Chapter 270 Parune Island (4)

Chapter 270 Parune Island (4)

A rough sea with crashing waves.

Arrua Raven was currently flying above it.

She was shouting at the top of her lungs, something she hadn’t done in a while.

“Mr. Urikfrit! Hang in there! We’re almost there!”

Below her, Avman was being tossed around on a single plank.

Her heart skipped a beat every time a large wave crashed over him, but there was nothing more she could do.

‘I have to take care of Mr. Avman...’

The other companions had all disappeared when the boat capsized, and she had only found Avman after searching the area.

So she had been following him to keep track of his location...

“Huh?”

...but he had disappeared beneath the surface, as if he had lost his grip on the plank.

Raven hurriedly descended.

But she still couldn’t see him.

“Mr. Urikfrit! Mr. Urikfrit!!”

She shouted for a while, flying around, but there was no answer.

She shivered as if she had a chill.

“...No, he’ll be fine.”

Raven then changed her mind and headed towards the shore.

And...

“Found him!”

...she finally found him after searching the area around the shore.

Avman was lying unconscious on the sand, washed ashore by the waves.

“Whew.”

He was breathing properly, and his body temperature didn’t seem to have dropped much.

She first dried his wet clothes and body with fire magic and then waited for him to wake up.

That’s when...

“It’s not the one I was looking for...”

“.......”

“...but this isn’t bad either.”

...a man appeared from the forest.

____________________

My head spun.

Why did this guy have Raven’s ring? No matter how hard I tried to think positively, I couldn’t imagine a good scenario.

But...

“Hey, why do you have Raven’s subspace ring?”

...I asked, holding onto the last shred of hope.

“Explain.”

I used superhuman patience, hoping there was some misunderstanding I didn’t know about.

But the answer I received was different from what I expected.

“I’ll ask the questions first.”

So he wasn’t going to give me the initiative?

Then he chose the wrong time.

“Really?”

“I’ll ask again, what did you do to Lady Rainwale—”

“Then die.”

I pushed off the ground and moved forward.

I judged that I could ask questions after establishing the hierarchy.

“......!”

He stepped back as my body, which had leaped high, expanded rapidly with [Gigantification].

But what a shame.

「Character’s total weight is over 500 kg.」

「The special terrain effect [Recoil] is additionally applied to the damage radius.」

He couldn’t dodge this if he retreated that much.

Kwaaang!

The ground shook and rippled from the landing point.

“Ugh...!”

He was thrown into the air like a spring, as expected of an archer with a slender build.

I immediately dashed towards him, not missing the opportunity.

And I quickly extended my hand, as expected of a barbarian.

That’s when...

「Nebarche Greenhope has cast [Emergency Escape].」

...he disappeared right in front of me like a mirage.

There was no reason to panic.

I quickly scanned my surroundings as if moving a 3D game camera, and I saw him 20 meters away.

Right, as expected, it was a blink-type skill.

He couldn’t go far.

Tadat.

I adjusted my posture in midair.

He was already shooting an arrow, as expected of a high-ranking archer.

Whoosh!

It seemed like he even used a skill, judging by the white light surrounding the arrowhead...

...but it wasn’t a problem.

Maybe he was a really cunning bastard who came up with this lie.

“Ack, aak!”

I took off the ring after grabbing his dangling hand.

And I opened my subspace pocket and searched inside.

It was full of equipment, consumables, and what seemed to be personal belongings.

I sighed deeply after checking a few things.

‘What, it’s really not Raven’s.’

It wasn’t Raven’s ring.

The proof was that there were no magic reagents, which should have been there. There was no way he would have thrown away all the expensive magic reagents after stealing the ring.

‘Ah, come to think of it, Raven also said she bought it from a magic workshop...’

Right, I trusted her.

Damn right, what kind of woman is she?

There’s no way she would be easily tricked.

“So, so you’re no longer misunderstanding?”

“Right, it seems like you really bought this ring.”

I readily admitted that I was mistaken, as expected of a barbarian whose greatest strength was his honesty. And I took my foot off him, his wrist still broken and wriggling.

“Bu, but why are you putting it in your pocket...?”

Well, that’s one thing, and this is another, right?

This ring was mine now.

After all, people from Noark were treasure goblins.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“.......”

He expressed his lack of objection with silence.

In other words, the transfer process was complete.

I took all his equipment and weapons and put them in my subspace pocket, and the preparations for a non-violent conversation were complete.

“Who are you?”

I started asking him about his personal information, starting with his name, and what had happened on this island.

He answered everything readily, as if he didn’t want to die yet.

His name was Nebarche Greenhope.

“Your face looks familiar...”

“That’s because we’ve met before.”

“What? You and me? When?”

“When there was a fire in Karnon, the Imperial City.”

I remembered as soon as he said that.

When I encountered the Ruin Scholar, there was a guy who was following him like a lackey.

‘I can’t believe it was him.’

Anyway, it didn’t matter.

It seemed like he didn’t know what the Ruin Scholar and Lee Baekho talked about after they left.

“So, tell me. Everything that happened today.”

I then heard the rest of the story from him, the parts I didn’t hear from the priestess.

First, they were after the blond guy.

“He was originally from Noark. But he betrayed the Lord, stole a treasure, and ran away.”

“Wa, wait a minute. Mr. Drowus was from Noark...?”

“Even his name is fake. It was very difficult to find him because he changed his face and disappeared.”

The priestess stared blankly into space, as if she couldn’t believe it.

Well, I would be the same.

If I suddenly heard that Misha was an evil spirit.

“So what happened to him?”

“He’s dead.”

“Are you sure?”

“It was over there. You can even see the traces of Lady Rainwales disposing of the body.”

Indeed, there were traces of something melted on the ground where he pointed.

Geez, how brutal.

“So what were you doing until now? Where are your companions?”

“One of us stayed behind to chase those who escaped. And I got separated from the guy I was with.”

Hmm, right. So he came back after failing to catch them, and this is the situation now.

‘Wait a minute, then who triggered the event?’

I subtly asked him who destroyed the island’s offering, but I couldn’t get the answer I wanted.

“The sea suddenly changed...? I don’t know either. The ground suddenly started shaking while I was chasing them, and then the surroundings darkened.”

Huh, he doesn’t know either?

This is unsettling.

That’s when, as I was standing there silently, organizing my thoughts...

...he cautiously asked me a question.

“So, what happened to Lady Rainwales? There was no one here when I arrived.”

It was the same question he asked when we first met.

Hmm, did he answer all my questions honestly because he was curious about this?

Although I couldn’t be sure...

Tadat.

...two figures appeared from beyond the bushes just as I was about to answer.

“Erwen! Look! It’s Bjorn!!”

“Ah, mister! You’re here!”

It was Ainar and Erwen.