Not long after parting ways with Seol, the brokers were setting up camp before heading into the city.
“Bwahahahaha! Did he really fall for it?”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“I heard you sent him to Devrick! Isn’t that practically a death wish? I bet that letter of introduction was a fake too, wasn’t it?!”
The broker gave his subordinate a look as if he was saying something ridiculous.
“It wasn’t. It was a real letter of introduction.”
“Huh?”
“Why the hell would I write a fake letter of introduction?”
“No… why would you be so kind to someone you just met?”
“Why wouldn’t I, considering how much he paid us? You have no idea how much he shelled out for this job, do you?”“How much?”
The broker then put multiple fingers up.
“...That much?”
“Yeah. Now, do you understand?”
The subordinate carefully opened his mouth one more time.
“Still, it’s that Devrick… I doubt he would be able to cross the border. The most he could hope for is to come back alive.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to try. Also, I only made a suggestion. He made the decision.”
“Hahahaha! Who cares now! With this money, we could…”
And then…
Step…
Step…
“Someone’s… coming?”
“Stay alert. Be ready to pull out your sword at any time.”
“...Okay.”
The broker then shouted at the individual walking toward their camp.
“Oi! Who are you, and why are you walking toward us?”
“Haha… I got separated from my friends due to a delay. I was about to set up camp when I noticed you guys… Was it rude of me to join?”
The voice definitely belonged to a young boy, a considerably young one.
“Grgh… I was all worried for nothing.”
“Are you alone?” asked the broker.
"Yes… I will leave immediately when the sun comes up. Could I please warm myself by the fire?" answered the child.
“You’re just a little kid, you shouldn’t have to ask like that… come over here and sit down! It’s fine, right, boss?”
“Huh? Yeah…”
Step…
Step…
The broker’s expressions grew dark as the boy approached closer toward them.
The boy had a massive greatsword, unbefitting his short stature. Not to mention, his smile, reflecting in the moonlight… It was more than suspicious.
“Stop right there! Everyone—”
Unsheathe…
Splaaaaaatter!
“K-Khrgh…”
“Urgh…”
A single breath.
The young boy needed only a second to decapitate multiple people with his greatsword.
The broker couldn’t believe his eyes. His attack was too fast for him to even sense.
“I have a question,” said the child.
“A-Are you a demon…”
“Hello? I said I have a question~”
The young boy, who had just killed multiple men, was Shuro—a child sent by Bria, the Poisonous Spider, to track down the princess.
“Have you seen a woman, an old man, and a tall person?”
“Wh-what are you…”
The broker immediately thought of Seol and his companions but quickly kept his mouth shut.
“Hm… So you’re going to pretend not to know, huh…”
Slap!
“Urgh…”
Shuro began slapping the broker’s face.
Kick!
“Bwrgh…”
He then kicked his stomach.
Fwip!
“Krgh…”
Then, swept him off his feet.
“Shuro is good at lying. That’s why I know… that you’re lying too, old man.”
“Haah… Haah…”
“I know you saw them,” continued Shuro. “Where did they go?”
“Y-You don’t know a thing about manners, do you…?”
“I’m going to sever your limb next. I recommend you answer me soon. You can still make it out fine if you just answer me now.”
It wasn’t as if the broker was loyal to Seol—not at all. He was simply keeping his word as much as he was paid to do so. However, the moment his underling died, it became too much of a loss.
“...They went to Devrick.”
“Yeah, who’s Devrick?”
“A smuggler. He’s a smuggler.”
“Point it out on the map for me.”
Point…
The broker then pointed at a spot on Shuro’s map.
“Ah… here? It’s quite far, though?”
“It’s been a while since they left.”
“Where does the route end then?”
“Here.”
“The northeastern part of Adeline… Nogurs, huh? Hm… A mountainous region, nice! Then I should wait for them there. Goodbye, old man.”
“Y-You said you’d let me go!”
Splaaaaatter!
The broker’s head flew off.
“I told you, Shuro’s good at lying~”
Shuro then puffed his cheeks before beginning to absorb the air around him.
Inhaaaale…
Wooooosh…
The shadows of the headless corpses began to be sucked into Shuro’s mouth.
“I've filled my stomach now, so I should… let’s see…”
Shuro glanced at the map for a moment, contemplating his next move. He then grabbed a crystal ball.
Glow glow…
A black fog billowed in the crystal ball until a voice echoed out.
[Shuro.]
"Miss Bria, my guiding light and my glory. I have found their location. Additionally…”
Shuro then began explaining his thoughts to Bria.
Bria thought for a moment, then answered him.
[Okay, is that enough?]
