9-9 Part 3
Aiding a Jailbreak with a Single
Shovel
- Two Underground Passages -
Translator : PolterGlast
Leaving securing the escape route to Ambassador Begal,
I literally dove underground. The starting point is the sewers in the southern
part of the Imperial Capital. The destination is directly beneath the
slave auction venue.
「I wanted you to guard Yashu,
you know...」
「Kuhaha, Shovel Man, Shinza,
it seems I misjudged you... I always thought you weren't ordinary, but Shovel
Man! You are the best! To villains, you are equal to the very incarnation of a
nightmare! You are the ultimate ideal that appeared before us who have
swallowed bitterness until today—」
The white wolf Yashu is still at that tavern-inn. Sigrun's
adventurer companions are guarding her. I can't say I trust them completely,
but they were a pretty good-natured bunch.
「How many times have you said that
line? Don't get excited; hold the lantern steady. It's flickering and hard to
dig.」
「How can I not be excited!
This power of yours—setting aside boring logic! With this power, isn't any
number of astonishing grand crimes possible! With this, one could overturn
everything, even the Heavens and the Abyss (Earth)!!」
It didn't go like my usual silent digging. Sigrun is
just noisy. Loud. My ears hurt from the echoes. She was unnecessarily intense
and feverishly excited, to the point I almost gave up on calming her down...
「It's not a crime. This is the
execution of justice by force. We don't need to harbor a single guilty feeling.」
「Justice by force! Ah, what a sweet
ring! To what extent are you a man who excites me! Ah, right, can I sing?!」
「Think about the place; of course
not...」
While responding, my body proceeds to dig underground. This
is the Imperial Capital. I'm being reasonably careful not to connect to
strange places.
However, according to Yashu, the confinement location
was deep underground, and the place likely to be the auction venue was also
underground. No matter how expensive land in the Imperial Capital is,
buildings with deep underground facilities are extremely rare.
Therefore, as long as the direction of travel isn't wrong,
whatever we hit is the destination.
「How cold! I'm excited enough to start singing! Saving the
kidnapped weak with this power! Stealing evil wealth! Crushing the evil head, right?!
What a wonderful date!!」
「I didn't know. Was this a date?」
「Yeah, my heart is pounding right
now. Just when I thought you slaughtered scum into the earth, your
mysteriousness in persuading the Ambassador of Kaha has me completely
swooning! I have taken a liking to you!! Is this love?!」
「Don't know. What kind of sensibility
is that.」
Rather, for me, it was the opposite. I harbored slight
regret and hesitation.
「It means I fell for you.」
「I see.」
There is a word: Dark Hero. A definition of a certain kind
of hero that occasionally appears in stories from the other world. Those who
stubbornly carry out justice even while dirtying their own hands. Heroes who
aren't on the side of order; that is a Dark Hero.
「~~♪」
「Humming, huh. Well, better than
singing loudly...」
「Hahaha, I feel good, you see! A~~♪」
「Just do as you please...」
Dark Heroes don't let people get close to them. Or they
often keep a certain distance without associating deeply. I finally understood
the reason now.
「More importantly, are you really
okay with this? If exposed, we both won't be able to stay in the Imperial
Capital. The Adventurer's Guild won't think well of it either.」
I am currently on the verge of dragging Sigrun into
the darkness. I couldn't think of that as a correct action.
「What, just that? Umu, in that case,
take responsibility.」
「Responsibility, huh...」
Should I exclude Sigrun after all? No, impossible;
she's not someone who steps down when told to. It's already too late.
「Responsibility...」
「Don't think darkly. If exposed,
fleeing the Empire and living slowly somewhere far away isn't bad either. You
and me! Umu, at that time, why don't we become chivalrous thieves together?」
When I glanced at Sigrun behind me, she seemed to be
saying it seriously and was laughing happily. The idea of getting caught
doesn't seem to exist in her head.
「Mu. Seems we arrived.」
「Ooh, really?! Ooh, a stone wall this
deep underground! Suspicious indeed!」
Clearing the soil using the side of the Shovel, a
large stone wall was there. Expanding further downward a little, the wall
ended. This seemed to be the bottommost layer.
「I agree. Nine out of ten, it's the
destination.」
「Alright, open it up. I'll do a
little reconnaissance.」
「Oi, what are you saying?」
「Don't worry. Besides, if we're going
to burn it down, it would be trouble if anyone failed to escape. Trust me.」
No words of rebuttal come to mind. There is danger, but if
we are to avoid irregularities, reconnaissance is necessary.
「About that arson, I still can't let
you dirty your hands that fa—」
「Are you stupid?」
「Calling me stupid all of a sudden...」
「No, you're stupid, a bastard you
are. Thinking it's fine for yourself to dirty your hands but not others is
arrogance. Just leave everything to this big sister, young man.」
I never thought I'd get lectured by Sigrun. The black-horned beauty with pale green hair looked even
more beautiful seeing her in the world of the hole. With her appearance, her
personality is like a fraud.
「Understood. I leave the
reconnaissance here to you. I'll go dig the other side.」
「Umu, leave it to me. If need be, I
could even take on that dirty work for you, you know?」
「I refuse. I started this; I will do
it.」
「Fuhaha, I wonder what drives you so
far... Well, rely on me more from now on. This kind of forceful volunteering is
most welcome.」
I pushed the lantern onto Sigrun. I'll have to get
another one when I return to the surface. Next, silently piercing the wall with
the Shovel, I confirmed the safety of the entry route.
「Is this a prison? Doesn't seem to be
locked... Then, I'm counting on you.」
「Oi, going back without a light?」
「Yeah, don't need it. I have night
vision by nature.」
「Hahaha, just like a mole. ...Let's
meet again later.」
I parted with Sigrun there. Then buying a new lantern
on the surface, I built a second tunnel from the sewers of the Imperial
Capital's noble district.
...It's complete. At the same time, following Sigrun's
example, I did reconnaissance. The mansion of Ansef, boss of the human
trafficking organization [Wind of Yesterday], had spent an outrageous
amount of money.
It was flashy with art pieces and jewelry, but also every
corridor was brightly lit. However, security seems concentrated outside the
mansion, and there were only a few servants inside.
I found Ansef. I expected a yakuza boss like in a
painting, but he was a dull, skinny little man.
If I hadn't seen a servant call him Ansef-sama, I would have nearly passed him
by. I found Ansef's bedroom as well.
The treasure vault was underground, enclosed within iron-plated walls.
That's enough. I retreated from the mansion and returned to
that tavern-inn where the white wolf Yashu waited. Once the operation is
completed without incident, Yashu will be protected by the ambassador
along with her friends and depart for the south.
That soft-looking white wolf fur will also be seen for the
last time soon.
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