Zantport, the port town.
It bore a striking resemblance to Wehnport.
It was a hilly town, with more bustle around the harbor than the city center.
The adventurer's guild was also located closer to the harbor than the town's heart—just like its counterpart.
But there were a few differences.
First, there were more wooden buildings than in Wehnport.
They were painted in colorful hues, perhaps as a defense against the salt wind.
Trees lined the streets, and outside town, a dense forest stretched into the distance when you looked far enough.
There was a lot of green.
Coming from the Demon Continent, where everything was white, gray, or brown, it was almost dazzling.
Just one sea apart, and it felt like an entirely different world.
Then again, perhaps this was to be expected of the Millis Continent.
The people walking the streets weren't the bizarre, motley collection of demons you'd see elsewhere—they were beastkin and humans, along with elves, dwarves, and other races that looked fairly close to people.
Now then, before finding an inn, I needed to check our current funds.
In Demon Continent currency: Two green ore coins, eighteen iron coins, five scrap iron coins, and three stone coins.
That was what we had.
After exchanging them: Three Millis silver coins, seven Millis large copper coins, and two Millis copper coins.
A bit less than I'd expected—fees had been taken out, apparently.
If you went to a money changer outside the guild, they'd probably take even more.
Well, this was within acceptable range.
"We should find an inn near the adventurer's guild," I said.
"Yeah, we've got to take on quests too,"
Starting tomorrow, we'd stay about a week, doing quests while also selling the Dead End name.
According to what I'd heard, the existence of "Dead End" wasn't well known on the Millis Continent.
Our name value might not last much longer.
Thinking about that, I searched for an inn near the guild.
But strangely, every reasonably priced place was full.
This was a first for me.
I'd encountered full inns before, but never where almost every single one was booked.
Was there a festival or something going on?
I asked the innkeeper.
"The rainy season's coming soon. Every decent place will be fully booked."
Apparently, the rainy season was unique to the Millis Continent's Great Forest—three months of continuous heavy rain.
The Great Forest would flood, and the highways would be impassable.
So during this period, many customers booked long-term stays.
Normally, you'd want to avoid being stuck in a place like this during the rainy season.
However, monsters that only appeared during the rainy season would apparently be driven toward town.
And their materials sold for high prices.
So during this period, there were a lot of adventurers staying in town.
That was actually good news for us.
We could spend three months here grinding for money, stocking up for the rest of our journey.
And while we were at it, we could sell
If we could get a good start, traveling across the Millis Continent would be a lot easier.
But that was all counting chickens before they hatched.
Right now, we didn't have much money, and we couldn't find an inn.
The only places with vacancies were either above our price range or far lower in quality.
We couldn't afford the former.
Which left the latter—lodgings frequented by people you'd rather not associate with.
To put it bluntly, we ended up booking an inn near the slums.
Three large copper coins per night.
No meals, no services of any kind.
Cheap, but not bad as a place to sleep.
On the Demon Continent, I'd stayed at places far worse than this.
Still, if we were going to live here for three months, we should move somewhere better once we had the money.
"Hmm, not a bad inn!" Eris declared.
For someone who was supposedly a noble-born young lady, she didn't care about the building's age or the lack of services.
If anything, I was the one complaining.
"I'd honestly prefer somewhere a bit nicer."
"You sure are picky,
Coming from Eris, that was rich.
I couldn't retort.
Come to think of it, this lady had once fallen into a deep sleep on hay in a bug-infested, manure-smelling stable.
She'd been so sound asleep she hadn't even noticed me groping her chest.
That was different from me, who'd spent my life since reincarnation snug in a warm bed.
So I wouldn't complain about being picky either.
The most I could do was send hot air through the bed with magic to kill the mites.
After that, I quickly cleaned the room.
I wasn't exactly a neat freak—honestly, I preferred things a little messy.
But in inns like this, you'd occasionally find left-behind belongings from previous guests.
A coin wedged between the bedboards.
A small ring.
Finding money was fine to pocket, but rings and such sometimes showed up as requests at the adventurer's guild.
The ones where you'd get paid for returning them were rank-independent quests.
Usually the reward was pocket change, but sometimes you got a nice payout.
