While the two adventurers were bewildered, wondering, "Isn't Einroguard a magic academy? What in the world do they teach those from knight families?", Yi-Han approached the fallen mercenaries.

Buldahak, having regained his senses, flinched upon seeing Yi-Han. He realized who had caused the storm of magic just now.

"You..."

"Sharakan."

Yi-Han summoned Sharakan and had it watch over the mercenaries. They were tightly bound, but one never knew what someone might try to pull.

However, Buldahak seemed to interpret Sharakan's appearance in a slightly different way. He averted his gaze, eyes filled with fear.

"Name."

"Bul... Buldahak."

"Murder, attacking transport wagons, threats... Anyway, you're the one with an imperial bounty on your head, right?"

Buldahak nodded. Yi-Han spoke to Gubon with glee.

"That's right."

"...Ex, excuse me, but you seem happy..."

"We just got some extra silver coins, didn't we?"

"..."

Gubon and Bijidek were shocked by Yi-Han's way of thinking.

"Well, that's true, but..."

"Don't worry. We'll distribute it as we initially agreed upon."

"That's not what I was worried about. It's strange that Buldahak came here."

As an experienced adventurer, Gubon noticed the oddity.

Yi-Han and the students had specifically chosen missions that were close to Granden City and not too dangerous.

Missions that weren't dangerous but required specialized skills (like a mage's magic) and were quite lucrative.

These missions paid well, but they weren't the type where a mercenary with a bounty on his head like Buldahak would appear.

Why would someone aiming for a big score show up here?

"Indeed."

"We need to interrogate him."

"I understand. But will he really spill the truth?"

Yi-Han asked, sounding concerned.

"He seems quite frightened right now. Your magic has greatly shocked him. If you interrogate him now, he might reveal the truth."

While Einroguard students could cast magic in their sleep, magic was still an unknown terror to the people of the empire.

Moreover, the way Yi-Han subdued the enemies was far from ordinary, even by mage standards.

Catching the enemy off guard, securing their rear with invisibility magic. Scattering them in confusion with a barrage of lightning magic, exploiting the darkness. Attacking from unpredictable angles those who tried to counterattack.

It wouldn't be surprising if the enemy mercenaries' souls were half-gone after being subjected to attacks that would stun them even individually.

Right now, those mercenaries were trembling, not knowing from where this combat mage had come.

"Buldahak. Reveal your reason for coming here."

"...It's because of the treasure in the cave."

Buldahak spoke through gritted teeth.

As a seasoned mercenary, he knew well that lying was meaningless in front of a mage of that caliber.

The moment he showed pointless defiance or pride, his skin would be torn, bones broken, and even his soul shredded.

"Hmm. I see."

Yi-Han nodded, pretending to listen.

Then he whispered to Gubon.

"That fellow is quite meticulous. He even prepared a lie in case he was caught."

"Pardon?"

Gubon and Bijidek, who had been wondering what the cave's treasure might be, were startled.

"That was a lie?"

"Of course it was. There's no way a wanted man like him would answer obediently after a single question."

"Could it be... that he's just frightened of you, Mr. Mage..."

Bijidek spoke cautiously.

Considering what had just transpired, and with an emerald-hued predatory summon growling beside them, it seemed even a mercenary with a bounty several times higher than Buldahak's would resign himself and speak the truth.

"Magic isn't that all-powerful. Please assist me, you two."

"How do you mean?"

"Interrogate him with an adventurer's techniques."

"Ooh..."

The White Tiger Tower students looked at Gubon and Bijidek with anticipation.

Although they had trained as knights, this was their first time seeing adventurers conduct an interrogation.

How would they go about it?

"..."

"..."

Gubon and Bijidek glanced at each other. A cold sweat broke out on their backs.

'We have to do our best. Understood?'

'Of course.'

"Aaaaargh! You son of a demon-consorting father and monster-fornicating mother... Aaaaargh! Aaaaargh!"

"Why don't you speak the truth already!"

"You can't deceive the eyes of the mages here!"

Gubon and Bijidek utilized all their veteran adventurer experience to interrogate Buldahak.

Buldahak writhed in agony from the painful torture.

"I told you! I told you! Ask the other guys too!!!"

"Shut up! Hurry up and tell the truth!"

Crack, crack!

Yi-Han and the White Tiger Tower students observed the interrogation with serious expressions.

Anglago whispered.

"So that's how they do it, inserting a rod between the legs and twisting. Seems quite painful."

Raphael responded.

"I have to admit it's a good method. As our seniors said, there's much to learn from adventurers."

When Buldahak passed out, Gubon and Bijidek wiped the sweat from their foreheads and caught their breath.

Yi-Han summoned cold water, put it in a pewter cup, and handed it to them.

"Take it easy."

"Yes. Thank you."

Encouraged by Yi-Han's support, the two adventurers turned their attention to Buldahak's subordinates.

The subordinates were trembling pitifully.

And thirty minutes later.

The two adventurers spoke, looking extremely apologetic.

"We're sorry. With our skills, we can't..."

"Mr. Mage. I apologize for daring to ask for magic, but is there no way for you to extract the truth from him?"

"Hmm. Unfortunately, I don't know such magic either. I did read his emotions, though..."

"Is that so. ...Pardon?"

The two adventurers paused.

If he could read emotions, couldn't he also discern whether it was the truth or a lie?

"Was he continuously lying?"

"No. His emotions were close to the truth."

"...Uh... M-Mr. Mage. I may not know much about magic, but doesn't that mean Buldahak was telling the truth?"

