Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Ancient Ruins (3)
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“Those bastards, they're laughing at us, right?”
“Forget it. Don't look over. They're just drunk.”
Tess patted Rian's leg, trying to calm him down. Brawls between mercenaries in taverns were common, but given their profession, they rarely ended well.
“They're still not reacting. It's not like they can't hear. They're laughing at you, you idiots.”
“Look at that guy's sword. It's ridiculously huge, isn't it? The girl next to him is pretty huge too. Not gonna say where. Bwahahaha!”
Rian clenched his fists. He could tolerate insults directed at himself, but he couldn't forgive them for mocking his friends.
Tess grabbed Rian's wrist. It looked like he was about to flip the table at any moment if left alone.
Shirone continued eating his noodles, retracing his memories.
When he had entered, he'd seen four mercenaries at that table. Three men and one woman. It seemed one was an archer, and since the woman had no weapon, she was likely a mage.
‘An archer and a mage. A pretty solid group.’
The mercenaries' taunts continued relentlessly.
“That blondie is pretending to eat now, huh? Please, just look over here once. I've got a bottle ready to fly. I'm in a really foul mood today, you see? So I'm looking to see some blood.”
“Oh, stop it. Is it fun to tease kids?”
The woman tried to stop them, but her heart wasn't in it. It seemed this was her preferred way of enjoying the spectacle, rather than outright mockery.
“Hey, little kids. Don't you have the courage to fight? Aren't you ashamed in front of the ladies? I bet those bastards went around bragging about how strong they are.”
“Hello? Can you hear me? If you can, answer me. Or should I come over there myself?”
Rian couldn't control his anger. He knew this was part of a plan, but he didn't want to endure such humiliation.
But in the end, Rian couldn't move. His eyes met Shirone's, who was looking at him with a calm expression.
‘Shirone…’
Shirone, with whom he was bound by a knight's oath, was saying nothing. If he couldn't even endure this much humiliation, he would be disgracing Shirone's name.
‘Right, this is also part of my training. I joined this journey as a squire. This is a good opportunity to test myself.’
Once he steeled his resolve, it became surprisingly bearable. Rian was able to reflect once more on the meaninglessness of words.
About ten minutes later, the mercenaries prepared to leave. They thought they had achieved a perfect victory. The youngsters had been the perfect fodder for their drinking session.
“Heh, I've never seen such pathetic cowards in my life.”
“Oh, come on. They're weak, so of course they were scared. Don't you feel sorry for them?”
“Hey! You guys are lucky. You don't have to get hit. Live your whole lives like that. You'll live long.”
The mercenaries paid their bill and left. Just then, the owner of the establishment, who had been feigning ignorance the whole time, rushed over to their table.
“Are you all okay? Those rotten scoundrels. Spouting such abuse at innocent kids.”
“Do you know those people?”
“They've been coming here often lately. They get drunk and then bully people like you who don't want to fight. I'd like to tell them not to come, but I don't know what they'd do in retaliation. Anyway, you did well to hold back. In times like these, enduring is winning.”
Shirone's eyes gleamed. A party that included a mage wouldn't be visiting the ruins unless there was something there.
Tess comforted Rian. Unlike Shirone, who could even deceive himself, they weren't as skilled. They had endured it with sheer grit.
“You did great, Rian. I was so worried you were going to cause trouble.”
“It was close. But we'll meet them again anyway, right? That's why we put up with it, isn't it?”
“That's right. Let's get going too.”
Shirone said as he stood up from his seat. After paying their bill and leaving the tavern, they saw the mercenaries walking toward the central temple.
Instead of tailing them, Shirone's group opted to watch from a high place. Since an archer's Schema build was mostly sensory-based, getting too close would likely get them caught.
Climbing to the fourth floor of the temple building, Shirone observed the mercenaries. They were a surprisingly young party, composed of people who looked no older than thirty.
A swordsman with a sturdy build seemed to be the leader. The sword at his waist was a well-known iron sword, one whose artisan's name Tess could recall just by its design.
Next to him stood a giant with a blunt weapon, and in the rear followed a man with long hair and a woman in a robe.
“Two warriors, one of them a swordsman. One archer, one mage. That's the gist of it. They're maintaining formation even in a tourist spot. They're an experienced party. It was a good decision not to tail them.”
The mercenaries walked toward a terraced altar on the east side of the central temple. Shirone remembered the place. He had thought it strange that it was guarded by a native.
As the mercenaries approached the native, the archer gestured and spoke. It seemed he could speak the Kergo language.
The native glanced around sullenly. He was clearly conscious of prying eyes. Shirone's group realized this was their chance and descended the stairs.
When the native operated a device, a rectangular crack appeared in the altar and slid inward. A thick stone door moved aside, revealing an entrance shrouded in a barrier of darkness.
“Wait! We're going in too!”
The mercenaries, who had started walking, turned around with stiff expressions. But their tension quickly faded, replaced by annoyance. The youngsters they had been harassing in the tavern were running toward them.
“What the? When did you guys start following us?”
“Sir, can't we go in with you?”
“Get lost! Do you have any idea how we found this place? Do you even know what this is?”
“Don't be like that…!”
