The Lower Floor Murderer (2)
They drew steadily closer.
Wiping the blood from their swords with rags as they came.
"Well, well. Fancy meeting you here? Weak.ling?"
His underlings snickered around him.
Cold sweat broke out across my entire body.
I asked them,
"What are you doing here?"
"What else? Hunting, of course~"
The underling beside him answered with a smile.
Then the red-haired boss picked up the thread.
"Still, looks like you've gotten a bit stronger? Coming after bats now, too? But isn't it a little early for that? You'll get yourself killed."
"What are you talking about? I can handle bats just fine."
The underlings around him exploded with laughter.
"No, no. That's not what I mean. You really can't read a room, can you? A weakling like you..."
The boss tossed the rag he'd been using onto the floor.
"If you keep wandering around, you'll die."
Silence settled over us for a moment.
A chilling air.
The tower interior had always been damp and cold, but this was a different kind of cold entirely.
Die.
The thought pressed down hard.
The thug boss's eyes weren't smiling—only the corners of his mouth had curled up.
Then he added one more word.
"By me."
In that instant, the boss and his underlings charged.
I twisted my body at once and bolted toward the tower entrance.
Acceleration
If they catch me, I die.
I ran without looking back.
"Huff—huff—Boss, that bastard's too fast!"
"What am I supposed to do about it?! If you can't catch him, you die!"
But the thugs couldn't match my speed or stamina. Even with this body, I knew how to run. Years of no exercise had left my stamina as a glaring weakness—but I'd compensated for that with stats and skills.
They chased desperately, then finally gave up and stopped.
The entrance lay ahead. Without letting my guard down, I sprinted all the way to the tower mouth.
Once outside, I collapsed in front of the guards.
"Cough… cough! Haa… I made it…"
Thump—thump—
My heart hammered as if it would burst. The skill and stats had let me shake them off, but I still couldn't keep Acceleration running continuously.
"What's wrong with you? Did something happen inside?"
The guard looked down at me where I sat and tilted his head. I started explaining everything from the beginning.
After hearing the story, the guard lightly stroked his rough beard.
"Wait here for now. If we search their belongings, something might turn up."
He resumed the inspections. One person, two—after several more had been checked, the thugs finally walked out of the entrance.
"Guard! Those are the ones!"
"Is that so? Hmm… You there. Stop."
"What's the matter?"
The red-haired man halted and asked. Then he casually swept a glance in my direction.
"We'll need to inspect your belongings."
"Yes, go ahead."
One of his underlings set down a bag. The guard searched it thoroughly—but all that came out were loot and preserved rations. He tilted his head.
"We'll also conduct a body search."
At that, the red-haired man spoke up.
"Come on, Guard—it's all in plain sight. Why are you only body-searching us?"
"This young man reported that you lot have been going around committing murders. Please cooperate."
The guard patted their outer clothes with the back of his hand. And when that hand reached near the crotch, the red-haired man roughly slapped it away.
"Do you have evidence?"
"What?"
"I said, do you have evidence. To search a man all the way down there, shouldn't you have solid physical proof? Is he saying he saw me commit murder?"
"Th-that's…"
Anger flared through me and I snapped,
"There was blood on your sword! And you chased me while saying you'd kill me!!"
"Blood could be from monsters, no?"
"Then what about chasing me?!"
The thug boss raised both arms over his shoulders and looked down at me with open contempt.
"When did I? You're the one who drew a knife on me at the restaurant last time trying to kill me, remember? Guard, this kid is that kind of guy. It's a problem if you only go after me based on what someone like him says~"
Hearing him, the guard pressed a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes.
"That was because you were trying to drag Aera away by force!"
"What kind of person throws punches and swings a knife just because someone's trying to pick up a girl? I only defended myself and held back, you know. I actually got cut!"
He showed his forearm. There was a faint scar—and scratch marks beside it.
"And here, and here!"
He suddenly pointed out wounds all over his body with an aggrieved look.
What a vicious bastard.
"I didn't cause those wounds! Only the one I showed you at the beginning!"
I shouted, trembling from head to toe. It was infuriating. But the boss kept talking with practiced ease.
"And Guard, if you detain us like this without evidence, we might take it as national discrimination. I'm an adventurer from the neighboring Cardin Empire. Are you discriminating against adventurers from other nations?"
The guard flustered.
"When did I discriminate against anyone!"
"Guard, this isn't the first or second time we've met. Look—that kid is a newbie. What's the reason for suspecting a veteran adventurer without any evidence? Is it because I'm from another country?"
The guard looked back and forth between me and the thug boss, then said,
"You may go."
"Guard!"
"I understand how you feel, but I can't keep holding them here any longer."
"Let's go!"
The boss snorted, stepped up to me, and whispered in my ear.
"If you keep flapping that mouth of yours, you'll end up a corpse in this town. Remember that."
He patted my shoulder twice and left with his underlings. I could only watch their retreating backs.
"I'll be going, then."
I gave the guard a brief farewell. I was inwardly resentful of the man who'd refused to believe me and let them walk free. But I knew he'd had no real choice—that he'd done what he could.
If the kingdom can't uncover this, then I'll uncover it myself.
I began quietly trailing after the thugs.
"Hey, wait!"
From a distance, the guard's shout carried over, sounding apologetic.
"Don't hold it against me too much!"
I carefully erased my presence and tailed them. They entered a small tavern far from the tower, ordered drinks and food, and when the meal arrived they scattered silver and copper coins across the owner's face.
