The Blade of the Backstreets (4)
“Do we truly need to go all the way to City Hall? Through this complicated sewer system, no less? We do not even know the way there.”
“……”
“Even if there is a tunnel leading all the way beneath City Hall, can that story possibly be true? It sounds absurd to me.”
Hakon’s voice behind me mingled with the sound of water flowing through the sewers. The distance between us was gradually widening because of his injured leg, but the situation was far too urgent for me to slow down and match his pace.
“Even if it is true, we cannot be certain that their leader went to City Hall under these circumstances. Would it not be more likely for him to flee the city?”
“An ordinary person would have done that.”
I quickened my pace.
A large rat suddenly emerged from a crack in the wall and darted past my feet, but I did not even glance at it. That was how urgent the situation had become.
“But that man Melvin is not ordinary. He killed one of his own subordinates with his own hands without so much as blinking. Even among villains, men like that are rare.”
“I encountered plenty of madmen during my life. However, no matter how insane they were, none had lost all sense of reason. Why would a mere gangster target the mayor’s life? There would be nothing for him to gain.”
“The situation is different if revenge is his motive. You heard what that man said as well.”
“That is true, but….”
Hakon trailed off.
He had clearly been troubled by what the man we interrogated had revealed before dying.
-Under the Boss’s orders, we have been digging a tunnel for the past several weeks. It connects the sewers to the underground storeroom beneath City Hall…. If the mayor showed any sign of betraying us or attempting something foolish, the Boss planned to use it to enter City Hall and take him captive.
It was an outrageously bold plan for a mere gang to kidnap the ruler of a city.
At first glance, it sounded preposterous. However, a madman like Melvin, who casually defied ordinary expectations, was more than capable of devising such a scheme.
Furthermore, the word “betraying” particularly troubled me. It implied that the Brotherhood and the mayor had previously been on the same side.
From that alone, it was not difficult to deduce what had happened.
“The Wyvern Brotherhood must have had some sort of relationship with the mayor from the beginning. Something caused that relationship to deteriorate, and they began clashing with each other. That is why Melvin devised a plan to harm him.”
“And the mayor used you to eliminate Melvin while deliberately concealing that connection?”
“That must be what happened. The damned bastard….”
My molars ground together at the realization that I had been deceived.
There had been something detestable about the mayor from the moment I first saw him.
“It is plausible, but I still find it difficult to believe. The prisoner may have lied to buy time for his leader to escape.”
“That may be true. However, if anything happens to the mayor, our agreement to receive soldiers will become worthless. We have to go there and confirm the situation ourselves.”
That was why the two of us had no choice but to follow the sewers toward City Hall.
I had informed the commander who led the soldiers during the subjugation of the Wyvern Brotherhood, but he had refused to provide any men.
-I apologize, but I cannot assign soldiers based on something so uncertain. We barely have enough personnel to transport the wounded and the bodies.
It had been a frustrating answer, but from his perspective, it was an entirely rational decision.
Anyone would find it absurd to hear that Melvin intended to infiltrate City Hall through a tunnel and attack the mayor.
“More importantly, you do not have to follow me. You do not appear to be in any condition to do so.”
Without stopping, I glanced over my shoulder.
Hakon’s face was clearly strained. He was forcing himself onward while dragging his wounded right leg, so that was only natural.
Continuing to exert himself without receiving proper treatment might worsen his injury. I could not allow him to follow me any farther.
“Return to the hideout. The soldiers should still be there. Follow them back to the Barracks and have your wound treated.”
“My duty is to protect you. Are you telling me to let you go alone?”
His injury must have flared with pain, because Hakon grimaced as he continued.
“We should return together instead. Even if we run blindly through the sewers, how are we supposed to reach City Hall? We do not even have a map….”
“Do not worry. I have a way. Return and receive treatment. That is an order.”
“Wait, my lord….”
Before Hakon could say anything else, I increased my pace and began running.
His presence soon disappeared behind me. Only the flowing water beneath the walkway and the sound of my own footsteps reached my ears.
[Zilvergard Underground Sewers]
[Zilvergard City]
Two Minimaps were displayed before me at the same time.
One showed the surface of the city, while the other depicted the underground sewers. I ran while comparing the two.
Naturally, if they intended to infiltrate City Hall, they would have dug the tunnel directly beneath it.
All I had to do was reach that point.
‘It is not far. I have to hurry.’
The thought of protecting the mayor who had deceived me made anger surge within me, but I forced it down and continued running.
