Chapter 43: Buffalo Dungeon (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: Buffalo Dungeon (7)
Before entering this dungeon, the secret favor I had asked of Chloe was this:
"Chloe, if we run into that checkpoint employee in the dungeon, fuck him up."
Naturally, Chloe accepted the request without question. I wasn't used to manipulating people, but there was no reason I couldn't leverage her absolute trust.
For the record, there were two reasons I asked Chloe.
First, Chloe was an assassin of the Auditore family. While ordinary cadets couldn't harm others, members of the Auditore family were exempt from liability as long as they had a justifiable reason.
Second, it was obvious that the employee was involved in the conspiracy behind this incident. Therefore, we couldn't just kill him mercilessly. Well, once we got all the information out of him, that would be a different story.
If I were to handle it myself, his head would fly off in a single blow. So, my plan was to have her beat him half to death so we could ask him a few things.
I didn't even consider the possibility of him being innocent.
My gut told me the bastard was dirty. My intuition, sharpened by the Blessing of the Sword God, saw right through his fishy intentions.
Anyway.
Thud!
Chloe kicked the stomach of the employee, whose leg was already impaled by her katana. The employee writhed violently, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Aaaaargh!"
"Shut up!"
Squish.
Chloe stepped hard on the leg where the katana was embedded. The employee shrieked in agony.
Crack!
When he showed no signs of quietening down, Chloe delivered a low kick straight to his ribs. The employee's body curled up like a shrimp.
"Ack!"
Despite the armament he had brought along, he couldn't offer a shred of resistance. Clutching his leg, he sobbed and stammered.
"Y-you brats! W-why are you doing this to me?! What did I even do?!"
I chuckled softly and squatted down in front of him.
"That's exactly what we're about to find out."
As our eyes met, the employee stiffened. Standing behind me, Speed Weapon asked, his face pale,
"What on earth is going on?"
"I asked Chloe for a favor earlier."
I shrugged and continued.
"Weapon, Saki. Think about it. Do you really think the buffalo herd going berserk and the stone gate being open were just coincidences?"
"...True. No matter how I look at it, it definitely felt unnatural."
Weapon stared at the employee with an uncomfortable expression, then took a deep breath.
"But we don't have any proof that this guy is the culprit."
"That's why we're going to find out now."
"Kang Geomma, you really are something else..."
Speed Weapon pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disbelief. On the other hand, Saki Ryozo agreed with me as she peeled the wrapper off some sweet red bean jelly.
"Kang Geomma is right. Honestly, it's highly suspicious that this guy showed up at such a perfect time, as if he'd been waiting for us. It's not like there are security cameras inside the dungeon. And look, he's holding an anti-personnel weapon in one hand. There's only one reason someone would bring an anti-personnel weapon into a dungeon, right?"
Saki Ryozo took a large bite of her sweet red bean jelly, laying out the facts point by point to convince the skeptical Speed Weapon.
...But seriously, how can she eat sweet red bean jelly in a situation like this?
Saki Ryozo tucked her hair behind her ear and stepped close to my side, her high-slit skirt fluttering slightly. In a calm, indifferent voice, as if this were no big deal, she spoke to the employee.
"Who's backing you?"
Her attitude was languid yet freezing cold and cynical. Her tone wasn't a threat, but rather an attempt to size him up.
"T-that..."
A look of sheer dismay spread across the employee's face. He opened his mouth to speak but only ended up parting his lips silently. Meanwhile, bloody fluid kept oozing from the back of his knee.
She sighed and stared at him. As if she had already figured out the gist of the situation, she casually chewed on her sweet red bean jelly and shook her head.
"Doesn't look like he plans on talking. What are you going to do?"
"..."
Saki shrugged and asked me. In an atmosphere where it was easy to lose one's temper, I was grateful for her calm demeanor.
Of course, even Saki frowned at Chloe's brutal methods, but she didn't deny their necessity.
Weapon averted his horrified eyes.
It seemed the only other guy in our group besides me was surprisingly weak-willed. Without a word, I locked eyes with the employee. His pupils were trembling violently.
Seeing how he couldn't even offer a counterargument, it was clear he was involved. But judging by his hesitant gaze, I could guess the general situation.
The employee feared the person who hired him far more than he feared us, who had just driven a sword into his leg.
In that case, there was only one way. We had to instill enough terror in him until he opened his mouth. Scratching my eyebrow, I stepped closer to the employee and spoke.
"If you have no intention of telling us who's behind this..."
"...!"
I gestured to Chloe with my chin. She nodded in understanding.
Shhhk— Dragging her katana, which sang with a fierce, metallic ring, she approached the employee. A chilling bloodlust radiated from her. It was unmistakably the aura of an assassin.
"I-I'll talk! I'll talk!"
The employee rolled his eyes back and screamed in a panic. Chloe glanced back at me.
I crossed my arms and gave her a nonchalant nod. The employee licked his dry lips and began to speak.
Yellowish fluid mixed with blood continued to seep from the back of his knee.
* * *
"...So, a few days ago, someone who looked like an instructor from Joaquin Academy handed you a magic stone and specifically mentioned Kang Geomma?"
