Chapter 75 "Desperation"

　...Why?

Why is it that a little while after I leave the church grounds, a holy knight follows me....

　Well...it was better than Rick's tailing earlier, but not as good as noticing.

　Huh? I'm supposed to have settled down in the form of a poor victim, so why am I being followed?

　...Did I do something to offend them?

Was it a bad idea to use detection magic to check the structure on the way home?

　I mainly used [Earth Search], which is difficult to be noticed, but did I let them know and alert them?

　I don't know. For now, let's hold off on that for now.

I didn't gain anything from the story of the female Temple Knight, but I did get something out of it.

　That school...or rather, the site. The structure is a bit interesting.

　There seems to be a basement.

I asked the knight who sent me home on the way, but he told me that there was a basement, but it was only used as a storage room and not very big.　

 is a magic to see the reaction of anyone who is in contact with the ground through magic power.

　In other words, the empty space above the ground is out of the range of the search.

　I ran the magic through the entire building.

　Then I can see the reaction of people who are moving, and on the other hand, I can see that there are spaces where my senses cannot reach.

And then, voila. The structure of the building can be roughly grasped.

However, the disadvantage is that I cannot see through wooden buildings and rooms with some kind of magical protection.

For the former reason, it is only effective in stone buildings such as schools and churches, while the latter, well... it is probably a measure to protect important places, but it highlights them, so I can understand a lot of things by not being able to see them.

　Incidentally, at the school, that was the case on one of the top floors and most of the basement.

　At that point, it has already gone beyond the level of suspicious or not suspicious.

...Let's get the thoughts straight.

First, Darzain's purpose is currently unknown.

What they are doing is kidnapping people and probably using them to summon demons, but seeing how they are working on such a large scale, I have a feeling it's not the only thing they are doing.

　Next is the base.

　As far as I have been able to find out so far, the most suspicious is the basement of the Gnostic Church.

　It's a process of elimination, and the evidence is weak, but it's the only place left.

　Finally, the identity of the enemy.

It is almost certain that it is Darzain, but it seems that a part of Gnosis is also involved.

That Rick and Sherifa seem to be different, but their 'top' is suspicious.

Especially the Temple Knight who is now in command is too suspicious.

To be honest, there are signs that he is intentionally disrupting the investigation, so he is probably in touch with Darzain.

There is a possibility that they killed him and replaced him with someone else...no?

　It is not possible to build something like that in the basement overnight.

　I'm in trouble...really in trouble.

If it were only Darzain, I could manage, but it would be bad to make an enemy of Gnosis as well.

As I can guess from the fact that they are building churches all over the place, the influence of Gnosis is strong, and if I make them my enemy, there is even a possibility that I will literally be killed socially.

　If that happens, my journey will be a fugitive life.

　And the same would be true if I fled the city.

In that case, Gnosis would not take notice of me, but Darzain would be relentless in pursuing me.

　No, if they are communicating behind the scenes, the end result will be the same.

　How could this happen when all I did was to get rid of an idiot who got involved with me?

It's a headache for me.

It was possible that the people who were following me now were also those who were under the control of Darzaine.

　No, wait...if that's the case, the ruins managed by Gnosis are also becoming suspicious.

　I even have a feeling that the town itself is trying to trick me.

　When I think about it, something black and dusky wells up in my chest. Ah...this could be bad.

　That's right. Let's kill everyone in town. Just wipe them all out.

　That's a great idea! First, let's block the entrances and exits of the city, and then manipulate the people of the city from one side to the other and kill them all. Then, taking advantage of the commotion, I will extract information from the Holy Knights and the Temple Knights and use them as my pawns to destroy Darzain and the rest of them. If they are tough enough, Savage and I will take care of them.

Finally, I'll leave the city in ruins, kill all the inhabitants, and that's it! If I want, I can finish it off by magically clearing the land.

　There would be nothing left before the evidence! Not exactly a perfect idea ..........

　I take a couple of deep breaths and let out a few noisy thoughts.

　Desperation is a bonus.

I'll only do it when I'm completely stuck.

　But there are still too many problems that need to be dealt with. First of all, let's get rid of them one by one.

　For the time being, let's add a few more hands... two tails, I guess.

　I walk for a while and head for an unpopular place.

　After checking the area with magic, I run into an alley.

　I felt the people who had been following me rushing to catch up with me.

　As I enter the alley, I hit one of them in the front with the bottom of my palm, knocking him out of consciousness.

　Looking at his equipment, he seemed to be an apprentice who had just become a holy knight.

　The rest were surprised and tried to reach for the sword at his waist, but it was too late.

　A blow from the left to the temple of the side of the head. Ah, he withstood the blow without falling down.

　Another blow to the right side of the head, and this time, he was knocked unconscious.

Now, if I was able to take away his consciousness, does that mean he has nothing to do with Darzain?

