Catacomb Pantheon

I had the returned Azu take a bath, then sat her on the floor as usual.

Freshly scrubbed and warmed to the core, Azu was practically steaming.

I took down her account of the mission and drafted a report for the Adventurer's Guild.

Apparently a large party had bungled something and drawn in a horde of monsters. Complete disaster.

She'd come back later than scheduled, but they'd managed to get things under control, so Azu shouldn't face any penalties. If they tried, I'd contest it.

Progress had been steady, if gradual. I wasn't about to let anyone throw a wrench in that.

The combined parties had eventually gotten the mess under control, and from that point on, Azu had been able to fight to her heart's content.

A loose cannon, that one.

Throughout the debriefing, Azu kept sneaking glances to the side. Sitting there was, naturally, the newly purchased sister slave, Elza. Couldn't blame her for being curious.

But the fact that she didn't just ask told me she prioritized self-preservation over curiosity.

Report finished. I moved the papers aside.

"Good work. This one's just the quest reward, but well, not bad."

"Yes. I actually picked up some valuable materials too, but I dropped them during all the chaos. I'm sorry."

Azu bowed her head.

"It's fine. That was a stopgap job anyway. Now, I can see you're curious, so let me introduce her. This is Elza. She'll be joining you as a fellow adventurer from now on. She's a cleric, so your workload should lighten."

Elza bowed to Azu.

Azu shrank a little at the sight of a woman clearly older than her.

"It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise, Azu-chan."

Elza smiled warmly.

No slave-like deference from her, as usual…

But pairing her with the meek Azu might actually balance things out.

If she went too far, I'd rein her in.

"Now that we've got a cleric in the party, let's put her to use. Take a look at this."

I produced a quest form.

The Ash King's Castle, its underground catacombs.

A periodic culling of the Ruined Heim Catacombs. Apparently popular among clerics who doubled as adventurers.

Elza's face changed. As expected, a cleric would know about the place.

Her voice came out slightly harder than usual.

"Um, Master. Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. It's a routine culling. Proper forces will be deployed."

"That place is… no. If it's left unchecked, the undead will overflow."

Elza weighed her options.

"Is it really that dangerous?"

"Depends on the circumstances. If you two went alone, you'd die. Guaranteed."

"Eugh… I don't want to go."

I ruffled Azu's hair.

"Wha—Master, what are you doing?"

"I've told you before. You're mine, so I don't waste what's mine. Unexpected trouble is one thing, but I won't send you on quests where the danger is known from the start."

I showed Azu the quest form's map.

"Listen. This area was once the domain of a king called the Ash King, who wielded great power. A lot of time has passed since then. The castle and its catacombs have become a labyrinth, and everything else has weathered away."

"I see."

"The Ash King himself turned into a monster and roams the castle. Numerous subjugation squads and elite parties have challenged him, but all were defeated. They've given up on taking him down entirely. The castle is supposedly stuffed with untouched treasure."

Azu's face was edging toward tears.

"That sounds dangerous."

"It is dangerous. That's why you're not going anywhere near the castle. You'd die. This mission is the catacombs nearby. The burial grounds."

"A graveyard… I've heard that graveyards left untended for a long time… the corpses turn into monsters."

"Exactly. And the catacombs here are vast, with a massive number of bodies originally interred there. The remains are long gone, but their grudges linger. That residual resentment becomes raw material for undead to spontaneously generate."

"And when too many accumulate, they spill out and head toward populated areas."

Elza finally stopped weighing her options and joined the conversation.

"If the undead from there overflow… yes, this town would be directly in their path."

She'd come around, it seemed. I'd have made her go regardless, but this saved the argument.

Canceling a quest cost money and left a mark on your record.

"If you told me to go into the castle, I'd refuse even if you whipped me. But I understand. Still, you're sending a child this small into the catacombs too? That's going too far."

Elza moved to shield Azu, but it was Azu who objected.

"E-Elza-san!"

"Yes?"

"I can do work too. I'm not useless."

"That's not what I meant, but… I suppose you're right. Neither of us has value unless we're put to use."

Elza wrapped Azu in a hug. Then she turned back to me.

"Master. I swear by the Creator King that I will bring this child back alive from the catacombs. We can run if things go wrong, yes?"

"Of course. As long as there's genuine danger or a valid reason to abort."

"That's enough. One more thing, though. This quest actually pays, right?"

"Naturally. The quest reward itself is decent, but I sold all the holy water you made to the guild using this quest as the reason. You two actually going down there is practically a bonus."

Elza's eyebrow twitched.

I met it with a snort.

She looked like she wanted to say something but swallowed it. She knew her position well enough.

"I'm glad my hard work was rewarded. The quest form says we depart in two days. I'd like to gather the necessary supplies before then."

"A cleric's supplies for undead work are beyond me. I'm counting on you for that."

Elza channeled her frustration into hugging Azu again.

Azu just looked confused.

Undead monsters, being corpse and spirit types, left nothing behind when defeated. But they were excellent for gaining strength.

Because they weren't living creatures, they spawned readily. Perfect for pushing Azu further and testing whether Elza could pull her weight.