Chapter 64: Incident Report
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: Incident Report
Usually, this kind of report is handled by low-level clerks or secretaries.
But when I entered the conference room, an Administrator was there.
In corporate terms, that's like a department head.
And what's more...
A Constable, too?
She was a feline beastwoman with sharp, fierce eyes. A constable's badge was pinned to the breast pocket of her uniform.
"A pleasure to meet you, Caleb. I'm Neko, a Constable with the Public Security Headquarters."
I shook her hand and took a seat.
"But what brings a Constable here?"
The Public Security Headquarters is normally responsible for investigating various crimes that occur inside and outside the Labyrinth, as well as interrogating and arresting suspects.
For example, if Caleb, an adventurer from the 3rd floor, were to murder Antonelli, an adventurer from the 4th floor, it would be perfectly normal for them to interrogate me.
Like this.
"I'd like to hear about the murder of Antonelli."
But the situation was a little different now.
"I believe Priest Emma of Birtanen's party has already given a full testimony about that incident."
In the Labyrinth City of Sohen, the priests of Nathaniel are held in extremely high regard.
That's why we weren't summoned or investigated by the Public Security Headquarters even when we wiped out Sally's party.
Paladin Bernard had testified that Sally's party were plunderers.
The Public Security Headquarters has no interest in dead plunderers. Likewise, they have no interest in a dead wizard who was about to conduct a dangerous, illegal experiment that could have caused catastrophic problems for an entire floor of the Labyrinth.
Such people exist outside the legal protection of Sohen.
Just like Otherworld Possessors.
"That's right. So this debriefing isn't an interrogation."
Neko offered a deliberate smile, as if trying to ease the tension.
"It's just... I find it interesting that a man with a murder conviction has entered the Labyrinth exactly three times and has committed murder on all three occasions."
The first one?
Ah.
The bald slave party?
It seemed the testimony I gave under a lie detection spell at the Magic University's slave department was now on record at the Public Security Headquarters.
Come to think of it, I really have killed someone every time I've entered.
"They were all unavoidable situations."
"Of course, Caleb. We're just here to listen."
The beastwoman, Neko, pulled her chair closer with a smirk.
"Shall we hear the story from the beginning of your adventure?"
*
Yernil testified timidly.
"...So I hid on the stairs and used a message-sending wand to contact both sides and bring the separated groups back together."
"Wow, you played a very important role."
"Gasp! Oh, no! It was nothing, really."
She, who had been uncomfortable even during the contribution assessment, had a tendency to get embarrassed when talking about her own accomplishments.
Back Attack was the complete opposite.
"So, right in front of the trap, this ragged zombie bastard has the nerve to show me his back! Showing his back to Back Attack, the master of the sucker punch? And I'm his senior when it comes to being undead, too!"
"..."
"So I said to him, 'Yo mama.' Heh. I even asked if the reason he was a quarter-breed was because of his mother's... particular tastes."
"Gasp..."
"After I hit him with that back-alley special, his eyes rolled back and he charged right at me."
The Administrator looked rather flustered by his excited hero's tale.
And then there was Aimus.
"Hijikata's party, with Gildal, fought exceptionally well."
"Hijikata's party?"
"Yes. When Caleb and Yernil were activating the monolith, it was largely thanks to them that we held out on the snowy mountain. Especially since Gildal held the front line so well..."
The monk, who had trained on Mount Dalai, made sure to give credit to Hijikata's team, who weren't present.
All three of them certainly have distinct personalities.
I let them talk and recalled my meeting with the Spider Doctor.
He had said to me, "Find my body, and I will tell you a secret about the Otherworld Possessors."
I was dying to know what it was, but I held my tongue.
It was just too suspicious.
Usually, people come to the Labyrinth for money. Just like Aimus, Back Attack, and Yernil.
Otherwise, their goal is power or fame—to obtain a powerful skill from a well, grow stronger, and make a name for themselves here in the Labyrinth City.
But the fact that the Spider Doctor's sudden offer was not for money, fame, magic, or items felt incredibly unsettling.
"'Why would you think I'd be interested in something like that?'" I asked in return. The Spider Doctor just cackled.
