Chapter 37: Listening in the Dark

To sum up the whispers passing between them in a single phrase: “They found a hidden place in the Dungeon.”

‘Life really is unpredictable, just as they say.’

I was at the point where I needed to create fake rooms in the Dungeon, just for the rumors’ sake. And yet, right before me, fresh information about a new Dungeon had landed on my lap. It was something I never expected.

•Artificial as it may be, isn’t that what life’s always been like?

‘A real Dungeon, huh…’

The ones who discovered the Dungeon now stood at a crossroads of choice. Should they go on to explore it, or should they hand it over to the Information Guild?

Their hearts seemed to lean towards exploring. The problem was, they lacked sufficient manpower.

‘This is my chance.’

I carefully approached them, making sure not to draw the attention of those around.

“What do you want?”

The one who looked like a tank glared at me, full of caution.

‘Can’t blame him for that.’

It was only natural to be wary when a stranger in a pitch-black robe showed up during an important discussion. I revealed just enough of my face for them to see and asked, “Looked like you all were having an interesting talk, wasn’t it?”

Their faces instantly turned to surprise and confusion.

The group, who’d been whispering among themselves, shot back at me.

“…Quit your nonsense and get lost.”

“I’m afraid I’ve heard a bit too much for that. What if I start spreading rumors about a new spot discovered in the Dungeon?”

“You—!”

“Gajei! Stop!”

The tank, flaring with anger at my words, flinched as if ready to lunge at me. But the woman held him back. She seemed unexpectedly strong and stopped him with ease.

After restraining the tank called Gajei, she questioned me.

“How did you hear us?”

“I could hear everything.”

“Don’t joke around. You couldn’t have heard us from that distance, could you?”

She was sharper than I thought. She already knew that it would be difficult to even overhear the conversation without special means. Calm, too.

If I wanted to persuade these types, hiding my abilities would get me nowhere.

“As you can see, I’m in this line of work. Light.”

Fwoosh— Instantly, I conjured a sphere of light. Just big enough for this party to notice. But it was more than enough.

“So you’re a mage… You used magic to listen in, huh?”

“Yes. I was just looking around for any interesting stories and happened upon quite the one.”

There was no need to reveal that I’d used internal energy to listen.

The woman frowned.

“Quite the bad habit, isn’t it.”

“Pfft. Maybe so. But thanks to that bad habit, I stumbled upon some interesting information, didn’t I?”

“Hoo. So, what do you want? Looking to buy some information?”

“I’d be interested in exploring together, actually. From what I overheard, you’re short on manpower. I won’t be greedy.”

Perhaps because I was the one who came to them first, they flinched again. Even knowing I could hear them, they began their own whispered discussion.

“What do we do?”

“O…”

“He’s a mage, right?”

“How can we know his class? And his identity…”

“That’s not the issue. Hmm…”

Cautious types. Even if I gave them plenty of time, they probably wouldn’t come to a decision quickly.

‘If this keeps up, we’re just drawing attention.’

Having such a secretive conversation in a bustling, noisy drinking place only made them stand out. In fact, several others besides me were already looking their way.

Feeling they were being indecisive, I made a suggestion.

“Why don’t we go upstairs for now?”

“Why?”

“I can use sound-blocking magic, you know. Just take a good look around.”

I subtly indicated those glancing in our direction.

“…Damn.”

It was only then that the three realized staying here any longer would do no good.

“Let’s get going, then.”

“Hmm… Fine. Let’s go for now.”

Before they could even make a final decision, I’d already stepped into their lodgings. Though they called it an inn, it was more of a hideout.

‘Not sure if they’re naive or not.’

Letting me in even though I wasn’t yet a comrade showed they had a naive side.

“Silence. The sound’s blocked now, so we can talk as much as you like.”

“Thanks.”

Fwoosh—

Even after coming upstairs, they spent quite a while whispering among themselves. Eventually, the conclusion was reached: they’d bring me in.

“The split is eighty-twenty in our favor. Since we found it first, as long as you accept that, you’re in!”

“Fine by me. That seems reasonable.”

With my abrupt intrusion, they likely had no better option.

“Well then, let’s talk. What exactly did you find?”

“Well, at first…”

The story continued right away.

‘Simple enough.’

Everyone knew there was a Dungeon in this mountain. Because it was a natural Dungeon, monsters kept flocking to it, but it hadn’t expanded much. That was thanks to the Mercenaries who regularly killed monsters, keeping a balance.

Yet, there were always those with adventurous spirits. These people before me were such types.

Gajei. Hoden. Sian.

They introduced themselves, and said they’d explored deep into the Dungeon. Even the parts that had already been searched, they checked thoroughly.

‘Like a cow stumbling backward and catching a mouse…’

Then, by pure chance, they found it. As they tried to escape, they grabbed a mound of earth, which slid away like magic. They didn’t even know why it reacted.

Behind the fallen earth, a stone door was revealed—this was the important part.

“Opening that thing… Once we got inside, completely different monsters started appearing. So, for now, we covered it back up and left.”

“We need to be properly prepared, after all.”

