Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: It's Something Else
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Labyrinth City's streets echoed with the tolling of bells.
Not the signal for the start of battle, but the announcement that the fighting had ended.
It was the signal proclaiming the monster invasion's conclusion.
Caution levels remained in place since some monsters might still be lurking, but in Labyrinth City, no residents were so frightened they couldn't move about.
The streets quickly filled with locals and merchants venturing out, and the city swiftly regained its usual bustle.
Having returned to the guild early with his staff, Kael leaned back in his chair.
To handle the influx of tasks afterward, it was better to receive reports at the guild than at the makeshift command post outside.
As if waiting for their return, jobs from all over were already pouring into the first floor.
"Maybe it's time to just retire already,"
Kael muttered as he sat in his chair, brewing coffee and easing the fatigue from several sleepless nights.
Right now, the lower floors were too busy sorting things out for any paperwork to reach him, but soon enough, a mountain of tasks would flood the vice-guild master's office.
It was a brief lull before the storm.
...But even that short respite didn't last.
Someone knocked on the vice-guild master's door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Chris."
With permission, Chris entered the room.
Kael had heard the basics—no issues—but there seemed to be more to discuss.
"How'd it go?"
He'd received the report, but some things couldn't be put in writing.
"The defense forces seemed pleased."
"That goes without saying... Heading out?"
"Doesn't look like it."
Kael pulled out the underground sewer report from the stack on his desk.
The sewers weren't a source of major threats, but poor maintenance could turn them into massive slime breeding grounds, leading to headaches later.
With impacts on city infrastructure, any incidents drew heavy scrutiny from the city council.
If they hadn't sealed it properly and it became a slime nest, they'd have begged high-rank mercenary groups for help, sweeping the sewers for weeks.
In that sense, today's sewer report was the most satisfying in years.
And what stood out most...
Kael picked up the budget summary from the report.
Newbies assigned such tasks all handled finances similarly.
Desperate to spend the budget, they wasted money oddly.
Then got chewed out by accounting and had to revise budgets multiple times.
But this one... Flawless, approved without a single rejection.
"You see this? Clean as a whistle."
Chris recalled the scene in the sewers.
There had only been three crates in the room.
Skimming expensive rarities could've netted more, but reselling them raised flags.
Even if tacitly overlooked, there were limits to upper management's indulgence.
No rookie would make that mistake.
So...
"About 200 sheets, I'd say."
"Huh... For a first-timer, that's impressive."
Impressive? That was an understatement.
Kael thought of the gold pouch Ian had handed him, tucked in his drawer.
Dealing with these tiresome tasks, he'd seen all sorts.
Now, he could gauge a mercenary's type just from the gift's contents.
Some were greedier than others...
Those didn't last long.
Others calculated gains meticulously...
But riding the line too tightly lost public favor.
And this Ian fellow...
The most troublesome type.
"He's got big ambitions."
The mercenaries to watch most were those without gold lust.
Mercenaries had no honor, no power.
The only reason to risk life in this job was the gold earned as life-payment.
No greed for money?
Meant they were crazy enough to stake it on something extraordinary.
Usually, the mildest ended up guild-affiliated...
"Please don't say he's heading into the maze."
"...Didn't everyone you said that about die in the maze?"
Kael pondered, then shot Chris a sidelong glare.
"Our Chris, did marriage pass you by?"
"Pardon?"
"Mercenaries want stable gigs once they have family. What do you think?"
"......"
"...Lighten up. You're scaring me."
Ian gathered his three mercenaries and began the briefing.
The invasion alert was over, but he had one final task before things wrapped up completely.
"I've got stuff to finish here, so I can't go with you."
"It's fine. We've memorized the route."
Thanks to training, they'd practically lived in the sewers for a while—could navigate blindfolded.
Patrols there had been routine before.
No Ian? As if they couldn't handle a few slimes.
"Just catch the remaining slimes and come back, right?"
"No. Leave regular slimes be."
"...For real?"
"Slimes live in the sewers anyway. A few left over? No big deal."
"True, but..."
Anyway, this wasn't the first time with Ian.
Rin had caught on that he was after something else.
"So what do we do there?"
"You heard these slimes came from the maze?"
Most were plain slimes, but slimes weren't just one type.
"Maze occasionally spawns variant slimes."
"Strong?"
"Nah... Insanely valuable."
Slimes... valuable?
Slime loot was scrap iron at best, maybe low-grade mana crystals rarely.
Rin looked puzzled, awaiting explanation.
"Maze slimes. Their mana crystals vary in quality, and some eat rare ores. Variants fetch minimum gold coins."
So... Ian meant gold coins were crawling around the sewers now.
Rin, Mika, and Tanya walked the now-quiet underground sewers.
Hard to believe massive battles had raged here moments ago; the eerie silence had returned.
"How much is all this worth...?"
Mika peeked over, gulping at the sewer floor.
Sparkling loot covered the bottom—crystals slimes occasionally dropped, piled like sand.
With so many slain, it made sense.
Most scorched from combat and low quality, but the sheer volume promised a fortune.
Ian said such loot got handled by recovery teams later, settled by contribution points.
This much? Shifted from "loot recovery" to "cleanup."
Corpses piled outside walls—valuable normally, but blocking gates and ramping battlements? Just a headache.
Clearing it all? Who knew how long.
"Forget that—look for slimes."
"How, if none?"
"Maybe we got 'em all?"
Rin addressed Mika and Tanya, distracted by the loot.
They agreed reluctantly, sharing the regret, but followed her to scout again.
Retracing the patrol route, the trio spotted a wriggling shadow farther off.
"There!"
Unlike usual dim sewers, bright lights everywhere made distant movements clear.
They rushed, but slowed as they neared.
"...Just a regular slime?"
"Again?"
Mika's find: plain old slime.
Fifth dud in a row.
"Sigh... Nothing else. Really all gone already?"
Commander Ian stayed for cleanup, but left them a memo.
Details on valuable special slimes.
Unlike local slimes, these maze specials carried pricey minerals, gems, mana stones.
Rarer the slime, pricier the haul.
One catch? Base gold coin price.
Some even gold-tinted from eating placer gold...
Hearing that, their eyes lit up as they dove into the sewers.
Thirty minutes? An hour of wandering here, time hard to track without sunlight.
Luckily snagged two quick, but none since.
"Just head out? Captain said there might not be many."
"Little longer."
Scouting corners, Mika spotted a wriggling slime in a dim passage corner, shadows pooling.
"There!"
...Black!
Mika unfolded Ian's memo, checking black slime info.
Black... black.
Found it.
"Black: Attack with magic directly."
Main loot: mana crystal, staff material...?
Mika's eyes sparkled.
Slime loot settled separately—maybe claim this whole for her own staff.
Alright!
Mika charged the slime boldly.
Down the ladder, she dashed before it fled.
But Tanya, checking the memo as Mika ran, noticed something off.
Hidden in shadows, color unclear...
Squinting at the slime, flipping memo pages, Tanya yelled urgently.
"Hey, Mika! That's not black—navy blue, right?"
"Huh?"
Before Tanya's warning fully landed, Mika's staff smashed the slime heartily.
- Navy blue. Avoid approaching from afar. Flee if it nears.
Struck, the slime shuddered, emitting light.
"Kyaa!"
"Mika!"
The slime exploded, black smoke billowing, engulfing Mika.