I Became a Legend After My 10 Year-Long Last Stand (ここは俺に任せて先に行けと言ってから10年がたったら伝説になっていた。)

#07 THE TRESPASSER AND THE SECRET PASSAGEWAY

It hurts.

So much.

Help me!

C-Could it be an undead?

Maybe.

I'll provide light.

Thanks.

I'm your apprentice, yes!

G-G-G-Ghost!

Let me down.

Calm down, Luccira.

Give me some light again.

This hurts.

Help! Let me down!

Not a ghost, I'd say.

Hold on. I'll get you down.

Please hurry.

Are you hurt?

Thanks. You saved me.

What were you doing down here?

Sh-She's a burglar!

Let's hand her over to the authorities!

Now, hold on.

Let's hear her out first.

What's your name?

I'm Milca!

I'm Lock, and this is my house.

These are my family members, Luccira and Exalted Gerberga.

That's a cute chicken.

Chi...

Listen, you!

So, what were you up to?

Sorry, Mr. Lock.

I thought this place was abandoned.

I wanted a place to sleep.

Here? You don't have a home?

I don't.

My parents died a long time ago.

My gramps was raising me, but he died recently too.

What happened to the house you both lived in?

It looks like Gramps got tricked into owing a debt.

They came and took it.

Did you run away because it looked like

they would enslave you to pay off the debt?

That wasn't a problem.

The king abolished the slave trade.

It was ten years ago. Or maybe eight?

Is that so?

Sounds like Eric's a good king.

Anyway, I searched for shelter and came here.

I wasn't expecting any traps.

Wait a minute. How'd you get into the basement?

Oh, this place...

It connects to the sewers.

The sewers?

Yeah, through there.

I was careless.

When you move into a new place,

the first thing you do is check for hidden doors, traps, and the like.

Looks like ten years of fighting dulled my scouting skills.

Lock?

Ah, it's nothing.

Still, what's a hidden passageway doing in a mere baron's mansion?

I'm going down there.

In any case, I need to patch up the hole to the sewers.

I will join you.

I'll show you the way.

I wonder why this passageway was built.

That is the question, yeah.

Normally, you'd think it'd be a means of escape.

But it's not as if royalty lived there.

Oh, there it is.

I thought I'd have to sleep in the sewers.

But while walking, I found this hole and came through it.

Doesn't look like the hole was made on purpose.

The wall must have collapsed by chance.

Although...

Looks like it keeps going a long way.

Yeah. Let's keep going. The hole can be filled in later.

Um, Mr. Lock.

I know this is asking a lot,

but would you mind if I slept here for a while?

Huh? You wanna sleep down here?

You're not using this passageway now, are you?

It would keep me out of the elements.

And I doubt any dangerous grown-ups will come in here.

Let's see where this passageway leads before we decide that.

Okay!

Wait, don't take the lead.

What if there are traps?

That's why I'll go first.

I go first.

Then you, then Luccira, okay?

All right.

If you make me go first, I'll be the one caught in any trap.

That is true. What of it?

I thought, while I'm caught, everyone else could get away.

Do I look to you like a thug who'd use a child as a shield?

N-No, but isn't that usually how rich people do things?

I don't go for that sort of thing.

You must be a nice rich guy.

First off, a veteran adventurer like me won't get caught in any traps.

Wow! You're a veteran adventurer, Mr. Lock?

Yep! A veteran F-rank adventurer!

A dead end?

No.

I sense magical energy from the wall.

Yeah.

Looks like there's a powerful spell blocking the way.

A powerful spell?

That's right.

Like the kind you'd find guarding a palace's treasure vault.

Wow!

Does that mean there's a bunch of treasure waiting on the other side?

We came all this way, so let's take a look.

Analyze.

Trace.

Wow. That was quick, for such a complex magical lock.

Dispel.

Whoa.

This is... quite an impressive room.

Mr. Lock! Is this a vacant house?

If so, I want to sleep here!

Of course it's not vacant.

It'd still be illegal to enter, even if it were.

Th-That's true...

Someone's coming.

Lock! Lock!

Hurry!

Huh? Oh, yeah.

It's all right, Exalted Gerberga.

Who's there?

Sorry, I know it's late.

Lu...

Lock, what are you doing here at this hour?

Wouldn't guards usually be showing up at a time like this?

I didn't think you'd come check personally.

My chambers are next door to this room.

Is that so?

I'm really sorry about that.

I mostly figured things out on the way here,

but when I came in and saw the wallpaper, I knew I was in the palace.

It's all right. You two can come out.

Oh, Luccira and Exalted Gerberga are with you.

Who's the other one?

Milca. We just met a a little while ago.

I see.

I'm Eric, a friend of Lock's.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you too!

In other words, that mansion connects to here by an underground passageway?

Well, this end was securely sealed off.

This doesn't seem to be a total surprise to you.

The story is embarrassing, though.

My grandfather, that is, two kings prior, had a lover.

A baroness whose husband died while she was young.

Wait a minute.

You mean in my new mansion?

Yeah.

Apparently, he had that mansion prepared for the baroness.

Which must mean the former, former king

used the hidden passageway to go back and forth between the palace and mansion.

Why did the baron's family die out?

There were no heirs.

She and the baron did have one son,

but he had already been adopted by another marquis's family to be their heir.

You mean your uncle?

Indeed.

That brings me up to speed.

What do you want to do about the passageway?

I don't mind if it leads to your house.

You don't mind?

In fact, it's reassuring.

But having it connected to the sewers isn't good.

I could go ahead and seal up the hole in the wall with magic.

I'd appreciate that.

I'll fix it again tomorrow.

This'll do for temporary repairs.

Let's head back.

Can't blame her. It's the middle of the night already.

Ready to go home?

Lock.

Could you... let Milca stay at the mansion?

That fruit she brought in with her.

It's very tart while it's still unripe, and not really edible.