Episode 39

While the group was traveling by carriage, they fortunately did not encounter any attacks by bands of bandits. This was partly because the central region had relatively good public order but also because there was no band of bandits bold enough to mess with a group of the top ten. Even the continent’s worst band of bandits would try not to catch the eyes of those of the top ten.

Anyway, after a somewhat comfortable journey of five days, the Allen-Mercenary Group saw a vast city located between wide fields and a broad river. The majestic mountain range standing beside the flowing river indeed made it an ideal place that was perfectly backed by mountains and facing water.

The big city, Agnentia—.

Being especially abundant in silver, it was a place known as the City of Silver. Of course, most of the mined and refined silver had to be offered up to the empire, but the wealth accumulated from the portion received as compensation was more than enough. Thanks to this, Agnentia became a city recognized across the continent for its immense wealth.

Anyway, with the mines facing disruptions due to a dungeon, it was naturally a matter of great concern for the city.

In the Marquisate, even the ruling family seemed to have been eagerly awaiting a group that could thoroughly cleanse this dreadful monster den, as the son of the Marquis himself came out to the gates of the Marquisate’s castle to welcome them.

Of course, Allen, being the most oblivious in the group, had no idea what was happening outside and simply sat quietly in the carriage until he was told to get off. The carriage, which had briefly stopped near the city gate, soon moved again. As expected, there had been no need for him to disembark.

The carriage procession entering the marquisate stopped in a secluded clearing. And finally, the signal to disembark was given. The members, as if they had been waiting for this moment, jumped out of the carriage one by one, stretching their stiff bodies. Groans of discomfort erupted here and there.

Guides assigned to each mercenary group gathered around. The Allen-Mercenary Group followed their guide, trailing behind into the room where they would stay for the day.

It was, of course, an empty room. Yet, it was much cozier and more luxurious than any shabby inn room. The members scanned the room once, yielding the best spot to the leader first, and then each spread their mats in their chosen spots to mark their territories.

There was a minor scuffle over who owned which spot, but it was resolved rather peacefully in the end.

After roughly tidying up the room, the members went to the dining hall for dinner. The food was plentifully served, and they finished the meal with full stomachs.

Returning to their lodging, the members went to bed early. It was best to get a good night’s sleep from early evening if they were to wake up at dawn the next day.

The seat next to the group leader was taken by the faint-hearted believer, Dmitris, who, before lying down, knelt on the mat and clasped his hands tightly together to pray for quite a while. Of course, Allen, being an atheist, watched the scene beside him, deeply engrossed in a very philosophical question about whether the act would genuinely be of any help.

After finishing his prayer and lying down, Dmitris, still with his eyes wide open, cautiously asked the group leader, who was looking at him.

“…Really, will God… take care of us?”

It was a question filled with worries about the dungeon exploration that would start tomorrow. Wondering if God would take care of them so they could safely complete the dungeon exploration.

Allen, seeing those fearful eyes, smiled faintly.

“Who knows? …He’ll do as he pleases, won’t he?”

If there was a God, that is.

The group left the city early in the morning, accompanied by two guides on their way to the silver mine.

They crossed a massive stone bridge carved out of rock over the river and entered the forest.

The forest at dawn was calm yet eerie.

The group walking in two lines constantly kept watch in all directions. Although rare, there were rumors that monsters living deep in the valley sometimes appeared… The likelihood of that day being today was extremely low, but still, a bit of tension was a good warm-up with the dungeon right in front of them.

The path to the mine, cleared for logging, was overgrown with fresh weeds as footsteps had become scarce. The crunching sound with each step created a strange atmosphere, blending with the soft breathing.

As the sun was just about to rise, they arrived at a massive fortress with walls built of stone. Mining had ceased, and it was now cold, but at its peak, it must have emitted intense heat, refining silver day and night without rest.

As they arrived, the gates to the fortress swung wide open. Even though there were no workers inside, there were guards stationed there.

Viola signaled that they would take a brief rest here before entering the mine directly.

“Rest—!”

Everyone sprawled out on the dirt floor, stuffing their mouths with bits of fruit they had grabbed during breakfast earlier that morning, chewing away. Since stamina was crucial for the mission, it was best to eat whenever possible.

After the short break, Viola shouted again.

“Rest over—!”

Her cry signaled the preparation to depart. Everyone lined up in two rows again and moved out at Viola’s signal. The fortress guards looked on with queasy eyes at the mercenary group entering the daunting mine without hesitation. They wouldn’t dare enter, no matter how much gold was offered.

