Chapter 238 – Chapter 58. The Case of Theft.
Gulbert, the drug lord of the alley in the big city Pierta. He was a small, ugly goblin, but he wielded unbridled power here in the back streets.
He was deeply related to the heroic drug Aitrophthalate, to the extent that it is said that half of the heroic drugs distributed on the continent passed through his hands.
Ji-hyeok decided that in order to track down the unidentified beings who took the seeds, he needed to start from the back alley here, so he sneaked into the back alley with Orc Grendal. The hero played the role of a mercenary who was poisoned by heroic medicine very well.
Ji-hyeok, who entered the drug den with ease, immediately put the warrior’s plaque on his desk as soon as the drug dealer bargained for the price.
“We only take gold. That’s the rule.”
“Look closely.”
The orc dealer frowned and picked up the warrior’s plaque and confirmed it. When he confirmed that Ji-hyeok was a warrior, his expression completely changed. There was no one who did not know that the S-class hero, Kang Ji-hyeok, had come here. … Of course, there aren’t many people who try to use it to cheat, so a verification process is necessary.
“Did His Excellency come all this way for something?”
“I have nothing to say with you, tell the person in charge to come out.”
“… All right. Please wait a moment.”
The dealer left the room. Loyal Grendal confirmed that the door was slammed shut and asked with a questioning expression.
“… Shall we make it as fine as you ask?”
“I’ll do it because I’m scared. But I’m going to check whether it’s real or fake.”
Soon, large figures burst into the room and surrounded them. The drug dealer politely bowed his head and said he would take him inside. But he was full of energy that if this was a trick he wouldn’t let it go.
The two immediately went to the room of the person in charge. It was more glamorous than the dealer room. Still, it’s middle management.
“His Excellency, what did you come here for? … Do you need any medicine?”
“No, to meet the alley manager. I have something to investigate.”
“… Could you please wait a moment? We also have a confirmation process, so we can’t just give permission.”
It was very funny that the hero had to go through the verification process and all, but he didn’t show it.
“Well, understand. But hurry up. I’m not very patient.”
“… But are you really an S-class hero, His Excellency Kang Ji-hyeok?”
“Okay.”
The person in charge swallowed dry saliva. Not another hero, but an S-class hero that even the head of the alley here couldn’t help it. … No, not even the Count can touch it. That was the level of S-class status.
Ji-hyeok, who was sitting in a chair and sipping luxury tea, soon met a direct subordinate of drug lord Gulbert. He bowed his head deeply and took the lead to guide the owner.
Jihyeok and Grendal followed their subordinate through a long underground passage. Soon, the appearance of the hallway changed, and I began to see hunks lined up in droves. It must have been prepared like this just in case.
Laughably.
Jihyeok sneered at the 20 or so people. It seemed that even Ji-hyeok, not Ji-hyeok, would be able to compete with Grendal alone.
Anyway, Ji-hyeok, who met the alley manager without difficulty, opened the ornate gold-embossed door and entered. There he met Gulbert, a petite goblin.
“Your Excellency, it is the honor of a lifetime to come personally to this humble place.”
The drug lord Gulbert showed a low profile. It was partly because of the goblin habit of always bowing down, but it was probably because he knew that it would be useless to show his spirit against an S-class hero.
As soon as Jihyeok sat down on the golden chair pointed to by the drug kingpin, he crossed his legs and rested his chin on his chin. He’s not a kind enough person to keep his manners even to these bastards. Besides, isn’t this side holding the lifeline of these guys?
“Let’s not go round and round. … You probably don’t know why I came this far.”
“… Yes.”
“Anyway, the matter is the matter, so I can’t pass it over. The identity of those who approached the dead nanny… , Have you done some research?”
The goblin’s smile, which was wearing a business smile, gradually dried up. He licked his lips once more and opened his mouth as he gazed at the hero.
“First… , That has nothing to do with us.”
“That is what I hear and judge. Please speak.”
“… It seems to be the work of the Demon Church.”
Also- It was as Jihyeok expected.
“Any proof that this place has nothing to do with them?”
“If I were the devil, I would be the one who trembles. It’s not a demon cult. It doesn’t matter.”
“I can’t have it. … You don’t know what happened in Cronon, do you? The alley manager was the instigator. … Do you know how many people were left behind? Hundreds, hundreds.”
The drug lord Gulbert complained that he really had nothing to do with the Devil’s Order.
“Then give me all the information about them. Everything, when, where, and what you did.”
“All right. I will investigate and hand over everything.”
“Okay, then let’s take that into consideration.”
“… Thank you.”
Of course, Ji-hyeok already knew that the alley leader had nothing to do with the Devil Church, but he made a few threatening remarks because it was comfortable for him to make the most of it.
When the conversation was roughly finished, drug lord Gulbert held out something in front of Ji-hyeok with a sly smile. It was a hero’s medicine and a bag of jewels.
“And this is my sincerity, Your Excellency.”
