abcnovels
Chapter 20: The Price of Ignorance (6)
Chapter 20: The Price of Ignorance (6)
Chapter 20: The Price of Ignorance (6)
“Want me to praise your observant eyes?”
“Sounds about right.”
The Thief deftly deflected my sarcasm as he twirled his Kukri around. It was half the size of a normal dagger but still had quite some power behind it.
“Well then, Sir Knight. What brings you to these back alleys? Seeing how you came with one of God’s lapdogs in tow, did you decide to help them drag us away?”
“That crazy—!”
Looking at him, he seemed to have quite the temper as well. Considering he belonged to the back alleys, it wasn’t that surprising.
“…I don’t think it’s like that. They said they were investigating the case of our guys getting dragged to the Temple.”
“While going around with an Inquisitor?" ”
“They said that this might be related to Demons."
At the intervening pickpocket's words, the air seemed to shake.
“…Demons?"
The Thief looked at me as he pondered those words. Thanks to his hood, I couldn't see the upper part of his face, but I could see him tilting his head.
“Do you know where they took those they dragged away?"
“…Wait, are you saying that the Temple and the Demons are somehow related?"
I didn't know for sure. However, the likelihood the two were connected was about 99%, but I couldn’t be sure without looking into it. We should call it the Schrödinger's Temple.
With such useless thoughts coursing through my brain, I completely ignored the Thief's question.
“I asked if you know where they are."
“Hey, Mister. It's presumed that those bastards dragged more than 22 of my guys into the Temple! And here you are, asking me where they are, with a damn Inquisitor in your party. If you want me to answer, shouldn't you give me some information first?"
What the Thief said was quite reasonable. Was he supposed to be such a logically thinking character? I didn't entirely remember, because it had been a long time since I last played as a Thief. His personal Quest and battle mechanics were really boring, after all.
“If I knew the hidden truth, do you think I would have come here?"
“…!”
“And I’m not in a party with those two behind me.”
“…You’re not? Then why are you going around together?”
When I drew a strict line between us, I could almost hear the kimchi dumpling’s eyes popping out of her head. The Archmage also sighed, which seemed to have become a habit.
“…We’re not a party, just temporary companions. And also… we don’t know yet whether this has anything to do with the Demons. I’m here to find out about that.”
“Then who’s that Inquisitor?”
“She has been sent here by the Great Temple because of a different matter.”
Fortunately, the Archmage wasn’t one to be at a loss just because of a minor setback.
“…Please. I know you’ve lost faith in the Temple because of this incident, but we really have nothing to do with it. We also felt that something was suspicious about this matter and came here, so please, won’t you suppress your anger and cooperate with us to prevent any more people from getting harmed?”
He was also quite a logical person. The Thief finally shut his mouth. For about 30 seconds, an awkward silence swallowed all sound.
“Hey.”
Appearing to have finally made a decision, the Thief waved his hand. Someone crept out of the many alleys.
“Go and report to the others.”
“…Will you go alone?”
“I’m confident I can take them on alone if something happens.”
“Alright.”
Another Thief NPC quickly accepted his order and returned to the alleyway. At that moment, I could feel the other presences also slowly retreating, so I felt less worried that this might turn into a fight.
“…First, let me guide you. But damn, I really can’t put my faith in that Inquisitor. However, if it’s to prevent any more victims…”
After mumbling for some time, the Thief let out a sigh.
“Follow me.”
The Thief nimbly disappeared into an alley in an instant. I could have caught up with him right away had I been prepared. What an inconsiderate NPC.
?? Ominous Sign
? Talk to pickpockets: 2 / ??
? Talk to beggars: 0 / ??
? Move to the location where the victims have been taken?
Anyway, the Quest had updated.
* * *
“We’re almost there.”
The Thief guided us out of the slums and into the commercial district. He skillfully and stealthily moved through the colorful buildings instead of the streets, fearing someone might recognize us.
“We’re here.”
We finally halted at another alley’s exit. The Thief pointed to the building across from it without leaving the alley. It was a vegetable store where many people stopped by.
“…A vegetable store?”
The Inquisitor frowned, but neither the Archmage nor I doubted it.
“Right… I can feel a barrier around it. It seems someone skilled set it up. Had I not noticed, it would have looked completely ordinary.”
“…Well, it looks like I didn’t have to step up. As you said, there is a barrier around the door leading to the warehouse’s basement. I repeatedly failed to peek into it using magic.”
He wasn’t an Archmage for nothing, after all.
?? Ominous Sign
? Move to the location where the victims have been taken
? Find a way to infiltrate the place where the victims have been taken
? Find Traces of those who have been taken?
The Quest had updated again.
However, a sudden question came to me due to the conversation just now. Why did that Thief NPC recognize me but not the Archmage? If he was chosen as the Hero’s Companion, he should be fairly famous, right?
