"Yes! I hear it! I hear it loud and clear!" "Really? Then start by introducing yourself." "I'm, uh, I'm Ned, my explorer rank is Regular... my position is in the frontlines, and my age is..." "That's enough."

If I leave him alone, he'll probably start listing his body measurements next.

I get that he wants to live, but if that was the case, he shouldn’t have picked a fight in the first place.

"Was there a half-elf among the rookies you robbed?" "Uh, no! Absolutely not!" "Really? Lying won’t end well." "I-I swear, there wasn't!"

Seems like he’s telling the truth.

Not that it matters much. With Leif’s skills, would she really have been captured by scum like this?

And these rookie-robbing thugs may all be of Regular rank, but to be a guide, the minimum requirement is Senior.

These fools probably noticed Mea was a demon warlock and thought they could take her. But no matter how much of a surprise attack it was, a Senior wouldn’t go down so easily.

"Alright, I got it. Then..." "Wait."

Mea, who had approached me, interrupted just as I was about to pull the trigger of my magic bullet.

Mea squatted down and locked eyes with the guy in front of us.

"I’ve been thinking. You lot don’t seem like simple rookie-robbers." "What...?" "For a group of rookie-robbers, your supplies are too well-stocked."

Mea took a bite of the soup I’d made.

"The level of gear you're packing isn’t what rookie-robbers would bother with. You were planning an expedition, weren’t you?"

As expected from a veteran.

Ned's eyes shook violently under Mea’s interrogation.

It must have been a secret he didn’t want to reveal, even on the brink of death.

Despite having fallen so low as to rob rookies, somewhere deep inside, he still harbored the yearning for mystery and the unknown that all explorers possess.

"Talk." "...Will you spare me if I do?" "Who knows."

Mea clearly had no intention of letting him live.

Life for a life.

In the Abyss, those who fail to uphold the unspoken rule and show mercy typically meet a grim end. The rule is a law etched in blood.

"But I will release your soul." "...Hah."

It was a deal only possible for a demon warlock. In truth, very few demon warlocks can freely manipulate someone else's soul, but what would they know?

Demon warlocks are a class already surrounded by all sorts of rumors due to their rarity.

Even if their heads try to deny it, facing the word of a demon warlock—who can overpower even holy magic—fills their hearts with dread.

He hesitated, torn between accepting the deal or clinging to the slim hope that the uncertainty might somehow turn in his favor.

"If what you say is believable, I won’t kill you." "...Really?" "I’ll hand you over to the guard. If you're lucky, you might survive."

Execution was nearly certain, but if he could prove his crime was just an attempt, he might end up as a slave instead.

Ignoring Mea’s piercing gaze in my direction, I looked down at Ned alone.

It was a good cop, bad cop situation, and Ned ultimately chose to trust the good cop.

"...A while ago, I stumbled upon some information. There's an undiscovered ruin somewhere."

Scholars speculate that the structure of the Abyss is like an inverted cone. In other words, the first layer of the Abyss is the widest, and it narrows as you go deeper.

Over a hundred years have passed since the Abyss first appeared, and yet much of it remains unexplored. Even on the first layer.

Explorers have risked everything on ventures beyond the known routes, but to this day, no complete map of the first layer exists.

So, the claim of an undiscovered ruin isn’t entirely implausible.

Ned started spilling everything—how they came across the information, where they thought the ruin was located.

But it wasn’t anything particularly amazing.

The information was full of holes, only suggesting a general area, without any concrete details about the location, the type of ruin, or even the monsters that might be there.

But the fact that it existed, that much he was certain of.

"Soon, others will likely find out as well. I can tell you where we got the information when we reach the base."

After hearing Ned’s testimony, I interrogated the other three as well, but they all said the same thing.

It wasn’t just some nonsense Ned made up on the spot.

"What do you think?"

Mea asked bluntly. She still seemed a bit annoyed that I stopped her from executing them right away.

Her question was missing a few elements, but I understood the meaning perfectly.

"Are you saying I get to decide?" "Normally the guide decides, but this case is special."

An undiscovered ruin.

For explorers, it's a dream they can never give up on, even if it means death.

"I think it’s worth checking out."

Mea nodded in agreement. Although we were on the first layer, with a Senior explorer like Mea by my side, most dangers would be manageable.

"But we go to the base first. If anything feels off, we abandon it." "Understood."

My first night in the Abyss was spent with four unwelcome guests.

I left the post-meal cleanup to the former rookie-robbers—now hostages, soon to be either corpses or slaves—and had a discussion with Mea about how we’d spend the night.

Well, it was more of a briefing from Mea than an actual discussion.

"I’ll stand watch. You get some sleep." "By yourself? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?"

This whole situation was my fault.

Mea had wanted to deal with the four of them and move on immediately. I was the one who insisted on interrogating them and bringing them to the base.

So, keeping an eye on them should be my job, not hers.

"I should stand watch. You should rest, Mea."

Honestly, even if all four of them tried to rebel at once, I’d win easily. With the magic I’ve already planted inside them, it’s over.

