293 290. Underground Street.txt (1/2)

We find our companion's shadow on the bulletin board, and we immediately try to gather more details at the adventurer's guild.

But before we do, we are taken out of the room with the requesting bulletin board by the guild attendant that Lagune-chan brought with her.

There is no falsehood in the words of special treatment that Lagne-chan had said earlier, and a separate room was prepared for us to have a nobleman. It's close to the high-class lodgings prepared for Lauravia's 'Dancing Tournament', and the attendant who shows us around isn't just a clerk either. I introduced myself briefly in another room that I was shown to, and found out that the attendant was the submaster of the 'Adventurer's Integrated Guild Hoosiers Branch'.

Immediately I tried to find out from the submaster about the ”World Tree Pollution Problem” and ”The Saint's Kidnapping Incident,” both of which I could see the shadows of my fellow adventurers.

I check if I can stick my head into the things that are marked on the bulletin board as rank 'SecredAce' and distantly told not to mess with them. Then--.

Don't worry, Kanami-sama. We have permission to enter the World Tree Area. According to our guild's assessment, Kanami-sama's rank is SA, so ...... I would rather ask you to resolve this issue from here. We are ready to disclose to Kanami-sama and the others the information we know about the 'Great Sacred City' right now, and the entire guild is ready to assist you.

'Oh, really: ......?'

They readily agreed to it.

There was already a pile of ”World Tree Pollution Problem” and ”The Saint's Kidnapping Case” materials on the table in the room, and we knew that the submaster really intended to ask us for help.

Slightly disappointed that ”SecredAce” is abbreviated to ”SA” and that my rank has been canned before I've even had much of an adventure, I go to work on the materials on the table.

In the middle of the process, Rastiara raises her hand to ask a question as if it were non-negotiable.

''Hey, Submaster-san. If Kanami is rank SA, am I the same rank?　And while you're at it, can you tell me everyone's rank?

''Uh, um, ...... sorry. Lady Rastiara is not allowed to register as an adventurer in our guild. Well, if you can, please check in at the Hoosiers' castle: ....... The same goes for Sith-sama and Snow-sama. We are unable to assess the three of you based on our guild's judgment alone: ....... Instead, the remaining two - Ryner-sama and Ragne-sama, the 'Seven Celestial Knights', will be treated as equivalent to rank A.'

'And you can't even register at ......!　Kanami is Sacred Ace and yet ......!

''Please understand. Since Kanami-sama is famous for being a freelance labyrinth explorer, enrolling in our guild will be easy. With Kanami-sama's enrollment, the entire adventurers of the Great Sacred City will be buzzing with activity. This is a very beneficial registration for our guild. However, the three of you are quite the opposite. To put it bluntly, it's very annoying because the country will be looking for us.

It's quite galling to be a submaster of a large guild. He firmly made his case to Rustyala and refused to register.

What the submaster is saying is quite natural.

If we classify them, we can say that Rastiara and Snow are officials working for the country. Even though they've entrusted the succession to someone they both trust, they didn't follow the official procedure and quit.

If you pull out that official without permission, you're lightly picking a fight with the country.

The fact that Rustyala also understands that this is the situation, so he continues to snarl without forcing himself.

''Mmmm......''

'It may be unnecessary, but I think you should go to the castle to say hello before you start working on your request, don't you?　I was quite surprised to hear that the three of you are here.

The submaster doesn't ask for details of the situation, but only makes suggestions. He seems to think that there is a backstory that will become troublesome if he gets involved. And that idea isn't too far off.

Rustyala, Snow and Dea immediately respond to that suggestion.

''There would be a lot of commotion if we went, so it's impossible right now.

'If they know I'm here too, I'll get in trouble, so I guess I'll just refrain from it.　Let's wait until things have cooled down a bit more. Yeah, we'll do that.

It's too much trouble, I'm not going. I'm gonna be one of Kanami's guys. Always.

He replied that he no longer cared about the situation in his country. The submasters were lightly surprised by the irresponsibility of their own country's key officials.

I'm sure you're right: ....... However, we will report to the castle about you all, so I'm sure the castle's messenger will be coming soon. Please note: ......

As one of the guilds protecting the city, I guess I have a duty to report it. I can't tell them to stop doing that, so without stopping them from talking, I just thank them.

''I've been in a guild myself, so I understand. It is only natural to report to the country, so feel free to do so. ...... But more importantly, thank you for your time today. This 'World Tree Pollution Problem' and the 'Saint's Kidnapping Case', I will use my full strength to resolve these two cases.

You are the hero of the Allies. Those are very encouraging words.

Well, I'll have to get the file. If you'll excuse me--

Immediately I put the materials in my 'belongings' and then try to leave the room.

However, Rastiara is stuck in the middle of the street, and somehow, I jam up to the submaster to try to register as an adventurer.

''Then let me start at rank E under a fake name!　Sign up like you're an unknown newcomer, not a Rustyala!　And it sounds rather fun that way!

Under an alias, sir? ......?

Submaster-san is in trouble, so I immediately stop Rastiara.

''Rastiara, don't be reckless. Just let's go quickly.''

'Kuhn ......!　This was the best part of my day here: ......!　There was a whole bunch of events on the board I just saw that I wanted to take in: ......!

I pull a heartily regretful Rustyala and leave the submaster with a ”Thank you for your help” before we all leave the room.

We then walk down the clean corridor of the Adventurer's Guild and set our destination with Dia walking next to us.

'Hey, Kanami. 'The World Tree Pollution Problem' or 'The Saint's Kidnapping Case', which one do you want to go first?

