The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

21 – Episode 21: Who Ate the Numerous Unjustly Acquired Properties?

Casey discovered Wolfgang two hours ago.

Leading the tracking team into the forest with the Commander of the Royal Guard, Casey turned her head.

“Commander, I have urgent business to attend to. If I find Wolfgang, please give me a signal.”

The Commander nodded without hesitation.

Having left the formation, Casey ran deep into the forest.

After some time, Casey kicked an empty box in front of her and cursed.

“Damn it!”

Since the box contained a tremendous amount of wealth, it was a reaction that could be expected.

The gold and treasures in the box were not the kind of fortune Casey could accumulate with her meager salary as a guard.

Tendrial, the leader of Forest, the world’s largest criminal organization comprised solely of non-humans.

Casey, the best sharpshooter and a guard who had never once missed catching a criminal.

They had secretly maintained a close cooperative relationship for a long time.

It was common for guards to turn a blind eye to criminals in exchange for bribes, but no one received as much bribery as Casey did.

Gambling, theft, robbery, human trafficking, prostitution, contract killing, fraud, drugs…

The more crimes they committed, the heavier Casey’s secret box became.

Living a relatively ordinary life as a guard, she suddenly joined the Sect.

Since then, she had to hide her own secret place where the dirty money was stored even more securely.

If it was revealed that she, who had become the “savior of humanity,” was actually a corrupt guard who accepted bribes, the consequences would be horrifying.

So she set up very powerful and complex traps to prevent anyone from approaching.

Traps that were dangerous enough to destroy even the contents inside.

“How did someone escape? The booby traps were still intact!”

Because she had installed traps that were so complex and diverse that she couldn’t even remove them herself, she barely made it through by sacrificing the horse she came on.

But now, with no tracks and the contents disappearing, Casey couldn’t help but go crazy.

“…If this is known even at the palace, it’s the end for me.”

Casey rolled her eyes.

No one knows about this secret space.

She never told anyone, nor showed it to anyone.

But if there was someone who had direct dealings with her, although they didn’t know the exact location, she could reasonably expect that there would be a hidden space to conceal the bribes somewhere.

With her thoughts organized, there was only one culprit.

“Tendrial…”

I was worried because of the bribes that disappeared immediately, but once I identified the culprit, my head seemed to clear up a bit.

Casey decided to go back to the Guard Commander for now.

If you leave your post for too long, you will only invite suspicion.

Coincidentally, the signaling device in her pocket was flashing.

***

It was Casey’s first mission upon returning to the forest.

To search Casey’s secret hideaway.

“Hey, now that I think about it, the money I gave to that woman was really huge.”

“So what? When we joined the Order, we immediately severed ties and put all our kids in prison, didn’t we?”

“What else could we do with that bitch? Wolfgang, the gangster, was pulling the strings behind it.”

“Why… Is that gangster such an amazing person? I’ve never actually seen him face-to-face, even during the battle with the Order, and I’ve never heard anyone who has been in prison talk about him.”

“Do you know why? There’s a reason for that.”

“What is it?”

Tendrial chewed on an apple and spoke.

“Of the people who encountered Wolfgang in battle at that time, I am the only one who survived.”

The orc riding alongside Tendrial was surprised by his answer.

“I thought my end had come too. But he made an unexpected offer.”

“…Are you talking about joining the Order?”

“Yeah. He even said he would spare the lives of those of you who are still there. Of course, we had to go to prison.”

“Just by mentioning it, you don’t seem like an ordinary person. But why would such a person kill a hero and become a fugitive?”

Instead of answering, Tendrial threw the remaining apple at the orc’s face.

“Ouch!”

Tendrial couldn’t help but laugh at the cute reaction that didn’t match the orc’s huge frame.

“Chief! I think this is it!”

A goblin’s grating voice came from the front of the ranks.

Upon hearing that sound, Tendrial and the orc moved to the front of the ranks.

“Is this it, right?”

The goblin, for some reason, showed his yellow teeth and pointed with his finger, smiling, at the large box placed on a rock.

Having secretly followed Casey before, Tendrial remembered the shape of the box and could recognize it immediately.

