Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Catch That Bastard (3)
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"Come to think of it, Balkan probably doesn't know much about the situation back then."
Joey Hog explained the background to me.
"One of the academy professors, the labyrinth ecologist Arpo, had put out a commission. Technically, it came through his assistant acting on his behalf."
When I fell into the transfer trap on the fifth floor, Joey Hog's party had received a commission from the professor's assistant to retrieve the Shaman Hobgoblin's staff.
"A lot of explorers had tried before us, but it was a failed commission. Hobgoblins are everywhere, right? And the fifth floor had a whole village of them, so it was even worse."
I remembered finding a map in the Hobgoblin village on the fifth floor that said [Objective: Shaman Hobgoblin's Staff!].
That map was probably a relic from explorers who took the commission before Joey Hog's party.
"On top of that, the Hobgoblin Staff is the best staff you can get from the upper labyrinth floors, but it's also ripe for abuse."
I knew all too well the power of the Hobgoblin Staff from personal experience.
Ugh, my head throbbed with a reflexive spinal twitch, dredging up memories I desperately wanted to forget.
Aaah! The horrific memories of Hobgokkas! That vile power that turns men into brainless slaves craving to empty their balls!
"Even setting aside the tempting... no, vicious magic imbued in it, the staff itself has excellent mana efficiency."
"The Explorer's Union that brokered the commission figured a professor wouldn't use it for that kind of thing, so they accepted it. We handed the staff to the assistant and got paid."
"And that was the end of it, right?"
We got the item, handed it to the professor's proxy, got the money—sounds like that should've wrapped it up.
What more was there to say?
Jubel and Joey Hog nodded at my words.
"Yeah. It should've ended cleanly there."
"Until the assistant got ambushed by outlaws and went missing."
Hmm.
I shifted in my seat. This was starting to sound serious.
Ramel's face twisted in shock.
"Ambushed? Those crazy outlaws attacked an academy professor's assistant?"
"I couldn't believe it either, but that's what the guards' analysis says. The cart he was riding back on was found abandoned in an alley near the noble district. Completely smashed to bits."
"Whoa..."
The labyrinth city of Balerus had a tangled web of power structures. The academy was one of the handful of major forces in this sprawling city.
Its professors might vary in prestige, but they generally held high status.
A lowly junior explorer or outlaw wouldn't even get a chance to meet one, let alone tangle with them.
Naturally, their research slaves... er, disciples—the assistants—weren't pushovers either.
Messing with an assistant meant picking a fight with their master: the professor.
But these lunatic outlaws didn't just mess with her—they made her vanish.
"Why the hell would they do that?"
"Beats me. But they didn't find the Hobgoblin Staff in the wreckage. Looks like the outlaws snatched it..."
Hitollis's head snapped up at Joey Hog's reply.
"I heard from a priest I know that lately, more men near the outlaw district have been turning up with pink tattoos, looking like total idiots after monster attacks. Some have gone missing entirely. Don't tell me that's why..."
"Exactly. That's the rumor."
Jubel nodded, piecing it together.
"The outlaws stole the Hobgoblin Staff and are using it to turn guys into their playthings and cripples. Lucky bastards. Ngh—!"
Thwack!
Joey Hog flicked Jubel's forehead and rubbed her fingers as she looked at us.
"Anyway, this isn't our problem to solve. We completed the Explorer's Union commission, and what happened after is out of our hands."
Right. The commission ended when we got paid and parted ways with the assistant.
No clause about protecting her from outlaws, so no obligation for explorers to babysit.
Common sense: labyrinth incidents handled by explorers, surface ones by the guards.
But spelling out something everyone knew meant...
"Something new got commissioned, huh?"
"Bingo."
Joey Hog smirked at my guess and pulled out two scrolls.
It looked oddly familiar—the stuff she got from the guard yesterday.
Shrrk—
The scrolls unrolled to reveal a map and two wanted posters.
The map had location tracking like the ones the assistants carried for the academy commission, and the posters...
"The two prime suspects in this case, plus a map marking their position."
The map pointed to the second floor of the labyrinth. Only one implication.
'The outlaws fled into the labyrinth.'
Long tails always get caught eventually.
Whether they were lying low until the heat died or had some other goal in the labyrinth, one of the two.
"The guards and Professor Arpo commissioned us to capture the outlaws and recover the staff. Guards are offering 5 contribution points; Arpo's putting up one gold coin."
One gold coin. Tempting.
Academy commissions paid too well as it was—normally, you'd beg for one at half that rate.
"Five points just for grabbing two outlaws?"
The others fixated more on the contribution points than the gold.
"What's a contribution point?"
I asked Ramel, the smartest in the room, and her face lit up in disbelief.
