The Suspicious Staircase

The guard patrol Azu brought took the men lying on the floor into custody.

Our account was accepted. Times like this really drove home the importance of everyday credibility.

Well, being connected to the princess and involved with a duke's daughter probably helped too.

"I thought they were pretty loose-lipped, but turns out they were just hired for money."

"Typical criminal thinking. Set it up so they can be cut loose at any time."

"No doubt about it."

Aogiri chuckled.

Apparently she had plenty of experience with this sort of thing.

We'd squeezed information out of them before the guard arrived, but perhaps because they were just underlings, we didn't get much.

First, we learned the mastermind's name.

Owen. Someone by that name was apparently behind all of this.

They'd hired the men through intermediaries, never appearing in person, so the men didn't even know if Owen was male or female.

"No time like the present. Let's hit them before they can run. You're a merchant, so you must know the lay of the land."

We'd also extracted the locations of several hideouts.

If word got out about the arrests, they'd likely destroy evidence and cut ties.

"Understood. If security deteriorates, it affects us too, so dealing with this quickly is a good idea."

"Right. I could go alone, but I've been told to follow your lead."

I nodded at Aogiri's words.

We'd bring everyone who could fight.

Kazusa could handle things here.

"Kazusa, I'm leaving things here to you. I think we should be fine for today, but if you're worried, you can close the restaurant early."

"Roger, Owner. The customers and everyone were a bit scared, but since we dealt with them so fast, they seem okay now. I'll keep the shop open until we sell out."

"I see."

A resilient answer.

As expected of a porter who'd survived dealing with monsters.

She had guts.

We set out with Azu and the others, plus Aogiri.

Yohane was the only one among us who knew every corner of the city.

Even though Azu and Alexia had gotten used to Kassad, it would be difficult for them to navigate to the hideout locations we'd heard about without a guide.

Moving at a brisk pace, we raided the hideouts one after another.

We'd been told of four locations, but half of them appeared to be unused, nothing more than storage sheds. They were probably squatting in abandoned buildings.

Knowing this was going to happen, Jacob had recently been putting effort into surveying the residential situation.

They must have been targeting the outer areas that the survey hadn't reached yet.

We didn't learn anything particularly useful.

At one of the remaining two locations, we found four people casually playing poker.

We captured them while they sat stunned at us suddenly kicking down the door.

We'd hand these guys over to the guard later.

This wasn't breaking and entering. We were counterattacking against squatters who had attacked us.

Honestly, that was a pretty weak argument, but we could probably make it stick against criminals.

We arrived at the final hideout.

Unlike the others, it was a fairly large warehouse.

There was no sign of anyone inside, but Finn's eyes couldn't be fooled.

In no time, she discovered a hidden staircase beneath the first floor.

When we removed an unnatural floorboard, it revealed itself.

Owen had probably heard what happened somewhere and escaped through this passage.

Or perhaps they were from a different city entirely.

Maybe they'd been working to damage Kassad indirectly.

If this passage led outside the city walls, it was a serious crime, potentially punishable by death.

The interior of a city must be safe.

This was absolutely essential for governing a city.

The walls existed to protect those inside from external dangers.

The gates existed to ensure that only those confirmed safe could enter.

All of that would become meaningless.

When the Sun God's bronze statue had rampaged before, it had been extremely dangerous.

Animals were attacked day after day, rumors spread that humans would be next, and the city had nearly collapsed into dysfunction.

… Though that was also the fault of the former lord's worthless son.

"Well, well, this is quite the find. What should we do? Just reporting this and having it sealed would have significant impact."

"True…"

This underground staircase must have been dug in secret.

Doing it without anyone noticing must have taken considerable time and effort.

Ruining all that would likely make them give up.

But that was only a possibility.

If this was done out of some ideology rather than for money, they'd do it again.

Because their decision to act wasn't based on profit or loss.

Just like how the Church of the Sun God members who had readily thrown away their lives weren't sane.

"Let's check it properly. We might be able to catch up, and even if we're just going to report it, we need to confirm where it leads."

"Alright. I'd like the little miss in black to take point."

"My name is Finn. Don't call me 'little miss.'"

"I'll remember that."

"Hmph. Well, there'll probably be traps, and we need to watch for ambushes, so I'm the only choice."

Saying that, Finn took a light spell from Alexia.

The dark staircase leading underground was illuminated.

"Don't step anywhere except where I've stepped. Don't touch the walls either. If you can't follow those rules, don't follow me. Understood?"

We nodded at the warning and followed behind Finn.

At times like these, she was truly reliable.

The underground staircase was mossy and somewhat slippery, but Finn kept advancing.

Keeping up without being left behind was exhausting.

"There's a breeze. It's connected to somewhere. Whether that's outside, I don't know."

Finn could apparently feel the wind.

I honestly couldn't tell at all, but Alexia and Aogiri nodded.

It seemed you could sense it if you had sharp perception.

After a while of stairs, we descended and it became a corridor.

Empty torch brackets were installed at regular intervals.

"It's more elaborate than I expected. If someone wanted to take this city, they could probably do it in a day using this."

"Don't say scary things."

When Alexia, who knew war, said that, it was no joke.

But it was probably true.

The tension grew compared to before.

This was no longer just dealing with thugs running an unlicensed sex operation.