41
My Villains Chapter 41
11. Secret Passage (2)
Thanks to suddenly ambushing and killing the leader, we were able to deal with the remaining bandits without much difficulty.
I stood at the front with my shield, blocking them, while Arnal, who had come through the darkness barefoot with me, shot arrows from behind.
After another one fell to an arrow, the bandits forcefully rallied and charged at us, but-
"Flammae, satus!"
They ended up exposing their backs to Ellen, Grania, and Mr. Luke who appeared on the opposite side.
Following the Flame Arrows, Wind Fists flew in rapid succession, and Grania and I finished off the ones who had completely lost their will to fight.
After the battle ended, while Grania interrogated the lucky survivor, I wiped the blood off my body and put on my clothes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Luke approached and handed me the armor I had entrusted to him.
"Thank you, Mr. Luke. Could you give me the breastplate first?"
"Here it is. By the way, how did you know, Phoenix?"
"Pardon? Know what?"
As I asked back while attaching hooks to the backplate, Mr. Luke continued speaking while tying the side straps.
"That those fellows were bandits."
"... Ah."
"To be honest, I was half in doubt. Wondering if we might be attacking innocent people."
Hmm, how should I explain this?
The reason I deduced they were bandits just from hearing their presence was, of course, due to my experience in the game.
'Swift-footed Tobald' was the first Fixed Named Enemy (FNE, a named enemy that always appears) encountered in Chapter 2 of the Dark World campaign.
You would inevitably encounter him while wandering through the sewers, and he would have a minimum of four and a maximum of ten subordinates. But I had searched the sewers thoroughly from the 1st to 4th floors without encountering Tobald's group.
So while I was finding this strange, I detected the presence of about ten people heading to an unusual location. How could I not be suspicious?
But I couldn't explain these circumstances to Mr. Luke.
"Well- it's hard to explain, but I half-guessed it by instinct."
"By instinct?"
"Ah, and I also had some suspicions. If there really was a secret passage leading outside, I wondered if enemies might be using it too..."
"...I see."
Mr. Luke made an ambiguous expression for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.
"Well, you were a Blood Knight. It's not surprising that your intuition would be developed."
"Uh, yeah, something like that."
I just made that up. Thank you for accepting it, Mr. Luke.
As I glossed over it like that, Arnal, who was putting on leather shoes beside me, spoke in a tone of disgust.
"Intuition my ass, I'll pass on such crazy tactics next time. I can't even imagine how much crap I stepped on while running around mindlessly."
"Crazy tactics? It was quite successful, wasn't it?"
Taking only Arnal and flanking behind her was a strategy I came up with on the spot. It felt wasteful not to ambush when the enemies were unaware of our presence.
Of course, it would be difficult for all five of us to suppress our presence. But it was worth trying for me, with my high agility score, and Arnal, who had received training from hunters.
We had to leave behind the clanking plate armor and thick-soled shoes, though.
Thanks to that, we were able to subdue them without a scratch, but Arnal still seemed displeased.
"It was just luck. I still can't believe such a sloppy strategy succeeded."
"Hey, if you want to pick a fight, just say so."
"It's not about picking a fight- sigh. Just in case, don't do this kind of thing when there are people around, okay?"
"What kind of thing?"
Arnal frowned at my question as if I really didn't know.
"Acting like a Berserker. Your reputation is already weird enough, if you go around like this, everyone will think you're a heretic or a madman. Even when the Marshal hired you, he objected- no, never mind that."
It's meant to be caring advice, but it somehow rubs me the wrong way.
It's not 'be careful not to be misunderstood', but more like 'be careful not to get caught', isn't it?
And, the Marshal? If it's the Marshal, that would be the general I met during the battle at the docks. What about him?
As I was about to express my doubts, Ellen, who was checking the stonebow I had returned, abruptly interjected.
"She's right. It was an unnecessarily dangerous strategy."
"Hey, I chose what I thought was the safest method in my own way. And-"
Wait a minute. Did she just agree with what Arnal said?
