Chapter 29: Underground Lair

“This is a good one.”

After trying on the sneakers and walking around for a while.

I was able to know the function of these shoes.

“Stealth magic.”

Stealth magic, which belongs to the upper level of magic.

When I infused mana into the shoes, my body quickly became transparent.

What is stealth, after all?

The most fundamental identity of a thief.

Isn’t it a magic whose uses are so endless?

I’m already starting to get excited at the thought of using the stealth ability.

Besides, the fact that these shoes are so familiar sneakers to me is quite pleasing to me.

The shoes in this world are not particularly uncomfortable.

But that doesn’t mean they can be compared to sneakers from Earth.

Comfort and lightness.

There were no shoes that satisfied both.

I was having a pleasant thought that I should spend money later to cast expensive automatic recovery magic when.

“What was inside?”

“Oh, are you here now?”

Verno, who was on the other side of the barrier, came in after solving the puzzle that had been installed.

How did he solve that?

At a glance, the puzzle was quite complex in structure.

It’s a difficulty that would make anyone unfamiliar with this kind of thing wander around for a long time.

But Verno solved the puzzle much faster than I thought.

“Are you going back now?”

Looking down at my shoes, Verno noticed that it was an item I got here and asked me.

The way we’ve already been.

Should we go back to the place where the ceiling was broken?

I achieved the goal of finding hidden items.

You might think it’s okay to go back now.

But.

“No. Let’s go there next.”

I pointed to the door on the opposite side of where we came in.

“…Wasn’t this the end?”

Verno, who had just discovered the door, asked me in a dumbfounded voice.

At one corner of the room where the treasure chest was hidden.

There was a tightly closed iron door.

“How about going back at this point?”

Verno’s suggestion to go back now that we’ve found the hidden item.

But I shook my head resolutely.

Just go back after seeing such a suspicious door?

That’s not the right attitude.

As a matter of fact, if a man has started an exploration, he must see the end.

I walked towards the door with a dignified gait

“Haat!”

Screech!

A monster screaming as it is cut by Verno’s sword.

Soon, it fell to the floor, scattering blood in all directions.

A while ago.

What greeted us when we opened the door and entered.

It wasn’t another puzzle, nor was it a new treasure chest.

A monster with a dog-like head.

It was a Gnoll.

Gnolls who rushed at us as soon as they discovered us.

They were ruthlessly slaughtered in front of Verno’s Aura Blade.

Is this the Sword Expert, the step just before the Sword Master?

It didn’t take long for those numerous Gnolls to turn into cold corpses.

Verno, who wiped the Gnoll’s blood from his sword, turned to look at me.

I looked around, looking at Verno, who didn’t feel any emotion.

The floor was already full of Gnolls’ blood.

The corpses piled up here and there were so gruesome that they automatically frowned.

This place where we are standing now.

This was the sewer under the capital of the Empire.

It used to be used here.

But now that magic is common, various systems have been Expected and it is now almost abandoned.

Because it has been neglected for a long time, various monsters, including Gnolls, are now living here.

“…Shall we go back?”

I don’t think there’s anything great hidden here.

The door we passed through would have been simply made as an exit.

Besides, my head is filled with the thought of wanting to get out of this place, which is mixed with the terrible smell of

monsters and various foul odors.

I was about to turn around again, frowning at the pungent smell, when.

“Aaaah…!!”

“…!”

A woman’s scream heard from not far away.

We were startled when we heard the sound, and each of us drew our swords.

“…Did you hear that?”

“Yeah. I heard it too.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Let’s go and see.”

My head was pounding because of the terrible stench.

But I ran in the direction of the sound without hesitation.

And finally, the scene that unfolded before my eyes.

A person screaming, surrounded by countless Goblins, relying on a thin protective shield that covered her body.

The identity of that person is.

“Help me…!!!”

“…Rina?”

Rina, who was on the same side as the terrorists who tried to kidnap the Princess the other day.

