“Hey! You lot!”
“Hm? Who are those bastards?”
“…No idea. I have never seen them before.”
Several strangers appeared before the men guarding the entrance to the Abandoned Mine.
With the red sunset at their backs, the approaching men seemed strangely urgent.
“What in the world are you doing here? Have you not heard anything yet?”
“Cut the act. Who the hell are you?”
“You do not know who I am?”
“I have never seen anyone who looks like you in my life. Stop spewing nonsense and stay where you are.”
Red hair and green eyes were visible beneath the hood.
It was hardly an appearance one could easily forget.
One of the bandits leveled his spear at the stranger with open wariness.
The green-eyed man frowned, and the man beside him spoke.
“I’m Brunel, Underboss of the Black Hand. Have you never heard of me?”
“The Black Hand? What are they doing here?”
“Were they not all arrested a while ago?”
“That young bastard is their Underboss?”
Brunel felt relieved.
They were not entirely ignorant of the Black Hand.
That meant this could work.
“That is not what matters right now. Did some of your men leave as a raiding party?”
“They did, but….”
“We saw them on the way here. They were all captured.”
As Brunel rapidly explained, the bandits’ eyes widened.
“What?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Exactly what I said. They tried to launch an ambush, but they were attacked instead….”
“Fuck, what a load of horseshit! You expect us to believe that?”
The man who had pointed his spear at Glen now thrust it toward Brunel.
His face remained filled with distrust.
“The people we planned to attack today only have numbers! Fewer than thirty of them can actually fight! You expect us to believe our men lost to a group less than half their size? And who the hell is that bastard in the first place?”
“…He is the Deputy Captain of the Repen City Guard. We escaped together and were making our way here.”
“What? Some of the City Guard were still alive?”
“But the City Guard was recently….”
The green-eyed man listened to their murmuring for a moment before speaking again with a smile.
“Come now, my friend. Calm down. What is your name? There is something I would like to ask you.”
He slowly approached and casually offered the bandit a Silver Coin.
After hesitating briefly, Rotten lowered his spear and eagerly accepted it.
“…Ahem. My name is Rotten.”
“Very well, Rotten. Have you heard anything about the other members of the City Guard? Our captain is a man named Lakolin.”
“Lakolin? I think I have heard that name.”
“The men who supposedly came from the City Guard all….”
Everyone’s expressions darkened when the City Guard was mentioned.
“Hm? Do not tell me they are already dead.”
“I am not sure whether we should call them dead or alive….”
“Alive, my ass. Nobody who went inside that place ever came back out. Heh heh.”
Dead?
The green-eyed man frowned again.
He produced another Silver Coin and handed it to Rotten.
“Well, well. You are certainly generous.”
Greed began to gleam in the eyes that had previously been filled with suspicion.
“Explain it properly. Are all the members of the Repen City Guard who came here dead?”
“I do not know.”
“Come now. Is that how you intend to behave?”
“I truly do not know. I saw them enter the Abandoned Mine, but I never saw them again afterward.”
He did not appear to be lying.
Did he truly know nothing?
The man posing as the Deputy Captain fell into thought.
“Hmm….”
“Why are you so desperate to find them?”
“Ah, it is because of the Narcotics. Our captain hid a considerable supply, and I know where it is. I thought I might find him and retrieve it.”
“Narcotics? You mean Pilaf?”
When the man nodded, the bandit who had accepted the Silver Coins scoffed.
“The Pilaf is practically overflowing inside there. Why bother searching for that hidden supply?”
“Hm? Is Pilaf being manufactured inside the mine?”
“No, I do not know about that. I only know that there is a disgusting amount of it.”
“What exactly are they doing inside?”
The bandit’s expression hardened at the question.
“Listen. Everyone who became curious about that disappeared. Watch your mouth.”
When Rotten warned him with a grave expression, the Deputy Captain nodded.
“Thank you for the warning. Aside from the City Guard, have other people been taken inside?”
“You can assume that everyone they brought here was sent inside.”
“By those they brought here… you mean the people they abducted? Villagers and survivors from the merchant caravans they attacked, correct?”
“That is true, but… why the hell do you care?”
There was unmistakable hostility in Rotten’s voice.
He must have known that what they were doing was indefensible.
The man posing as the Deputy Captain stared at the entrance to the Abandoned Mine for a moment before sniffing the air.
His expression twisted, and he gave a slight nod.
“Hmm. I believe I understand the general situation.”
“What do you mean?”
“I will tell you later.”
He exchanged a few final words with Brunel.
As Rotten watched them, he began to feel that something was wrong.
The Silver Coins had persuaded him to overlook it, but now that he looked more closely, the man appeared far too noble to be a member of the City Guard.
…What had they said at the beginning?
A counterattack?
“Wait. What did you mean earlier? You said the raiding party was defeated?”
“Yes. Approximately half of them are probably dead, and the rest have been captured.”
“What? You expect me to believe that bullshit?”
“I personally killed around fourteen of them, so I can assure you it is true.”
“…What?”
“And now the number will become fifteen.”
Just as Rotten tried to ask what he meant, a sword plunged into his neck.
“Guh!”
“Wh-What is this?”
“A-Atta… Urgh!”
At the same moment, figures burst out from every direction and swung their swords.
The four bandits guarding the entrance to the Abandoned Mine were silenced in an instant.
Nedain addressed Glen, who had been disguised as the Deputy Captain.
“When you said you intended to gather information… I did not understand what you meant.”
“They did not know much more than the men we interrogated earlier.”
“Will we enter immediately?”
“We should. They appear more dangerous than I expected. However….”
Glen shifted his gaze toward Erdin.
His eyes had become subdued.
“Do you intend to come as well?”
