Bermuda

Flynn felt like his head was spinning. He was clearly having a conversation, yet it felt like no real communication was happening at all. The information he’d been desperately chasing after was suddenly pouring in from an unexpected source, leaving him unable to organize his thoughts.

“So, are you certain Blaine is at the lord’s castle right now?”

“Well... as far as I know, yes. But the man in the photo you showed me wasn’t him.”

“He wasn’t this man?”

“No. He looked completely different. His hair was kind of yellowish, sure, but it was more of a patchy brown than blond. And his eyes... they definitely weren’t gold, they were dark green, I think. His personality is terrible too. He always speaks informally to the leader of the merchant group.”

Flynn paused, bewildered by Teo’s words that he “seemed like a different person.” Not blond hair and golden eyes, but entirely different features?

“Then... you’re saying the Leonardo Blaine at the mansion looks nothing like the man in this photo? Like a completely different person?”

“Yes. The Leonardo Blaine at the mansion has a nasty attitude, and his appearance... hmm, yeah. He looks like someone who wasn’t fully finished. The guy in this photo? He’s handsome, isn’t he?”

Teo, clearly irritated with the so-called Leonardo Blaine at the mansion, seemed to be holding quite the grudge. Flynn pressed him again about the man’s identity.

“Did that person introduce himself as Leonardo Blaine directly?”

“Yeah, every time he talks, he starts with, ‘This Mr. Leonardo Blaine...’ you know? Even the merchant group leader calls him Blaine.”

“Oh my...”

Flynn couldn’t help but let out a short, exasperated laugh. The Leonardo Blaine Teo described was nothing like the one he was familiar with.

For starters, the captain of the 8th Platoon, 1st Battalion—the one who had recently pursued Blaine—had confirmed that Leonardo Blaine looked exactly like the photo attached to the Council’s personal information file.

Though he’d matured a bit with age, his appearance was unmistakable. More importantly, Blaine despised the Council, moving in secrecy to the point it was nearly impossible to track him down.

And yet, this supposed Blaine was wandering around, loudly declaring his name, to the extent even a low-ranking merchant group member knew about him?

Flynn recalled that when reports about Leonardo Blaine surfaced in the past, most turned out to be impersonators or baseless rumors upon investigation. This time likely wasn’t any different.

With a weary sigh, Flynn let the tension drain from his body. Meanwhile, Teo, still ranting about the unpleasant Blaine at the mansion, turned to him with a question.

“Why are you sighing like that?”

Flynn made a grim face, replying in a tired voice.

“It seems that so-called Leonardo Blaine is a fake.”

****

“When the merchant group brings in monster corpses, they bury them underground, then set fire to the area to erase the monsters’ lingering energy. And you... you extinguished that fire?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right...”

Inside the Northern Branch’s interrogation room, a mage who had been tailing Hugo—and got badly beaten for it—sat across from him, handcuffed. The room was icy cold, adding to the tension. Whether from the chill or fear of Hugo, the mage trembled like a leaf.

In Hugo’s hand was a file containing the mage’s personal information. His name was Ardel Linter, 27 years old, and he’d worked for the Count of Servia for about two years.

A water-attribute mage. Originally hired to extinguish forest fires, at some point, he’d been roped into other activities, as he eventually confessed. But getting him to that point required no small amount of threats and persuasion.

“You’re really going to protect me, right? If anyone finds out I said this, I’ll be...”

“What do you take the Council for? We guarantee your safety. Of course, considering your involvement in illegal activities, you’ll face punishment—but we’ll take your cooperation into account. You’ll get a lighter sentence.”

Hugo’s firm words made Ardel’s face cloud over with worry.

At first, Ardel had been captured by Hugo while tailing him in the mountains—beaten half to death, soul practically drifting away. He was handed to investigators and immediately sent to the Council’s Northern Branch. There, they thawed his frozen hands in warm water and gave him proper food, slowly melting both his body and defenses. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Despite being in custody, Ardel already felt more at ease here than working illegally.

