Something Deep in the Waterways
From then on, Gong Ryun carefully gauged the efficiency of his inner energy as he slaughtered the moles.
The underground waterways were vast, and with Gong Ryun roaming them alone, there was no covering everything in a single day. Queen Medilla must have known that when she handed him the mission. Payment was structured around the number of moles eliminated anyway, so he would simply do as much as he could.
Thinking he had finished enough for the day, Gong Ryun decided it was time to head back for settlement and was about to turn around.
And then—
Ssssssht!
A strange sound reached his ears.
The sound of something shooting past at high speed.
Sssht!
"!!!"
This time it was closer.
What was that?
Moles couldn't move that fast.
Were there other creatures in the waterways besides the moles?
Anything even halfway manageable would have been indiscriminately attacked by the vicious mole packs, so there shouldn't have been any left...
Swish!
"!!!!!"
This time he saw something.
A black shape definitely shot past the fork in the waterway right in front of him.
It looked extremely agile and swift.
Moving that fast should have made a great deal of noise, yet it was as quiet as the wind.
An unidentified lifeform.
In that moment, something he had slightly forgotten floated up in Gong Ryun's mind.
The missing persons.
The people who had vanished in the western underground waterways.
In his conversation with Queen Medilla he had been so flustered he hadn't managed to ask about them.
There had also been an unconscious assumption that since she was an expert, there was nothing to worry about.
"No, you idiot!!! You should have asked about that!!!"
Gong Ryun clutched his head.
Well, it was too late now.
This wasn't the time for regret—he needed to worry about protecting his own hide. If that thing was the cause of the disappearances, there was no guarantee Gong Ryun was safe either.
Gong Ryun focused his senses.
And a moment later—
Shusssssshussssssss!
A sound... but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. In the waterways, noise echoed from every direction.
A bizarre resonance that was half wind, half laughter.
Gong Ryun infused power into his hands.
Staring into the darkness, listening carefully...
Waiting for the unidentified presence that could come from anywhere.
And then...
"Kishishishishishishishishi!!!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!!!"
A bizarre laugh and Gong Ryun's scream rang out almost simultaneously.
Huh? A laugh?
"Kishishi!! My first vassal!!!"
"Aaaaagh! What the hell!!!"
"The Queen herself has graced you with her presence!!!"
"??!!!???"
Queen Medilla.
She was behind Gong Ryun.
To be precise, she was hanging upside down from a vertical shaft bored into the ceiling of the waterway behind him, poking her head out.
Her long, messy hair looked like seaweed.
"What the hell!!!!! What is this!!!!!"
Gong Ryun was startled all over again at the sight.
"Kishishi! Did I surprise you? This vertical shaft was built as a construction passage for workers and a ventilation duct, and only I know about..."
"How did you get here without any presence at all??! I thought some monster had shown up and nearly had a heart attack!"
"Kuhuhuh! Did you see? This is this body's lightfoot technique! Especially in narrow terrain like this, I can zip past like the wind!"
"What kind of... Aigoo... Never mind. As long as it's not some monster, it's fine."
The tension drained from Gong Ryun's body all at once.
"Kishishi! Aren't you grateful!"
Medilla said as she flipped down from the vertical shaft in the ceiling.
"Grateful for what, exactly?"
"This lady has come in person to settle your commission fee! It would take time for you to come back my way! Quitting time is important!"
So that was it?
Gong Ryun felt a little more forgiving. She was a considerate employer after all.
"And to check your skills while I'm at it! You should have followed the route on the map this lady sent, so if you've made it this far, you've covered quite a bit! Let me check the kill count of how many you caught!"
Gong Ryun held out his personal device. Bluetooth activated and transferred the mole kill count his device had recorded.
"Oho! You've killed a lot! A number like this means you didn't just casually wander around—you thoroughly destroyed everything along the way!"
"Heh. When it comes to work ethic, I'm second to none."
"Kishishishi!!! Excellent!!! You truly are a loyal subject!!!"
"Thank you."
Medilla operated her personal device and transferred the money on the spot. Double pay, as promised.
Fast and reliable transfer.
Gong Ryun felt his trust in his client rising.
...
No. No, what am I thinking.
Snap out of it, me.
Gong Ryun scolded himself.
No letting his guard down until he got a solid answer about the missing persons.
"Kishishi! Vassal! How do you like this fantastic work environment! Do you have any thoughts about a long-term contract? Just until other mercenaries are recruited..."