“Of course.”
When he saw the fire burning in her eyes, Glen frowned.
“I would prefer you stayed here.”
“…Is there a reason?”
“You have not been a Full Knight for very long.”
This time, Erdin frowned.
…Was he telling her to remain behind because she was weak?
“By that logic, you should be the first one to stay behind, Young Master.”
Glen had only become a Full Knight approximately a month ago.
She was deliberately pointing that out.
“Furthermore… strictly speaking, House Northshine entrusted you to my care.”
“If I turn tail because it is dangerous, I will be dragging my family’s honor through the dirt.”
“You always have an answer….”
“Young Master, I am also a knight.”
Glen sighed.
Meanwhile, his attempt to protect her made Erdin feel humiliated.
“What if I order you to remain behind?”
“…Then you would be insulting me.”
Hmph. Insulting her, my foot, Glen muttered.
Erdin naturally bit her lip.
Their gazes met briefly before Glen looked away first.
“Very well. However, you will remain at the rear.”
“But that…!”
“Enough. This is an order.”
“…Yes.”
Her expression made it clear that she was not convinced in the slightest.
After confirming that, Glen turned toward Tilen.
“Dame Tilen, watch her closely.”
“Y-Yes!”
Tilen, who had frozen at the ominous atmosphere, hurriedly answered.
Glen was usually relaxed and composed, but now he seemed completely on edge.
“Good. We are going in.”
“Young Master.”
Nedain, who had been staring at the entrance to the Abandoned Mine, turned toward Glen.
His gaze contained a clear warning.
“You feel it as well?”
“…Yes. I cannot explain it precisely, but something feels deeply unsettling.”
Yes, unsettling.
The eerie Abandoned Mine gave off precisely that sort of atmosphere.
It was an unpleasant sensation Glen had experienced before in his Previous Life.
“Must you truly enter?”
“They said there are abducted people inside. We must at least investigate.”
Glen turned toward the people watching him and gave them a faint smile.
“Besides, after putting on such a grand display, retreating now would ruin my dignity.”
“…Understood.”
When Glen turned around and took the lead again, his expression had hardened completely.
This odor, this atmosphere, this sense of revulsion.
It was exactly what he had felt inside the lairs of Dark Mages during his time as Riklang.
“Let us go.”
Every Dark Mage Glen had known was the sort of person who would have been better off dead.
***
As they proceeded deeper into the Abandoned Mine, a nose-stinging stench assailed them.
It was a familiar and deeply unpleasant odor to Glen.
“Ugh, what is this stench…?”
“Quiet.”
When Tilen muttered from behind him, Glen immediately cautioned her.
Fortunately, the interior was not particularly dark.
Simple Illumination Magic appeared to have been installed at various points.
The moment Glen noticed it, he raised his left hand and gave a series of hand signals.
‘Nedain and I will watch the front. Krok and Tristan, watch the passage to the right. Erdin and Tilen, watch the rear. Everyone advance slowly.’
Unlike usual, his expression was rigid with tension.
Glen was deliberately conveying the gravity of the situation because Dark Mages warranted that degree of caution.
Glen and Nedain moved at the very front, followed by Krok and Tristan as the formation gradually advanced.
By the time they began growing accustomed to the stench, their surroundings had become increasingly grotesque.
Unidentifiable refuse, rubble, and occasional lumps of flesh whose origins could not be determined littered the path.
Then they reached a large chamber.
‘Those fucking bastards.’
Even Glen, who had prepared himself for the worst, could not help cursing inwardly at the sight before him.
“Th-That is….”
“Ugh… Ugh….”
People were imprisoned inside cages, all of them naked and staring blankly into space.
The rusted cages, splattered with blood in several places, were no better than those used for animals.
On the opposite side were traces of human experimentation.
People—no, corpses—lay strewn about like garbage.
Others were sprawled on the ground as though they were already dead.
Every one of them appeared to be under the influence of Narcotics.
After rapidly surveying the chamber, Glen urgently gave another series of hand signals.
‘Everyone hold. Watch the front. Search for hazards. If you identify a dangerous target, use your own judgment and kill immediately.’
After confirming that everyone understood his signals, he moved his hand again.
‘Nedain, follow me. Krok and Tristan, watch three o’clock relative to the front. Erdin and Tilen, secure the escape route and stand by. Everyone else, spread out, take cover, and maintain maximum vigilance.’
They dispersed according to his instructions.
Glen’s objective was the decrepit door visible ahead.
As he approached it with Nedain, a grotesque laugh rang out.
“Hee-hee-hee!”
Damn it.
The moment Glen heard that laughter, he realized that the possibility he had dreaded had become reality.
He knew the owner of that laugh.
No, it was an existence he could never forget.
Only one Dark Mage on the entire continent laughed in such a manner.
‘Enemy ahead. Use your own judgment. Immediate elimination required. We breach first.’
When Nedain nodded, Glen raised three fingers and began lowering them one by one.
Just as he lowered the second finger and prepared to spring forward—
“My! It seems we have uninvited guests! Or could this be an unexpected gift? Oh! I absolutely adore gifts! Gifts, gifts! Hee-hee-hee!”
Glen and Nedain froze.
“Oh? Are our guests feeling shy? In that case, I shall help you make your entrance myself.”
KRA-BOOM—!
With a tremendous crash, something smashed through the door and flew toward them.
What landed at Glen’s feet was a corpse.
A human corpse.
“Damn it! Get back immediately!”
Memories of his Previous Life surged through Glen’s mind, and he screamed almost convulsively.
“Corpse Explosion!”
BOOOOM—!
A tremendous explosion, accompanied by a mysterious voice, thundered throughout the entire Abandoned Mine.