With the fire-engulfed slime reduced to a gooey lump of charcoal, I decided it was time to call for a break. Our exploration of Subterranean Level 4 had come to an end, making it the perfect moment to take a meal break.
Nearby, a staircase led up to the third level, so I led the way in that direction.
As Luke and Arnal set up a small fire near the stairs, I assisted Grania in removing her damaged armor. The acidic discharge from the slime had taken its toll, leaving her armor rusted and disintegrated at several places. I carefully peeled off its attached metal plates and rings.
Though her armor had served its purpose by keeping her alive, there was no point in lamenting its damage. As I helped her out of the ruined armor, a piece of her peeled-off skin got stuck to my sleeve, causing me to cringe in disgust.
“Urgh, your skin is peeling off. Does it not hurt?”
“Hmph, of course, it hurts.”
I sprinkled water on her arm, which had been exposed to the acidic fluid, and Grania gritted her teeth, letting out a groan. Her arm was covered in alarming red swelling and white bubbles—a nauseating sight.
As I wiped off the moisture with bandages and applied ointment, I couldn’t help but reproach her, “Have you never encountered slimes before?”
“How would I have seen a creature that only appears in dungeons? Could you please be more gentle? It stings.”
“You rushed in so recklessly. You almost died.”“Huff—well, that’s true.”
I couldn’t believe that was all she had to say. Grania responded tersely, then uncorked a leather flask and gulped down its contents, seemingly unfazed by my words.
“I thought you were more careful. Why did you behave like that?”
“Why did I behave like that? I was just doing my job.”
“Your job?”
In response to my question, Grania furrowed her brows, as if wondering why I would ask such a thing.
“Ellen is a wizard, isn’t she? She’s fragile and needs to be protected.”
“Didn’t you see me trying to fend off the slime?”
“Do you want me to stand by, twiddling my thumbs, hoping that you’d manage?”
“That’s not what I’m saying, but…”
“Ugh, can we stop this pointless interrogation and just bandage my wounds?”
“…Alright.”
As I wrapped a bandage around Grania’s shoulder, I found myself lost in thought. Tying the knot at her scarred and muscular elbow, I finally spoke up.
“So, you did all that to save Ellen?”
“It’s just my job.”
I frowned, peering into her eyes, which seemed melancholic at a glance but sharp upon closer inspection. I couldn’t quite understand her reasoning.
“But Ellen hasn’t been particularly kind to you.”
“So what? How does that matter?”
“I mean, given how Ellen treats you, was it worth risking your life for her? She is usually harsh and, to be blunt, rather annoying.”
At my question, Grania briefly glanced at Ellen, who was engrossed in tidying up the room. Confirming that Ellen was preoccupied, Grania shrugged and responded in a hushed voice.
“Honestly, what I did wasn’t for Ellen.”
“Then?”
“Hmm. If I must explain its value—it was for my own sake.”
“For your own sake…”
As I pondered her words, I began to bandage Grania’s lower arm, which had been exposed due to her sleeveless top. Her muscular arm was marred by faded scars, new burn marks, and distortions due to the recent damage.
“I am a mercenary. I get paid to work for others, which often involves fighting.”
At twenty-seven years of age, in my former life as Kim Seung-soo, people of my age were typically job-seeking graduates or junior employees. It was an age of innocence tainted by the harsh realities of life.
“My value is defined by stepping into danger, facing formidable foes with my sword, and shielding my comrades from harm.”
In this Middle World, Grania, at twenty-seven years old, was an experienced mercenary with countless scars and a toughened heart. She was a warrior who drowned her guilt of killing and grief for lost comrades with cheap liquor.
Attempting to hide my sense of alienation, I asked her again, “Do you feel the need to prove yourself even in this underground place where no one is watching?”
“Who said no one is watching? There’s you, Luke, Ellen, and even Arnal.”
“I suppose.”
“Even if there was no one, it wouldn’t change a thing. I am the leader of a mercenary group. I can’t afford to lose face.”
Grania’s dark brown eyes spoke volumes. It was challenging to put it into words, but if I had to, it was a certain kind of pride.
In the Middle World, small-time mercenaries were often seen as lowly, akin to thieves or bandits. Grania was well aware of this perception, yet she held a strong sense of duty towards her profession.
When I first encountered Grania, I couldn’t understand how someone with her relatively small stature – which was still quite large for a woman in this world – could lead a gang. At that time, I brushed it off, attributing her leadership to her exceptional combat skills.
However, now I realized that even if Grania’s martial prowess were lacking, she would still have become a leader.
After finishing bandaging, I kept silent, tying off the ends of the bandage.
The world felt even stranger than when I was falling asleep on a straw-filled bed, drinking lukewarm and slightly bitter beer, or wearing oddly shaped pants.
The dinner that followed was surprisingly satisfying in its own way.
Considering it was a meal in the sewer, it was quite lavish, featuring smoked pork, boiled crocodile eggs, a millet pie, figs, and beer mixed with water.
Having such a generous meal was thanks to two factors: the substantial down payment of five gold coins we had received and the increase in the number of people, which allowed us to secure an ample amount of supplies.
Once my hunger was satisfied, I examined a copy of the blueprint handed to me by the guard captain.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
Ellen, who had been sitting nearby, crouched down, stared at me intently.
“What did you talk about?”
“What?”
“What did you talk to the old maid about?”
“Here we go again.”
I glanced around discreetly, but it seemed that no one had overheard her words. Perhaps it was because Ellen and I were sitting at a distance from the rest of the group.
The reason for our distance was that Ellen preferred to be alone and didn’t want to mix with the others. Despite my naivety, I was concerned about her and sat nearby.
