The Berserker’s Second Playthrough Novel - Chapter 91

Chapter 91
## Chapter 91: A Well-Sharpened Sword (1)

The morning arrived with intense rays of sun that draped over the world like shimmering cloth.

Sitting at her desk within the quiet study, Ilenia spoke with a forced sense of cheer.

“I really appreciate you helping me tidy up the storehouse, mercenary! Goodness, I couldn’t have imagined doing it by myself, but you made the work fly by. And your investigation into the Wildland Priestesses’ ruins was incredibly useful too! If you happen to learn anything else later on, please drop by and give me the details!”

Kadim watched her, his expression remaining hard and unreadable.

Ilenia’s eyes shone like polished jewels as she offered him a bright smile. Her behavior was so casual and lighthearted that the previous night’s intensity felt like a fading dream.

However, the light pouring through the window and the unnaturally fierce glare of the sun outside confirmed that everything had truly happened.

“…….”

It didn’t take long for Kadim to see through the facade. Her rhythm of breathing was slightly off, and a fine layer of cold sweat coated her brow. She had clearly suffered a significant toll, either in body or spirit. His previous warnings about keeping the truth hidden for her own protection had been grounded in reality.

The woman’s current performance was undoubtedly a desperate act to deceive the eyes of ‘Elga.’ Kadim pushed back the questions rising in his throat and decided to play the part required of him.

“……Don’t worry about the gratitude. I wasn’t doing you a favor.”

He gestured to the ‘payment’ he held. Ilenia let out a slow, relieved breath, a small smile forming on her lips.

Duncan, meanwhile, looked between the two of them with total confusion.

“Wait, boss? You were helping with warehouse chores? You should have just let me handle that kind of manual labor…….”

“……The loads were too heavy for you. Regardless, our business here is finished, so we’re moving out, scholar.”

“Oh, leaving so soon? I feel terrible just putting you to work and then seeing you off—I’m truly sorry. Won’t you stay for some tea first?”

“That’s not necessary. Here, take these.”

Clink-clink—

A pile of silver coins from the fallen kingdom clattered onto the desk. Ilenia’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.

“They aren’t of any use to me. Carrying them around would only make me a target for thieves. I’ll keep two as mementos—the rest are yours to use for your ‘research’ or whatever else you need.”

“…….”

She stared at Kadim in silence for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curled upward as she gave a firm, appreciative nod.

It was time to depart. Kadim gripped the ‘payment’ and slung the still-disoriented guard captain over his shoulder like a sack. Duncan followed quickly, adjusting the straps of his pack.

Ilenia stood up unsteadily to watch them go.

“It was a pleasure to see you again after all this time, mercenary. When we meet again…… I hope we can have a proper conversation. May the golden light of Lord Remillion watch over your path.”

“Sure. And may the wrath of Atala stay with you. One more thing.”

“……?”

“In my opinion, you look much better being your blunt, honest self than you do when you’re forcing that fake happiness.”

“…….”

With those final words, the warrior and the merchant exited the study.

Even after her unexpected visitors had vanished from sight, Ilenia remained standing by the door, her eyes fixed on the empty hallway.

Her chest felt heavy with a strange sensation. It wasn’t the lingering sting of divine retribution tearing at her insides. She had grown accustomed to pain as long as it wasn’t fatal. This was something different, something unfamiliar taking root in her heart.

‘Better to be real than to force a smile…….’

She never expected to hear such a sentiment from a man as gruff as that warrior. Giving her the silver and saying those words—it was a sign that she had gained a bit of his confidence. Risking her life to tell him the truth had been worth it.

She touched her face, where the artificial smile had finally dropped. She pushed back her damp hair and reached out to touch the silver coins on the desk. This time, a small, genuine smile touched her lips.

It wasn’t a performance; it came from within.

—

Duncan spent several minutes inspecting the ‘gift’ Ilenia had provided—a black pouch crafted from a peculiar type of leather.

“What exactly is this, boss? It looks like a simple black bag to me…….”

“It’s an Inventory.”

“Huh?”

“Transfer everything from your pack into it. Every last bit.”

Duncan looked lost. The black pouch wasn’t even half the size of the bag he currently carried. There was no physical way his supplies would fit inside something so tiny…….

And yet.

“Wait, what?”

It all went inside.

He even managed to stuff his entire original backpack into the pouch, and there was still plenty of room to spare. Duncan reached his arm deep into the black pouch and let out a startled cry.

“Wh-whoa! Boss! This thing is massive on the inside! It looks like a tiny coin purse on the outside, but it’s like a whole storage room in here!”

“…….”

An ‘Inventory’ bag, a relic empowered by sub-dimensional space through the spatial warping properties of the fallen kingdom’s silver.

In the context of the game, the ‘system’ provided this item immediately, so players often overlooked its true worth. But having survived his first life, Kadim understood its value perfectly.

During the hero’s journey, the party had focused entirely on gathering weapons to fight demons, neglecting basic necessities like food and water. The endless hunger and thirst they endured in the demon lands had been a nightmare that stayed with him.

He wouldn’t have to face that again. Part of preparing for the road ahead meant keeping this ‘Inventory’ well-stocked. He could now carry massive amounts of equipment and loot without being slowed down.

Gaining such a powerful advantage should have satisfied even a stoic barbarian.

However, Kadim’s expression only grew more somber.

He looked up at the sky. The sun glared back. The light that had seemed ordinary just a day ago now felt like the piercing eyes of an observer. Doubts about the nature of this world and its deities began to fester in his mind.

