Ethan Conrad (5)

“A sudden request, I was surprised when I heard the news.”

“It’s a request, but it’s not really much. You can think of it as a light trip without any problems.”

On a morning when the fog hadn’t fully cleared yet, Patrick, who was yawning, smiled when he saw us arrive. I told him what we would be doing from now on.

And as he listened, his eyes grew rounder and rounder.

“Sightseeing the city, exploring good restaurants… just hearing about it, it really sounds like we’re going on a trip. Is that all?”

“Yes. I’ll do the actual work, so you just have fun with Lina.”

I grinned and patted his back. While doing so, I didn’t bother to explain the detailed circumstances. Although both Ethan and Patrick are excellent colleagues, there’s no reason to entangle them with each other unnecessarily.

“Alright. If you say so.”

Patrick seemed to have caught on somewhat and didn’t probe for more details. Like with the recent erosion incident, he seemed reluctant to get involved in what I was doing unless absolutely necessary.

“I’ve been to Id a few times. The city itself is smaller than this place, but if you include the surrounding areas that have developed along with the city, it’s much larger.”

Moreover, he had already been there in the past, so he could excellently serve as a guide. The first trial we had to go through after leaving the meeting place was to move instantly to our destination, Id, through the spatial jump point.

There was a reason Ethan used the word ‘trial’ when explaining the process to me. It was a strict inspection that reminded me of immigration checks at airports just from hearing about it.

“That’s because they could accidentally drop dangerous unknown individuals in the middle of the city. The place with the jump point is called a castle within a castle.”

Patrick pointed to a dome-shaped building visible in the distance. As he said, that place that looked like a castle within a castle was a kind of ‘station’ where the jump point was located.

Just hearing about it like this, it was truly a dream mode of transportation. It was warp itself, something that only appeared in science fiction.

“I once overheard that in the old days, people dug tunnels in the ground and transported people in huge carriages that moved incredibly fast.”

“Where did you hear such a thing?”

“I don’t remember clearly, but it was probably in some tavern. I think scholars excavated related artifacts and were greatly excited, saying that what they thought was an impossible illusion turned out to be true.”

That’s when Patrick suddenly brought up an old story. I frowned as he spoke while looking directly at me, and he shrugged.

“The spatial jump point can quickly move anywhere, but it’s just as difficult and expensive to use, so like most mado-civilization, it’s a privilege of the wealthy. I’ve only used it once until now. On the other hand, they say that even people without means could easily use that great technology of the old days, which is amazing.”

He said that the subway was more impressive than the spatial jump point.

This was because words like “seniors ride for free” and “it was the representative public transportation, the feet of the common people” had been strangely distorted as they were passed down over a long period of time.

“From that perspective, it does seem to make sense.”

It seemed that my and his impressions differed depending on where we set the standard for ‘amazing’. To me, who had ridden subways frequently, the spatial jump point that could be called literal magic seemed miraculous, but Patrick, who had lived his whole life as a poor adventurer of common birth and never enjoyed the advanced mado-civilization, valued the past civilization more highly where most people could enjoy developed technology together.

While we were at it, I explained more about subways to him. How fast they were, how they moved, and how they were operated.

And as I explained just with words, I felt like I understood why stories of the past become so altered and twisted.

“Thanks to you, I’ve become very interested.”

He, and of course Lina beside him, listened to all of it with interest. Seeing their sparkling eyes, his words about becoming interested didn’t seem to be a lie.

“Stop. You’re the ones going to Id.”

The inspection was complicated, but it proceeded smoothly according to the process. Even though it’s expensive, it’s so convenient that quite a few people use it, so the staff were well-practiced.

“Hmm.”

The staff member in charge of our inspection made us reveal all our faces and checked our identities, like checking passports.

Fortunately, as Ethan said, there was no regulation requiring us to show our ears, so I didn’t have to take off the frilly hairband pressing down my ears.

‘This is so slow. And they say bribes don’t work here.’

The jump point is jointly managed by the local ruler and the association that manages jump points across the entire continent. The prevalent culture of bribery doesn’t work here.

“Good. You don’t seem to have any problems. If you go to the place written here, you’ll find the jump point you need to take.”

Fortunately, the staff member let us pass and enter the interior. To go to the place he had written down for us, we started walking endlessly through the maze-like corridors.

There were no windows, and it was lit only by glowstone lamps, making it feel like we had entered some underground dungeon.

“Why is it so maze-like?”

“For security. If something goes wrong inside, they can seal off parts one by one to buy time. There it is.”

There was a reason for everything. Patrick, who answered my grumbling, pointed to where we needed to go.

“Confirmed. Stand on that magic circle and the device will activate. Take this and show it to the person there. Be careful not to lose it. If you lose your pass, you could be arrested there.”

The person who would activate the magic circle for us was, of course, a magician.

When the magician, whose face clearly showed he wanted to go home, exemplifying the woes of office workers, muttered in a deflated voice and tapped the magic circle with his staff, a complex pattern that I couldn’t read at all suddenly lit up.

“—?!”

“—!”

An intense energy burst out for a moment, enveloping our bodies, so strong that even the spirits were startled and made a fuss.

A strong pull that I had never experienced before, and in the moment I gritted my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut, everything was already over.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Please give me your pass… ah, never mind. I’ve seen it. Go straight to the exit. You’ll be able to leave once your identity is confirmed.”

Similarly, a magician greeted us. However, it was a completely different-looking magician.

“It’s similar yet different, right? Many old styles remain. You might feel something similar if you go near the Adventurers’ Guild.”

When we finally came out of the building that was separated from the outside. As Patrick said, we were in a completely different city.

The overall scenery was similar, but clearly different. It seemed right to say that the atmosphere was different.

“But the reason we came here isn’t to do adventurer work.”

“Right. Shall we look around first? We should at least know what’s where.”

Ethan had already told me about this place and the targets I needed to investigate. We decided to naturally blend into the city first in order to investigate them starting from today.

‘Is that wealthy district with his mansion over there?’

He probably thinks he has this city in the palm of his hand like Ethan. However, as long as he doesn’t know about me, it’s meaningless.

“–! —?!”

However, things happened earlier than I had planned.

I was planning to look around the city, do some sightseeing, and leisurely find lodging, but one of the wind spirits urgently delivered news to me.

‘He’s nearby?’

It was information that the person in the photo Ethan had shown me was near this bustling area. Come to think of it, the target wouldn’t always be cooped up at home, so it’s entirely possible.

“Where are you trying to go?”

“Let’s go over there.”

I led the group in that direction. Looking at the direction, it seemed to be a busy area with many restaurants, so we could naturally go there.

He seems to be having a meal somewhere there.

“This place looks quite expensive, are you sure it’s okay?”

“The original plan was to have a meal anyway. It would be a shame to eat what we always eat after coming all this way.”

The place we arrived at was indeed in front of an upscale restaurant.

Patrick flinched at the not insignificant price that an ordinary adventurer wouldn’t easily consider, but I, who had extracted a considerable amount of money from Ethan before departure with the intention of spending like this, pulled on Lina’s sleeve.

“The taste is good today. As expected, lamb doesn’t suit my palate.”

At the same time, I deployed wind spirits to hover around the target and have them relay his words.

As we entered the range, indeed, the voices of two men chattering among themselves began to be heard clearly, as if they were whispering right next to us.

‘Branch Leader Herman. Is that guy in front of him a subordinate?’

By coincidence or not, we were assigned seats near them. It wasn’t close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation, but that was meaningless to me.