Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Episode 11: Let’s Become Adventurers! (2)
“Huff… huff…”
“Good thing it didn’t chase us this far.”
We had finally shaken off the bear and reached the outskirts of a city.
“Still… huff… we made it… huff… to the city…”
“You should improve your stamina, Hero.”
“You’re… huff… the weird… huff… one!”
After catching our breath in the surrounding forest, we checked the entrance before heading into the city.
The city was surrounded by tall walls, meaning there was no way in except through the main gate.
“Hmm… looks like we have no choice but to go through there.”
But two gate guards were strictly inspecting everyone entering along with their luggage.
“What should we do? I’m fine, but you…”
If Rev was discovered, there was no doubt he would immediately be stabbed by those sharp spears the guards were holding.
“It’s fine. I already have a plan.”
“A plan?”
Well, since he said this was his target city, it made sense that he would have thought of a way in beforehand.
“In a place like this, a bit of sincerity is usually enough to get through without problems.”
“Wow…! As expected of Rev! Amazing!”
“Well, we’re unidentified individuals, so we might need to show a bit more sincerity than usual.”
It seemed even this world had its cliché corrupt gatekeepers.
“Then where’s the money? Didn’t the bandits take everything?”
“Of course I recovered it all when we escaped. And I also took the money those guys had collected.”
Rev smiled confidently and pointed to his waist.
“And it’s all in the bag…”
“In the bag…”
Rev began searching around his waist, but there was nothing there.
“….”
“….”
“So… the money was in the bag you threw earlier?”
“…That’s correct.”
It seemed that the food bag we threw to distract the bear also contained all of our money.
“What are we going to do now! We can’t even enter the city!”
I grabbed Rev by the collar, furious.
“What? Then what other choice did we have? If we had kept running, both of us would’ve been eaten by that bear!”
Rev grabbed my collar back, and soon we were shaking each other violently.
“Why did you even roast fish in the first place! We could’ve just eaten something else!”
“There were only preserved foods and long-lasting supplies left, and that fish just happened to be in the empty space!”
“So I’m asking why you packed fish in the first place!!”
“I just grabbed whatever was there! And if you want to go that far, if I hadn’t packed any food at all, you would’ve starved! No—none of this escape would’ve even been possible!”
“What? You think you could’ve beaten that bandit leader alone? With that pathetic punch-woosh-bang thing?!”
“Don’t insult my Fist Arts!”
“It’s your fault!!!!”
“It’s your fault!!!!”
We kept shaking each other by the collars for a long time.
“….”
“….”
“…What are we doing?”
“…I don’t know.”
After hitting a wall of realization, we sat down and rested while watching the sunset.
We reviewed our plan again. Entering through the gate was no longer an option, so what remained was—
“Climbing over the wall?”
“Impossible. Neither of us can climb that wall, and there are patrols on top as well.”
“Then sneaking in at night?”
“The gates are closed at night, and security gets even tighter. It’s better to enter during the day.”
“…We have no way in, do we?”
“…There’s still one option.”
“What is it?”
“Find a rat hole. If it exists.”
Rev pointed at the city wall and continued.
“Somewhere in those walls, there might be a small opening used by beggars or bandits. We just need to find that.”
“…And how are we supposed to find that?”
“We start searching.”
“….”
So we spent a long time circling the city walls in search of a rat hole. Of course, keeping our distance so we wouldn’t get caught.
“At this rate, we’ll be searching all night.”
Since we had to stay far away, we couldn’t inspect the wall closely, and our movement speed was slow to avoid guards. The search was taking forever.
“Can’t we speed up a bit?”
“Absolutely not. Safety comes first.”
Rev rejected my suggestion with the face of someone who had suffered far too much already.
“…But I’m not a demon, right? So I should be fine entering, no?”
“….”
“I can just go in alone.”
When I suggested going in by myself, Rev seemed caught off guard, as if he hadn’t considered it.
“…I suppose that might not work.”