Positioned about midway through the long procession, Allen realized as soon as he entered the mine entrance that the interior was wider than he thought. It was wide enough for about five grown men to stand side by side with their arms fully extended…. It was said to be an old silver mine, and indeed, the scale gave off that impression.

As he walked down the straight passage, at some point, a foul smell began to emerge.

“Damn, who the hell shit themselves.”

It seemed not only Allen but also the other members smelled it. Allen guessed it might be the smell of a monster’s secretions or perhaps a corpse.

Of course, no matter how much of a master he was in his field, naturally, he had no talent for discerning information through smell. …If only Guild Master had supported the sense of smell, then he might have developed such a talent.

The stench grew worse by the moment. There were strange liquids smeared on the walls of the passage. Of course, no matter how curious one became, no one attempted to touch them. Who knew what kind of substances it could be? No one would risk having to cut off a finger by touching it needlessly.

By now, the sunlight had completely vanished, and a dozen torches, along with a few magical orbs, lit up the surroundings in a line ahead and behind.

Fortunately, the Allen-Mercenary Group had the milk-jug mage, and she could emit a much brighter light from the magical orb attached to her wand than from torches. That alone made the mercenaries recognize the Allen-Mercenary Group as a top-tier mercenary group. Such was the prestige of a mage.

The group had moved quite a bit along the passage, yet they hadn’t encountered any monsters. Either they were just lucky, the creature was deeper inside, or it had returned to its lair; it had to be one of those three.

Yet the mercenaries were noticeably more tense than when they had passed through the forest earlier. They reacted sensitively to even minor movements and small sounds because they didn’t know when or where something might jump out.

Soon, they arrived at a huge cavern. It was quite spacious. The light from the torches didn’t even reach the opposite wall of the cavern.

Then, Viola, who was leading the way, suddenly raised her hand and clenched her outstretched hand into a fist. A silent signal to stop. Since everyone was already on high alert, there were no unfortunate collisions with the person who had suddenly stopped.

A silence without a single breath followed. Only the sound of holding one’s breath and swallowing dry saliva could be heard.

In the dungeon, even the smallest sound had to be treated with extreme caution. Of course, they hadn’t actually entered the dungeon yet, but since a passage to the dungeon had been created, the mine was already considered part of the dungeon.

Viola pointed in a direction somewhere in the darkness, poking the air with just her index finger while keeping the rest of her fist clenched. It meant there was something over there.

Her keen senses detected the presence of a monster crouching in the darkness. Fortunately, it seemed to be asleep, with no movement.

There was only one, anyway. There was no need for the whole mercenary group to rush in unnecessarily. Viola picked a few of her members by poking them with her finger and signaled them to follow.

They approached the direction Viola had pointed, with their footsteps silenced like thieves. …And then, a being slowly started to become visible beyond the dim light of the torches.

——!!

Upon first seeing the terrifying monster, the faint-hearted believer, Dmitris, gasped and covered his mouth with both hands. He almost screamed out loud.

It was quite large. Roughly the size of an elephant.

The creature had wrinkly, crumpled skin with several pairs of thin, spider-like legs attached to it. Its wide, round snout, as broad as its body, was filled with savage teeth, sharp and protruding like spikes above and below…. If bitten by it, the pain would be the least of their worries.

Viola, who had approached the monster as closely as possible while it lay still, glanced at her comrades one last time and then forcefully slashed its neck with the sword she was holding.

———————!!!!!

As its neck was severed, the creature’s body began to glow momentarily. Even with its head cut off, the monster opened its jaws wide, attempting to swallow Viola in one bite.

The members eagerly hacked at the monster’s head and body with clubs and axes, turning it into chunks of meat. Only then did the monster’s movements completely stop.

Allen was a bit impressed by Viola’s flawless handling. The skill with which she cleanly sliced off the thick neck of the monster with a single stroke was also remarkable. ‘She’s truly a genius in swordsmanship—.’

“Rest.”

She ordered a rest. Only then did the mercenaries, who felt like they could finally breathe, let out their held breaths and sloppily sit down wherever.

One of Allen’s members, the axeman Cabrioldi, who was chewing on something, smiled as if relieved and said to his group leader.

“I guess we’re in luck. It doesn’t seem too hard.”

“Hey, you. Don’t jinx us. Don’t say things like that.”

A female member who liked superstitions warned the light-mouthed Cabrioldi with a baseball bat. Of course, he didn’t take it seriously and just shrugged his shoulders.

Although Allen, an atheist, didn’t particularly believe in superstitions…, after working as a mercenary for a while, the thought that such things didn’t exist at all had somewhat faded.

…Oddly enough, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that they might have invited some bad luck by saying such things.