If possible, he wanted to find information on Eight Fingers’ facilities other than this one. It would be great if there were contrabands or illegal goods. Of course, the real search would have to wait until after this place was taken over. But he had to conduct his own investigation within the scope of what he was capable.
Among the countless crates, both large and small, he approached the largest of them all. Its length, width, and all, everything was about two meters tall.
He checked the large crate for any possible traps. Needless to say, it was the same as before. He had no skills of observation and could not imitate the skills of a thief.
He pressed his ear up against it and listened.
Although it didn’t seem like something was locked inside, in a place like the underworld, anything could happen. They could even be smuggling illegal creatures.
In a way, maybe it was to be expected that he didn’t hear any noises. Climb then placed his hand on top to try and open it.
—It’s not opening.
It did not budge.
He looked around for something like a plank or a stick but a quick look revealed that there were none.
“…No choice then.”
Next, he moved over to try and open the next biggest crate measuring about a meter on all sides.
This one opened easily. Peering inside, there was a variety of garments. Starting from a shabby one-piece, there were even a number of clothes a noble’s daughter would wear.
“What is this? Is there something hidden beneath these… it doesn’t appear that way. Are these spare clothes? Some of these look like work clothes, and this is a maid outfit? What in the world?”
Climb could not understand what all these clothes meant and twisted his face. He held one in his hand but it was normal clothing. If these were related to a crime, then they would be stolen goods. However, it was not enough as evidence for bringing down this brothel.
Leaving the stuff that he didn’t understand alone, Climb headed for a crate that was a similar size to the one before. That was when he heard a loud rattle fill the room.
That was impossible. He had checked the entire room and confirmed that no one was here. At that moment, a thought flashed across his mind. Someone could have used ‘Invisibility’ to hide themselves here from the beginning.
Climb was startled by the thought and hastily turned in the direction of the noise, the 2 meter crate that did not open. One of the sides of that crate had been up against the wall, and the opposite side was now open.
There was no luggage inside the exposed interior. Instead, there were two men. The inside was a passage and there was a hole where the wall should have been. The inside of the crate had been connected to a secret tunnel.
While Climb blinked, the men stepped out of the crate one at a time.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
The appearance of one of the men closely resembled the description that he had heard from Sebas. His name was Succulent, the one who was considered to be their biggest obstacle in this attack and at the same time, the one they wanted to capture the most.
He was a member of ‘Six Arms’ who was said to be equal to adamantium ranked adventurers. The enemy that Climb could not hope to defeat drew his blade and spoke while narrowing his eyes.
“I knew that there were intruders from ‘Alarm’ so I went out of my way to take the secret passage but… …Maybe you should have prepared more paths, after all?”
The man behind him responded in a shrill voice.
“Even if you say that now, I can’t do anything about it.”
Meanwhile, the man saw Climb and spoke while tilting his head.
“Huh? I saw that kid from somewhere.”
“A boy that you’re familiar with? Even I will get angry if you say something like that in this situation.”
“What’s with you, Succulent? There’s no way that that’s what I’m talking about. No doubt, he’s a subordinate of that female I hate the most in the world.”
“You’re saying that he’s a subordinate of that princess?”
Succulent looked over Climb from top to bottom like he was licking him all over.
Although the eyes of the man behind him, frighteningly enough, were filling with lust, his eyes seemed to be trying to gauge Climb’s abilities as a warrior. They were like the eyes of a snake trying to determine if the prey would fit inside his mouth.
The man behind him licked his lips with his tongue and asked Succulent.
“I want to take him with me, can I?”
A shiver ran down Climb’s back and he felt an itch in his butt..
That bastard, he swings that way!
“I will require additional fees.”
Succulent ignored the screams of Climb’s mind and turned to face him. Although Climb could not spot any openings in the first place, he was ensnared by the feeling that he was facing off against a strong citadel.
Succulent abruptly moved a step forward.
The pressure forced Climb to retreat a step back.
Without a doubt, it would not take long for a fight where the difference in skill was clear to finish. However, Climb had to overcome that difficult crisis.
If I maintain my defenses and focus on blocking, then I will be able to buy time until either Brain-sama or Sebas-sama arrives.
But there was something that he had to do before that.
Climb drew in a big breath.
“Please help me—!!”
He shouted in a voice loud enough to force all the air out of his lungs.
Winning the individual battle was not victory. They would only be victorious if they tied up the men here so that they could not run away. Another way to put it would be that if they let a man of his skill— and by extension, a man who seemed to possess a lot of information get away, then that would mean their defeat. If so, there would be no reason for him to hesitate to shout for help.
Succulent’s face turned savage.
The other side was now pressured by the need to finish this fight as quickly as possible. In other words, there was a considerably higher chance that he would mainly use bigger skills.