Sewers (1)
After walking through the sewers for a while, keeping an eye on the surroundings…
The dwarf and Misha start to get fed up.
“There’s really nothing here.”
“I know, right? I wish something would appear soon…”
They were so eager to come along.
What were they expecting?
“I told you, it’s just a request where we walk around once and then leave.”
This request is simple.
We just need to wear the borrowed video recording device on our heads, walk around the designated route once, and check if there are any people hiding.Well, there could be battles in the process, but…
‘The predecessor said he found less than 30 people in 2 years.’
The frequency of encountering strangers is low.
And even if we do encounter someone, it’s not like we have to chase after them and fight.
“Huh? We don’t have to chase them?”
“I heard there’s a bonus if we capture them, but there’s no need to obsess over it.”
“Why?”
Because the request I received was ‘sewer patrol’.
Subjugation or capture will be handled by the administrative office after they review the video recordings and send new personnel.
“I see…”
Just as I’m explaining the request to Misha…
Rotmiller, who was leading the group, suddenly stops.
“I have a feeling there’s something nearby.”
It’s a baseless mumbling based on intuition.
But at his words, everyone starts looking around.
Since it’s a sewer filled with a pungent smell, his olfactory stats won’t be as effective as before, but…
Rotmiller’s Sixth Sense stat increased by +50 and his Luck stat increased by +20 thanks to the Mimic’s essence.
“Uh! Th, there’s someone over there!”
Misha points to one spot and shouts.
I follow her gaze and see a man with a flustered expression.
‘Huh, how did she even see that?’
It’s a gap that’s barely big enough for one person to squeeze through.
The man is hiding inside, curled up like a shrimp.
“Eek!!”
I reach in and grab the man by the collar, pulling him out.
He’s quite tall, but since he’s so skinny, it feels like I’m holding a goblin.
His actions are also not much different from a goblin’s.
“Die!!”
The man thrusts the dagger he was holding tightly in his hand as soon as he’s pulled out.
It’s a good attempt.
If you want to live, you have to try everything, right?
“Keugh!!!!”
The battle ends as soon as I grab his wrist holding the dagger and twist it.
“Why were you hiding here?”
The man quickly changes his attitude at my question.
“Pl, please spare me! Please! I, I haven’t harmed anyone, I just don’t have any money, that’s all!”
It’s not the answer I was hoping for, but…
If I had to interpret it, it means he ran away because he couldn’t pay his taxes.
No one believes his words, though.
“It reminds me of old times! Even when I was working at the blacksmith’s, thugs with tattoos like these used to come by often. Hahaha!”
It’s different from the geometric patterns of barbarian tattoos.
His skin is covered in tattoos of skulls, naked women, and monster figures.
Of course, I don’t judge a person’s inner self by their appearance.
But…
“Bjorn, look at the brand on his forehead. He’s definitely a criminal who escaped to the sewers.”
The brand on his forehead, hidden under his hood, is proof that he committed a heinous crime that couldn’t even be covered by a ‘fine’.
There’s no room for sympathy.
Well, the outcome wouldn’t have been much different even if he were a tax evader.
“Bjorn, what are we going to do with him?”
“Well…”
“The administrative office must have given you some guidelines, right?”
Hmm, they did give me some advice.
The basic principle is to capture and bring them back, but if we properly recorded the video, it’s okay to kill them and leave them in the sewers.
“They said it’s okay to kill him? What if he’s an ordinary person?”
“There’s no way an ordinary person would have wandered into this place.”
“Hahaha! As expected of the ruthless administrative office!”
Well, I think it’s more like they’re being considerate of ruthless explorers, but…
That’s not what we need to worry about now.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Let’s take him with us for now.”
If I were alone, it might be different…
But since we’re here with five people, we have extra hands.
And besides, there’s a 5,000 stone bonus for bringing them back alive.
“Pl, please let me go! Just pretend you didn’t see me and move on. I only ended up like this because I was trying to make a living—”
“Enough.”
There’s no need for a long-winded conversation.
Whether he’s a tax evader or a criminal, or if he committed a crime for unavoidable reasons…
So what?
“I received a request. So I’m taking you with me. They’ll make the judgment.”
“…Damn it! You fucking assholes! What’s the difference between you and me!”
There is a difference.
If there wasn’t, would you be begging me like this?
“Dwarkey, shut him up.”
“Ah, alright.”
Dwarkey then uses the [Paralysis Poison] spell he recently learned to silence the man.
His body stiffens.
I sling the man over my shoulder like a sack of rice and continue walking.
After about an hour…
“Rotmiller, how much further do we have to go?”
“We’re about halfway there.”
“Eek? There’s still half left?”
Misha sighs as if she regrets coming along.
And then she asks as if she’s curious about something,
“But Dwarkey, why are you so fine? Last time, you were throwing up and everything.”
“Huhu, about that? I actually learned a spell that prevents me from smelling. It turns out it’s considered essential among mages who have experience exploring the labyrinth.”
“Ooh, I see. But you can’t cast it on others?”
“Uh… that is, I’m not used to spell modifications yet…”
Dwarkey, who was proudly explaining his new spell, trails off.
I chuckle.
It’s not that he’s not used to it, it’s that he can’t do it.
‘Spell modification’ is practically the bread and butter of Magic Tower mages.
Although they teach basic spells for a fee, they never reveal the methods for modifying magic or creating new spells to outsiders—
“Le, let’s make a deal! If you let me go, I’ll give you information!”
The man suddenly starts shouting and struggling, as if the duration of [Paralysis Poison] has ended.
“Information?”
I stop Dwarkey, who’s about to cast [Paralysis Poison] again, and ask, and the man hurriedly continues,
“That crazy bitch! If you capture that crazy bitch, you’ll get a much bigger reward than me!!”