The priest might be a bit tricky, but I could always use teleportation to get out of that.

"No. You sleep." "I’m fine, really. Letting you stand watch by yourself doesn’t sit right with me." "I don’t sleep. Don’t worry about it. When people come to the Abyss for the first time, the air here can really mess with their fatigue levels." "I'm pretty sturdy."

This was going to turn into a tug of war where we’d keep insisting the other person rest.

"How about we split the watch?" "Fine. I’ll take first watch." "Whatever you say."

Mea set up an alarm spell, one of the five basic spells, to keep watch for us.

The spell activates and makes a loud noise when certain conditions are met.

Satisfied, Mea cast the spell on the cage she made for the hostages and finally returned to her spot.

After lighting up our temporary shelter with a light spell, she pulled out a notebook and started writing something down.

"Are you writing an explorer’s log?" "...Something like that." "Can I take a look?" "It’s not very interesting." "Still, it’s all learning, right?"

I peeked over Mea’s shoulder as she wrote. She was so small that I didn’t even need to crane my neck to see.

Her notebook was simple, as she’d said.

What time, where, with whom, what, how, and why.

Just the bare essentials recorded in a straightforward manner, starting from when she met me today.

"You're very thorough. Is this how most people write their logs?" "...I don’t know. I’ve never seen anyone else’s."

Mea’s handwriting had an oddly serious tone to it, each letter written with care.

After finishing her notes, she snapped the notebook shut with a decisive clap and looked up at me.

"I’m done. Now go to sleep." "Make sure to wake me when it’s time."

I set my own alarm spell, so I’ll wake up when it’s my turn.

"You didn’t wake me." "I did. Once." "You even deactivated my alarm spell." "...I don’t know what you're talking about."

This woman, should I call her stubborn or just overly diligent?

In the end, Mea stood watch all by herself.

She even disabled the alarm spell I’d set up to make sure I didn’t wake up.

"I appreciate it, but don’t do this again. Do you know how shocked I was when I saw the alarm spell was gone?" "...I told you I don’t know what you’re talking about." "Anyway, next time, I’ll take the first watch."

Without answering, Mea quickened her pace and walked ahead, almost as if she were running away.

We walked for some time.

We set off in the morning, and by the time the sun was between noon and evening, we reached a village.

It was the main base for the first layer of the Abyss, the only one directly managed by Les Rimen.

The Main Base.

It was practically a city of its own. Though it looked about half the size of Les Rimen, that only seemed small in comparison to the enormity of Les Rimen itself. The Main Base was far from small.

Approaching the fortress walls of the Main Base, Mea turned to the four rookie-robbers, now tied up like fish on a line.

"When we get to the base, we’ll head straight for the guard. But first, tell me where you got your information." "There’s an informant named Vallen. People call him the Shadow Hand." "Shadow Hand Vallen. Got it."

If you don’t talk, you die. If you're already dead, I’ll take your soul. If you're enslaved, I’ll take your life.

I wasn’t the only one who interpreted Mea’s words that way.

We entered the Main Base and went straight to the guardhouse.

The guardhouse at the Main Base.

There was a lot of commotion inside.

"No! I’m telling you, we were ambushed! Chief, you know me, right? Ned, it’s me, Ned! When have we ever really broken the law? Sure, we’ve handed over some rookie-robbers, but we’ve never committed any real crimes. You know we’ve never dodged taxes on our mana stones, right?" "Yeah! We were sleeping when they attacked us! And now they’re accusing us of being rookie-robbers..." "Look at this! This wound, it’s from a demon’s poison." "They’re demon-worshipping bastards. How can you trust anything they say?"

The voices came from right in front of us.

The four rookie-robbers were pleading their case to a guard chief they seemed to know well.

Ha, did these punks forget who I am?

Repaying my mercy by stabbing me in the back?

[This is too much. I can’t forgive this.] [Kill them.]

Yes, yes, demon lords.

I’m not the kind of contractor who holds back when you tell me to kill someone.

‘I’ll pay them back properly.’

So, how do I deal with them?

I could crush their claims with logic, charge them with fraud, and pile on more crimes.

2 against 4.

Their side has a holy priest, which is a good match against a demon warlock. And I’m still just a temporary explorer without a proper title.

Obviously, it’d be more reasonable for them to be seen as the rookie-robbers.

‘The problem is that they seem to have some connection with the guard chief.’

Maybe I should let them go for now, then kidnap them later for a private lesson in pain?

I could pretend to compromise, then catch them off guard afterward. What are they going to do, stop me when I use teleportation?

In my head, I ran through over a hundred ways to crush them, all of which the demons in my head approved.

But none of those plans would be necessary.

A faster, more certain method had already appeared, walking towards me on two legs.

"Roman? What brings you here?"

A voice full of warmth and familiarity that anyone would recognize.

There’s only one person in the guardhouse who would greet me this warmly.

"Ah, Lady Fiona."

The Grand Duchess has arrived.