Sub Quest (6)

"There's nothing here."

From the roof, Leonardo leapt over the rain gutter and landed on the wall. He wobbled slightly at the end, almost losing his balance.

From what I'd observed, Leonardo followed a strict routine of training, from the moment he woke up to just before falling asleep. However, it was clear that the body of Leonardo Ertinez—who had slacked off on his training—was far from meeting his own high expectations.

He let out a small sigh, a mix of frustration and embarrassment over his body not moving as he intended. I watched his tousled hair from the failed landing and quickly looked away.

"Hmph."

Honestly, it was a bit silly, but I didn't want to laugh out loud in case he got offended. So I pretended not to notice.

[Harbour Area Exploration (88%)]

I had started the investigation early in the morning, and before I knew it, it was almost noon. The progress was almost complete. It felt like I had checked every possible place, yet strangely, there was no significant advancement.

Finding a missing cat turned out to be harder than I expected. No wonder the reward had such a high reputation attached to it. The inquiries were done, and the search was ongoing, but it felt like there was no end in sight. Letting out a groan, I leaned back and gazed at the bright blue sky.

"Isn't there somewhere we haven't checked yet?"

"Hmmm."

Leonardo looked uncertain. Ever since I started questioning people about the "cloak-wearing suspicious figures," he had seemed uneasy, as if something was on his mind. I stopped him and asked directly.

"Is there something bothering you?"

"…How about we share some information?"

"A deal? Sounds good to me. Let's go one by one."

"First, if I may ask, why do you think Viscount Lopez is up to something at the harbour?"

I responded without hesitation.

"First, Viscount Lopez has been whining so much about the joint investment in the harbour trade route that it's been bothering me. The fact that he's stalling and living in the Baron's mansion doesn't sit right either. Second, there's been a strange rumour circulating among the harbour residents. More and more people are saying they hear something crawling beneath their feet. The timing of these rumours lines up with when Viscount Lopez showed up, which makes me suspicious. That's why I'm looking into it. Now it's your turn."

At that, the hesitation on Leonardo's face disappeared. He narrowed his eyes and responded slowly.

"I also have something that's been bothering me… the underground sewer system of Sinistra."

That was a completely new term to me.

It would seem odd for me, someone who prides themselves on knowing the ins and outs of the city, not to have heard of this. 

I did my best to hide my nervousness and maintained a calm expression. Then, I gave a subtle nod, signaling him to continue.

Leonardo paused as if carefully choosing his words. During those few seconds, my heart rate skyrocketed, but that was something only I knew. Finally, he spoke.

"Back when Sinistra was fighting a major war, citizens who couldn't escape the city took refuge in the underground sewers. After the conflict ended, the entrances to those sewers were sealed, but I remember one of the exits being near the harbour."

"…Why bring that up now?"

"Maybe that cloaked group is digging through the underground tunnels."

Hearing Leonardo's hypothesis, I recalled the information I had gathered up until now. First, there was the eerie rumour among the harbour residents about hearing something crawling beneath their feet.

["It was just the other day. I had returned late after disembarking, finished my chores, and lay down on my bed. It was the day I had hauled up the traps, so my body was exhausted from carrying heavy loads all day. I thought I would fall asleep as soon as I lay down, and I actually did fall asleep in an instant. But I woke up shortly after. When I looked outside, it was still dark in the early morning. I tried to close my eyes and go back to sleep… but then I heard something strange."]

["'Dada-dak, dada-dak'—the sound was like a centipede or some large creature with many legs…"]

["Then I heard 'clang!'—the sound of something being hit with a metal club! I was so startled, I fell off the bed with a thud. And then, suddenly, everything went quiet. At that moment, I was speechless, but now that I think about it… Couldn't it have been the ghost of the cruel captain who was betrayed and killed by the sailors? The sound of his prosthetic leg walking around!"]

The merchant's sighting of the suspicious group of men who appeared at dusk and only disappeared by the following afternoon, along with Leonardo's mention of the underground sewers in Sinistra large enough for people to move through.

If Viscount Lopez' insistence on the joint investment and his staying at the Baron's mansion for days on end is somehow connected to the underground sewers, it starts to make a lot of sense.

"We've pretty much covered the entire harbour, but the fact that we still haven't found Roboy is suspicious. If the captain wasn't exaggerating, then the cat would've returned to the ship on its own. So, if it hasn't come back, it could have gotten trapped somewhere by bad luck. Maybe the entrance to the sewer opened up for a moment, and the cat slipped in."

"That's true… but you sure know a lot about this area."

