C137
"Are those punks laughing at us right now?"
"Forget it. Don't turn your head. They're just drunk."
Tess patted Rian on the leg to calm his down. Brawls between mercenaries in taverns were not uncommon, but given their professions, they rarely ended well.
"They're still not responding. They can't possibly not hear us. We're laughing at you, you idiots."
"Look at that kid's sword. It’s stupidly big, huh? The size of the woman next to him is no joke either. I won't tell where though. Hahaha!”
Rian clenched his fists. He could tolerate being insulted, but he couldn't stand his friends being mocked.
But then Tess grabbed Rian's wrist. If left alone, he looked ready to turn the table over.
While eating noodles, Shirone recalled his memories.
When they came in, there were four mercenaries sitting at the table over there. Three men, one woman. Archers seemed to be included, and the woman was most likely a mage, judging from the fact that she had no weapons.
'An archer and a mage. Quite a solid group.'
The mockery of the mercenaries continued without a break.
"Is that blondie now pretending to eat? Please just look back once. We're ready to throw a bottle. I'm in a really foul mood today. That's why I want to see some blood."
“Aw, stop it. Is it fun to tease kids?"
The woman tried to stop, but she wasn't sincere. It seemed that she preferred to enjoy it this way rather than outright mockery.
"Hey, kids. Don't you have the courage to fight? Aren't you even ashamed in front of women? I be these probably went around bragging about how strong they were.”
"Hello? Can you hear us? Answer us if you listen, or should we like to go there yourself?”
Rian couldn't contain his anger. He knows it's part of the operation, but he doesn't want to put up with this insult.
However, Rian ultimately didn't move. It was because his eyes met with Shirone, who was looking at him with a calm expression.
'Shirone....'
Shirone, who he was bound by knight's oath with, doesn't say anything. If he couldn't endure even this level of humiliation, he would rather disgrace Shirone's face.
'Yes, this is also practice. I'm participating in this trip as an apprentice knight. Rather, it gave me a good opportunity to test myself.'
As soon as he made up his mind, he could bear it as if it was a lie. Rian had another chance to contemplate the futility of words.
After about 10 minutes, the mercenaries prepared to leave. They thought they had won a complete victory. They were the perfect snacks for a drinking party.
"Keke, this is the first time I've seen such cowardly bastards in my life."
"Oh, come on. They were weak kids, so of course they must have been scared. Don't you feel sorry for them?"
"Hey! You guys are lucky. You don't have to get hit. Live your whole life like that. You'll live long.”
The mercenaries paid for the drinks and disappeared. The tavern owner, who had been acting indifferent until then, rushed to the table.
"Are you okay? Those damn bastards. To say abusive words against innocent kids.”
"Do you know them?"
“They come often lately. They get drunk and make a scene, especially against those who don't want to fight like you. I want to tell them not to come, but I don't know what harm will occur if that happens. Anyway, you've held up well. In times like these, patience wins.”
Shirone's eyes lit up. If there wasn't something in the ruins, there was no way a party with a mage would come.
Tess comforted Rian. The straightforward two didn't have the ability to deceive themselves like Shirone. It was literally a situation that I endured with grit.
"You did well, Rian. I was so nervous you might cause a scene."
“It was dangerous. But we will meet again anyway? Didn’t you put up with it for that?”
"Right. Let's get going too."
Shirone stood up and said. When they paid for their drinks and left the tavern, the mercenaries were walking towards the Central Temple.
Instead of following, Shirone and the others chose to watch from a high place. Since most of an archer's Schema builds are of Sensory System, there was a high chance that they would be caught if they tried to close the distance.
Having climbed up to the fourth floor of the temple building, Shirone observed the mercenaries. Surprisingly, they were a young party consisting of individuals not over thirty.
The swordsman with a slim figure seemed to be the leader. The sword worn around his waist was a steel sword with high recognition, enough that Tess could recall the name of the craftsman just by looking at the design.
Beside him was a giant with a blunt weapon, followed by a long-haired man and a woman in a robe.
"Two warriors. One of them a swordsman. An archer and a mage. We can summarize it like this. Even though it's a tourist spot, they're maintaining formation. They seem to be an experienced party. It was a good decision not to follow them."
The mercenaries walked to a stepped altar on the east side of the Central temple. Shirone remembered that place. It was a peculiar place that was guarded by natives, which seemed odd.
One of the mercenaries, the archer, seemed to speak to the native in a mix of gestures and words. He seemed to know the Kerugo language.
The native looked around sullenly. It was clear they cared about the attention of the people. Shirone and the others realized that now was the right time and went down the stairs.
As the native activated the device, a rectangular fissure appeared in the altar and was pushed in. As the thick stone gate moved to the side, an entrance covered with a dark barrier appeared.
"Wait a moment! We're going in too!"
The mercenaries who were on their way stopped and looked back with stern faces. But the tension quickly faded and irritation surged. The kids who they were bullying at the tavern were coming running.
"What? When did you guys follow us?"
"Mister, can't we go in too?"
"Get lost! This is a place we found! Do you even know where this is?"
"Don't be like that, please...!"
