Siegfried found out a lot of information from the Crypt Humans thanks to his ‘Barbecue Torture’ method, but he was not able to find out key information about the Cryptids.
Siegfried’s Barbeque Torture Method allowed him to discover a lot of information, but he didn’t manage to uncover any key information about the Cryptids.
It couldn’t be helped because the Crypt Humans themselves had no idea what they were and their raison d’etre.
The Cryptids’ raison d’etre was to follow the commands of the more evolved Cryptids.
That was it…
The only information they could provide was that there was an extremely large tunnel underneath the great lair, and that tunnel was filled with high-ranking Cryptids.
Of course, they provided useful information as well.
1. The Cryptids were originally from an alien planet.
2. The Church of Osric brought the Cryptids to the Nürburg Continent.
3. There was a deal between the Cryptids and the Church of Osric.
4. The Cryptid’s main base was not the great lair above ground but the large tunnel underground.
5. The Crypt Humans have no idea of their leader’s identity, and it is impossible for a lower-ranking Cryptid to possess information regarding Cryptids with higher ranks than them.
6. There is a secret chamber within the tunnel that nobody can enter, and the Crypt Humans and even the higher-ranking Cryptids have no idea what lies in it.
Last but not least…
7. There were a few Adventurers who were working with the Cryptids, and these Adventurers were the ones responsible for the abduction of the army’s high-ranking officers.
Those were the information they had gathered from Crypt Human 69.
“What? There are Adventurers working with the Cryptids?” Siegfried asked in disbelief.
“Y-Yes! That is correct!”
“Why?”
“We used the gold and items we looted from the humans we killed to buy the services and information of the Adventurers.”
“Wow… I can’t believe that there are bastards out there who’ll stoop so low to work with monsters. This is unbelievable…” Siegfried muttered in disbelief.
BNW guaranteed almost unlimited freedom to the players, so it wasn’t strange that someone was working with monsters. However, it was quite rare for gamers to work together with monsters, no matter how messed up they were in the head.
It was all because there was nothing much to be gained from working with monsters.
On the flip side, the Adventurers stood to lose more from working with the monsters since they were going to earn the wrath of the NPCs. They would also be the targets of the other Adventurers, who would definitely receive quests to eliminate them.
In other words, only Adventurers with perverse fetishes and who liked to earn the ire of others or those who wanted to play the game while pretending like they were evil would think about working together with the monsters.
“Do you have a list of them?” Siegfried asked.
“Yes! I do!” Crypt Human 69 instantly replied.
“Really? List them down here, and explain how they look to my personal painter over here. He will sketch their faces.”
“Your personal painter…?”
Find the original at "pawread dot com".
“Please tell me roughly how they look…”
“Ack! You surprised me!”
Crypt Human 69 jumped in surprise when Gringore suddenly appeared.
“Shall we start with the shape of their faces?” Gringore asked with a pencil and a canvas. The scribe’s presence was so perfectly hidden that even the Crypt Human did not notice him.
“Alright, it seems we got all of the information we need so…” Siegfried turned to the soldiers and shouted, “Listen up!”
“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sieg-nim!”
“Cut them up into pieces and put them in a—what do you call that? Ah, yes, a barrel and throw them in the sea! Oh, make sure you fill it up with concrete first, got that?”
“Yes, sir!”
The Crypt Humans that divulged everything they knew to Siegfried started cursing at him.
“Hey! You despicable bastard! You said you would spare us if we told you everything!”
“We already told you everything we know! But what? Barrel and concrete?! Are you even human?!”
“You piece of trash!”
“You’re not human! You’re a demon! A demon!”
The Crypt Humans fumed at Siegfried’s betrayal. They unleashed their anger in the face of death. However, Siegfried didn’t seem to give a rat’s shit about them.
“Next monster please~”[1] he said nonchalantly with a smirk.
Afterward, he turned to General Overlock and asked, “Shall we have our deep discussion now?”
“S-Sure…” General Overlock replied as he followed Siegfried.
‘Lieutenant Colonel Sieg… Just who in the world are you…? Are you a good or an evil person?’ he wondered. He was starting to get scared of Siegfried.
***
Meanwhile, at General Overlock’s office, Siegfried proceeded to tell the general more about himself.
“Actually…”
“I-Is that true?! Are you really the Adventurer who was bestowed a kingdom by the emperor?!” General Overlock couldn’t believe his ears. He was aware of the fact that the emperor had bestowed a kingdom upon an Adventurer as a reward.
“Yeah, it sort of happened that way. I was forced to participate in the tournament after the airship crashed, and I fought for my life…”
T-Then… you’re not a normal Adventurer but a ruler of a kingdom?”
“Yes.”
“I…” General Overlock muttered before he stood up straight and said, “The commander of the 3rd Field Army defending the Arachnid Temporary Outpost and a count of the Macallan Kingdom, Commander Overlock, greets the ruler of the Proatine Kingdom, King Siegfried van Proa.”
The general then saluted Siegfried.
“Whoa! What are you doing all of a sudden, General!” Siegfried exclaimed in surprise.
“How can I act so discourteously to a ruler of a kingdom? On top of that, Your Majesty is the hero who saved my home country, the Macallan Kingdom! It is only right for me to pay tribute to you!”
“But, still…”
“Your Majesty, this is something I have to do as the commander, so please do not mind it.”
“A-Alright…”
In the end, Siegfried had to receive the salute of a four-star general.