So I always cleaned thoroughly.
"Lost items, where are you~? Hard to find, are you~?"
Something like that.
Meanwhile, Eris borrowed a bucket and did some laundry, then quickly gave our equipment a once-over.
By the time everything was done, the sun had begun to set.
"Eris, it's almost time to go pick up Ruijerd—"
Let's head out.
I was about to say that when I suddenly remembered where this inn was located.
Near the slums.
Bad neighborhood.
Even on the Demon Continent, I'd stayed at places near the slums once.
While I was out on a job, we'd been robbed blind.
Ruijerd had found the trail, chased the culprit, and given him a rough lesson, but by then the stolen goods had already changed hands and were never recovered.
What was taken back then wasn't anything major.
And this time, I didn't plan on leaving any valuables behind.
Still, I should take proper security precautions.
"I'm heading out now. Keep watch while I'm gone, okay?"
"Keep watch? I can't go with you?"
"It's not that I don't want you to, but this area seems pretty rough."
"It's fine. We don't have anything worth stealing anyway."
Great.
Eris's security awareness was alarmingly low.
If our everyday supplies got stolen, we'd be in trouble.
We didn't exactly have money to spare.
I really needed to drill the importance of crime prevention into her head.
"Are you sure about that? Your freshly laundered underwear could get stolen, you know."
"The only person who'd steal that is you, Rudeus!"
I had absolutely nothing to say to that.
...But seriously, Eris.
I have never once tried to steal your post-laundry underwear.
--- I walked through the night streets alone.
It had taken too long to convince Eris.
Crime prevention really was important, though.
Anyway, the handoff was supposed to happen at night, but no exact time had been specified.
Anytime after sunset was fine, and they'd apparently hold onto things for a few days.
Still, Ruijerd was currently being treated as a slave.
They'd do the bare minimum to keep him alive, but over this past week, Ruijerd might have been subjected to terrible treatment.
He probably hadn't even been fed properly.
Which meant he'd be hungry.
People got irritable when they were hungry.
I needed to pick him up quickly.
Carrying Ruijerd's spear in one hand, I headed for the wharf.
The pickup location and storage for contraband were apparently cleverly hidden.
At the far end of the wharf, four large wooden warehouses stood in a row.
I slipped into the one marked "Warehouse Three."
Inside, a man was silently cleaning the warehouse.
The most common hairstyle of the post-apocalyptic era.
I approached him and said, "Hey, Steve. How's Jane at the shore doing?"
The intermediary had told me to use those exact words.
The Mohican looked at me with suspicion.
"What do you want, kid?"
Hmm, had I gotten the code phrase wrong?
No—he just didn't believe me because I was a child.
"My master sent me to pick up a shipment."
That seemed to do the trick.
He gave a quiet nod, then said, "Follow me," and headed toward the back of the warehouse.
I followed in silence to the rear.
There, a large wooden crate sat that could probably fit about five people inside.
The Mohican took a torch from the crate and moved it aside.
A staircase appeared beneath the crate.
Going down the steps, we found ourselves in a damp cave.
The Mohican lit the torch and pressed on.
I watched my footing on the slippery ground as I followed him.
The cave continued for about an hour.
When it ended, we emerged into a forest.
It seemed to be outside the town.
After walking a bit more, we found a large building tucked among the trees.
It didn't look like a warehouse—more like a wealthy person's vacation home.
That was the storage facility.
Building a house in a forest like this—weren't they worried about monster attacks?
"You already know this, but don't breathe a word about this place to anyone.
If you do..."
"I understand."
I nodded.
If I revealed this location, they would find me and kill me.
I'd received that explanation from the Demon Continent intermediary.
If they really wanted to enforce that promise, shouldn't they have me sign something in blood or whatever?
Why didn't they do that?
...Maybe because some races didn't have fingerprints.
Well, neither side would want anything left in writing.
No evidence was best.
The Mohican knocked on the entrance.
Three quick knocks, a pause, two quick knocks.
There were apparently rules to this knocking pattern too.
After a moment, a white-haired man in butler's attire appeared.
He looked at both the Mohican and me, then said a curt, "Come in."
