Volume 2 - CH 101

Basement.

In addition, there was also a prison down there.

There are several slave-like people shoved into about 20 or so prison cells.

All together …… about 50 people, I would say.

All of them are sleeping or in weak condition and not moving.

There’s only a long single passage, and when you pass through the prison, you can see doors on both sides.

There are eight doors.

Since the haze had fully intruded the basement, I can see all the content inside each room as the results.

What’s inside each room are handcuffs hung from the ceiling, and on the wall there were several sets of handcuffs and legcuffs for crucifixion.

Then a tall bed was placed there.

The other three rooms are similarly structured, with several figures crucified in one room.

The other four rooms were lined with three chairs and crowded with shelves that looked like they held strange chemicals.

In the other room there are another chemicals again, in the other room there are several tools lying on the floor, and in the next room there is an aquarium.

In the last room, books were lined up on a bookshelf.

However, there are several cane-like objects placed on the floor, and a jewel-like object is attached to the top of the cane.

Just looking at this alone was enough to convince me that something bad was going on in this basement.

The first strange thing is that the slaves captured in the prison do not move at all.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be breathing, so it was not dead.

But now it is evening, it’s too early for people to be sleeping.

I’m concerned where one or two people are still asleep, but its all of them.

And the figures were crucified in one room.

This is obviously not right.

Slaves are supposed to be sold for the purpose of being used for something.

But why are they restrained so that they cannot move?

The answer to that question is obvious after a little thought.

Besides, I could see the chair and tools I mentioned earlier, as well as other bottles that looked like they contained chemicals.

This suggests to me that they are conducting experiments on humanoid subjects.

Goddamnit, Dolce …… The hell with you selling them to the right customer.

This is the worst thing you can imagine.

The Ramleys must be behind all of this.

They are the ones who bought the slaves, after all.

But would a nobleman like to experiment on humanoid beings?

The answer is no.

Then I remembered the bouncer who works in this mansion.

Lequam Saulmaldt.

This guy is the first one that comes to mind.

I heard that Rekuam did research and deciphered ancient scripts.

Perhaps he is a dedicated researcher.

Either the subject of his research has gotten a little messy …… or he is doing it because someone told him to …….

By all means, it’s the former.

If he’s doing this for someone else, he wouldn’t show his face when a guild official comes to see him, and he’d have to lie about where he is first.

Besides, the client would probably get in the way.

Lequam Saulmaldt…. He may be more dangerous than we imagine?

If he’s doing research in a room like this, he’s pretty crazy.

He is definitely the type of person who can attack people without hesitation.

I was thinking about it as I checked the room I had just found, but in fact there is still a room ahead.

The deepest part of this basement is …….

It is a kind of workroom with various books, bookshelves, and a bed.

In addition, you can see a silhouette that looks like a beaker, perhaps for research.

Directly in front of the door is a large desk and chair, where someone seems to be sitting and writing something.

Probably … No, this is Lequam Saulmaldt.

Because of the silhouette, it is impossible to get a complete picture of his appearance, but it is somewhat obvious from his figure that he is a magician.

But …… all the time this guy has been in this room …….

It’s going to be hard to rescue her.

There is only one exit and one hallway.

When he comes out of the room, we’ll be found out instantly.

There’s nowhere to hide. ……

If it were just me, I might be able to get by, but it’s going to be difficult to move Alena alone.

So I have to be in human form, and the chances of rescuing her will be better if I can get Uchikage to come too.

Hmmmmmmm…….

What should I do …

SHould I call him to get him out of this basement?

That would be difficult. ……

Of course he’s going to be suspicious, like a visitor in the middle of the night.

If so, should I try to fight him?

In this small place?

If we do, the slaves will surely be harmed.

Rejected.

If so, do you want to rescue her in the hope that he will not come out?

This is probably best, but if he does come out, we have to be prepared for what I just said will happen.

All of these are too risky …

There is no guarantee that Lequam will not come out of that room.

That’s why it’s difficult.

Is he going to sleep at night?

I really hope such a convenient thing happens …

Okay, I’ll take this back and discuss it with Uchikage.

For now, let’s look for a silhouette that looks like Alena.

For the time being, I concentrated on the 【Haze Manipulation】 in the prison and tried to find the child figure.

Then, I found prisons where only children were kept.

There seem to be only two prisons where only children are kept.

Nobody is moving, but they seem to be alive.

I wonder what they did to them.

There are five children.

They are about the size of a third grader, judging from their height.

They would be about the same age as Alena and Satella.

I hope Alena is here. ……

At any rate, I also checked the person being crucified in the back room, but this room doesn’t have any children.

I know it’s a bad thing, but I felt a little relieved.

I’m sorry for the adults, but you’re going to have to hang in here for a little while longer.

I’ll take care of it.

I’m going to save all of you.

I was able to confirm the location.

The location of the children has also been confirmed.

After that, we have to do something about him.

Let’s go home for the time being.

I can’t decide by myself.

I turn off the 【Haze Manipulation】 and open my eyes.

It seems I’ve spent a little too much time searching.

The sky is already turning into an azure.

I leave the Ramley residence and return to the inn.

◆

After telling Uchikage what I had seen so far, I left the inn.

Satella will stay at the base.

I was a little worried because she was alone, but she said she was fine because Uchikage seemed to have given the innkeeper a stern talking-to.

Well, we’ll go straight home after we’re done with this.

As for the strategy, at Uchikage’s suggestion, we decided to take another look at the basement before making a decision.

There is a possibility that they might not be there.

It’s a little bit risky to bet on that, but I’d like to bet on the possibility of …… even if it’s just a little bit.

If Lequam was still there, the rescue operation was carried out only when he was working in the room.

If not, we were to make every effort to rescue her as quickly as possible rather than to search where he was.

In short, it was a race against time.

But there were five children in prison.

I wanted to save them at least.

When I told him this, Uchikage agreed with me, and we agreed to rescue the children as much as possible.

I’m aware that I’m about to do something quite reckless.

I silently thanked Uchikage for not refusing my request.

He goes along with my recklessness to any extent.

I’m grateful for that.

There’s a ladder and that’s going to be a burden.

I’ll use my water to carry the children.

Five people would consume a lot of MP, but I’m sure I can manage.

This time, I’m going to be reckless.

I’ll do my best.

Immediately we arrived at the Ramley residence.

The way to the warehouse is perfectly fresh in my head.

When we break in, we use 【Assassination】 to quietly enter from the front.

The only way out is by breaking a window

I want to avoid making noise, so press it with water from the left and right to prevent it from making noise.

This way, no glass shards will fall, so it’s safe.

It’s going to be a lot of work for me, though.

Uchikage speaks to me in a hushed voice.

“Is it here?”

“Here it is. Wait here for a minute. I’ll see if he’s there.

“Please.”

I deployed the 【Haze Manipulation】 to the basement.

I looked at the prison, the room with the door, and the workroom.

Then I saw that Lequam was not there.

I thought it was strange and looked again, but he was not there.

There was no silhouette that looked like him in the Ramley’s house either.

Or rather, everyone was sleeping and not moving.

Where on earth did he go ……?

But this is convenient.

“He isn’t there?”

“Then …”

“Yea, we are going according to the strategy.”

“”【Assassination】 “”

Invade the hall by extinguishing our presences to the limit.

I can’t cross the wall by myself, so I ask Uchikage to throw me.

It’s a secret that I failed to land and it really hurt.