She discovered us who had arrived at the scene and called for help in a desperate voice.

…No, what is that person doing there?

This place is a monster den where no sane person would even come close.

How could the Empire have known about its existence and have been condoning it until now?

When I didn’t even budge at Rina’s begging, Verno asked me curiously.

“Aren’t you going to help?”

“I don’t need to. That person is a criminal.”

Even though Rina saved me that time.

That woman is a person who greatly contributed to the escape of the terrorists the other day.

And above all.

According to the memory of that time, Rina is a stronger person than me in the first place.

There is no reason to be so helpless against Goblins.

Criminals can’t be trusted.

I resolutely turned my head.

But.

“Wait a minute!!!”

I stopped for a moment at Rina’s urgent voice.

“If you help me, I’ll give you this!!”

She hurriedly picked something up and held it up.

And something small in Rina’s hand.

“…What’s that?”

I was curious and asked her.

“It’s an elixir that increases mana! This is very rare??”

“What…?”

What did you say now?

A mana-increasing elixir…?

“So help me…!”

I went crazy when I heard the seductive word she uttered.

“Let’s help.”

“Yes? Didn’t you say that woman is a criminal?”

Is that important now?

She says she’ll give me an elixir that increases mana…!

I immediately ran towards the Goblin.

Verno, who saw me late, also jumped into the scene.

And we quickly cut down all the Goblins.

Screeeech!

The low-level monsters, Goblins, could not overcome our swords and all became corpses.

And in the middle of it.

“Blood…. Give me some bloooood…!”

Rina, who is listless like a person suffering from malnutrition.

I looked down at her, who was wriggling without the strength to even move a finger, and held out my arm to her.

“Hap…!”

Sluuuurp.

I can see Rina’s condition improving in real time with the feeling of blood being sucked.

She’s feeling better now, and she’s starting to talk to me leisurely.

“Your blood seems to be okay after I eat it?”

“…Didn’t you say it tasted bad before?”

“Did you keep that in mind? You’re petty.”

“…….”

“Ah!”

As soon as I judged that Rina had come to her senses to some extent, I pushed her face away.

Then Rina smacked her lips as if she was disappointed.

Verno, who had been watching the series of events, approached me and whispered quietly.

“But that person is not a vampire, so why does she suck people’s blood?”

“Isn’t it because she’s a blood magic user? I don’t think she’s a vampire.”

“Huh? I’m a vampire?”

Oh my god…!

No, more importantly, is she really a vampire?

In the original work, one of the heroines was a vampire.

Currently, vampires are one of the most discriminated against races in the Empire.

In the first place, humans cannot think well of them who prolong their lives by sucking people’s blood.

In addition, because their numbers were significantly smaller, they were once reduced to near extinction.

…So what?

But the fact that she was actually a vampire is not that important to me.

More importantly.

“Here. Give me the elixir.”

“…You’re in a hurry!”

I demanded the promised elixir.

Rina, who looked down at my hand for a moment, placed the elixir in my hand.

This is the elixir.

I don’t know how effective the elixir is.

But I think it’s at least worth her life.

And.

“Uh…? What are you doing…?”

“What. I’m arresting a criminal.”

I took out the binding rope that I had put in the subspace and wrapped it around Rina’s body.

It seems that I can just drag her and hand her over to the security guards.

“Eh?”

As if she doesn’t understand the situation.

Rina utters a stupid sound.

The elixir is the elixir, and it’s right to arrest the criminal.

In the first place, the elixir was also the price for saving her life, so I didn’t break the promise.

You’re going to have to pay for your crimes.

She looked at me, who was silently binding her body, and hurriedly opened her mouth.

“I know some important information. Aren’t you curious?”

“Not really.”

“Uh…. This isn’t it…?”

I continued to bind her as if I wasn’t interested.

Then, Rina, who was momentarily embarrassed, quickly spoke.

“Princess.”

“…What?”

“She might be in danger.”

Words that cannot be overlooked just came out of her mouth.