Chapter 80: Report to the Capital
"Is it really a labyrinth, or just a cave infested with a few monsters?"
In response to yet another question, both the village chief, Hammet, and I repeated our explanations while trying to hide our frustration.
After sealing the entrance to the labyrinth with my clay skill, I hurried to the village hall and conveyed what I had seen to Village Chief Hammet.
It was only right for him to check it himself as the village's leader, so I accompanied Hammet and Gazak back to the entrance of the labyrinth. We cleared away the clay seal I had placed.
I had already sensed it with Detection and my map skill, but when Kobolds emerged from inside, both of them were left speechless. Unlike creatures like Oniusagi and Magic Boars, Kobolds were unmistakably monsters, even if they were low-level.
To ensure they didn't escape, I created another layer of clay walls on the outside and had them confirm before attacking with Lina's magic and my bow. Strangely, my arrow hit, but the monsters ultimately fled into the labyrinth, and I sealed the entrance as thickly as possible with clay.
There were monsters that could dig holes, so they might eventually break through, but I wanted to buy as much time as possible. I needed time to report to the capital and get them to handle it.
Certainly, I couldn't defeat the labyrinth alone.
Moreover, this should be the duty of those who govern this land, and if I were to take on the quest of labyrinth conquest as an adventurer, I would need to form a more capable party.
Village Chief Hammet also acknowledged that it was a situation beyond the village's capabilities, so he arranged a carriage for himself and me to rush to the capital.
The village chief's carriage had only one horse and two seats, so I left Lina with Norde in Ozaq Village.
With Lina's Detection skill, she could sense any movement of the monsters, and with Telepathy, she could stay in contact with me. That was the plan, at least.
And so, we arrived in the capital in about 30 minutes, and I rushed to what seemed to be Hammet's original workplace, the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. But, as expected of a government office, we were passed around to different departments within the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the security maintenance department of the Ministry of Defense, repeating the same explanations multiple times.
I'm really tired, and my energy is dwindling, especially considering that I had to fight Oniusagi in the middle of the night and used up both HP and MP for monster extermination and labyrinth sealing since morning. I feel down. I just want to lock myself in somewhere and sleep...
"Shiro-san, Shiro-kun, please hang in there..."
Hammet called out to me, snapping me back to reality.
Finally, it seems that the government is dispatching investigators. It's only natural.
If an unknown labyrinth has truly been discovered, leaving it unattended could lead to an increase in monsters, potentially spreading everywhere. They should take action promptly.
In the end, it was decided that the investigation would be carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Investigative Division.
Originally, if the information we provided turned out to be false or just a "monsters are causing trouble in the village" level of issue, it should be handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs' regional department and the village itself.
However, if it truly was an unknown labyrinth, the options would be determined based on its scale and the level of monsters:
1. Issue a request to adventurers for conquest.
2. Entrust the region's security to a noble.
3. Deploy the national army for direct conquest.
This decision would be made through consultation between the upper levels of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense.
To facilitate this judgment, they would send someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Investigative Division to guide us, as Hammet summarized for my stunned mind.
Impressive, this man.
In half an hour, we were going to meet up with the investigation team, so I was asked to report to the Adventurer's Guild in the meantime.
Certainly, since the monster extermination in Ozaq Village was originally a request to the guild, I had an obligation to report what had happened. Hammet had prepared a written report addressed to the guild leader in no time.
I'd like to take a leisurely walk in the courtyard of the royal castle, but that had to be postponed. Instead, I headed to the Adventurer's Guild, which was a ten-minute walk away. It felt like ages since I left here yesterday morning.
I explained the situation at the reception and handed over Hammet's written report. One person immediately dashed up the stairs and took me to the top floor, which was the fourth floor.
There, I found Atunesque, who had served as the referee in the mock battle the other day, and another person who looked like a younger noble. Was this the guild leader?
As a lord, he had the highest level I had seen so far, but he was still lower level than the Level 31 mage Atunesque. At a glance, he had an ordinary build and didn't exude any special intimidation, but he had this "elegant young noble" aura that was completely different from me.
Atunesque was the first to speak.
"You must be Shiro. I must say, you showed us something interesting the other day."
He must be talking about the mock battle.
"It was fortunate that Lord Yares was present at that time."
Lord? Does that mean he's royalty or something?
"We've never met before, have we, Shiro? I'm Yares Karajiale, the guild leader. So, you discovered a labyrinth, correct? Tell us in detail."
I explained, somewhat bewildered, starting from the initial quest and summarizing the story up to sealing the labyrinth.
As usual, it wasn't a particularly skillful explanation, but both of them, especially Yares, seemed interested and asked various questions. There was no point in hiding my skills anymore since Atunesque had already seen them.
"This is quite fascinating. Adventurers are truly exciting."
"Lord, I'm afraid now might not be the time..."
"Oh, yes, I understand, Atunesque."
They seemed like a pair of young nobles and their bodyguard, more or less. It seemed that a young royal was in a position similar to the guild's honorary chairman, essentially responsible for its operations, with Atunesque acting as the bodyguard.
"After this, you will guide the investigation, correct?"
"Oh, yes, we're heading to the Investigative Division, not long from now. Well, it's the Investigative Division, isn't it? No, the Investigation Division."
"Hmm, there's a possibility it could become a matter for the national army..."
He looked a bit bored now. Atunesque took over.
"Shiro, don't worry. The village chief's letter already states that the monsters causing trouble in the fields have been exterminated, so the quest is considered a success. You'll probably be going back to Ozaq Village again. The reward should be given then... Besides,"
Besides?
"If the discovery of the labyrinth is confirmed, you'll receive a
substantial reward from the country."
Really! Why didn't you say that earlier? I can't afford to be depressed right now!
