Chapter 36

Mark was frowning when he heard that.

“You mean to say there was the smell of gunpowder?”

Ren nodded. It was faint but it was definitely there.

“Yes.”

Mark contemplated a bit as he replied.

“Could be. Gunpowder can only be legally brought in by the [Blacksmith Guild] as they guard its secret very closely. Any other way, it is illegalized by the kingdom as no one uses gun anymore and it is destructive to normal people. Only Adventurers who is supported by the [Blacksmith Guild] can use it and those are few in numbers. The guild staff may provide us with the information on who uses them if we tell them the situation.”

Hotaru asked, surprised.

“They do?”

Even the other looked skeptic. Mark explained why.

“You see, the [Adventurer Guild] was the first one to declare the [Cult] as a heretic group. The other Guilds supported the act and now whoever does business with the [Cult] is considered to be a criminal act. I guess it was predetermined as the founder of the [Adventurer Guild] was the Golem made by the ‘Six Braves’.”

They all perked up when they heard Mark mentioning the Heroes. They had learned the deeds of their President and was awed by it. Especially Ryuu, when he learnt that in the end she sacrificed her life to save the world. He wanted to follow in her footstep, not the dying part but at least bring peace to the world that ‘she’ had died for. Mark continued on.

“We can also ask the [Blacksmith Guild] if they have lost a shipment of [Gunpowder]. Otherwise, how could the [Cult] have got it? We did not know about it is due to the fact that the [Blacksmith Guild]’s pride is in the way. It would hurt their reputation so they wanted to keep it a secret and investigate on their own. After all, they are one of the big three [Guild] of the world. First of all, we need to ask the [Adventurer Guild] because the Adventurers under the [Blacksmith Guild] may or will be moving to catch the thief.”

As Mark went to one direction, so did they. After a while, Mark looked at them and quirked an eye.

“Why are you following me?”

They all looked at each other before Ryuu spoke.

“We ARE a part of this investigation.”

Mark just looked at them and sighed.

“Well, you brats have nothing better to do? All right. Come on then. Knowing you go head-long into trouble, I guess I can babysit a little longer.”

He brought them all along. That is how half an hour later Mark and the group was in front of the [Adventurer Guild]. It was big, that was for sure but it was not as some buildings in the [Holy City]. That building in those place was massive. The [Adventurer Guild] was a building made from stone and limestone and what looked like a miniature Cathedral. Mark entered the Guild while they followed him like little chicks.

Mark’s clothing was conspicuous and raised some head from the Adventurers stationed inside the guild. He went forward without minding the stares as he went to a free counter. Mark asked.

“I want to have an information on someone. Just some names and pictures if possible.”

The Guild staff bowed his head a little.

“We are extremely sorry but we do not give out personal information on our members even if it is for someone as prestigious as Captain Mark.”

Mark just scratched his head a little and talked in a small voice, not wanting others to hear the content of the talk.

“Well, it is about a case related to the [Cult]. I believe it takes precedence according to your rules.”

The staff member frowned as he replied.

“Please wait a moment, while I do not have authority on such matter therefore I will contact the Guild Master.”

Mark raised his eyebrow. He had known that the Guild master were having a meeting in the Adventurer city earlier. Was that the reason why so many random but powerful Adventurers were gathering in the hall? The staff left and few minutes later the staff arrived.

“The Guildmaster Terry has approved. But we will want to know about the information on who and why?”

Mark nodded, remembering about the dwarf Guildmaster. At least it was better than nothing. Also the dwarf arrived quite fast as he was in the Adventurer City earlier on. They must know something is going on.

“Well, we need to get information on the Adventurers who are supported by the [Blacksmith Guild].”

The Staff scrunched up a bit. Not finding the relation between two, he asked.

“…..And why?”

Mark seemed to be surprised inwardly. It seemed that they did not know about gunpowder. However, it was understandable if the [Blacksmith Guild] wanted to shush the matter.

“Well, there has been a case of the [Cult] that may have stolen [Gunpowder] from the [Blacksmith Guild]. We have a reason to assume that we have not heard about it is due to that guild suppressing the news. The [Gunpowder] has various different destructive uses and the festival is right around the corner, they may be planning something. After all the commotion with the dead bodies in the river. As the one in charge of security of the Capital, we are responsible for the peace of the Capital.”

The staff frowned a bit at the newest revelation. He nodded.

“All right, there are currently 4 known Adventurers supported by the [Blacksmith Guild] in the capital. There may be more as not every Adventurers come here for everything. They are…..”

