My Villains Episode 042
11. Secret Passage (3)
I looked over the letter several times, but the contents were the same.
There was no way that my reading comprehension would suddenly drop after becoming a phoenix, so the letter meant one thing.
This was a reply to a letter that should not have been delivered.
“…What’s wrong with your expression all of a sudden? What is it?”
In response to Ellen’s question, who was staring up at my face, I handed the letter without a word.
The guy glanced at the letter once and then fell into thought with a serious expression on his face.
I don’t remember the exact details… Well, to be honest, I’ve never read it properly… The
‘evidence of infiltrating’ you get in the game was a letter from the bandits to the infiltrator in the city.
The quest I received after delivering the letter to Seongju, the captain of the guard, was the quest I was carrying out right now.
In other words, it was a contact with the reinforcements using a secret passage.
However, the letter I just found was clearly a reply written by an informant in the city.
It was decorated with words that merchants could exchange, but expressions such as ‘I will secure a route’ and ‘I will meet you’ were obviously dubious.
Besides, Torvald, who had this letter, was not going up to the city, but was heading outside using a secret passage. It must have been the way to return after receiving the reply.
After reading the letter several times, Ellen handed it over to Arnal, whose face was full of question marks, and said with a serious expression.
“There is a traitor in South Harbor.”
“that’s right.”
“What are you going to do?”
“…I’m thinking about it.”
This letter was evidence that the scenario of the game and the events in reality are out of sync.
It was similar to the attack of Ubar’s gang, but it was different. To put it simply, the fight with Poison was an event that existed in the scenario.
Even though the situation was different and the order was a little twisted.
On the other hand, what happens when a letter from the bandits is delivered to an informant and a reply is written?
Something that wasn’t in the original scenario happened.
It is unclear how this new twist will affect the scenario in reality.
After hearing our conversation, Grania and Arnal looked at each other blankly and then asked questions with puzzled expressions.
“why? What is written on it?”
“…? You gave me a letter.”
At my words, Arnal wrinkled his face and grumbled annoyed.
“Are you measuring reading lines?”
“What are you saying all of a sudden?”
“We can’t read, so please explain.” Oh right. Literacy was not common among the common people of this world.
It was normal for Grania and Arnal to not be able to read.
“Give me this.”
Mr. Luke, who received the letter from me, who was about to answer, narrowed his eyes and read the letter.
“Let’s see… The route your company is currently using…”
It was a pleasant voice at a reasonable pace. Thanks to this, Grania and Arnal succeeded in grasping the contents with just one reading.
“Top? Why are the demon bandits talking about the Merchant
?”
“It’s camouflage, of course.”
“Camouflage? Hmm.”
Seeing Arnal with a puzzled look on his face, it seems like a proper explanation is needed. It’s annoying, but I’ll have to explain it roughly.
“Listen carefully.”
-Currently, the route your company is using has many risk factors and is narrow, making it unfavorable for going up.
“The road that you bandits
are passing through is dangerous and narrow. You can’t use large-scale troops.”
-Four days later, at sunset, we will secure an official route. There are many derivative routes near the official route, so it is recommended to break through in various directions.
“Four days later, at sunset, I will sabotage the sewer guards. On the first floor of the sewer, there are so many roads that come up to the ground, so come up and play with various routes.”
-With 300 sacks, you will be able to maximize profits while maintaining speed.
“About 300 would be just right.”
– Please share the news with your friends in the south. They will also be happy to cooperate. In addition, please take special care not to infringe on the interests of the three parties.
“Friends in the south… I guess you mean the pirates. It’s about attracting them. It’s about telling people to be careful not to cut each other.”
-We will greet you with a green flag, so please do not make any mistakes.
“We’re holding a green flag, so don’t mess with it.”
– May 20th. by LC
“May 20th. Introvert.”
After my explanation was over, Grania, who had been listening with her arms crossed, said with a small moan.
“Hmm, it must have been true that the thieves were all one gang.”
“I don’t know if they’re part of a team or not, but it’s certain that they are cooperative.”
“On top of that, the traitor inside… It’s not an ordinary thing. We must inform the lord of the castle as soon as possible.”
At Grania’s question, Arnal stepped forward and objected.
“Once you found the secret passage. Wouldn’t it be better to solve the mission quickly?”
“This is our chance to uncover the traitor within. If you drag it out, you might miss it.”
“Well, you don’t know what will happen tomorrow, right? Since we snatched the letter, there’s no way thieves will come. It won’t be too late to spread the news after contacting the reinforcements.”
Then, Grania chinned the magician he had interrogated and asked in a negative tone.
“You still don’t believe that bastard, do you? Magicians might be guarding the exit of the secret passage.”
“Then you can go and get lost. Success is right around the corner, so let’s step back like this?”
“Success is right around the corner? We’re only half way there now. There might be some danger in the secret passage and beyond.”
Hmm what
While watching the conversation quietly, Ellen suddenly opened her mouth.
“Let’s check the secret passage for now.”
“A secret passage? why?”
