STGB Episode 384
Us(3)
「The labyrinth has been closed.」
「Your character is being transported to Raphdonia.」
After nearly two months, I was finally greeted by the sunlight of the city.
Perhaps because I had spent so much time in the dark waters of Atlante, the light felt even more intense.
‘People really do need sunlight after all.’
Like many explorers, I glanced up briefly at the gloomy city sky, then quickly made my way toward the checkpoint.
“Over here!”
Erwin, who had arrived first, waved at me.
As we joined the line, Amelia arrived soon after.
“You’re late.”
“It took longer to find him than I expected.”
Amelia responded, glancing at the sailor standing awkwardly to the right.
“I guess It was true they came in through the same square in District 7 as us.”
“This guy doesn’t lie.”
How can you be so sure when you’ve barely known him?
It was a bit surprising, but I didn’t show it and asked instead.
“…Was there any trouble?”
“None at all. He didn’t wander off, just waited right where he was until I arrived.”
Amelia’s voice was filled with a strange sense of pride.
Was she really that happy he followed instructions so well?
Meanwhile, the sailor, Auyen Roklov, seemed to be having a delayed realization of his situation…
“Hehehe…”
As soon as our eyes met, he gave a sheepish, business-like smile.
Hmm, seeing this makes me feel a bit sorry for him.
But then again, he had been one of the ones who targeted us, so I also thought he was getting what he deserved.
“It’s our turn now.”
Soon, it was our turn. After exchanging all the mana stones we’d gathered for money, we passed through the checkpoint.
Then came the crowded streets.
We rearranged our formation for moving through the city.
Amelia took the rear, and the sailor walked just ahead of her.
“Haha… You really don’t need to worry, I’m not going to run…”
“You might get lost following us.”
“I’ve lived in the 7th District for 20 years…”
The sailor mumbled something under his breath, but he didn’t stray from the formation until we had reached our destination.
And then…
“This is the place…?”
We arrived at a three-story detached house.
As we passed through the high walls into the garden, the sailor gaped in awe.
But as he was looking around, perhaps he sensed something odd.
“Um, but why are all the windows…?”
He trailed off, his gaze fixed on the windows, which were all boarded up with planks.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a security measure.”
“Oh, yes…”
The sailor didn’t say much more, but his eyes and expression were a mix of curiosity and fear toward us.
He was probably wondering what kind of people lived in a place like this.
‘It seems like he’s already figured out who Erwin is, but…’
I’ll have to confirm that later.
After passing through the garden and entering the house, we had a brief discussion and decided to assign one of the spare rooms to the sailor.
It was a room located in the basement.
“…Basement? Did our house have a basement?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Erwin blushed shyly.
“I purposely found a house that had one. Just in case…”
Hmm, is that so…?
Well, I’ve heard that wealthy houses often have a panic room for emergencies…
Creak, creak, creak.
Even though I felt uneasy, I watched as Erwin lifted the carpet and operated a mechanism to reveal a staircase.
Going down, a space appeared that seemed to be designed as a storage area.
Since nothing had been put in yet, it was empty, and at the deepest part, there was a thick iron door with a padlock on the wall.
Click.
Erwin took out a key and opened the door, revealing a room with a large bed.
For some reason, there were restraints on the walls.
“This isn’t a room… it’s a prison…”
The sailor’s face turned pale as he inspected the room assigned to him.
Honestly, I felt a bit uneasy myself.
The moment I saw that basement room, chills ran down my spine for some reason.
Well, it’s not like it concerns me anymore, though.
“…A prison? It’s just a normal room.”
“…”
“Look, there’s even a bathroom and a shower. No one else will be using it but you, so it’s quite nice, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Cough, well, I’ll be heading upstairs now. My stomach doesn’t feel so great…”
Ugh, Why is my heart racing like this?
It’s not like I’m claustrophobic.
After shoving the sailor into the room and closing the door, Erwin quickly locked it.
Click.
“Wait, wait! Just a moment!”
Bang, bang, bang! The sailor pounded on the door, but we all pretended not to hear him.
“May I hold onto the key?”
“Go ahead.”
With Amelia in possession of the key, the question of the sailor’s accommodation was settled. Feeding him and such would be her responsibility from now on.
There was something else I’d been curious about for a while.
“Emily, is there really such a poison? One that kills if you don’t take the antidote every day? I’ve never heard of it.”
It sounded like something out of a martial arts novel.
A classic cliché where the demonic cult poisons people and forces them to do their bidding.
If such a thing really existed, it could come in handy in various situations.
But…
“Shuiz, you’re more naive than I thought.”
“…Huh?”
“There is no way such a poison exists. Luckily, that guy doesn’t know much about poisons.”
“Ah…”
So, it was just a bluff after all.
I had suspected it might be, and now it was confirmed—
“What?”
Suddenly, Erwin flinched.
“That poison… doesn’t exist…?”
Her voice was filled with disappointment for some reason.
It bothered me a little, so I asked her if she had a reason for wanting it. But Erwin avoided my gaze.
