Seeker 320

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Chapter 320. Infiltration Into Echigoya (2)

Dressed as a residents of this town, both I and Kazane stepped into the living quarters of Echigoya's shop.

From the front, Echigoya's store looked decent enough, but it had considerable depth, and the residential area was quite luxurious.

It was appropriate to call it a mansion.

Passing by several household members, we proceeded down the hallway as if nothing was amiss, eventually encountering a scene where two maids were gossiping in the corridor.

Kazane and I hid around the nearby corner, deciding to eavesdrop on the maids' conversation.

The maids' conversation went like this:

"Hey, did you see that wealthy man in the flashy golden kimono talking with the master earlier? Do you know who he is?"

"Oh, you don't know, Kayo? That's the magistrate."

"The magistrate!? Why would the magistrate come here?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. He's meeting with the master secretly, so it wouldn't be good if word got out."

"I see... Could it be that the master is up to something bad again?"

"It's better not to know about that. Our job isn't just about the legitimate business; it's also about receiving ample payment."

"That's true, mind your own business. Oh, that door near the back entrance with the sign 'Unauthorized entry prohibited without the master's permission' must be related to something like that."

"Kayo, that's also off-limits. You haven't forgotten that new recruit 'disappeared' after getting involved in that, have you?"

"Oops... Words can be trouble. I need to be careful."

"That's right. Well, let's get back to work soon. If someone catches us gossiping here, we'll be in big trouble."

"Yeah, you're right. Oh, how busy, how busy."

The two maids, pretending to be busy, passed by the corner where Kazane and I were hiding and left.

Kazane and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"We've already got some information. The magistrate is meeting secretly, and there's a door off-limits even to the household members. What do you think, Daichi-kun? Should we go back from here?"

"No, let's explore a bit more. Our [Stealth] skill is working well. We should be able to go further."

"Okay, understood."

Afterward, we continued down the hallway, choosing our path somewhat randomly.

This time, we heard a familiar voice coming from around the corner ahead as we proceeded down the hallway.

"Uh oh, Daichi-kun, it's them."

Kazane whispered in my ear.

That's right.

This voice belonged to the men we encountered earlier who were kidnapping people.

"Even with our [Stealth] skill, it's not entirely reassuring. Should we hide or turn back?"

"Daichi-kun, there doesn't seem to be anyone in this room nearby."

"Alright, nice observation, Kazane."

"Hehe, praise me more."

Kazane and I opened the door to a nearby small room and retreated inside.

After closing the door, the voices of the men approached.

We listened to their conversation from behind the door:

"Ah, damn it. Those brats, just thinking about them makes me furious. After all the troublesome preparations, we finally caught our prey, and yet it's all ruined because of them!"

"Calm down. I'm pissed off too, but if we don't stay calm, we'll only trip ourselves up more."

"But you know, if the boss says 'if this embarrassing job continues, your current pay might be a bit too much,' I'll lose it. Damn it. I want to catch all those women and have my way with them."

"Haha, that sounds good. Lock them up in the dungeon and do whatever we want until they die, huh?"

"Yeah. They're samurai's women. Unlike the girls around here, they're worth breaking."

"Well, we might have a chance. Seems like the boss is making moves too."

"Hehe, then I'm looking forward to it. Even if they beg for mercy, I won't forgive them. It'd be amusing to do it in front of the guy who was with them."

"You're really... a guy who can only survive in this kind of world."

"Hah, says the hypocrite. You're the scheming one."

"Don't push it."

Their voices passed by the door and faded into laughter as they moved away.

I had been ready to silence them if they entered the room, but it seemed unnecessary now.

Once their voices were sufficiently distant, we opened the door and surveyed the surroundings visually.

They seemed to have gone far away.

"That was close. If they had entered the room, I would have cut off their heads."

"Oh, you're worried about that...?"

"Well, they keep saying things that make me want to kill them. Can't help it."

The true intentions behind the darkness of the Dark Nes Nes Ring were not visible.

Whether it's a joke or serious. Well, let's not ask.

"But they mentioned a dungeon, right? I wonder if there's a dungeon somewhere in this mansion."

"It's possible. They would need a place to hide the people they've abducted."

"If there is one, we need to find out where it is."

"Right. But for now, let's explore the whole mansion. We might get an idea of where the suspicious places are."

With that decision made, we skipped that door as well.

After circling the hallway that surrounded the outer perimeter of the mansion, we began searching near the center of the mansion.

It was around the time when we had been searching for a while.

A voice could be heard from somewhere.

"Magistrate, welcome again. Thank you for coming today."

"Hmm, it's no trouble. Echigoya, you've been quite helpful to me."

The silhouettes of two figures could be seen beyond the nearby sliding doors.

Kazane and I exchanged nods, then hurried closer to eavesdrop.