Chapter 248 - City of Shadows (7)

The sewer's iron door opened. Immediately, a fishy smell rushed in. The circular water channel was dark and gloomy, not allowing any light from the outside world.

There was about a hand's width of space above my head. At least until the entrance, I should be able to walk with my back straight.

"Hey, take this with you!"

The old man handed me a large ball of thread.

"What's this?"

"Tie this at the entrance and unwind it as you move. Newcomers always take this, so make sure you have it! You'll definitely get lost even with a map. Remember, the sewers are as big as this city."

"Thank you."

"And be careful, when it starts raining, water fills up the sewers instantly. When water fills the rainwater pipes, the gears in each section will turn and ring a bell, so if you hear the sound, immediately exit through a nearby emergency exit. If you have nowhere to go, just climb to a high place no matter what."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you have a luminous stone?"

"Yes."

"Be very careful not to light a fire because of the darkness, as the gas accumulated in the sewers could explode."

I checked the map. The sewers spread like a spider web throughout the entire city.

The ghost sighting area marked with ink on the map is section b-14442. It was under the commercial district.

I took out the luminous stone and stepped inside. The entrance door closes with a metallic scraping sound.

Screech—Bang!

Cold dew dropped on my crown.

The stench that stung my nose, the sticky and slippery floor, and unnamed insects fleeing from the light.

I understand now why they called it the city's dungeon. It felt like I had entered the stomach of a giant snake. It seemed like something might appear from the end of that tunnel where light didn't reach. It was a different kind of unpleasantness from Barbisia's decaying swamps.

It would take a full hour to move to the commercial district through the sewers, so I needed to move diligently.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward.

After moving forward for about ten minutes, I came across an underground water intake. Water flowing from eight passages converged in one place and flowed into another passage. Thanks to the long absence of rain, the bottom of the intake was exposed. In most passages, the amount of sewage was less than a stream of urine.

I checked the ball of thread. It was still sufficient. I checked the map and confirmed a place marked [Section B] on a wall blackened with mold. Below it was a passage large enough for one person to walk through comfortably.

In a moment of carelessness, an insect tried to climb up my foot. I swatted the insect away with my hand.

"Damn it."

Above my head were cobwebs everywhere, and all kinds of insects including centipedes and beetles crawled under my feet. The insects were bearable, but the stench was the most painful. It was enough to make me dizzy.

After advancing for a while following the map, I came across an area blocked by iron bars.

[Closed Area]

[Absolutely No Entry]

[Turn Back]

Signs with stern warnings were plastered all over. And the entrance was tightly bound with chains as if sealed.

And along the floor of the passage, more than a dozen black threads were messily connected. These were traces left by those who had gone exploring before.

I took out the key I had been given earlier and unlocked the padlock. Then I untangled all the chains and entered inside. I put my hand through the bars and locked the padlock again from the inside to prevent anything from escaping.

I held out the luminous stone and walked slowly. The deeper I went, the more complicated the path became. The paths branched out endlessly, making me dizzy.

I carefully moved along the thread left by the person before me.

"Spider web... armor... that... good?"

Just then, a human voice faintly echoed in the sewer.

I immediately drew Priscilla. My nerves are on edge. The sound was coming from the direction I was heading.

"That's right... among armors... luxury..."

Although not clearly audible, it was the voice of a sane man that didn’t fit with the sewers.

Is there someone who entered through another passage first?

As I move forward, the sound becomes clearer.

"Yes, they pluck spider webs one by one from the magic creature’s behind to make armor, and it takes a good ten months, they say."

As I continued to follow the sound, I saw a dead end.

I tilted my head up. Light came down from the ceiling. At the end of a narrow, well-like passage, there was an iron grate blocking it. It seemed to be connected to the ground. Well, the existence of a hole for rainwater to enter also meant there was a passage connected to the ground. I didn't expect to be so glad to sense the outside air after just a few hours.

The sound was flowing in from the ground above. But all I could see was the cloudy sky, no people or buildings.

"My goodness, how long does it take to weave all that?"

"That's what I'm saying. I heard the apprentices who come in can't even last a month before running away."

Ash fell on my head. Someone had shaken off the ashes from smoking tobacco into the sewer.

"Damn..."

It was a narrow and long passage like a chimney, so it seemed impossible to climb up there without a rope. It was useless even in an emergency.

I slowly backed away. And I started moving to find another route.