'Let's get to Maria before the World Tree. I'm worried about Maria when she's dealing with Nosfy.

'The saintly one first or ....... But if it's really Mary's, I don't think there's anything to worry about. That guy would have beaten the enemy all by himself.

'What ......?　No, no, no, that's not true. Even if it took me, Ryner, and 'The One Who Stole the Reason of the Wind (Titty)', we couldn't defeat Nosfy.

”When it comes to that, even if it took me, 'The One Who Steals the Reason of Wood' (Id) and 'The One Who Steals the Reason of Water' (Hitaki), Maria couldn't defeat her. ......

Dia remembered something, and she turned a little blue and went on to talk about Maria's strength.

I heard that while I was in the labyrinth, Maria and the others were challenging the face of Viysia. Maybe they are remembering the fight then.

Rustyala and Snow, who were walking close by, do not deny Dia's story, but agree with it.

'Maybe Dia is right, Maria could be ....... Snow would think so too, wouldn't she?

'Yes ....... That fight would have slowed us down. It could have been enough: .......

It's treated as if Maria would be an easy win for at least one guardian (Guardian).

Indeed, Maria may have that much of an achievement. I still believe that she is the one who defeated Arti, the one who stole the logic of fire, and when she fought Palinkron, the one who stole the logic of darkness, she could have won alone if the enemy didn't have the power of the World Service Force. It's not hard to imagine that they will not fall behind even if they have to deal with the logic stealers.

--It's not good to be optimistic.

Now Maria may be in a tight spot. She may be falling for some kind of nosy ploy. She may be waiting for my help.

As long as there's that possibility, we should give priority to ”The Abduction of a Saint”.

Having decided that, I immediately hurried to the underground city where the kidnappers were holed up.

I've confirmed the general location of the abductor's hiding place when I looked at the materials just now, so there's no need to get lost.

And then I read about the details of the existence of the so-called ”saint”. As I headed in, I lightly organized the information in my head before arriving.

According to the documents, a girl who would become a saint appeared in the Great Holy City about half a month ago.

It seems that the girl who appeared out of nowhere went around curing the city's sick people with her specialty of sacred magic. Seeing the girl curing the incurable diseases, people gradually came to call her a ”saint”.

Naturally, she soon caught the attention of the state, and with the recommendation of the Senate, she became an official saint recognized by the state.

After that, the saintess worked for the Great Holy City with all her might.

Just by looking at her divine magic, people were filled with hope, and even during the war against the Northern League, she never stopped smiling and being cheerful.

That saint was kidnapped a few days before we came to the Great Holy City.

The knights of the Fusoya's immediately moved to retrieve the saint, and a fierce battle took place in which an area of the underground city was sealed off - but the result was a disastrous defeat.

From the devastation of the blockaded area engulfed in flames, the culprit is said to be a ”witch with a grim reaper” who is said to have come down from the north.

As I thought, no matter how many times I check, the possibility of it being Maria is high.

If you have clashed with Nosufi, you must join him as soon as possible. That 'thing that steals the logic of light' has an unknowability that cannot be relieved just by winning the game.

We walk through the bustling streets of the Great Sacred City, asking the residents for directions to find the entrance to the underground city.

Then, in the middle of the street, we find an entrance that seems to lead to the underground platform of the station, which is also my world. I was expecting a little bit of a magic circle (deiri-guchi) that allows you to move at a moment's notice (warp), but it's a very realistic structure.

As we approach the entrance, we are stopped by one of the guards who are blocking off the underground mall.

''--Please stop. The road is closed from here on out. Currently, violent criminals are hiding out in the direction of the West Underground Mall.

'Well, I was told that if I showed you this, you could get through: ......

'Are you from the ...... adventurer's guild?　I'll have a quick look. I'm restricted by rank.

Immediately I took the armband given to me by the Adventurer's Guild out of my 'belongings' and showed it to the guards.

The guard takes the armband in his hand and goes through the checking process. But in the process, he turns a little blue in the face.

'...... Huh?'

There are about ten rank SAs in the world, Reiner said.

Naturally, the guards begin to doubt the authenticity of the armband.

Sparing no time, I immediately work on the skill 'Fraud' and continue to show the armband without changing my expression at all. In addition, I don't forget to lightly pressure them with my magic power.

Unable to endure that unreasonable intimidation, the guard vacates the path.

''Ka, finished checking. Please go through ....... However, you are on your own from here on out, so please be careful ......

Okay. Well, good luck with your work.

Feeling a little sorry for myself, I walked down the stairs leading to the underground district with the others.

The guards quietly watched the group as they slithered into the blockaded area. But no doubt he would go to the Adventurer's Guild for confirmation after seeing them off. It couldn't be helped since the suspicious person who was intimidating them with his vicious magical power had entered the blockaded area with an SA-ranked armband.

Next time, I'll be allowed to use the A-rank armband that Ryner has. It's harder to use this SA-ranked armband than I thought.

Thinking that, I descend a staircase similar to the one in the labyrinth. It was a bit narrow, surrounded by stones, but the tightly dimensioned stairs were easy to walk down.

After descending more than a thousand long stairs, we arrived at the underground city of the ”Great Sacred City”.

...... This is the underground mall.

We emerged into a space that resembled a labyrinthine hierarchy. But unlike that one, there were no maze-like corridors and it was very open.

It's nearly a kilometer high, by eye measurement. That hollow space is probably as long as the site of the ”Great Sacred City” on the ground.

Inside the underground city, we went down to the east area of the blockaded area.

Normally, there should be a mysterious city that is different from the one on the ground, but what I saw was a sea of flames.