“Yes, I think all I’d need to do is get rid of the ones running away in an instant!”
Not long after, Princess Riona’s destination was spread throughout the entirety of Nevenia.
* * *
Back to Devrick and the other smugglers.
The princess and the others were still face-to-face with Devrick and his men.
Devrick’s subordinates were ready to fire their arrows at any moment. Despite that, Seol continued to calmly threaten Devrick.
“...Are you threatening me right now?” asked Devrick.
“It’s the type of conversation you like to have,” said Seol.
“Does this look like a conversation to you?”
“It definitely does.”
Devrick had guts too. He didn’t even blink despite Seol being right in front of him.
And as Devrick continued to calculate in his head…
“It doesn’t have to be you,” warned Seol.
“What? What do you mean?”
“It’s exactly as I said. We just need someone who knows the route. We’re even open to paying a fair amount. All we need is just one person who’d tell us where the route is, and pay them.”
“Hmph… Do you really think my subordinates will tell you?”
“Who knows… But if it isn’t possible with money, we’ll have no choice as well.”
Seol shot out bloodlust.
“We’ll just kill everyone. I’m sure at least one of them will spill the details after I kill enough people. Are you going to doubt this as well?”
Devrick quickly made a decision.
“...You won. I thought it was just a mere nuisance traveling along with the princess, but... she’s picked up quite the formidable companion, huh? By the way, how did you know we were here?”
Raise…
Seol then handed the letter of introduction he received from the broker. After reading through it, Devrick grimaced.
“So you were a transferee. Fine, I’ll let you use our road. However, you need to pay the fee for four people’s worth.”
“That’s not a problem at all.”
Seol immediately handed over the gold after Devrick stated the price.
After double-checking the amount, Devrick immediately began ordering his men.
“Get ready! All of you already know that we have to take care of annoying business quickly, right? They can cause a lot of trouble, we have to make haste.”
“Yes, sir!”
Seol then turned back to the others.
"Did it work out?" Chadorf quickly asked.
Seol immediately nodded.
“Let’s go. We have a long distance to cover.”
“That’s a relief! Right, Brispin?” said the princess.
“Haha… What did I say, Princess Riona? I told you not to worry, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did!” laughed Riona.
“More importantly… yelling at them earlier was an incredibly dangerous decision, Your Highness.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?” responded Princess Riona. “How could I ever leave you behind? Also, hearing those criminals talk about the value of life infuriated me.”
"...I suppose that's what makes you, you, Your Highness."
As Riona and Brispin continued to talk, Chadorf asked Seol a question while returning on horseback.
“Ahem… That knight from earlier…”
“It’s my power.”
“Oho, I see. I’ve never seen a power like that at the palace. Is it a power exclusive to transferees?”
“Not necessarily.”
"I understand. I've now realized that you are quite capable, hahahaha! How did you become close with Earl Brispin?"
“Well… We were acquainted with each other because of a few incidents.”
“Got it, okay. Let me know if you have any trouble later. I’ll also do the best that I can for you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
In truth, Chadorf was completely shocked by Seol’s strength.
‘Could I have done that as well?’
Chadorf knew he was capable of protecting the princess.
However, he was also aware that he would have taken damage in the process.
That shock resolved him to not only keep a close eye on Seol, but to also close the distance between them.
However, an issue arose while Seol and the others were headed to the smuggling route.
“Yeaaaaaaaah!”
They heard a strange sound from afar.
“What was that? Is someone on our trail?”
“That’s impossible. I made sure no one was following us.”
“Then what the hell was that?! Did they know we would be coming here?!”
Like a siren, people aiming for the princess and her party began shouting one after another.
“We know Princess Riona is here!”
“We know that you’re here too, Devrick! We will make you pay the price for making a fool out of the Nevenia Kingdom!”
Devrick and Seol both shot glances at each other.
[Your location has been discovered.]
[Sudden Adventure 'Smuggling Route Escape’ is now active.]
[This is a dangerous situation.]
[Your heart begins to pound.]
[Passive: Resonance emits an unstable signal.]
[Adventure 29-1. ‘Smuggling Route Escape’
You've made a dangerous choice.
You're the sole person standing by Princess Riona’s side, not only in the entirety of Nevenia, but also Adeline.
And for some reason, your plan to use Devrick’s smuggling route to escape has been discovered before you could even make your move.
You must escape from here.
Objective: Escape the pursuers.
This Adventure is a Sudden Adventure.
This Adventure is dangerous.
Remaining Time [Unknown]]
Devrick quickly turned around and commanded his men.
“Boys, get ready to leave!”
“Yes, sir!”
