Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 182: A Gathering Of Wolves, A Bunch Of Dogs V

「Hey! Wake up! Who the heck did this? Characteristics! How many of them were there? What's their purpose?」

I asked while slapping my brother-in-law repeatedly. However, he only groaned and didn't regain consciousness. I tossed him aside and grabbed the captain of the guard by the chest.

「Wake up! Wake up and explain!」

I shook him like a rag doll, but he too remained unconscious.

The two leaders of the kings' guards are in such a state. The opponent or opponents must be very skilled. And how on earth did they manage to neutralize Regure and abduct her?

Could it be that there’s someone of His Majesty's level lurking in this city?

That thought sent a chill down my spine.

If anything happens to Regure here, Lemuria will be destroyed by the armies of the Myriad Kings.

「Yukikaze, you know Regure's location, right?!」

『Team member Souya, no tracer was attached to Regure-sama. She's untraceable, indeed』

「Why didn’t you attach a tracer to her?!」

『It's because you never ordered Yukikaze to, indeed』

「I mean, there's no way I could have known that Regure would get abducted, right?」

『Even if you ask Yukikaze that...... Team member Souya, calm down. There are other ways to track her』

「Like what?」

What?

If there's a way, hurry up, hurry up.

「Souya, are you talking to that lantern again-nya? You're really weird-nya」

Tyutyu poked Yukikaze with a curious look.

『Tyutyu-sama, please lend us your beloved dog』

「Barfuru-sama? That's fine-nya. Barfuru-sama~, come here-nya」

When she called for him, the large gray dog appeared.

He opened the back door of the store with his paw and closed it securely with his snout.

His long fur was lustrous because Tyutyu groomed him whenever she had time. He had a wolf-like face, sharp eyes, long fangs, and a long tail.

I hate this dog with all my heart.

I hate him from the very core of my soul.

It's because I was put through a terrible ordeal by an enormous asshole with the same name.

『Dog-sama, please follow this scent』

Yukikaze's pod opened and an arm holding a piece of cloth extended out.

Barfuru turned to Tyutyu questioningly.

「Please-nya. I'll give you nicer leftovers for dinner-nya」

「Barfu」

With a nod, he sniffed the piece of cloth Yukikaze was holding.

「Hey, Yukikaze, when did you get Regure's scent」

『Yukikaze took it when collecting some of her body fluids to assess her health』

「That’s great」

If you were going to do that, attach the tracer while you were at it.

「Barfu」

Barfuru dashed off, and I ran after him.

Weaving through the narrow alleyways, I followed the tail that kept disappearing around corners.

I heard the tolling of a bell.

The sky grew reddish.

Darkness crept over the earth.

Deeper and deeper into the alleyways I went.

As if plunging into the depths of gloom.

I could hear the dog's claws scraping the ground and my own ragged breathing. I lowered myself to the ground, as if I were a rat, and raced onward faster and faster.

Is that mutt Barfuru messing with me? When he turns a corner, he throws in strange feints sometimes. What's more, not once has he looked back, and he's running as fast as he can.

Oh well, I'll play along.

The wind grew thicker around me and I held my pointy hat down with one hand.

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I focused my awareness and extended my senses out sharply and narrowly in front of me.

If I can grasp Barfuru's every move, I can easily read which direction he will turn.

He turned right, then left without any tricks.

Then he feinted to the right and turned left instead.

After that, he made me think he was feinting to the right, then turned right.

This much is easy. The movements of animals are much quicker than those of humans, but they’re also much more straightforward, making them easier to read.

If I can read the course he is taking, even if I can't match him in pure speed, I can make up the difference in the corners.

Like a fool, I got all serious and chased after Barfuru.

Along the way, I got so absorbed in the chase that I almost forgot about my purpose.

As I continued this ridiculous walking of the dog……

「Ah」

……I had arrived at the destination before I knew it.

In a strange coincidence, I found myself at the corner of the warehouse district I had blown up in the past.

「Barfu」

Barfuru was in front of one of the warehouses, sniffing it carefully to make sure it was the right one.

「Barfu」

He barked again, saying "It's here, dumbass," then kicked his back legs at me and left.

You stupid dog.

I'll get you back for this one day.

Regardless of my grudge against Barfuru, Regure is more important right now.

I closed my eyes and let my senses expand in the darkness. Gas-like presences appeared in my mind.

One large presence carrying two presences.

