Reset Life – Chapter 75

Chapter 75: I’m…… This is my first time (5)

“I see. It’s just that I’m worried because the last image I have of you two would be like that if I were to leave now. When someone leaves, they should see a good image. Well, even if a disaster strikes after that, ignorance is bliss.”

“Hey, that’s a bit harsh. Don’t say extreme things like ‘last’ or ‘disaster.’ It’s not like we won’t see each other again.”

I grumbled and stared intently at the personal details of the three suspects. It’s not like the paper would suddenly jump up and shout, ‘I’m the culprit!’

“Heh heh. Well. You never know in life. But if the suspects have been narrowed down, shouldn’t we just leave it to the security forces?”

“There are two reasons why we can’t do that. One, my father told ‘me’ to handle it, and two, this is just suspicion. I need to find concrete evidence.”

“That’s a headache.”

Aila rattled around, preparing the tea. Oh, I’ll finally get to drink some proper tea after a long time.

“So, let’s hear the story, Sir Arisein. I might be able to help.”

“Oh, please do.”

While she prepared the tea, I told her what I had found out about the case.

After hearing the whole story, Aila came to the table carrying a tray with the teapot and teacups. She set them down and said,

“Then, what about the financial status of the suspects?”

“All good. There’s no record of them suddenly coming into a large sum of money. Same goes for debts.”

“Then, what about the financial status of their relatives?”

“I couldn’t look into that. Their immediate families were generally well-off.”

She was lost in thought for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table. After a while, she lifted the teapot. Hey, was she timing it?

She swirled the teapot a couple of times and poured the tea. The reason I couldn’t scold her was that the deep aroma was on a different level compared to Lucy’s.

Amidst the fragrance that revealed the true meaning of tea, Aila wore a satisfied expression. Her clear voice seemed to reflect her feelings.

“Then, the top priority would be to find the hidden goods. If we’re clueless about who the culprit is, it would be more constructive to focus on that. Oh, this turned out well this time. Heh heh.”

“But the question is, where did they hide such a large amount of goods? No matter how I look at it, they’re things that should be weighed in tons, but they’ve evaporated like dew under the sunlight.”

At my lament, Aila pressed her lower lip with her finger, looked up at the ceiling slightly, and fell into thought. She muttered continuously.

“You said it’s not within the city…… Then there’s a chance it flowed to another city, but it would be easier to gather them around here. They can be transported by river all at once when the weather gets warmer. Considering convenience, the riverside would be even better. They would need an effective means of transport, a fence, and someone connected to the security forces…… First, they need a wide space that doesn’t get humid easily…… Hmm. Risel, do you know anything about the fences here?”

“I do, if it’s that.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t even read the information Lucy brought me yesterday. I must have forgotten about it because I was so engrossed in chatting with Levidian.

What I asked Lucy for was information about the routes used by fences and their warehouses.

It wouldn’t be easy to find out, but Lucy finished her investigation in half a day. Considering she’s not even a local, she’s quite resourceful.

Aila read the information I handed her and nodded. She finished her tea and stood up.

“Then I guess there’s nothing more I can help with. You can figure it all out by reading this. You haven’t read it yet, have you? Give it a read.”

“Uh……? Aila?”

“Come find me in my room if you have any more questions.”

Aila waved her hand and left the room. I stared blankly at her back, my mouth agape.

“Is it that important?”

I grumbled, refilled my teacup, and read the information I hadn’t read yet. As I slowly sipped my tea and read through the text, I was surprised.

“This is…… quite delicious.”

As expected, tea should be made by someone who knows how. Hmm hmm.

“Isn’t this a bit too far for a walk?”

“Well, what do you think?”

I shrugged at Levidian’s words.

We are currently on our way to the riverside, a little distance from the city.

As Aila suggested, after reading what Lucy brought me, everything became crystal clear. Before that, I came out for a preliminary investigation to see the smuggled goods with my own eyes.

I wanted to bring a member of the Mountain Patrol, but I didn’t think the captain would lend me any personnel. It would be difficult for the higher-ups of the Hiltenpens Barony to shake off their tendency to ignore me.

It had been about 30 minutes since Levidian and I set out, fully armed for combat in case we encountered monsters. It was about time the riverside appeared.

“Wow……”

Levidian’s exclamation came first, and she and I looked at the white, snow-covered river.

The river was already frozen. The river, tens of meters wide, was completely frozen, and the snow on top of it was piled up thickly as if it were on a field.

The sparkling snow, white and untouched by human or animal.

Looking at it as if it were sprinkled with fine sugar powder, I said to Levidian,

“Glad we came for a walk, right?”

“Yes. Indeed.”