Inside, a staircase to the second floor stood straight ahead, with two hallways on either side and doors to the left and right.
To put it plainly, it looked like the lobby of a mansion.
At the far end of the lobby, several rough-looking men sat leaning their elbows on a round table.
The atmosphere was tense.
Then the white-haired butler looked down at me, his gaze suspicious.
"Who sent you?"
"Ditts."
Ditts was the intermediary's name.
"Ditts, huh. Using a kid like this as a messenger—cautious fellow."
"What I'm handling is quite valuable."
"Right. Well, take it quickly. I can barely stand the fear."
As he said this, the white-haired butler pulled a key ring from his pocket and handed one to the Mohican.
"Room 202."
The Mohican gave a quiet nod and set off.
I followed after him.
Creaking floorboards and what sounded like groans from somewhere.
The occasional whiff of something beast-like.
I happened to pass a room with iron bars and peeked inside.
A large beast lay chained inside a faintly glowing magic circle.
It was dark and hard to see, but I'd never seen a beast like that on the Demon Continent.
Was it a creature native to the Millis Continent?
"Do they store goods being smuggled from the Millis Continent to the Demon Continent in this building too?"
"Yeah."
I'd asked on a whim, and the Mohican answered.
Was there no need to keep that secret?
The Mohican went down a staircase at the back.
I'd assumed 202 meant the second floor, but apparently it was underground.
"It's underground?"
"Upstairs is a decoy."
Apparently, the ground floor held items that wouldn't cause problems even if discovered.
While the underground held goods that would incur heavy tariffs or constituted a serious crime if smuggled.
"This is it."
The Mohican stopped at a door with a 202 placard.
There sat Ruijerd, hands bound behind his back, with a faint hint of green already sprouting on his head.
After a full week, he was starting to look like a moss head.
"Thanks for your work."
The Mohican nodded at my words and took up position at the doorway.
He was presumably standing guard.
"Don't remove the handcuffs in here.
If a Superd goes berserk, we won't be able to handle it."
His face had gone slightly pale as he spoke.
Even with a shaved head, green hair was apparently quite effective.
If I casually removed the handcuffs right now and got Ruijerd to comply, would that scare him even more?
No, no—I wouldn't pull that kind of borrowed-thunder bluff.
Now then, where had I put the key?
I rummaged through my pockets, but it wasn't anywhere.
...I might have left it at the inn.
Too much hassle—maybe I should just unlock them with magic.
As I approached Ruijerd, his expression was fierce.
People really did get irritable when they were hungry.
Hold on, I'll get you some food right away— "Rudeus. Listen."
Ruijerd murmured.
"What is it?"
I leaned in close as instructed, and the Mohican panicked.
"Hey, hey—stop! He'll bite your ear off!"
It's fine.
Ruijerd would show mercy and only give me a little nibble.
While I made those half-assed comments in my head, I pressed my ear closer to Ruijerd.
*'A child is being held captive.'* Oh.
*'A beastkin child. Taken by force, it seems.
I can hear crying from somewhere in here.'* *'...I see.'* A child. A slave?
I honestly didn't understand much about this world's slavery system.
I couldn't tell what was right and what was wrong.
Would rescuing a slave here truly be the right thing for them?
If it was a child whose parents had sold them out of desperation, sending them back would only cause more trouble.
*'I want to help.'* But still.
For Ruijerd, children were precious.
No matter the circumstances.
Too bad for the smugglers.
They just had to go and kidnap a child while Ruijerd was here.
*'There are quite a few guards inside the building.'* *'I know.'* *'The smugglers operate as an organization.'* *'You're against this...?'* Ruijerd was making a face that said "I can't believe it."
He looked betrayed.
But technically, we were the ones about to betray them.
*'They did their job properly. Isn't this technically betrayal?'* *'...Doesn't matter. If a child can be saved, I'll bear the stigma of being a traitor.'* *'You wouldn't be the only one bearing that stigma—the Superd tribe would too, you know?'* *'Hm... but... but still...'* Don't make that face.
I never said I wouldn't help.
I'd already said it myself—I told him to speak up when he couldn't hold back.
I had enough margin to save a child.
And in that case, how could I not listen?
