Let's Become Adventurers! (2)
“Huff… huff…”
“Fortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s chasing us any farther.”
Having barely shaken off the bear, we had reached the outskirts of the city.
“Still… we… made it to the city at least…”
“You need to build up your stamina, Hero.”
“You’re the weird one here!”
After catching our breath in the nearby forest, we examined the entrance we’d have to use to get into the city. The whole place was surrounded by massive castle walls, so the only way in was through the main gate.
“Hmm… looks like we have no choice but to go through there…”
Two stern gatekeepers stood at the entrance, thoroughly inspecting both people and their luggage.
“What now? I might be fine, but you…”
The moment a demon like Reve was spotted, those sharp spears they carried would definitely run him through.
“It’s fine. I already have a plan.”
“A plan?”
Since this was the city he’d originally been aiming for, it made sense that he’d already figured out a way inside.
“In a place like this, a little sincerity is usually all it takes to pass without trouble.”
“Ooh! As expected of you, Reve! You’re amazing!”
“Well, since we’re unidentified, we’ll need to show a bit more sincerity than most.”
It looked like the classic cliché of corrupt gatekeepers existed in this world too.
“Then where’s the money? Didn’t the bandits take everything?”
“Of course I grabbed it all when we escaped. I even took the money they’d collected.”
Reve smiled confidently and patted the area around his waist.
“And it’s all in the bag…”
“The bag…”
Reve fumbled at his waist, but there was nothing there.
“…”
“…”
“The money… was in the bag you threw?”
“…It was.”
The bag I’d hurled to distract the bear earlier apparently contained every last coin we had.
“Now what do we do?! We can’t get into the city like this!”
I grabbed Reve by the collar, seething.
“What? Did you have a better idea back then? If we’d just kept running, that bear would’ve caught and killed both of us!”
Reve grabbed my collar in return, and we started shaking each other like idiots.
“Why the hell did you grill fish in the first place?! We could’ve just eaten something else!”
“I packed all the long-lasting preserved foods first! The only things left to stuff in the empty space were those two fish!”
“That’s why I’m asking why you brought fish!!!”
“I just grabbed whatever was closest! If we’re pointing fingers, if I hadn’t brought any food you’d be starving right now! Hell, we wouldn’t have even escaped in the first place!”
“What?! Hey! If it was just you, you never would’ve beaten that boss! Who could you possibly beat with those pathetic pssht pssht punches?!”
“What did you say?! Don’t you dare insult the Demonic Fist Arts!”
“This is all your fault!!!!!!!!!!”
“No, it’s your fault!!!!!!!!!!”
We spent a good while like that, tangled up and shaking each other by the collar.
“…”
“…”
“What the hell are we even doing…”
“Yeah…”
Hit with a sudden wave of embarrassment, we sat down and stared at the sunset for a while.
We reviewed our options again. Going through the gate was no longer an option, so the only thing left was…
“Climbing over the wall?”
“Impossible. Neither of us can scale that thing, and there are patrol guards walking along the top.”
Then…
“Sneaking in at night?”
“They close the gates at night and tighten security. If we’re going in, it has to be during the day.”
…We had no options?
“We have no options?”
“…There’s still one trick left.”
“What is it?”
“We find a dog hole. I’m not sure if there is one, though.”
Reve pointed at the wall and kept explaining.
“Somewhere along that wall there should be a small hole that beggars or thieves use to slip in and out. We just need to find it.”
“…How are we supposed to know where it is?”
“We’ll have to search for it starting now…”
“…”
And so we spent a long time circling the wall looking for a dog hole. From a safe distance, of course.
“At this rate we’ll be here all night.”
Being so far away made it impossible to see clearly, and moving carefully so the guards wouldn’t spot us slowed us down even more. Our search was taking forever.
“Can’t we go a little faster?”
“Absolutely not. Safety comes first, no matter what.”
Reve rejected my suggestion instantly, his face that of someone who had suffered through far too many disasters.
“…But I’m not a demon. So it doesn’t matter for me, right?”
“…”
“I can just go in alone.”
When I suggested that, Reve looked genuinely flustered, like the idea had never occurred to him.
“Hmm… I don’t think that’ll work.”
But what came out of his mouth next was, surprisingly, that it was impossible.
“Why? I’m just a regular civilian.”
“You… look almost exactly like someone from the Eastern Continent. You’ll definitely be suspected.”
Racism shows up even here?
“What’s wrong with people from the Eastern Continent?”
“This is the Central Continent, so… Well, there must be a reason they discriminate.”
“…”
I guess that’s fair.
“Hmm… This is getting dangerous to talk about. I might end up sounding like a racist.”
“Racist? What’s that?”
“Uh… You don’t need to know.”
So we had no choice but to keep searching for the dog hole.
Even after the moon rose and owls began to hoot, we still hadn’t found it.
“Um… Are you sure there even is a dog hole?”
