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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 149

Labyrinth Funeral

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

「Good morning, Sei-san.」

「Good morning, Michelle.」

Waking up early, I trace the lines of Michelle’s body with my fingers as I go back to sleep pleasantly, and before I know it, she seems to have woken up. I have the urge to release one shot in the morning, but let’s endure it until night. That’s because I sense that Cordis has woken up in the next room.

After the three of us finish breakfast, Cody and I do some sword practice. Michelle devotes herself to practicing creating hot air and learning extraction.

「Huff, huff, huff.」

「Phew, you’ve improved a lot in such a short time, Cody.」

Without the intention of flattering him, Cody has talent in swordsmanship. Even when we’re sparring, he sometimes delivers a chill-inducing blow. I’m looking forward to his future.

「Say, big brother…」

「Cody, if it’s about the labyrinth…」

「No, that’s not it. Umm, big brother, please stay with us forever. I think that’s what big sis wants, too.」

「That won’t do. I’ll go on a journey, and it’s impossible for Michelle to work as an adventurer. What about you, Cody? Do you want to leave Michelle and go on a journey?」

「No, I don’t want to be separated from big sis. You too, big brother, please stop traveling and live together with us.」

That’s unacceptable. The reason I reincarnated was because I wanted to travel freely around a different world I didn’t know yet, after all. That’s why I chose to be a porter, which has the storage skill  that is convenient for traveling. I’ll probably settle down someday, but it’s too early for me.

I argue with Cody back and forth for a while, but it doesn’t look like we’ll ever be able to understand each other.

「You big dummy. I don’t care anymore!」

「Cody.」

Cody runs off somewhere. It can’t be helped, I guess I’ll speed up my plans a little and take him into the labyrinth with us soon. Surely it will improve his mood right away.

When the sun is high in the sky, I take Michelle and head to the labyrinth. Oops, come to think of it, we need to stop by the Adventurer’s Association, don’t we?

After selling the materials we got from yesterday’s labyrinth exploration, I call out to the plump receptionist. The busy morning hours have passed, so we don’t have to wait.

「Hey.」

「Oh, hello there. I’ve gathered some information. Please come with me to the private room.」

Perhaps because he’s expecting a reward, the receptionist is in a good mood. I wonder if he’s obtained some special information.

「First of all, let’s start with some basic information. Their headquarters is here…」

He spreads out the map and gives me information about the Bartalis family. Apparently, it’s a three-story building, with a tavern on the first floor. In addition to that, there seem to be other places such as their branch offices and waiting areas, which are scattered all over the slums.

「So how many members do they have?」

「About that, we don’t really know.」

「You don’t really know?」

「Yes, some say about 30, some say about 300. In short, it depends on how far down the line you want to include into the number of people in the organization. There are dozens of executives and leaders, but if you include the errand boys, there will be hundreds of them.」

I see. They probably have not only official gang members, but also numerous people in subordinate organizations and low-level thugs.

「Are there any skilled ones among them?」

「Hmm, I wonder. Even if you train in the labyrinth of this town, you won’t be able to raise your level that much, after all. In the first place, there aren’t any big rival organizations, so we have never heard about any conflicts, either.」

Alright. It seems that the guys from the Bartalis family only deal with weak prostitutes and poor people, so in the worst case, even if I get into trouble with them, with my strength, I think I’ll be able to handle it one way or another. Given things, it might be okay to leave them alone.

「I see. So, do they have connections to the nobility?」

This is the most important question. There is nothing more troublesome than a criminal organization that has secret connections with those in power. Depending on the answer, we may have to leave this town today or tomorrow.

「About that, ahem, what I’m about to tell you is special information that I obtained through my connections. It’s an important matter, so please don’t leak it to others.」

The man straightens his posture and puts his index finger to his mouth in a smug manner. I wonder what this special information is.

「Yeah, I promise. I have no acquaintances who would talk about such a matter with me, and depending on the information, I’ll give you money.」

「Yes, actually, you see, it seems that the knight order and the nobles’ private forces will be raiding their hideout soon.」

「What, really?!」

「Shhh. You’re being too loud. Listen, recently, they’ve been setting up prostitutes not only in the slums but also on the side of the main streets. If it was just in the slums, it would have been overlooked, but those guys must have gotten too carried away. What’s more, they don’t care even if sexually transmitted diseases spread, and the diseases have started to spread among the nobles too. It seems that the lords’ patience has run out because of this situation…」

Indeed, Michelle called out to me not in the slums, but on the main street on the way to a high-class inn. I wonder if the guys from the criminal gang have become too arrogant because their business is going so well. As they say, everything should be done in moderation. Still, now that even the nobles have their eye on them, I guess it’s the end of them.

If they are attacked by the knights, a fighting group, no matter how many people they have, I don’t think the gang would have any way to stand against them. With this, Michelle and Cordis can be at ease.

「So, when are they going to raid the place?」

「About that, it seems that the nobles are not all on the same page…」

「Hmm? Are there nobles who are siding with the Bartalis family?」

「That’s not it, it seems that they are having a hard time deciding who will lead the raid.」

「What do you mean?」

「It’s rumored that the Bartalis family has amassed a considerable amount of money. As such, it seems that they are arguing over who will get their hands on the assets after they kill them all. Those guys have many bases. So whether all of it will belong to the one who attacks the base where it is located, or will it be split equally among them….」

Sigh, it’s a case of counting your chickens before they hatch. Well, depending on the base, it may be full of fighters and they will have to risk their life, and there is no guarantee that they will have money stored there. There are probably poor nobles who want money as much as they can get their hands on it, and they probably have their own circumstances.