"Balkan. Your common sense is... Ahem. Never mind. Don't touch the axe and listen up."
Ramel obediently explained contribution points.
"It's the score you need to rank up to senior explorer. No matter how skilled you are, low points keep you from mid-tier."
I nodded as she described how they rose from accepting beneficial city work or emergency calls.
'Gotta do it eventually anyway.'
"They're offering points because of this one."
Joey Hog pointed to the wanted poster on the right. A female rabbit-headed beastkin. Her shifty eyes screamed heat in full swing.
"Gurumimi, executive of the outlaw clan Blaz. Rape specialist. She's probably ruined at least a hundred people, men and women alike. Old record from a few years back, but deepest floor was the tenth."
'Blaz?'
The mid-sized outlaw clan Kakchi was enslaved by. Handled all the dirty work.
"Using the Shaman Hobgoblin Staff to dumb down men and sell them as sex slaves, huh."
"Best guess if we're pinning motives."
"And who's this one?"
Hitollis pointed to the other poster.
A plain woman. The kind you'd pass hundreds of on the street without a second glance.
"Guards had zilch on her. But eyewitnesses from rape scenes mentioned a woman with the staff."
Hmm.
I quietly studied the poster.
"So, what do you all think of this commission? If you're not into it, we don't have to take it."
Joey Hog asked with a playful grin—the face of someone who knew the answer.
This party was full of ambitious types.
To climb higher, you needed contribution points. Solving that and getting paid? Perfect.
"Pass on terms like this? Might as well quit exploring."
Jubel spoke, and the others nodded.
Our next labyrinth run was set.
'Capture outlaws. Reclaim the Shaman Hobgoblin's Staff.'
Simple on paper, tough in practice.
'Hide-and-seek in that massive labyrinth...'
Success or failure hinged on how deep they dove.
"And just in case they go below the eighth floor, other parties got commissioned too. One on the verge of mid-tier promotion. Keep it in mind."
I didn't care much but noted it anyway.
We chatted a bit longer, then called it.
"Take a customer! Diana!"
As evening service wrapped, Zirnier burst into Cozy Winter Night.
Kwaaaah!
Clutching her radiant blue helm and axe in one hand.
"...Enter a little quieter. We just fixed the door after Ethelbert trashed it."
"I'm fine. If I break it, fix it again. With better wood this time."
"Don't need to..."
Diana's eyes drifted to Zirnier's hands.
"...What's with the helm? And the axe?"
"Oh, this?"
Zirnier, who shared a bro handshake with Diana, glanced around and beckoned Balkan clearing a corner table.
"Balkan! You're out! Pour me a drink!"
"Ah, welcome. But we're closing in five minutes. Right, Diana?"
"...Huh? Y-yeah..."
Diana tilted her head alone.
'...How are these two chatting so naturally?'
Not strangers, right? Even when Balkan first showed up in Zirnier's helm, it felt off, but that was coincidence...
"Five minutes? I can down one bottle easy, two no sweat."
"You'll ruin your liver."
"Don't underestimate a half-dwarf's liver! Cheers."
"Already knocking one back? You're hyped."
"One on waking, five during work, one after quitting—that's dwarf life. Half or not. Anyway. Try on the fitted helm. Made it a tad looser for your face shape."
'...Balkan's face shape? How'd Zirnier...?'
Diana's eyes filled with confusion.
Oblivious, Zirnier continued casually.
"Lend me a room quick, Diana. Just in case it doesn't fit, gotta feedback and remake."
As Diana floundered in surprise, Zirnier dragged Balkan upstairs.
Thud!
Door shut. Diana finally rushed up after them.
"What, again? The mouth fits perfect, vision's great now..."
"Data whenever you can. Might make another helm someday."
Sounded innocent, but Diana's elf ears caught suspicious sounds.
Fervent groping, stroking, kneading, fondling.
Moments later, they emerged.
"Diana. How's my new helm?"
Balkan spotted her first, fiddling with it.
The eye holes slightly wider—his eyes more visible now.
Those pitch-black pupils held only Diana.
"...Ah. Yeah... Looks good. Suits you."
"Right? Heh. Glad."
...Glad about what? That she likes it?
Diana felt her heart melt at his casual words but snapped back to reason.
She smiled softly at Balkan, then eyed Zirnier trailing him.
Zirnier met her gaze and hastily hid her hands behind her.
"W-what're you staring at?"
"......"
Diana knew Zirnier Besil was a gearhead with zero interest in romance.
But those hands...
Not cold from iron and metal—flushed red, like from human warmth.
Silent and stone-faced, Diana thought to herself.
Lately, too many women were eyeing Balkan.
Two days later, the labyrinth entrance portal opened.