Speed Weapon, who had been listening with a bewildered expression, muttered bitterly. He bit his lip, a complex mix of emotions flitting across his face.
"Y-yes, exactly. I was really shocked back then, too. I threw a fit, asking how an educator could do such a thing to a cadet."
"What the fuck."
Weapon cursed, his anger boiling over.
"What did this instructor look like?"
"Uh..."
The employee rolled his eyes at Saki's abrupt question. When Chloe tapped his shoulder with the flat of her katana, he finally made up his mind and parted his dry lips.
"It was a female instructor with purple hair and eyes. She was on the taller side."
The employee's voice trailed off in fear. He wrapped his arms around his trembling shoulders.
"Does anyone come to mind, Weapon?"
"Hmm, I don't know. I don't know the faces of every single instructor at the academy. There are tons of them. At least in the Dragon Class I belong to, I don't think there's any instructor matching that description."
Weapon ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts in disarray. Meanwhile, Saki, who had been pondering with her index finger pressed against her lips, spoke up.
"That female instructor... I think she might be our class's assistant instructor."
"Saki, you barely even attend class."
"I never forget a face once I've seen it."
Saki shrugged and popped a piece of candy she pulled from her pocket into her mouth.
"Besides, her eyes were quite striking, so she left an impression."
"...I see."
Weapon stroked his chin with a serious expression, sorting through his thoughts. Then, a sudden realization seemed to hit him.
"Then, was the incident during the midterm exams also her doing?"
"The midterms? What happened then?"
Saki Ryozo threw the question back at me.
Weapon glanced at me to gauge my reaction. I gave a slight nod. Since we were already sharing this situation, it was better to be open about it rather than hiding it.
"Ah, well. During the midterms, we had an unexpected encounter with a Majin Mermaid."
"What? Then, is Leon's hospitalization right after the midterms because he fought a Majin?"
Saki's eyes widened in surprise. Weapon shook his head sheepishly.
"No, this bastard, Kang Geomma, took care of the Mermaid all by himself."
"Ah..."
Weapon said, pointing a thumb at me. Saki let out a soft groan, then nodded as if everything made sense now.
It seemed that no matter the situation, as long as my name was attached to it, no further explanation was needed. I let out a dry laugh.
"Well, we'll get some answers if we discuss it again later."
"True. No use racking our brains here when we won't get any more clues. For now, we should head back."
The situation was more or less wrapped up. Color returned to the face of the half-dead employee. Then, suddenly curious, Weapon asked him,
"But why did you agree to that female instructor's request in the first place?"
"..."
The employee's expression shifted instantly. His slimy lips twitched noticeably.
Doesn't look like he has any intention of answering.
Then we just had to drag it out of him. I gestured to Chloe.
She nodded and stomped hard on the employee's leg. At her merciless action, Weapon grimaced, finding it hard to watch.
"Aaaaargh! I'll talk, I'll talk! Stop!"
"Well?"
"T-that... I had some gambling debts, so I had no choice."
"What a piece of shit. He's a total bastard! We can't just let a guy like this go!"
Weapon snarled, his face contorted in rage. The employee's eyebrows twitched at the barrage of curses.
"...Still, considering my age, calling me a bastard is a bit..."
"Hey, you should apologize to actual dogs, you motherfucker. Selling out students for money?! Ugh, you're worse than a beast."
Weapon clicked his tongue harshly and waved his hand dismissively. I patted his shoulder lightly to calm him down.
"Don't worry. I had no intention of letting this bastard off easy."
"Geomma, what are you planning to do with him?"
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and showed it to my teammates. The recording app was running. Caught off guard, Weapon and Saki let out soft gasps.
"We've got everything we need out of him anyway. And conveniently, a dungeon that shouldn't be open is open. Isn't this the perfect setup to make someone disappear?"
"W-wait a minute!"
The employee's face turned pale as a sheet. Barely managing to control his trembling jaw, he asked,
"Y-you're joking, right?"
I stared straight into his eyes, let out a smirk, and turned my head toward Chloe.
"Chloe."
"Yes, Geomma-kun!"
Chloe's eyes sparkled as if she had been waiting for my command. Sticky blood was soaked into her shoes.
"I'll leave it to your judgment as an assassin."
My request was only to make the employee confess, so the rest was up to her as an Auditore. Chloe nodded quietly. Then, straightening her posture, she began to erase all emotion from her face, one by one.
"I shall pass judgment upon you."
Soon, even her eyes grew dull, and she entered full yandere mode.
"N-no, wait...!"
At the sudden shift in Chloe's aura, the employee's face instantly turned deathly pale.
Chloe tilted her head sharply. A moment later, her shoulders shifted.
Slash.
The blade sliced clean through the employee's neck, exiting the other side.
Thud.
His head fell to the ground. Blood sprayed spectacularly. Weapon covered his mouth.
I immediately turned around. There lay another decapitated corpse. I twisted my upper body back to glare at the employee's body.
"Worse than a beast."
Muttering that, I grabbed my wire saw and walked toward the Cow King. No matter how angry I was, I still had a job to do.