At every fork in the road, there were section markings on the wall. I checked the map I was holding. The wall was marked section b-14436.

Not far from the destination, Section B-14442.

As I was about to fold the map and move on, I stepped on something sticky.

When I shone the luminous stone, it was a green mucus. It was pooled under my feet, diluted by mixing with sewage.

"This is..."

The green mucus smelt of caramel. More precisely, it was a caramel scent mixed with the stench of sewage. In a city where a lot of research was done on various things, it was entirely possible that potions were disposed of in the sewers.

I continued moving forward. And after a few more steps, I encountered an even stranger sight.

"Why on earth..."

Green mucus was stuck thickly on the walls and floor as if painted on.

I took out a glass bottle from my pocket. It was the slime perfume I was going to give to Cecil as a gift.

The contents and color were exactly the same. I opened the cork and sprayed a little perfume on my wrist. The smell was identical.

These were all slime mucus.

Slimes only live in places with water so clean one could drink it... so these probably weren't alive.

More importantly, where did all this slime mucus come from? Who would do the crazy thing of dumping slimes in the sewers?

As I advanced, the mucus didn't decrease but only increased. Did they dispose of it all in the sewers after finishing experiments, with nowhere else to discard it? Or were they planning to blow it all up, using the fact that slimes react to magic?

It was ominous.

It felt like I was passing through a tunnel of mucus rather than a sewer.

A fork in the road appeared, and I shone the luminous stone on the floor. Black threads in the mucus led to the right path.

I immediately turned to the right path. And after not even ten steps, I finally encountered a horrific sight.

"Damn it."

A pale human figure in work clothes was covered in slime mucus.

I immediately approached the person. I shone the luminous stone on their face and gritted my teeth.

There were no signs of injury on the body, but the face was smashed to the point where it was hard to recognize the features. The flesh was swollen in the slime mucus, but decay hadn't progressed. Perhaps the mucus prevented decay.

It was exactly the same as the corpse of the sky sailship crew member I had witnessed before. Did they dispose of the corpse in the sewers? Or was there a being that committed such an act living in the sewers? Either way, it was undeniable that this was the worst situation.

Just then, the luminous stone started to lose power and began to flicker slowly.

"Oh, no."

This was bad. I didn't bring any spare luminous stones. If the light went out like this, I'd have to stay in the dark with a corpse with a smashed face.

I shook the luminous stone, but it was no use.

"Damn it!"

My muttering echoed through the sewers. And it hit somewhere and came back clearly again.

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!"

My body stiffened. There was something strange about the echo.

The luminous stone completely lost its power. I was plunged into complete darkness.

Wondering if I had imagined it, I shouted loudly again, "Is anyone there?!"

And a few seconds later, a voice identical to mine came back from the darkness.

"Is anyone there?"

"Is anyone there?"

"Is anyone there?"

This wasn't an echo.

I immediately drew my sword. My heart was pounding as if it might burst, and cold sweat ran down my back.

Priscilla was trembling, emitting a blue light as if foretelling a great event.

***

"First-year!"

Zenia flung open the door to Damian's room without knocking. Then she jumped in, spread her arms, and struck a pose as if to show off.

"How do you like this dress, isn't it pret... He's not here?"

Damian had neatly arranged the bedding and left the room empty.

Zenia sighed as if deflated.

"...This is different from what I expected."

Haley, passing through the corridor with messy hair and in her underwear, spotted Zenia and stopped.

"What are you doing in the first-year's room?"

"Just go on your way."

"What are you doing in that risqué outfit? Oh my, is that fishnet? Since when did you have clothes like that?"

"Hey, the mood's all gone now. What's the first-year so busy doing that he lives like this?"

"...That's just his personality. When has he ever revealed his true feelings?"

Zenia sighed again and went to the window, leaning slightly on the windowsill.

"Claridium... It's so different from what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"I thought we'd have fun with the first-year... see interesting things... eat delicious food and share life stories. But nothing's going as planned. The sky is gloomy, strange things keep happening since we arrived. The first-year is off somewhere being serious by himself. I wonder if this is right."

"Hey, more importantly, come out quickly. What if people outside see you?"

"What does it matter? There's nothing outside but those Vintera tin dolls or whatever."

Haley also approached the window next to Zenia and admired the view outside.

Outside, dozens of Vintera were busily moving somewhere.

"I wonder if Vintera are male or female."

"It's probably better not to know."

