I Want to Live a Normal Life - Episode 9: Beneath the Royal Capital

Episode 9: Beneath the Royal Capital

“It’s getting late. Shall we go soon?”

“Hey, are we really going? Shouldn’t we invite others?”

“No, it’s not a good idea. They’ll just slow us down.”

“But still, going alone with just the two of us…”

“Just because Sasha trusts someone doesn’t mean I trust them too.”

“I see… Well, okay then. Let’s go.”

I’m aware my way of speaking is a bit off, but it can’t be helped. Please don’t expect socially adept behavior from someone like me. But in reality, there’s a high chance Sasha might fail, considering the original story. Whether it’s because of a traitor or a difference in strength, I don’t know.

Besides, it’s better to minimize risks. I don’t completely trust Sasha either. I told her about the involvement of the country and the church, but I couldn’t tell her everything. So, I don’t know how she’ll react when encountering big shots like the prince or the bishop. Well, she probably knows I haven’t told her everything. It’s mutual.

That’s why I initially planned to come alone. But Sasha insisted on coming with me. Well, considering the protection of the captured people, I thought it might be tough alone. I didn’t even consider the fact that people might be captured. Acting impulsively is not a good idea.

“The entrance to the underground is through the Aldina Company’s warehouse.”

“[Subterranean Survey]… Aldina Company?”

“It’s a well-known company in the capital. Seems to have connections with various nobles… There are fifteen guards.”

“[Stone Lance]… It’s done.”

“Huh?”

The entrance to the underground passage found with Sasha’s [Magic Eye] was a large warehouse. I don’t recognize the name Aldina Company, but according to Sasha, it’s a well-known company in this country. Well, if it’s a warehouse of a big company, it wouldn’t be suspicious for carriages to come and go. Moreover, if it’s in the slums outside the city walls, they can claim it’s for security no matter how many guards they hire. It’s a perfect cover.

Now that we’ve located the entrance, I used [Subterranean Survey] to locate the number and positions of the guards and then dispatched them by growing spears from the walls and floor. There were about two who reacted, but they were taken care of with the second spear. Most of the buildings in the slums, including this warehouse, are made of earthen walls, so it’s easy for me, who uses earth attribute magic.

“Let’s first protect the captured people.”

“Got it.”

“After that, we’ll seal off the entrance. It’ll be troublesome if they call for reinforcements.”

“I’ll gather evidence. It would be good to have a list of those involved.”

As we discussed the next steps, we proceeded along the long underground passage, which had been cleared for carriage passage. We sealed off the entrance from the warehouse tightly to prevent enemies from coming from behind.

The evidence is to be distributed among the moderate nobles distant from the royal family. I hope it will restrain the royal family even a little. Well, they were mostly powerless by the start of the original story, so I can’t expect much from them.

“I see it… Seems like there’s a prison a little to the left after exiting this passage.”

“How many captives and guards?”

“There are about two to three dozen captives. Some of them have strong magical powers, so it’s not clear. There are seven guards. None of them seem to have exceptional magical abilities.”

“That’s quite a lot, or maybe it’s few considering the number of missing persons.”

As we progressed, Sasha’s eyes seemed to see the interior of the underground facility. Her [Magic Eye] is definitely cheating. My [Subterranean Survey] hasn’t even reached the end of the passage yet.

But still, how to ensure the safety of that many people? There might be others in different places, and we don’t want to cause a commotion just after infiltrating.

“Alright then, let’s go? Please take care of any leaks.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Approaching the end of the underground passage, we’re about to enter the experimental facility.

“[Earth Wall].”

“Whoa?!”

“W-What’s with this wall?!”

“[Bullet]”

“Gah!!”

Right after entering the facility, I activate [Earth Wall] between the prison and the guards. With the sudden turn of events, the guards are caught off guard, and I shoot [Bullet] to subdue them. Yeah, it seems there won’t be any leaks. As discussed beforehand, I leave it to Sasha to release the captured people and explain the situation. I planned to create an underground space for them to hide, but…

“This is…”

It seems she’s shocked to see a knight of the Miltia Temple among the dead guards. Well, even though I informed her about the church’s involvement beforehand, seeing it with her own eyes must be different. But if she’s shocked like this at this entrance, she won’t last long, will she?

“I’m sorry. I’m okay now.”

“Then, please go over there.”

She seems to have recovered for now. Since I’ve finished my task here, I’ll just go through these documents. So, I deactivate only the eye part of my [Magic Armor]. Don’t worry, I’m keeping the corpses out of sight.

“There are so many documents.”

…I should’ve borrowed a magic bag from the border count. I was wondering where he kept that huge sword of his, turns out it was in his magic bag. Magic bags are great, aren’t they? Not just practical, but they also have that otherworldly charm. Apparently, their capacity isn’t infinite though. About the size of a carriage, I heard. They’re quite expensive, but I want one too.

Anyway, looking through the documents, there are lots of lists. Names, dates, and place names are written, so they’re probably lists of captured people. It would’ve been perfect if there were floor plans of the underground too. Well, I guess that’s too much to ask.

“The explanation is done. They said there’s another entrance and another prison nearby. They don’t know the exact numbers though.”

“Another prison, huh… That’s a few.”

“Yeah… Oh, and there are a few people who want to come with us.”

“I understand their feelings, but it’s a no.”

“Well, yeah.”

I understand how they feel. Some might have had their families or loved ones killed. But causing a rampage out of anger wouldn’t help. At least until we secure all the captured people. After that, it depends on the situation. We might request their help in causing a commotion later.

“Be careful in the dark.”

Following Sasha’s instructions, everyone cautiously enters the underground space. Although the underground facility, including the passages, was illuminated with magical tools, this underground area is pitch black. Can’t blame them for being scared. Also, there’s quite a variety here, from nobles to adventurers to children. Different genders and ages. I wonder what criteria they used to snatch them up.

By the way, the ones who wanted to come along were three people, one seeming noble and the other two looking like adventurers. I handed them the weapons the guards had and asked them to guard the people here. It’s best not to be found, but you never know what might happen.

“We’ve hidden the evidence, let’s move on.”

“Yeah, time is of the essence.”

We’ve successfully liberated the second prison and collected the documents. There were about fifty people here, more than the previous location. Similar to before, we’ll have adventurers guard them as they evacuate to the underground space. It’s easier when there are no troubles.

However, I’m worried about Sasha, so I’ve decided to change the plan and stick together from here on out. There was a monster breeding ground before we got here, and it seems she saw the piles of feed they had stored there. Apparently, they were disposing of failed experiments there. Yeah, that’s harsh. I’d vomit if it were me. I can say that with confidence.

Well, I already thought separate actions would be impossible. Sasha’s strength is only moderate. The real challenge starts now. It’s late at night, so there might not be many people coming and going, but there’ll likely be patrols, and there’s a possibility that the warehouse disturbance has already been discovered. It wouldn’t be surprising if things got noisy at any moment.

“We can’t waste any time.”