*'If you want to rescue them right away, we'll need to make sure no information leaks outside.'* *'Rudeus...!'* My words brought a smile to Ruijerd's face.
This time, I'd let Ruijerd do as he pleased.
He'd been locked up for a week.
He had to have pent-up frustration.
Still, if even one person escaped, the smuggling organization would receive word that a Superd had gone berserk.
Our names—the ones who'd smuggled a Superd—would be well remembered by the organization.
The smuggling organization would send their pet assassins after traitorous clients.
A horrible death awaited traitors.
That was what the intermediary had said.
With Ruijerd around, assassins wouldn't be much of a problem.
But it wouldn't be pleasant to have to sleep with one eye open.
And Ruijerd couldn't be with us all the time.
Now then, how to resolve this without letting any information slip...
*'Don't worry about that.'* *'Do you have some kind of plan?'* *'At the number of people in this building, no one will escape. I'm killing them all.'* Whew—classic Ruijerd.
What a reassuring thing to say.
Certainly, killing everyone would solve the problem.
But wasn't that a bit too extreme?
*'Is there really someone you can't forgive in there?'* *'...Yeah. My guts are about to boil over.'* Ruijerd was furious.
What the hell had the smugglers done?
*'Would you mind telling me what happened?'* *'Just look at the children yourself. You'll understand.'* That's not exactly helpful.
*'There's another option—come back later just to rescue the children...'* *'I heard them talking. They're loading the children onto a ship tomorrow and sending them to the Demon Continent.'* Tomorrow wouldn't work then.
But killing everyone...
That was a bit much.
There had to be another way.
A smarter way that didn't require killing— *'Don't worry. You don't have to dirty your hands.'* Those words made me stop in my tracks.
*'No...'* Ruijerd's words had lodged themselves in my heart like a small thorn.
*'I'll... help too, you know?'* He was right.
Over this past year, I'd avoided killing people.
I'd killed plenty of monsters.
I'd even killed humanoid monsters.
But I had never committed murder.
Partly because there'd been no reason to.
Mostly because there had been many reasons not to.
But the fact remained—I'd never harbored murderous intent toward anyone.
This world was harsh.
People killing each other was an everyday occurrence.
Someday, I'd probably have to kill someone.
That kind of situation would inevitably arrive.
I was prepared for it.
I thought I was.
That's what I believed.
But when it came down to what I'd actually done, all I'd done was adjust the power of my stone cannons—reducing the spell's output just enough to avoid killing anyone with excessive force.
In the end, I still couldn't bring myself to kill.
No matter what I said, I didn't want to commit the taboo of murder.
I wasn't prepared at all.
And Ruijerd understood that.
That was why he'd said what he said.
He was being considerate.
*'Don't make that face.
Your hands are meant to protect Eris.'* ...Well, alright.
There was no need to force myself to kill anyone, was there?
I'd let him have this one.
If Ruijerd said he could handle it alone, I'd let him.
Being a coward was fine.
I'd do what I could do.
*'Understood. Then I'll go release the children.
Do you know where they are?'* *'The room two doors down. Seven of them.'* *'Got it. Please gather the bodies in one spot.
We'll burn them all at once later.'* *'Understood.'* I silently removed Ruijerd's handcuffs.
Ruijerd rolled his shoulders and slowly rose to his feet.
"H-How did you get those handcuffs off?!"
The Mohican panicked.
"It's fine. He'll behave, I promise."
"R-Really?"
My words brought a flicker of relief to the Mohican's face.
I handed Ruijerd his spear.
"Though I wouldn't say he'll never lash out."
"Huh?"
The Mohican was the first casualty.
Ruijerd killed him silently, then ran soundlessly toward the staircase.
I headed in the opposite direction.
Toward the room where the children were being held.
"Gyaaaaaah!"
"The S-Superd! His handcuffs are off!"
"Damn it! He's got a spear!"
"He's a demon! Oh God, a demon!"
By the time I reached the door, screams had begun to echo from the first floor.
Tonight, Ruijerd was bloodthirsty.
Just kidding.
Anyway.
The ones who'd actually done the kidnapping were someone else, and the smugglers weren't the villains here.
The only villain was bad luck.