The Game of a Legendary Genius Dark Mage-Chapter 233

Why is Plinky showing up here?

Isn't he supposed to be a descendant of a sage?

For someone like Plinky to be stealing?

Something doesn’t quite add up.

It's strange for someone who doesn’t need to steal to actually steal.

This implies...

‘It means he knows what’s hidden in that scroll...’

And if I recall what the apprentice warrior Luke, a descendant of a hero, said recently...

The story could be deduced much faster than expected.

The sage and the warrior are both suspicious of the Kingdom of Rieskan.

They’re questioning the death of the previous hero, Hindel.

With this thought in mind, Seong, after some contemplation, asked Terian.

“By any chance, was anything else stolen, apart from the Zirkan Order’s mission items?”

“Hmmm, I searched through everything, but nothing else was missing.”

“Just that one thing was stolen...”

While Seong was still deep in thought, he asked again.

“Did you report it to the higher-ups?”

“...No, of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) course not. It’s embarrassing, but the reason I’m even looking for the thief is so I can handle it first and avoid any blame on my part. Such incidents don’t have a positive impact.”

Wouldn't that make things worse?

If it gets found out later, wouldn't you just get in more trouble?

Is it just about getting away with it?

Seong thought, but chose not to voice those doubts.

After all, the task at hand was to catch the thief and retrieve the scroll and the notebook.

So, he simply responded.

“I see. Thank you. I’ll pursue this right away.”

Terian nodded, evidently satisfied with Seong’s answer.

He seemed quite trustworthy.

With that, Seong’s thoughts grew deeper.

Before setting off to chase the thief, he took a moment to reflect.

‘Why would they steal something and not hide it?’

I’ve heard that the thief left no trace, but still, they left behind evidence of what was stolen, and they didn’t try to hide the fact that it was stolen.

That suggests they wanted someone to know they stole it.

If that wasn’t the case...

‘They must know it won’t matter if the theft is exposed?’

Now that I think about it, Terian should’ve reported the theft to the higher-ups.

But he didn’t.

Considering the relationship between the Kingdom of Rieskan, the warrior, and the sage...

He probably knows how bureaucratic matters work.

So, he didn’t hide it outright?

Or was he subtly trying to make someone aware of the theft?

Plinky’s nature, though not often seen, made Seong think...

‘He must know something about this.’

He probably knew about the scroll and stole it on purpose, deliberately revealing it to someone.

Despite how odd Plinky may appear to Seong, if he were truly a sage’s descendant...

Wouldn’t he have seen through it?

Thinking that, Seong used the scent of death.

Where should he track next?

7.

Sisvald, the city of knights, was as militaristic as its name suggested.

However, the inside was quite lively.

On the main streets, it bustled like a market, with various goods being sold.

As a knightly city, security was not a concern, allowing the market atmosphere to thrive.

NPCs walked around the streets, and players weren’t any different.

The scents of street foods and various items being sold filled the air, giving off a distinct market vibe.

Amidst all the activity, there was a boy—no, someone who looked like a boy—grinning as he savored some skewered meat.

“Mmm! Delicious!”

This boy, walking alone with no sign of worry, cheerfully wandered the streets, listening to the chatter of those around him.

Among the conversations, one topic was rising in popularity.

“Hahaha! Did you hear the news about the Iron Rod?”

“Ah, that foreign knight? What was his name... I can’t quite recall.”

“Ah, who cares about the name? It’s the Iron Rod that matters!”

“Right, right. So, what did the Iron Rod do this time?”

“Well, I don’t know exactly, but they say he showed up after five days.”

“Ho-ho! Sounds like something’s gone wrong, doesn’t it? For the Iron Rod to be called upon, ha-ha!”

Plinky couldn’t help but smile slyly.

Having already known who the Iron Rod was, he had every reason to feel excited.

So, it’s finally moving.

But, does he know it’s me?

Thinking that, Plinky smiled even more as he walked forward.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

But just as he was about to take another step, a chill ran down his spine.

He turned around, and his eyes met the glowing skull.

What was this?

Plinky blinked, trying to shake off the slight confusion.

But before he could react, darkness appeared beneath his feet and swallowed him whole before he could even blink.

What’s going on?!

Plinky didn’t even have time to feel confused.

As soon as he realized his surroundings had changed, he swallowed nervously.

Everything around him was dark.

A place with no light at all, just pitch-black.

‘Is this possible?’

He thought to himself and tried to use a light-producing spell.

Well, he did try, but even that light was absorbed and disappeared into the darkness.

Naturally, this couldn’t happen.

Knowing this, Plinky looked around in shock.

He couldn’t sense anything, but he felt the presence of someone nearby, causing him to shiver and immediately speak.

