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chapter 14
“Huff… huff…”
A man dressed as a janitor struggled to run through the sewer.
He occasionally glanced back with a terrified expression, as if something unstoppable was chasing him.
He should have known better than to look back while being pursued, but he was so consumed by fear that he couldn’t even remember this basic rule.
What the hell is happening?
In an instant, all of his companions had been killed.
All he had realized was that a stone had flown violently from somewhere, striking the companion next to him and plunging the surroundings into darkness.
He had survived purely by luck.
He didn’t even understand why he had survived. Overwhelmed by terror, he crawled along the floor like a bug and threw himself into the sewer leading to the headquarters.
To survive.
But the nightmare wasn’t over.
Tap… tap…
“Hah!”
Hearing a leisurely set of footsteps behind him, his body froze.
It was instinct—a fear imprinted deep in his mind now controlled his body.
Even knowing he shouldn’t, he looked back.
A tall man strolled through the dark sewer as if taking a leisurely walk.
“Why do you stop?”
A long cloak trailed behind him, an intelligent monocle over one eye, and a twisted smile on his handsome lips.
A low, grating voice reached the man’s ears.
With an unreal appearance and an even more unreal, leisurely voice, the man lost all will to resist.
Seeing him completely frozen, forgetting even to run, Caesar spoke.
“You should run, just like the lives you casually took.”
“Ugh…”
“Squirm like a worm, crawl along the floor, beg for your life however you can.”
Tap… tap… Caesar approached.
The man took a hesitant step back.
“Run. Make me entertained.”
“Eek!”
The man bolted without looking back.
It was impossible to tell who the real villain was in that scene.
“Hmph. Maybe I should have let one more live. I wonder if that one will guide the way properly.”
Caesar stopped and clicked his tongue.
His cloak rustled.
It squirmed, rolling and bulging oddly, adding to the grim, eerie atmosphere of the sewer, as if some monster were about to be born.
And then, suddenly—
“Hoo-ha!”
A cute little girl popped out from within the cloak.
It was Lirian, who had crawled into her father’s cloak to count to 100 since she was now “it” in a game of hide-and-seek.
“Detective, did you count to 100?”
“Yes! Now you can be caught.”
“Great! Then shall we go?”
The father and daughter walked through the closed underground sewer.
It had long since been abandoned, bone dry, with no moisture anywhere.
Cobwebs stretched across various places, and the paths twisted like a maze.
“This place isn’t on the current maps.”
He recalled the city’s underground facilities in his mind.
For nearly a thousand years, it had been the capital of a country. Multiple urban renovation plans had been made and canceled repeatedly, leaving the underground like a labyrinth.
Even a duke like him hadn’t fully grasped it all.
The capital, also called the Imperial City, was the emperor’s domain. Digging openly here would surely raise the emperor’s suspicions.
Of course, Caesar had plenty of plans that would earn him the emperor’s suspicion in the future.
“Detective, stay close to me so you don’t get lost. The paths are very uneven, so watch your step.”
“Okay!”
Though he wanted to carry her, his increasingly independent daughter insisted on doing everything herself.
So the two walked through the closed sewer, using the fleeing man as bait.
Their destination: the Dark Guild headquarters, where ‘guests’ awaited.
They suspected the man might be an insider connected to the cult.
It’s so dark…
Lirian glanced around.
The sewer was surprisingly spacious, tall enough that Caesar didn’t need to duck.
Using her detective magnifier, Lirian spotted a pale glimmer in the distance.
Huh?
Fluttering…
It was a golden butterfly that glowed even in the dark.
She had been waiting for this butterfly, planning to catch it and ask about its connection to Irei!
Her eyes shone with excitement.
“Butterflyyyy!”
“Lirian?!”
Caesar was shocked as the child who had been quietly playing by his side suddenly dashed off in another direction.
He chased her immediately, but she was quick and nimble like a little squirrel.
“Lirian! Stop!”
Caesar shouted desperately, but she was too fixated on the butterfly to hear her father’s voice.
All she saw was the butterfly flitting about, finally stopping at a single point.
At that moment, Lirian leapt, her small arms outstretched to catch it.
“Got it…! Huh?”
But in that very pose, she fell straight into a small hole.
A hole just her size, created from years of neglect.
“Ahhh!”
Caesar’s scream echoed through the sewer.
Being underground, careless use of magic could collapse the old tunnels, burying the child.
Helpless, he could only reach out, as a cheerful voice rang up from below.
“Daddy! I’ll be at the guild! Now you’re it!”
Even as she fell, Lirian shouted with determination.
It was a bittersweet (?) parting between father and daughter.
Somehow falling like a girl into Wonderland, Lirian tumbled down and into the hole.
“Ugh!”
She stopped only after crushing someone beneath her.
Dazed, she felt someone grab her by the scruff of the neck.
“What is this? A kid?”
“Why is a child in a secret passage?”
Dark Guild members had come to search when their companion hadn’t returned after the delivery time.
“I don’t know what it is, but handle it.”
The highest-ranking among them gave the order.
This was a secret passage in the headquarters. Even a child couldn’t be spared once inside.
Lirian shook her dizzy head and stuck out her lips at the approaching sinister adult.
How dare they try to get rid of a cute child like me without hesitation.
Losing both the butterfly and her father, Lirian was furious.
Shall I…?
She had intended to use force, but suddenly remembered her promise to Caesar.
Right. Daddy said not to take them down, just wait.
She groaned.
Even though she had disobeyed today, Lirian was usually a well-behaved child…
…well, except when pretending not to hear things.
For now, she decided to stay put.
I’ll stay put and not touch anyone’s neck. But I have to get to the guild.
She had promised Caesar to meet at the guild.
Though the promise was one-sided, her father, being “it,” would surely find her.
No matter where she hid—closet, under the bed, in a basket, under the blanket—he always found her.
So Lirian thought to use these villains to get to the guild.
Nodding to herself as a good child who listens to her parents, she rummaged in her skirt pocket and grabbed something.
“If you stay put, I’ll let you off easy, little one.”
“Mm.”
Then, to the approaching enemy—
“You stay put too. I’ll only hit once.”
She swung it.
This time, it was you—my real club!
Wham!
“Argh!”
“Ugh!”
“What… ack!”
It took Lirian only three minutes to subdue the group of villains.
She declared to the sprawled-out crooks:
“Take me to the guild, quickly!”
She had orchestrated her own kidnapping.
Meanwhile, her father, having lost sight of his daughter—
“Talk.”
“Gah! P-please…!”
He immediately grabbed the janitor-costumed man who had been fleeing.
After all, he had let him go initially to guide him to headquarters.
Grabbing him by the collar, Caesar’s piercing gaze radiated lethal intent. Blue eyes blazing with deadly light.
“Tell me where your base is, right now. If you don’t want to die.”
