The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character

#25 Rookie Adventurer Bern (23) – Overture to Subjugation

#25 Rookie Adventurer Bern (23) – Overture to Subjugation

“The newly arrived adventurers found the culprit and recovered the victims, you say?”

The next day.

The lord’s reaction to Bern’s report bordered on disbelief.

After all, his predecessors had endured for over a month without resolving the issue, only for it to be declared finished in a mere three days.

“To be precise, they rescued about ten of those who had gone missing and were being held at a temporary base. The remaining victims, however, were taken away by the culprit’s organization, making their immediate retrieval difficult.”

At the treasurer’s words, the lord’s expression grew even more bizarre.

“An organization? Was some slaver involved behind this incident? I’ll see those scoundrels hang!”

“W-Well, that…”

“Why are you stammering! Speak quickly!”

Urged by the lord’s prodding, the treasurer reluctantly opened his mouth.

“It is said to be…a lich.”

“What?”

“So, the culprit is Lich’s disciple, and he testified that he kidnapped people to offer them as sacrifices at his master’s request. The other villagers we couldn’t rescue are currently being held in Lich’s dungeon, whereabouts unknown.”

“……”

A long, a very long silence stretched out.

The Lord paused to rub his face wearily, then surveyed the faces of his retainers.

Retainers who, normally, would have scoffed or rebuked such an outlandish claim as a crude joke, now simply blinked, speechless.

Gudrun, who would ordinarily have been the first to speak up, raising his voice, was instead waiting quietly, cautiously observing the situation.

If he had belatedly realized he’d been too rash until now and was now awaiting his Lord’s judgment, one might even commend him for growing as a knight. But that wasn’t the case.

*He’s testing the waters.*

Testing the waters with the Treasurer? Hardly. Gudrun, who constantly dismissed the Treasurer due to his commoner origins, wouldn’t suddenly be concerned with his opinion now.

Nor was he gauging the Lord’s own mood.

*Bern, was it?*

That red-haired adventurer.

He was too preoccupied with that adventurer who had practically toyed with Gudrun, utterly crushing him, to step forward.

Even though it was the Treasurer who had spoken, it would be Bern and his party who had actually filed the report.

Inwardly lowering his opinion of his guard knight, the Lord addressed the Treasurer.

“And then?”

“The villagers have returned to their families. The adventurers have made a request of you, my Lord, and are currently awaiting your response.”

“To me? What did they request?”

“The culprit. They wish to take Lich’s disciple with them. They stated that having a witness would be beneficial in informing the Guild about this incident. However, they also said that if you, my Lord, intend to execute the culprit yourself, they will hand him over.”

“Hmm….”

The lord hesitated, lost in thought for a moment.

Had Bern and his companions declared they would take the culprit without his permission, he would have undoubtedly erupted, ordering their capture. But presented with the choice, he found himself weighing the matter heavily.

Purely based on feeling, he’d prefer to thoroughly break those criminal b*stards, then leave their corpses for the crows.

But what if the claim of a lich pulling the strings was true?

Was there any guarantee a lich, enraged by his apprentice’s death, wouldn’t seek retribution?

“So, there’s no chance of further casualties on our side, is that correct?”

“If the culprit’s confession is true, then no.”

“I see.”

The lord felt the scales of his judgment tipping in one direction.

The loss of dozens of young women was undeniably a bitter pill, but it wasn’t enough to cripple the entire region of Frencia.

In the first place, the reason he wanted to solve this case was less about the civilian casualties themselves and more about the terrified populace lapsing into a state of helplessness.

Now that the criminals responsible for these atrocities were captured, as long as no new victims emerged, his people would gradually regain their composure.

The lord spoke,

“Offer them this proposal. If they agree to these conditions, I will hand over the culprit.”

*

-The culprit will be officially recorded as having been executed in Frencia. If you acknowledge this, I will not interfere whether you take an unidentified person or not.

