Chapter 15: The Hidden Basement

We headed to the shopping district on Beien Boulevard (south side), close to the slums.

This merchant dealt in general goods and some agricultural and marine products.

After accumulating some points, I had chosen to purchase a Searcher Scouter rather than add functions to the Manager Scouter. So the scouters I currently had were the Manager and the Searcher—just the two. And one of the Searcher’s functions, secret space detection, was proving very useful.

Just in case the merchants were hiding something, I carefully scanned them with the scouter every time I visited. This general goods merchant was relatively cooperative. He handed over the amount the landlord requested and seemed eager to usher us out.

I thought there wouldn’t be any issues, but I detected a secret space.

It was underground, and the entrance was concealed beneath the stall.

This... something didn’t add up. I didn’t know about other regions, but all buildings in the capital were managed administratively. They strictly regulated building expansion and structure, and you had to pay taxes to expand beyond the designated use. And in principle, digging basements was prohibited.

Naturally, this law only applied to commoners; nobles didn’t require such permits.

How did I know this? It was information I had picked up while talking with the landlord.

The landlord seemed to need someone to talk to, so he explained things I didn’t know in great detail.

It was purely an excuse to show off his knowledge, but it was worth listening to quietly.

"Tax collector, sir. It looks like there’s a basement down here," I announced.

"What? A basement? A basement in a shop building. Hey, what’s going on?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? There’s no basement!" the merchant stammered.

When the landlord questioned the merchant, the flustered merchant stubbornly played dumb.

When I flipped over the stall and found the handle, the merchant’s face went white.

When I uncovered the hatch leading to the basement, the landlord was speechless.

"There’s nothing down there! Nothing, I tell you!" the merchant insisted desperately.

"Hans, shut him up."

"Leave it to me!"

"Kyaaak!"

Leaving behind the merchant’s screams as Hans roughed him up, the landlord went down first. In a space of about ten square meters, various boxes and goods were neatly organized. The landlord seemed at a loss for words. These were clearly expensive goods at a glance. It looked like stolen merchandise.

"Congratulations, tax collector, sir. You’ve got yourself a case," I remarked.

"...I don’t know if I should be grateful or consider myself unlucky."

What was that supposed to mean?

The landlord had me guard the merchant and hurried to the government office.

From the landlord’s reaction, it seemed like quite a significant case.

So I tied the merchant firmly to a pillar.

He was making such a racket that I gagged him with cloth.

Hans, who had helped tie up the merchant, looked at the basement in amazement.

"How on earth did you find this? I never would have guessed," he marveled.

"Something felt off. So when I searched, I found it."

"That’s incredible. So what happens to this merchant?" Hans asked.

"Most likely he’s a fence. Maybe connected to the slums?"

"The slums again? Those bastards."

Whether it was the slums or not, I didn’t care. I’d made a contribution, so I’d simply collect the corresponding reward. The fence would be dealt with by the guards or the judiciary. While waiting, three guards came running.

"We received a report and came. Is that person the fence?"

"That’s right, but where’s the tax collector, sir?" I questioned.

"He’s currently filing a report. We’ll take that person into custody for now."

The guards dragged the merchant away. The merchant resisted fiercely, but after the guards struck him a few times, he went limp. After waiting about another 15 minutes, the landlord came running. With five guards.

"Huh? Where did that merchant go?"

"Guards came and took him away," I answered.

"What are you talking about? I just brought the guards now."

The landlord and I exchanged bewildered looks.

And I instantly realized that those earlier guards had been impostors.

Damn it, I should have checked with the Manager Scouter first.

It seemed those men were connected to the fence.

How brazen, to impersonate guards and spirit the merchant away.

I never imagined something like that would happen right under my nose.

[Savage Streets II]

[Track the fake guards who took the merchant.]

[Reward — 1,000 points, 10 silver coins (hazard pay)]

[Danger Rating ★☆☆☆☆]

A quest appeared.

Since the quest name was the same, it seemed to be a follow-up to Sabine’s quest.