As a form of teasing, I remarked, and Leonardo glanced down slightly before responding with a touch of audacity.

"Well, after all, Sinistra is under the jurisdiction of the Count of Ertinez."

"Aha, so you're not the lazy noble who abandoned the family business to just loaf around, huh?"

"Mm."

He neither confirmed nor denied it, speaking in his usual ambiguous manner. I couldn't help but think that he had some unexpected cleverness to him, and nodded in agreement.

"You're probably right. Let's head towards the sewer then. We might find some clues."

"I still don't know what those guys are after, though."

I was curious about that too. I had a feeling I had misjudged the character setup. There's only so much pretending to know I can do. I sighed inwardly as I followed Leonardo down a narrow alley.

A narrow alley with few people around. At the end, there was a semi-circular sewer blocked by iron bars so tight that only an apple might fit through. The channel, deeply carved into the ground, was releasing waste water from inside the bars, flowing out into the sunlight. The alley's floor was covered in all sorts of refuse, possibly fish entrails, and stepping in it would require some bravery.

I caught Leonardo just as he was about to step forward.

"Wait. There might be someone inside."

"Do we have any other options?"

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out what I'd brought. This was likely going to be an investigation into the semi-antagonistic figure, so I thought it might come in handy, and now it was about to be.

I handed him the mask and black cloak, and Leonardo raised an eyebrow.

"Did you expect something like this?"

"Sort of."

Truth be told, I'd packed them when we first encountered the suspicious group at the harbour. I wanted to create a shady informant vibe to gather intel, but it seemed like it was going to be useful now for a different reason.

We both donned the cloak and mask, hiding our appearances. 

Even from a distance, we must have looked incredibly suspicious—two figures in black, facing each other. A small chuckle escaped me.

Once the mask covered my face up to my eyes, the smell of sewage became more tolerable. Leonardo, grabbing a rusty harpoon lying around, used it as a lever to lift the bars. With a creaking sound, the iron grates slowly moved upwards, like a hungry beast groaning as it rose.

"After you."

As I slid into the sewer, the dark interior became visible. I wondered what I'd be able to see, but in the distance, I could faintly make out a flickering flame. It seemed that someone had already set up a torch. The fact that someone had been tampering with the supposedly sealed underground sewer was now undeniable.

Thud.

The bars clanged shut just as Leonardo, sliding in after me, ducked low to avoid being hit. I helped him up, and after that, I quickly moved ahead to grab the torch mounted on the wall. The tunnel we entered was lower and rougher than I expected, with jagged, unfinished walls.

The path was incredibly winding. Like branches of a tree, the tunnel split into several directions, making it dizzying to navigate.

At this point, it was almost like a maze.

I remembered that ten years ago, during the crisis in Sinistra, the civilians had hidden in these sewers. They might have expanded the tunnels in the process, digging more shafts. Unlike the catacombs of old, thankfully, there were no bones or bodies. I considered myself lucky for that—though who knew, maybe as we went deeper, we'd find something.

I resolved that once we got out, I'd need to look into what happened in Sinistra a decade ago.

As I stood there, feeling uneasy, Leonardo approached silently from behind, taking the torch from my hand and lifting it higher. He sighed quietly as he looked at the tangled underground pathways before us.

"It's not going to be easy."

"First thing is not getting lost. But don't worry about that."

I responded while still gazing at the map that was floating in the air. 

The map of the harbour, which had been illuminated up to 88%, smoothly slid upward, only to be replaced by a new map that was entirely gray beneath it. Along with it, a scrollbar appeared, allowing us to scroll down and see further into the depths of the sewer system.

[Sinistra's Underground Sewers (0%)]

Anyway, with the map available, there was no way I would be trapped and die somewhere. It was even more reassuring when my current location was marked with a red dot.

After taking a few more steps, the percentage of "Sinistra's Underground Sewers (0%)" ticked up to 1%.

What was rather astonishing… judging by the length of the scrollbar and the remaining percentage, it seemed that this sewer system might extend at least four underground levels. 

Had I stumbled upon a hidden area, like in a common game?

Aside from the sound of water trickling and the occasional eerie wind, the underground sewer was eerily silent. Leonardo, without hesitation, took the lead. Due to the dampness on the floor, our footsteps stuck like we were walking on tar, making a sticky, dragging sound.

When we rounded a corner, having lost sight of the entrance, suddenly, words appeared in front of me.

[You have deviated from the scenario's path.]

[Entering unstable area ■■.]

[Warning: The current area is ■■■■■■■. Please be cautious of ■■.]

[Warning: ■■■■■■■...]