"Yes! I hear it! I hear it loud and clear!" "Really? Then start by introducing yourself." "I'm, uh, I'm Ned, my explorer rank is Regular... my position is in the frontlines, and my age is..." "That's enough."
If I leave him alone, he'll probably start listing his body asurents next.
I get that he wants to live, but if that was the case, he shouldn’t have picked a fight in the first place.
"Was there a half-elf among the rookies you robbed?" "Uh, no! Absolutely not!" "Really? Lying won’t end well." "I-I swear, there wasn't!"
Seems like he’s telling the truth.
Not that it matters much. With Leif’s skills, would she really have been captured by scum like this?
And these rookie-robbing thugs may all be of Regular rank, but to be a guide, the minimum requirent is Senior.
These fools probably noticed a was a demon warlock and thought they could take her. But no matter how much of a surprise attack it was, a Senior wouldn’t go down so easily.
"Alright, I got it. Then..." "Wait."
a, who had approached , interrupted just as I was about to pull the trigger of my magic bullet.
a squatted down and locked eyes with the guy in front of us.
"I’ve been thinking. You lot don’t seem like simple rookie-robbers." "What...?" "For a group of rookie-robbers, your supplies are too well-stocked."
a took a bite of the soup I’d made.
"The level of gear you're packing isn’t what rookie-robbers would bother with. You were planning an expedition, weren’t you?"
As expected from a veteran.
Ned's eyes shook violently under a’s interrogation.
It must have been a secret he didn’t want to reveal, even on the brink of death.
Despite having fallen so low as to rob rookies, sowhere deep inside, he still harbored the yearning for mystery and the unknown that all explorers possess.
"Talk." "...Will you spare if I do?" "Who knows."
a clearly had no intention of letting him live.
Life for a life.
In the Abyss, those who fail to uphold the unspoken rule and show rcy typically et a grim end. The rule is a law etched in blood.
"But I will release your soul." "...Hah."
It was a deal only possible for a demon warlock. In truth, very few demon warlocks can freely manipulate soone else's soul, but what would they know?
Demon warlocks are a class already surrounded by all sorts of rumors due to their rarity.
Even if their heads try to deny it, facing the word of a demon warlock—who can overpower even holy magic—fills their hearts with dread.
He hesitated, torn between accepting the deal or clinging to the slim hope that the uncertainty might sohow turn in his favor.
"If what you say is believable, I won’t kill you." "...Really?" "I’ll hand you over to the guard. If you're lucky, you might survive."
Execution was nearly certain, but if he could prove his cri was just an attempt, he might end up as a slave instead.
Ignoring a’s piercing gaze in my direction, I looked down at Ned alone.
It was a good cop, bad cop situation, and Ned ultimately chose to trust the good cop.
"...A while ago, I stumbled upon so information. There's an undiscovered ruin sowhere."
Scholars speculate that the structure of the Abyss is like an inverted cone. In other words, the first layer of the Abyss is the widest, and it narrows as you go deeper.
Over a hundred years have passed since the Abyss first appeared, and yet much of it remains unexplored. Even on the first layer.
Explorers have risked everything on ventures beyond the known routes, but to this day, no complete map of the first layer exists.
So, the claim of an undiscovered ruin isn’t entirely implausible.
Ned started spilling everything—how they ca across the information, where they thought the ruin was located.
But it wasn’t anything particularly amazing.
The information was full of holes, only suggesting a general area, without any concrete details about the location, the type of ruin, or even the monsters that might be there.
But the fact that it existed, that much he was certain of.
"Soon, others will likely find out as well. I can tell you where we got the information when we reach the base."
After hearing Ned’s testimony, I interrogated the other three as well, but they all said the sa thing.
It wasn’t just so nonsense Ned made up on the spot.
"What do you think?"
a asked bluntly. She still seed a bit annoyed that I stopped her from executing them right away.
Her question was missing a few elents, but I understood the aning perfectly.
"Are you saying I get to decide?" "Normally the guide decides, but this case is special."
An undiscovered ruin.
For explorers, it's a dream they can never give up on, even if it ans death.
"I think it’s worth checking out."
a nodded in agreent. Although we were on the first layer, with a Senior explorer like a by my side, most dangers would be manageable.
"But we go to the base first. If anything feels off, we abandon it." "Understood."
My first night in the Abyss was spent with four unwelco guests.
I left the post-al cleanup to the forr rookie-robbers—now hostages, soon to be either corpses or slaves—and had a discussion with a about how we’d spend the night.
Well, it was more of a briefing from a than an actual discussion.
"I’ll stand watch. You get so sleep." "By yourself? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?"
This whole situation was my fault.
a had wanted to deal with the four of them and move on imdiately. I was the one who insisted on interrogating them and bringing them to the base.
So, keeping an eye on them should be my job, not hers.
"I should stand watch. You should rest, a."