The moment Shirone pleaded again, the leader drew his sword. His draw wasn't what you'd call fast, but the practiced naturalness that came from countless repetitions was exceptional.
“You wanna die? Do we look like pushovers? If you don't scram, I'll slit all your throats right here.”
Unlike before, Shirone didn't back down. In the tavern, he couldn't even turn his head, but now he was looking them straight in the eye. The contrast irritated the leader.
“These bastards…!”
The native guarding the altar spoke.
“Are they with you?”
The leader sheathed his killing intent and looked back at the archer. The archer was the only one who could translate.
“What's this guy saying?”
“He's asking if they're with us.”
“Hmph! With us? Don't be ridiculous. Tell him to wait, I'll take care of them now.”
When the archer relayed the leader's words, the native's eyes widened. As if he had been insulted, he grew angry and spoke in a commanding tone.
“A warrior does not fight in just any place. Those who defile this sacred altar with blood shall never set foot here.”
The archer licked his lips as he translated.
“I think you should stop. He says if we fight here, he won't let us in.”
“Tch! Lucky brats. You've escaped death twice now.”
The leader, not wanting to deal with it any longer, sheathed his sword and entered the altar. The rest of his party followed him into the dark doorway.
Shirone's group stood their ground for a moment. If they had entered together, it would have been fine, but as things stood, the native's sharp gaze made them uneasy.
“If you wish to be tested, enter. The Angel's Eye will be watching you.”
“What's he saying?”
“Who knows. Maybe something like, ‘Since you're here, you might as well enjoy yourselves’? If he wanted to kick us out, he would've closed the door.”
Shirone cautiously took a step forward. There was no reaction from the native. Only then, convinced, did the four of them step through the abyss-dark door.
In an instant, eight people had vanished, but not a single tourist knew of it.
The Labyrinth of Space-Time (1)
After entering the altar, Shirone first assessed the structure. Unlike how it appeared from the outside, torches were lit, so it wasn't dark inside.
A square hole sunk into the ground, with stairs spiraling down along the inner walls at right angles.
Looking down, he could see the mercenary party, already two full turns down the spiral.
Shirone quickened his pace. There might be a second gate, so it wasn't a good idea to fall too far behind the mercenaries.
Eventually, the eight of them descended the stairs as a single group.
The leader was annoyed at the youngsters who had freeloaded on information he had paid a hefty sum for.
But achieving his goal here was the priority, so he put aside any thoughts of fighting for the moment.
The archer, who was bringing up the rear of the mercenary party, asked Shirone, who was following behind.
“Are you guys out of your minds? Why are brats who aren't even dry behind the ears coming to a place like this?”
“Then why did you come here, sir?”
“What, don't tell me you followed us without knowing anything?”
“That's right. We don't know.”
The archer stared at Shirone in disbelief. It occurred to him that it might be possible. The existence of a hidden door in the ruins was an open secret, after all.
Something exists beneath the ruins. But no one knows what it is. This was the limit of what ordinary people interested in the ruins could surmise.
“Since we're already in, can't you just tell us? Why did you come here?”
The archer mulled it over. He had scoured the information market until his feet were sore to find the hidden door.
Furthermore, the code was a high-grade piece of information, so he had to pay a hefty sum of 20 gold for it.
But now that they had passed through the door, the information's value was practically gone.
With that thought, the archer's eyes lit up as he spoke.
“How about this? The fact that you entered the door means you broke a high-security code. In terms of money, it's worth at least 100 gold. So, I'll sell you the information. Five gold per question. What do you say?”
“No, thanks. We'll find out when we get down there anyway.”
When Shirone replied without a second thought, the archer flared up. It wasn't about making money or not; he felt like he was being mocked by a kid.
‘This insolent little brat…!’
At that moment, the leader stopped walking. As the front stopped, those following behind slowed down in sequence.
“No, on second thought, that sounds good. Do you know how much trouble we went through to find this place? You can't just expect to freeload off our hard work. If you want to go down from here, you'll pay us.”
Shirone looked back at Amy. When she shrugged, he nodded as if he understood and spoke to the leader.
“Then we won't go down. We'll stay here, so you go on ahead and do your thing.”
“You little piece of…!”
The leader found himself flaring up without thinking.
He should have known when they couldn't even turn their heads in the tavern. This must be what they meant by weaklings who were all talk.
“But if it's one gold per question, I might consider the deal.”
“Huh? One gold?”
The leader's mind raced. He couldn't recoup his initial investment from them anyway. In that case, wasn't it better to earn a few gold than nothing at all?
“Fine. One gold per question. Pay one gold first.”
Shirone rummaged through his coin pouch and took out one gold coin. They could have investigated separately from the mercenaries, but his friends respected Shirone's judgment.
Shirone believed this situation was worth one gold. They knew nothing about what lay underground. If he could prepare countermeasures in advance for one gold, he thought it was definitely not a loss.
For example, if a danger known only to the mercenaries was lurking, they could easily be trapped. But if they heard an explanation, they could roughly estimate the danger level and difficulty of the exploration.
“Why did you come here?”
Asking too broad a question left room for them to make things up, so Shirone cut straight to the core of the matter.