“Yaaawn… I am beginning to feel sleepy.”
“Keep your eyes open. If the captain catches you again, you will lose your head.”
Two soldiers guarding a corridor on the second floor of Zilvergard City Hall were chatting with each other.
Although it was late at night, the oil lamps illuminating the building had not been extinguished, and Guards remained stationed throughout the premises.
It was an ordinary sight to the two soldiers.
“Besides, the mayor has not gone home yet. Knowing the captain, he may report you directly to the mayor. Then you will truly be in trouble.”
“Haah, you are right… When does that man ever go home? He practically lives in his office, so none of us can finish our shifts.”
“It is hardly anything new. Besides, did they not send a detachment into the backstreets tonight? I doubt the mayor will leave before he receives their report.”
“That is probably true. It seems we will not be going home early tonight, either.”
As they spoke, footsteps suddenly sounded nearby.
They came from the direction of the staircase connecting the first floor to the corridor.
STEP.
Both men flinched and turned their heads at the same time.
They had heard no one climbing the stairs, yet a footstep had come from that direction. They could not help but be startled.
“Who is there?”
“Who—”
SWISH!
A streak of light flashed with a sharp whistle.
A Stiletto thrust from the left pierced the exposed throat of one soldier above his armor.
The other suffered the same fate.
The bloodied blade was pulled free and immediately swept across the second soldier’s throat at a speed almost too fast to see.
“Guh….”
“Ugh….”
With faint death rattles, both soldiers collapsed helplessly onto the floor.
Melvin adjusted his grip on the Stiletto and continued down the corridor, leaving them behind.
He would encounter another four or five soldiers before reaching the mayor’s office.
However, they posed no problem to him.
“Who are you?”
“An intruder!”
Before he had taken more than a few steps, a group of patrolling soldiers emerged from around a corner and shouted.
Melvin moved far faster than their voices.
TAP!
He darted toward the right side of the soldier in front and drove his blade deeply through a gap in the armor at the man’s flank.
Attacking from the unprotected right side, beyond the reach of a shield, was one of his specialties.
He hooked the leg of the next soldier and knocked him to the ground before crushing his face beneath his boot.
He then avoided the spear of the third soldier charging toward him, broke the shaft over his knee with a CRACK, and stabbed the man to death with its blade.
“Guh! H-How…?”
The fourth and final soldier collapsed onto the floor when the strength fled his legs from shock.
Melvin had defeated three soldiers in moments with nothing more than a Stiletto.
Was he some kind of professional Assassin?
Melvin approached the trembling soldier.
The man had dropped both his sword and shield in terror. He did not appear to pose any threat.
Of course, that did not mean Melvin intended to spare him.
“Is the mayor inside?”
“Y-Yes! He is inside. P-Please….”
STAB!
Melvin thrust the blade into the soldier’s throat without hesitation and ended his life.
He wiped the blood from the Stiletto against the man’s collar and continued walking.
‘They were nothing remarkable.’
If the soldiers were this weak, there was no need for him to conceal his footsteps.
His business would soon be concluded, regardless.
STEP, STEP. BANG!
The office door flew open.
The mayor, who had been sitting behind his desk, sprang to his feet in alarm.
“M-Melvin?!”
“It has been a while, Mayor Yakov. It has been quite some time since we last saw each other, has it not?”
Melvin watched with amusement as the startled mayor frantically looked around before seizing a Ceremonial Sword hanging on the wall behind him.
The man could never pose a threat merely by holding a weapon.
“H-How did you get here…? D-Do not come any closer!”
“Oh? Do you intend to stab me with that? How amusing. If that sword so much as grazes me, I will bite my tongue and die immediately.”
Melvin snickered as Yakov pointed the Ceremonial Sword toward him with an awkward stance.
Watching him threaten someone with a blade that had not even been properly sharpened was almost comical.
“Stop doing anything foolish and put it down. Then come quietly with me.”
“C-Come with you? What are you planning to do to me?”
“Nothing particularly serious. Since we have not seen each other in so long, I thought we might share a drink. Of course, I also have a few matters to discuss over it.”
Melvin calmly wiped the blood from his Stiletto with a finger.
It was obvious what that “discussion” would involve.
Cold sweat ran down Yakov’s back.
“I-I told you to do only the work I assigned! Your men began running wild on their own! If you had simply done what I ordered, I would never have gone this far!”
“Oh? You intend to deny everything now? How absurd.”
Melvin answered and walked toward Yakov without hesitation.
