Evil Avalon
"You were curious about Lord Sanada too, weren’t you? Given our bond, it’s rather cold of you to go alone."
When I questioned the black-fox-masked man standing behind me about why he followed me, he removed his mask, revealing a grinning baby face—Mamiya Subaru. He explained that he followed me because he noticed me making a move, believing that Sanada was involved in the "escape game."
He calls it cold, but we only met for the first time today. Besides, I’m a commoner, and he’s a noble—the head of a viscount family, no less. I wouldn’t exactly call us close. Seeing my disgruntled reaction, Mamiya wagged his index finger side to side and clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"I may not look like it, but I’ve got a little bit of confidence in my skills, you know? After all, I graduated from an adventurer junior high school!"
With a narcissistic hair flip, he puffed out his chest, proudly proclaiming his credentials. Although family circumstances prevented him from attending adventurer high school, he claimed he had some decent skills.
However, the Mamiya family resides far from any dungeon cities, and since his junior high school graduation, it seems he hasn’t ventured into any dungeons at all. In other words, he hasn’t improved since his junior high days.
With that level of ability, going up against seasoned combatants from the Holy Empire would be far too much. If it were his younger sister, who’s enrolling as the top student next year, she’d be another story. But as for him, frankly, he’d just be a liability.
So, how should I get rid of him? Convincing him would be exhausting, and while I’d love to tie him up and toss him into the venue, he’s still the head of a viscount family, so rough methods are out of the question. I don’t have the luxury of dealing with him, but I’ll have to figure out some way to persuade him—hey, wait a minute.
"My intuition says it’s this way. Time is short, so hurry up!"
While I was carefully choosing my words to persuade him, Mamiya took off on his own, saying, "Don’t dawdle." I was tempted to resort to rough methods after all. Alternatively, I could leave him behind and go ahead on my own, but I couldn’t very well let the brother of a dungeon explorer heroine die. Looks like I’ll have to guard him… Sigh.
"…Mamiya-san. At least wear this robe. It will make you harder to spot, allowing us to move more safely."
"Oh? Could this be a magic item? Got it! Let us proceed!"
When I handed him a robe that reduces one’s presence, Mamiya’s eyes sparkled as if he were heading off on an adventure and quickly threw it on. I thought he’d be a bit more clever, but in the end, he’s just another sheltered noble brat. I felt a bit drained, but this was already a dangerous place. I’ll need to refocus and keep moving forward.
Activating the detection skill Magic Sense once again, I cautiously walked down the hotel corridor, checking the flow of magical energy in the area at regular intervals.
Normally, there’s a staircase that leads directly from the venue to the rooftop, but that route has multiple sources of magical activity moving about. If those are members of the Kinran-kai, it might not be an issue, but if they’re combatants from the Holy Empire, it would mean immediate conflict. I have no choice but to take a detour.
Walking right beside me, Mamiya strides as if deep in thought, his hand on his chin, not even bothering to crouch.
"I see now. You didn’t come because you were curious about Lord Sanada’s movements. You’re here to check for dangerous magic circles, aren’t you?"
"…Yes. If those guys are truly planning to blow up this building, I’ll be able to confirm it here. I also want to investigate whether the communication jamming is caused by a magic circle."
Mamiya has tried to move ahead on his own several times already. I keep stopping him by striking up conversations or gently holding him back, which has slowed our progress and skyrocketed my stress levels. But since Mamiya is of little use, I have to be extra vigilant and stay focused… Focus, damn it, focus!
Leaning against the wall, I used a small hand mirror to peek around the next corner. Mamiya, impressed, spoke up.
"Come to think of it, you seem quite accustomed to infiltration. Are you perhaps experienced in this field?"
"…No, I’m just being cautious because it’s a dangerous place."
In Dungeon Explorer (DunEx), it’s not unusual to infiltrate enemy hideouts solo for assassinations or treasure hunting. I’ve done it as often as 100 times a year. But in reality, where my life is genuinely at stake, my heart is pounding like crazy. Will I ever get used to this? I hope not.
Consulting the building’s schematics on my device, I verified our current location. I slowly opened the emergency door at the end of the corridor, revealing an emergency ladder leading to the upper floors. Climbing up this ladder would bring us to the 54th floor, and above that, the rooftop.
After confirming the ladder’s stability, I began climbing slowly. Mamiya followed, sniffing the air and muttering.
"Ugh… There’s a nasty smell. We should brace ourselves."
