NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 3 Part 4
Reito, suspicious of the unusual situation in the sewers, left the area to communicate with Airis.
『Airis, did you hear what I just said?』
『About the sewers? I heard it*(crunching sound)*.』
『I can hear the sound of rice crackers being chewed…』
『It’s the undead that have appeared in the sewers. The mastermind behind them is the Battle Association.』
『Battle Association?』
Reito sounded surprised, not expecting the name of the organization that ran the arena to be mentioned here.
But he was soon convinced when he heard what Airis said next.
『Reito, you also fought with Dead Soul Puppet* in the arena, didn’t you? The Battle Association employed necromancers. But the dead monsters are very smelly. If they are kept in the arena, they will cause all kinds of problems, so they are being released into the underground sewer.』 (TLN: This was previously translated as ‘Corpse Puppet’, but I changed it to ‘Dead Soul Puppet’, which is closer to the original meaning.)
『I see…but anyway, being released…isn’t that bad?』
『The Battle Association always breeds a large number of monsters. Among them are Dead Soul Puppets, but unlike other monsters, Dead Soul Puppets are absolutely loyal to the orders of the necromancer, and since they are dead, they will continue to move even if they are not fed. And here’s the thing: there was a Blood Bear Dead Soul Puppet that Mr. Reito had defeated in the two-person match, wasn’t there?』
『Ah… now that I think about it, there was something like that.』
『The necromancer who created the Dead Soul Puppet was recently fired. So this man got angry, released all the Dead Soul Puppets he was managing into the sewer, and ran away.』
『Release?』
『Yes. He cut all ties with the Dead Soul Puppets he was controlling. As a result, the Dead Soul Puppets that had been obeying orders turned into ferocious undead and started attacking monsters living underground. Well, unlike the case of the Rotten Dragon, the monsters they killed won’t become undead…』
『So those guys are on the rampage.』
A necromancer was fired after defeating the red-furred bear, Blood Bear, in a fight. Reito wondered if this was the reason for the undead appearing in the sewers, and became concerned that he might be partly responsible for the situation.
Then, as if reading Reito’s thoughts, Airis let out an angry voice.
『Even if Reito had not defeated Blood Bear, this incident would have happened sooner or later. You can’t blame yourself for everything.』
『R-Really?』
Hearing Airis’ words, Reito was relieved, but it was also somewhat unsettling to leave things as they were.
Reito spoke to the receptionist after he finished communicating with her.
“That sewer investigation…do you want me to go?”
“Oh, are you okay with that!? As a guild, we’re grateful, but…”
Reito’s comment made the receptionist look surprised.
If a mysterious undead were to appear in the sewers, someone who could use recovery magic was essential to investigate. Therefore, although Reito’s request was something that her receptionist had never hoped for, she also thought that he was a bit dangerous on his own.
“But how many days would it take to investigate all of the sewers if it was just Mr. Reito… We also need to find an adventurer who is an assassin and good at investigating missions.”
One of the adventurers replied to the receptionist’s words.
“But, do we have any assassins in our guild?”
“Ah, uh…I’m an assassin too, but I’ve only recently become an adventurer, so I don’t have many skills…”
One young adventurer raised his hand, but another shook his head.
“…It will be hard to leave it to a rookie, won’t it?”
As the adventurer said, a rookie would be difficult on this mission.
People with the profession of assassin were valuable among adventurers. Unfortunately, there were no high-level assassins in the Black Tiger Guild.
Reito did know an assassin named “Shinobi Kagemaru,” but he was from Hailstorm Guild. Reito wondered if it would be a problem to borrow the help of adventurers from other guilds without permission.
Maria, who doted on Reito, would be happy to send Shinobi, but then Bal might scold Reito for borrowing Maria’s power without permission. There was often a problem of enmity between the guilds.
In the meantime, Reito decided to ask the receptionist.
“Is it possible to ask people from other guilds to cooperate?”
“I don’t think there will be any problems, right? If you know any adventurers, why don’t you ask them?”
Surprisingly, asking adventurers from other guilds for help didn’t seem to be a problem.
If one thought about it, Reito often worked with Gonzo and Dain as adventurers, who belonged to different guilds. Perhaps working with adventurers from other guilds was not seen as a big problem.
However, Shinobi was Maria’s confidant and was in a very busy position. Reito decided not to ask for his help.
“But it’s lonely for me to go alone… What about Kotomin?”
“I’d love to go with you, but I don’t like dirty places… especially sewers.”
It seemed that Kotomin, a member of the mermaid tribe, was physiologically unable to tolerate places with dirty water.
It would have been comforting to have Kotomin with him, but if she didn’t want to go, he couldn’t force her.
At that moment, a voice echoed from the ceiling.
“If that’s the case, I, an assassin by profession, will cooperate with you, that I will!”
“That voice…uwah!?”
When Reito and his friends looked up, they saw Hanzo, the player who had fought Reito (Luna) in the tournament. She was dressed in a black costume reminiscent of a ninja, just like Maria’s close aide, Shinobi Kagemaru.
“W-Who are you!!”
“Suspicious person!! A suspicious person has appeared!!”
“Take her down with a spear!! She’s a bad person.”
“Get the guards!”
“Burn her at the stake!!”
The adventurers of the Black Tiger were all in a panic.
“Hey, I want you to stop, please! I’m not a bad guy!! Please help me, Reito-dono!!”
“No, you’re not very convincing when you’re stuck on the ceiling looking like that, so… get your ass down here.”
“Understood!!”
Hanzo jumped from the ceiling and landed gracefully.
The adventurers who watched the exchange expressed their relief when they realized that the mysterious figure was an acquaintance of Reito’s.
Reito was curious as to why Hanzo had appeared there. When he had met Hanzo before, he had been in his “Luna” disguise, and Hanzo seemed to know who he was.
Reito approached Hanzo and spoke to her in a whisper.
“Why are you here? I mean, did you even know about me at all?”
“I am actually an adventurer belonging to Hailstorm, that I am. I usually do infiltration missions like Shinobi-dono, but this time, the Dalton Trading Company officially commissioned me to protect Reito-dono. In fact, I have been following you for a while now, that I have.”
“Really?…”
Even Reito, who has the ability of multiple sensing abilities, did not realize that Hanzo was following him.
“You know who I am, right?”
“I have heard the general story from Maria-dono, that I have. The people of Wakoku are very tight-lipped, so I want you to rest assured.”
“I see. By the way, your job is an assassin? I thought you were a swordsman.”
“I am often told that I am. I was only taught swordsmanship only because my family were swordsmen, that I know.”
In the match in the arena, Hanzo displayed skill comparable to that of a swordsman. He was surprised that she was not a swordsman by profession, but he was reassured that she would be able to accompany him with her solid skills.
He also wanted to get help from his other friends. Thinking so, Reito told Kotomin to go home first.
“Kotomin, please go home first. If Dain and Gonzo come to my house, would you please tell him to return to this Black Tiger Guild?”
“Roger that.”
“Then, let’s go to the Fang Dragon Guild. I hope they’re both there…”
When Reito muttered that, Hanzo suddenly raised her hand.
“I’ll run there. Reito-dono, would you like to wait here?”
“Huh? Really? In that case, I’ll leave it to you…”
“Then excuse me!!”
Hanzo ran out of the building with the speed of a gale. Hanzo was an assassin who specialized in speed, and her speed was incredible. While Reito was impressed by her speed, he used “Space Magic” to take out a new piece of equipment from another dimension.
What he pulled out was the sacred treasure “Chain.” Thinking that he might have a chance to use this weapon, which was effective against the undead, Reito wrapped the silver chain around his arm.