Chapter 69
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 1. Picking up Rebecca
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Dark night.
Before executing the plan, Moona had compiled all the information gathered so far.
"Now, take a look at this parchment."
It was a scene straight out of some movie.
A rough map of the ruins drawn on parchment.
An informant explaining in a deep, resonant voice.
Of course, since the informant was a kiwi bird, the genre was fantasy.
Moona pointed to the interior map obtained through voluntary donations with his beak.
"This is a map I revised based on my memory. It's not perfectly accurate, so treat it as just a reference."
"Shwoong..."
"Ooh..."
The ones letting out those "oohs" were Cherry and Kiki, who still hadn't gone home.
Their help wasn't strictly necessary anymore, but sharing the information couldn't hurt.
Besides, my companion humans seemed to prefer sticking around here.
"What we need to focus on is right here."
Moona's beak pecked firmly at one spot.
"This ruin was discovered long ago, but the reason a group this size is still searching from the entrance is simple. The structure and entrance change over time. That's why it's called an impregnable ruin."
Moona himself seemed to have either experienced this ruin or at least witnessed it up close.
Even a sage like him couldn't enter right away, so the name truly fit.
Of course, not anymore.
Thanks to the humans busting their asses, we'd found the entrance to the underground ruins.
Humans were somewhat useful after all.
If it had been just me, it would've taken over a month, but maybe their numbers made the difference?
"And this ruin has a device hidden inside that forcibly alters its structure."
Now that we'd found the entrance to the underground ruins, our job was clear.
Enter first ahead of everyone else and activate that device.
The entrance to the underground ruins would shift elsewhere, forcing the humans to waste time searching again.
In the meantime, we'd loot the tin ruins clean.
Of course, the Tin Woodman, friend of the Scarecrow, was probably waiting for us inside.
But with all the human gear we'd stolen, we could handle him just fine.
Stealing their stuff wasn't for personal greed.
It was all for the greater good.
Stolen to use as tribute.
"Kak."
A few would become attachment gems to soothe my mind and body.
Enter first and lock the door.
A truly simple plan like that.
Of course, if the humans got in first, the plan would go sideways.
Our goal was to enter the underground ruins without any humans.
And that's why I'd been pilfering up until now.
The humans had no chance of entering before me.
Why?
The seeds of distrust had already been sown and were sprouting.
Thanks to all the friction and discord so far, they were surely fighting even now.
Arguing over who goes in first.
Which meant?
We could slip in ahead, activate the device Moona knew about, and that was that.
"Kak, kakak."
Letting out the wise crow's laughter, I prepared to head to the underground ruin's entrance.
"Shu, shwoong!"
The once-skinny Swoongswoong flapped his short arms.
Yeah, time to get plump again.
"Shu, shwooooong!"
1. Picking up Swoongswoong.
100. Setting down the now-plump Swoongswoong.
"Shu... wahwah..."
"Gh-ghost..."
"How can you... handle the ghost so roughly...?"
Cherry and Kiki peeked through their fingers while covering their eyes, watching me and Swoongswoong.
Hey, why phrase it like that?
What did I even do?
I just stuffed his cloth full of food and valuables.
Might've overdone the food, but it couldn't hurt.
We might end up spending more time underground than I thought.
*
"No, the Mage Tower should go in first!"
"Did the Mage Tower foot all the bill? How much did the guild contribute!"
"Um... we Black Spiders found it... Ah, never mind..."
As one certain crow had predicted, the humans had found the entrance but weren't charging right in.
Their opinions kept clashing.
If I can't go in, neither can you.
That mindset was dragging out the time.
"Think about it logically! Who's handling the vanguard? Our guild warriors, obviously. So we should go first."
"What nonsense? This is why they say not to talk with the uneducated."
"What did you say?"
"Well... we're doing the scouting, so we should go first... Ah, nothing..."
The Adventurer's Guild and the Mage Tower.
And the demoralized Black Spider Company due to recent events.
Their opinions clashed sharply.
Watching this farce from afar was the Executioner.
Jenny of the chain sickle waited near the entrance for whoever would arrive.
Of course, the expedition knew someone else besides them was here.
The Mage Tower, Guild, and Black Spiders were all veteran groups.
They weren't the type to point weapons at each other just because feelings were hurt in a situation like this.
Though the current fight had some sincerity, there was a bit of acting mixed in.
Because the Executioner had asked them directly.
To catch the mastermind behind the rampaging here and the apprentice witch stirring up trouble.
The mastermind's goal was obvious.