"'I was the eyes of the 3rd floor. Every conversation that took place here reached my ears, Caleb. For instance, the one you had with the fox on the stairs. You killed a Possessor in Wyndham, didn't you?'"
The Spider Doctor had overheard the conversation I'd had with Soyul while trying to learn about my past.
"'I thought you might be interested. Am I wrong?'" The Spider Doctor moved closer and tilted his head.
"'The process of retrieving my real body will be quite arduous, Caleb. But you can do it. Of course, I understand it's difficult to answer right away. How about we make a small trade first, to build some trust?'"
The Spider Doctor pointed to the ossuary in my hand.
"'Give me that, and I'll give you one trivial piece of information about Otherworld Possessors.'"
It's like in gambling, where they let a sucker win a few rounds first.
In truth, this offer was no different from him giving me the information for free. After all, the Spider Doctor could have easily taken the ossuary by force.
"'Take it.'" As I handed him the urn, the Spider Doctor whispered a few short words in my ear.
It was certainly a tempting and shocking piece of information.
"'Some Otherworld Possessors have come to live in the inter-floor villages.'"
*
"...leb."
The Administrator called my name.
"So, you're saying Soyul didn't have the Labyrinth Master's seal on her forehead?"
"That's correct."
"Then how was Gildal's soul restored?"
"I don't know."
I should keep my mouth shut for now.
This is a place where Dokkebi are treated as monsters and Fox Spirits are hunted down, their tails and beads sold on the black market.
If the Spider Doctor's existence were revealed, he would immediately draw the aggro of high-level adventurers.
In the worst-case scenario, the Labyrinth Union might even recruit Abyss-level adventurers to subjugate him. An organization like this would naturally try to manage the Labyrinth conservatively.
While that wouldn't necessarily be bad for me, it would be a bit of a shame. The Spider Doctor seems to know a lot about the Labyrinth and Otherworld Possessors, and since it's not yet clear if he's friend or foe, I want to observe him a little longer.
So, let's not talk about it just anywhere.
Fortunately, no one besides me saw the Spider Doctor. Not even Soyul, who had been kidnapped.
"What happened to the ossuary?"
"It fell to the floor when Back Attack was dragged out. We couldn't find it."
It didn't matter if I was a bit blunt.
Why? Because at that time, the 3rd floor was hit by a monster wave, two eccentric bosses appeared, a Tier 10 magic spell erupted—a whole series of bizarre phenomena had occurred.
"I've got it!"
The Administrator clapped his hands.
"Caleb. Gildal's soul was likely restored because of the monolith."
"The monolith?"
"Yes. As you saw, Caleb, the monolith is not on the Labyrinth's side. The Mass Annihilation spell wiped out the Labyrinth monsters. And Gildal, the one who beat up Antonelli—from the monolith's perspective, that Dokkebi was classified as an adventurer, not a monster!"
The Administrator began to show off his brilliant powers of deduction.
"When the soul vessel shattered, only the evil part of the mixed souls—Antonelli's soul—was cleansed by the annihilation magic."
"Wow, I think you're right."
My agreement made the Administrator puff up with pride.
"You know, I graduated at the top of my class from the Magic University. Caleb here is my junior."
"You're amazing, senior."
The Administrator's shoulders squared.
He went on to say that the monolith was probably also the reason Soyul didn't succumb to madness, and that he would look into the soul in the ossuary, assuming it belonged to some other victim from the 3rd floor. He also said he would find out what chased our party out of the exit room, claiming that was the Labyrinth Union's job.
"Don't you worry! When a Labyrinth monolith activates, these kinds of strange phenomena are entirely possible!"
"You truly are an expert. That's very impressive."
"Haha! Hearing that from my genius junior, I don't know what to do with myself!"
I played along and finished the incident report.
Constable Neko also let things proceed smoothly, without raising any particular questions.
On the surface, at least.
*
The most valuable things I gained from this Labyrinth adventure were information.
Besides the top-secret information from the Spider Doctor, there was something else.
My past, as told to me by Soyul.
Hyedam. The name of the Fox Spirit I supposedly killed.
When I asked if she'd heard anything about me in Wyndham after I came to Sohen, a stream of shocking information poured out.
"'It was the talk of the town for a while.'"
The most stunning part was the skill of the adventurer, Hyedam.
