I walked like that through the sewer for who knows how long. Missha and Hikurod began to get restless.
"There's really nothing here."
"Right? I hope something comes out soon..."
It doesn't surprise me that they asked to come. What did they expect? "That's what I told them. It's just a request for a round, that's all."
This request was simple. Placing the borrowed video recording device on my head, I just had to walk around the designated route and look for anyone hiding there. A fight might break out, but they said the previous person had encountered fewer than 30 people in two years. The frequency of encounters with strangers was low. Even if I did come across someone, I explained that I didn't have to chase down each one and fight them.
"Huh? You don't have to chase them?"
"There's a bonus if they get caught, but there's no need to worry about that."
"Why?" Miss ashde.
"That's because the request I received was from the Sewer Patrol. The handling and detention will be handled by the new staff only after the administrative office has reviewed the video footage."
"I it..."
While informing Missha about the request, Brown, who was leading the group at the front, suddenly stopped walking. "I sense something nearby."
There was an unfounded murmur based on their senses, but at that single word, everyone in the party looked around. Since the sewer was filled with the smell of dampness, their olfactory stats wouldn't shine as brightly here, but Brown had +50 to his Sixth Sense stat and +20 Luck from the essence of a Mimic.
Then Missha pointed somewhere and cried out, "Oh! It's a person!"
When I turned my gaze to where she was pointing, I saw a frightened man.
Uh, how did she see this, now?
The small opening was too small for a human body to fit. The man was hiding in the hole, crouched down like a shrimp. "Eek!" I reached inside and pulled the man out by the neck. He was quite tall, but because he was so thin, it was like picking up a goblin. His behavior wasn't much different from one's either. "Die!"
As they pulled him out, the man plunged the dagger he was holding into the ground. It was a good attempt. You have to do what you have to do to live, right?
"Ugh!" The fight ended when I grabbed the wrist holding the dagger and bent it back.
"Why were you hiding there?"
The man quickly changed his demeanor at my question. "Have mercy! Please. I haven't hurt anyone, I just didn't have any money."
It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but if he had to interpret it, it probably meant that he couldn't pay his taxes and ran away. However, nobody believed him.
«Reminds me of old times!», Hikurod said. «Back when I worked in a blacksmith shop, thugs with tattoos like this often came to visit me. Hahaha».
His were different from the geometric pattern of a barbarian's tattoo; flesh covered in drawings of skulls, naked women and monsters. Of course, he didn't judge a person's insides by their outsides.
«Bjorn, look at the mark on his forehead. It has to be a criminal who escaped into the sewers», Brown said.
The mark on his forehead hidden under his hood was proof of a heinous crime that could not be acquitted even with a fine. There was no room for compassion. Even if he didn't pay his taxes, that wouldn't have changed much.
«Bjorn, what are you going to do with him now?» hikurod asked.
"No lo sé".
«Isn't the administration office supposed to have given you some guidelines beforehand?»
Well, they certainly gave me some advice. The basic policy was to catch the criminals and bring them back, but as long as the video was well filmed, there was no problem if he killed them and threw them into the sewers.
«Can you kill him? What if he is a normal person?»
«They said there is no such thing as a normal person arriving at a place like this by accident», I replied.
«Hahaha! That's the heartless administrative office I know!».
Well, in my opinion, they were being considerate of heartless explorers. It wouldn't be something to worry about now.
«So what are you going to do?»
«For now, we'll take it.» If I were alone, it would have been different, but since there were five of us, we had plenty of hands. Above all, taking him alive gave us an additional pay of 5,000 stones.
«P-please let me go just this once. You have to act like you haven't seen anything. I only became like this because I wanted to live...»
«Enough.» Long conversations were not necessary. If you were a tax offender, a criminal, or had committed a crime out of necessity, so what? «I was commissioner, so I'll take you. They will make the judgment».
«... Fuck! Damn bastards! How are you different from me?»
We are very different. If we were the same, you wouldn't be begging me like now.
«Dwalkie, shut your mouth.»
«Okay.» Dwalkie used his newly learned Paralyzing Poison spell to silence the man. His body stiffened. I carried the prisoner on my shoulders as if I were carrying a bag of rice.
An hour or so passed.
«Rotmiller, how far do we have to go?»
«We are already halfway there».
«Hey? Do we still have half left?» Missha sighed deeply as if she regretted following us. Then he opened his mouth as if curious about something. «Dwalkie, why do you seem so normal? Last time you were vomiting everywhere».
«Haha that? I learned a spell to make you lose your sense of smell. It turns out that it is considered essential magic among magicians who have lived as explorers.»
«Ohh, I see. But can't you throw it at other people too?»
«Hey... yo, I'm not familiar with changing formulas yet...» Dwalkie was proudly explaining his new spells when he stopped.
I chuckled. It's not that I didn't know, it's that I didn't know how to do it. «Change the formula» was more or less what fed the wizards of the magic tower. Although basic spells were taught for money, they never revealed how to transform magic or create new types of spells.
When the duration of the Paralysis Poison expired, my captive suddenly began to scream and squirm. «Let's make a deal! If you let me go, I'll give you information».
«Information?»
Preventing Dwalkie from casting Paralyzing Poison again, I asked the man a question, who was quick to add: «That crazy bitch! If you catch that crazy bitch, you'll make a lot more than me!».
