After a brief moment passed.
Rudell and the party, who had been walking through the sewage connected to the corridor, were finally able to emerge outside.
“Finally out…!!”
“No time to hesitate. The pursuers might be on our tail.”
“Got it, got it.”
Even though they had made it outside, they still weren’t completely out of the grasp of their enemies.
After all, they weren’t idiots; they would definitely send forces to the exit of the corridor.
Although it seemed quiet for now, it was wise to get away from the area as quickly as possible.
“By the way, where the heck are we…”
A narrow alley emanating a moldy scent.
They had no idea where they were, but given that communication with Silphier was still cut off, it was clear they were far from a Gold Rush Company branch.
“Is Silphier okay?”
“She’s with Aitri, so she should be fine.”
They were supposed to be spies for the kingdom, after all.
They must have countless escape routes prepared for emergencies.
Thus, after walking along the alley for a while, they finally reached a wide main street.
“Hmm…”
“I have no idea where we are…”
However, Pensburg was much larger than they had anticipated.
No matter how much they looked around, they couldn’t figure out where they were.
Just then, as Rudell and the others strained their eyes to recognize their surroundings…
“Come this way.”
“Wha!? What, what’s going on!?”
Kurt, who had been scanning the area, spotted something and quickly pulled Rudell and Leje into the alley.
Rudell and Leje were surprised by his sudden action, but they quickly shut their mouths upon seeing a group of soldiers approaching.
Heavily armored soldiers were rushing toward somewhere in great haste.
They were definitely headed toward the Gold Rush Company branch.
“That was close.”
“Y-Yeah…”
As they watched the Imperial soldiers disappear in the distance, Kurt said that.
If Kurt had reacted just a moment later, they might have been caught without a chance to escape.
In the middle of the night, three suspiciously dressed foreigners strolling down the street?
It would be like putting up a sign saying, “I’m the criminal!”
“Anyway… what do we do now…”
Even if they wanted to go back to the lodging, they needed to know the area first…
Thinking this, Rudell squinted his eyes.
“Um… I think I have a general idea of where we are?”
“What?”
At the same time, Rudell raised an eyebrow at Leje’s unexpected declaration.
They had only spent two days in Pensburg.
And now she claims she knows her way around this unfamiliar place?
“So, you see that spire over there?”
“Yeah, I see it.”
Following Leje’s finger, Rudell’s eyes landed on a large clock tower.
He had heard it was one of the tourist attractions of the Empire.
“And the Imperial Palace is over there… if we head there, we should be fine?”
“Are you sure?”
“Maybe?”
“Hmm…”
Normally, Rudell would challenge her claim, but for now, he had no choice but to follow her suggestion.
They were in a situation with no other options.
Now that they knew the Gold Rush Company was up to something shady, and it might involve the church, they couldn’t afford to hesitate.
“Kurt, keep an eye on our surroundings.”
“Got it.”
“Alright then, let’s move quickly.”
Upon Rudell’s command, Kurt nodded and began to scout the area while Rudell started to step forward.
*
Rudell and his party arrived at their lodging just as dawn was breaking.
They took a long time to evade the Empire’s patrolling forces and the Company’s pursuers, who were searching the area like they were hunting rats.
“Count Weinstein! Duchess Lagrind! Kurt!!”
“Y-You all made it safely…!!”
Upon entering, they were greeted by Silphier, who looked half-dead, alongside Eleor and Aitri.
“Waaaah-!!! I’m so glad you’re all okayyy-!!”
“S-Silphier!? Why are you crying all of a sudden!?”
Leje was taken aback at Silphier bursting into tears all of a sudden.
“Silphier has been very worried about all of you.”
“I-I thought you all got captured and… I was so lost on what to do…!!”
“We’re alright. So stop crying. Sniffle!!”
Leje looked at Silphier with a puzzled expression and gently patted her back like a good elder sister.
On cue, Silphier stopped sobbing and sniffled.
“So, did you find anything useful?”
“Here, we brought back the ledgers from the Company, and some documents we couldn’t identify.”
Rudell confirmed the ledgers, but hadn’t been able to check the hastily grabbed documents from the vault yet.