But then... the last person he ever wanted to see appeared before him again.

The cold, intimidating man stated he’d already spoken to the Lord of Frost, so don’t even think about lying. If Ardel testified properly, his sentence would be reduced.

At first, Ardel didn’t believe him, nor did he want to. But considering how terrifyingly efficient that cold-blooded man was, even the Count might’ve spilled everything by now.

In the end, Ardel gave up and started confessing everything he knew. However, as he spoke...

Bang—!

“H-Hieek!!”

“Keep talking.”

A sharp ice spear whizzed past his head, embedding itself in the wall. Ardel, trembling, scrambled to continue.

Once, Ardel had asked the Count what would happen if he got caught by the Council doing this kind of work. The Count insisted it would only be a routine investigation. But right now, Ardel Linter was desperately spilling the truth, fearing for his life.

Hugo, flipping through the mage’s file while listening, closed his eyes briefly to collect his thoughts.

Delberg’s reason for coming to the Frost territory was simple: profit. The key to that profit was the vast, barren land—hostile and rarely visited. The mountainous region was unsuitable for human settlement, but Delberg saw opportunity in it.

In Raina Logia, it was strictly illegal for private merchants or individuals to distribute monster corpses. This was due to the mana-infused magic stones that could be extracted from the corpses—easily abused if not properly regulated.

Thus, the Delberg merchant group needed a hidden, natural storage site for the monsters, one that could evade inspections. The cold, dry, remote mountains were perfect for the job.

“A water-attribute monster?”

“Yes... from what I saw, it had cyan, scale-like skin. About the size of a cow. And... I remember it being a little charred.”

“Cyan, scales... a Quamare.”

“Yeah, I think that was the name.”

The Quamare was a monster never seen in the northern regions of Raina Logia. Native to the warm coastal or wetland regions of the central-east and southeast, they traveled in groups. Large-scale sightings meant large-scale hunts.

Hugo remembered reports from three months ago—Quamares discovered dead in huge numbers in the Perion region of the central-east.

Quamares, being water-attribute monsters, were vulnerable to fire magic. All the discovered corpses had been charred, suggesting someone used flame-based spells.

Back then, it hadn’t caused major concern. Hunting monsters and collecting magic stones for personal use was legal, provided they weren’t sold or distributed.

But distributing them? That was another matter entirely.

“Delberg started bringing in monsters a few months ago, correct?”

“Uh... two months. No, three months ago.”

“Three months... the timing matches.”

It was speculative, but Hugo suspected a link between the mass Quamare deaths and the Delberg merchant group’s activities. Especially considering the charred corpses...

“What did the Count receive in exchange for giving land to the merchant group?”

“He got some of the magic stones from the monsters. The Frost territory lacks water, so water-attribute magic stones are extremely valuable.”

“I see.”

The pieces were falling into place.

The Delberg merchant group chose the Frost territory for its low temperatures and sparse population—a perfect hideout for storing monsters. In return, the Count received rare water-attribute magic stones.

The corpses were buried across the mountains, and even dead, monsters released mana. To hide the Quamare’s water energy, they buried them and staged fires to cover the area.

Burnt leaves and dry branches concealed signs of wet soil, making it look like a natural forest fire. No wonder the locals thought wildfires had been increasing lately.

Having organized his thoughts, Hugo set down the file. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo, showing it to Ardel.

“You were tailing me, so you must’ve known I was looking for someone. This guy is the one I’ve been searching for.”

Ardel glanced °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° at the photo, his expression revealing recognition.

“Ah... so that’s who you were after.”

Hugo raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“As expected? You know him? Is this the one who set fire to the ground covering the monsters?”

Hugo suspected the mage responsible for burning the burial sites was the man in the photo, reportedly at the Count’s estate.

But Ardel, looking startled, shook his head at the question that missed the mark.

“Pardon? No, that’s not him.”

“...It’s not?”