"…"
Now that he mentioned it, there was this heavy, metallic smell like rust—blood. In other words, there had been a fight. Raising my alertness level considerably while sensing the flow of magical energy, I saw Mamiya suddenly open a nearby door and enter. I barely held back a shout of "Be more cautious!" as I rushed to follow him.
Beyond the door, the air was dark, and the stench of blood hung even thicker.
Shining a light around the area, I saw splatters of dark red blood on the walls, floor, and ceiling. This wasn’t just a fight—it was a massacre.
"This is brutal. Rather than simply being cut down, it seems they were toyed with," Mamiya observed.
What had once been human lay scattered in various states of dismemberment. For me, the grotesque destruction of their bodies was difficult to look at, and I hesitated to stare directly. Meanwhile, Mamiya crouched and examined the remains closely, commenting calmly, "Maybe they were tortured first."
As Mamiya pointed out, it wasn’t necessary to inflict this level of damage just to defeat someone. Humans are incapacitated by a strike to a vital point or by severing a limb. Even to kill, this was clearly excessive violence.
Another issue was the clothing. It was clearly the uniform of the building’s service staff. Upon closer inspection, hidden weapons could be glimpsed beneath their suits, suggesting these people were likely "Kunoichi Red" operatives sent by Mikami.
Assuming no survivors remained, I scanned the area just in case. Surprisingly, I spotted one individual whose injuries were less severe. They appeared to be a high school student, perhaps from an adventurer school.
Grasping their wrist to check for a pulse… it was faint, but it was there. However, their right arm was severed at the elbow, their left leg was nearly torn off at the root, and deep wounds on their abdomen and thighs were bleeding profusely. At best, they had only a few minutes left.
(Should I give it a try?)
In my original world, this kind of fatal injury would have been impossible to save. However, in this world, it might not be out of reach.
I carefully positioned the girl’s severed arm and nearly detached leg back in place and pulled three healing potions from the magic bag-like pocket. Pouring the contents onto the severed areas and deep wounds, a burst of bloody mist erupted, and her body convulsed violently.
"…Ah… gah!"
"Wow, what an incredible effect! That must be some seriously high-purity potion," Mamiya remarked in awe.
The girl spat out the blood clogging her throat and resumed a ragged, choking breath. Her severed arm and leg seemed to reconnect properly and even moved, while the ghastly pallor of her face rapidly gave way to a healthier, ruddy hue. These recovery potions, stockpiled from Obaba’s shop, surprised not just me but Mamiya as well with their astounding potency.
Sweating profusely, the girl regained consciousness and leapt up, frantically looking around. But the moment she grasped the horrific scene surrounding her, she froze, her eyes filling with despair.
"…You’re Lord Mamiya… and Lord Narumi, correct? You saved me from the jaws of death. Thank you so much…"
Despite her wobbling steps, the girl managed to approach us and bowed deeply. Even though Mamiya and I wore masks, she immediately recognized our identities. Apparently, information about us—even with masks—had circulated within the Kunoichi Red network.
As I pondered this, I asked her to explain what had happened. She told us that while tracking Sanada, a woman wielding an unidentifiable weapon appeared and initiated combat. Her companions had been killed in terror. A magic item, perhaps?
The Kunoichi Red operatives were supposed to be skilled fighters. For them to be attacked so one-sidedly and so viciously suggests that the assailant was likely a combatant from the Holy Empire.
"We were helpless… I lost my superior and comrades… I…"
"But you survived and managed to relay this information to us. That’s a significant accomplishment," Mamiya reassured her.
Failing her mission to follow Sanada and witnessing her companions killed so brutally would weigh heavily on anyone. However, her testimony confirmed that the Holy Empire and Sanada were ahead of us. My guess about a magic circle on the rooftop had also been correct.
"Their memorial can come later. From here on, leave it to us. Return and report back to your comrades. Understood?"
"Yes… Lord Mamiya, please take this. For some reason, it’s currently unusable, but this is the communication device we’ve been using."
She handed us a small, pen-like communication device used by the Kunoichi Red. Although it was currently jammed, it might help us coordinate with Kirara later, so I decided to accept it. However, Mamiya’s "leave it to us" comment felt like it translated to "leave it to me"—I would likely be doing all the work.
The girl bowed deeply once more, her expression troubled, and left. Mamiya, now wearing a solemn expression, began to ponder aloud.
"Do you think the woman who attacked them was from the Empire? And that she was working with Lord Sanada?"
"That seems highly likely," I replied.
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