The hostess, who had been grabbed by Simon, gradually narrowed her eyes.
[Dammit! Be careful!]
Pier's seemingly nervous voice echoed in his head.
Simon focused all his attention on the hostess' legs exposed through the dress because of the dagger on the band tied to her thigh.
But in the end, her hand didn't head towards the dagger. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry, but could you please release my arm?"
Simon belatedly realized that he had put too much force on his hand holding her wrist.
As Simon let her go, the hostess sat back down and combed back her disheveled hair.
"Very well."
She nodded.
"If you want the truth that badly, there's nothing we can do about it. However, you'll have to bear all the risks that come with the information. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Then please wait here for a moment."
The hostess got up and walked to another room. The war-like atmosphere eased up, and Simon let out a small sigh.
'Pier, it was just a hunch, but it looks like there's actually something here. If we're lucky, we might be able to find out the whereabouts of Elizabe—'
[Uhehehehehe!]
Pier sitting next to Simon heaved his shoulders with laughter.
[Hahahahahahahahahahah!]
Simon frowned and covered his ears. Of course, that didn't really make the voice ringing in his head any weaker, though.
'Wh-What's so suddenly wrong?'
[I was dubious about it, but now I'm certain. Stay alert, Boy!]
Pier's eyes gleamed inside the helm.
[That woman is Elizabeth!]
"...Whaaaat?!"
The moment Simon uttered a surprised voice without knowing, a change began to take place inside the Thieves Guild.
The bodies of people sitting, drinking, or playing poker swelled up with cracking noises.
[Kuhahahahaha! You're really a bold one, Boy! To threaten an ancient undead right in front of you! If I hadn't emitted bloodthirst from your side, your neck would've been blown away already!]
Zzzzip!
Riip!
The skins of the people were torn, and spiders with dozens of eyes popped out from within them.
Simon stepped back in terror.
[Shhhhhhhk!]
[Shhk! Shhhhhhhhhkl!]
A type of undead known as a 'Corpse Spider'.
They were Elizabeth's kin. Simon and Pier were surrounded by spiders in an instant.
"That was a great force, Kid of Kizen."
The footsteps of the hostess rang out as she reentered. Then, she crossed her legs after getting on the table with a voluptuous figure.
As she dropped her forehead down with the tip of her index finger, the flesh flowed down like a garment, revealing her foreign crimson eyes.
[Kill everyone.]
Her voice turned dark.
Using it as a signal, the corpse spiders began to jump in from all sides.
[Boy!]
Shouted Pier. Simon quickly activated the subspace equipped on his finger and called out Pier's greatsword.
Lightly grasping that heavy weapon with both hands, Pier stepped forward with his right foot and made a wide sideways swing with it.
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaash!
A huge line split the air, and the bodies of the corpse spiders that entered the gap were split in half. Green blood splattered into the air, wetting the floor and ceiling.
[Elizabeth!]
Pier's loud cry resounded as though it would destroy the basement.
[Oh my, so it was you after all, Pier.]
Elizabeth crossed the other leg and smiled.
[What kind of wicked plan are you plotting in a village like this?! The Legion has revived! Stop this nonsense and come back immediately!]
She smiled with her eyes and stretched out her arm.
[I refuse.]
The ceiling was destroyed with a loud noise, and the corpse spiders dangling on spider webs attacked them.
Simon quickly noticed it and ducked down, and Pier swung his greatsword to slash them. Blood and entrails splattered across floor.
[Pier, you're stupid. Richard used us to his liking and kicked us to the curb. Do you still have lingering attachments for the Legion even after that shuddering experience?]
[You idiot!]
Shouted Pier after piercing through the body of a rushing spider with his greatsword.
[Did your mind rot while living along with humans? Legion is 'strength' and 'will'! Blabbering things like kicking us to the curb or a shuddering experience… How could a captain of the Legion be swayed by such trivial emotions?!]
[How could I not?]
There was a great hatred in her crimson eyes.
[I hate Richard to the point of death with how he pushed his comrades that shared sorrows and joys for decades to a deadly place just because of a woman.]
The undead spiders rushed in endlessly. In fact, this basement was full of corpse spiders.
[And…]
Her gaze turned to Simon.
[Pier, I pity you too. A 1st-year boy in Kizen, just like when you and Richard met. So you wheedled a kiddo who'll behave well instead of him to—]
Whaaaaap!
In an instant, the white greatsword ripped through the air and flew in front of Elizabeth. She urgently grabbed the greatsword with both her hands.
Poooooow!
The shockwave alone blew away objects and shattered glass.
[That's it! You're being too arrogant now!]
Pier stretched out his hand.
The handle of the greatsword flickered with jet-black and returned to Pier's hand at a tremendous speed.
Seeing that, Simon's eyes lit up.
'The attraction of a skeleton!'
Pier twisted his waist like a combination lock and swung his greatsword. The slash shot out like a tsunami and once again struck Elizabeth's body.
Whaaaaaaaam!
She frowned and received the slash with both arms.