“All right. Anyway, there are so many things like this that even I would rot away.”
“… So what about beauties? Aren’t the beauties of the North Continent recognized?”
“Well, I didn’t come to play. It’s flattery, so don’t worry about anything else and do your job properly.”
“… I understand, Your Excellency.”
Jihyeok got up from his seat and left the room of the alley leader with Grendal.
That’s how the hero met the drug lord and three days later.
The alley captain summarized the investigation and handed it over to the warrior. The long piece of paper ended with eyewitness accounts of suspicious people leaving for the north of the city.
… Are you sure it’s north?
There was a place that immediately came to mind when it was north here.
Frozen forest.
A magical view of a coniferous forest that stands bare in the snow.
It was a place with an extreme environment where one had to fear the cold more than the darkness or monsters. … Frankly, it wasn’t an easy decision to follow further here.
First of all, Jihyeok reported it to the prince. However, Prince Felik, who was unnecessarily responsible, was full of enthusiasm to complete the mission given by the imperial family to the end.
“It is by no means an easy expedition. I’m especially worried about whether Your Highness can handle the cold.”
“I am fine. Don’t worry. It’s a mission given by His Majesty. How could I be negligent?”
Ji-hyuk’s warning was not enough to quench the young man’s enthusiasm. In the end, the group decided to follow the Demon Church to the end.
They left the big city of Pierta and continued north. Of course, further north did not mean that there were no cities. However, since the environment is the environment, all of them were small towns with a small population.
Fortunately, there were very few outsiders except for the upper ranks, so it wasn’t too difficult to track down the demon cult members.
“Are you going north? … I thought it was a bit odd. It’s not a place for foreigners to go.”
According to the witnesses, Jihyeok was almost certain of the devil’s destination. After all, he must have gone to the frozen forest.
The prince had already suffered from severe cold, but he did not know how to give up. Or maybe he thought it would be a waste to give up now that he had come this far.
From now on, it became difficult for the wagon to move. So they had to walk directly to the forest. There, Ji-hyuk once again gave the prince a chance to revoke his decision, but he persisted until the end.
Of course, Ji-hyeok’s team, who frequently traveled here and there, could easily endure, but the prince’s team, who had no experience, were being abused.
Judging that it would be too much to keep taking the servants and maids who lacked physical strength, the prince decided to join the warrior team with only one escort knight and one servant. That’s how the team of five warriors increased to eight.
The speed of progress was much faster as useless personnel were piled up and disappeared. In particular, the prince was carried on the back of the orc Grendal, who did not suffer from the cold, so there was nothing physically difficult as long as he endured the cold.
After leaving the last city and walking for a full week, they finally arrived at the frozen forest.
The skinny coniferous forest standing on top of the snowy field gave off a strange atmosphere. Even if it looks like this, after all, the demonic realm is a demonic realm, and a very faint demonic energy was flowing in the air. It was so minute that even Lenny couldn’t feel it, but Ji-hyeok, who drank the dragon’s blood, sensitively captured even the smallest amount of magic.
… Did they settle down here to prevent anyone from even thinking about approaching them? … Aww, they’re nasty bastards.
It seems that the Devil Church, which has failed several times, has built a secret base in this place to prevent access to extreme environments. Aita can also be grown there.
In fact, the unidentified suspects had long been cut off from the city before, so if it wasn’t for Ji-hyeok, he wouldn’t have even thought of coming to this place in the first place. Of course, the demon cult members who were caught by him were very unlucky.
“Are there really people in a place like this?”
It was to the point where even Prince Felik questioned whether there were any of them in such a remote place.
However, Jihyeok was almost certain. In the Northern Continent, where the vigilance was already high, there was no better hideout for the demon cultists than here. Furthermore, if their goal is to summon demons, then the demonic realm overflowing with demons would be perfect. Otherwise, there would have to be a lot of sacrifices, but it wouldn’t be easy to get them undetected in the sparsely populated northern continent.
There was nowhere else to go but this or that. Of course, in this state, it would take a lot of hard work to find their traces, but Ji-hyeok had a great tool called the dream horse.
Jihyeok first suggested that the prince stay overnight before entering the frozen forest. It was natural for the prince, who had no expedition experience, to listen to the words of the experienced person, so he also followed Ji-hyeok’s instructions without complaining.
The cold of the night was truly murderous. I built a wall thick with snow to avoid the wind as much as possible, but even so, the wind that occasionally leaked in was so cold that it pierced my bones. The prince was in a daze from this terrible cold that he had never experienced before. In the meantime, even though I had suffered quite a bit of cold in the North Continent, the cold here was more severe than that.
Still, I was able to hold on a little because I gathered firewood and started a fire and covered myself with four layers of blankets.
Prince Felik, exhausted from the cold and exhaustion, fell asleep as if fainting from the slight comfort he felt in the blanket.
… And, the prince suffered from terrible nightmares all night.