The terrified, trembling mayor and the perfectly composed Melvin formed a stark contrast.
“We can discuss that gradually. After we move somewhere else.”
“N-No! Please!”
It was obvious what would happen if Yakov were abducted by such a merciless man.
He would either die under torture or barely survive after losing everything, leaving him no better than dead.
Overcome with terror, Yakov continued backing away.
Eventually, his back struck the wall with a THUD.
“No! Do not come any closer! I—”
BANG!
At that moment, the office door flew open, and someone stepped inside.
Melvin whipped his head around and saw him.
“…Well, would you look at that? Did you follow me?”
Melvin narrowed his eyes at Dieter, who approached with a mace and shield in his hands.
He had considered the possibility from the moment he escaped the soldiers who stormed the hideout, but he had not truly expected Dieter to pursue him all the way here.
“How did you know I would come to City Hall? Did someone other than Claude talk?”
“Something like that. He told me willingly just before he died.”
“Ha! Of course he did. There truly is no one worth trusting.”
Melvin gave a hollow laugh.
He had never trusted his subordinates to begin with, so he had anticipated the possibility. Even so, he had not expected them to reveal everything.
“In any case, do not come any closer. Take one more step, and Mayor Yakov dies.”
“You should be the one to discard your weapon. Do you truly believe you can escape from here unharmed?”
“We will not know until I try.”
Melvin strode toward Yakov, struck his hand aside to make him drop the sword, and kicked him forcefully.
THUD!
“Ugh!”
Yakov slammed against the wall and slid down onto the floor.
Without sparing him another glance, Melvin approached the desk and began pulling open the drawers one after another.
“Good. Here it is. Do you know what this is? It is a Contract written by Yakov and me. It states that he pays me, and I handle troublesome matters in return.”
Melvin eventually held up a document and waved it in the air.
Dieter’s suspicions had been confirmed.
“You had an arrangement with the mayor?”
“Something like that. To be precise, he employed me.”
“The mayor of an entire city privately hired a gang? For what purpose?”
“To do what a mayor is supposed to do—control the city.”
Melvin stuffed the document into his trouser pocket and continued.
“I am a former member of the Thieves’ Guild. Ever since I left the guild several years ago, I have been working for that man. My job was to intimidate his Opposition Faction and occasionally impose harsher measures. The sort of work commonly called dirty work.”
“……”
“Yakov must have been pleased with how I handled things. One day, he brought me a group of mercenaries and told me to work with them. He also asked me to train them in my methods.”
“Was that the Wyvern Brotherhood?”
“Correct. We disguised ourselves as a gang, but our primary purpose was to conduct covert operations that allowed Yakov to govern the city without difficulty. This matter was no different. The owner of a shop dealing in Mersia Tea Leaves is one of Yakov’s political opponents… You understand what I mean, do you not?”
Dieter understood.
It had been strange from the beginning that a mere gang possessed enough money to smuggle such an enormous quantity of tea.
Yakov had apparently funded them to smuggle the tea leaves and flood the market, lowering their value and causing his political opponent to suffer losses.
“However, after using us as much as he pleased, he eventually began trying to cut us loose. The moment I noticed what he intended, I began preparing to retaliate. I could hardly allow him to dispose of me without resistance.”
“……”
“Listen. I have a proposal. Turn around and leave. Why do we not simply go our separate ways?”
The smile vanished from Melvin’s face.
It signified that he was making a serious proposal rather than a joke.
“From what I can see, that man is using you just as he used me. There is no reason for two men exploited by the same person to fight each other. Turning around and leaving would be better for you as well.”
“N-No! Do not listen to him! Please save me!”
“Shut your mouth, you filthy maggot!”
When Yakov desperately interrupted, Melvin shouted and kicked him.
Dieter watched with an impassive expression before silently raising his shield and assuming a fighting stance.
That was his answer.
“Ha. Very well. So you intend to die as a puppet…. No hard feelings, young man.”
Melvin muttered with a regretful expression.
He drew another dagger from his waist, roughly pulled Yakov to his feet, and forced him to brace one hand against the desk.
THUNK!
“Aaaaaagh!”
He drove the dagger through the back of Yakov’s hand as though hammering in a nail.
The mayor’s scream echoed through the office.
After immobilizing Yakov, Melvin adjusted his grip on the Stiletto in his other hand and assumed a fighting stance, just as Dieter had.
“Very well. Shall we begin?”
Before he had even finished speaking, his hand lashed out like lightning.