Vol 4: Chapter 18
At night, most of the lights went out all at once. The moon and stars were not visible in this city. Individual houses which were slightly lit up and a few faint lamps hung from the dome ceiling were the only light sources. It was pretty tough to see even with my【Night Vision】. So, naturally, there were no underground humans walking outside anymore.
「Fuu…it’s finally night.」
I was lying on the roof of a high-rise building on the 10th floor. Mushrooms were all around. But since mica mushroom cultivation does not require labour, no one comes around to check on them.
The underground city was certainly large, but I was able to mark two places where the Levs might be. First is the building which the group who attacked me entered into. Second is the two buildings where armed underground humans were standing guard even in this dark night.
「I guess I’ll check them one by one.」
I made full use of【Sprinting】to run without sound and jumped from the edge of the building. When I landed on the next building on both hands and feet, there was almost no sound either–the skill【Jumping Technique】seems to have a positive effect not only on jumping but also on landing.
The guards on the lookout didn’t look up at the dome, so I was able to reach the first building in no time. It occupied more space and land than other buildings. Up to the 3rd floor it was square-shaped, and 4th floor onwards was three circular towers, as if it was added later.
The space between the adjacent buildings was narrow. Vehicles such as carriages could not be seen anywhere in the city. Although there was something like a wagon, the underground humans were pulling it instead.
「National Armed Patrol…」
The font was old, but I managed to read it. Those people I encountered seem to be civilians in military employment.
The entrance was a wooden double-door with a lock. A lock on the outside, so… Is there no one inside? No, I guess this works if they just want to lock up the Levs?
I pulled out the dagger I got from Grizzly Bear Berserker– No, I mean Border Earl Mule. This dagger’s blade, which is made of Mithril, has a slight white lustre.
The lock was about 1 cm thick, but it was just iron. I pressed the tip of the dagger on it and applied a little bit of force. And the lock was easily cut. I hid the lock ay a nearby stairs, opened the door, and went inside.
Moist air drifted about. I sniffed a certain odor that I didn’t want to, however.
「Smell of a corpse.」
A stench that cannot be suppressed from a corpse.
There was an ascending staircase in front of the wide corridor, and the corridors continued to the left and right of the staircase. When I closed the door, the corridor sunk into complete darkness. There seems to be nobody at all.
I lit up a light source on top of my head with【Light Magic】. Unlike【Fire Magic】, it does not emit heat, so it doesn’t burn even if it touches my hair.
I know where I have to go. I followed the stench and proceeded to the right side of the corridor, and came to a place that looked like a large room. When I opened the sliding door, a stuffy, nauseous stench spilled over.
「This is……」
It was certainly a large room. However, there were no desks or chairs. It was just a large room.
Rather, the military uniform of the Lev Magic Empire, which I am familiar with, entered my view.
45 corpses laid about. All of them were Levs.
This is not a corpse camp or something is it? Perhaps the military patrol found the bodies and decided to store them here for the time being.
I got out of the building, and breathed in – although not so fresh – way better air.
Although the corpses were already decaying, there were no signs that they were slashed with a blade or pierced with arrows according to【World Ruler】. So it seems that everyone died from the crash.
I was relieved that the underground humans did not kill the Levs.
「They are people who suddenly shoot arrows, after all.」
Why did the underground humans carry the corpses here? Only one “reason” came to mind–not for eating, obviously.
I went to check the next building to see if the “reason” was correct. It was the buildings with lookouts. There were two buildings; a luxurious one and a simple one. I presumed that there would be big-shots in the luxurious one, so I headed for the simple one.
「The entrance on the first floor is the only one, huh… The idea of a back door doesn’t seem to exist. Well, maybe because there are no main streets or back alleys in the first place?」
There were several bars nearby with brilliant lights in the otherwise quiet town, which seems to be the downtown area of the city. I can hear the hustle and bustle all the way over to the building I’m about to enter.
「Man, it’s so noisy every night.」
「That’s true. I wanna go drinking too, but the store closes when our night shift ends.」
「Why are we allowed to drink only after the lights are turned off?」
「Who knows, damn fool.」
I heard the lookouts talking… I thought that the patrol team I met was particularly boorish, but the lookouts also spoke like bandits would.
「What do I do? Should I enter through the window or from above?」
I looked up at the building. It was a five-story building, and mica mushrooms were also cultivated on the rooftop.
「From above it is.」
Although it will be a detour, I climbed along the roofs of the other buildings and made it to the top. And as I tried to enter through the roof which was unguarded–
「!」
I noticed just before jumping.
There was certainly a space for growing mica mushrooms on the roof, but ropes were laid about here and there. A trap that makes a loud noise by hitting a piece of metal if touched—a “Scarecrow”. Also called “Clapper”.
「I see. A trap is laid at the top to prevent intrusion.」
I ran again and jumped.
I just have to avoid the ropes. I landed silently and headed to the entrance to the 5th floor from the roof. Of course, I paid close attention to avoid the ropes.
The entrance was an iron door. However, the structure of the lock was simple, and there was only a latch on the other side, so this is where the dagger comes into play again. When I cut the latch open, the door opened as the hinge made a slight metallic noise.
「They should be here.」
I closed the door behind me. I adjusted my breathing and strained my eyes in the darkness.
I couldn’t confirm what kind of building this was, but there were signs of numerous people. Because the smell of food and sweat was mixed in the air.
I walked down the stairs. As soon as I entered the 5th floor, I found out what this building was.
The floor was lined with rooms with iron doors. Every room was the exact same, with a small window of 10 cm high and 30 cm wide at the bottom of the door.
Used tableware was placed in front of the door.
「…This looks like the right place.」
This entire building was a prison.
I heard loud snoring from one of the rooms.