There were smaller presences moving around that one. They were small, vague, and it was hard to tell exactly how many there were because they kept moving.

I didn’t feel any hostility.

But just in case, I held my cane-sword at the ready so that I could draw it at any time.

「………………Alright」

It was troublesome after all, so I cut apart the wall and broke into the warehouse.

I hit the ground through a shower of wood chips and dust. I rolled once and went to one knee. I sheathed the blade of my cane-sword and got ready to slash all enemies with the next iai-draw.

The enemies were……

「Souya, what are you doing?」

The enemies that had abducted Regure were children.

Six beastkin children.

「Oh, it's the king」

Among them was a young beastkin girl I had met before.

If I'm not mistaken, she's the one who often hung out with that fatso……

「Mikyuu, right? Eh, what are you doing?」

「Work~」

Work, she says……

「Apparently, if they bring me here, they'll get paid」

「Paid?」

Did Regure end up here because she went along with the children so that they could earn some pocket money?

「Oh, I almost forgot. I got pissed off when a disagreeable elf tried to shoo these cute kids away, so I sent him flying. After that, the people standing around also attacked me for some reason. They're probably not dead, right?」

「So you're the culprit, huh?」

I always knew she was strong, but I never expected her to wipe out all of the kings' guards, even if she had taken them by surprise. What's more, while she's pregnant.

「Hey hey, why is there a hole in the wall?」

「No idea. Did the kids do it?」

Then, coarse voices rang out.

Adventurers who looked like ruffians appeared. They were a pair of men, one who looked like a swordsman and the other a magician.

「G, geh! Why is the foreigner here?!」

「Hey! You kids! What the hell did you bring him here for?!」

The pair of them exclaimed when they saw my face.

Have we met before? I have no memory of these guys. Well, if I have no memory of them, then they're probably no one worth remembering. In the first place, I forget men's faces rather easily.

「We've brought her here~ Pay us the money~」

Mikyuu stepped forward and held out both her hands. The other children also put their hands out in the same manner.

「Aah, money. Did I promise that?」

「No idea. I don't remember anything about that」

The two men laughed heartily.

Exclaiming one second, then laughing the next, what a busy bunch these two are.

「Ehh, you promised~ You said that you'd give us money if we brought her here~」

『You did~』

Said the other children in unison as they crowded the two men.

「Shut the hell up! Out of the way, out of the way!」

Brandishing a sheathed longsword, the swordsman-esque man sent the children scurrying. The girls screamed and fled to a corner of the warehouse.

Changing his attitude completely, the magician-esque man bowed and scraped as he approached me.

「Hey there, Mister foreigner. For five gold coins, could you pretend to have not seen any of this?」

「What are you guys planning to do with that silver-haired pregnant woman over there?」

Killing small fry is easy, but if I don't uncover and eliminate the person or persons behind this, there will be no end to it.

Especially if they’re the vicious sort.

「Well, there's a gentleman who has a liking for silver-haired beastkin, you see? Oh, if I recall, you also have one by your side, right? Would you be so kind as to let us have the pregnant one?」

Wow, my ability to endure sure has improved.

I can't believe I'm able to endure the urge to send these scumbags flying at the speed of sound.

「Well, I guess. But first, pay the children」

「Eh?」

「Money. Pay them the money you promised」

「No no no, why should I give any money to dirty kids like them?」

「Then pay me」

Since I wasn't getting anywhere with that, I moved the conversation forward in a constructive manner.

「Eh? Oh, of course, right away!」

「It’s 6 gold coins, right?」

「Ehh, that’s a bit………」

「I'll refrain from asking how much you guys are getting paid for this」

It's definitely not chump change like 6 gold coins.

「W, well, in that case, it can't be helped」

The man reluctantly took out the gold coins. I accepted them then called the children over.

「One gold coin each, alright?」

「King-sama, gold coins are no good~」

「No good?」

Mikyuu and the rest of the children nodded.

「Anyone with gold coins will be killed by those who want to steal them~」

「………………I see」

Hearing the words "be killed" from the mouths of children was hard to bear. I had gotten used to it and had almost forgotten about it, but this is the alternate world. It's impossible to expect the same level of safety and reason as in Japan.

「Then, how about one copper coin each?」

「Really?! You’re giving us that much?!」

With a hard-to-describe look on my face, I fished out some copper coins from my purse and handed them out to the children.

「Be careful on your way back. Don't take any detours, got it?」

『Yes~!』

I waved to the children as they left.

