“Here.”
However, the place that Sil pointed to wasn’t across the bridge, but one of the bridge’s support pillars that were right beneath it.
Directly beneath the section of the bridge that connected to the road, the muddy water began to flow into a tunnel. There was an iron fence in front of the tunnel, almost as if it were a large sewer.
Sil skillfully slipped through the iron bars and somehow moved the fence aside so that a normal sized adult could enter the tunnel.
This fence had probably been placed there in order prevent anyone from coming and going as they pleased.
However, even though two normal people could pass through the gate, the passage was too narrow for me and my armor because I got stuck and could not advance after the first step.
“Mister Arc, what are you going to do about that bulky armor?”
Sil twisted his head while asking his question in a surprised tone
Trying to accomplish something without transfer magic, I grabbed one of the bars and gave it a strong pull.
“Fuwn!”
I felt no resistance in particular as I put some power into my arms and ripped away a section of three bars.
Sil stood there, unable to believe what was happening right in front of him.
The two of us focused on Ariane as she moved inside the tunnel and proceeded to pick up a lamp that was placed along the wall.
Sil held it up carefully as if it would serve some type of purpose.
“Wait a second while I light it.”
When Sil took out a flint to light the lamp, Ariane held out her finger above the lamp and chanted a brief spell.
『ーFireー』
A small flame started to raise from her finger like a lighter, and she used it to light the oil in the lamp dish.
“Wow, so Onee-san is a magician too.”
Sil spoke in a slightly awed voice, as if he seemed amazed at the prospect.
Ariane waved it away as if it wasn’t anything special before asking Sil about the sewer while she looked around.
“How far away is the feudal lord’s castle from here?”
“Umm〜, we’ll have to walk for a bit. The smell in the depths is rather bad so you should prepare yourselves for it.”
Sil offered a warning as he took the lamp and ventured deeper into the tunnel. Honestly, I had the feeling that we exploring an underground labyrinth.
So that you didn’t have to walk through the raw sewage, a walkway had been created on both sides of the sewer which was large enough for one person to walk on at a time.
The walls of the sewer were lined with brick grooves and support beams that were installed at regular intervals; resulting in the tunnel having an atmosphere reminiscent of a coalmine.
As Sil guided us through the many twist and turns of the tunnel, the terrible smell kept assaulting my nose, even when Sil finally stopped.
There was not much difference between this place and the drainage ditch we walked through a while ago, except for a lack of roads. Sil slowly knocked on the brick wall until he heard something out of place and then proceeded to push that brick into the wall.
All of a sudden, a weird sound was heard and a section of the wall slide to the side, revealing another dark room.
Thanks to Sil’s lamp, I could see a long descending stairway that led into a damp passageway.
The passage the stairway led to was only wide enough for one person to pass at a time and the other end was connected to yet another stairway.
No one said a word while we descended the stairs of the hidden passage. The only sound in this wet passage was that of our constant footsteps; making the atmosphere all the more glum.
Before long, we reached the opposite stairs that led into a small room that had a few chairs and a table inside it.
Under the lamp’s light, I could tell that this was some kind of secret bunker.
“The stairs in the back are connected to the feudal lord’s castle……”
Sil awkwardly explained the stairs in the back before looking down.
Feeling a little doubt in Sil I climbed the back stairs to take a look at the panel.
There was a closed rectangular panel at the top of the stairs that probably acted as the entrance to the castle.
This was probably the hidden getaway passage for the lord to use in case of emergency.
As I inspected the panel, Sil came up to me and offered a deep bow.
“I’m sorry mister Arc! I didn’t mean to deceive you, I was desperate to heal Shea’s injuries! I did lead you to the lord’s castle! In fact, I have an idea for how you can──”
“Oh! Apparently there’s a storeroom on the other side of the panel.”
While Sil kept talking about something or other, I lifted the ceiling panel and unintentionally shouted when I surveyed the surroundings.
The room I was peeking into seemed to be inside the castle walls. I could see the crimson glow of the setting sun leaking inside the room and there was a layer of dust covering everything.