"Hold on. I really need to ask about this first."
"Hm? About what?"
"The missing persons."
"Mis...sing persons...?"
"Yes. The people who went missing in the western waterways. As the person in charge here, you should know, right? I want to ask how the disappearances happened, and whether it's really safe."
"Huhuhuh. So that's what you wanted to ask. I see."
Medilla seemed slightly flustered, then continued.
"To put it simply..."
"Simply?"
"The cause has already been resolved!"
"Oh! Is that so. What was the cause?"
"Arachne."
"...?"
Arachne.
Highly intelligent monsters specialized in stealth, ambush, and deception. Cunning and extremely dangerous. They especially loved dark places and nested in caves and abandoned mines.
Gong Ryun felt goosebumps rise along his spine. The memory of nearly dying when he encountered Arachne in an abandoned mine last time flashed through his mind.
Arachne were the absolute worst. Especially for Gong Ryun—their matchup was terrible. He never wanted to meet them again.
"Arachne... in the city...?"
"A few Arachne appeared in the western underground waterways. From my investigation, they hadn't nested in the waterways. They were just trickling in a few at a time from somewhere."
"Then the fate of the missing persons..."
"Indeed. They were eaten by the Arachne. Those things leave no traces, like assassins, so identifying the cause was delayed."
"...Don't tell me there are still Arachne left?"
"As if!!! This body eliminated every last one of them!!! That's right!!!"
"Phew..."
Gong Ryun was relieved.
She took care of them all.
"Hmm. Hmm. When was the last time you heard rumors about those missing persons? It must have been more than six months ago, right?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it..."
The missing-person rumors were something Gong Ryun had overheard from other mercenaries at a mole-hunting job in a different district a long time ago. For about half a year now he had enough experience that he hadn't been taking mole-hunting commissions, so he hadn't heard any underground-waterway rumors since then.
Ah. So that was it.
When missing persons started appearing, the government hired someone to resolve it—and that someone was Queen Medilla.
"Kishishi! At that time, with the perfect resolution of the case, my abilities were recognized and I was appointed as a civil servant!"
"Then there's no threat of any kind now."
"That's right!! There is!! No threat!! Of any kind!! Anymore!!!"
"...Is it really true that there's no threat of any kind?"
"......Really!! The Arachne case is now closed!! There will be no more missing persons!!!"
"Hmmm..."
Gong Ryun was skeptical. For some reason, Medilla didn't seem to be meeting his eyes properly.
Logically, there was no way an expert of her caliber couldn't have killed all the Arachne... but what was she hiding?
"Aiiiigh! Must this lady go this far! I swear to the heavens that there will be no more missing persons!"
"What good is an oath going to do?"
Oaths had zero binding force. Common sense.
Then Medilla dropped a shocking response.
"Mother..."
"?"
"I swear upon my mother's!!!!! Honor!!!!!!!"
"You're!!! Swearing on that!!!???"
Gong Ryun was greatly shaken.
For reference, Gong Ryun was extremely weak to the word "mother."
"Yes!!!!! Upon my mother's honor, I declare!!!!! These underground waterways are safe!!!!!"
"My... my goodness...!!!!! To swear upon the mother who fed you, raised you, and gave you love...!!! Unless you're a lunatic who knows neither filial piety nor gratitude, a complete human failure, an arrogant evil demon and monster, a depraved child—there's no way this oath can be broken!!!!!!!"
Medilla's body flinched.
"I see... Understood. I'll believe you! Showing this kind of resolve! How can I not believe it!"
"Th-that's right...!!!"
Gong Ryun nodded.
Having confirmed an oath that no human being could possibly break, there was nothing left to worry about.
The trust level in Gong Ryun's heart rose again.
"Then let us make a long-term contract!"
"A long-term contract? For how long?"
"Until enough other mercenaries gather! About a few weeks should do! The tteokbokki shop unnie is scouting for reliable people!"
Hmm? Does gathering mercenaries take that long?
Well, the facility is important, so maybe she's filling it with trustworthy people?
Gong Ryun thought it over briefly.
"I said long-term contract, but it's nothing special! Just taking on the commission for several days in a row! And!!!"
"And?"
"The daily wage is still double."
"Heck yeah, I'm in!!!"
Long live the Queen.
And so Gong Ryun became the first loyal servant of the Underground Kingdom.