It appeared to be connected to the slums. Last time, the men who had attacked Sabine were also underlings of an organization called Rafel. The shops in this area near the slums were likely all tied to the slums.

"It seems the people connected to that merchant moved first, worried their ties would be exposed," I said.

"Connected people, you say. This area is close to the slums, so is it linked to a slum organization?" the landlord questioned.

"It might be. I’m thinking of tracking them down. Will you back me up?"

"How do you plan to track them?"

I had my methods.

Just as I had found Sabine’s footprints with the Searcher Scouter, I located the footprints of the guards who had taken the merchant. Among countless footprints, only theirs glowed. Following them to the end, we wound through complicated alleyways and reached an open lot.

Before charging into the lot, I assessed the situation.

One person was standing watch, and the other two had the merchant pinned against a wall, threatening him. The merchant was desperately begging for his life.

"Because you went and made things worse, we got exposed!"

"I didn’t know he’d discover the basement! St-stop! Don’t stab me!"

The landlord was stunned by the scene.

So were the other guards.

"How on earth did you track them?"

"The Streit family has its own methods."

"Well, that’s impressive."

Anyway, I tried to assess the situation further, but the fake guards didn’t seem particularly patient. They snarled at the trembling merchant with a knife to his throat.

"Lucky we were keeping tabs, or they would have had us by the tail."

"What should we do? Should we just bring the head to the boss?"

"That’d be best. Keeping him alive will just cause trouble later."

"Hiik! P-please spare me! Spare me!" the merchant begged.

Oh no, if that merchant died, the witness would be gone.

There was no time to wait. So I sent the guards in first.

"Beien Guard! Drop your weapons and surrender!"

"What? How did they...?"

The fake guards threatening the merchant were thrown into a panic when real guards appeared.

Better yet, there were more of us. I took advantage of their attention being drawn to the guards, drew my longsword, and rushed in at full speed for a surprise attack. Was this the benefit of being an F-Rank Knight?

I could engage enemies without fear or hesitation.

"Wh-what?"

Clang!

"Kyaak!"

The startled lookout drew his sword and instinctively swung down, but I deflected it to the side and drove my blade into his throat. After kicking aside the body, I charged at the remaining fake guards, who were too rattled to finish off the merchant.

"It’s that noble from earlier!"

"Damn it, how did they know we were here?!"

To take on two opponents at once, quick judgment and nerve were essential. I angled left to isolate one in a one-on-one engagement. Before the other could close in, I deflected my opponent’s diagonal slash and cut his arm in the same motion.

After sweeping the second opponent’s legs out from under him, I pressed close to the last opponent’s descending blade, redirected it with a rotation, and cut diagonally across his neck and chest. The natural follow-up technique of binding and winding. I managed to capture alive both the merchant—our key witness—and one fake guard.

I had killed two people, but unlike before, I didn’t feel much resistance.

And it had been considerably easier. That had to be thanks to F-Rank Knight (military power 20%, courage 20%).

Compared to my first encounter with the slum organization members, I had clearly grown stronger.

"Your sword skills are truly remarkable, Sir Knight."

The guards praised the swordsmanship I’d displayed in the surprise attack.

The landlord seemed to feel the same way. Hans’s chin was lifted high with pride.

The merchant who had kept his life and the captured fake guard were arrested without further resistance.

"I thought you were impressive from the moment you discovered the basement, but with tracking skills and swordsmanship like that, you’ll surely achieve great things. I’m certain your father is rejoicing in heaven," the landlord praised.

"Thank you, tax collector, sir."

"But this is turning into a bigger affair than expected, isn’t it?" he observed.

It certainly seemed that way.

When I checked the fake guard with the Manager Scouter, these men turned out to be members of an organization called Rafel. A different group from the ones called Schlange who had targeted Sabine before. From what I had heard through rumors, this Rafel was a deeply dangerous outfit. Human trafficking, extortion, blackmail—there was no crime they wouldn’t touch.

But wouldn’t this incident cause an uproar?

Anyway, the landlord said he had received a reward for the case and gave me 1 silver coin.

Since it was a fence tied to a slum organization, it was an undeniable achievement.