Chapter 57
'Shhh.'
Kain pressed the index finger of his free hand to his own lips to signal silence, then lowered the hand that had covered Eisel's mouth.
"..."
Eisel, disoriented immediately after pouring out his mental energy, snapped back to attention at Kain's low, intense gaze and slowly regulated his breathing.
As his dulled senses somewhat returned, he heard footsteps approaching from across the passage, a little distance away.
"I told you I heard something!"
"Heard what? I don't think there's an entrance here. Probably just a rat."
"Not a rat... I thought I heard a clanging sound... Just come here."
There were two sets of footsteps.
Whoosh.
As Kain silently summoned Fire Needles, Eisel blocked their path with his hand and shook his head.
Kain then briefly studied Eisel's face and silently canceled the Fire Needle spell.
Eisel took another deep breath, then extended his senses to check for anyone else besides the two of them.
And, as soon as he confirmed there was no one, he silently summoned Air Sting.
"More importantly, why do we even have to guard all the way out here...? Ugh. Just thinking about staying like this until morning is awful."
"It's fine. We get paid the same whether we guard here or inside. As long as we make sure to patrol..."
The sounds grew closer.
Turning the corner, just as they were about to shine their lamp towards the severed grate.
Whoosh.
Four Air Stings accurately pierced their throats and foreheads.
As their vocal cords were punctured, only a whooshing sound escaped their necks instead of screams as they fell.
Piercing an enemy's vital points with a silent, formless, transparent blade was impossible even for assassins.
It was an example of how overwhelmingly powerful wind-elemental magic could be against enemies with a difference in skill.
"...Haa."
When the surroundings became completely silent, Eisel finally let out a deep breath, pressing his temples with his fingers.
"Impressive."
"...Hey. I'm a 5th Circle mage, you know?"
Eisel looked at Kain with an exasperated expression.
Kain ignored him and continued,
"Patrolling, huh... Bad timing. My detection was late because they started patrolling while I was using magic. Were they not here when we checked before?"
At Kain's question, Eisel nodded with effort.
"Yeah. But it's more likely they reinforced security because it's the day the black market opens, rather than our infiltration route being discovered."
"True, it was information we couldn't confirm unless it was the actual day."
"To block the only entrance to this path with Pernite alloy and even send patrols... That's ruthless, truly ruthless. Phew, more importantly..."
Eisel sighed, looking down at the severed grate on the ground.
"It really would've been a disaster if I'd come alone. If things went wrong, I wouldn't have been able to get in and would've been caught."
Thanks to Kain, it was cut relatively easily, but even if Eisel had come alone, he probably could have simply cut the grate.
After all, he had planned to enter without Kain in the first place.
'Even if it's Pernite alloy, there's nothing I can't cut if I put all my strength into it.'
However, if he had used only the Wind Ripper with full power without heating, the guards nearby would have heard the noise and reported it immediately.
Even if he had safely used Vacuum and double-casted Wind Ripper to cut it, it would have taken a long time without the heating process, meaning he still would have been discovered mid-way.
"To think the noise could be heard that far even with Vacuum."
"We can't block vibrations transmitted through the grate itself."
There was no flaw in Eisel's Vacuum.
The vacuum layer perfectly blocked sound from escaping through the air.
However, as long as the gate was embedded in the passage, it couldn't completely block the vibrations from the friction with Wind Ripper from traveling through the ground and walls.
"Anyway, thanks. I had to activate Plan B because of you, and thanks to you, Plan B succeeded."
"It's too early to call it a success when nothing substantial has been achieved yet."
"..."
Eisel rested silently for a moment, then, seeming to regain his energy a short while later, swiftly dealt with the fallen guards.
"Anyway, according to what this guy said earlier, there probably won't be any reinforcements until morning. Shall we head in now?"
The two followed the path the guards had come from.
The black market, it turned out, was located deep underground.
They opened a door and descended a ladder.
Then followed another path, and descended another ladder.
After repeating this several times, they heard signs of people from below.
-You can enter this way.
-Confirming attire.
-Confirmed. Please enjoy your time.
Eisel spoke in a voice just loud enough for Kain to hear.
"They're entering."
"Are we blending in?"
Kain also asked in a very low voice.
They didn't need to speak much, but they understood that conversations inside would proceed in this manner from now on.
"No. Sorry, but we have to take one more narrow path. Before that..."
Eisel pulled out two black masks from his pocket and offered one to Kain.
"Wear this. Everyone inside will be wearing the exact same mask. It helps to not only conceal your face but also distort your voice."
"Understood."
As Kain put on his mask, Eisel picked up his own.
He then grinned and put on the mask.
"…?"
When Kain looked at him, Eisel pointed to a corner.
There, a vent hole, just big enough for an adult to squeeze through, was visible.
"So we go in here and crawl to the other side?"
"No. Not a chance. Just a moment."
Eisel placed his hand on the vent and, closing his eyes, sent wind flowing inside.
"Just in case the information is wrong... Ah, luckily, it's correct."
Eisel nodded, then cast another spell.
"Air Cushion. Expand, Chain."
"...No way."
At Kain's words, who realized what Eisel was about to do upon hearing the incantation.
"You're probably right about what you're thinking. Alright, I'll go first, so follow right after."
As soon as Eisel finished speaking, he shoved his legs into the vent opening.
And, as if being sucked in, he disappeared into the vent...
"..."