Monopolize the ruins they found.
Hence the discord; they'd slip in while everyone fought.
So Jenny had set a trap for them.
The leaders of the three groups raised their voices, with almost no one guarding the entrance.
Of course, Jenny and her chosen few were guarding it, but they'd deliberately made it look lax.
Her triple trap was inescapable even for the Witch of the Night; anyone approaching would be caught.
So Jenny waited.
For the mastermind to show up.
"Huh? Wait, there's a trap over there I haven't seen before?"
Jenny pointed to a suspicious trap in the corner of the entrance.
Besides her own traps, others had set theirs too.
The more traps, the better.
But this one couldn't be ignored.
"Why's there a basket? Hung with string? And breadcrumbs...? You don't mean this is supposed to be a trap?"
It was a pigeon trap.
A bit large, though.
"Uh... well..."
The man suspected of setting it stammered.
"Haven't you heard the rumors lately? About a crow knocking someone out...? Just in case..."
"Good grief, how can you believe such nonsense? Might as well believe in a three-headed crow shooting laser beams. Remove it now!"
After clearing the crow trap, Jenny passed the time waiting for the mastermind.
She and the others didn't need to worry.
Once the wide-ranging traps triggered, they'd capture them instantly.
Still, Jenny stayed nearby as backup.
"Kak."
And finally, the one Jenny awaited appeared.
A large crow strode in boldly.
Bobbing its head back and forth like a pigeon.
A crow.
Just a crow.
But Jenny sensed something off.
What were those plump kiwi birds strapped to its back?
"...Pull it!"
Catch first.
Think later.
At her signal, the trap activated.
Krgrgrgrk!
The ground split open in an instant, and logs studded with arrows swung from both sides.
Fwoosh!
Fireballs shot from the flank.
Swish!
The chain sickle swung precisely where the target would dodge.
A perfect trap no one could evade.
"Wha... uh...!"
The crow, however, was unscathed.
Paht!
As the ground split, it took to the sky, easily dodging the arrow-studded logs.
Fwoom!
The fireball went straight into its beak, igniting the remaining traps in flames.
And Jenny's final chain sickle swing.
It missed too.
Tzzt.
The crow had vanished into the shadows in a flash.
"Kak!"
Grabbing the plump kiwi that tumbled to the ground, the crow bolted toward the underground ruin's entrance.
"Catch it! Follow! That's the culprit!"
Only then was Jenny certain.
Unbelievable, but that crow was behind it all.
At her words, the doubters and nearby mercenaries all charged after the crow.
The crow's evasion was superb, but it was a rat in a trap.
With forces closing from the entrance, capture was inevitable.
"Huff, huff... Crow, you're nimble. But this is a dead end."
The Executioner caught up faster than anyone.
The crow had fled hard but reached the dead end.
No escape now.
"You're a familiar, right? Tell me which witch you're contracted to, and I won't make it too painful."
Jenny approached, whirling her chain sickle.
Ready to smash its head if it tried any tricks.
"Kaak."
The crow cawed once, then flapped its wings in a bizarre dance.
A strangely captivating dance.
With a faintly mood-lifting scent too.
"...Surrendering?"
"Kak, kakak."
Of course, humans and crows couldn't communicate.
Some crows could mimic human speech, but this handsome one had no intention or attempt.
In the midst of its flashy dance, the crow's thick talons stomped one spot on the floor hard.
Tidik.
"...What?"
Jenny sensed the anomaly.
Kwadudududu...
The entire ruin shook like an earthquake.
She knew it too.
The entrance and structure changed periodically.
Was this just coinciding by chance?
No, it wasn't.
The crow knew.
How to trigger the ruin's transformation.
"Crowwww!"
Not even the all-knowing sage, but a crow knew that?
She hurled her chain sickle screaming, but the shifting ruin's structures blocked it.
Clang!
Just as the crow planned, the entire ruin began reconstructing.
"...Kaak?"
Even it hadn't expected this.
The transformation's scope was far wider than the sage described.
Even amid the change, it was visible.
Not just parts, but the massive ruin entirely.
Rumble.
Not merely reshaping, but collapsing and reforming anew.
The original plan was to shift the entrance elsewhere.
But now even the footing positions had changed.
Meaning everyone who'd found the ruin was now inside the underground ruins.
The underground ruins resembled a vast maze. Or a dungeon from games and novels.
Though said to have no other lifeforms, it teemed with monster-like creatures.
The ruin explorers had instantly dropped into a dungeon.
The crow too.