Yi-Han laughed as if asking what they were talking about and shook his head.

"One can control their emotions while lying, you know."

"..."

"...Mr. Mage. Buldahak isn't at that level, absolutely..."

Even if the two adventurers didn't know much about magic, this much was certain.

If Buldahak were a mercenary of that caliber, it wouldn't be bounty hunters coming after him, but the emperor's royal knights!

"You bastards, may you be cursed forever."

Buldahak shouted, tears streaming down his face, driven by resentment.

He had spoken the truth to avoid the pain, yet he was still interrogated. He seemed genuinely aggrieved.

"Ah. I told you I'm sorry. Shut up a bit, will you."

"..."

Buldahak immediately closed his mouth.

Yi-Han had said it casually, but to Buldahak, it sounded like, "If you keep yapping, I'll rip out your tongue."

"So there's treasure inside that cave..."

The original mission was to subjugate the ghouls coming out of a cave near Burnt Hill.

These ghouls were threatening innocent travelers, not only in the cave but also on nearby roads.

It was a troublesome mission for adventurers without knowledge or skills, as it required not only defeating the ghouls but also identifying and dealing with the cause of their emergence...

...Which made it a good mission for Einroguard students, including mages, to take on.

However, Buldahak's story was slightly different.

According to the testimony of some fellows who had entered and exited the cave, not to mention the thieves' guild, there was definitely an undiscovered ancient artifact inside the cave.

"What are you waiting for, Wardanaz? Let's go in!"

The White Tiger Tower friends were incredibly excited. Even the calm Dolgyu's eyes shone.

Few professions were as enthusiastic about ancient ruins, ancient dungeons, and ancient artifacts as mages.

Lost magic or knowledge from the past was worth more than a thousand gold pieces.

However, Yi-Han was skeptical.

"Isn't this guy just stupid?"

Judging from the testimonies, this was the level:

-I got lost inside the cave, and there was this black light constantly emanating from one side! It must be the light of an artifact!-

-It was a light that absolutely could not occur naturally.-

-When I tried to approach, the ghouls suddenly turned ferocious and attacked, so it has to be an artifact!-

Yi-Han sighed and looked at his friends.

"This is why you guys keep falling into the principal's traps. Swayed by such groundless rumors."

"Ugh..."

"Y-You don't need to bring that up now."

'Principal?'

'Traps?'

The two adventurers were puzzled inwardly.

Gubon offered his opinion, gauging the situation.

"But Mr. Mage. Among adventurers, that level of testimony is considered sufficiently valuable."

Originally, even far more vague and absurd rumors would attract many seekers.

If Gubon heard a rumor of that level, he too would have gathered people out of curiosity to explore it.

The mere fact that a mercenary of Buldahak's caliber had come this far with such preparations proved the value of that rumor.

"This doesn't seem like the empire's outskirts, so I doubt there would be any useful artifacts remaining, but..."

"No, that's not true. Dungeons and artifacts often appear near cities, contrary to expectations."

Due to various natural phenomena, or the mana possessed by the dungeon or ruins themselves, they would frequently pop up while transforming the surrounding environment.

In such cases, the adventurers who discovered them could make a fortune overnight.

"Alright. We had to subjugate the ghouls anyway."

"So we're going in?!"

Anglago shouted, brimming with excitement.

"No. The sun hasn't fully risen yet."

It was dawn, but it was still too early to enter now.

"...R-Right."

Even in this situation, Anglago was at a loss for words at Yi-Han's composed demeanor.

'This guy isn't even excited.'

"There's something to do in the meantime."

"What is it, Wardanaz?"

Raphael listened attentively.

Whatever else, Wardanaz never spoke nonsense when it came to magic.

He must be about to say something necessary before confronting the ghouls.

"Since we're up, let's do some gathering missions too. Raphael. You're on snow grass. Anglago. You're on geranium flowers. Dolgyu. You're on sleepy mugwort. I need to track the traces of Rapella squirrels."

"..."

"..."

As Yi-Han and his resigned friends left, Buldahak asked Gubon.

"What's with those mages?"

Thanks to Yi-Han's help, his friends were able to complete the gathering missions with ease.

-Is that snow grass? What do you even use your eyes for? Can you tell the difference between a skeleton and a ghoul?-

-Is that how you gather flowers? Do the flowers look like monsters to you? Don't tell me you're plucking them like that to claim you defeated monsters when you return.-

"Good work, everyone."

"..."

By the time they finished gathering, the day had fully brightened.

It was finally time to enter the cave.

"By the way, Mr. Mage."

Bijidek whispered so the mercenaries couldn't hear.

"What will you do with those fellows? If we leave them here, they might escape or attack us from behind."

The best option was to take them to a nearby city, but everyone except Yi-Han was blinded by the treasure.

"We'll take them inside."

"Pardon?"

Bijidek paused.

Take them inside?

He couldn't mean cooperating with them like when attacking alongside another party...

"They might escape or cause trouble inside. It won't be easy to control them."

"I've thought of that too."

With those words, Yi-Han took out a bone fragment.

Raphael had a hunch.

"Bones, bind my foe. Bones, bind my foe. Bones, bind my foe..."

Clank, clank, clank, clank!

Bone restraints were fastened around the mercenaries' ankles and wrists.

It didn't end there.

Bone hands were summoned, firmly grasping the mercenaries' necks. With a mere gesture from Yi-Han, they could immediately strangle them.

"Good. This should do."

"You... You're really... unbelievable..."

Raphael spoke in a nauseated voice.

A mighty dark mage who could have stepped out of a fairy tale stood before their eyes.