　Well, it doesn't matter. If I look at his memories, I'll have a shot.

While keeping an eye on the surroundings, I suck out the memories and plant "roots" in them.

　Iqbal and Mixon.

That's the name of the two people in front of me, and it seems they followed me on orders from Sherifa.

　That woman is a firm skeptic, no matter what she says.

For the moment, these guys have no relationship with Darzain.

　According to the memory I sucked out, the person who is currently in command of the Holy Knights is an old man named Heretilt.

He is a skilled veteran who has served as Temple Knight for a long time and seems to be trusted by those below him.

　Veteran, huh....

　He's been a knight for a long time, but it could be said that he's reached the end of his career.

　"Now, one of you will return with a suitable reason, and the other will continue to follow me. The one who returns will check the basement of the school and report to me if you find any kind of hidden passageway. After that, you will help me get in."

　"Understood."

　"Leave it to me."

　I said, "Go," and let them go.

　The two of them leave the alleyway without a sound.

That should reveal something about the basement.

　The rest is... ruins and... oh, by the way, I'm also wondering about the disappearance of those guys on the outskirts of town.

　But first...I have to tell Heidi what's going on.

I've left her alone for a whole day for some reason or another.

　I contacted Savage, who was watching the place for now, and found out that she went out before noon and hasn't come back.

I told her to keep quiet.... It's my fault for not explaining myself better.

Well, I guess ...... can't be that easy if it's her.

　I'll take it as a positive that I saved myself the trouble of explaining.

　But let's not be overconfident and hurry a little.

If I attacked before Heidi ran into them, they would concentrate on me.

　I decided to head for the outskirts of town.

Well, I lost track of them...they must be around here....

　It's nice to be on the outskirts of town, but all I see around me are abandoned houses that are not in use.

　Come to think of it, I've always wondered why there are so many abandoned houses.

　--Do you know why?

　I send a thought to Mixon, who is hiding behind me.

　--Yes, I do. I've heard that it's a result of the population decline, and the relocation of residents to the center of town.

　In short, rezoning.

　--By the way, was that a Gnostic initiative or something like that?

　--That's right.

　It's too suspicious. There's definitely something going on here... I took a light look around this area despite what he said...

　I look around lightly, using magic to search for signs of my surroundings.

　There is no particular reaction.

　All I can see is an abandoned house and a well at best.

　A well?

　I recall the underground corridor that I checked while being swept away.

　Huh? Was there an underground waterway in this area?

　I picked up a stone that had fallen around there and threw it into the well.

　I can hear the sound of water landing after a while, but it is shallow.　

　I use the "land search" to narrow down the target below the ground.

　...Seriously?

　There's something unnaturally invisible.

　I send a message to Mixon, who is hiding nearby, to report any changes, and I jump down into the well.

　I landed in the water. The water is still shallow. The water is only up to my waist, and the current is weak.

　It was a doorway disguised as a well. I let out a sigh inwardly.

　What can I say...it was a cheap trick.

　I was fooled by the preconceived notion that the wells were all connected at the bottom.

　I'd never find them if I looked for them.

　The escapees are hiding in the wells as fast as they can. No wonder the Holy Knights didn't see them.

　The rising water level made it difficult for them to be aware of the situation.

　I waded through the water and went deeper.

　After a while, I saw a large step and a door ahead, so I climbed out of the water and opened the door.

　The door seemed to be unlocked. Beyond the door was a staircase that led down into a dark space.

　It's amazing.

The fact that there is a hidden passageway of such a scale under the city is one thing, but the organizational capacity of Darzain to have prepared it is also tremendous. I mean, what kind of structure is it? If it's below, that means it's below the water vein, right?

　Does the fact that there are so many things under the city in the first place mean that they were already built at the time the city was founded?

I don't know how old this town was when it was built, but when I think about the fact that they have been manipulating this town from behind the scenes since that time, I begin to think, "I've been spotted by a troublesome bunch of people."

　On the way down the stairs, I suddenly became curious and touched the wall.

　I could feel the smooth, slippery texture.

　...This is the same wall as the ruins, isn't it?

　That would explain why it repelled my magic.

　Are they using walls made of the same material as the ruins...or is this place also a ruin?

　...It is more natural to think the latter.

　As far as I know, there are only a few building materials with magic-repelling properties, and it would be difficult to find such a large quantity.

So it is correct to say that this place existed before the city was built and was used by Darzain.

If that is the case, the relationship between Darzain and the Gnosis here can only be described as collusion.

Even if I kill all of Darzain, if they are connected to that Temple Knight, I will have to take care of him as well.

At the very least, I'll have to take control of or finish off that Heretilt guy who's in command....

I'll figure out the rest later.

I went down the stairs in a heavy mood, putting all sorts of things aside.