“Alright. I’ll take a quick look around and be back soon. So don’t die, Climb.”
“Good luck. Brain-sama as well, be careful.”
“If you don’t mind… could you let me borrow that item from before?”
“Of course. I apologize for not having thought of that.”
Climb handed all three bells over to Brain who put them into his belt pouch. He then wore the determined face of a warrior.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Leaving only those words, Brain went through the keyless door and moved deeper into the brothel.
Now that he was alone, Climb looked around the quiet interior.
First, he checked to see if anyone was behind the crates and whether there were any other passages. Although it was the searching skills of a warrior at best, there did not appear to be any hidden doors. He then investigated the vast number of wooden crates.
If possible, he wanted to find information on Eight Fingers’ facilities other than this one. It would be great if there were contrabands or illegal goods. Of course, the real search would have to wait until after this place was taken over. But he had to conduct his own investigation within the scope of what he was capable.
Among the countless crates, both large and small, he approached the largest of them all. Its length, width, and all, everything was about two meters tall.
He checked the large crate for any possible traps. Needless to say, it was the same as before. He had no skills of observation and could not imitate the skills of a thief.
He pressed his ear up against it and listened.
Although it didn’t seem like something was locked inside, in a place like the underworld, anything could happen. They could even be smuggling illegal creatures.
In a way, maybe it was to be expected that he didn’t hear any noises. Climb then placed his hand on top to try and open it.
—It’s not opening.
It did not budge.
He looked around for something like a plank or a stick but a quick look revealed that there were none.
“…No choice then.”
Next, he moved over to try and open the next biggest crate measuring about a meter on all sides.
This one opened easily. Peering inside, there was a variety of garments. Starting from a shabby one-piece, there were even a number of clothes a noble’s daughter would wear.
“What is this? Is there something hidden beneath these… it doesn’t appear that way. Are these spare clothes? Some of these look like work clothes, and this is a maid outfit? What in the world?”
Climb could not understand what all these clothes meant and twisted his face. He held one in his hand but it was normal clothing. If these were related to a crime, then they would be stolen goods. However, it was not enough as evidence for bringing down this brothel.
Leaving the stuff that he didn’t understand alone, Climb headed for a crate that was a similar size to the one before. That was when he heard a loud rattle fill the room.
That was impossible. He had checked the entire room and confirmed that no one was here. At that moment, a thought flashed across his mind. Someone could have used ‘Invisibility’ to hide themselves here from the beginning.
Climb was startled by the thought and hastily turned in the direction of the noise, the 2 meter crate that did not open. One of the sides of that crate had been up against the wall, and the opposite side was now open.
There was no luggage inside the exposed interior. Instead, there were two men. The inside was a passage and there was a hole where the wall should have been. The inside of the crate had been connected to a secret tunnel.
While Climb blinked, the men stepped out of the crate one at a time.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
The appearance of one of the men closely resembled the description that he had heard from Sebas. His name was Succulent, the one who was considered to be their biggest obstacle in this attack and at the same time, the one they wanted to capture the most.
He was a member of ‘Six Arms’ who was said to be equal to adamantium ranked adventurers. The enemy that Climb could not hope to defeat drew his blade and spoke while narrowing his eyes.
“I knew that there were intruders from ‘Alarm’ so I went out of my way to take the secret passage but… …Maybe you should have prepared more paths, after all?”
The man behind him responded in a shrill voice.
“Even if you say that now, I can’t do anything about it.”
Meanwhile, the man saw Climb and spoke while tilting his head.
“Huh? I saw that kid from somewhere.”
“A boy that you’re familiar with? Even I will get angry if you say something like that in this situation.”
“What’s with you, Succulent? There’s no way that that’s what I’m talking about. No doubt, he’s a subordinate of that female I hate the most in the world.”
“You’re saying that he’s a subordinate of that princess?”
Succulent looked over Climb from top to bottom like he was licking him all over.
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