I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 357. Who’s the Crazier One? (10)

Keter confirmed the butler Jacques’ question.

“The cow you’re talking about, the one that gives milk and is used for farming, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“A crazy person appeared who only took the heart of the cow and left the rest. And you’re saying I’m the only one in Sephira who would do such a thing?”

“…Actually, the problem isn’t just the cow. Are you aware that mosquitoes are swarming in Sephira?”

“Mosquitoes? In this cold?”

A Transcendent Being’s senses can find a needle in a desert. But right now, in this space, there wasn’t a single mosquito.

Butler Jacques shook his head.

“There are no mosquitoes near this mansion. But once you leave the mansion, there are plenty. It’s strange. Mosquitoes being active in this cold. And the fact that there are no mosquitoes only around Young Master Keter’s mansion…”

“Don’t tell me there’s more?”

“Yes. If it were just one or two strange incidents, Sephira would have handled it on its own. But since it’s not an ordinary matter, we had to stop you from leaving.”

“Tell me everything.”

As Butler Jacques spoke about the bizarre events happening in Sephira, Keter moved away from the window.

“A tunnel has appeared that no one dug. There were signs of someone living there, so an investigation team was dispatched, but there’s been no news so far. People have started hearing voices at night. They say they hear children chattering. Of course, Sephira conducted an investigation, but… they couldn’t find the culprit.”

“It’s not just us in Sephira here, right? Were they just sitting still?”

In Sephira, the Baen, who use something called ‘science’—referred to as the next-generation magic—and the people of the Adeus Kingdom, who have animal-like instincts, live together.

It’s true that Sephira is inexperienced in investigations and detection, but couldn’t the others have found something?

Butler Jacques shook his head.

“They haven’t fully engaged in the investigation, but they haven’t found anything either. As a mere butler, I can only speculate, but it seems they’re too busy to spare resources for such bizarre incidents.”

“You don’t think it’s me, do you?”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem possible. You did play quite a few pranks on the first day, didn’t you?”

“That’s because Sephira was too rigid back then.”

“You’ve been doing it recently too… Anyway, Lord Hisop specifically asked me to check if you were the culprit. Seeing your reaction now, it seems you’re not.”

Keter made a baffled expression.

“If I ate the cow, I’d roast the whole thing. Why would I just take the heart? Dealing with mosquitoes isn’t cool either. Anyway, those pranks aren’t my style.”

Then, Maknun chimed in. He seemed very curious too.

“Then who on earth is pulling these pranks in Sephira? If it were just kids’ pranks, they would’ve been caught immediately. The fact that the real culprit hasn’t been caught yet means it’s not an ordinary person.”

Butler Jacques nodded in agreement with Maknun’s words.

“Moreover, while it’s just pranks now, who knows when the cow’s heart might become a human heart? And if the tunnel collapses, it’ll be an even bigger problem. This is serious.”

Glancing at Keter, Butler Jacques casually added.

“I wonder if someone capable will step up to solve this…”

“Hmm? Me?”

Seeing Keter’s hesitant expression, Butler Jacques slyly added.

“Who would willingly step forward to solve something no one else could? Even if someone did, I’d worry if the problem might get worse.”

“If our old man is saying that much, then I guess I have no choice.”

When Keter expressed his intention to solve the problem, Maknun whispered in his ear.

“Do you really have to go? I could handle it instead.”

“If there’s a case, I can’t just stay out of it. Besides, I have a suspect in mind, so it won’t take long.”

“Elije, right?”

Only the cow’s heart was taken, and mosquitoes suddenly became rampant. If you force a connection, a vampire would be the most likely suspect.

“For your information, Miss Elije hasn’t been seen for the past few days.”

Butler Jacques also knew the identity of the white bat, Jjokjjok. So he had already checked on Elije, but coincidentally, she hadn’t been seen recently.

“We just need to find Elije.”

Elije had been quietly living in Keter’s room until now. But as soon as these strange incidents occurred, she disappeared?

Moreover, Elije is the first vampire. If she wanted to, who could possibly track her?

While everything pointed to Elije being the culprit, Keter felt something was off.

“The Jjokjjok I know wouldn’t secretly do something like this…”

Keter grabbed Jacques’ shoulders and said.

“Let’s head to the scene first. All the clues are there.”

*

The first scene: the barn where the cow’s body with the missing heart was found.

“Five cows died in total. Four of them were butchered and eaten before they rotted. This one was left just in case.”

Keter crouched in front of the dead cow’s body, carefully examining the wound. There was a fist-sized hole in its side.

Swoosh.

Keter stuck his fist into the hole and marveled.

“It wasn’t pierced by brute force. The ribs aren’t crushed but cleanly cut. Meaning, someone scooped it out like this. And the cut is very clean.”

“I’ve heard that a vampire’s nails are as sharp as swords and harder than steel. So the culprit must be Miss Elije…”

“Old man. Elije is a vampire and drinks blood, but why would she only take the heart? If she wanted just the heart, she could’ve just asked. It’s not like we wouldn’t give it to her.”

“Maybe she was bored?”

“Boredom is a serious matter, but let’s see more first.”

The second scene: the mosquitoes. Strangely, no mosquitoes came within 100 meters of Keter, so Maknun used magic to catch some.

“Brother. This is weird. It’s freezing, how can mosquitoes even fly?”

“There’s no trace of mana enhancement. If there were, we wouldn’t have left them alone. But these mosquitoes aren’t special either. Just ordinary swamp mosquitoes.”