She and I gazed at the river for a while before moving along the riverside.

The Baron had said it yesterday. He had eliminated all the places around here that could potentially become monster lairs.

I understood that he had completely demolished or filled them all, but there were also many places that were simply closed off by blocking the entrances.

That was generally the case for the warehouses used by fences located along the river. And I chose one of those warehouses that wasn’t located in the city.

If they wanted to sell the goods in the spring, they would have to make the deal around this time. And since the river to the right of Levidian and I flows near the Imperial Capital, their main customer would probably be the back alleys of the Imperial Capital Nek.

There’s a high probability that one of the fences, currently absent, has gone to the Imperial Capital for a deal. First, we’ll find the goods in the warehouse, then apprehend the fence and interrogate the suspect.

“Let’s see…… Three Twin Rocks, a tall evergreen tree, a small stream…… This is it.”

I pointed to the place where the things I mentioned were gathered together.

Three rocks forming a perfect triangle, a clearly visible evergreen tree nearby, and a small stream flowing next to it.

“Where is the warehouse around here?”

“Just a moment. It’s 100 steps west from here…… Ah, there it is.”

I took out my compass, got my bearings, and walked west.

Soon, a hill densely covered with trees appeared. The shape of the hill naturally sloped towards the mountain.

“The entrance should be around here. Let’s take a closer look. Ah, Teacher, you go that way.”

“Alright.”

Levidian and I split up and started searching for the entrance. With so many trees on the hill, could there really be an empty space inside? However, the information Lucy provided was generally reliable. There’s no guarantee she wouldn’t deceive me, but there’s also no guarantee she did.

I poked around the hill with the tip of my scabbard, looking for anything that might snag.

After a while, I heard Levidian’s voice.

“Risel-! Come over here!”

Oh, did she find it?

She was standing in front of a thicket. It was a cluster of short, unidentified trees that covered the surrounding area. She pointed to a spot in the thicket and said,

“Here, listen closely.”

I listened and heard the sound of branches rubbing against each other in the wind. I closed my eyes and focused.

Whoosh……

The sound resonating through a vast space. The sound of wind whistling through an empty space reached my ears.

“It’s hollow inside.”

I took out Iperfect. Although it’s a dagger, its blade is sharper than the longsword I’m currently carrying.

After swinging it at the thicket a few times, the dry branches started to get cut and scattered. I continued to follow the direction of the sound, and soon I could see a hole hidden among the thicket.

It was a hole big enough for a person to crawl through.

“It’s a ventilation shaft.”

“Seems like it. It looks like we can get in.”

She and I exchanged glances, briefly contemplating. We might find the entrance if we searched around a bit more, but it would be better to just go in than waste time.

“I never thought I’d be covered in dirt during a walk……”

Levidian let out a small sigh. I shrugged and pushed myself towards the hole that seemed to be the ventilation shaft.

If there’s one thing I’ve been dissatisfied with since returning to the past, it’s that big and small incidents never cease. In a way, it’s quite entertaining, but it’s more tiring.

Especially since I’ve never come out of those experiences unscathed. Just look at the recent Inquisitor incident, didn’t I end up slamming the back of my head on the ground and passing out?

Looking back, I’ve always ended up injured somewhere by the time things were over.

But…… now I’m getting hurt before even starting!

“Ugh……!”

I groaned and sat up. I was surrounded by complete darkness, and I heard Levidian’s voice a few meters above me.

“Risel, are you alright? Are you?”

“I’m fine…… Ooh……”

Not long after entering the ventilation shaft, the light disappeared. Since we couldn’t light a fire, I just led the way, but at some point, there was a gaping void, and I plunged straight down.

“Please wait a moment. Ugh……”

My back hurts. Thankfully, I fell forward, so I landed on my back.

I fumbled around my waist and took out the tinderbox and torch. After a bit of a struggle to light it with only my sense of touch, I finally managed to get a fire going.

I looked up and saw a hole about 2 meters above, where Levidian was sticking her head out.

“Are you hurt?”

“Ugh…… My back is a bit sore. Come down.”

Levidian shifted her position and nimbly dropped down, starting with her legs. Seeing her stable landing posture made me feel a bit envious.

She and I were on top of a large pile of luggage covered with a packing sheet. Judging by the hard feeling under my feet, it seemed to be a wooden box.

“Hmm, are these them?”

“We’ll have to check.”

I handed her the torch and took out my dagger to cut the packing sheet. After removing the cut piece, as expected, there was a wooden box.

On the top of the box, there were letters engraved with fire.

“Dolen Mountain Patrol Supplies. Handle with care. Yep. It’s confirmed.”