"'After all, it's hard to believe that an eight-tailed Deep Layer adventurer was murdered.'"
I can't believe it either.
Hyedam was famous for letting even beginners into her party. Even those on their very first Labyrinth run.
She traveled as a highly skilled trio, recruiting a random fourth member on the spot to serve as a porter.
I was one of them, and apparently, I murdered her.
"'Many people still don't believe it. You were just a novice adventurer with little Labyrinth experience, after all.'"
I still don't believe it either.
Why would she use a weakling like me as a porter? And how could I possibly kill a Deep Layer adventurer?
"'But Hyedam did disappear, and you turned yourself in with her fox bead. Plus, with the motive that Hyedam was a Possessor, the investigation was closed.'"
Hyedam's body, supposedly murdered in the Labyrinth, was never found despite an extensive search. But since a fox bead is considered a part of a Fox Spirit's body, the murder was officially recognized.
This is making my head spin.
Maybe that fox is still alive.
What could she possibly want from me?
Or did she just use a third-rate adventurer to cover her tracks?
Faked her death and went into hiding somewhere.
For example, in a place like the inter-floor villages the Spider Doctor mentioned.
When I first heard it, I thought they must be crazy, but on second thought, it might actually be a better option.
Adventurers at the Deep Layer level would have no trouble in a low-level inter-floor village. What if they layered it with concealment magic like 'Night of Silence' and just disappeared?
Since they live inside the Labyrinth, it would never erupt for them. And even if an eruption did occur, it would devastate the surface, not harm the inter-floor villages.
Considering how mages like Meldini are running around on the surface, using lie detection magic to hunt down Possessors, living in an inter-floor village might actually be safer.
The Labyrinth of Wyndham and the Labyrinth of Sohen are connected. In fact, it's not just those two—all Labyrinths are connected, if you pass through something called the 'inter-wall space.'
It occurs to me that there might be a massive Possessor organization hiding deep within the Labyrinth, one that connects the eight-tailed Fox Spirit Hyedam, the Spider Doctor, and the inter-floor villages.
If so, how are they connected to Blackdog or the Enver Club?
Are they completely separate organizations?
Or are Blackdog and the Enver Club just the tip of the iceberg, with the main body connected beneath the surface?
It's about time I started digging into both of them.
The Enver Club is scheduled to approach me on their own, so I just have to wait. As for Blackdog...
"Back Attack."
"Yes, boss."
"You remember we were going to check out the back alleys together, right?"
We'd talked about it in the Labyrinth.
"Of course. Let's go clean out the casinos."
No. We're going because of Blackdog.
"Caleb."
Just as I was about to head out to the Labyrinth Union lobby, someone came chasing after me down the hall.
It was the feline beastwoman, Constable Neko.
I knew she wanted to see me separately.
"Would you be interested in taking on a job for the Public Security Headquarters?"
"What kind of job?"
Neko glanced at Aimus, Back Attack, and Yernil standing next to me.
She wanted to offer the mission to me alone, not my party.
"This way for a moment."
She led me to a corner of the Labyrinth Union.
*
"The Public Security Headquarters is currently planning an operation against Blackdog."
I had a feeling, and my guess was spot on.
Blackdog is an organization that commits various crimes under the surface, making them a thorn in the side of Sohen's Public Security Headquarters.
You could say they're in conflict with each other almost 24/7.
"We need an undercover agent to go in and gather intelligence. But skilled adventurers are met with too much suspicion, and the rookies active on the lower floors usually lack the necessary skills."
So Neko's presence at the interview today wasn't for the debriefing, but a kind of job interview.
"Someone like you, Caleb, is smart and skilled. Your stock is rising right now, so it's plausible Blackdog would consider recruiting you. What's more..."
"What's more?"
"You seem to be a righteous person."
It seems the Public Security Headquarters was worried I might join Blackdog and then feed them false information as a double agent.
'He has a murder conviction. And he kills people every time he enters the Labyrinth. Can we really trust him?' ...Something like that must have been said by the higher-ups, right?
The job interview must have included a personality test.
"What do you say?"
Now, what should I do?
My hand is getting a little crowded.
I'll have to perform a spectacular three-way tightrope walk between the Enver Club, Blackdog, and the Public Security Headquarters.