[The maze is closed. You are being transported to Rafdonia].
I felt sunlight from the outside world on my skin for the first time in almost two months. Perhaps because he had spent the last few days in Atlante, in the depths of the sea, the light felt even stronger than usual.
Humans definitely need light.
I took a moment to look at the gloomy sky, like the rest of the adventurers around me, and quickly headed to the checkpoint.
«Over here!» Erwen, who had arrived first, waved at me. When I joined her in line, it didn't take long for Amelia to arrive.
«You're late».
«It took me a surprisingly long time to find it», Amelia replied and looked at the navigator, who was clumsily standing to her right.
«I suppose it was true that they entered through District Seven Square with us».
«This guy doesn't lie».
Gosh, how long has it been since you met? How can you be so sure?
I was a little dumbfounded, but I didn't let it show. «Was there a problem?»
«None. He stayed still and waited until I came to look for him». Amelia's voice was full of pride. Was she so happy that I had listened to her?
On the other hand, navigator Auyen Rockrobe seemed to finally process his situation. «Hehehe...» As soon as his eyes met mine, he smiled a business smile. I felt bad for him, but since they were the first to attack us, I thought it was karma.
«Now it's our turn».
After waiting in line for a while, we soon reached the front, exchanged all our mana stones for money and passed the checkpoint. A street full of people appeared before us. From here, we moved into a different formation. Amelia stood in the back and the navigator right in front of her.
«Haha... I'm not going to run away...»
«You could get lost while following us».
«I have lived in District Seven for twenty years...» the navigator murmured, but he did not try to leave the formation as we walked through the crowded streets and arrived at our house. «This is the place...?». Finally, we arrived at a three-story mansion. When we passed by the high walls and entered the courtyard, the navigator was speechless with admiration. But I figured he realized something wasn't right. «Why are all the windows...» The navigator couldn't finish the sentence. His eyes were fixed on the boarded-up windows.
«Don't worry. It is a security measure».
«Oh, sure...» He didn't say much, but the navigator's eyes and expression contained a mixture of curiosity and fear. He seemed to wonder who the hell we were to live in a house like that.
Come to think of it, I think you've already realized who Erwen is... You should check it out later.
Once we went through the garden and entered the house, we decided to assign one of the remaining rooms to the sailor after some discussion. It was a room located in the basement.
«...Basement? Do we have a basement?».
When I tilted my head, Erwen blushed shyly. «I deliberately looked for a house with one. Since, you never know...»
Well, I had heard that rich people used to have panic rooms in their homes.
Crujido, crujido, crujido.
Despite feeling somewhat uncomfortable, I watched as Erwen removed the rug and activated the mechanism to reveal the stairs. As we went down, a space appeared before us that seemed to have been designed as a warehouse. It was completely empty, since we had never filled it with anything. In the deepest part there was a thick iron door with a lock.
Rattle.
When Erwen took out the key and opened the door, a room with a large bed appeared. I didn't know why, but there were also ties to the wall.
«This... is not a room, it is a prison...» The navigator's face paled when he saw the room he had been assigned. Actually, I felt the same. For some reason, chills ran through me as soon as I saw the basement room. However, it wasn't my problem.
«...Prison? It is a normal room. Look, there's even a toilet and a bathroom. It's good that you don't have to share it with anyone». I cleared my throat. «Ahem-hem, anyway, I'm going up. Suddenly I don't feel well...»
Why does my heart beat so much? It's not that I have claustrophobia.
When I pushed the navigator into the room and closed the door, Erwen quickly closed it.
Rattle.
«It-Wait! Wait!»
¡Bang, bang, bang!
The navigator knocked on the door, but we all pretended not to hear him.
«Can I take the key?» amelia asked.
«Clear».
Amelia kept the key, thus settling the issue of the navigator's bedroom. She was sure she would take care of feeding him too.
There was something else I had been wondering. «Emily, is that poison real? A poison that kills you if you don't take the antidote every day? I had never heard it».
It sounded like something a Poisonous Witch from a Wuxia novel could do. The typical cliché was that the demon cult used poison like that to threaten and manipulate members of the righteous sect into becoming their subordinates. If this was something real, I could think of several ways it could be useful in the future.
«I guess you have a naive side too, Schuitz».
«…¿Eh?»
«It is impossible for such a poison to exist. Luckily, that guy doesn't seem to know much about poisons».
«Ah...» So it was a bluff after all. I only checked it because it seemed possible.
«What?» Just then, Erwen backed away. «Does poison... not exist...?» For some reason, she sounded very disappointed. I couldn't ignore it, so I asked him if he needed it for anything. Erwen looked away. «N-you never know...».
What exactly do I not know?
I wanted to ask for more details, but stopped, thinking I wouldn't get a proper answer anyway.