It was a Dungeon discovery. Just as they were about to bolster their strength or hand the info to the Information Guild, I appeared.

“Three days at most, I’d say.”

“Your reasoning?”

“The Dungeon’s inside the mountain, right? Roughly, it’s at the very edge of the mountain. Realistically, the Dungeon can’t be deeper than the mountain itself.”

“Couldn’t it keep going deeper underground?”

“It didn’t seem like that. Since it’s our first time, even if we take it slow, three days should be enough.”

“Three days, huh…”

It didn’t sound like an especially deep Dungeon. It might turn out to be nothing special. But a new Dungeon discovery was always enough for a convincing story.

‘Perfect. To think there’d be a truly undiscovered Dungeon.’

It felt like an opportunity sent from the heavens. The best thing to do with luck is to seize it.

“Let’s set off tomorrow, then.”

“We’ll need prep time. How about tomorrow afternoon?”

“I’ll visit around noon, then. We’ll meet at the north entrance.”

“Fine. Just don’t run off on us.”

“Of course not.”

Apparently, the party felt the same. No one tried to back out. It didn’t take long to settle on a plan for the Dungeon trip.

Our detailed plan was set in no time, and the appointment was for tomorrow.

‘Looking forward to this.’

A Dungeon run.

It had been a long time since I felt this childlike excitement.

***

After Rayrn left, the three remained behind. They still had much to discuss before calling it a night.

The leader of this group was Gajei.

Shield in hand, he was the reliable leader of the party. It was Gajei’s strong opinion that led them to accept Rayrn.

They went along with the leader’s decision, but that didn’t mean there were no doubts.

Especially Sian, the only woman, was uneasy.

The strange coincidence of Rayrn discovering them felt like a dangerous chance encounter to her.

“Are we really okay accepting him? Do we even know what he is? Isn’t it weird to have a mage here?”

“We had no other choice. Besides, if you look closely, he doesn’t seem so bad.”

“On what grounds? He’s a complete stranger we’ve never seen before.”

If Gajei, cautious as always, hadn’t insisted, they’d never have let me in. Even in this uneasy situation, he seemed certain.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a stranger. When have we not been strangers?”

“That’s not the same.”

“Hmmm… Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

At that moment, Hoden, who’d been quietly watching, spoke up. He, too, seemed to have seen what Gajei saw. Only Sian hadn’t realized it yet.

“What?”

“You didn’t look under the robe, did you? His clothes were high-quality. And his face.”

“He looked like a complete scholar.”

“Hmmm…”

“His face didn’t look like he’d ever suffered. His hands, too. There were barely any calluses.”

“No commoner would have that. You know?”

Gajei and Hoden kept passing the conversation back and forth as if they were partners. With so much said, even Sian couldn’t fail to catch on.

“…So you’re saying he’s from a Noble Family?”

“Bingo. Judging by his age, he’s a Noble’s kid. Probably ran away from home or something.”

“Doesn’t that mean we shouldn’t let him in even more?”

At Sian’s words, the two shook their heads.

“What are you talking about? It’s even better. Kids from Noble Families receive thorough education from a young age.”

“They might lack in field experience, but they learn aura or magic. Their starting point is completely different. And besides, he’s a mage.”

“Judging from how easily he used Light, he’s at least third-circle. That alone makes him valuable enough, even if he lacks real battle experience.”

“Hmmm… I suppose you’re right.”

“Don’t worry. As a Noble Family kid, he probably doesn’t know the real value of the loot.”

“He’ll agree to an eighty-twenty split, and if we play our cards right, we can pocket even more. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get everything.”

“When else will we get a chance to swindle a noble like this?”

“Oh, that sounds good.”

Before they knew it, the conversation shifted from Rayrn joining the Dungeon expedition to how best to take advantage of him.

Mercenary by name, but Mercenaries often doubled as thieves when it suited them.

These three were no different.

They didn’t plan to stab Rayrn in the back directly. But when it came time to divide the loot, they fully intended to cheat him out of his share.

Given the lack of real-world experience among Noble Family kids, it wasn’t an unrealistic expectation. But the problem was—

“You’re having quite the entertaining conversation…”

Rayrn was far more experienced than a sheltered Noble Family scion.

As he left their hideout, he secretly cast a spell. By reversing the silence spell that absorbed and blocked sound,

‘It becomes an eavesdropping spell. In fact, many mages use it like this.’

Even at a distance, he could easily listen in and record everything they said.

“Thanks to them making things easy, I suppose I’ll let them have their share.”

This, too, was a kind of deal. Since he’d lucked into the transaction, he had no reason to refuse payment.

But if they crossed the line and stabbed him in the back—

“…I’ll kill them.”

They would have to pay the price for crossing the line.

‘This should be interesting.’

Teaming up with a party that might just cross that line.

He didn’t think it’d be dangerous.

The preparations he’d made were more than enough to deal with threats at their level.

‘The only question was: how tough would the Dungeon itself be?’

“The harder, the better.”

Rayrn didn’t want it to be easy. He wanted a challenge that would satisfy his thirst for real combat.

‘Just wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow…’

The Dungeon expedition would begin soon.