As Arnal and I turned slightly surprised gazes towards her, Ellen quickly turned her head and added, "They weren't even that formidable anyway. Why take unnecessary risks?"
Hmm, she did support Arnal's opinion... But she's still addressing me. It's ambiguous.
Still, I should be satisfied that she's responding at all, even like this.
"Well, that's true. But you never know, right? They could have been extremely dangerous."
"Phoenix is right."
Grania, who seemed to have already finished the interrogation, approached us. Behind her, I could see a bandit lying on his side.
"That one with the split head is 'Swift-footed Tobald', apparently a high-ranking member of the bandit group. Reportedly among the top five in their hierarchy."
"Hmm..."
Instead of the silent Ellen, Arnal frowned and asked,
"A high-ranking bandit? Why would someone like that come here?"
"He says they discovered the secret passage by chance while scouting the area. They were on their way back after confirming this was South Harbor's sewer."
"Wait. Then isn't the exit already blocked?"
"It doesn't seem so. Apparently, they entered as soon as they discovered the secret passage."
Ha, discovered the secret passage by chance? This bandit, spared his life only to lie.
Inwardly sneering, I approached Tobald's corpse, letting Arnal and Grania's conversation fade into the background.
The corpse was still bleeding from the head. Fortunately, the passage sloped slightly towards the central waterway, and the blood mixed with white chunks was flowing away somewhere, mingling with the filth instead of soaking its owner's body.
As I searched the body, Ellen, who had silently approached, spoke with a glint in her eyes.
"Phoenix, that cloak."
"Huh? The cloak?"
"I sense magical energy. It seems to be a magical item."
"Oh, really?"
Is this a good find?
Hearing Ellen's words, I unfastened the bandit's pitch-black cloak.
The cloak was short, barely reaching the hips, and covered only one shoulder. It seemed to be made of wool, but it clearly wasn't meant for warmth.
"Hmm. I wonder what kind of magic it has?"
"Let me see."
Ellen took the cloak and gently closed her eyes. In the windless sewer, her golden hair fluttered slightly. She was clearly manipulating magic.
"...Hmm, I sense a repulsive force against magic."
"Repulsive force?"
"Magic resistance. I can't tell much else."
Perhaps drawn by the wind Ellen had created, Mr. Luke approached and examined the cloak, adding, "It's not a cursed item. I don't sense any evil aura."
"Is that so? Well then."
I gladly shook out the cloak a couple of times and draped it over my left shoulder.
As I wrapped the cord around my torso and fastened it to the brooch on my chest, just as Tobald had worn it, I felt a strange sensation.
Woong.
It felt as if a thin membrane was enveloping my entire body. It was unfamiliar, but not an unpleasant sensation.
Is this magic resistance?
Meanwhile, the cloak wasn't very long, so it didn't get in the way much, and its heavy, draping material didn't flutter frivolously, which I liked.
And above all, it was pitch black, probably dyed with good quality dye.
In short, it looked cool. All I had gotten from Poison were a few poison-coated daggers and a curved sword, but I got something quite nice from Tobald. It was making me feel good.
"How is it? Does it suit me?"
As I spread my arms to show off the cloak, Mr. Luke nodded with a hearty laugh, while Ellen narrowed her brows as if thinking I was pathetic.
"Just continue what you were doing. If he had such a magical item, he might have other useful things."
"Hey, is it so hard to say it looks good?"
"Don't say such foolish things."
How harsh.
Grumbling, I searched Tobald's possessions and found several glass vials.
The vials all contained substances of ominous colors, and they looked far from ordinary at a glance.
"What are all these?"
I decided to call Grania and Arnal over to examine the items.
Fortunately, the young mercenary and hunter, the old undertaker, and the young mage had sufficient knowledge to identify them.
The contents of the glass vials were magical potions, just as they appeared.
There were six vials in total: one 'Potion of Infrared Vision', two 'Healing Potions' - commonly called 'potions', two 'Sleeping Potions', and the last one was the jackpot.