Upon hearing the lord’s proposal, delivered through the treasurer, Lenya blinked in confusion.

“What does this mean? Are they saying they’ll execute the culprit themselves?”

Bern shook his head.

“No, they’ll hand over the culprit to us, in a manner of speaking. Instead, they’ll point to some convenient criminal on their side and execute them as the perpetrator.”

“What’s the point of that?”

“‘The Lord of Frencia has slain the villain who stirred up Frencia.’ As long as the populace believes that much, it doesn’t matter whether the real culprit dies or not. And if the Lord were to secure the culprit, there’s the risk of upsetting a Lich, so this prevents that, too.”

It was a shallow ploy, but Bern didn’t mind.

If the Lord, fueled by some unwarranted insecurity, stubbornly insisted on ending the perpetrator with his own hands, that would be even more of a hassle.

Having concluded the under-the-table agreement, the party placed the criminal – disguised as luggage (though ‘disguised’ was a euphemism; they’d physically crammed him into a large cloth bundle, so he was treated like actual luggage) – in the carriage’s cargo hold, then shipped him directly to the Guild.

Before long, as one might expect, the Guild was thrown into chaos.

“A Lich behind it? Preparing a sacrifice ritual of a thousand souls? Disciples scattered across the land, working in secret?”

The Guild wasn’t exactly an organization that championed justice or the protection of the weak.

Therefore, they wouldn’t normally stick their necks out for something dangerous without a commission. That would be free charity.

But the information Bern had brought back this time was different.

“A Lich is a monster boasting at least a 5th Circle of power. If that Lich tries to raise his rank with mass human sacrifice, and if he succeeds, it means a 6th Circle monster will be born.”

“A 5th Circle master can single-handedly contend with an entire territory. And a 6th Circle master can single-handedly contend with an entire nation. If a monster who sees living humans only as test subjects for self-improvement or as sacrifices for a ritual gains that kind of immense power, the damage will be unimaginable.”

“Before he finishes that ritual and advances to the next level, we need to storm in and end it! Otherwise, both Virka and us will be finished! We need to contact headquarters immediately and request support!”

The eradication faction, insisting the Guild should step up and kill the Lich immediately.

“Hold on, aren’t we acting too rashly? In the end, it’s just the testimony of a single mage, isn’t it? What guarantee do we have that this mage told the truth?”

“To defeat a Lich, we have to raid the dungeon he’s created. Instead of ambushing an already strong foe, attacking him to kill him from our side will demand immense sacrifice.”

“Why should we solve the kingdom’s crisis in the first place? Is anyone going to reward us for doing so? Let that damn king and the nobles handle it themselves!”

The opposition faction, who were negative about the Guild stepping in.

“More investigation is needed. Frankly speaking, there’s no guarantee this isn’t a trap laid by the lich, is there?”

“Let’s inform the Kingdom and see their response. I don’t think this is a matter we can resolve amongst ourselves.”

And then the cautious types, wanting to assess the situation before acting.

The conflict within the Eastern Branch escalated through the Branch Managers’ meeting, exploding into a guild-wide dispute, and soon after, the following request was posted in each branch.

-Title: Lich Subjugation

-Client: Adventurers’ Guild

-Participation Restriction: 3rd Rank Adventurer or Higher.

-Information has come in that Mortius Barmore, a lich with multiple past sightings, is preparing a large-scale human sacrifice to gain immense power. Rescue the living sacrifices, thwart the ritual, and subjugate the wicked lich.

“A lich? How are we supposed to catch *that*?”

“The Guild putting out a direct request? That’s a rare sight indeed.”

“Kiya, the reward is astronomical! At this rate, we could live like kings for years.”

“I’ll pass. No matter how great the money, what good is it if you’re dead?”

Hearing the murmurs of the adventurers, Bern turned his gaze to the side.

There, Blanca was staring at the request form with an expression of utter complexity.

“You seem to be deep in thought.”