Regure also waved to them from beside me. Somehow, she had the look of a mother.

「Alright then, Mister, hand us that woman」

「Tell me who hired you and who’s behind it all. Also, tell me the names of every adventurer that you know of who takes on or has taken on jobs like this」

「Y, you can't be serious. If we do that, our lives will be in danger」

「The moment you guys got involved in the enslaving of beastkin, it was already over for you」

Slavery is outlawed in Lemuria.

At best, offenders face the confiscation of their property and exile. If they didn't have property that could be confiscated, they paid for it with their lives.

「Enslaving? Have you misunderstood something, Mister? It's not against the law to keep as many beastkin as one likes as pets. They can be lured in with money and food. If that doesn't work, they can be trained using drugs and magic. Lemuria's prohibition on slavery is merely for show」

「Souya, you don't get it, do you?」

Regure took a step forward.

It seems that she has run out of patience. Considering her condition, I wish she would just leave it to me though.

「These brain-dead fools won't understand without pain」

「Huhhh? Hey, beastkin, don't think we can't hurt you. The kid in your belly is all―――――」

The swordsman-esque man who tried to intimidate her was launched off the ground.

Regure's uppercut had struck the man in the jaw, I think.

To be honest, I hadn't been able to see it clearly either.

The only thing I could see clearly is the man's body sticking through the high ceiling of the warehouse. It’s a scene straight out of a gag manga.

It's not funny at all when seeing it in real life though.

「Huh?」

The remaining man had no idea what had happened.

The only other person I know who can pull off a feat like this is Gladvain-sama.

Well, maybe Rana can do it too.

「Regure, you also don't get it」

She certainly showed off her impressive arm strength. But because she's too strong, there's no fear.

With a flick of my finger, I flipped a gold coin at the man.

It landed nicely on his forehead. Before it fell off, I drew my cane-sword.

A third-rate adventurer probably wouldn't even see the flash of the blade.

I slid the blade back into the cane and repeated myself.

「I'll say it again. Tell me who you work for, and tell me the names of everyone who does this kind of work」

「Gasp」

The man realized then that the gold coin on his forehead had been cut in half.

「Ohh, I managed to do it. That was just a fluke. Next time, I might end up slicing off your nose. Then your forehead, and finally your head. There are five more coins. Do you want to help me with my "practice"?」

「Eeek」

The man's fingers came away with blood on them.

………………Oops.

It seems that I've actually messed up and cut his forehead too.

I'm still not as good as Otou-san. That person can cleanly cut in two any coin thrown into the air.

Thinking that I’d do better next time, I flipped a gold coin again.

This time, it landed on the man's eye. I readied my cane-sword……

「I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!」

Rather easily, I got the man to spill everything.

「So, who's that?」

After the man told us everything he knew, Regure rewarded him with a good smack.

It was the first time I had ever seen a human being get sent hurtling in a horizontal spin. The momentum didn't die out even after he hit the ground, and he tumbled across the warehouse and disappeared off into the distance.

It looked like something out of a fighting game.

「I don't know. Advanced adventurers tend to be pretty secretive, and I think that the people of the Guild are probably the only ones who would know」

Unfortunately, what I had learned is that the person behind this pair is an advanced adventurer.

But the name doesn’t ring a bell.

Or rather, the names of the other advanced adventurers are generally not known to the public. In fact, I just might be the most well-known advanced adventurer at the moment.

「There's no other way. Let's storm his place and crush him」

「Come again?」

「Don't worry, it'll be fine」

「Eh, is this some kind of joke?」

What the heck is this pregnant woman saying?

「I'm telling you, it'll be fine. I don't know anything about advanced adventurers, but he can't amount to much if he uses third-rate guys like those two. We'll be done before dinner」

「………………You must be kidding」

「Let's go. If you're not coming, I'll do it alone」

「No, I'll go out with you, but……」

I found myself going on a hunt for an advanced adventurer with Regure.

On top of that, according to her, we would be done before dinner.

And it felt like she just might pull it off.

I love the way Souya intimidates the guy lol. Especially the part where he messed up. It’s almost like he forgot his purpose then and just wanted to get it right next time.

And yeah, did you expect that the one who beat up all the guards would be Regure lol?

But the opponent this time is a fellow advanced adventurer! What trouble is Souya going to get himself into? Or rather, what kind of trouble is Regure going to drag him into lol. Stay tuned!