EP.40
Although there was a recommendation letter from the Archbishop, it was evident that the requester of this mission was the Church. To fulfill this request, we had to, like it or not, make a stop at the administrative office of the Holy Kingdom at least once.
But before that, there was something we needed to do first.
“…Do we really have to do this?”
“Well, it’s fine on the streets, but you can’t meet someone in a high position without it.”
“But this is something that could easily be done with magic.”
“The institution that knows magic best in the world is the Holy Kingdom and the Mage Tower. Do you think that would work?”
Maria had to undergo a disguise.
She was sulking at the thought of hiding her silver hair and wall-like blue eyes, which she had cherished as her identity throughout her life, but there really wasn’t much of a choice.
After all, this was the Holy Kingdom!
Just like how one would first suspect a noble who doesn’t know the face of the Empire’s princess to be a spy, anyone who holds a high position in the Holy Kingdom without knowing the faces of significant figures from other countries would raise suspicions about bribery.
Just think about it. What if the Empire’s princess suddenly showed up in the Holy Kingdom without a single official announcement?
It would surely turn the Holy Kingdom upside down.
Of course, slightly altering one’s appearance with magic was possible, but you think the city of Osodox, where the Pope resides, would be unprepared for that?
From my previous experiences, they were more than ready for those who attempted deception with magic. It was said that if you tried to disguise yourself with magic, you would inevitably be caught.
Of course, I wasn’t sure how it would go with a sixth-tier magician. Most of the transformation magic I had seen so far was performed by fourth-tier mages. But there was no need to gamble on such things anyway.
So, I busied myself trying to persuade Maria.
“How about this?”
“What is this?”
“This is a dye I painstakingly acquired.”
The dyes for hair and eye color in this era were all about the same quality, so I had decided to splurge a bit.
I ordered the highest quality from the Alchemist Guild, and surprisingly, I was able to receive it in just two days. I had expected it would take a while, but when I asked how it happened so quickly, they replied that there were suspiciously wealthy patrons placing requests, so they always had stock on hand.
Seems like hair color fetishes are universal!
Anyway, this was the product I had procured.
“The alchemists say it not only has great effectiveness but is also quite good for skincare and hair care. You might actually like it once you try it!”
A completely unheard-of feature where dyeing comes with beauty benefits? I was also impressed, so Maria would surely accept it.
And just as I expected, Maria showed curiosity and opened the lid.
Incredible! Fantasy!
“It has a fascinating scent.”
And before long, I found myself regretting my choice of product.
“This… It smells kind of like an aphrodisiac, doesn’t it?”
“What?”
Maria’s suspicious gaze fell upon me.
But truthfully, I was just as astonished.
What the hell.
“No wonder the ones looking for it seemed to have impure intentions…!”
Had it been made with that in mind from the start…!
Incredible! You fantasy people!
I had to hurriedly snatch the dye from Maria and rush to the Alchemist Guild.
Fortunately, due to the apology for adding an unwanted feature that I never requested based on the client’s intentions, I was able to exchange it for free. I absolutely did not threaten them by stating I was the son of the reformed grand politician.
Anyhow, that wasn’t true.
―――
Anyway, after that series of events, we were fortunate to safely pass the quarantine and enter the Osodox Cathedral, which served the same role as the Imperial Palace.
Since Maria had dyed her hair brown and her eyes black with the new dye, no one suspected her to be a princess. It was a combination that was common enough, but more importantly, who would ever think that the Empire’s princess would go as far as using dye to disguise herself?
EP.41
“You have received a recommendation letter from Archbishop Paolo?”
“Yes, here it is.”
While Maria wandered around the interior of the cathedral, which was decorated in a style entirely different from that of the Empire, I was having a conversation with the Deputy Chief of the Security Department, who was the head of the requesting agency.
He confirmed the authenticity of the letter using holy power.
“It’s definitely genuine.”
He then examined the contents of the letter closely.
“Hmm?”
He alternated his gaze between me and the recommendation letter before asking,
“Are you perhaps a Monster Hunter?”
“Yes, I am the Monster Hunter, Bill.”
His previously stern face lit up with a bright smile.
He took my hands in both of his and shook them up and down.
“I never expected Sir Wilhelm himself would come to see us!”
“Haha, I happened to become close with Archbishop Paolo, so I took on this request.”
“Wow, I didn’t think that man, who goes drinking at every opportunity, would be friends with Sir Wilhelm.”
So that guy was this way even in the Holy Kingdom.
What kind of daily behavior must one exhibit for an archbishop to be known not for piety, but for drinking excessively? Anyway, given the Holy Kingdom’s high-ranking officials, it was expected they wouldn’t be ordinary in their devotion.
Regardless, I smiled and defended him.
“I also got invited to some events, and in the process, I ended up sharing drinks with the Archbishop. He’s a very like-minded person, indeed.”
“What do you mean by ‘like-minded’?”
His puzzled expression as he wondered what common ground there could be between the two of us was a bit amusing, but that was really the fault of Archbishop Paolo for not managing his reputation, so it was none of my concern.
“He has a tremendous sense of mission when it comes to helping the needy.”
“Ah, is that so?”
It seemed the information finally hit him, and he clapped his hands together with a snap.
