By Zephyria The cave was as quiet as if there had never been any commotion. However, the bloodstains on the wall and the man’s messed-up face made it possible to guess what had happened here just now.
Leonardo cut off the bag strap hanging on the man’s shoulder with a dagger. When the dagger came close to his face, the man took a deep breath in fear, but he did not stop Leonardo’s action of taking the bag. He just had to hold both arms up as he was told.
Once the bag was completely in his grasp, Leonardo sat down on the nearby floor and began to examine the contents carefully.
Among the minerals inside, some were large lumps, and some were shaped like two or three small ones attached together.
The fact that the minerals showed this shape meant that the place where they were found was a suitable environment for the minerals to form. Therefore, if he went around the place where he found these, he might be able to get more minerals.
However, even after finding this hopeful clue, Leonardo wasn’t particularly happy. As it stood, finding that place was impossible.
‘I can’t tell if this guy is telling the truth or not.’
Narrowing his eyes and meticulously examining the mineral, he turned his gaze to the man.
The man’s face was scratched and bruised, with dried blood from a nosebleed. Kneeling on the ground with his hands raised obediently, he showed none of the boldness he had displayed earlier.
The man, who had been severely beaten a few minutes ago, confessed that he had come to this place after hearing that the minerals of the peninsula were valuable, hoping to find something profitable.
Since the Council’s central branch had entered the peninsula’s entrance, the illegally entering tomb raiders were being arrested one by one, so it wouldn’t be strange if there were a few more like him.
However, when Leonardo asked about the location where he found the mineral, the man stubbornly insisted that he didn’t remember, especially regarding that.
Leonardo, thinking the man was lying, tried to threaten him a few more times, but the new recruit next to him stopped him, saying that hitting him any more would lead to imprisonment for assault, so he didn’t act on it.
Leonardo was unsure whether the guy really didn’t know or was pretending not to know. Even now, the arm he was holding up was slowly lowering, making it seem like he hadn’t learned his lesson even after being beaten so much, but the way he hurriedly raised it again when their eyes met didn’t make him seem bold enough to lie.
However, regardless of that, even if there was more to be gained, it was difficult to pry any further at this point.
Leonardo needed to know how much the man knew about the blue mineral, and if there were any partners, what their scale was and what their exact purpose was for coming here.
But all of that was not something to be openly discussed in front of a Council member, no matter how clumsy. Showing too much interest could raise strange suspicions.
‘I should have found that guy first…’
Leonardo’s gaze, which had been on the man’s battered face, shifted to the new recruit standing next to him. The Council’s symbol badge fixed on his combat uniform shone particularly brightly, as if drawing attention.
The new recruit looked puzzled when he noticed the gaze on his chest. Leonardo, meeting his eyes, stared at him silently for a moment before shaking his head as if it were nothing. There were many things he wanted to ask the man, but not now.
‘Just in case.’
After organizing his thoughts, Leonardo reached deep into the bag again to check if there was anything else. Then, suddenly, he felt something strange brush against his hand as he groped inside.
His elegant eyebrows rose at the bizarre sensation. Until now, everything he had touched inside the bag had a cold, bumpy surface, but the sensation he felt on his fingertips now was distinctly different.
It was smooth, round, and warm.
Instinctively feeling something was wrong, he immediately took out the unidentified object. Then, the new recruit, seeing it, widened his eyes and asked.
“Why is something like that… coming out of your bag?”
What came out of the bag was a bluish-white egg. It was larger than Leonardo’s hand and the surface looked very hard.
It wasn’t a common animal egg that could be found on the peninsula, and it was likely a demon beast egg, but even Leonardo had never seen an egg like it, so it was difficult to specify exactly what it was.
However, Leonardo suddenly remembered the Dermokas swarming outside, crawling between the cliffs.
He immediately thrust the egg in the man’s face and asked.
“What is this?”
At his question, the man hesitated for a long time, visibly flustered. It was as if he was struggling with how to answer.