The moment Shirone pleaded again, the leader drew his sword. It can't be said that the speed of the drawing sword was fast, but the naturalness ingrained through countless repetitions was excellent.
"Do you want to die? Do we look like easy targets? If you don't back off, I'll slit all your throats right here."
Unlike before, Shirone did not back down. In his tavern, he couldn't even turn his head, but now he were looking straight in the eye. The contrast made the leader uncomfortable.
"These kids...!"
The native guarding the altar spoke.
"Are they with you?"
The leader sheathed his blade and looked at the archer. The only person who could interpret was the archer.
"What's he saying?"
"He's asking if these kid is with us?"
"Hmph! What group. Tell him we'll deal with them shortly, so please wait."
When the archer conveyed the leader's words, the eyes of the natives widened. He spoke in an overbearing tone, as if he had been insulted.
"Warriors do not fight anywhere. Anyone who desecrates the sacred altar with blood can never step foot here."
The archer translated with a grimace.
"It's better to stop. He says we won't be allowed in if we fight here."
"Damn! Lucky kids. Saving their lives twice."
As if the leader didn't want to care any more, he sheathed his sword and walked into the altar. The rest of the party followed into the dark entrance.
Shirone's group remained in place for a while. If they had gone in together, there would have been no problem, but given the situation, they were concerned about the sharp glare of the native.
"If you wish to be tested, come in. The eyes of the angel will be watching you.".”
"What is this person saying?"
"Well. Since we've come, I think he’s telling us to enjoy ourselves? If he wanted to drive us out, he would have closed the door."
Shirone moved his steps, conscious of the other party. There was no particular reaction from the native. Only then did the four of them, convinced, entered the dark entrance that resembled an abyss.
In an instant, eight people disappeared, but no tourists knew about it.
Miro of Time and Space (1)
Upon entering the altar, Shirone first examined the structure. Contrary to what it looked like from the outside, it was not dark inside because the torches were on.
Square holes descended into the ground, and stairs spiraled down the inner wall at a right angle.
Looking down, he could see the mercenary group who had already made two turns down the spiral.
Shirone walked quickly. There might be a second gate, so it wasn't good to be far behind the mercenaries.
Eventually, a group of eight people came down the stairs.
The leader was annoyed at the kids who got on the free ride on the information he had paid a hefty sum for.
However, fulfilling the purpose of coming here was the first priority, so he put aside the thought of fighting for a while.
The archer who was at the back of the mercenary party asked Shirone who was following them.
"Are you guys sane? Why are you meddling in a place like this with hardly a drop of blood on your hands?"
“Then why did you come here, big bro?”
"What, don't tell me you followed without knowing anything?"
"Yes. We don't know.”
The archer looked at Shirone in bewilderment. It occurred to him that it might be possible. After all, the existence of a hidden door in the ruins was a public secret.
Something exists beneath the ruins. However, no one knows what it is. That's the limit of what ordinary people interested in the site can think of.
“Since we're already here, can't you tell us? Why did we come in here?"
The archer wondered what to do. He ran through the information market until his feet were sweating to find the hidden door.
Moreover, the code had a high information grade, so he had to pay as much as 20 gold.
But once they had passed through the door, the value of the information was essentially lost.
The archer thought that far and said with gleaming eyes.
"What about this? The fact that you guys came in means that you broke a high-security code. In terms of money, that's worth at least 100 gold. So, I'll sell you information. 5 gold per question. How about it?"
“It's fine. We'll find out anyway when we go down."
When Shirone spoke as if there was no need to think, the archer got flustered. He felt ridiculed by the young child, money-making aside.
'This insolent little brat…!'
At that moment, the leader stopped walking. As the leader stopped, the people following him reduced their pace one after another.
“No, come to think of it, that sounds fair. Do you know how hard it was for us to find this place? You can't just take that for granted. If you want to go down from here, you have to pay us."
Shirone looked back at Amy. When she shrugged her shoulders, he nodded as if he understood and spoke to the leader.
"Then we won't go down. We'll stay here, you go ahead and do your thing."
“Such a dog shit…!”
The leader became emotional without realizing it.
He should have noticed it when he wouldn't even turn his head at the tavern. The phrase 'Only their mouths are alive' meant cases like this.
"But if it's 1 gold per question, I'm willing to accept the deal."
"Huh? 1 gold?"
The leader's mind spun quickly. After all, they couldn't recover their cost from them. In that case, isn't it a gain to earn even a few golds?
"Fine. 1 gold per question. Pay 1 gold first."
Shirone rummaged through the bag of gold coins and pulled out one gold. He could have done his research separately away from the mercenaries, but his friends respected Shirone's judgment.
Shirone thought that this situation was worth one gold. They have no idea what might be underground. He thought that if he could prepare in advance with just one gold, it was definitely not a loss.
For instance, if a danger that only the mercenaries knew about lurked, they would be caught without a chance if they fell into a trap. However, after listening to the explanation, they could roughly estimate the difficulty of the underground danger and exploration.
"Why did you come here?"
In case of too broad a question, there could be room for fabrication, so Shirone delved into the core part.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
