.
“We’re going to the 2nd floor.”
We might be able to enter the rift if we hurried.
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