153. Behind-the-scenes
“You said there was a problem?”
“I think you two should come and see…”
“Okay. Let’s go at once.”
Kang Seung-Hyun and the staff headed to the dungeon where the masked group was imprisoned.
When I went inside, I found one of the masked crowd dead on the floor.
“Wow, this guy is dead!”
“I must have told you to closely monitor it!”
“Sorry!”
The Masen branch manager reprimanded the subordinates who were monitoring them. The Adventurer’s Guild staff bowed their heads in apologetic expression.
“What the hell happened?”
“That’s…”
An employee noticed and explained the situation.
They tried to get information from the masked group, but they didn’t open their mouths no matter what they did, so they said they used confession.
“But the moment he tried to say something, he struggled in pain and died suddenly.”
“Did he die suddenly?”
“Yes… I’ve definitely removed all the poisons hidden in my body.”
“There is nothing wrong with the confession. I always test it before using it.”
Union staff looked very embarrassed.
I blocked all means of suicide in case of an unexpected situation, but he died.
“Hmm….”
[Observing eyes]
“At times like this, investigation is the answer.”
Kang Seung-hyeon activated [Observation Eye] and looked at the dead masked group.
The information floating on the guy’s body was short and concise.
[Death] [Heart stop]
[I feel a strange energy in the heart area.]
“First of all, the cause of death is cardiac arrest.”
“Heart stop?”
“We will have to check the exact cause with our own eyes.”
Kang Seung-hyun took out a knife and cut the masked band’s chest.
“omg!”
“How can it be!”
Instead of blood, dust poured out.
The heart was nowhere to be seen, only a lump of dirt.
“You don’t have a heart!”
“Instead, the place is full of dirt!”
“…Well, there are cases like this.”
Union employees, as well as the Masen branch manager, were a little embarrassed.
Because there were things that should have been and things that should not have been.
“You guys know what this is?”
Kang Seung-hyun showed a clod of soil to the masked group with a calm face.
They looked at each other and opened their mouths.
“Right now, our bodies are cursed to turn our hearts into dust if we try to divulge them.”
“A curse?”
“Because of that, I can’t get the information you want out of my mouth.”
The condition to activate the curse is to reveal the identity of the group they belong to as well as Wismel.
If you try to take it out of your mouth, your heart will instantly turn to dirt and die.
“If you know, don’t waste your time and kill them.”
“If you’re going to die anyway, you’d better die with honor.”
The masked group chatted with very calm faces.
There seemed to be no fear of death at all.
“What these crazy bastards…”
I expected it to some extent, but these guys were crazy guys who were deliberately cursed to keep their secrets thoroughly.
“It’s common among fanatics.”
Kang Seung-hyeon looked down at the masked group wearing arrogance.
‘I don’t know what these bastards are for, but I can’t just leave them alone.’
It doesn’t seem like he’s moving with good intentions when he’s acting to such extremes.
Fanatics are those who will do anything for the god they believe in, and they are egoists who never see the good in others.
“You were going to die if you told the secret in the first place, so you tried to commit suicide…”
Kim Ho-jung glanced at the corpse with a confused face.
“But you can’t dig up information like this, can you?”
“They’re meticulous.”
Masen branch manager clicked his tongue and muttered.
It is impossible to appease or to confess information using confession.
The moment you try to pry information out of them in any way, the curse will be activated.
“Sensei Kang, what can you do with the Arrow of Dawn? A curse?”
“I can’t do this. It’s not a curse using black magic.”
The curse placed on their bodies is a curse that uses magic that contains the power of the earth attribute instead of black magic.
Even if you use the Arrow of Dawn, it doesn’t mean anything.
“Is the only answer to canceling the curse?”
“But it is not a curse. Unless you’re a very skilled person, you won’t be able to solve it easily.”
“It will take quite a while to unlock.”
“The branch manager worked hard to catch it, but he couldn’t do a proper background check…”
The Adventurer Guild staff put their heads together and thought.
However, there seemed to be no information that would be helpful in the current situation.
“Ummm…”
Then Rebecca looked at the dead masked man with a subtle face. To be precise, the lump of dirt that came out of his body.
“Rebecca, why are you like that?”
“That’s because I’m a little concerned about this soil…”
“Why is the soil?”
Kim Ho-jeong touched the lump of soil with her foot and said,
“This soil is not ordinary soil, but Tracotti… It is the soil of the Red Forest.”
“Ugh. you know that when you see it It’s red.”
As she said, the inside of the masked member’s chest was filled with bright red soil.
Rebecca said as she grabbed a handful of dirt.
“I wonder why they put a curse on such precious soil as a material.”
“Precious soil?”
“What kind of soil is this?”
“This is the highest grade soil used only when making precious dolls in Tracotti.”
“It’s used for making dolls?”
