Lundberg (ルントベルク) was a nobleman of Belzerg.[1]
Appearance[]
Lundberg looks like an old gentleman with loose grey hair as well as a short beard and moustache, who is usually seen wearing a suit with a scarlet vest and mantle over it while holding a cane.
Personality[]
Lundberg appears to be one of the more reasonable and respectable nobles, who despite getting half of his estate blown up, still agreed to a plea deal with the prosecution to pardon the condemned accused. Yet this is actually all an act, as he harbours insidious intentions to overthrow the king, to which end he will not hesitate to exploit unwitting adventurers, though he also has a tendancy of counting his chickens before they hatch. Once throwing off his façade, he behaves like the generic arrogant and selfish nobleman.
History[]
Descended from a long and reputable line, Lundberg himself was also an esteemed nobleman held in high regards by Darkness, though in retrospect his lack of any unsavoury record was probably due to him enacting a thorough cover-up. He used to reside in his estates elsewhere, but after the research facility set up by the Head Researcher back when he worked for his ancestor was discovered underneath his villa mansion close to Axel, Lundberg despite previously not interested in archaeology settled over there, before hiring Rav to uncover the secrets of a relic stored within.
Several years later, Lundberg got told by Rav that within the relic was sealed the ultimate magical creature which obeys only the command of those in his bloodline, stirring his ambitions of overthrowing the Belzerg royalty, thus he continued funding Rav's research. When notified about the relic requiring some new parts to activate as well as sporting some kind of defence mechanism, Lundberg through the Adventurer Guild hired Kazuma and his party under the pretext of helping investigate the relic, because given their track record of sparking trouble with the nobility, not only would they be hit with the defence mechanism in his place, but more likely than not they would mess up big time, giving him an excuse to blackmail them into seeking the parts for activation that are difficult to obtain.
Although Kazuma's party as well as the accompanying Yunyun, Chris, and Mitsurugi did trip the defence mechanism as planned after Aqua punched the relic, Lundberg's plot nearly went up in ashes when Megumin, trying to stop the defence mechanism that was enacting Level Drain on them all, cast an Explosion which damaged the relic, caved-in the research facility and accordingly opened up a gaping pit in his garden, in addition to destroying half the mansion's annex. Later when Kazuma as expected got charged with a serious crime that turned out to be treason, Lundberg agreed to Sena's pleas for clemency on the condition that Kazuma and his companions assist Rav with retrieving the parts needed to repair/activate the relic, though not before confiscating Mitsurugi's Gram and Aqua's hagoromo to serve as bail collateral, as well as emptying them of money and valuable equipment to pay for damages to his estate.
Lundberg hid his intentions well while Kazuma's party worked for his goals, to the point that Kazuma despite becoming suspicious couldn't dig up anything wrong about him. However, when the final part was handed to Rav and paved the way for unsealing the creature within the relic, Lundberg who declared Kazuma pardoned couldn't hold it in any longer, so subsequent to a dinner with Kazuma's party and Sena to celebrate for himself, he led them down to the research facility. There as Rav activated the relic, Lundberg boasted his aim of overthrowing the royalty with the released magical creature so that he can claim the throne, to the shock of Kazuma's party and Sena.
It became Lundberg's turn to be shocked minutes later when Rav confessed that he had lied, since in fact the magical creature known as Wallavy wouldn't listen to anybody's command. Throwing a tantrum after Wallavy's departure and Rav's escape, Lundberg attempted to silence Kazuma's party and Sena with an inherited Manatite Golem, but following its destruction, he himself was knocked out by Darkness and arrested by Sena for treason. Thrown into prison and revoked of his nobleman status, Lundberg descended into despaired misery.
He received a slight break when Kazuma, desperate for leads to Rav's whereabouts, asked Sena to bring him to the Guild for questioning. Despite initially being uncooperative out of spite since he couldn't expect to be pardoned, Lundberg was reminded by Kazuma that the deceitful Rav's betrayal was the main cause of his downfall, and accordingly revealed the dungeons where Rav had talked of setting up residences in, so that Kazuma can ruin the mad scientist's plans in his place.
Lundberg at the end got some satisfaction of payback following Rav's arrest and Wallavy's destruction, before he was taken to the Royal Capital by Sena to stand trial.