“Now it’s all……”

I looked around with a bewildered gaze. The space, about 50 meters in diameter and 6 meters high, was filled with piled-up luggage. This was a truly enormous amount.

There was so much that I felt more dumbfounded than shocked.

Levidian also said with a somewhat flustered expression,

“Is this the end of it?”

“Yes…… I think so. Let’s find the entrance first. Then we can go to the city and tell the Baron.”

She and I got off the pile of luggage and walked around the underground space.

It seemed like a naturally formed cavity that had been artificially expanded. Tree roots hung down from the ceiling, intertwined, and pillars rose from the floor to support the ceiling.

As we walked along the wall, we discovered a passage wide enough for three grown men to walk shoulder-to-shoulder without discomfort. The floor of that passage was paved with stones, and there were wheel tracks.

At the end of the passage, there was an iron door. There was no separate key, so she and I opened the door without hesitation.

Creak……

Along with the sound of old hinges, light poured in, and the fresh air outside, which felt like I was seeing for the first time in a long time, despite it being less than an hour……

Clang! Bang!

……Before I could even feel it, we closed the door and bolted it with the iron bar that was next to it.

I laughed awkwardly and said to Levidian,

“Um, Teacher? I think I saw something wrong?”

“I think so too.”

“Strange.”

“Indeed.”

Unless we were both addicted to the darkness and had gone mad, seeing the same thing meant it was real.

The problem is that it was a group of dozens of mean-looking men outside the door, armed and ready!

“Teacher.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“Should we go back through the ventilation shaft?”

“Good idea. I was just thinking the same thing.”

We abandoned our lingering attachment to the door with smooth movements.

Fences are usually associated with people from the back alleys. No, since the back alleys are where stolen goods circulate anyway, we should just call them back alley people.

The men in front of the door, who looked quite thuggish, were definitely either underlings or allies of the warehouse owner, and somehow they knew we had infiltrated the warehouse and were here to bury us alive.

It was when we just came out of the passage. Levidian stopped and said,

“But, Risel. I’m curious about something.”

“Yes? Curious?”

“They seem to know that we came in through the ventilation shaft. Won’t they take some kind of action?”

“Some kind of action?”

“Yes. For example…… a burning smell.”

I sniffed the air and smelled something acrid, even more so than the torch. It was probably the smell of burning chili peppers……

They were pushing smoke through the ventilation shaft.

Levidian and I went back halfway through the passage.

Clang! Bang! Clang!

The sound of them trying to open the door from the outside resonated, and she and I leaned against the wall, having a conversation with the acrid smoke and the loud noises as our background music.

“What should we do?”

“Sigh, there’s no other way since we’ve come this far.”

She drew her sword. We don’t know how they found out, but for now, escaping the encirclement is our top priority.

Thinking that way, the conclusion is already practically made.

“I see.”

“Yes.”

Without a word, she and I walked towards the entrance.

When the door opened, we saw about twenty men at a glance. There would be many more in reality. Thinking that way, it means there are about 30 human men.

“Hoo……”

I took a deep breath and stepped forward. Levidian said in a calm tone,

“Risel, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes? A favor?”

“I’ll entrust my back to you.”

“Ah…… Yes. I’ll do the same.”

Once we’re out, it will be a siege. The most important thing in such a situation is to prevent back attacks. Getting your back taken while fighting multiple opponents leads directly to defeat.

We’ll protect each other’s backs and look for an opportunity.

Of course, someone with her skills wouldn’t be afraid of such an encirclement. However, when it comes to the sword, she’s always meticulous and sharp.

She’s trying to take the most efficient action possible.

Clang! Crash!

The door is almost breaking down. Light is leaking through the crumpled gaps. From outside, we can hear the loud voices of those trying to break down the door.

Just before the door was about to open completely, with the iron bar used as a bolt bending, Levidian spoke.

“I’m…… This is my first time.”

“Yes?”

“Entrusting my back to someone else. That’s why I’ll be angry if you don’t do it properly. Understand?”

She said with a bright smile. It was a sight I hadn’t seen in a long time, so I couldn’t help but smile as well.

I nodded.

“I understand, Levidian.”

Clang!

At that moment, the door burst open, and white light and countless men started pouring in.

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• What if Disney Princesses Were Real? (Spoiler: Not So Magical)
• The Unmentionable Truth About Anime Waifus: Why They’re All So Smooth
• My Gacha Gaming Habit is Bleeding My Bank Account Dry: How to Stop Before You Go Broke
• My Two Classmates Just Went Full Anime Fight Club Over… WAIFUS?!
• Isekai’d: From Hero to Zero (and Back to Reality, Kinda)