"A 'Potion of Invisibility'? Isn't that extremely rare?"
"Yes. I never imagined we'd find something like this here..."
In the game, 'Swift Foot Tobald’ would turn invisible and launch a sneak attack when his health dropped below half.
Could he have been carrying the Invisibility Potion because of that setting?
Ellen held up the vial containing the gray liquid, examining it in the torchlight from various angles.
After shaking the bottle a few times to check its viscosity, she clicked her tongue and added, "It's a crude product using transparent moth cocoons instead of fairy dust. The effect probably won't last even five minutes."
"Five minutes? Wow, that's still something!"
The Invisibility Potion was an extremely useful item even in the game.
It's a versatile item that can be used when stealing expensive items, when surrounded and in danger from enemies, or when assassinating troublesome foes.
The transparent detection option or high agility opponents might see through it... But isn't this a low-level area right now? Unless I make sudden movements or take damage to dispel it, I shouldn't be discovered.
"What are you surprised about? The invisibility potions made in the La-Palais Palace often last over an hour. And there are no side effects."
"Hey, that's fine. I'm not hoping for an hour."
A crude item that only lasts for 5 minutes? In my experience, 5 minutes is a terribly long time in a PvP situation.
"Let's distribute the potions roughly for now."
I decided to keep the Potion of Invisibility, and gave the infrared vision potion to Arnal, the archer. We decided to entrust the healing potions to Grania and Ellen respectively.
Giving one to Grania was a kind of compensation for getting hurt, and giving one to Ellen was meant for safekeeping since she's in the most protected position.
I decided to keep the sleep potion as there wasn't a particular use for it. It might come in handy someday.
Arnal, who was curiously examining the potion she received, suddenly muttered as if she just thought of something.
"Come to think of it, it's a good thing we ambushed them."
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"That Kobold or Tobald guy, if we had given him a chance, he could have drunk the Potion of Invisibility and caused us trouble. We might have lost him."
Mr. Luke also nodded vigorously at Arnal's words.
"Someone could have gotten seriously hurt. It's really fortunate."
Well, the reason I decided to ambush them in the first place was because I knew Tobald was a troublesome guy.
He uses his subordinates as meat shields to attack and repeatedly runs away, and even turns invisible to launch sneak attacks, so I wanted to deal with him first if possible.
Fortunately, my companions were just grateful for the luck, and no one seemed to question my exquisitely perfect strategy.
They seem to think it was really just good luck. It's a bit disappointing that no one recognizes it... Ah well, it's for the best.
I inwardly smacked my lips again as I searched Tobald's belongings. My original goal wasn't these magic potions anyway.
"Haven't you searched everything? What are you looking for so intently?"
"Just wait a moment."
Roughly answering Arnal's question, I continued to fumble with Tobald's clothes, and finally, I could tell that there was something inside his top.
On the inside of the half-stripped tunic, there was a piece of cloth about the size of a palm sewn on.
When I tore off the loosely stitched upper part and looked inside, there was a paper envelope sealed with red ink.
"Oh, that-"
"...It's a letter."
Ignoring the surprised voices behind me, I examined the paper envelope closely.
It was smooth yet bumpy like an eggshell, clearly made of high-quality material.
Hmm, I think the 'evidence of collusion' I saw in the game was in scroll form.
I fiddled with the paper for a moment before tearing off the red ink seal that had no imprint on it.
After reading the letter in one go, my mind went blank for a moment.
The route your caravan is currently using is dangerous and narrow, unfavorable for trade.
At sunset four days from now, I will secure an official route. There are many derivative routes near the official one, so I recommend opening paths in various directions.
About 300 bundles should be enough to maintain speed while maximizing profit.
Please pass this news to our friends in the south. They will be happy to cooperate as well. Additionally, please be especially careful not to mutually infringe on the interests of the three parties.
I will greet you with a green flag, so please make no mistakes.