42
My Villains Chapter 42
11. Secret Passage (3)
No matter how many times I looked over the letter, the content remained the same.
Since it's unlikely that my reading comprehension suddenly declined upon becoming Phoenix, there was only one thing the letter could mean.
This was a reply to a letter that should not have been delivered.
"... Why did your expression suddenly change? What's the content?"
I silently handed over the letter in response to Ellen's question, who had been staring intently at my face.
She skimmed through the letter once and then fell into deep thought with an equally serious expression.
I don't remember the exact content... Well, to be honest, I never properly read it in the first place...
The 'evidence of collusion' obtained in the game was a letter sent by the bandit group to their informant in the city.
The quest I'm currently undertaking is the one received after delivering that letter to the guard captain and the lord.
In other words, it was about making contact with reinforcements using the secret passage.
However, the letter I just found was clearly a reply written by the informant in the city.
Although it was composed of words that merchants might exchange, expressions like 'will secure the route' and 'will welcome' were clearly suspicious.
Moreover, Tobald, who had this letter, was heading outside using the secret passage rather than going up to the city. He must have been on his way back after receiving the reply.
After reading the letter several times, Ellen passed it to Arnal, who had a face full of question marks, and said with a serious expression:
"There's a traitor in South Harbor."
"That's right."
"What are you going to do?"
"... I'm thinking about it."
This letter was evidence that the game's scenario and real events were diverging from each other.
It was similar yet different from Ubar's gang's attack. To put it simply, the fight with Poison was an event that existed in the scenario.
Although various situations changed and the order got a bit tangled, that is.
On the other hand, the bandit group's letter being delivered to the informant, and a reply being written?
This was something that wasn't supposed to happen in the scenario in the first place.
I can't gauge how this new twist will affect the scenario, the reality.
Grania and Arnal, who heard our conversation, stared blankly at each other and then asked with puzzled expressions, "Why? What does it say?"
"...? I gave you the letter."
At my words, Arnal frowned and grumbled as if annoyed.
"Are you showing off that you can read?"
"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"We can't read, so please explain it to us."
Ah, right. Among the commoners of this world, the ability to read and write wasn't common.
It was normal for Grania and Arnal not to be able to read.
"Let me see it."
Mr. Luke, who took the letter from me as I was about to answer, narrowed his brow and read the letter.
"Let's see... The route your caravan is currently using..."
It was a pleasant voice at an appropriate speed. Thanks to that, Grania and Arnal succeeded in grasping the content with just one reading.
"Caravan? Why are the bandits talking about caravans?"
"Obviously, it's a disguise."
"Disguise? Hmm."
Seeing Arnal with a puzzled expression, it seems a proper explanation is needed. It's annoying, but I guess I'll have to interpret it roughly.
"Alright, listen carefully."
- The route your caravan is currently using has many risk factors and is narrow, unfavorable for business.
"The path you bandit guys are using is dangerous and narrow. Can't deploy large-scale forces."
- Four days later at sunset, I will secure an official route. There are many branching routes near the official route, so I recommend breaking through in multiple directions.
"Four days later at sunset, I'll interfere with the sewer security. There are tons of ways to come up to the ground on the first floor of the sewer, so come up through various routes and spread out."
- About 300 sacks should be enough to maintain speed while maximizing profit.
"About 300 people should be just right."
- Please pass the news to the friends in the south. They will be glad to cooperate as well. Additionally, please be especially careful not to infringe on each other's interests among the three parties.
"Friends in the south... Probably referring to the pirates. It's saying to bring them in. The content is probably to be careful not to fight among themselves."
- We will welcome you with a green flag, so please don't make any mistakes.
"We'll be holding a green flag, so don't touch us."
- May 20th. by L.C.
"May 20th. The informant."
As my explanation ended, Grania, who had been listening with her arms crossed, let out a small sigh and said, "Hmm, so it seems the rumors about all the thieves being in cahoots were true."
"I'm not sure if they're all in cahoots, but it's certain they're in a cooperative relationship."
"And with an internal traitor on top of that... This is no small matter. We need to inform the lord as soon as possible."
Arnal stepped forward and objected to Grania's question.
"We've already found the secret passage. Wouldn't it be better to complete the mission first?"
"This is a chance to root out the internal traitor. If we waste time, we might lose the opportunity."
"Well, it's not like something's going to happen tomorrow, right? Since we've intercepted the letter, the thieves won't be coming in droves. It won't be too late to deliver the news after we make contact with the reinforcements."
Then Grania gestured towards the bandit she had interrogated and asked in a negative tone, "You don't still believe what that guy said, do you? The bandits might be guarding the exit of the secret passage."
"Then we can back out when we get there. Are you saying we should retreat now when success is right in front of us?"
"What do you mean success is right in front of us? We've only come about halfway. We don't know what dangers lie in the secret passage and beyond."
Hmm, what to do.
In the midst of quietly observing their conversation, Ellen suddenly spoke up.