Mark nodded as he noted them in a paper. Ryuu and the others were looking around the Guild as this was the first time they had entered it. After all they were not registered in the Guild. Hotaru asked.

“Hey, Can’t we join the Guild?”

Sarada asked.

“Why?”

Hotaru just grinned as he puffed the muscles on his arm and making a pose.

“To be an Adventurer is the dream of every isekai’d person!”

Sarada just groaned, wondering why she even asked. Ren thought about it for a bit before nodding.

“We can join as I believe it is beneficial to the group.”

Ryuu too nodded.

“From what I have read, there are many quests that can help us grow to be stronger. Also that we lack the experience and doing quest can help us fill the gap.”

Ren hummed a bit as he replied.

“Also, it is a good place for information as Adventurers gather together to dine. We may get information from the Temple but knowing the religions from our world, such information is sure to be biased as well. Likely, they’d try to put their version of it. In here, each of them confirm or deny what the other one is saying as they eat, making it perfect for getting good information.”

Ryuu nodded. He had not thought that deep as Ren had said but more like that along the line. Mark seemed to have finished noting something and he called out to them while taking some pieces of paper given by the Staff.

“Oi, we got the information on the Adventurers. Let’s hurry back! And thanks for the picture as well. Say that to the Guildmaster.”

The staff said nothing but bowed a little. Ryuu said to his team as they were heading to the carriage.

“After all the fiasco is over with this Kingdom, then we can register as Adventurers. Is everyone cool?”

Ren and Hotaru nodded while Sarada sighed before nodding as well. Then they followed back to Mark as they returned to the PKF headquarters. Mark called out to rest of the Forces. They all assembled in front of him at the training ground. He announced.

“Everyone listen up! We are here to gather the whereabouts of the following Adventurers.”

He showed the picture of the Adventurers.

“Go on a regular patrol and once you have found them, report to your supervisors. They will [Call] to let me know of the location. Do not do anything else, just report if you found anyone with the same face as this picture while on your patrol. Don’t go actively looking for them and STAY on the patrol route.”

They all nodded and dispersed, readying to go on a patrol. There were a few hundreds of them but it would still be a challenge to find few people in the whole of Keipnihar. Ryuu looked at Mark and asks.

“What should we do then?”

Mark quirked an eye.

“What else? Let’s wait for a while.”

Ryuu frowned a bit as Mark sighed as he took out his signature alcohol flask. Ryuu had almost forgotten about the fact that Mark was a drunkard.

“Listen kid. I know you want to go out there and search for yourself but what will happen if you in one corner of the capital and the person is in the other? This headquarters is in the near to the central and just outside the boundary of the inner. The road from here is connected to every place in Keipnihar so we can respond to the call.” 

Before chugging a few gulps of alcohol.

After 2 hours

It was a little later than afternoon as a [Call] was made. Mark looked at it and connected it. He seemed to nod as he stood up. The others looked as well in anticipation. Mark nodded at them as he said.

“Well, we got words that 1 of them has been found in the southern part. We have to hurry as this was 5 minutes ago.”

That is how they rushed to the place. They got off the carriage as the PKF forces there saluted him. There were approximately more than ten of them and were keeping an eye on a 4 storey building. A crowd of people was already forming around the place whispering. Mark quirked an eye at the spectacle as the person began narrating.

“Sir, approximately 20 minutes ago, we found an Adventurer with the same face as shown in the picture. She was alone and seemed to have gone inside this big building at the back. Some… noises were heard, possibly a fight was ensued. We could surround the building as a precaution as well as it was our duty. The people from inside have yet to come out. From the local, we know that there were some noises coming from this place late at night.”

Mark nodded as he looked at the building. It was old and was yet to be renovated when compared to its surrounding buildings. From the structure, it looked like a square shaped building with a compound in the middle. It also seemed like an apartment themed building. Mark asked.

“What about the people living inside?”

The soldier seemed to be thinking.

“It is strange, Sir. There was no sign of anyone living here.”

Mark frowned as he looked at his men. The soldier continued on.

“It seemed that everyone moved away in a whole day, some months ago according to the local.”

“And they didn’t bother to inform us? It is suspicious to have all tenants move away at the same day.”

The soldier nodded.

“We asked the same. The Local replied that there were some noises like that of building collapsing. So they assumed that maybe all the tenants left the place because of the fear of building falling down.”

“Ok, we will go in. I will take few men with me while you guard the outer perimeter. It seems more of the PKF has arrived so we will take our leave.”