“Well done. It is indeed that…”

“Why are you like this, Leader?”

“Something… feels odd.”

Detecting an inexplicable strange atmosphere, Tendrial closely examined the area around the box.

Apart from dense bushes and large trees, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.

However, an unsettling feeling lingered like mist for some reason.

“Goblin! Let’s check the box first!”

The excited goblin started running towards the box.

While surveying the trees, Tendrial witnessed a dead horse hanging from a noose on one of them.

“Hey!! Don’t go in! It’s a trap!”

“Huh?”

A ‘click’ sound echoed as something caught the goblin’s foot, who had rushed in a while ago.

“Huh?”

Everyone, including the goblin, lowered themselves and covered their faces to prepare for an impending disaster.

So, a minute of silence passed.

As nothing happened, everyone cautiously began to stand up as if nothing had occurred.

The goblin, relieved, turned back towards Tendrial.

“Come out for now; it’s a trap-infested place.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you coming out?”

“…”

For some reason, the goblin stood frozen in place, not moving at all.

“Why is he…”

After a moment, the goblin’s face started melting, and in an instant, his entire body dissolved, scattering on the ground.

Witnessing this horrifying sight, the members of the forest were in shock.

“Acid injection… He’s installed all sorts of crazy gadgets.”

Tendrial, with a sarcastic smile at Casey’s sadistic hobby, took out a glass bottle filled with liquid from her pocket and took a sip.

It was the same potion she had used in the battle with Wolfgang.

“Just return before the trap activates, even if you touch it.”

Feeling the effects of the potion, she leaped from her position, landing on the rock where the box was located.

Quickly opening the box, she found nothing inside.

Her face was filled with disappointment.

“You’ve already packed? Casey, you impatient person.”

Tendriel kicked an empty box and cursed.

***

Three hours before Wolfgang found the inn.

Riding on Gilbert’s words resurrected by magic, he had been racing through a forest with no name for hours.

His Ghost, who had been running smoothly, suddenly halted on its own.

Wolfgang nearly leaped forward.

“Startled. What’s wrong?”

The Ghost began sniffing the ground, moving its head as if sniffing for a scent.

Then, at one spot, it stopped and stood still.

“There’s something here.”

Wolfgang inspected the spot where the Ghost indicated.

To the naked eye, there was nothing particularly unusual.

“Something buried?”

Wolfgang cautiously began digging into the ground with his hands.

As his fingers dug through the soil, they struck something hard and solid.

“There it is.”

Wolfgang carefully felt its size.

It seemed about the size of a small water bottle.

He wrapped his hands around whatever was buried and slowly brought it up from the ground.

As the ground cracked, a long, circular object made of metal revealed itself.

Thin thread was attached to one end of the object.

“What’s this now?”

With a little more force, he pulled on it, and a long thread emerged, connected to similar objects of the same shape as the one unearthed from the ground.

It resembled the way sweet potatoes were harvested.

“Wow… this…”

Wolfgang grinned meaningfully and pulled harder.

The thread that wouldn’t stretch any further became taut.

On the opposite side of the cave, an ordinary-looking rock was placed.

“There it is, tied up over there. I can tell just by looking.”

Wolfgang exhaled deeply, looking at the metal lump in his hand.

“What could be hidden here that they even set up such a crude bomb?”

As Wolfgang muttered to himself, sparks flew around him.

Wolfgang discharged electrical energy from the metal object in his hand to disarm the bomb.

“Simple.”

Not wanting to leave a trace, Wolfgang left the disarmed bomb buried in the ground and leaped towards the rock in a single breath.

“Hiding something in such a shabby place just means take it.”

Wolfgang stood on the rock and skillfully rolled his foot.

Then a large box rose from within the rock.

“Wow. A treasure chest.”

With a brief admiration, Wolfgang opened the box.

“Wow! A real treasure chest!”

Inside were treasures worth a fortune, even after buying the most expensive house in the center of Tessa.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wolfgang swept them into his pockets.

Looking at the empty box, Wolfgang, seemingly satisfied, tapped the nonexistent ship and boarded the Ghost.