Published: August 15, 2025
Today, three chapters posted simultaneously.
This is the third chapter.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Somewhere in Gimul Town… In a secretly made room, the deep voice of an angry man echoed.
“What do you intend to do bringing along that kid?! What if the pursuers catch up?!”
“It can’t be helped. Outside, the guards and adventurers are wandering around, and familiars that act like surveillance are flying in the sky. If we all ran out in a group trying to escape, we’d immediately arouse suspicion and get caught.”
“Even so, being seen by a kid, adults who heard the kid’s voice beating us up, and fleeing in a panic while dragging the kid along? That defeats the whole purpose of stealing the carriage discreetly!”
“Yeah? So you want us to just get caught?”
The room had no windows and wasn’t spacious. A suffocating atmosphere filled the room.
Amid this tension, someone spoke to the two men glaring at each other.
“Stop it, it’s annoying.”
“Boss, but this guy—”
“What you’re saying is right. But remember why we’re holed up in this hole.”
“…To hide from the people in town and the new arrivals.”
“Exactly. Those guys can’t be trusted. If we obediently follow them, they’ll just use us and then dispose of us when we’re no longer useful. We know what happens if the town’s people catch us.
If either of those two gets caught and information about this place leaks, it’s all over. Right?”
“That’s… yes.”
“Fighting among ourselves now is pointless. Hold it in.
You should understand that you yourself almost did something irreversible. There won’t be a next time.”
“Understood…”
The bearded man called the boss intervened, and the quarrel ended.
The others who had been watching nearby unconsciously exhaled deeply.
There were thirteen men squeezed into this long, narrow room without windows—so cramped that an adult could barely stretch their arms horizontally. With quarrels breaking out, it was no wonder the air felt suffocating.
“Boss, what do we do about that kid? For now, he’s locked in the bathroom…”
“We can’t just send him home, but we might get some money if we sell the kid off. Until things cool down, you who brought him should take care of him appropriately. Don’t let him escape, got it? If he tries to run or makes too much fuss, you can kill him. Even to run away, money is needed, but staying undetected is more important than a little money.”
“Understood.”
“The pursuers worry me… what’s the situation outside?”
“I have the familiars on alert, but so far there’s no abnormality—”
The man answering the boss’s question suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
All eyes inside the room turned to him.
“What is it?”
“Ryoma Takebayashi is nearby, outside the wall…”
“What!?”
“Weren’t you on alert?!”
“Quiet down! Hey, explain in detail. Is it the pursuers?”
“No… it doesn’t look like pursuers. Probably just passing by.”
“Passing by?”
“Well, it seems like he’s cleaning the ditch. What he’s holding isn’t a weapon, but cleaning tools.”
Hearing this, the men exchanged looks, then sneered.
“Don’t scare us.”
“Exactly. This situation isn’t a joke.”
Though they joked lightly, the boss alone kept a stern expression.
Sweat slicked his face.
“You all, grab your belongings. Bring the kid too.”
“Boss?”
“Hurry up!”
“W-what’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Who cleans the ditch at a time like this?! Damn it, I can’t stop shivering. When that happens, it’s definitely bad news. Let’s get out of here fast!”
“Where can we run to?”
“Anywhere! Staying here is worse—!”
As the boss ordered an escape, something strange happened inside the room.
“Whoa!?”
“Smells awful!?”
“Ugh, the bathroom’s overflowing—”
“Move!”
The men hesitated at the stench and the filth flowing in through the bathroom door crack at the far end of the narrow room.
The pale boss parted the crowd and grabbed the bathroom door, but it wouldn’t open.