A memory from the past flashed through Haley's mind for a moment.

"...Come to think of it, didn't they say making homunculi was trendy in Claridium? The kids who went on a field trip last year said so."

"Right. I remember that too, but now there's nothing. Hmm... Maybe the trend ended early."

"Maybe they belatedly realized that all you need to make a human is a pair of man and woman."

Just then, urgent footsteps sounded in the corridor.

"Senior Haley!"

Lilith came running urgently looking for Haley. Haley turned around and said,

"What is it?"

"Damian has returned. But..."

"He's back? So what's the problem?"

"I think you should see this, Senior."

Lilith opened the corridor window wide and pointed to a spot. Haley came over with a puzzled expression and looked where she was pointing.

Damian was standing with his body pressed against the outer fence of the mansion. He was looking up at the window with his arms hanging limply and a blank expression as if drunk.

"...First-year?"

"Senior Haley."

Haley shouted from the window, "Come in quickly. What are you doing there?"

"Senior Haley."

Haley felt a chill for a moment and took a step back. There was no emotion or soul in Damian's tone.

"...Damian?"

"Senior Haley."

Zenia shouted.

"Hey! First-year! Why are you only calling for Haley!"

Damian didn't react to that and just repeated the same words.

"Senior Haley."

"Hey, something's wrong with the first-year’s condition?"

Haley spotted members coming out to greet Damian at the main entrance and immediately shouted.

"Everyone stop! Don't approach the first-year!"

***

"No."

Cecil tore up the letter she had been scribbling in ink and threw it away.

Then she immediately took out another parchment and started writing a letter again.

Cecil, who was writing faster than when she wrote down the magic engineering formulas filling her head, stopped what she was doing, overwhelmed by emotion, and squeezed her eyes shut.

And she thought of that pink-haired girl from the Empire.

Small white face, rosy cheeks, pink lips...

When she heard that Damian had obtained that girl's Stitch marker under Hubert's name, anger rose to the top of her head.

The voice of that pink-haired girl she met at Rigved Port echoed in her mind.

— I... I'm not really interested in Mr. Hubert. He just wanted to talk about Rotulek.

— More importantly, do you know Candy?

While asking about a person with exactly the same description as Candy, that girl called him “Candy”.

— Do you know... what kind of relationship Candy has with the white-haired girl?

White hair. The owner of that hair she had found in Damian's bed actually existed. She was another woman who knew his identity, having been with him in Candy's form and also having rolled around in Damian's bedchamber.

The pink-haired girl had turned Cecil's insides upside down with her innocent face.

Cecil shook her head, trying to clear the pink-haired girl's words from her mind.

And she started writing the letter fiercely again.

Then, feeling like her head was about to burst, she put down the pen and threw herself on the bed.

She quietly muttered while staring at the ceiling, "One woman is enough... why can't men be satisfied with just one..."

She stretched her legs up and muttered while admiring them.

"One best woman is enough, isn't it?"

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on her dormitory room door.

"It's not locked."

Then someone quietly opened the door and came in. It was Naias, one of Cecil's close friends.

She folded her arms and sat slightly on the desk, saying, "What were you doing?"

"Thinking."

Naias picked up the letter and skimmed through it with her eyes.

"Oh my, is this that? An ultimatum?"

Cecil buried her face in the pillow and said, "...I don't know."

"Are you really angry at Damian?"

"What's it to you?"

"I was wondering if you grew tired of Damian and are trying to go back to Candy now."

"I don't like either of them anymore..."

Naias read through the letter and said, "Wait... What's this about a restraining order? Are you really trying to distance yourself from him?"

"No, but he needs to know how precious I am. Now it's his turn to cling to me."

"What's this phrase about it being justified because you cheated first? Wait, you cheated? Were you officially dating him? Why didn't you tell me? You said you hadn't even progressed that far yet!"

Cecil raised her upper body abruptly and said, "It was cheating! We hugged and danced... and all sorts of things... Anyway, we were dating. Even if we didn't stamp it officially, there was something unspeakable between us. I'm sure. He cheated first..."

"Have you kissed?"

"No! But if I made a move, he wouldn't reject me."

"Did you properly confirm that you were dating?"

"...No."

Naias put down the letter and snorted as if in disbelief.

"Ha, how can it be cheating when you didn't even ask to date, and didn't even kiss? Aren't you just one of his many female colleagues?"

Cecil, left with nothing to say, laid down turning her back to Naias.