“If things go wrong, you have to run away. The more options, the better.”
“It’s a choice….”
It means to secure a retreat so that you can escape with a request and run away.
Well, Ellen’s current purpose is to go to ‘Raven’s Cliff’, the area corresponding to Chapter 4. It wouldn’t matter to him what happened to South Harbor.
Grania, too, must have noticed Ellen’s intentions, and her expression darkened a bit. He seemed worried about his younger brother Farel, who was almost captured by the guards.
Arnal, who was arguing with Grania, also noticed this and quietly patted the leader’s shoulder.
Mr. Luke was quietly observing the situation. People from his hometown are probably lying down not too far away, but they don’t say much.
Are you trying to hide your impatience? It was fortunate for me.
Four pairs of gazes focused on me. It’s time to decide.
“…First of all, let’s start with completing the quest as the basic direction.”
In fact, I had no intention of turning my feet to the ground.
I am a veteran user who has cleared countless campaigns. I didn’t know the details, but I knew who the traitor was.
Considering the identity of the traitor, delivering this letter to the lord of the castle was highly likely to be in vain.
“Check the exit of the secret passage and retreat if it is blocked by the bandits. If not, find reinforcements and deliver the letter.”
It was like a kind of psychic ability to know the scenario that was unfolding in the future.
If I had to give it a name, would it be ‘a blurry future foresight’?
However, the ‘reply from the informant’ did not exist in the game.
If you repeat things that shouldn’t happen like this two or three times, the flow of the scenario will change drastically. In other words, the more time I delay, the more difficult it is to predict the future.
So don’t waste any more time.
“Instead, let’s hurry up a bit from now on. After making contact with the reinforcements, um- return to the city by three days at the latest.”
At my words, the gray-haired old man, the skilled warrior, the quick-tempered archer, and the newly learned magician all nodded their heads.
After recovering useful items, the corpses of the bandits were scattered into dust by Mr. Luke’s touch.
Among the bandits, the one who luckily survived was turned to dust after being stabbed in the neck by Grania.
It was an unavoidable choice, but I couldn’t stop thinking about killing a prisoner who couldn’t resist. But you can’t take him or release him. I had no choice but to shake off the awkwardness by repeating to myself that I was a thief who lied to the end.
In any case, we found a small cave behind a massive wall. At the end of the obliquely downward tunnel was a secret passageway.
One side of the secret passage was blocked by collapsed debris and large rocks.
Thanks to that, we were able to proceed with our search to the other side without worrying.
The narrow, pitch-black darkness, as if the head and shoulders of lime-coated bricks were touching the wall.
The secret passage was the same structure as the one seen in the game. However, because of the added sense of reality, I hardly felt used to it.
Things that could not be felt in front of the monitor – the thinning air and the slippery floor with the smell of old water – were to recreate the appreciation of the space.
Occasionally, a corpse worm larger than me appeared, but it was easily subdued by Ellen’s flame arrow and Arnal’s arrow.
Occasionally, there were those who luckily avoided those attacks, but in the end, they were only split in half by my pulse.
It was terribly disgusting to see the split carapace worm squirming and squirming in sticky bodily fluids. However, after some time, I got used to it, and after roughly removing his remains with my feet, I hurried my steps.
“ ooo ——-
Ellen, on the other hand, seemed to still be disgusting with the corpse bug, but whenever she passed the remains that had been pushed into the corner of the aisle, she shuddered. He paused for a moment, took a breath, closed his eyes tightly, shook his shoulders, and hurriedly walked past.
Colleagues had to be extra careful not to laugh at it. Except for me, of course. I laughed and teased you.
“Do not laugh.”
“Kuh, isn’t it too much for you to laugh and not laugh?”
“…A dog-like guy…”
I giggled at the guy who was grinding his teeth and walked away again.
Had I walked for fifteen minutes down that winding passageway?
What we faced was collapsed earth and sand. The secret passageway had both its beginning and its end buried in a mound of dirt. This shouldn’t be surprising given that this underground structure is a legacy of an ancient empire.
Arnal, who was looking at the mound of dirt with his bull’s-eye lantern, sighed in disappointment.
“Hey damn. Are you blocked?”
“no. There are roads on both sides.”
As I approached the burial mound and lowered my torch, I saw an open crypt on either side.
Perhaps one
is the way to the depths of the sewer, and the other is the way out.
Grania looked at the pitch-black darkness and expressed her doubts with a cautious expression.
“…isn’t it just a tunnel dug by an animal?”
“Maybe. But isn’t it true that the magicians came from outside? At least one of them will lead to the outside world.”
“That’s right. Ha, I should have asked the guy I caught earlier about the road.” When Grania clicked her tongue as if she couldn’t bear it, Arnal, who was looking into the dungeon with a lantern, smiled.
“Did he tell you correctly? It’s far better not to listen than to be confused over hearing nonsense.”
“Hmm. Still, it would have been better than no clue at all.”
A fruitless conversation. I took a step forward and cut off Grania’s regret.