"Let's at least check out the secret passage."
"The secret passage? Why?"
"In case things go wrong, we need to escape. The more options we have, the better, right?"
"Options..."
She means to secure an escape route so we can flee if necessary, regardless of the mission.
Well, Ellen's current goal is to go to 'Raven's Cliff', which corresponds to Chapter 4. Whatever happens to South Harbor wouldn't matter to her.
Grania also seemed to have noticed Ellen's intentions, as her expression darkened a bit. She looked worried about her brother, Farel, who had been more or less captured by the Royal Guard.
Arnal, who had been arguing with Grania, also noticed this and quietly patted the leader's shoulder.
Mr. Luke was quietly observing the situation. Despite his people likely resting not far away, he remained silent. Was he trying not to show impatience? It was fortunate for me.
Four pairs of eyes converged on me. It's time to decide.
"...For now, let's focus on completing the mission as our basic direction."
In truth, I had no intention of turning back to the surface.
I'm a veteran player who has cleared the campaign countless times. Though I don't know the details, I at least know who the traitor is. Considering the traitor's identity, delivering this letter to the lord would likely be a wasted effort.
"If we find that the exit of the secret passage is blocked by the bandits, we'll retreat. If not, we'll find the reinforcements and deliver the letter."
Knowing the general outline of the scenario that's about to unfold was like having a superpower. If I had to name it, it might be something like 'Fuzzy Future Prediction'?
However, the 'informant's reply' was something that didn't exist in the game. If things that shouldn't happen keep occurring two or three times, the flow of the scenario will change significantly. In other words, the more I delay, the harder it becomes to predict the future.
So, we can't waste any more time.
"Instead, let's hurry a bit from now on. After making contact with the reinforcements, um- we'll return to the city no later than three days later."
At my words, the white-haired old man, the seasoned warrior, the impatient archer, and the novice magician all nodded.
After recovering usable items, the bandits' corpses were turned to dust and scattered by Mr. Luke's touch. Even the bandit who had luckily survived earlier ended up being stabbed in the neck by Grania and turned to dust.
It was an unavoidable choice, but killing a prisoner who couldn't resist still bothered me. However, we couldn't take him with us or let him go. I could only try to shake off the uneasiness by reminding myself that he was a thief who had lied until the end.
Anyway, after cleaning up like that, we found a small cave behind a massive wall. At the end of the sloping downward cave, a secret passage unfolded.
One side of the secret passage was blocked by collapsed ruins and large rocks. Thanks to this, we could proceed with our exploration in the opposite direction without hesitation.
Lime-washed bricks, narrowness where my head and shoulders almost touched the walls, pitch-black darkness- The secret passage had the same structure as I had seen in the game. But perhaps due to the added realism, it didn't feel familiar at all.
Things I couldn't feel in front of the monitor - the thinning air, the long-standing damp smell, the slippery floor - were carving out a new impression of the space.
Occasionally, carrion worms larger than me appeared, but they were easily subdued by Ellen's fire arrows and Arnal's arrows. Some lucky ones managed to dodge those attacks, but they ended up being split in half by my Falchion.
The sight of the bisected chitinous insects spraying sticky bodily fluids as they writhed was disgustingly horrific. But having already adapted, I roughly kicked away the remains and hurried on.
On the other hand, Ellen still seemed grossed out by the carrion worms, fidgeting every time we passed their remains pushed to the side of the passage. She would stop briefly to catch her breath, close her eyes tightly, shudder, and then hurry past.
The companions had to be especially careful not to laugh at this sight. Except for me, of course. I laughed and teased her plenty.
"Don't laugh."
"Khe, you make me laugh and then tell me not to laugh? Isn't that too much?"
"...You bastard..."
I ignored her gritting her teeth and chuckling as I moved on again.
We walked for about fifteen minutes along the winding passage like that. What we encountered was collapsed soil. Both the beginning and end of the secret passage were buried in mounds of earth. Considering that this underground structure was a relic of the ancient empire, it shouldn't have been too surprising.
Arnal, shining the bull's eye lantern on the mound of earth, sighed in premature disappointment.
"Ah, damn it. It's blocked."
"No. There are paths on both sides."
As I approached the soil and held out the torch, tunnels opened up on both sides.
Probably one leads to the deeper parts of the sewer, and the other leads outside.
Grania, alternately examining the pitch-black darkness, expressed doubt with a cautious expression.
"...Isn't this just a burrow dug by animals?"
"It might be. But it's a fact that the bandits came in from outside, right? At least one of these must lead to the outside."
"That's true. Ah, we should have asked that guy we caught earlier about the path too."
As Grania clicked her tongue in regret, Arnal, who was shining the lantern into the tunnel, sneered.
"Would he have told us properly? It's better not to have heard than to get confused by nonsense."
"Hmm. Still, it would have been better than having no clue at all."
A conversation without substance. I stepped forward, cutting off Grania's regret.