Yares, the guild leader, didn't seem to catch my change in demeanor. Well, he wouldn't understand the life of commoners.
"I'll be looking forward to your report once the investigation is complete. Give it your all!"
•••••
When I returned to the Ministry of the Interior within the palace grounds, Hammett Village Chief soon entered the room with four men.
I recognized one of them.
"Ah, Shiro, was it? Are you the adventurer reporting this time?" The surprisingly friendly man in black attire was Jonas, the ninja I had sparred with in the Sktari Dungeon.
"Hey, Jonas's old man? Are you here for this investigation?"
"Oh, my, you two know each other?" Hammett seemed surprised as well. Right, the duties of a Royal Inspector include investigations.
The other men were also Jonas's colleagues, and they exchanged greetings.
Salgado, though not combat-oriented, seemed to be the leader of the investigative team responsible for summarizing reports.
"Leandros, let's head there immediately using your teleportation. Join Manites' party."
It was getting close to dusk, but time was of the essence, it seemed.
Mayor Hammett mentioned that he still had some administrative procedures to handle and would return later by carriage.
After organizing the group, Leandros cast a teleportation spell, and we appeared in front of the Ozak Village Hall.
I see, they can teleport to various administrative buildings around. We'd have to walk through the forest from here, though.
I used telepathy to call Lina, and she and Norte came out of the hall. They had been waiting here.
I introduced the two to the investigative team, and we set off for the sealed dungeon. Even Jonas, who had been burned by Lina before, greeted her with a wry smile.
As we left the village's cultivated land and entered the forest, there was a faint presence of monsters. Checking with my map skill, it seemed to be outside the dungeon but not too far away. This wasn't a good sign.
"There are monsters lurking," Jonas noted, seemingly unsurprised, while the civilian, Salgado, looked tense.
"Yeah, I sealed it with plenty of clay this morning, but there might be monsters that are good at digging, so they might have broken out."
We cautiously reached the entrance of the dungeon, and as expected, there were holes in the clay wall that a child could pass through.
"But at least the big ones didn't get out, right?"
"Yeah, just two giant rabbits."
Jonas seemed to be well-informed. Impressive.
"What should we do, Jonas?" Salgado asked, realizing that combat wasn't his expertise.
"I'll take care of the ones outside for now," Jonas replied casually.
With those words, Jonas disappeared, and within a minute, the two red dots on the map representing the rabbits disappeared, and the black-clad ninja returned, holding the remains of the two giant rabbits in his hands.
"Manites, put them in your item box."
We had truly faced formidable opponents. Norte had wide eyes, clearly impressed.
Following Jonas's instructions, I dispelled the clay wall. In Manites' party formation, there were Salgado, Leandros, me, Norte, and Lina. Lina could be brought along despite exceeding the party size, but Jonas chose not to join the formation. I quickly figured out why.
The reason for forming the party was to enter Leandros's barrier. Hidden within the barrier, we proceeded into the cave entrance. It seemed that high-level mages could use this kind of technique. It was like watching the scenery through a semi-transparent membrane.
On the other hand, Jonas didn't benefit from the barrier and had disappeared using his advanced skills. Although I couldn't pinpoint his exact location with my detection skill, I felt that he wasn't too far away.
As we advanced deeper into the cave entrance, we began to sense the unmistakable presence of multiple monsters. My map skill showed over ten red dots.
The first creatures we encountered were cave boars. They seemed to use the cave's side passages as their nests, with a large tusked male accompanied by several females and offspring. We managed to pass them without being noticed. Further in, we spotted kobolds.
Around that area, the dungeon walls and ceiling were faintly glowing. There was no doubt about it. This was where the labyrinth worm's secretion-covered walls began, indicating that the dungeon started here.
"I see, this is definitely a labyrinth dug by the worms," Salgado nodded in agreement.
"Confirmed. We can go back now," Jonas signaled, and the group returned to the entrance.
Soon and without any sound, Jonas appeared beside us.
"It's at least two levels deep," Jonas reported. He had ventured all the way to the deepest part of the first level, where he confirmed the presence of the labyrinth's characteristic barrier. Instead of the labyrinth worm, there was an empty husk inside.
Surprisingly, he even had fragments of the husk in his hands. He must have cut it off from something that tough.
"Hey, can you pass through barriers by yourself?" I asked.
"...You're sharp, but that's confidential information for work," Jonas replied.
I see, so it was confidential. Well, he's still a mysterious and talented guy.
"So, Salgado-dono, is it alright with you?" I asked.
"Yes, there's no doubt it's a labyrinth. It should be sufficient for a report."
Jonas and Salgado seemed to have reached a conclusion.
"In that case, we need to report it as soon as possible," I said.
"Yes," they both agreed.
"Leandros, please," I requested.
"Understood."
The mage cast the spell again, creating a barrier at the dungeon entrance.
I see, this way, monsters can't get out. But if that's the case, why not seal all the country's dungeons with barriers?
When I asked this question, Leandros replied with a somewhat exasperated expression, "Barrier effectiveness doesn't last long. Unless you're a legendary archmage or something, you can't keep a seal like that indefinitely."
I see, even a wise sage sealing a demon lord would eventually be broken, huh?
"Shiro, shall we go back to the capital directly?" Jonas asked if I wanted them to take me back.
I thanked him but explained that I had an important task to complete for a reward once the mayor returned, so I would stay. Salgado, who had been unfriendly until now, suddenly remembered something.
"Sir Shiro, you did well this time. Tomorrow afternoon, when you return to the capital, please visit the Ministry of the Interior. We'll make sure you receive the reward for discovering the dungeon."
Alright! I wonder how much it will be? I'm excited.
With a cheerful mood, I bid farewell to the four teleporting men.