“Ahem… Ahem… I will share whatever I found so far with you, General,” Siegfried said after clearing his throat out of embarrassment. He then told him everything he had found so far about the Cryptids and the Church of Osric.
“T-There is such an evil organization on the continent?!”
“Yes, I ran into them by chance before I became a king, and I kept bumping into them whenever I got involved in a big event. And it seems that they are the culprit behind every major problem on the continent. Well, maybe not every single one of the problems, but I dare say that they are behind most of those issues.”
“Those damned bastards! I will immediately report this to my king and—”
“No,” Siegfried interrupted and shook his head. He explained, “Please keep this to yourself for now. Our kingdom’s information network is investigating them right now after we caught their tail, so it is better for us to wait for now.”
“But…”
“Do you think they will sit still and watch if the Macallan Kingdom actively searches for them? They’ll be more meticulous in their hiding, which will make it harder for us to find them. So, please keep this to yourself until I tell you to reveal it.”
“A-Alright…” General Overlock understood what Siegfried meant, so he decided to ignore the issue for now.
“Right now, we should focus on catching the Adventurers in the army who are working together with the Cryptids. Then, we’ll continue with our mission,” Siegfried said.
“I was thinking the same, Your Majesty,” General Overlock replied.
“I will round up the spies, so leave it to me.”
“I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Siegfried left the office to start hunting down the Adventurers who had decided to cooperate with the Cryptids.
***
Hunting down the Adventurers was not fun at all.
Siegfried couldn’t feel any thrill from killing the losers who had sold their race for spare change or perverts with strange fetishes. These Adventurers were honestly not worth his time.
[Alert: You have gained ‘Enkidu Sword’!]
[Alert: You have gained ‘Hourglass to Win a Best’!]
[Alert: You have gained ‘Anymore Revolver’!]
[Alert: You have gained ‘Fat Pigeon’s Wings’!]
[Alert: You have gained ‘Indri’s Fire’!]
The only silver lining was that Siegfried acquired the items that the Adventurers ended up dropping, and his title was leveling up as well.
‘I’m almost done with the Quest, so should I go back to the Mercenary Guild?’ he wondered.
All of a sudden, General Overlock entered his tent, “Your Majesty.”
“Huh? What brings you here, General?”
“I received a call from the palace, so I came to see you, Your Majesty.”
“Call from the palace…?”
“His Majesty the King wishes to meet Your Majesty.”
“Me…?”
“It seems that he wishes to meet the kingdom’s hero and express his gratitude in person.”
“But I’m busy…”
“W-What?!”
“No, it’s nothing…”
“Your Majesty, I understand that you’re busy, but please accept His Majesty’s invitation even if it is out of courtesy.”
Ding!
A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.
[An Innocent Invitation]
[Go to the Macallan Kingdom’s capital and meet their king.]
[Progress: 0%]
[Reward: Massive (the reward will depend on your diplomatic skills!)]
[Note: This quest will be profitable to you!]
Siegfried immediately changed his stance after reading the quest details.
“I gave it some thought, and I think it is only right for me to meet your king. I mean, he went out of his way to invite me, so I should put down everything to visit him, right? I should make time for him even if I’m busy! Hahaha!”
Then, another message popped up in front of his eyes.
[Alert: You have accepted the Quest – ‘An Innocent Invitation’!]
Siegfried was the type of person who would never pass up on an opportunity to profit from something.
“Oh! I understand! I will immediately tell the palace that Your Majesty has accepted the invitation!” General Overlock exclaimed.
Siegfried could have never imagined that he would obtain such a quest while doing another quest to restore his credit with the Mercenary Guild.
***
The next morning, tens of thousands of people were lined up on the streets of the Macallan Kingdom’s capital, Glenfiddich, to get a glimpse of one person.
They wanted to take even a glimpse of the war hero who had saved countless lives and achieved numerous accomplishments at the Arachnid Temporary Outpost, which was a battlefield the Macallan Kingdom had been fighting on for the last few decades.
On top of that, he was also the king of a brand-new kingdom—the Proatine Kingdom.
The people of Glenfiddich initially wondered if they even had to give such a grand welcome to the king of a kingdom that was the size of a rat’s shit, but their attitude changed a complete one hundred eighty degrees when the king’s achievements at the Arachnid Temporary Outpost was recited for the masses to hear.
“Welcome the hero!”
“We must accept the Proatine Kingdom as a sister kingdom!”
“Let’s help the economically challenged Proatine Kingdom!”
“The Proatine Kingdom is our savior! We must serve them as our hyung-nim!”
Siegfried became known as the hero and savior of the Macallan Kingdom unbeknownst to him, and it was all thanks to General Overlock’s report.
“Three cheers for King Siegfried van Proa!”
“Hip hip! Hurray!”
“Hurray!”
Siegfried was welcomed by the cheering of tens of thousands of people, and quite a few beauties kissed him before he could meet the King of the Macallan Kingdom. His hands, neck, face, and everywhere else were riddled with kiss marks by the time he entered the palace.
“Welcome, King Siegfried van Proa! Thank you for accepting my invitation.”
The King of the Macallan Kingdom warmly welcomed Siegfried.
“Ah, okay,” Siegfried replied. He looked up to the king but…
‘Heok?!’ he was stupefied.
‘Why the hell is she so pretty?!’
The King of the Macallan Kingdom was prettier than any other beautiful NPCs Siegfried had seen so far in his entire career as an Adventurer on the Nürburg Continent.
1. This is the same as how a cashier would say ‘next customer please’. ☜