He chose four of his men. Mark then looked at the kids as he said.

“I think it is better to stay out of this one.”

Ryuu was about to say something when Ren blocked him.

“Ryuu, it would be best if we leave it to the professionals, just this once. From the information, there was a fight inside and we’d be a liability because Captain Mark would have to protect us.”

Ryuu sighed before he nodded.

“All right.”

Mark gave an appreciative nod to Ren before heading inside with the four soldiers. He took out his Halberd from the [Storage Ring] while the soldier readied their respective weapon when they went inside.

The boots they wore made a crisp noise in the silent building. Inside the building, the wall paints had faded, from what was supposed to be vibrant dark green color to more faded green with stains. Walls were cracked while the floor were made with solid slab of stone that withstood the test of time. The door to the room were closed as well. The remaining old wooden furniture scattered here and there were gathering dust. After all, months had passed in this unused building. No sound of fighting was heard in the otherwise a very quiet building. Mark evoked his [Skills].

[Insight]

[Presence Detection+ Lvl. 3]

[Mana Detection Lvl. 8]

However, nothing could be felt. Mark frowned as they reached the end of the corridor and into the open compound in the center. They looked around the place but it was spotless.

‘Hmmm….. but they said that they heard the fight but everything here is spotless clean.’

Mark looked at the 4 soldier and said.

“Form a group of two pairs. Search for the signs of fight and be careful of ambushes. Shout out if you find anything.”

They nodded as the two pair were made. They went to the opposite side of each other while Mark went forward. He entered the corridor. It was the same as the previous one he entered before. But one of the damaged door was unlocked. Suspicious, he might say. He entered the room. It was devoid of any dust, which was a first indication of people living in it. Various planks of wood were covering the windows as it let some sunlight in from the cracks. There were various crates and sleeping gears for people. There was also a fireplace which was emitting small amount of smoke.

“Someone was living here. Could be the [Cult] members. Looking at the door, they probably forced it to open from the inside. Maybe they tried to run away when the Adventurer sent by the [Blacksmith Guild] arrived?”

Looking at the state of the place, it seemed to indicate that there was no fight. Considering the rank of the Adventurer who raided this place was B, they ran away. But how would they know?

“Captain Mark!”

A shout was heard as his thought was brought to an end. Mark ran outside the door. The voice came from the right wing. The other pair of soldiers also followed him. When they met up with the group, the one that shouted pointed out in the distance. Mark looked as there was a 5-foot big hole on the ground. Sound of running water could be heard. Mark frowned as a realization struck him.

“…..Sewers.”

It was a labyrinth down there. Sometimes infested with monster. The army and the Adventurers go turn wise to kill the monsters underneath. But it is hard as the sewer is complicated with twist and turns. It takes weeks to completely wipe the creatures infesting them. But it takes almost as half a year at the very least for the monsters to reappear in the sewers. It had been 2 months since the last clean-up. Mark looked down as he could see the foothold for stepping.

‘Maybe that was why the local people heard about the building cracking. Were those [Cult] trying to dig underground to the sewers or from the sewers to above? In any case, we won’t be able to find them if they have hidden very deep inside.’

But the fight was almost half an hour earlier. So he could follow them. He looked at the men and said.

“I am going in. The rest of you stay here. We do not know of the monster situation down here. If I don’t arrive within an hour, send in the men.”

Those soldiers looked at each other before saluting.

“Yes, Captain!”

Mark nodded as he jumped inside the sewers. He looked around a bit as there were two roads at each side of the sewer. There was a dim source of light powered by the [Monster Core] at every interval. The only way was forward and backward. However, sign of the fighting could be seen by the crack of something impacting the wall. It was the signs of someone using [Magical Gun]. So he moved forward. It was eerily quiet as he used light steps to move forward quickly following the battle scene. Blood stains were present but the bodies seemed to be dragged into the water.

‘Don’t tell me that the monsters have begun repopulating this early?’

Suddenly, the water erupted and a grotesque creature tried to attack him. It had a pale green skin color with small human child physique. Its hand was like that of a frog as it had turtle shell on its back. It head was like a cross between a head of a child and a duck with a small disk on its head. Not to mention it had sharp teeth that was aiming to rip off his head from his shoulder. Mark tsked as he faced forward without even batting an eye at it.

[Kappa  Lvl. 75]

This creature was commonly referred to as the ‘Goblins of the Water.’ It was the most common creature found in rivers and the like in every part of the world except for the cold regions. He didn’t even look at as he swatted it aside with his halberd. Despite its shell which could withstand the strength of Lvl. 100 Adventurers, it still got split into two pieces when the shaft of the halberd hit it and got smeared onto the wall. The rest of the monster eyeing him got scared and dived underwater. 

