Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 418: Beyond the Chase
Tauro had originally assumed he was dealing with a fledgling group manufacturing and distributing dangerous drugs—something that could be crushed before it grew. The concealed staircase leading underground suggested otherwise. An organization capable of constructing such an elaborate entrance was unlikely to be small.
“…I may need to treat this much more seriously.”
After murmuring to himself, Tauro activated his improvised invisibility magic again and descended the stairs.
He had faintly tracked Grado moving underground with [Presence Detection], but even that trace soon vanished. The underground passage appeared to be protected by powerful detection-blocking magic or some similar mechanism.
By using [Anti-Inhibition], however, Tauro could still tell that Grado was continuing deeper underground, so he followed.
The stairs eventually opened into the territorial capital’s sewer system. The moment Tauro opened the door at the bottom, a terrible stench struck him.
“…The organization Grado belongs to is definitely not ordinary.”
A private stairway connecting directly to a newly built underground facility beneath the territorial capital should have been discovered immediately. That meant the passage had probably been incorporated during construction, and someone with advance knowledge of the sewer system—or authority over the project—was likely involved.
Both entrances had also been carefully concealed with perception-inhibiting magic. Everything pointed to an organization with considerable resources and influence.
Count Graunewald had never mentioned such a group, and Tauro had heard no rumors of one despite spending time throughout the territory.
What exactly is going on here?
The question only grew more troubling as he followed Grado’s trail.
After roughly fifteen minutes beneath the city, Grado began climbing another staircase. It appeared to end at a blank wall, but [Anti-Inhibition] revealed another concealed door and a stairway leading to the surface.
Grado went through first. Tauro waited briefly, then approached the hidden exit.
Pella abruptly abandoned its disguise and spread into a thin protective layer over Tauro’s body.
Three faint metallic impacts sounded almost simultaneously.
“A trap?!”
The sewer passage was almost completely dark, illuminated only by a few weak magic lights. Looking down, Tauro saw a thin thread broken beneath his foot.
“…A simple tripwire. Thank you for noticing it, Pella.”
Pella bounced happily on his shoulders several times before flowing back over his leather armor and resuming its disguise.
Three long, needle-like metal darts lay on the ground. Tauro examined them with [True Eye]. Each had been coated with a different substance: one with poison, one with a paralytic, and one that caused confusion.
“I suppose the idea was that anyone resistant to one effect might still succumb to another.”
Half impressed by the trap’s thoroughness, Tauro climbed the remaining stairs with even greater caution.
When he opened the door at the top, daylight poured in. The air was clean and free of the sewer’s stench.
“The air feels wonderful…!”
Still wary, Tauro took a deep breath and savored being aboveground again.
He had emerged among a dense cluster of warehouses of various sizes. The territorial capital had a warehouse district, so this was probably part of it.
Grado was entering a large warehouse nearby. Two guards stood at the main entrance, making it impossible to enter from the front unnoticed.
Remaining concealed, Tauro circled the building.
“…All the lower windows are sealed. The only openings seem to be near the roof.”
Several high windows had been left open, probably for ventilation and light.
“There’s nothing on the wall to use as a foothold… but that won’t stop me.”
Tauro grinned and released his invisibility spell. Even with [Multiple Chanting] and [Magic Manipulation] (Extreme), there was a limit to how many forms of magic he could maintain simultaneously.
He activated [Levitation], reducing his effective weight to almost nothing, and pressed himself against the wall. With only shallow fingerholds, he would be able to climb.
Using [Magic Manipulation] (Extreme), he strengthened a low-level earth spell and fired tiny [Stone Pebbles] into the wall, creating fingertip-sized indentations. By slipping his fingers into each hollow, he quickly climbed to the upper windows.
“…Phew. Now, what’s inside?”
Tauro peered through an opening.
The warehouse had been divided into two broad sections. One served as a workshop, while the other appeared to be living quarters. Laundry and other personal items near the rear windows made it clear that people were staying there.
The workshop was being used to manufacture drugs.
Fourteen men, stripped down to their underclothes, operated various tools to refine a white powder and pack it into bags. In films from Tauro’s previous life, workers in illegal drug laboratories were sometimes forbidden from wearing extra clothing so they couldn’t conceal and steal the product. The same precaution appeared to be in use here.
Including the guards and people in the living quarters, roughly twenty members were present.
Grado soon entered the workshop with a large man who appeared to supervise the facility.
“…A territorial inspector? I heard that one of the bandit groups we dealt with was destroyed by a territorial inspector and his party.”
“Really? No wonder he was so strong. He even defeated some of our best mercenaries. He’s clearly no ordinary child.”
After hearing the supervisor’s explanation, Grado finally seemed to understand what had happened.
“It’s unfortunate that obtaining the ‘leaves’ from Keishi Village will now be difficult. We had only just located a suitable source.”
“I apologize. The failure was mine.”
“…You weren’t followed here, were you?”
“Of course not. I used the underground route as a precaution. There’s no possibility that anyone followed me.”
“Good. I’ll report this to the boss. Stay here and keep out of sight.”
“Understood. I’m a fugitive now, so I’ll remain hidden.”
Tauro frowned.
That man is only the supervisor? He isn’t the leader?
The possibility that someone far more powerful stood behind the warehouse operation left Tauro deeply uneasy.