Chapter 78

After stealing the sacred sword Gramglan from the Griffith household, Harold and his party beat a hasty retreat to the neighboring town. They managed to slip back into their inn before the first light of dawn.

Harold shed his robe and entered his room with an air of practiced innocence. Finally alone, he sank onto the edge of the bed and let out a heavy breath.

The physical toll of the ten-hour round trip was one thing, but the weight of his conscience was another. Pricked by the realization that he had just committed a trifecta of felonies—breaking and entering, robbery, and assault—his mental burden felt twice as heavy. Though his reputation was already stained with rumors, this was the first time he had committed such unambiguous, cold-blooded crimes.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He glanced at the rectangular box leaning against the wall. Perhaps because it had been kept with such reverence, the case was remarkably clean, looking quite out of place in that cluttered storehouse. Bathed in the faint morning light filtering through the window, the blade within seemed to sparkle.

This sword was about to become a critical factor—one that would drastically alter the course of the Original Story. No, it would alter the very fate of this world.

A sudden thought crossed his mind: what if he simply let Rainer take it back? As expected of a legendary weapon, Gramglan’s stats were top-tier. If Rainer grew accustomed to its power from the start, he might develop into a formidable swordsman much sooner.

However, if Rainer reclaimed the sword now, he would likely head straight for the Knight Order to enlist. That would bypass the entire sequence where Rainer gets caught up in the incidents triggered by Justus, potentially derailing the process of stopping the scientist's ultimate plan.

Harold had considered trying to return the sword while somehow steering the plot back toward the Original Story, but the timeline between the order and the execution had been too tight. He’d had no time to devise a complex strategy. Furthermore, even if he sought El’s help, Harold knew his own "charming" personality made it impossible to persuade anyone without revealing his knowledge of the future—a secret he couldn't risk exposing.

Ultimately, he had no idea what his own standing would be if he failed this mission. He decided it was wiser to leverage his current position, which allowed him to control the location and recovery pace of the Sacred Treasures, rather than gambling on such high-stakes uncertainties.

So, he had to stop overthinking it. Theft or not, he had to steel himself and play the part. He could only pray that his identity as the mastermind in the black robe remained hidden.

With those thoughts swirling in his head, Harold finally surrendered to a deep, well-earned sleep as the sun rose over the horizon.

---

El and the other members of Frieri began their operation just as Brosche Village began to stir with activity. They scattered throughout the village, each posing as a stranger who just happened to be passing through for business.

Since it was a relatively small village, they were able to gather information with surgical precision.

Soon after El began chatting with the locals—playing the part of a young man traveling as a merchant’s assistant—he caught the exact lead he was looking for.

"Did you hear? Someone broke into the Griffiths' place last night."

The gossip reached El’s ears as he stood near a shop where the owner and a female customer were whispering. Since Harold hadn't made contact by morning, El knew the job was a success, but this confirmation meant the first stage was officially cleared.

"Excuse me, miss, is that true?" El asked, casually inserting himself into the conversation with the shopper next to him.

The woman, who looked to be in her forties, beamed at being called "miss." Whether she was just itching to gossip or simply flattered by the address, she was more than happy to indulge him. Her tongue loosened immediately.

"It is! I heard it was a home invasion, a real robbery."

"A home invasion in a peaceful place like this? That’s terrifying. Were the owners alright?"

"The husband and wife were both slashed. They're in the hospital now. Luckily, the injuries were light, but to think someone actually managed to hurt those two..."

"Are the Griffiths known for being fighters?"

"They’ve been retired for a while, but they were both adventurers back in the day. Even now, they’re the best fighters in the village. Whenever a dangerous monster shows up nearby, they’re the first ones out there to take care of it."

"So the robbers were skilled enough to best a pair of veteran adventurers? That sounds like a dangerous crowd."

"Exactly! That’s all anyone is talking about. I’m so worried they’ll come for my house tonight, I don't think I'll be able to sleep a wink."

The thieves were long gone, of course, making her worry a waste of breath, but for a villager who viewed this as a simple crime, it was a perfectly natural reaction—especially for someone with few means of self-defense.

Regardless, El had one more thing to confirm.

"What did these robbers look like? If anyone saw them, we should probably spread the word so people can keep an eye out."

"I didn't hear it first-hand, but apparently Mr. Griffith said there were two of them."

Two of them. It matched exactly what Harold had told him.

In the event of an encounter, Harold planned to vanish and order the two from the Stella Clan to stall the pursuers. That was one of their pre-arranged contingencies.

Harold, who usually lived for combat, was likely stepping into the shadows to minimize the risk of being recognized. If word got out that he was involved in a robbery, it would only lead to more headaches.

Then again, El figured it was probably a bit late for Harold to start worrying about his reputation.

For now, he had the information he needed. The next task was to find the boy named Rainer and the girl named Colette.