Rolling his eyes back and forth, alternating between Leonardo and the egg he was holding, the man hurriedly opened his mouth when he saw the patience slowly disappearing from Leonardo’s face.
“Ah, it’s an egg.”
Hearing the man’s answer, the new recruit unconsciously glanced at Leonardo. He thought that answer would provoke his anger.
Sure enough, his face was cold after hearing the answer that came after much deliberation.
“Hey, do you think I’m an idiot?”
The man flinched, seeing that Leonardo was quite uncomfortable.
“Y-yes?”
“Do you think I’m asking because I don’t know it’s an egg? What kind of egg is it? Why do you have this?”
“Ah… I don’t really know about that….”
Leonardo felt a surge of annoyance at hearing that nonsensical answer, as he was already on edge due to fatigue. Concluding that a fist would be faster than words, he clenched his hand tightly and stood up.
Then, the man seemed to instinctively realize he was about to be hit, and hunched over as much as possible, taking a position that was perfect for being hit. Nevertheless, his mouth babbled to survive.
“I, I really don’t know! I was just told to transport it, so I didn’t even know it was in the bag!”
Leonardo, who had raised his fist, paused. Then, the man realized his mistake and tried to take back the spilled water, covering his mouth. The new recruit, who was trying to stop Leonardo, also felt something strange about the words that came out of the man’s mouth and suddenly interjected.
“Transport? Then does that mean you’re not alone and there’s someone else who ordered you?”
“…….”
The man didn’t say anything more, but his pupils, losing focus and shaking, replaced the affirmative answer.
Leonardo lowered his raised fist and stared intently at the man.
‘As expected.’
There was no way that guy would have come to this notoriously dangerous place alone. Even Dark Silver were dispatched to the Elder Milli Peninsula in pairs as a rule.
The magic power the guy was feeling now wasn’t that bad, but it was at a level where it would be difficult to take care of himself on this peninsula. In other words, unless he came to die, it was reasonable to think that this guy had partners or colleagues, whatever his purpose was.
And if this guy was really a transporter, then the partners who hadn’t been discovered yet were likely moving in an organized manner, and as many as they were, the minerals they had would be much more than what was in this bag now.
Leonardo bitterly swallowed the regret that he should have found that guy first when he was alone, and looked down at the egg in his hand.
Even if he tried to embezzle the mineral because it was valuable, it was a mystery why he was told to transport this egg, which wasn’t a valuable mineral at all.
Besides, it was necessary to check whether Dermokas’s lurking around was related to this. It was just a guess, but if so, they might be able to find a shortcut to the peninsula subjugation.
Leonardo tapped the surface of the egg, gauging its hardness. Then, as if giving one last chance, he held the egg out in front of the man and asked again.
“You really don’t know what this is?”
“I swear, I only did the transport, I don’t know anything.”
The man raised his arms and begged, but when asked, he stubbornly repeated that he didn’t know, with a strange conviction.
Having confessed that he had an accomplice, it seemed he had changed direction from hiding to avoiding responsibility. Thinking about it, Leonardo suspected that the word “transport” might have been deliberately leaked.
Leonardo looked at the man with an annoyed expression.
He felt like he could get something out of him if he beat him a little more, but after the newbie mentioned jail for assault, the man seemed to believe he would be hit less, and his attitude changed.
Still, if you’re going to lie, you should put some effort into it. There’s no way a guy who was running around with a mineral, claiming it was a bomb, wouldn’t know anything.
“Okay, so you don’t know either, huh?”
But unlike his true feelings, Leonardo, as if believing the man’s words, lightly tossed the egg in his hand up and down. The man’s eyes followed the precarious action anxiously.
Seeing that gaze, Leonardo grabbed the egg he had tossed up. Then, with an indifferent face, he raised it high and said.
“Then we’ll have to find out.”
The newbie, realizing what he was about to do, exclaimed in surprise.
“Blaine, wait!”
The newbie tried to stop him, grabbing his arm, but Leonardo didn’t stop.
The egg had already left his hand and been thrown to the ground.