“Bjorn, why are you listening to him? He’s obviously just trying to survive.”
I think so too, but…
One word particularly catches my ear.
“…Crazy bitch? Tell me more.”
It’s worth listening to.
_____________________________
Negotiation.
It’s the act of persuading and discussing to reach a decision.
It’s both rational and absurd.
Unless the relationship is equal, someone will inevitably be at a disadvantage.
Just like this.
“…I need a promise before I tell you anything!”
“Dwarkey, just make him like before—”
“I’ll, I’ll talk!!”
The man starts rambling, as if he doesn’t want to miss this opportunity.
“There are many others living in these sewers besides me. They usually avoid the patrol routes, so you don’t see them often…”
“Keep it short.”
“…A few days ago, some crazy bitch took over my hideout.”
To summarize the man’s story…
He was living comfortably in the sewers, but a woman came and took over his place.
She wasn’t an ordinary woman.
She was accompanied by skeletons, so he couldn’t do anything and had to flee.
“Skeletons? Isn’t she just someone who absorbed the essence of a Necramia?”
Misha tilts her head, using the 7th-grade monster Necramia as an example.
However, the man seems certain.
“I don’t know what exactly it is. But! It was completely different from the skeletons that appear in the labyrinth! I used to be an explorer, so I’m sure of it!”
“So what’s your point?”
“She must be using some evil black magic. If you hand her over to the temple, you’ll definitely get a reward. A reward incomparable to mine!”
I contemplate for a moment.
The timing is too coincidental to just ignore.
A woman who uses evil black magic and hid in the sewers a few days ago…
“…Could it be that woman?”
“Elisa Behenk. Indeed, if that woman wanted to escape, there would be no other choice than this place.”
Rotmiller and the dwarf gulp and say something, as if they had the same thought.
‘Damn it, is it really her?’
I need to find out more.
There’s not enough evidence to be sure yet.
“What did she look like? Tell me in detail.”
“She was wearing a robe and covering her face with a hood, so I couldn’t see her clearly. I only knew she was a woman from her figure and voice, that’s all.”
“I see.”
“Ah! I just remembered, she was wearing a very unique necklace…”
“What kind of necklace?”
“It’s hard to explain in words…”
I have a hunch and quickly take out something from my backpack.
It’s the Karui Church symbol I found while rummaging through Hans’s backpack.
“Was it this shape?”
“Yes! That’s it!”
I let out a sigh as I see the man nodding eagerly.
The possibility that it’s really her has increased significantly.
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Hahaha, what’s there to think about! Let’s go catch her and deliver justice!”
Justice my ass, he’s just greedy for the reward.
Anyway, if the dwarf is the radical one, Rotmiller is the moderate one.
“I think it’s best to go back to the administrative office and report it officially. We don’t even know for sure if it’s that woman, so there’s no need for us to take the risk.”
Indeed, both opinions are valid.
If we capture her ourselves, we’ll get the reward, and if we don’t want to take the risk, we can just report it and leave the case to others.
But…
‘Something feels off.’
If the crazy woman this man mentioned is really Elisa Behenk, it’s especially unsettling to just go back like this.
Elisa Behenk is not just a ‘bastard’.
She’s a bastard with a grudge against me.
I was worried that she might be up to something in the shadows.
‘Even if the administrative office or the temple cooperates and sends people, it will take at least a few days…’
If she escapes in the meantime…
I’ll have to keep feeling this way.
“I want to confirm it, what do you guys think?”
Misha immediately agrees to my suggestion.
Dwarkey, who was neutral, also casts a vote in favor, following his best friend the dwarf’s decision.
And even Rotmiller, who I was worried about, readily agrees to the majority vote.
“Four of you think the same way, so I’ll follow along. But before that, how about we finish the patrol request first?”
“You’re right, let’s do that.”
We then move more quickly and finish patrolling the route designated by the administrative office.
“Where is your hideout? Lead the way.”
“I need a promise that you’ll let me live.”
“If it’s the woman we’re looking for, or if we judge that you’re worth it, we’ll let you go.”
“Alright, follow me.”
“Wait, put this on first.”
“Huh…?”
What do you mean, ‘huh’?
I tie the man’s waist tightly with rope. And I hold the long end of the rope tightly in my hand like a dog leash.
Because it would be a pain if he runs away, right?
“Alright, now lead the way.”
“…It’s a path that’s not on the map, so follow me closely.”
The man then starts finding his way through this maze-like sewer.
And I realize that the structure is really complex.
Until now, we’ve only been walking along the main paths where sewage flows, but…
If you squeeze through a narrow gap that looks like a wall, you find a new space, there are forks in the path, and there are even places where you have to climb up through holes in the ceiling.
So here’s a question that comes to mind.
“Why were you hiding in a place like that and got caught?”
“…I was looking for a new hideout. And then I heard you guys from afar and had to hide quickly, so I had no choice.”
I see, he’s quite unlucky.
“We’re here.”
The place where the man stops is a spot with a hole about 2 meters in diameter.
I don’t know what purpose this terrain was designed for, but it seems like a large space appears if you follow the path below the hole.
“Everyone, lower your voices from now on.”
“Huhu, this is getting exciting.”
Unlike the dwarf, who seems excited, and Misha, who seems a bit scared, I’m not particularly anxious.
Coincidentally, we’re not alone, but all five of us came down to the sewers together.
And we’re all much stronger than before.
If the woman hiding down there is Elisa Behenk…
“Hey, are there any escape routes inside?”
“There’s no other entrance besides this hole.”
…we’ll finally be able to show her what justice is.
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