Was it because wizards didn’t go outside much that their faces weren’t well-known?
“Then… It’s really…”
“I don’t know if it’s related to the Demon King, but you can be sure they're doing nothing honorable down there.”
“…”
The Inquisitor’s face scrunched up. I could hear a slight creaking sound from the hand holding her mace.
“Anyway, how do we get in there?”
After gritting her teeth for a while, she opened her eyes wide. Her expression seemed similar to the one she’d worn when she attacked me that night, causing a chill to run down my spine.
“Could you dispel the barrier with some time…?”
The Archmage stroked his chin before shaking his head.
“I could under the right circumstances, but that wouldn’t be advisable. We would get caught before I even managed to dispel it.”
“Is there no other way?”
“Hmm… The barrier is specialized for concealing something, so it should easily break if one applied some physical force.”
There really was no easy way to go about this. Well, that’s how most games are, anyway.
“Then at night, we—”
“I’ll do it now.”
How long had it been since dawn? And they wanted to wait until night? Yeah, that didn’t sit right with me.
I didn’t have much time left anymore. I wanted to break through this dungeon and finish this Quest during my remaining time, at least.
I probably wouldn’t be able to do more than that, so at least let me do that.
“Are you crazy? There should be a lot of security measures in place”
“And the problem is?”
Despite the Thief’s remark, I drew my Zweihänder.
“Abduction should be a more serious crime than trespassing.”
“…!”
“Are you saying we should use these measures and wait for the guards from the station to come over? But that only works if the town’s leaders aren’t in cahoots with the Temple.”
That was also true. Looking at my Companion NPCs who disagreed with the player, I spitefully spat out some words.
“If you’re scared, then get out of my way.”
What if this caused some problems? There was certainly a tendency in games that the difficulty would increase if one tried to break through certain parts with brute force. That was probably why the game company made the NPCs advise the payer in this way.
However, allowing the player to at least try meant it could actually work. It wasn’t too late to go with the game company’s plan after I saw the result of my actions.
“You’re so reckless!”
“You seem to be mistaken about something. Do you really think that we have that much time?”
Furthermore, my instincts as a gamer told me that it would probably become a lot harder and not easier if we waited until nighttime.
It wasn’t just my instinct but also based on already released information.
“There are more than 20 offerings. There’s a living Demon Contractor in the Temple. Even though you’re a sage, can you not predict what this might lead to?”
“…!”
“They captured a Demon Contractor…?”
“…He’s right.”
I wondered if they would force me to wait until night. Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case, considering that the Inquisitor agreed with me.
“If this parish really is corrupted, they wouldn’t keep the Demon Contractor we handed over in the interrogation room for long.”
Alright. If the opinion between the NPCs was split, I could persuade them to enter now, right?
“…I don’t deserve to be called Archmage. I can’t believe I couldn’t even think of that. You are right. Let’s go now.”
Well, among the Archmage NPCs I had seen so far, none were actually worthy of the title, so I didn’t think he was to blame for anything.
There were so many intelligent characters in this world who were sacrificed just for the plot.
“…How hot-tempered.”
When even the Archmage agreed, the Thief whistled softly. It didn't seem like he would step back either, seeing how he took out his kukri.
“If there is even a hint that things will go south, I'll immediately bounce, okay?"
Right. None of the people I’ve heard say that actually ran away, though.
“So the timing when we rush in is—"
My character wasn't one to consider such things!
I stepped out of the alley holding my Zweihänder.
* * *
* * *
I even thought about running there but quickly abandoned the thought.
Anyway, the Thief said that the door was in the warehouse, so boxes were probably stacked on top of it. If I ran there, I would have to laboriously move those boxes while groaning, but that… wasn't really that cool.
“Ah, welcome! What would you like to buy…?"
I'd rather confidently walk in.
“Uhm, dear customer, you aren't supposed to go in—Kuurgh!"
Bam!
I hit the store owner in the stomach, making him collapse. After all, there was no way the store owner wasn't aware of the door leading to that basement.
That meant he was either a Demon Worshipper or a collaborator, and my character would never tolerate such people.
“Kyaaark!"
"Mister, you really have no chill."
“This is just too extreme."
While the Thief was correct, I just passed him over. And I didn't really care about the other two because they needed to get used to these kinds of things.
I calmly kicked open the door in the back of the store as though I hadn't heard them. I’d expected the door would lead to some kind of backyard, but it actually led to another room.
“What are you doing?!"
Another person working on some products in the alley next to the store—it seemed to be run by a couple—hurriedly rushed out and shouted at us.
There was too much distance between us for me to subdue them, so I decided to just ignore them. My gaze quickly scanned the room.
“I'll report you! Get out this instant—"
“I'm from the Temple. Please cooperate."