[Have you already forgotten the time you crawled like a dog under me? How dare you try to walk over a Marshall of the Legion!]
At that moment, jet-black as red as blood gathered on Elizabeth's fingernails. The slash pushing Elizabeth to the end of the wall cracked with a loud noise, and then shattered like pieces of glass.
[And you've weakened a lot, Pier. It seems like it hasn't been long since your seal has been released.]
She stepped on the crumbled debris and climbed to the ground.
[Are you running away?!]
With his greatsword raised, Pier tried to chase her, but the corpse spiders blocked his way. Pier's face contorted.
[You small fries!]
[See you next time, Pier. And…]
Waving from above, Elizabeth's gaze focused on Simon.
[Boy of Kizen.]
After leaving those words, she disappeared along with a spider waiting above.
'...So that's how it is.'
The only Thieves Guild remaining in this territory was actually Elizabeth and her group.
Controlling and modifying information would've been a piece of cake. No wonder why the Lord couldn't solve the case, no matter how much time and money he invested.
[Shhhhhhhhhhhk!]
Other than that, there were disgustingly high numbers of spiders, even after Elizabeth left. Pier was struggling, but at this rate, they might lose Elizabeth.
"Oh, what a shame."
Simon got goosebumps for an instant. A 3rd person's voice was heard at an unexpected moment.
When he turned his head quickly, he saw someone from right behind him standing up.
It was that woman wearing a robe, drinking alone in the Thieves Guild. The spiders noticed her and jumped at her.
"Well~ there's nothing I can do about it. I guess I'll just get rid of everyone here and chase her."
Flash!
A pure white flash of light erupted from the end of the staff she lifted above her head. Simon couldn't help but be terrified after realizing what that power was.
[Kieeeeeeeh!]
[Shhk! Shhk!]
The spiders twisted and suffered like vampires who were exposed to sunlight. The white light at the end of the staff grew brighter and became big enough to swallow the entire Thieves Guild.
'Pier! Let's run, using this as a chance!'
[What?]
'Hurry!'
She lowered her staff.
"Farewell, everyone!"
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!
The divine explosion exploded, turning all undead spiders within range into dust. The entire Thieves Guild was coiled in a pure white light.
"Phew."
After using her divine magic and placing her staff over her shoulder, she looked around her.
"Looks like I lost that huge skeleton and the boy. Guess I can't help it."
She turned her head and jumped into the crumbled debris in the direction Elizabeth had fled.
* * *
[Kuhehe! A priest is breaking in at this moment, huh? The situation is going crazy!]
Pier was running shoulder to shoulder with Simon.
'...A priest.'
Simon was lost in deep thought.
He chose the blue request form and came to the country of the Dark Alliance, but he never imagined that he'd meet a priest here like this.
"She seemed to have the skills too, right? Since she wiped out that many at once."
[I saw white clothes in that woman's robe. It's definitely the uniform of Efnel.]
"...Ah!"
She wasn't just a Priest, but a student belonging to Efnel, the antipode of Kizen!
By the standards of Kizen, it was like she was taking on a mission from a black request form.
[Considering that she came all the way to Dark Alliance, she must be a 2nd-year student. Be careful, Boy! She's a tough opponent for you to deal with now!]
"Yeah, I'll be careful."
Just like Simon, she seemed to be chasing Elizabeth.
Then that meant the Lord of Arnish had commissioned this mission to both Kizen and Efnel.
'Double request. I'll have to quibble about that next time. By the way…'
The scale was becoming too large for a blue request form.
An ancient undead opposing the Legion, and even a student from Efnel.
Simon started to wonder what the best way was to untangle this twisted thread.
"Pier."
[What is it?]
"Tell me more about Elizabeth, please."
[What I told you while on the way here was everything.]
"No. Not about her abilities or physical strength, but more personal things."
Simon gulped.
"What happened between my father and Elizabeth?"
Pier let out a feigned laugh.
[Kuhehehe! What happened my ass! Dammit!]
"What?"
[...Fine, I'll tell you. Elizabeth loved Richard.]
Simon's jaw dropped.
[An undead to a human. An entity belonging to the Legion ended up having feelings toward the Commander.]
Pier had a displeased look while saying that.
[She was unusual from the beginning when she joined the Legion. She was emotional, unlike an undead, and she was often swayed too much by those emotions.]
Pier lined up the stories related to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's love, her obsession with Richard, and even her jealousy toward Anna.
Simon closed his eyes and pondered.
[We're here, Boy!]
The place that Pier dropped Simon off was somewhere in the forest near the Arnish territory. Simon looked around him, looking at the dense coniferous forest.
"But there's nothing here."
[Step back!]
Pier swung his greatsword and cut through the air. Then, the space split apart as though it was torn, and an old ruined castle surrounded by cobwebs was revealed.
[Kuhehe! This is their main base.]
"Let's head in."
Simon and Pier opened the door and entered the abandoned castle.
'Ah...!'
And as soon as they entered, a quite explicit scene was laid out in front of their eyes.