Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
LEVEL 2: Everything is Precious, Nothing is Replaceable
Chapter 4: Pitch-Black Style
It had “mine” in the name, after all Naturally, there would be a tunnel-like shaft that led into theto be pitch black Or so Haruhiro had assu
Flowers bloo the tunnel road; not nor to Mary, they were called “glow blossoms” and were exactly what the name implied Upon closer inspection, they were really h, it was because of thehtly lit, but navigable
“Do you guys think we can…” Ranta plucked up a few, expression thoughtful as he promptly put them inside his mouth—then spat them out violently “BLEH! Tastes like crap! Bitter and shi+t”
“Quit hed
“What?” Ranta replied, wiping off his mouth “I just wanted to try them”
“Why would doing that even occur to you?”
“No idea The , so I decided to make up for it You’re welcome”
“You didn’t ,” said Haruhiro exasperatedly “There was nothing wrong with the mood, and if there was, it was probably your fault!”
“WHAT Don’t say stupid shi+t like that How is it !”
“Haru, you’re better off not botherin’,” Yuh that thick skull of his so don’t waste your breath”
Haruhiro nodded “Yeah You’re right”
“Hey!” Ranta shouted “Don’t just—! OY!”
“It’s best to be quiet,” Mary said softly, glaring at Ranta “We’re in enemy territory now”
Ranta scrunched his brows together and twisted his lips into a griering “Really quiet Shut the hell up I don’t want to hear a single word, got it?”
“Little punk,” shi+horu murmured under her breath
“What did you say?!” Ranta de
“Quit it, Ranta,” Haruhiro said, tone unintentionally gruff “We’re not here to screw around If soet killed”
Ranta turned away, perhaps out of embarrassment, and replied, “No need to tell me, I already know”
“Do you?” Haruhiro challenged “Do you really?”
Haruhiro was furious Is it okay? he couldn’t help thinking Is it really okay to keep Ranta in the party?
For the sake of the team, shouldn’t they kick Ranta out sooner rather than later? It wasn’t that he couldn’t fight or didn’t contribute, but he seeo out of his way to piss everyone off every chance he got He caused friction and stressed the tea theood?
Now ood time to think about it However, if he started down that line of thought, then a decision would have to be made
As they made their way down the tunnel, they ran into three lesser kobolds barring the way The kobolds seezo and Ranta each dispatched one, the third fled
Kobolds usually walked upright on two legs, but when they ran, they loped, using their weaponless are, their weird way of running actuallykobold was difficult and put everyone on edge They would be in big trouble if other kobolds attacked
Fortunately, they were able to run it down and finish it off without anyspeed for next tireat if they could becooblins They just needed more experience
“The Siren Mines extend more than ten strata deep” Mary’s voice echoed from the walls and seemed to reverberate in his chest “Here on the first stratu since been depleted, and all that’s left are glow blosso shafts used to lead to lower strata, but they’re no longer accessible due to cave-ins The only way to get to the second stratu the sink wells”
“Sink wells?” shi+horu asked
Mary nodded “That’s e Crimson Moon members call them They’re just vertical shafts between strata Froondola lifts, but for the most part we use the sink wells to move between strata”
Mogzo exhaled through his nose and said, “Is it because security is tight around the lifts?”