“…Probably.”
“But would we even recognize it? They wouldn’t just leave an obvious hole out in the open.”
“Well… There are ways.”
Reve kept searching with a confident look on his face while I half-heartedly scanned the wall beside him.
That was when I spotted several figures in the distance, secretly moving toward somewhere.
“Shh! There! Let’s follow them.”
“…!”
Reve covered my mouth and quietly began tailing the group.
The people, who looked a lot like the bandits who had kidnapped us, were wearing brown robes with their heads down, moving in a crouched formation. We followed silently behind them.
“Bandits?”
“Probably… There are always bandits everywhere.”
Before long the group reached the wall. After fiddling with something for a moment, they slipped inside.
“Perfect! Just as I thought! Let’s go!”
“Okay!”
We waited a short while before approaching the same section of wall and examining it carefully.
“Found it! It’s here!”
Reve called me over urgently. When he manipulated a few protruding stones, a thin crack opened in the wall.
“Ooooh! So this is the dog hole?”
“Hmm… It’s surprisingly well-made… Well, doesn’t matter…”
We slipped through the gap. Inside was a dark passageway.
The passage was cluttered with bricks, wooden boxes, and large barrels, making movement awkward, but excellent for hiding. Spiderwebs and bugs everywhere showed the place hadn’t been maintained in a long time.
Soon we heard the people who had entered first whispering.
“We’re inside, but… it really looks like no one’s used this in ages…”
“Makes sense. Using a passage like this isn’t exactly normal.”
“There’s a lot of dust. I recommend everyone cover their mouths.”
“I want out! I want out right now! Hurry!”
“Stop complaining. It’s the princess’s order…”
The group of five or six people whispered among themselves as they moved forward.
“Hero, this way. We’re going the opposite direction.”
“Opposite?”
“Yeah. Whether there’s a path back there or not, we can’t let them notice us.”
“R-right.”
We turned left, the opposite direction from the first group, and were just about to move when—
“Ugh, it’s so dusty…”
“Endure it! If you can’t handle this much, you’ll never accomplish our great task!”
“Ugh…”
Voices came from the left side as well.
We had entered through the secret door and tried to go left to avoid the first group that went right, but now voices were coming from the left too. Somehow we had ended up stuck right between two separate groups using the same secret passage.
“…”
“…?”
We panicked and started backing away.
“Wh-what do we do?”
“Calm down. We haven’t been discovered yet.”
“R-right…”
But the crisis hit immediately.
“Alright, let’s move.”
The group in black robes on the left began heading straight toward us.
“They’re coming this way?”
“Damn… Does that mean there’s no exit on the other side?”
Luckily they still hadn’t noticed us hiding among the bricks, nor the people much farther to the right.
“Ugh… Think, think…”
“Let’s analyze the situation first.”
I clutched my head, desperately trying to come up with a solution, while Reve analyzed the two groups.
“The first group that came in mentioned a ‘princess,’ so they’re probably from the Empire. Those black robes… Anyone can tell they’re black mages.”
“Black mages?”
“Yes. Heretics who despise the world and want to bring about its destruction.”
“Uh… Aren’t they basically like you?”
“What?! How can you say something so ridiculous!”
For some reason Reve flew into a rage at my words and accidentally shouted out loud.
“…Who’s there!”
“What was that? Someone’s here! Stay alert!”
Both groups immediately went on high alert and began scanning the darkness.
Fortunately neither side had any light sources, so they were relying purely on their senses.
“Ah…”
“We’re screwed…”
Reve finally came to his senses, covered his mouth, and shrank back.
“Who are you?!”
“Prepare for battle!”
The tension between the two groups had reached its peak. A fight was about to break out any second.
“Should we just sneak out while they’re fighting…?”
“Obviously impossible. In a narrow passage like this, there’s no way they wouldn’t notice us.”
“…Then what if they start brawling so chaotically they don’t even register us?”
“A melee… It’s possible, but the timing…”
“Reve… listen to me…”
I quickly whispered my plan. Then we both stood up at the same time and shouted.
The two groups collided instantly, and we were thrown into the middle of the chaos.
“Uwaaaaaagh!!!!!”
“Die!!!!!”
In the blink of an eye the passage had turned into a violent battlefield. The narrow space made it almost impossible to tell who was who.
“You filthy dogs of the Empire!!!!!”
“How dare those disgusting black mages show themselves here!!!!!”
“Reve, this way!”
“Ugh… got it…”
Taking advantage of the mayhem, we hid ourselves and slipped away, finally managing to enter the city.
After moving for a while, we sat down in a secluded alley inside the city to catch our breath.
“Why is everything we do, everywhere we go… so ridiculously hard…”
“Stop complaining… We need to keep moving…”
Reve stood up.
“Let’s go a little farther. The more distance the better.”
“Okay…”
And so we crossed through the city in the dead of night.