I placed the map on my knee and brushed back my bangs.
“Can’t you just call her by her name? Do you have to attach such unpleasant nicknames like ‘old man’ and ‘old maid’?”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so. Why nitpick?”
“….. Sigh.”
I decided to let it go. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble by nagging. But once we returned to the surface, I was determined to give her a piece of my mind.
As I sighed with mixed feelings, Ellen flinched for a moment and then began to watch me out of the corner of her eye. She knew she had done something wrong.
That only made me angrier. If she was going to be wary after her actions, why did she do it in the first place?
Suppressing the words that rose to my throat, I spoke with an unaffected expression.
“I just thanked her.”
“For what?”
“For stepping up earlier and for fighting at the inn the day before yesterday.”
“Why would you thank her for that?”
Ellen looked genuinely puzzled.
Ah, I keep sighing.
“It was both times because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes. You got hurt trying to hold back the slime that was charging at you. Grania’s armor was damaged too. And just the other day, Anton got seriously hurt fighting a group of thieves at the inn. They could have been wiped out, but they stayed because they knew you were on the second floor. Of course, I should be grateful.”
Despite my words, Ellen scoffed, seemingly unable to accept the gratitude.
“Ha, I’m a wizard. I can handle a slime without any help.”
“Really? The one who was trembling and running away?”
“Trembling and running away! That was just… I was momentarily flustered. If it had attacked, I would have—”
“Yeah, yeah. Who knows what you would have done to the slime. But what about the day before yesterday? You would have died if it weren’t for Grania, right?”
At my firm words, Ellen fell silent. I playfully shrugged my shoulders, encouraging her to speak up.
“But why would you thank her for that? It’s my business.”
“You would never say something like that. Besides, you’ve never even had a proper conversation with Grania, right?”
“Well, that’s true…” She closed her mouth again and narrowed her eyes, searching for a response.
“Don’t try to find useless points to argue about.”
“When have I—”
“Again, you’re nitpicking. Are you grateful? Just say that.”
Ellen remained silent, but her usual demeanor made it evident that she agreed.
“Fine. If you’re grateful, at least speak kindly as usual. I won’t even expect you to converse properly with others.”
“Huh?”
“I’m just worried about you. I’m afraid you might get hurt if you continue behaving like this.”
As I softly admonished her, she squatted down, burying her face in her knees and grumbling.
“Why would I suddenly get hurt?”
“It’s a figure of speech. Anyway, be more cautious from now on, especially about using those nicknames for people. Old maids and old men are off-limits, okay?” Ellen, with her eyes half-closed, remained silent for a moment.
“…Understood. I’ll be careful.”
Finally, she agreed, slightly nodding her head.
For some reason, I felt proud and couldn’t help but smile quietly.
“Now then, how much time has passed?”
In response to my question, Ellen took out an object from her sling bag that looked like a clear seashell. It was a magical hourglass.
Though simple, its utility and compact size made it a staple for all the wizards in the La-Palais palace.
Ellen examined the hourglass and replied, “It’s been exactly twelve hours.”
“Twelve hours, huh.”
That’s ambiguous.
The ancient empire’s sewer system had been in existence for a very long time.
Over the years, due to the lack of proper maintenance, as one ventured deeper, it was common to find collapsed walls and leaking water.
The problem arose here.
The hidden staircase directly connecting to the secret passage from the fourth floor of the sewer had already collapsed.
Therefore, to access the secret passage, we had no choice but to navigate through the naturally formed tunnels.
The small consolation was that we could use the blueprints to determine the direction of the secret passage once we entered the tunnel.
“So…we need to find a way to the tunnel first, then find the way from the tunnel to the secret passage. That sounds like a headache.”
After a moment of contemplation, I addressed the teammates seated around me.
“Since we’ve cleared the surrounding area roughly, our only option is to find the tunnel… The situation in the city isn’t exactly relaxed, so we should hurry.”
Everyone seemed to be in agreement, which was reassuring.
“Luke, you mentioned you’ve been inside the tunnel before?”
“Well, strictly speaking, I didn’t go in; I fell in.”
According to Luke, about two weeks ago, he and some people headed to the sewer.
After some twists and turns, Luke’s party reached the fourth floor of the sewer, only to suddenly fall into a spacious cavity when the floor collapsed.
Most of them drowned or were eaten by monsters, but Luke, by some stroke of luck, managed to escape and climb back up.
“When we passed by earlier, I noticed a pile of dirt where the floor had collapsed. I’m not sure what happened, but digging there again might be dangerous. Plus, falling into a cavity filled with groundwater isn’t exactly a wise move.”
“That makes sense.”
As I nodded in agreement, Arnal, who had been fiddling with an arrow, chimed in.
“So, our only option is to literally dig through the ground?”
“…It seems so.”
Our exploration of the fourth floor was not just about hunting Ratmen. We also searched for small gaps or cracks that could lead underground, but to no avail.
What should we do? Scouring aimlessly seems foolish, but are we really out of options?
Despite our discussions, no viable suggestions were made.
“Well, we have no choice. Let’s search for a way down.”
“Aren’t we going back up? We need to reorganize.”
When Ellen voiced her complaints, which seemed more like a tantrum, I calmly reassured her.
“We don’t have the luxury to do that. We still have enough supplies, so let’s continue the search today and plan on camping here.”
Ellen pouted for a moment, but seeing everyone nod in agreement, she closed her mouth.
It’s good that we could consolidate our opinions without any conflicts, but…
Hmm, I have a feeling we’re in for a tough time.
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