“I-I made a mistake!!!”

As soon as he said this...

Whoosh!

The darkness suddenly retreated, and light poured into the room, revealing his surroundings.

A figure in the room smiled slightly and looked at Plinky.

Plinky, seeing this, awkwardly smiled in return.

“Well then, shall we talk?”

The person speaking politely was Seong, and Plinky swallowed nervously.

It was inevitable.

‘H-how much have you grown?’

Seong had grown much more than the rumors he’d heard just a few days ago.

In fact, the darkness just now felt too well-executed for an outsider.

It was definitely a lord’s skill.

It wasn’t surprising that Plinky felt this way.

Anyway...

“It’s been a while, Plinky.”

“Haha, yes, it has, Seong.”

Their awkward reunion.

But Seong didn’t care about that, he looked at Plinky and said.

“As you know, I took this request. And I’m curious as to why our sage’s descendant decided to steal something.”

As soon as Seong spoke, Plinky’s mind began spinning.

He could tell immediately.

Seong knew he had stolen it from the very beginning.

Not because Seong had tracked him down and caught him, but even before that, Seong had known he stole it?

How?

‘Did I leave any traces?’

That couldn’t be.

There were no alchemical traces or unique magical patterns left behind.

And yet, Seong had known?

Plinky had always recognized Seong’s abilities.

But knowing this truly surprised him.

Maybe he had underestimated Seong because he was an outsider.

‘You’re really something else.’

Plinky couldn’t help but acknowledge this in his mind.

He’d always thought Seong was exceptionally capable compared to the hero Luke.

But even so, he thought there would be limits because Seong was an outsider.

As Plinky reflected on this, he thought more deeply.

‘Then...’

Could Seong possibly know what this scroll is?

Plinky looked at Seong but couldn’t read his thoughts at all.

Even though Seong had removed his mask, it was even harder to read him than when he was wearing one.

How could there be someone like this?

Were all overlords like this?

With a sigh, Plinky nodded.

“I honestly have no idea how much you know. I guess I’ll have to reveal everything I know.”

While saying this, Plinky watched Seong as if testing him.

But it didn’t work on Seong.

Instead, Seong looked at him with amusement.

‘He’s sharp, alright.’

They both exchanged looks, testing each other, but Plinky couldn’t do anything.

Even though he had stolen it, he secretly asked Seong for help.

‘That means they’re really cornered right now...’

Seong thought this as he remembered Luke, listening to Plinky’s words.

And then, Plinky started revealing information that Seong had somewhat expected.

“First, the reason I stole this is because Luke asked for my help.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’m sure you know, but Luke wanted to investigate the Kingdom of Rieskan after hearing your warning, but he was more or less trapped there and couldn’t move. So, he asked me for help.”

“I see.”

Seong acted as if he didn’t know, but Plinky continued with a sly smile.

“Anyway, while being cautious of the Kingdom of Rieskan, I looked into things, and, as expected from a kingdom of knights, several knights were active. I found a suspicious situation and decided to investigate. It turned out the Zirkan Order was involved.”

“...”

Seong listened quietly, without saying anything.

The reasons for suspicion were plenty.

Plinky went over them one by one.

“The first suspicious thing was that after completing a mission, half of the knights suddenly retired. But what’s interesting is that there were records of both their retirement and their continued activities, as if they had retired and still operated in some capacity. The retirement record was in an official document, but the later activities were more widely known.”

“Oh?”

“But what’s really strange is that both records showed signs of tampering.”

Tampering...

It was definitely the Kingdom of Rieskan’s doing.

While thinking about that, Seong wondered what Plinky would say next.

Not knowing the full details yet, Seong was curious.

Plinky, continuing his story, went on.

“The base of operations for these knights was Sisvald. The mission records were in the mission archive here, so I checked, and guess what? It was tampered with here too.”

“Hmmm.”

So, does that mean we don’t know what the mission was about?

It was disappointing, but Plinky’s story wasn’t over.

“Ahem, but I managed to restore it. Even though they had tampered with it, I could restore some traces left in this notebook. And what did I find?”

“...”

Plinky, teasing with his words, suddenly changed his expression and spoke in a cold voice.

“The mission the Zirkan Order was given was to assassinate a girl from Blue Village. They said she was connected to a world-threatening entity. After the assassination, they framed it as the work of dark mages, and half of the knights from Zirkan Order were killed.”

“...What?”

“Yes, Blue Village is now known as Hindel Village, and the girl who was framed as being killed by dark mages was Lumen Astra, the only blood relative of Hindel Astra.”

Hearing this, Seong couldn’t help but close his eyes for a moment.

And then...

[You have acquired the secret keyword of "Hero, Hindel."]