One could say it was shameless to say such things, but I felt proud. Honestly, even I could see that I had been helping many people here and there.
However, I honestly couldn’t stand the idea of making a grand entrance, declaring, “Don’t worry! I’m here!” while slicing through thieves and monsters.
Don’t laugh and call it childish. If you don’t have a little bit of cheesiness, you can’t pull off the right lines at the right moments.
“Indeed, no one is more passionate about taking care of orphans, widows, and the homeless than Archbishop Paolo. It seems like a good fit for a ‘Monster Hunter.’”
Absolutely, tell me about it!
I nodded in agreement, acknowledging his praise. Others might say it’s annoying, but this was the joy of being a Monster Hunter. With the money earned from performing requests for nobles, I could easily earn without needing separate financial rewards, but without this kind of praise, my motivation would quickly drop.
Anyway, we wrapped up this little icebreaker nicely.
“So, you’ve reviewed the details of the request?”
“Of course.”
Even if we were friendly, requests should always be handled cautiously. There are plenty of crazy people in this world, just like in the Earth. In fact, in a world where the kind of revolutions that stab people with pitchforks for being unlucky like that don’t exist, the proportion of lunatics among those in power or with money seemed even higher.
There are always cases of people pulling in others with the guise of requests, resulting in ruined lives. Back when I didn’t know anything, I almost fell victim to something like that myself. If I hadn’t been able to counterattack because some pathetic baron tried to mess with me while my identity was that of a gangster, my reputation would have been thoroughly destroyed.
Since then, I’ve been meticulous about checking requests. I never dealt with clients who wouldn’t disclose who they had made requests to and how things ended.
And in this regard, the Holy Kingdom was very thorough. They provided a detailed account of how this request had previously failed.
After confirming everything and ensuring it was a sound request, I accepted it.
“So, you said people have been disappearing frequently in the sewers of the Holy Kingdom?”
“Yes, that’s correct. From what we’ve investigated so far, it seems that abductions are certain, and after several searches by the Imperial Knight Order in the sewers, no signs of people lingering have been found, leading us to suspect it may not be human trafficking…”
He spoke with a rather awkward expression.
“Well, there’s a rumor going around that there are monsters living in the sewers that eat people.”
At his words, Maria, who had been harboring a question since she heard about the request, asked,
“But isn’t there a lot of knights in the Holy Kingdom? Why aren’t they mobilized to exterminate them?”
His response was a bit sheepish.
Of course, they wouldn’t want to admit they couldn’t handle it. However, the fact that they weren’t doing so meant there had to be a reason behind it.
“Um, well, our knights haven’t fully grasped the layout of the sewers.”
“…Excuse me?”
“The Osodox sewer system is a facility created over a millennium ago by the Empire that once ruled the continent. Naturally, we aren’t familiar with its design.”
But if that were all there was to it, the Holy Kingdom would have somehow deployed the knights to find a solution. Yet, they had not.
“Moreover, it seems that there are a number of people operating continuously under the Osodox sewers that we can’t identify. Of course, the Imperial Knight Order is patrolling daily to ensure they don’t surface, but the sewer system is so vast and goes so deep underground that we can’t entirely understand its structure…”
“Are you saying the sewer system moves by itself?”
Maria’s question surprisingly pierced to the heart of the matter. It was I, not the Deputy Chief, who answered.
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?” she inquired, blinking at me in confusion.
I had seen something similar before. Even in Earth’s great nations, boasting tremendous capital, technology, and administrative power, there are slums or impoverished areas that they can’t touch.
In such places, it can be exceedingly difficult for the government to ascertain what’s going on internally. Unsurprisingly, the construction and earthworks happening inside often took place without any legal permits.
Surely, the same kind of thing was happening inside the sewer system. Even now, its interior must be changing in real-time. Secret holes, hidden passages, and easily assembled and disassembled makeshift walls known only to them must be continuously created.
The problem is that people will unabashedly engage in actions unimaginable to the average person for the sake of illegal profit.
“The sewer system itself couldn’t be alive, but the people living in it are. And they wouldn’t just use the existing passages if they wanted to keep what they were doing a secret, right?”
“Ah.”
The Deputy Chief nodded in agreement. Maria still looked bewildered, unable to fully grasp it.
Well, given her experiences with human malice, it was usually from those in power. She could be excused for not knowing how those at the bottom lived and moved.
In truth, I didn’t particularly want to understand it myself. I had just come to realize these things naturally as I traveled around.
“In short, it means illegal renovations and constructions are ongoing.”
And that was also the reason the Holy Kingdom had put forth this request.
Maria quickly caught on to this.
“…If such things are happening underground in the Holy Kingdom, doesn’t that mean the entire city could collapse?”
“Precisely. That’s why we’re looking for someone to help resolve this.”
The Deputy Chief nodded.
So, it seemed we were currently inside a tower built on a foundation gnawed away by rats.
Maria’s complexion turned pale.
The Deputy Chief and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction.
I mean, seriously, if the situation were truly that dire, would we be moving around so leisurely?
Of course, it was a secret that I had shown a similar reaction before hearing the explanation from the Archbishop, and I certainly wasn’t going to admit that I hadn’t returned the favor for a prank pulled on me by the Archbishop to Maria.
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