“J-just in case, you know…”
What ‘just in case’? I was tempted to press her further but decided against it, she wouldn’t give me a straight answer anyway.
***
On the first day after returning from the labyrinth, we all rested in our respective rooms. From the next day onward, though, things got busy.
We had a lot of loot to sell.
“Erwin, you’re coming too.”
“Huh? Me? But you could handle it on your own—”
“Can’t you even do that much for Schuiz?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
From the second day, Erwin and Amelia frequently went out to exchange the loot for cash, while I mostly stayed behind to keep an eye on the house.
“Schuiz, I’ve prepared meals in order on the table, so make sure to serve them when it’s time.”
My daily routine was uneventful, except for delivering meals to the basement for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
On the third day, however, we had a visitor.
“Raven.”
“I was going to come yesterday, but I was a bit busy. May I come in?”
“Of course.”
As I led Raven inside, she glanced around and asked,
“Where are the others?”
“They’re out selling the loot.”
“Hm…”
She murmured in a somewhat odd tone.
When I asked if there was any problem, Raven replied that it was nothing.
“It’s just that the work I used to do is now being handled by those two.”
“I’m sorry about back then. There was no one else I could trust to deal with such matters but you”.
“I’m not saying this to get an apology. Besides… there’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
I guided Raven to the living room, and we sat facing each other.
Then we briefly talked about each other’s recent activities.
“How have things been on your side?”
“Just fine, one way or another. And you?”
“Same as ever. It’s not a war that will end in a day or two.”
“I see.”
“…”
There was a subtle sense of distance between us, different from when we used to be comrades.
She probably felt it too.
We hadn’t seen each other in almost two months, since we’d both been in the labyrinth.
Thud, thud, thud!
Suddenly, there was a vibration from below.
“Is something happening in the basement…?”
Oh, right, it’s way past lunch time.
“They were doing some sewer work recently. Don’t worry about it.”
I didn’t want to explain that we had someone locked up down there, so I made up a quick excuse.
Fortunately, Raven didn’t seem suspicious.
We continued our conversation, and during that time, I finally learned what happened on Raven’s latest raid.
The most important information, however, came last.
“Oh, and about that thing you asked me to look into.”
“That thing?”
“The proposal to incorporate evil spirits.”
“Did you find out who brought up that topic?”
“Yes. It was Countess Phefroc.”
“Phefroc…?”
I was stunned as soon as I heard the name.
Because that was the surname of someone I used to know.
Ragna Litanyel Phefroc.
At first, I thought it might just be a coincidence, but my doubt lingered.
When I had checked in the past, there were no noble families by the name of Phefroc anywhere in Raphdonia.
“Raven, what’s the countess’s full name?”
“Ragna Phefroc, I’m sure of it.”
“…What?”
Is it really her?
Though her middle name is missing…
“…Do you know her?”
“Maybe. Could you tell me more about the Phefroc family?”
“They are a typical fallen noble family. They disappeared from the Royal Nobility Council but were reinstated quietly a year ago.”
So that’s why I couldn’t find them when I checked.
Could it be that the Countess is really Ragna?
As I was repeatedly thinking over this, Raven continued, lowering her voice.
“It didn’t make sense to me, so I dug deeper. Fallen noble families sometimes get reinstated, but how did she build enough status to participate in the royal council in such a short time?”
“And the answer?”
“It’s simple. She had backing.”
“From whom?”
“Who was it?”
“Marquis Tercerion, the Chancellor of Raphdonia.”
“…What?”
Suddenly, my head became a mess.
Whether or not the Countess is Ragna, if Raven’s information is true, it means she’s part of the Chancellor’s faction.
“So… the petition for integrating evil spirits was the Chancellor’s doing?”
I unknowingly voiced my thoughts, and Raven slightly shook her head.
“No. It’s more complicated than that. When the topic came up, the Chancellor himself was the first to dismiss it as absurd. He even raised his voice, and the other nobles quickly dropped the issue.”
“Perhaps it was just an act.”
“An act…?”
“I mean, it could have been a staged act. By pretending to oppose it so strongly, he might have wanted to shut down any other nobles from pursuing the idea further.”
“Ah…”
Raven’s mouth hung open, as if she hadn’t considered that possibility.
“Seems you have some insight into politics…”
“Not really; I’m just interested in people.”
It was just a theory, of course. The truth might be different.
We still have too little information to draw conclusions.
“Raven, could you investigate Countess Phefroc a bit more?”
“Sure. There are many things that seem off to me too.”
“Thanks, as always.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Alright, take care.”
That concluded my meeting with Raven that day.
And time passed—a week later.
On a sunny afternoon when Erwin and Amelia had gone to the commercial city to receive payment for the sold loot.
Bang—!
Knights bearing the royal crest on their chests broke down the front door and stormed into the mansion.
“Rihen Schuiz, you are under arrest on suspicion of conspiring with Noark.”
Hah, well.
Ah… so it’s come to this after all.
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