As the Inquisitor shouted, it seemed I had found the right place.
When I saw a door peeking out from under some boxes, I immediately kicked them aside. Since they were all empty, they instantly flew away at my kick, and I didn't end up hurting my image.
“Why is the Temple…"
“Well, why do you think we're here?"
I raised my sword as the Inquisitor dealt with the owner.
Crack!
My sword, clad in black energy, split the basement door in two. As I did, a sound like breaking glass sounded out for a moment, but it wasn't that important. It was probably the barrier shattering.
“…Demonic Energy."
I faintly felt something strange and ticklish within me. However, thinking it was likely nothing, I stepped on the broken basement door.
Crick, crack!
The door I had cut apart collapsed beneath my weight, revealing the entrance.
“Wh-what are you doing—!"
“Sir Archmage, please bind them!"
It was then that I could hear an angry voice shout out orders.
But it wasn't like I had to wait, no matter what they decided. I stepped into the basement as the shopkeeper was bound in bluish-white chains.
“From this moment on, we shall commence an execution in God's name. Evil shall be annihilated, and sinners shall be judged!"
The booming voice of the Inquisitor sounded out behind me, accompanied by the slamming sound of her shield.
“I never expected to see an Inquisitor in action right in front of me…”
As I continued down the stairs, treating that noise as background music, I could feel someone very close behind me. It was the Thief.
He was pretty confident before, but now he seemed scared again.
“Will it really be fine if we just go down there like this?”
“...Do your ears not work?”
“…Right, I’ll shut up.”
Trudge, trudge.
The stairs showed no sign of ever ending. Just how deep down was that basement?
“Wait a moment, please!”
By the time the Inquisitor and Archmage rejoined us from the back, we had already been going down for three minutes.
?Somon: Hidden Underground Path?
After we reached a straight hallway, the location name finally updated.
“I’ll take the lead.”
The Inquisitor suggested as such, striking her shield to announce its presence, but well. I knew it was efficient and really wanted to agree, but…
“Oh!”
“…Isn’t it you who doesn’t listen to people?”
I just ignored her and moved on. I heard the Thief muttering as I walked ahead. He had a good eye for understanding people, as expected of a Thief.
However, I wouldn’t cave because of that. Never!
I would never yield my battle position, so the rest had no choice but to rush after me. The Inquisitor, who had offered to take the front several times, sullenly accepted her position—third in line—after being ignored four more times.
“A door!”
Not too long after, at the end of the hallway was a creaking wooden door. I could smell a thick, bloody scent beyond it.
If it was what I thought it was, we should prepare to immediately attack or respond to an attack as soon as we enter.
I put my hand on the hilt of my Zweihänder and extended my leg.
Bam!
The door, which seemed to have been locked, opened wide with a single kick.
“Damn it, I’m still in the middle of summon—!”
“The Hero!”
“How the hell did she know…?!”
“Yes! Your executioner has arrived!”
“…The Hero?”
Beyond the door, I could see Demon Contractors hiding in this underground cave.
?? Ominous Sign
? Find a way to infiltrate the place where the victims have been taken
? Find Traces of those who have been taken
? Overpower and eliminate all enemies?
The Quest had updated.
“You worms… I see you conveniently gathered in one place for me to kill you…!”
“Face God’s judgment, you nefarious servants of evil!”
Hearing the Inquisitor letting out similar lines as me, I coldly checked the battlefield.
The open cave was quite large, and the Demon Contractors were currently holding a ceremony in it.
There seemed to be about ten? The three assisting from the back were the first to react as we entered.
“Tsk, buy us some time!”
“Hurry up!”
“Prepare to summon the Draugr!”
At the Demon Contractors’ roaring shouts, the corpses lying on the floor rose up.
?Skeleton ? A low-level Demon born when Demonic Energy enters a corpse with only bones remaining. It has neither intelligence nor consciousness; they simply wander the world following the instincts left in their fragmented bones.?
That was the first thing one might think of on hearing the word ‘Undead.’
“I’ll prepare some spells, so watch my back.”
“S-sure… That’s not too difficult .”
However, it was just as weak as it was common, so it didn’t feel like a threat. The kimchi dumpling, growling like a tiger, split their skulls left and right with her mace.
“Victory to my sword…”
“Do you think that your worthless struggling will work?!”
“Glory to the heavens…!”
“God is with me!”
I did the same with my Zweihänder. I would swing it after the Inquisitor blocked them with her shield, every blow sweeping all the skeletons away.
“Hear our plea, oh you who derive pleasure from slaughter. Descend upon this land prepared for your arrival.”
However, there were just too many skeletons, and the cave was much bigger than I’d thought.
“Feast on the flesh and blood we prepared for you. Give birth to Darkness and bring death to this world!”
Before we could even reach the Demon Contractors, they finished chanting their spell.