“Yes Kobolds are divided into three types: lesser kobolds, nore elders Only elders are allowed to use the lifts freely Normal kobolds can only use the lifts when ordered to or permitted by an elder”
“Yuuys think they’re all that,” Yume remarked
Yuuessed that she felt a tiny bit sorry for normal kobolds
Mary’s expression softened slightly as she explained “Elders are the elite class while kobolds are the worker class Lesser kobolds are not even considered full members of their society The lower ranks of worker koboldson the second strata That’s where things start to get tough”
“So it’s from here on out, huh…” Haruhiro licked his suddenly dry lips
They stopped when they reached a large, roughly circular opening So this was a sink well It was a vertical hole about ten feet in diaes Haruhiro gulped, wanting to descend and also not
But while Haruhiro wavered, Ranta was already going down a ladder
“Ranta, hold up…” Haruhiro called
“What?” Ranta glared at him “Why hesitate? We’ve co now It’s not even a question, so hurry up! If you don’t stop being a baby, I’ll leave you behind”
“Or maybe we’ll just leave you behind down there,” Haruhiro retorted
“I’ll frickin’ kill you if you do I’”
And that was that Haruhiro and the others grabbed rope ladders and began going down The general appearance of the second stratum was much less plain than the first One could still see that it used to be a uessed they were probably kobold worker dwellings
His guess was quickly confirmed when they snuck a peek into one of the hollows and,inside
“Aren’t we pretty screwed if ake them?” he whispered “Looks like there’s a lot in just this one hollow…”
Before anyone could reply, the sound of snarling dogs echoed in the distance Were the kobolds fighting a soon died down, but it wasn’t long beforestarted from a different direction
“Yu particularly concerned
“S-shouldn’t we go back now?” shi+horu clung tightly onto to Yu
“It’s all right,” Mary said cal out of the ordinary, they won’t wake up Even if we ive chase”
Mogzo sighed in relief
“Though that only applies to the second stratuht s with the third stratum And then there’s Deathpatch”
It wasn’t just Haruhiro Even Ranta’s expression hardened the moment they heard that naer and more brutal than any elder, andered the e The name came from both his fur and the Cri Mary’s former companions And to Mary, the nae
Whoever killed such a creature would become the talk of the town Since no such talk had been heard, he must still be alive
“It’s said that he’s been spotted as far up as the first stratuht her serenity rather odd, as if she was forcing herself to remain impassive “But the reports are dubious, so I don’t think we should be overly concerned at the et to keep the presence of Deathpatch in ht of him…”
“Youbroadly,motion with his hand
“Knock it off!” Yume punched Ranta in the shoulder
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“Why can’t you act a bit more sensible?” she demanded
“What? How am I not? You won’t find anyone with more sensational sense than me!”
“Try sayin’ that after you stop your stand-up comedy routines,” Yume snapped
“Yuht as well say you can’t stand hiht-man Haruhiro cut in, but rather wished he had let the
He cleared his throat and looked over at Mary She looked like her usual self, but Haruhiro wondered if she was really okay He had a feeling she was the type who kept her emotions bottled up
“At any rate,” Haruhiro continued, “Ranta, unless you have so constructive to say, just keep quiet”
“Then how about Ihis chin to indicate the kobold workers asleep in the hollows “They won’t wake unless we ht? So let’s just kill them in their sleep It’ll be easy—stab, stab, stab, then we take the loot and leave”
Haruhiro was at a momentary loss for words Finally, he responded, “You have no sense of morality whatsoever”
“Morality ain’t got nothing to do with it I’ht—a servant of Skulheill We believe that all things are equal before Death The Vices we collect are the opposite, the constrastitation of coood The constrastitation This is ih all are equally embraced by Death, to be bound by its absurdity just ht? For if there’s anything we can let in, it’s our desires, base instincts, pries, and stuff like that It’s there that impartial Death awaits Understand?”
“No,” Haruhiro said “And I don’t even want to try”
“Haruhiro… You need to train yourself more Your brain, I mean There’s no way you can be our leader with your current level of comprehension skills Just a piece of advice from the bottom of my heart, because I’m a nice person”
Wow What? What am I even supposed to do with this? I really really REALLY want to punch the living daylights out of him
Had Ranta sis? No, that couldn’t have explained everything Ranta was supposed to have joined the Warrior’s guild, but he changed his hts instead He did it after having volunteered for the Warrior position, fully aware that a party couldn’t be without one and without consulting anyone else beforehand All because he thought Dread Knights were “cool”