“yes. It is used by puppeteers when they make dolls in their studios…”
Hearing those words, Kang Seung-hyeon jumped up from his seat. The blurred vision seemed to be wide open.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
I finally got a clue in my hands.
He opened his mouth with a calm face.
“Miss Rebecca, the doll workshop was definitely a group that was hundreds of years old, right?”
“yes. A venerable line that has been passed down for hundreds of years… Ugh!”
Rebecca, who was talking blankly, looked at Kang Seung-hyun with a startled face.
“Seo, is it possible that the culprit in this case is a doll workshop?”
“Right now, they are the only ones.”
Kang Seung-hyun recalled the Tracotti doll workshop.
They are a traditional group that has been going on for hundreds of years in Tracotti, so there will be old books as old as the hall archives.
“If I were a follower of Wismel, I would have hidden records about Wismel in a place that would survive hundreds of years.”
The doll workshop was an organization that could survive until Tracotti collapsed, so there is a high probability that information about Wismel will remain.
“In addition, there are many tracotti nobles in the doll studio, so you don’t have to worry about money.”
Kang Seung-hyun looked at the clothes and weapons of the masked group.
At first, I almost missed it because I didn’t observe carefully, but the items they had were all expensive and good.
Even the [Ureus] poison they used was quite expensive, so commoners couldn’t even look at it.
“Certainly, it must be difficult unless you are a noble.”
“It’s unmistakable when you see that expensive and precious soil is wasted carelessly.”
Tracotti’s power that has been going on for hundreds of years.
I have quite a lot of money.
A place to hide Wismel’s records.
Use expensive clay used for making dolls as a curse material.
Currently, there is only one group in Tracotti that satisfies all of these conditions, the Tracotti Doll Workshop.
“…!”
“…!!”
“Looking at the expression, it seems like the correct answer.”
Judging from the fact that the complexion of the group of masked people who actually overheard the story deteriorated, it seems that they got it right.
“Damn it… are those bastards involved? It’s a pain in the ass.”
“It’s a doll workshop!”
“Anyway, personality!”
Branch manager Masen touched his forehead with a confused face. The Adventurers Guild staff also let out a sigh with dark faces.
“As you may have heard, the Tracotti Doll Workshop is the biggest force in our village.”
“The core group of Tracotti.”
“In my mind, I would go right in and overthrow it.”
The adventurer’s guild always claims to ‘prioritize adventurers and the peace of the village’, but in reality they prioritize nobles and high-ranking people.
“If you touch the nobles carelessly, the upper ranks will go crazy.”
Of course, the adventurer’s guild would not want to get in trouble with the doll workshop, to which most of the Tracotti nobles belong, and if there were any troubles between the two, they would send a warning to the branch manager Masen.
“Even the branch manager can’t do anything.”
“It’s like that.”
Branch manager Masen muttered with a bitter face.
No matter how well-known the branch manager is, as long as he is a member of the Adventurer’s Guild, he cannot go against the upper ranks.
“Still, if there was solid evidence, I would try to push it somehow.”
Right now, there is only heart and physical evidence, so there is nothing you can do about it.
“If you rob a doll studio, you will find evidence. Is there any evidence in that old building?”
“If you attack without reason, you’ll be kicked out right away.”
“In the first place, the doll studio doesn’t like us. They won’t even let you in.”
Union employees grumbled lightly.
Masen had a bad relationship with the Tracotti nobles even before he became the branch manager, and it is still the same now that he became the branch manager, so the doll workshop will not readily cooperate.
“Then, we will be in charge of investigating the doll workshop.”
Seunghyun Kang said while relaxing his stiff body.
When the adventurer’s guild cannot go out directly, it is common sense to send adventurers to take care of it.
“It doesn’t matter if I join the adventurer’s guild, and I’m not particularly afraid of nobles.”
Seunghyun Kang said with a smile.
Because he had already done many worse things, he was blacklisted at the Hind Village branch.
“Then I leave this task to you.”
Branch manager Masen nodded and agreed.
Kang Seung-hyeon, the temporary branch manager and adventurer, would be able to walk around more brazenly.
“I want to help too!”
Rebecca was also burning with enthusiasm.
“Honestly, I don’t know why the people at the doll workshop are trying to harm the Tracotti residents… Everyone will love Tracotti more than anyone else!”
Even though there wasn’t as much sass as the Kamar mage, the Tracotti puppeteers genuinely liked Tracotti.
It was easy to get good soil to make good dolls, and the Red Forest was a quiet place, so Tracotti was a good town to work in calmly.
“If there is any misunderstanding, I want to clear it up.”
“Is it not a misunderstanding?”
“If it’s not a misunderstanding… I’ll have to get caught up in the adventurer’s guild!”
“I like the mindset.”
Seunghyun Kang nodded and said.
“It must be difficult now because it is late, so let’s visit the doll studio together tomorrow.”
Investigating there will give you some information about the Wismels, as well as a clear idea of what their goals are.