*Bang*

His thought was cut off when he could vaguely hear something when he was quietly moving at least 2 km in the sewers. He could then feel the presence of someone just few hundreds of meters away from him. He changed the direction of his running and followed the path of the bodies that had yet to be dragged off by the monsters. The bodies were unrecognizable due to the fact that the face was twisted beyond recognition and the body had imploded. He knew what it was.

[The Curse of the Cult]

It was a curse that activated when a member dies or is rendered unconscious. The curse is activated and destroys the body making it harder to get info out of the people. More and more bodies piled up and as he moved around a corner there was a big space. It was platform that was created if a big monster ever did rise. It was harder to fight them in confined places so the soldiers or Adventurers usually lured it to this place to battle without restrain. He saw a woman with curly blue hair, the face he recognized in the picture provided by the guild, shooting the people around her. There was one of her and almost 10 of them as well as bodies piled up around them.

Mark frowned.

“Where are they coming from? Maybe they have already built a hideout or something in the sewer?”

But it was no time to think as he quickly launched his halberd at the unknown men. It instantly skewered 3 men and got the notice of everyone. Except for the woman as she began shooting them with a gun. It was a red and black colored rifle with a small magazine that could hold maybe 8-10 rounds? Mark used a skill.

[Fire Burst]

From below his feet, a burst of flame appeared as he shot forward. The ground was made harder to resist the fight between monsters and Adventurer so it did not break. He lariat one of them on the way as he grabbed his halberd which was stuck on the ground along with three bodies. Then he made a big horizontal swing, cutting four more people as the bodies that was stuck to his halberd also got out by the force of his swing. Droplets of blood got scattered on his face but he didn’t mind them. He even ignored the [Exp] gained. The Adventurer, not glancing him one bit, shot down the remaining few. As she finished her side, she looked at Mark before nodding and speaking.

“Well, I had that handled. Still thanks for the help.”

The bodies began convulsing as they imploded. She had already stepped away from the scene but looking at her bloodied clothes it seemed this was the first time she faced such situation. Then she sized him up and became a little cautious when she recognized his clothes. Mark too looked at the woman. She was a blue haired girl in the early twenties. It seemed to be pretty evident that she was a talented one for reaching such a high level despite being so young. Also she seemed to be desensitized to death of people which was kind of understanding if she was a [B-rank Adventurer] since one did not reach such rank if not encountered a few situations with the ‘human side’.

She also wore magically woven clothes which was probably gifted by the [Blacksmith Guild]. She tensed up a little when she recognized his clothing. She just smiled, fakely, before saying.

“Well, didn’t expect to be saved by a Peace Keeping Force. Well, I did what every other Adventurer would do. Take out the trashes. Now with that out of the way, I bid you adieu!”

Mark knew what she was doing. Everybody who looked at her would know that she was trying to flee. But before she could, Mark spoke as he probed her.

“How many barrels of [Gunpowder] did they steal from the [Blacksmith Guild]?”

She flinched before she looked at him while sweating a bit. Mark looked at her in disapproval.

‘A novice? It was too easy to gouge at the information from looking at her face.’

She seemed to be thinking about something before she replied sweetly.

“Whatever do you mean?”

He signed, wanting to end this charade.

“We know that someone stole lots of [Gunpowder] and the [Blacksmith Guild] instructed you people to get it for them. Also no need to act so fake.”

Her eyes widened a bit. Then the girl sighed as she replied.

“Well, why should I tell you?”

Mark replied plainly.

“If you don’t, then I can keep you and your posse, arrested for quite some time while we publish the news of how the [Blacksmith Guild] lost dangerous barrels of explosives to nutjobs. That will ruin their reputation somewhat.”

Looking how she was a novice in the Arts of Trash-Talk, he used that to his advantage. After all, not even he would risk the ire of [Blacksmith Guild]. It was a bluff but the effect was obvious as she paled as she replied in a small voice.

“Well, I do not know. I know that there were almost a hundred small barrels. But we have got only 13 so far…”

Mark narrowed his eyes at that. Something seemed to be wrong from the way she spoke. She was a bit subdued when speaking of the barrel. Also why were there small barrels instead of big one? He had a very bad feeling as he asked.

“The [Gunpowder] wasn’t a normal one was it?”

She looked everywhere but him but still replied.

