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Chapter 268: Last Group Remaining

Everything progressed nicely afterward, and we sent more groups back to Glasses. One group was alright, the other two not so. We also captured another group on the 24th floor.

The okay group was on the verge of tears when we found them. Their fire went out and they failed to light another one, apparently. Well, they won’t be able to go home if it’s too dark so it’s understandable that they were so upset.

「It’ll take too much time to go back up, so it’s kinda bothersome, huh. 」
「This place is close to the path to the 25th floor, so it’s kinda unnecessary. 」
Dinosso and Retze talked while binding the people possessed by black spirits with the rope Glasses gave us.

Ash stood guard while everyone else tied them up — hey, Dinosso and Retze, stop tying them tortoiseshell style, will you. Yeah, I know, I’m the one who taught you guys how to use that pattern on the luggage, but please don’t use it on people, alright? No, wait a sec, am I making a big deal out of it? It’s the Edo era’s way of tying criminals after all.
Maybe I’m the only one having impure thoughts here?

After they were all tied up, we finished it up by sticking the talismans on them.

「Oy, don’t stick that talisman on such a weird place. 」
Dean commented when he saw the guy at the end of the rope I’m holding.

Everyone else stuck theirs on the chest of the captured person, but I ended up sticking mine on their foreheads. The talismans didn’t have glue, but they can stay on for two days without falling thanks to the magic circle’s power.

If the rope was pulled lightly, the folks with talismans sticking on them would walk toward wherever they were pulled to. They’re so… ’empty’ that it’s kinda creepy.

「I can sense someone nearby. 」
「Yeah. 」
Butler and Dinosso said just when we were about to continue walking.

We stopped on our tracks and strained our ears — footsteps resounded along with the rustling of bags.

「Those are the visitors Glasses are looking for. 」
Dinosso.

「Hey, Why don’t we just go all out and head to the 25th floor? No monsters around here, after all.
」
「Ah, nice, you have a lantern, huh. Is that the latest model? 」
Carefree voices resounded.

They apparently went here to mine. I didn’t sense any black spirits from them, and one was also possessed by a tiny fire spirit.

Chris explained the situation.

「Eh, so all the floors down to the 20th level are in this situation!? Great, that means it’s not impossible to grab the magic crystals on the 27th level! 」
「Hey, why don’t we take this chance so we can flaunt ourselves as the mighty adventurers who conquered the 40th level? 」

The adventurers we met were quite a handful. We already told them about the black spirits, but they don’t seem to have any awareness of how dangerous things are if they don’t see it with their own eyes. All they cared about were the monsters, and they refused to listen.

Hey, Little Fire Spirit-san possessing that person, do you want to come with me once we’re back to the surface? If you don’t want me, how about Retze? This guy is super great, you know?

So, after a bit of discussion, they were assigned to the transport team. Butler’s gentle persuasion seemed to have worked.

Ah, but Dinosso also stared at them with bloodlust and one of them even got grabbed and held up by Khan before Butler intervened and explained.

The trio beamed the light over the folks possessed by the black spirits, effectively scaring the troublesome group, then they gave the carrot after the stick by telling the group that they’re gonna get some merit or reward if they bring the possessed ones back to Glasses. They then sent them all away.

「Is that alright, they’re adventurers and yet they easily fold under authority just like that? 」

I thought they were gonna sneak back behind Khan and Dinosso, but they promptly decided to return after the shock of learning that even the deputy guild master came.

「Adventurers based in the fortress city are like that. 」
Dean nonchalantly commented, as if there’s nothing surprising about it.

「The fortress city is naturally built under the kingdom’s directive. The ranks and roles are clearly defined, and the comradeship and relationships within the guild is strong. If they did not comply, then not only will they be unable to sell their materials to the guild, in the worst case scenario, they wouldn’t be able to buy anything in the shops within the fortress city and they’ll be kicked out of the inns. 」
Butler explained in detail.

「There shouldn’t be any problem for adventurers who stay there temporarily, but it’s tough for those who make that place their base because they’re gonna be looked down upon by those who make it their base. 」

「There’s no other place like Canum where adventurers can enjoy their freedom! Ah, but there’s no opportunities to make lucrative business there. 」

Dean and Chris quipped one after the other.

「Because disciplined soldiers stay in this place, the residents also rely on them. Adventurers who don’t behave according to the rules are no different from thugs in their eyes. Conversely, if the soldiers are terrible, then the adventurers can also be relied on. 」
Ash commented.

Then does that mean the soldiers in the fortress city are well-behaved? I already traveled to a lot of places, but government officials were generally tyrants.

Hmm, maybe my impressions are influenced by what I see? Even Dean, Retze and Dinosso fit my impression of what adventurers are.

「Just behave like how folks generally do and there won’t be any problems in the fortress city. 」
Retze said while checking the map.

We decided to call it a day after exploring the 25th floor’s starting point. The 25th floor has lots of magic silver, but there’s a high chance that we can also get them on the 27th floor if our goal is to get more magic crystals.

By the way, both magic silver and magic crystals change in places that had been inhabited by monsters for a long time. It’s the same principle with spirit silver.

There’s a probability that they’ll get influenced by the vestiges left behind by the black spirits, apparently.

「Stop turning the stones over tonight, alright? 」
Khan warned me when we arrived at the base.

「Stone? 」
Retze asked.

「I was looking for pill bugs last night. 」
「You… 」
I saw Dinosso cringe and draw back a bit while staring at me with half lidded eyes when I answered him.

「Jean is so innocent! 」
「Mm. 」
Chris and Ash.

「Hey, pill bug monsters exist and they crawl into your ears when you sleep outdoors, you know? 」
Dean smirked and changed his voice, trying to scare me.

「Oh yeah, they did have rumors about that. But I haven’t heard about those recently, though. 」
「Yeah, I made a deal with the pill bugs, I told them I’ll give them mana so they should stop doing that in return. 」
I answered Retze.

「Huh? 」
Several voices exclaimed simultaneously.