According to Harold, Rainer was the only son of the Griffiths, and Colette was his childhood friend. The fact that Harold knew them in such detail suggested he either knew them personally or had a specific reason for wanting to draw them into his schemes.

El was curious, but he didn't bother asking. He could already hear Harold’s voice in his head saying, 'It’s none of your business.'

He couldn't mention Harold’s name to the kids—Harold was famous for all the wrong reasons, after all. But El sensed he would eventually understand the connection between them. It felt like they were all going to be associated for a very long time.

As a first step, he needed to make Rainer's acquaintance. Since the parents were hospitalized, the boy would likely be there as well.

However, Harold had predicted that Rainer and his friend would set off in pursuit of the thieves almost immediately. If that prediction was correct, El didn't have a moment to lose.

Ending the conversation with the woman naturally, El made his way toward the village clinic.

Given the size of Brosche Village, the clinic was easy to find. It was a modest, somewhat weathered building that felt more like a local doctor’s office than a hospital. It was the village's sole medical facility.

El walked in under the pretext of needing to restock medicine for his journey.

The interior consisted of a tiny waiting room with a single three-person sofa, an examination room, and a small ward with a handful of beds.

He found the lack of space surprising for the village’s only clinic, but a nurse explained during their chat that most patients were treated at home. Only the most serious cases were kept for observation.

"Gosh, it’s taking quite a while for my turn, isn't it?"

El voiced his feigned frustration, deliberately steering the conversation toward his goal.

"Oh, do you have somewhere to be?" the nurse asked.

"No, not really. I’m staying for a few days, so I don't mind the wait. I just noticed there aren't many other patients, so I wondered why it was taking so long."

"Ah, well, we had an emergency intake this morning."

"Would that be the Griffiths?"

"Oh? You’ve heard?"

"The whole village is talking about it."

"I suppose they are," the nurse said with a sigh of agreement.

El recited the gossip he’d heard from the shopper—the break-in, the injuries to the veteran adventurers—and then added a look of sudden concern.

"But I heard their injuries were light. If they’re being hospitalized, does that mean..."

"Oh, don't worry. It’s mostly just so they stay quiet and we can monitor the healing process. They'll be out in two or three days."

He thought she might be guarded about patient privacy, but the nurse was surprisingly forthcoming. It made the conversational traps El had prepared unnecessary, though he didn't mind the lack of effort.

"I'm glad to hear that. With everyone making such a fuss, I was starting to get worried myself."

"It’s a small village. When something happens to one person, it feels like it’s happening to all of us."

"I can see why. The idea of robbers who can take down adventurers wandering around is enough to make anyone anxious."

"Exactly. Coming all the way to a remote place like this just to steal... what a nuisance."

She had a point, but Harrison clearly saw enough value in the sacred sword to send a team for it. And according to Harold, Justus was the one pulling Harrison's strings.

It was almost certainly a part of Justus's plan to let Harrison believe he was the one commanding Harold’s group. Harold seemed to have grasped the shape of that plan as well.

Though he wouldn't share the details, the fact that Harold was willing to play along with such a dirty job suggested the stakes were incredibly high. El could infer that much from the situation, even without concrete evidence.

The key to the whole mystery was likely the sacred sword itself. El had never seen the real thing, but he knew the lore.

Deep beneath the crust of the earth, at the very core of the planet...

It was said that a massive, solidified mass of astral matter slept there. Seven legendary armaments had allegedly been carved from that very core.

Whether there was any truth to the story, or if it was even possible to reach such depths, remained a mystery. The existence of a "solid" astral body was dubious at best; most likely, it was a tall tale started by a blacksmith to inflate the value of his work, growing more exaggerated with every passing century.

However, if Justus and Harold were involved, it couldn't be dismissed as a mere fairy tale. El had already mobilized the Giffelt network to dig deeper into the legend.

Depending on what they found, the motives of the players on the board might finally become clear.

It wasn't that he intended to betray Harold, but El knew it was better to conduct this investigation in the shadows. Harold was the type to react poorly to anyone prying into his business.

Even if they hadn't built a foundation of trust yet, El needed to maintain a veneer of cooperation to keep their alliance smooth.

"Oh, looks like they’re finally finished," the nurse noted.

The door to the examination room opened, snapping El out of his thoughts.

A slightly stout man in his fifties with salt-and-pepper hair stepped out. He had a kind, approachable face. Behind him followed a red-haired boy and a blonde girl. Both looked somber, but their features matched Harold’s descriptions perfectly.

There was no doubt—this was Rainer and Colette. The two people Harold viewed as the "key players" for whatever crisis was looming on the horizon.

El’s job was to support them from the shadows. To begin his infiltration of their lives, El turned toward them as their eyes met and flashed his most charming, refreshing smile.

"Hello there. My name is El. I'm just a traveling merchant of sorts."

This was the first encounter between the three individuals whose fates would soon be inextricably linked.