"We're renting this place out for the day. Everyone get out!"
"I'll come back late this evening."
The tavern owner hurriedly scooped up the coins and fled outside.
Through a window, I eavesdropped on their conversation.
Gulp—gulp—
The sound of the boss downing his beer came through.
"Ahh!! How much do you think we made today?"
At that, the underling beside him pulled something from his crotch—a large quantity of accessories.
He hid them in his underwear?!
"Boss, looks like about two gold coins' worth."
"Hahahaha. When they do belongings checks, you just stash the jewelry, right? Pretty lucrative~ Don't you think?"
The underling next to him spoke with a worried look.
"Boss… But today soldiers came to the tower too, and they even did a body search… At this rate we…"
"Don't worry. It's over now."
"What?"
When the underling made a puzzled face, the boss smacked him on the back of the head.
"Today was the last one, you chicken-shit bastard!"
He downed the rest of his beer in one shot.
"We leave this city tomorrow."
The red-haired boss wore a wicked expression.
So it was these guys?
From the conversation, it was certain. They were the culprits behind the tower murders.
But they were leaving tomorrow?
The underling still looked lost.
"This bastard still doesn't get it. You planning to sell that gear here? Selling it here is the same as saying 'come arrest me~'"
"Boss, I hadn't even thought that far. But how are we getting out of this city?"
"Don't worry. I bribed the gatekeepers for early tomorrow morning. Those guys are easy once you slip them some gold."
"As expected of you, Boss."
The underling looked at him with open admiration.
"Tomorrow we return to the Cardin Empire! Come on, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
They only came out of the tavern when evening fell, then entered a shabby inn in a nearby alley. Located at the end of the lane, the place was easy to guard at the entrance—and had a second exit in the back.
A hideout.
From the rooftop of another building, I mapped the layout around their base, then headed back.
At my lodging, I thought it over.
Report them? This was nothing like a belongings inspection. It wouldn't work. They'd already raised a discrimination fuss over a body search and been told to leave—there was no chance of a house search based on a report with zero evidence.
But if I left them alone, they'd go home to their country and live just fine.
Then what about the people who died?
I can't leave these guys alone.
I'd killed people before—bandits. Back then I'd had no choice; I'd killed them to protect the people right in front of me. But this time was different. It was practically the same as killing them with the intent of personally punishing the wicked.
It was something I needed to think carefully about.
I fretted over it for a long while before making my decision.
It was two in the morning.
I stood on that same rooftop in a black robe. The world was quiet, and in the darkness only the light of two moons shone. Enough time had passed. The thugs in the hideout should be asleep by now.
Now's the time.
In the alley between the two roofs, an underling stood watch. Dropping down would make noise for sure. Better to take the direct approach, I decided.
I dropped onto the street and entered the alley, then slowly approached the sentry.
"Hey! Who are you? Stop!"
I stopped.
"Take off the robe!"
I gently lowered my head and removed it.
"Come closer to the torch and lift your face so I can see."
I approached little by little. And the moment the light hit my face, I pulled a spare dagger and threw it.
Thud—
The blade buried itself in his chest. He clutched at it.
"Guh—guh… gaaah."
In that instant I closed the distance with Acceleration, finished him off, then braced his body and calmly dragged him into the shadows.
Phase one was a success.
Now I had to deal with the ones still sleeping.
I carefully opened each door.
Creeeak…
Sleeping so peacefully.
Seeing them like that made me angry. But there was hesitation, too. I carefully approached the underling's side. That peaceful face—looking at it, I thought of thugs who kill people and then casually drink.
I gripped the dagger tightly. Then I covered his mouth with one hand and drew the blade across with the other.
"Mmph!"
The metallic stench of blood filled the room. My hands trembled violently.
Should I go back? Should I stop even now? Am I really any different from these guys?
Holding those doubts, I moved to the second room.
The second room.
The moment I stepped inside, everything I'd been agonizing over felt foolish. There were no thugs in that room—but something else caught my eye.
Five people? Absolutely not.
An enormous pile of gear filled the space. The owners of this equipment must have challenged the tower for their dreams, or for money, or for their families.
I turned and looked at the table beside me. Stolen coin purses and accessories sat there in a heap.
Bastards…
Just counting the purses, there were more than ten.
"They deserve to die."
If I left them alone, they'd hurt even more people. Repeating that to myself, I moved to the next room.
The third room.
I dealt with one underling the same way as before. There were two in this room—the other was the one who'd been laughing and toasting with the red-haired boss.
Don't even want to look at your face. Goodbye.
Thrust—
I felt his heartbeat at the tip of the blade.
I stepped outside and looked up at the building. A two-story structure with rooms set apart from the rest. He had to be here.
I moved even more carefully than before. A room filled with darkness. I walked softly. No one on the first floor. I climbed to the second.
Softly, softly—
But—
Creak—
The wooden stairs made a sound.
Did he wake up?
I quietly surveyed the surroundings. Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone rising. I carefully climbed the rest of the way. And the moment I took one more step—
Creeeak—
A sound came from the bed ahead.
Rustle—
Thump—thump—
Footsteps approached. Something was coming closer.
A shadow. And something was held in the shadow's hand.
I instinctively raised my dagger toward the moving figure.
Clang—
Blades crashed together, and a small spark flew. A heavy blow. The sound of breathing came not from me but from the shadow in front.
Moonlight spilled through the window, and there stood a red-haired, bearded Level 12 Warrior.