Honestly, even if all four of them tried to rebel at once, I’d win easily. With the magic I’ve already planted inside them, it’s over.
The priest might be a bit tricky, but I could always use teleportation to get out of that.
"No. You sleep." "I’m fine, really. Letting you stand watch by yourself doesn’t sit right with ." "I don’t sleep. Don’t worry about it. When people co to the Abyss for the first ti, the air here can really ss with their fatigue levels." "I'm pretty sturdy."
This was going to turn into a tug of war where we’d keep insisting the other person rest.
"How about we split the watch?" "Fine. I’ll take first watch." "Whatever you say."
a set up an alarm spell, one of the five basic spells, to keep watch for us.
The spell activates and makes a loud noise when certain conditions are t.
Satisfied, a cast the spell on the cage she made for the hostages and finally returned to her spot.
After lighting up our temporary shelter with a light spell, she pulled out a notebook and started writing sothing down.
"Are you writing an explorer’s log?" "...Sothing like that." "Can I take a look?" "It’s not very interesting." "Still, it’s all learning, right?"
I peeked over a’s shoulder as she wrote. She was so small that I didn’t even need to crane my neck to see.
Her notebook was simple, as she’d said.
What ti, where, with whom, what, how, and why.
Just the bare essentials recorded in a straightforward manner, starting from when she t today.
"You're very thorough. Is this how most people write their logs?" "...I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone else’s."
a’s handwriting had an oddly serious tone to it, each letter written with care.
After finishing her notes, she snapped the notebook shut with a decisive clap and looked up at .
"I’m done. Now go to sleep." "Make sure to wake when it’s ti."
I set my own alarm spell, so I’ll wake up when it’s my turn.
"You didn’t wake ." "I did. Once." "You even deactivated my alarm spell." "...I don’t know what you're talking about."
This woman, should I call her stubborn or just overly diligent?
In the end, a stood watch all by herself.
She even disabled the alarm spell I’d set up to make sure I didn’t wake up.
"I appreciate it, but don’t do this again. Do you know how shocked I was when I saw the alarm spell was gone?" "...I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about." "Anyway, next ti, I’ll take the first watch."
Without answering, a quickened her pace and walked ahead, almost as if she were running away.
We walked for so ti.
We set off in the morning, and by the ti the sun was between noon and evening, we reached a village.
It was the main base for the first layer of the Abyss, the only one directly managed by Les Rin.
The Main Base.
It was practically a city of its own. Though it looked about half the size of Les Rin, that only seed small in comparison to the enormity of Les Rin itself. The Main Base was far from small.
Approaching the fortress walls of the Main Base, a turned to the four rookie-robbers, now tied up like fish on a line.
"When we get to the base, we’ll head straight for the guard. But first, tell where you got your information." "There’s an informant nad Vallen. People call him the Shadow Hand." "Shadow Hand Vallen. Got it."
If you don’t talk, you die. If you're already dead, I’ll take your soul. If you're enslaved, I’ll take your life.
I wasn’t the only one who interpreted a’s words that way.
We entered the Main Base and went straight to the guardhouse.
The guardhouse at the Main Base.
There was a lot of commotion inside.
"No! I’m telling you, we were ambushed! Chief, you know , right? Ned, it’s , Ned! When have we ever really broken the law? Sure, we’ve handed over so rookie-robbers, but we’ve never committed any real cris. You know we’ve never dodged taxes on our mana stones, right?" "Yeah! We were sleeping when they attacked us! And now they’re accusing us of being rookie-robbers..." "Look at this! This wound, it’s from a demon’s poison." "They’re demon-worshipping bastards. How can you trust anything they say?"
The voices ca from right in front of us.
The four rookie-robbers were pleading their case to a guard chief they seed to know well.
Ha, did these punks forget who I am?
Repaying my rcy by stabbing in the back?
[This is too much. I can’t forgive this.] [Kill them.]
Yes, yes, demon lords.
I’m not the kind of contractor who holds back when you tell to kill soone.
‘I’ll pay them back properly.’
So, how do I deal with them?
I could crush their claims with logic, charge them with fraud, and pile on more cris.
2 against 4.
Their side has a holy priest, which is a good match against a demon warlock. And I’m still just a temporary explorer without a proper title.
Obviously, it’d be more reasonable for them to be seen as the rookie-robbers.
‘The problem is that they seem to have so connection with the guard chief.’
Maybe I should let them go for now, then kidnap them later for a private lesson in pain?
I could pretend to compromise, then catch them off guard afterward. What are they going to do, stop when I use teleportation?
In my head, I ran through over a hundred ways to crush them, all of which the demons in my head approved.
But none of those plans would be necessary.
A faster, more certain thod had already appeared, walking towards on two legs.
"Roman? What brings you here?"
A voice full of warmth and familiarity that anyone would recognize.
There’s only one person in the guardhouse who would greet this warmly.
"Ah, Lady Fiona."
The Grand Duchess has arrived.
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