***
The first day after returning from the maze, everyone dedicated themselves to resting in their respective rooms. However, starting the next day, we got to work. After all, we weren't just dealing with one or two boots.
«Erwen, you should come with me», Amelia said.
«Hey? I? But you can do it alone-»
«Are you saying you can't do it for Schuitz?»
«...I didn't mean that».
From the second day onwards, Erwen and Amelia would come and go from the house exchanging loot for money, and I spent most of my time guarding the house.
«Schuitz, I have prepared the food for you and put it on the table in order, so take it to you on time».
Apart from going down to the basement every breakfast, lunch and dinner, there was nothing special about my daily routine.
On the third day, someone came to see me. «Raven.»
«I was coming yesterday, but I was a little busy. I can pass?»
«Of course.»
When he entered, Raven glanced at the house and asked, «Where are the other two?».
«They went out to take care of the loot».
«Hmm...» His humming sounded a little strange. When I asked if anything was wrong, Raven replied that it was nothing. «I was just thinking about how they're doing the work I used to do».
«I'm sorry about then. You were the only person I could trust with that task».
«I didn't say that to get an apology from you. More importantly... it's not something you have to apologize for».
«Thanks for thinking like that».
I guided Raven to the living room and sat across from her. We caught up briefly.
«How were things on your part?» raven asked.
«Everything ended up working somehow. And you?»
«Same as always. It's not like the war ends overnight after all».
«Ya veo.»
I felt a wall between us that I didn't feel when we were teammates. She probably felt the same way. Since we were both in the maze, we were technically seeing each other for the first time in two months.
¡Boom, tree, tree!
Just then, knocks sounded from below.
«I think I just heard something from the basement...»
Ah, it's already past lunchtime.
«We had some work on the pipes, I think that's why. Don't worry». It would be a little suspicious to tell him that we had someone hostage, so I made up a random excuse.
Luckily, Raven didn't seem to suspect anything. Anyway, our conversation went smoothly after that, and in the process, I was able to learn what happened during this expedition. Well, the most important information came up at the end.
«Oh, and Mr. Y-no, Mr. Schuitz, about that thing you asked about».
«Is that?»
«The National Incorporation Bill».
«Did you find out who introduced him?»
«Yeah. She was the Countess of Peprok.»
«Peprok...?» I was surprised. After all, that was the last name of someone she used to be very close to: Nagna Litaniel Peprok. I wondered if it was someone with the same last name, but I couldn't get rid of a lingering suspicion. Last time I checked, there was no noble family named Peprok anywhere in Rafdonia. «Raven, what's the countess's name?»
«Ragna Peprok, I think. His name was something like that».
"...¿Which?"
Is it really her? But his middle name is omitted...
«... Do you know her?»
«Maybe. Can you tell me more about the Peprok family?»
«They are nobles fallen from textbooks. They were even erased from the Department of Royal Nobles, but were reinstated a year ago without anyone noticing.»
What... So it's only natural that I couldn't find it when I searched two years ago. Does that mean Ragna is really the countess Raven is talking about?
As he thought this, Raven lowered her voice and continued. «I did more research because that part didn't make sense to me. It is not uncommon for fallen nobles to be restored, but how had they accumulated enough political power to participate in a royal council meeting in such a short time? The answer was simple. They had a sponsor».
«Who was it?»
«The Prime Minister of Rafdonia, Marquis Tercerion».
"...¿Which?"
I felt like I was getting a headache. Apart from the fact that the Countess of Peprok was Ragna, if what Raven said was true, said Countess was on the same side as the Prime Minister.
«So... that means it was the prime minister who insisted on pushing the National Incorporation bill...». I blurted out without thinking.
Raven shook her head slightly. «No. That's not very clear. In fact, they say that the prime minister himself shouted that it was nonsense as soon as the National Incorporation bill was proposed. The other nobles were so surprised that the discussion quickly faded».
«Maybe he was just putting on a show.»
«A show...?»
«A staging. Let the other nobles see how angry he is so that nothing occurs to them.»
«Ah...» Raven's lips parted as if she had never considered that possibility. «I assume you are also versed in politics...?».
«I'm only interested in people». Of course, this was nothing more than speculation and he had no way of knowing the truth. I still had very little information. «Raven, can you investigate Countess Peprok further?»
«I will. I still have a lot of questions about her too».
«Thanks as always.»
«Then I'll leave now.»
«Of course, you get home safely». My meeting with Raven that day ended there.
***
A week later, on a sunny afternoon, Erwen and Amelia were back in the shopping district reaping the profits from our loot sales. Some knights carrying the coat of arms of the royal family broke down the main door and invaded our house.
¡Kwa claim!
«Riehen Schuitz is arrested on suspicion of collusion with Noark».
Ha, so we've finally come to this.