In any case, their lives are hanging by a thread. As long as I live in a low-key manner with Michelle and Cody, there shouldn’t be any problems.

「That was good information. Here’s your reward. If you have any more good information, I’ll buy it.」

「S, so much. Thank you very much.」

I hand the man three small gold coins and leave the Adventurer’s Association. If the Knights raid their hideout, most likely, they won’t be in a condition to do business. They probably will no longer bother Michelle, either.

I dive into the labyrinth with Michelle. Today, I was able to finish leveling her up without encountering any trouble. We buy some ingredients for dinner and head home.

Hmm? What’s going on? There’s a crowd of people in front of the house.

「Good grief, he’s still a child.」

「The Bartalis family sure is merciless.」

「Poor thing…」

It seems a child has been severely beaten up by someone from the Bartalis family. The worst-case scenario flashes through my mind. *Thump, thump* My heart starts beating faster and faster. No way, please, let it be a groundless fear.

When I push my way through the crowd and come to the front, I find a boy collapsed in the middle of the crowd.

「Cody?! No way, Cody!」

As soon as she spots Cordis, who is lying on the ground, Michelle rushes over to him. Cordis had been beaten pretty badly in the face and had breathed his last.

「Cody, Cody, open your eyes, Cody, no—!」

Michelle holds Cordis in her arms and cries out, but Cordis doesn’t show any reaction. When I appraise him, sure enough, he is already dead.

「Sei-san, please, use healing magic on Cody…」

「Michelle, Cody is already…」

「Please, Sei-san.」

「Got it.」

I cast healing magic on the dead Cordis. I can’t bring him back to life. However, I’m able to heal the internal bleeding marks from the beating. After I cast healing magic on him, the dead Cordis looks like he is sleeping, and it’s hard to believe he is dead. His body is still warm. It seems that not much time has passed since he was killed. I wonder if the culprit is still nearby.

I’m sorry, Cordis. I made a mistake in my judgment. We should have left this place right away. To think they are the kind of people who would kill Michelle’s little brother just because we had an argument. Did they kill Cordis to make an example?

「Cody, Cody…」

Michelle cries as she holds Cordis, who has stopped moving. Be it her selling her body to earn money, or working hard to become a leech, all of it is for the sake of Cordis. For Michelle, Cordis is her only blood relative and could be said to be her reason for living. My misjudgment has caused something that can’t be undone.

「Hey, did anyone see who killed Cordis?」

I turn to the onlookers and ask them, but they just look at each other and don’t answer. There are many marks of beatings on Cordis’ body. He was beaten so brutally in the street before the sun went down, so many people must have seen it. I wonder if they were afraid of retaliation from the Bartalis family.

「I just want to talk things through. One casualty is already too many, after all. If I don’t know who the other party is, I won’t be able to talk things through, no? Right, I’ll give one large silver coin to whoever tells me who the other party is.」

「I, I saw them.」

「Me too.」

「Me too.」

Maybe it’s because they are lured by money. When one man replies, more and more people come forward.

「So, what were they like? How many of them were there?」

「They were a group of three, one of them was a money collector. I don’t know the other two.」

「Which way did they go?」

「That way.」

The witness points in the direction of the main street in this town. The sun is about to set, and it is the prostitutes’ peak time, so they were probably heading to work. I give the man who provided the information one large silver coin. I’ll definitely make them pay. But before that…

「Michelle, let’s hold a funeral service for Cody. Is there somewhere we can bury him?」

「…..」

「Michelle.」

「Yes, there is no cemetery. Even when we did it for my mother, it was in the labyrinth.」

Only the nobles and the rich have cemeteries. Ordinary people are buried in the communal cemetery outside the city, as for the poor, they are buried in the labyrinth. In the labyrinth, the body will be absorbed into the labyrinth in a few hours.

Cordis wanted to go to the labyrinth. A labyrinth funeral should be perfect for him. Michelle and I decided to head to the labyrinth again.

「Michelle, he must be heavy, right? Let me carry Cody.」

「It’s fine, Sei-san, let’s continue like this.」

「I see.」

Michelle is a magician who is not physically strong. It must be tough for her to carry Cordis along the way, so I cast healing magic on her as we walk. We soon arrived at the labyrinth. Many adventurers are leaving the labyrinth after finishing their work for the day, but no one bothers Michelle, who is carrying a dead body. Maybe because they know we’re going to hold a labyrinth funeral.

After walking through the labyrinth for a while, we put Cordis down in an open area that looks just right. I use earth magic to make a hole and lay Cordis down in it.

「Goodbye, Cody. Please give my regards to mom. Ugh, Cody, mom, sob.」

In front of Cordis, who is lying down, Michelle’s eyes are turning red. I lend her my chest and gently hold Michelle as she continues to cry for a while. Sigh, I’m sorry, Cordis, Michelle. It was my fault. It’s not like it will make Michelle feel better, but I will definitely make those guys pay.

After burying Cordis, we head home. Without even having dinner, the exhausted Michelle continues to cry for a while, and as the night wears on, she falls asleep. I cover Michelle with a blanket and get ready to leave. That bastard, I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill them all.