«Bjorn, why are you listening to him? It is clear that he does what he can to live».
That's what I thought too, but one word stuck in my mind. «... Tell me more about the crazy whore.» It was worth listening to.
Negotiation: The act of persuading and arguing to make a decision. This was both reasonable and irrational. If it weren't on equal terms, in the end, someone would lose like that.
«... Before I tell you, I need a promise!»
«Dwalkie, just do it like before-»
«I'll tell you!» Not wanting to waste this opportunity, the man began to explain his situation. «There are many other people who live in this sewer besides me. Normally, it is difficult to see them because they know the paths of the patrol cars and can avoid them...»
«Concisely.»
«...A crazy bitch stole my hiding place a few days ago».
To summarize the history of man, it was like this. He was doing quite well in the sewers, when a woman came and took his house. She was no ordinary woman. Although she looked small, she had no choice but to throw him out because she had skeletons with her.
«Skeletons? Aren't they just people who took the essence of Nekramia?». Missha tilted her head.
But the man seemed convinced. «I don't know exactly what it is. However. It was completely different from the Labyrinth skeletons! I was also once an explorer, so I'm sure!».
«So what is your conclusion?»
«It has to be evil black magic. If you hand her over to the temple, you will surely receive compensation. Money that won't even compare to what you'll get from me!»
I thought about this for a moment. The moment was too coincidental to let go. A woman who hid in the sewers a few days ago and used evil black magic...
«Could it be that woman?»
«Elisa Behenk». Surely he had no choice but to hide here».
Brown and Hikurod thought the same. They swallowed and each added their thoughts.
Damn, could it really be that bitch?
I needed to know more, because there wasn't enough evidence to be sure. «What was he wearing? Describe it to me in detail».
«She was wearing a robe and her face was covered with a hood, so I couldn't see her clearly. I knew it was a woman from the lines of her body and her voice, but that's it».
«Ya veo.»
«Oh! Come to think of it, she was wearing a very unusual necklace...»
«What shape did it have?»
«It's hard to explain in words».
I had an idea of what it was and quickly took out an item from my backpack, the Karui church symbol that I found while rummaging through Hans' backpack the other day. «Was it something like that?»
«Yes! It was just like that!».
I sighed deeply as I looked at the man nodding. The chance that she really was that bitch increased dramatically.
«What are you going to do?»
«I'm thinking», I told Missha.
«Hahaha, what are you thinking?! We have to catch her now and get justice!»
Justice my ass, you just want the reward money.
Anyway, if Hikurod was an extremist, Brown was on the moderate side. «I think it would be better to go back to the administrative office and present an official report. We're still not sure it's that woman, so why take the risk?».
Both of their opinions were definitely correct. If we caught it ourselves we would earn the reward money, but if we didn't take the risk, filing the report would leave the matter in someone else's hands.
There is something that doesn't add up to me.
If Elisa was the crazy slut this guy was talking about, it was especially disappointing to come back like this. Elisa wasn't just a slut, she was one who held a grudge against me. Therefore, I was worried inside that he might be up to something in the shadows.
Even if the administration office or temple cooperated to send people here, it would take several days.
In the meantime, if she ran away, I'd have to keep feeling that way. «I want to check it, but what do you think?»
Missha accepted immediately. Dwalkie, who was in a neutral position, also cast a vote in agreement with the decision of his best friend, the dwarf.
Brown was worried, but followed the majority vote. «Since the four of you agree, I will follow you. But first, how about we finish the patrol search?».
«You're right. Let's do it».
Soon, we moved a little faster and finished patrolling the route designated by the administrative office.
«Where is your hiding place? Take me there». I ordered the prisoner.
«Promise me you'll let me go».
«If she's the woman we're looking for, or if I think she's worth it, I'll let you go».
«Okay, follow me».
I stopped him. «Wait, put this on first».
«¿Eh?»
No, huh. I tied a rope around the man's waist. He had a bewildered expression on his face. Then I grabbed the remaining long rope like a dog leash, as it would be annoying if it escaped, you know? «Okay, now that it's done, take the lead».
«...The path is not on the map, so follow me».
Soon, the man began to find his way through this labyrinthine sewer. It was then that I realized the structure was truly complicated. Up until now, we had only walked along the main path where the sewer water flowed, but if you squeezed through a narrow gap that looked like a wall, you'd find a new space. Then there was a fork in the middle, and somewhere along the way, you had to climb through a hole in the ceiling.
At this point, a question arose: "Why did you hide in a place like this?"
"I've been wandering around looking for a new hiding place. Then I heard you from afar, so I had no choice but to hide in a hurry."
I see. He was lucky too.
"We are here."
The man stopped in front of a hole about two meters in diameter. He didn't know what the area was designed for, but it seemed that if you followed the path toward the hole, you would find a large open area.
"From now on, everyone lower your voices," I ordered them.
"Haha, this is quite desperate."
Unlike Hikurod, who seemed a little excited, or Missha, who was a little scared, I wasn't too worried. As it happened, the five of us were together in the sewers. We were all much stronger than we were back then. If the woman hiding down there was Elisa Behenk…
"Hey, is there any way you can escape from inside?" I asked the prisoner.
"There is no other entrance but this hole."
This time, I could show him what justice really was.