“Why? I’m just a civilian.”
“You… look almost identical to someone from the Eastern Continent.”
“So I’ll be suspected?”
“This is the Central Continent. There’s… a reason for discrimination, whether you like it or not.”
“….”
That’s… true enough.
“Hmm… I feel like I’m walking into dangerous territory talking about this. I might end up sounding like a racist.”
“Racist? What’s that?”
“Uh… never mind.”
And so we continued searching for the rat hole.
Even as the moon rose and owls began to cry, we still hadn’t found anything.
“Are you sure there even is a rat hole?”
“…Probably.”
“And if there is, would we even recognize it? They wouldn’t exactly label it as a ‘rat hole,’ right?”
“Well… I have my ways.”
Rev continued searching confidently while I scanned the wall nearby.
Then, I noticed several people moving suspiciously in the distance.
“Shh! Over there. Let’s follow them.”
“…!”
Rev covered my mouth and carefully began trailing them.
They looked like bandits, wearing brown cloaks and moving in a quiet formation. We followed behind them.
“Bandits?”
“Probably. They tend to be everywhere.”
Soon they reached the wall, fiddled with something, and slipped inside.
“Good! Let’s follow!”
“Okay!”
After waiting a moment, we approached the wall and searched the area.
“Found it! Here!”
Rev called me urgently. After manipulating a slightly protruding stone, a thin gap in the wall opened.
“Whoa! This is the rat hole?”
“It’s… surprisingly well-made. Whatever, doesn’t matter.”
We slipped inside.
Beyond the wall was a dark passage.
It was filled with broken crates, barrels, and junk that made moving difficult, but also perfect for hiding.
Spider webs and insects showed that it hadn’t been maintained in a long time.
Soon, we heard voices from ahead.
“So we got in, but… this place seems unused for a long time…”
“Of course. A passage like this isn’t meant to be used normally.”
“It’s very dusty. Everyone, cover your mouths.”
“I want to leave! I want to leave right now!”
“Stop complaining. It’s the Lady’s order…”
There were about five or six people moving forward while whispering.
“Hero, come this way. We go behind them.”
“Behind?”
“Yes. Even if there’s no path, we can’t risk being seen.”
“Ah… got it.”
We shifted toward the opposite direction they were heading.
But then—
“Ugh, this dust…”
“Endure it! If you can’t handle this, you can’t achieve greatness!”
“Ugh…”
Voices came from the other direction too.
We were now trapped between two groups using the same hidden passage.
“….”
“…?”
We slowly backed away.
“Uh… what do we do?”
“Calm down. They haven’t noticed us.”
But danger came immediately.
“Alright, let’s move.”
The cloaked group on the left began heading toward us.
“They’re coming this way.”
“Damn… is there no exit on the other side?”
Fortunately, neither group had noticed us yet. They were relying only on their senses.
“…Ah.”
“…We’re screwed.”
Rev covered his mouth in panic.
“Who’s there!”
“Prepare for combat!”
Both groups became fully alert. A fight was about to break out.
“Should we slip out during the fight…?”
Impossible. In such a narrow passage, getting spotted was inevitable.
“Then… if they fight so hard they stop noticing anything?”
“A chaotic battle… possible, but timing…”
“Rev… listen…”
I quickly explained the plan.
We stood up at the same time and shouted.
“For the Princess!!!”
“Do not interfere with our dark grand plan!!!”
At that exact moment, both groups collided.
“Gyaaah!!!”
“Die!!!”
The passage instantly turned into chaos.
“Filthy imperial dogs!!!”
“You disgusting dark mages!!!”
“Rev, this way!”
“Got it!”
We slipped through the confusion and escaped, finally making it into the city.
After some time, we hid in a quiet alley inside the city.
“…No matter what we do… why is everything so hard…”
“Stop complaining… we need to keep moving…”
Rev stood up.
“Let’s go further. The farther we are, the better.”
“Alright…”
And so, we walked through the city at night.