“And the strange thing is, they avoid you like crazy.”

When Maknun released the mosquito he caught with his fingers, it immediately fled. Keter, who had been watching the mosquito closely, lit up.

“That’s not the movement of avoiding a predator. It’s flying with a purpose. Let’s follow it.”

The place they arrived at was the entrance to the tunnel, which should’ve been the third destination. Tunnels are Keter’s specialty, thanks to the power of the Five Elements Divine Artifact, Toban.

Keter placed his palm on the ground and examined the tunnel. Then his eyes widened.

“This isn’t just some prank-level tunnel.”

The tunnel was much deeper and more complex than Sephira had imagined, and even more than Keter had imagined. And while investigating, he sensed the presence of living beings—seven of them.

But those seven beings were clearly human.

‘Seven people gathered in one space. This could mean they’ve been captured and brought together.’

Someone had captured Sephira’s investigation team. But when detecting living beings, only seven humans were detected.

‘Someone lives in this tunnel. Something that’s not human.’

A vampire? But vampires have immense pride. A vampire living in a tunnel? Unheard of.

“Old man. How many more tunnels like this are there?”

“Sephira has found 12 so far. They’ve set up guards, thinking that sealing them might just make more appear elsewhere.”

“Tell the guards to withdraw. Maknun.”

Calling Maknun’s name, Keter immediately jumped into the tunnel, and Maknun, familiar with this, followed.

Once inside, Keter first touched the wall.

“Smooth. Like it’s been sanded down. This isn’t a beast’s tunnel.”

“Brother. It’s too dark, I can’t see anything.”

Of course, it’s dark inside a tunnel. Keter, with Sephira’s eyes, had no problem in the dark.

“Haven’t you learned any magic to see in the dark?”

“I know how to tear space apart.”

“Learn some practical magic too. That’s what magic is for.”

“Should I go back and learn it now?”

“Forget it. Try coating your eyes with mana. Be careful, or your eyes might burst.”

“Oh, coating them makes the darkness slightly visible.”

“The thinner the coating, the better you’ll see. Of course, maintaining it will be twice as hard.”

“This is just right for now. As you said, the tunnel is really clean.”

“There are footprints. They’re from the boots Sephira’s knights wear. Doesn’t that seem off?”

“Hmm…”

Maknun carefully examined the footprints but tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s strange about them?”

“The steps are unnaturally consistent. Humans don’t walk that uniformly. And the footprints are too shallow. Humans walking in the dark would naturally be tense and put more weight into their steps. In conclusion, these are fake footprints made by someone who took off the boots. They’re luring us in.”

“Oh… But for strong ones like us, wouldn’t searching be meaningless? If we spread mana…”

As Maknun was about to spread his mana, Keter flicked his forehead to stop him.

“Ouch!”

“If you spread mana to detect, the opponent will notice too. It’s better not to give them a chance to react. Plus, we have hostages now.”

“Brother. It’s sudden, but you’re still the same even as a Transcendent Being. How should I put it… human-like, I guess.”

The Transcendent Beings Maknun had seen were all inhuman. They lacked something human.

Keter chuckled.

“That’s why I’m stronger than other Transcendent Beings. Let’s follow these footprints and fall into their trap.”

Following the footprints, they came across a suspicious door. The moment Keter pulled the handle—

Whoosh!

A log flew out from the darkness ahead.

“A classic trap.”

Tap.

Keter stopped the log with a single finger. But the trap didn’t end there.

Rumble!

“Brother. A big rock is rolling from behind. It’s pretty huge.”

“They’re urging us to hurry inside.”

Keter didn’t need to step in, as Maknun could handle the rock. But if they did that, the mysterious figure wouldn’t show up, so Keter and Maknun pretended to fall for it and entered the door.

Then, Keter’s foot sank.

Squelch.

“Oh-ho.”

The ground inside the door was like a swamp. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank.

Who would expect a swamp inside a tunnel? And the force felt at the bottom of the swamp was unexpected.

“Magnetism.”

There was a giant magnet beneath the swamp. It didn’t affect Keter and Maknun, who wore light clothing, but what if the opponent wore iron armor?

There’s no reason to neglect armor when descending into a dark tunnel. Surely Sephira’s knights wore iron armor, not their usual leather armor.

If they fell into this swamp trap, they’d be sucked in instantly by the magnetism.

“But killing isn’t the goal here.”

“Brother. Do we really have to fall for this? I like these clothes.”

“Then take them off and throw them.”

“It’s not that bad.”

And so, the two sank into the swamp up to their heads.

Five minutes later, movement was sensed from the opposite entrance.

“Two today.”

A gruff middle-aged voice. It was definitely a human voice. He wore shoes that didn’t sink in the swamp and walked over to where Keter and Maknun had sunk.

“How long do we have to keep doing this…”

With a voice mixed with dissatisfaction and worry, he rolled up his sleeves and reached into the swamp to pull out Keter and Maknun.

But at that moment—

Snap.

“Huh?”

Instead, his wrist was grabbed, and he was pulled into the swamp.

No matter how trained a knight is, they can’t hold their breath for more than five minutes. But Keter could hold his breath for up to an hour.

Pretending to be unconscious in the swamp, Keter emerged and checked what he had caught.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t Elije, of course, and he was sure it wasn’t another vampire. So who on earth was the master of this tunnel?

When Keter saw the secret figure, he was utterly baffled.

“Why is a dwarf here?”