Interpreting such documents would be left more to spies like Aitri.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“And one more thing… we found some strange folks in the secret underground passage.”
“Strange folks, you say?”
Upon hearing Rudell’s words, Aitri’s eyes widened.
At his reaction, Rudell began to tell the story of what he had witnessed underground.
Something that appeared entranced and people being dragged away by them.
As he listened, Aitri’s expression turned grave.
“It seems like it’s related to ‘Angel Dust.'”
“Angel Dust?”
“It’s a new drug that has started to spread throughout the Empire recently. The way they were acting was similar to other addicts we’ve identified…”
“Hmm…”
Rudell let out a low groan at that.
It’d be nice if it were just a simple drug case, but he couldn’t shake the disturbing feeling in his gut.
“Leave the interpretation of those documents to us. In the meantime, please look into the events that happened underground.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking of doing.”
Ultimately, there was no choice but to investigate what happened down there.
If it truly was related to the Church of the Eaters of Death, they would be able to get proper cooperation from other divine sects.
“Everyone, I’m sorry, but we need to move right away. Is that okay?”
“Of course, just say the word.”
“If needed.”
“I’ll help too!!”
“I’ll help as well. If it’s related to the church, we can’t just sit around.”
At Rudell’s words, everyone stood up, and looking at them, Rudell smiled faintly.
“Then let’s all head out.”
*
As morning light filled the bustling streets, Rudell and his party reached the underground passage connected to the sewers.
And…
“Hmm…”
A low groan escaped Rudell’s lips as he observed a group standing guard in front of the passage.
They appeared to be investigators, and they were rigorously monitoring the area while surrounding it with a barrier that read “No Entry.”
As expected…
It was only natural for the Gold Rush Company to block off the passage if they weren’t complete fools.
“What do we do? Should we just break through?”
“If we did that, we’d only be advertising, ‘Look at me, I’m here!’”
It wasn’t particularly difficult, but the aftermath would be the real issue.
The Company’s pursuers and armed groups, not to mention the Imperial soldiers, would rush in.
This was not a good situation at all.
Just then…
“I’ll take care of this.”
“Eleor?”
“Just don’t say anything and follow me.”
As they watched the scene, Eleor said this, and Rudell and the others exchanged puzzled glances but followed her as she approached the investigators.
“Stop right there. This area is restricted to authorized personnel only.”
“May the blessing of the goddess be upon you. I’m Eleor, an apprentice priest of the Gaia Church.”
“G-Gaia Church…”
Naturally, the guards blocked her path, but she simply smiled faintly.
Upon mentioning she was from the Gaia Church, the guards seemed startled and eyed her warily.
Why on earth is a priest from the Gaia Church here?
Their expressions seemed to convey this confusion.
“What business do you have? We were not informed that a priest was coming from the church.”
“Could you please take a look at this?”
She pulled something out of her pouch, wearing an innocent smile.
It was a seal, similar to what she had shown the Church’s guards before.
“This, this is…”
“You know what this is, right?”
The guards swallowed hard at the sight of the seal, and Eleor smiled softly as she questioned them.
“I-I understand. But this is still our Company’s issue…”
“Information has come that followers of Thanatos have been sighted nearby. We were dispatched by the Church to investigate this.”
Cutting off the guard’s hesitating words, Eleor stated this.
Interpretation of her statement equated to:
– If you don’t want to be branded a heretic and exterminated, it’s best to cooperate willingly.
“Amidst preparations for a crusade, you wouldn’t dream of obstructing the duties of our priests, would you?”
Although she was being polite, effectively, it was akin to a threat.
Is it really okay for a supposed saint to act this way? But… the priests in this world were basically fanatics.
Demons, Undead, Heretics.
They could not coexist with these three, by their very nature.
It seemed Eleor was also aware of this.
“That can’t be right! We, we just need permission from our superiors…”
“There’s no time. Let us handle that permission. As it’s an official duty of the Church, you won’t face any negative repercussions.”
Eleor shot back at the hesitating guards, stepping forward, and the soldiers, looking baffled, stepped aside, allowing her and her party to pass.
“Then, off we go.”
As they headed toward the dark underground road, Eleor turned back and said.
