Chapter 271: To the Hideout
As we exited the Dungeon, we headed westward. When we arrived in this city, we entered through the eastern gate and took lodging on the east side. Therefore, we had yet to explore the western side of the city.
Keeping a slight distance from the men walking ahead, I glanced around, following their lead. Perhaps because the Royal Capital lay to the northwest, the western side seemed more developed.
We turned into a wide back street, half of which was filled with street stalls. As we gradually changed our direction to the southwest, the atmosphere began to resemble that of a slum. The residents’ clothing grew increasingly tattered, and I could sense the presence of more people than I could see, their gazes lingering from various buildings.
“Where the hell are they going…?” Ivan muttered, glaring at our surroundings. The stares directed at us were indeed bothersome, likely due to our outsider status.
“Well, we are standing out, so it can’t be helped,” Rio replied, glancing around at our group. It was clear that Ivan was the most conspicuous among us. We had just been acting as bait for the Newcomer Hunt, so we should have blended in with our unremarkable appearances. However, Ivan’s spear was the most eye-catching.
After walking for a while, a group of rough-looking men appeared ahead, blocking our path.
“Whoa there, stop! I don’t know what you’re here for, but it’s going to cost you to go any further,” one of them sneered.
“What is that?”
“Are they blocking the way?”
“What do you think? Do we have to pay a toll?”
I stopped as instructed and turned to the others for their thoughts, but Phonia’s response was as adorable as ever. Still, being blocked like this might mean our plan had backfired a bit. I had been considering a quick way to meet the boss of the Newcomer Hunt organization. Instead of sneaking around various people with our unclear intentions, I thought it would be faster to confront the boss directly after reporting our failure. But now, here we were, tailing them from a distance only to be stopped.
“There’s no way there’s a toll for a street in the city,” Ivan scoffed.
“Right? I’ve been to many cities, and I’ve never been charged a toll. I think they just want to extort us,” El chimed in, echoing Ivan’s sentiment.
“Then let’s ignore them,” I decided, ready to resume our pursuit of the men ahead.
“Oh? You’re going to pay up, huh?” The men in front grinned as they reached out their hands, but we elegantly ignored them and walked past. However, they clearly weren’t going to let us pass without a fight, as one of them tried to trip me.
“—Ouch!?”
In that case, I had no choice but to kick him away. With a short scream, he flew backward, twisting in the air before crashing into a poorly constructed house and rolling to a stop against the wall.
“That didn’t send him flying as far as I thought,” I remarked.
“Don’t break the house, okay?” Phonia warned, her tone serious.
“Right,” I replied, patting her head in acknowledgment.
The men who had been blocking our path stood frozen, staring at their comrade who had just been sent flying. If they weren’t going to press the issue further, we could leave them be.
“Is this the place?”
After walking a bit longer, we arrived at our destination. I looked at the building where I sensed the presence of the men we had been following. It was an unremarkable single-story structure that looked like it could collapse at any moment.
“It seems there’s a basement,” I noted.
As I focused on the presence inside, I detected eight more individuals in addition to the four men who had led us here. Two of them seemed to be in a separate room, but it was adjacent.
“That makes twelve in total. It looks like ten of them are gathered in one room,” I reported.
“Should we just charge in?” Rio asked.
“Yeah, we can handle two of them even if they’re separated,” I replied.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and we opened the front door to invade the interior. The door creaked ominously, but the presence inside remained unchanged. Light filtered through various holes in the ceiling and walls.
“There’s a smell coming from over there,” Phonia pointed out, indicating a staircase leading down to the basement. It seemed there were no other exits, so if we secured this point, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
Without bothering to be stealthy, we made our way down the stairs, and as we reached the bottom, a door nearby swung open. It led to the room where the ten men were gathered.
“Who’s there!?” a man shouted, peering out.
At his question, Rio and the others exchanged glances, unsure of how to respond. We hadn’t planned on introducing ourselves, and I doubted they would recognize us by name anyway.
“We’re from the Adventurer’s Guild,” I replied after a moment’s thought, realizing it sounded somewhat dubious. We had come directly from the Dungeon, but since the Guild was nearby, it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
“W-What did you say?” the man stammered.
“Excuse us,” I said, stepping forward.
His suspicious response didn’t deter me; I had no intention of engaging in a debate here. I entrusted El with the two men in the adjacent room and, without giving the man a chance to react, I knocked him aside, sending him crashing into the room.
“What the hell!?” he shouted as he stumbled inside.
In the room, the four men who had guided us were kneeling, while two men and three women stood across from them. One of the men lounged on a sofa, while the other kicked a man wearing a collar at his feet. The man I had just thrown in was twitching against the wall, showing no signs of getting up.
“Ah…?” The man on the sofa growled, narrowing his eyes at us.
“What the hell are you doing here…?” he demanded.
“What do you think? We came to catch the mastermind behind the Newcomer Hunt,” I replied.
“Oh? You lot?” he sneered, rising from the sofa.
As he walked toward the man he had been kicking, he gestured for the four men with collars to stand up, positioning them to face us.
Those four were under our control, but it seemed they hadn’t noticed the collars. Well, that was fine.
“No, we’re just here to watch,” I said casually.
“What?” he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
“That’s right. You lot take care of it,” I instructed.
With that, the leader’s foolish voice prompted the four slaves to turn around and attack us.