Kain, suddenly left alone, stared at the empty vent for a moment.
"...Well, at least it's not crawling."
And then he followed.
Whoosh!
Kain's body swiftly glided forward, carried by the soft Air Cushion that lined the floor and sometimes even covered the walls.
And at some point, Kain's body was thrown into the air.
"Air Cushion."
A soft layer of air enveloped Kain's feet, balancing him as he landed.
"How was it? Thrilling, right?"
"An efficient method of travel."
Kain acknowledged.
As soon as he landed, Kain surveyed his surroundings.
They had landed behind a restroom, a place not easily noticed by people.
Looking up, he noticed a considerably high and uneven ceiling.
Eisel explained in a very low voice,
"This place was built beneath an old mine. If you go all the way up through those ceiling gaps, you'll reach the mine entrance. I actually considered coming down from there, but the probability of drawing attention was too high, so I gave up. There are guards at the entrance too."
"It'll be useful for escaping."
"...Anyone listening would think you're helping them escape? Even if we had to go out that way, I'd still have to take you and run. I'm not sure if you could run with the restraints on, though..."
Muttering that it was best not to have to escape at all, Eisel pulled out two bracelets studded with transparent crystals from his pocket.
"Here, mana restraints. As I said earlier, once you put these on, you can't take them off for twelve hours. I need to be careful too, but especially you, since you're 3rd Circle, you won't be able to use much magic, so from now on, you absolutely, absolutely cannot get caught."
At the black market, to prevent accidents caused by various factors and to distinguish unauthorized entrants, guests and their escorts are made to wear restraints that significantly suppress mana usage.
While mana restraints could ordinarily only be used by security forces or in certain authorized locations...
This was the black market.
"You wouldn't believe how much effort I put into getting the same model they use here... And if I hadn't bought an extra just in case, I wouldn't have been able to bring you."
Clank.
Eisel put on the restraint on his left wrist and channeled mana to check if it was properly secured.
Eisel then felt all strength drain from his body.
The transparent crystal turned gray for a moment, then returned to its original state.
Gray signified that the mana originated from the dantian.
"You can use dantian mana."
"Just a little. Since I'm taking on the role of the escort inspector, I have to be able to do at least this much."
As a result of their discussion while traversing the waterway, they decided their concept would be 'a rude rich young master and his escort inspector.'
This was largely based on Eisel's recommendation, as Kain's physique, regardless of his skill, was not convincing enough for him to be an escort, and his manner of speaking also perfectly suited that role.
Clank.
Kain also properly put on the restraint, and when he channeled mana, his strength soon drained, and the crystal turned gray before returning to normal.
Eisel let out a small gasp of admiration at the sight.
"I find it more amazing that you use dantian mana. How can you be a 3rd Circle mage, use magic so well, and even enhance your body...?"
"...If you're done, let's go."
The two, now wearing both masks and restraints, naturally emerged from behind the restroom.
"Oh dear, Young Master. No matter how urgent, you should wait your turn for the restroom instead of going straight for that area..."
"...Shut up."
"Yes, sir."
As a few gazes lingered, Eisel deftly navigated the situation and, with Kain, naturally blended into the moving crowd.
"Alright. Let's start by gathering information as we go."
Eisel's information-gathering skills were quite exceptional.
"Kain, look closely. That person in front. That's Lady Rosanne, the eldest daughter of the Kaldris Merchant Guild. My goodness, to think she'd show up at the black market. She's even buying raw silk mist, which is forbidden due to its addictiveness! This could be quite profitable. Oh, how do I know it's Lady Rosanne? If you observe closely enough, hands are as easy to identify as facial features. A tiny scar, the shape of a fingernail, anything can be a distinguishing characteristic."
"..."
"And that person over there, alone, is Lord Wulford. He's wearing gloves, but he can't hide his habit of resting his left thumb on his hip and touching his sword hilt. Oh, wait, is that Sir Zechrom, the 6-star mercenary? Just in case, we should probably avoid running into him."
More accurately, it was closer to an ability to cross-reference newly gathered information with pre-collected data.
Regardless, Eisel had managed to pinpoint personal information and purchased items for more people than expected. Kain, in turn, also gained new insight into how loud whispers could be.
"So, you threaten people with the information you get and extort money?"
"Threaten? Nowadays, such old-fashioned and crude methods aren't popular. The trend is elegant and clean methods: obtaining information, then informing other clients who might want it or are likely to want it, and receiving a small token of appreciation. Though it does require a bit more effort."
"..."
"Ahem. Anyway, if we just wander around aimlessly, we'll draw suspicion, so let's pick up some useful things as we go. If the opportunity arises, we can even steal a few suitable items."
Eisel walked around with Kain, recommending items that a 'rude young master who hadn't experienced enough of the world' might find interesting, purchasing them, and sometimes subtly stealing them with wind magic.
His willingness to take everything he could, given the effort put into infiltrating, was apparent. His stretchy bag was already quite bulging.
"Excuse me, may I see your restraints please? Ah, confirmed."
Occasionally, guards checked their restraints, but they passed without issue.
By the time they had made a somewhat satisfactory circuit of the shops within the black market.
"Young Master, let's head over there now. The auction will begin soon, and we need to secure good seats. The auction is the main event here at the black market."
A faint sound, barely audible to Kain's ears, reached him as he walked through the crowd, following Eisel.
-...s Ni...
Kain's footsteps abruptly halted.