“…To be honest, yes. This opportunity came so suddenly, it hardly feels real.”

If things had gone according to Blanca’s original plan, even after reaching 4th Rank, there would have been many processes to go through before subjugating a lich.

Even if the Guild possessed some information about the lich, using that as a clue to narrow down his specific location and assembling the necessary forces for subjugation wouldn’t have been easy.

But as a result of the Guild’s full-scale intervention, informants in various regions attempted additional investigations at an astonishing pace, pinpointing the location of his dungeon, and the lich’s disciples, who had been operating secretly in different branches, were either subjugated by high-ranking adventurers from other branches or forced to flee, abandoning their acquisition of living sacrifices.

In a way, it was only natural.

Even though he’s assessed as a 5th-Circle mage, equal in power to an entire territory’s military strength, the Adventurer’s Guild’s combined might could easily subdue a territory, “or so.”

“With the Guild Master himself participating in this quest, no matter how strong that b*stard is, he absolutely won’t survive. Finally, the time has come for him to pay for the sins he’s accumulated!”

A joyous thing.

To be able to definitively kill the enemy, to be able to free Mother soon, how could this not be a good thing?

Yet, Blanca couldn’t suppress a nagging unease. Why was that?

If this was the end, if this was going to be achieved so simply…

The efforts she’d made until now – what meaning did they even hold?

The question surfaced in her mind, and Blanca couldn’t help but feel intense self-loathing at her inability to wholeheartedly rejoice in being able to help her mother.

How ungrateful, how callous were these emotions?

“Is Bern alright? It seems the situation will change in many ways from the adventure Bern originally anticipated.”

Blanca was taken aback by her own question, voiced almost involuntarily.

It sounded as if she was hoping Bern would be dissatisfied with the situation.

This red-haired adventurer, this man who seemed to embody the very word perfection, would never share such ugly feelings with her.

“Well, it is a bit of a letdown.”

But Bern, nonchalantly.

Truly nonchalantly, affirmed Blanca’s ugliness.

“Venturing into a dungeon with a small group of comrades is different from a hunt where many rush in together. Honestly, I was looking forward to the former, so I am indeed a little disappointed.”

“…Irresponsible. While you’re at it, other victims might appear.”

What answer did she even expect from him?

Doing this would only upset Bern, yet Blanca couldn’t seem to stop herself from speaking.

But Bern, instead of taking offense at such words, gave a wry smile and affirmed it honestly.

“Yes, quite unscrupulous. But even so, one is free to harbor sentiments, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Even if the world considers it…unfavorable?”

“Adventurers aren’t exactly known for worrying about right and wrong, are they?”

“You’re different. You rush to things even when there’s no personal gain.”

“Ah, no, I just do it because it’s…‘cool.’ Utterly materialistic, really.”

Bern said this with a smile.

“And when you think about it, it’s all thanks to us, so I believe we’re entitled to such sentiments. If we hadn’t captured the culprit and handed them over to the guild, the Lich and his disciples would still be running rampant, but we stopped that, didn’t we?”

– *Therefore, your efforts are not meaningless.*

Was it simply her imagination that those unspoken words seemed to echo?

Blanca stared intently at Bern’s face.

He seemed to see right through everyone else, yet revealed nothing of himself. A truly unfair man.

But, she also had to admit, just conversing with him somehow lifted her spirits.

“Well, I suppose so. We’re considered heroes, after all. We’re allowed to feel as we please. Still, mustn’t let our guard down. Accidents in this line of work usually happen when everything seems to be going so well.”

“If it’s the words of a seasoned adventurer, then I must heed them. I shall brace myself for something to go wrong then, shall I?”

After tossing the conversation back and forth like a ball, they chuckled together.

“Big brother! Big sister! Replenished the supplies and checked the camping gear!”

Towards Renya, who was running towards them from afar, the two walked forward.

The Lich subjugation was now close at hand.