“…….. yes. It was estimated to be 10 times the destructiveness of a normal one….”

That wasn’t good at all. Mark sighed as he said.

“Then we will help you investigate the case.”

The girl panicked as she replied hurriedly.

“Huh? No!”

They wanted to keep it under wraps but too bad for them as it was already a huge issue. Mark replied stoically.

“Well, then now that we are working together, let’s get our facts together. Number 1: the [Cult] is behind the stolen [Gunpowder].”

He raised one finger implying the first case. The girl seemed to be in shock when she listened that. It seemed that they must not have known that or the [Blacksmith Guild] was keeping a tight seal on that. However, it was more on the line of the first because there is no gain for anyone if it was the second case. He raised the second finger.

“Number 2: They may be planning to use it on the Celebration day from what we have found.”

She paled further, if what he implied was true then the many hands will be raised at the [Blacksmith Guild] due to their lackluster protection of valuable assets. This celebration was one of the biggest of the century and many people will attend. Mark smiled a bit after taking a glance at her face as he asked.

“So what do you know? Hmm, not here and definitely not now in the sewers.”

Then 15 minutes later, they came out of the underground. The men had gathered around the hole as they saluted. It seemed they were ready to head inside the sewers.

“Captain Mark!”

The girl looked at him in disbelief. Now knowing the identity of the person which also implied that the nobility like the King, Prime Minister as well as the Grand Marshal Stan was in the know of the theft. This was a major issue now!

“You are THAT Captain Mark?”

He smirked at the girl, which scared her. Then he told to his men.

“Send a message for me to the Prime Minister, the monster population seemed to have increased. Go now.”

The soldier nodded before taking off. They walked along before taking her to a secluded place. Now was the time of interrogation. He made one of his soldier bring in the kids. Ryuu and the others arrived and looked at the fidgeting girl near to him. They looked at him and understanding the situation, they kept quiet and listened on. Then Mark looked at the girl before asking.

“Now, now please tell us about what you know.”

The Adventurer nodded before narrating. There was no point in hiding now anyway.

“The [Blacksmith Guild] branch of the capital city had recently created an improved [Gunpowder] called [Gunpowder Ver. 134]. It was still in experimentation phase as the explosiveness of it was 10 times the previous one. Normal gun barrels could not cope to its power and gets destroyed easily so they were trying to make a new one based on it. From what they said, that early morning when they were about to transport the product to the [Blacksmith Guild] headquarters, right in the middle some men came and stole it. There was two hooded figure and as they were in the roof, the guards were totally underprepared. They all got smoke bombed which stung their eyes while those perpetrators ran away while storing all the barrels in the [Storage ring].”

She continued on.

“It has been weeks already and we have yet to even find half of them…. This has been a lot harder than it was supposed to but now it makes sense if the [Cult] was behind it. It could explain why there are so many people involved as well as the hideouts. But then [Blacksmith Guild] will tear us a new one if we did not find all the barrels….”

Mark questioned her the first thing he wanted to know.

 “How many are you there searching for the barrels?”

She seemed to think before replying sheepishly.

“Well, only 10 from what I know, maybe more…?”

Mark’s eye twitched a bit. So did Ren’s and Ryuu’s. Only 10? To scour the capital with only 10 people. What were the [Blacksmith Guild] thinking? It was the height of stupidity but maybe they thought it was just some random riffraff that got lucky somehow and stole it. That could be one of the case. But before he could ask where they got the information to search for the culprits, a [Call] was made to him. He frowned as he connected it. After listening for a while, his mouth started to widen. He screamed.

“WHO!!! THAT PERSON CAME!!! CUT IT OFF, I HAVE GOT TO TELL SOMEONE FAST!!”

The [Call] got cut off as Mark quickly made another [Call]. The [Call] got connected as he began speaking in low voice. However, bits of the conversation could be heard.

“….yes….. that is right…… the [Star Cardinal]…. At the harbor…… all right.”

Ryuu and the others looked at each other in surprise. One of the [Cardinal] was here? Not even they had seen how they looked like while months of training in the [Holy city]. While the Adventurer’s leg was shaking, thinking of the consequences if the festival was somehow interrupted due to ‘their’ [Gunpowder]. Oh God! How will it reflect on the reputation of the [Blacksmithing Guild]? Not to mentions some foreign delegates that will surely come to view the festival!

Mark looked at them, clicking his tongue in annoyance due to his slip of tongue. But looking at the scared Adventurer, he decided it would be for the best for the Adventurer if she calmed down a little bit.

Thanks for reading!