“I didn’t like the fact that we were doing nothing in Nevenia anyway. Just think of it as leaving early!”
“Yes, sir!”
The voices shouting at them grew louder and louder as they charged toward them.
“You damned smugglers should just give up!”
“You don’t need to give up if you don’t want to, haha! We will get our reward whether you’re dead or alive anyway!”
Seol and Devrick quickly realized that their pursuers were transferees.
‘Are they transferees who have Objectives opposite to mine?’
The transferees were likely moving under Nevenia’s orders. Seol still hadn’t managed to decide what to do with them.
Should I just kill them all?
‘No, I have to avoid that as much as I can.’
Indiscriminately killing people to complete his objective was a dangerous precedent to set. Though the ones Seol had killed so far had justifiable reasons to do so, these people were different.
They were all simply trying to complete their Adventures.
“Those transferee trash… They’re looking down on us! First, burn down the forest! Don’t let them get close!”
“Yes, sir!”
Devrick’s subordinates began lighting the foliage at his command.
“Krgh… Fire! They’re burning the trees.”
Devrick and Seol’s party quickly climbed up on horseback, racing away.
The hidden smuggling route quickly came into view.
“Run that way!”
Clip clop clip clop…
“They’re about to enter the smuggling route! They have the advantage in tight corridors like that! Shoot them! Shoot them off their horses!”
Fwooosh!
“Krgh…”
A number of Devrick’s subordinates were knocked off of their horses.
However, no one gave them so much as a glance. They simply continued forward and headed deeper into the route.
It didn’t take long for the horses to make it through.
Clip clop clip clop…i
Though Seol did not know how long the path was, he quickly realized its narrowness.
However, this also meant that they only needed to worry about pursuers from one direction, which was advantageous for Seol and the others.
Rumble rumble rumble…
Seol’s party heard the rumbling of horses trailing behind them as they entered the path.
“Kill them! Knock them off their horses!”
Those who had managed to acquire good horses had almost caught up to Seol and the others.
Fwooosh!
Arrows were fired, aiming for their backs.
Fwirl!
Fwoooosh!
Like before, Karuna once again used Black Wave to knock them all down.
“Wh-what?! What is that?!”
“What is it?”
Devrick laughed.
“Hahaha, you damned transferees! We also have one ourselves!”
Rumble rumble…
Devrick then guided his horse closer to Seol’s.
“Hey, asshole,” laughed Devrick. “Get ready.”
“For what?”
“At this rate, they’ll either catch up to us or keep up the entire way through. We’re going to make it collapse.”
“...Wouldn’t we die too?”
“I’ve already prepared something ahead of time. Unfortunately, though, they won’t be buried either. Regardless, up ahead, there will be two pillars supporting the ceiling…”
And then…
Seol felt a sizzling sensation behind them.
“You fucking criminals think you can escape from me?! The princess is mine! All of the rewards are mine!”
“Th-that fucking lunatic…” grumbled Devrick.
One of the transferees held a massive orb of fire in his hands.
“Die!”
Fwoooooosh…
The massive fire loomed behind them, large enough to swallow everyone up.
Even Devrick couldn’t help but bite his lips, knowing their inevitable fate.
However…
Hum…
[Ur, the Sealed’s Wizardry activates.]
[Ur, the Sealed, deciphers the unidentified spell.]
[Spell deciphering in progress.]
[The spell has been successfully deciphered.]
[Devour Magic activates.]
[Ur, the Sealed, is consuming Shoot Fire.]
The fireball vanished without a trace.
Rumble rumble…
“...What was that? Did you do that?” asked Devrick.
“More importantly, the pillars.”
“Damn it… We’re almost there! That! And the one opposite to it!”
By the time they had finished dealing with the fire, they had already arrived at the pillars.
“Bring them down!”
Devrick was asking Seol to bring down two pillars while on horseback. It was a completely unreasonable request.
However, Devrick chose the right person to ask. Seol was the only person here who could do such a thing.
“Karen! Karuna!”
Rumble rumble…
Fwirl!
As Seol extended his hands, Karen and Karuna were both summoned.
“Yeah!”
“Yes, master.”
The two leaped toward the pillars in an instant.
Swish…
Baaaaaaam!
Baaaaaaaam!
The two struck down the pillars at almost the exact same time, the shockwaves echoing throughout the cave.
Booooooom…
Neigh!
The pursuers quickly stopped, as the horses refused to go any further.
“I-It’s collapsing!”
As more pursuers arrived behind them, the magician at the front, the one who casted the fireball, quickly turned their horse's head and charged back.
They then began shouting at the top of their lungs at the people behind them.
"The cave is collapsing! Everyone, get out!"