World Alliance (18)

When night fell, almost all the lights went out at once. Individual houses still gave off a little light, but that was all; in this city, where neither moon nor stars could be seen, the few lights hanging from the dome's ceiling were the only faint sources of illumination. Even with my 【Night Vision】, it was pretty hard to see, and no subterraneans were out walking anymore.

"Phew... It's finally night."

I was lying on the rooftop of a high-rise building that looked to be ten stories tall. Maika mushrooms were being cultivated there, but they required little work, so no one came by to check on them.

This underground city was certainly vast, but I had been able to narrow down the places where Leff people might be.

The first was the building that the group in camouflage uniforms who had attacked me had entered.

The second consisted of two buildings where armed subterraneans stood guard even at night.

"I guess I'll check them one at a time for now."

I used 【Sprint】 to run soundlessly and jumped from the edge of the building. I landed on the neighboring building on all fours, making almost no sound there either—the innate talent of 【Jump】 seemed to improve not only jumping, but landing as well.

The subterraneans on guard never looked up at the sky, so I reached the first building in no time.

It used more land than the other buildings. Up to the third floor, it was square—and how could one call it "aboveground" when it was underground?—while from the fourth floor upward, a round tower rose for three stories, as if it had been added on top.

The gaps between neighboring buildings were narrow. There were no vehicles like carriages at all, and even anything resembling a handcart was pulled by people.

'National Army Patrol Unit'...

The lettering was old, but I somehow managed to read it. Those people had been soldiers? They were pretty rough, too...

The entrance was a pair of wooden doors, secured with a padlock. It was the kind that locked from the outside, so that meant no one was inside... Right? Well, if they were keeping Leff people prisoner, this arrangement would work.

I drew the dagger I'd received from the Gray Bear Berserker... no, from the Mule Border Count. The blade was made of mithril and glowed a faint white.

The metal of the padlock was about a centimeter thick, but it was only ordinary iron. I pressed the tip of the blade against it.

"Ngh."

I put my strength into it and cut through the iron.

After disabling the padlock and hiding it on a nearby ledge, I opened the wooden doors and went inside.

"..."

Darkness and damp air drifted toward me.

But there, I caught a smell I would rather not have noticed.

"The smell of death."

It was the unmistakable smell given off when someone died.

A broad hallway stretched ahead, with a staircase leading up and corridors extending to the left and right. Once the wooden doors closed, the place sank into complete darkness, and there was no sign of anyone inside.

I used 【Light Magic】 to place a light source above my head. Unlike 【Fire Magic】, it gave off no heat and wouldn't start a fire if it bumped into something, which was convenient.

I knew where I had to go.

I followed the smell down the corridor to the right and arrived at what appeared to be a large room.

When I opened the sliding door, an overpowering, nauseating smell filled the air.

"This is..."

It really was a large room. But there were no desks, chairs, or anything else—just empty space.

Something like straw mats had been spread across the floor, and the military uniforms of the Leff Magic Empire, which I recognized, immediately caught my eye.

There were forty-five bodies lying there. Every one of them was Leff.

There probably wasn't anything like a morgue here. So perhaps they had simply placed the bodies in the building belonging to the patrol unit that had found them...

I stepped outside the building and drew in a breath of air—not fresh air, but somewhat better.

Although the bodies had already begun to rot, 【Omniscience】 told me that none had marks suggesting they had been cut by a blade or struck by arrows, so they had apparently all died in the fall.

I was relieved that the subterraneans hadn't killed the Leff people.

"They're the sort who shoot arrows at you without warning, after all."

Why had the subterraneans carried away the bodies? I could think of only one "reason"—and no, it wasn't to eat them, of course.

I headed for the next building to find out whether that "reason" was correct.

It was one of the buildings with guards posted outside. There were two such places, one luxurious and one plain; I guessed the luxurious one housed important people, so I went to the plain one.

"Only one entrance on the first floor. They don't seem to have a concept of a back entrance... I suppose that's because there aren't front or back streets to begin with?"

Nearby stood several drinking establishments that were practically the only brightly lit places in the silent city. They seemed to be the city's entertainment district, and I could hear the din all the way to the building I was about to enter.

"Aw, it's so damn noisy every night. I can't take it."

"Seriously. We'd like to go drinking too, but the place is closed by the time our night shift ends..."

"Why are we only allowed to drink after 'lights out'?"

"How should I know, moron."

I could hear the guards talking... I'd thought that patrol unit was exceptionally rough, but the guards were no better.

"...What should I do? Through a window, or from above..."

I looked up at the building. It was five stories tall, and Maika mushrooms were being cultivated on its rooftop as well.

"From above, then."

It would take a detour, but I made my way across the other buildings until I reached a height above the rooftop. Then, if I infiltrated from the unguarded roof—

"!"

I noticed it just before I jumped.

The rooftop really did contain nothing but a space for cultivating Maika mushrooms, but ropes had been strung all over it. If you caught one, it would strike a piece of metal and make a loud noise—a trap called a "bird scarer." It was also known as a "naruko."

"I see. So the roof is protected against intruders with traps—hup."

I ran and jumped again.

Once I knew how it worked, there was no problem as long as I avoided the ropes. After landing without a sound, I headed for the entrance leading from the rooftop to the fifth floor. Naturally, I took the utmost care to step over the ropes.

The entrance door was made of iron. But the lock was simple, with only a latch on the inside, so it was time for the dagger again. I cut through the latch, and the door opened with a squeak from its hinges.

"They should be here..."

I closed the door behind me. I steadied my breathing and peered into the darkness.

I couldn't determine what kind of building this was, but I could sense that there were many people inside.

I could smell food, after all. And something like sweat, too.

I went down the stairs. As soon as I entered the fifth floor, I knew.

The rooms lining the corridor all had iron doors. Every one had the same layout, with a small window near the bottom of each door, about ten centimeters high and thirty centimeters wide.

Outside the doors sat used dishes—

"This looks like the place."

The entire building was one enormous prison.

From somewhere, I heard loud snoring.