But he couldn’t afford to get lost in thought. There were immediate problems to solve.

“……Ugh, damn. Grrrk, huff…….”

“Boss! The captain is waking up!”

Dropped onto the pavement, the guard captain—Yulitan—finally found his footing and stood up. Dazed and confused, he asked,

“Ugh…… where are we……? What happened to me…….”

“The streets of Galentana. You were taken, and I got you out.”

“Taken? Me? Wait, more importantly…… where are we going now……?”

“To see the city council. You’re going to give your statement so we can collect the bounty for the subjugation. Get your head straight.”

The fog in Yulitan’s mind cleared instantly, as if he’d been doused with freezing water.

—

Adonis, the councilor who served as the de facto leader of the Agon group, rubbed his temples in frustration.

“So…… you’re telling me you let the Demon Slayer walk away based on nothing but a verbal promise?”

“That is correct, Councilor.”

“And if he decides to just skip town? What then?”

“He won’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“He’s a violent man, but he isn’t a coward without honor. He wouldn’t break an oath made to a fellow warrior of the wildlands.”

“…….”

Adonis gave a tired sigh and dismissed him. Perun, the one-armed fighter, offered a short nod and left the room.

The councilors of the Agon faction gathered once more. This time, they met in a grand hall decorated with gold and iron rather than the blood-stained warehouse from before.

In the midst of this chaotic power struggle, meeting two days in a row was unheard of. But the scale of recent events left them no choice. Adonis stood before the grim assembly of officials.

“You’ve all received the report from our warrior? That is the summary of what occurred in the lower districts.”

““…….””

“Now…… we need to decide our course of action.”

The room remained silent. The information they had received was too massive to process quickly.

The total defeat of the underworld forces, proof that they were harboring the cult of the Forgotten God, the possibility that the university faction was in league with them, the death of a high-ranking cult leader, and the total disappearance of Elder Councilor Vittorio.

Any one of these issues would take weeks to resolve. To have them all happen in a single night was staggering. Everyone’s mind was racing, trying to figure out how to pivot.

But one name connected every event.

“So…… if we set Vittorio aside, everything leads back to this ‘Demon Slayer,’ doesn’t it?”

Once the ice was broken, the room erupted in debate.

“Wait, a guard from the estate mentioned a massive man knocked him out. It’s possible the Demon Slayer dealt with Vittorio as well…….”

“Then shouldn’t we blame the warriors who let him go? We need to hold them responsible.”

“Actually, he’s far too dangerous to try and bring into the fold…… He killed criminals, sure, but he’s a butcher who murdered dozens without hesitating.”

The councilors were gripped by a mix of fear and shock. Most seemed to agree that the Demon Slayer needed to be taken off the board immediately. Their previous plan to recruit him now seemed foolish given the scale of the carnage.

However, the mood shifted when one councilor spoke up with a different perspective.

“But look at it this way—isn’t this actually a benefit for us?”

““……?””

The others looked at him, confused. The speaker cleared his throat and went on.

“Think about it. The underworld was always aligned with the university faction. This cult of the Forgotten God is a disaster waiting to happen; if the empire finds out they were here, they’ll invade, and there are links between the university and the cult. On top of that, Vittorio was their most influential leader.”

““…….””

“Let’s be honest. If we wanted to take control of Galentana, we had to get rid of them anyway. The Demon Slayer did all the work for us, and we didn’t even have to get our hands dirty.”

““……!””

When put that way, it made sense.

In the span of a single evening, their primary rivals had been completely neutralized. It was so perfectly aligned with their interests that it almost seemed like they had planned it themselves.

If you kill the innocent, you’re a monster. If you kill the enemies of the state, you’re a hero. Since everyone killed—except for the missing Vittorio—was a criminal or a cultist, it was easy to spin the narrative. The room began to lean toward rewarding and enlisting him.

A few still worried about his savage nature and whether he could be controlled. But Adonis moved to quiet those fears.

“I’m in favor of bringing the Demon Slayer onto our side. And I don’t think he’ll be a problem. He only targeted our enemies—he’s violent, but he knows who to hit.”

“…….”

“Besides, look at the strength we have. Who leads our forces?”

They had over three hundred Atalain fighters. And leading them was the undefeated champion of the pits, the Furious Horn of Agon.

The Demon Slayer was clearly a top-tier combatant. But no one man could stand against a small army. And their own leader was a hero who had taken down a high-ranking demon. If the mercenary didn’t listen to reason, they could use force.

The councilors reached a consensus: they would recruit him. The only problem was finding the man Perun had released and getting him to the table…….

As it turned out, they didn’t have to look far.

“Councilors! The—the Demon Slayer is here! He’s at the gates with the captain of the Golden Highway guard, asking for a meeting!”

““……!””

The same thought struck everyone: their prize had walked right through the front door.

“He is an honored guest—bring him in with the highest level of respect.”

Adonis and his colleagues sat back, feeling smug. They were ready to welcome the Demon Slayer, intending to take hold of his legendary blade and point it wherever they wished.

—

It didn’t take long for the Agon faction’s confidence to be shattered.

“You’re going to Agon? That’s perfect. It’s our territory—we can help you with anything you need. May I ask what your goal is there?”

“To kill the Furious Horn of Agon.”

“…….”

““…….””

The room went cold.

Adonis and the rest of the councilors could only stare at Kadim, the color draining from their faces as the weight of his words sank in.