It takes about ten days to walk to the old fort on the border.
Even that distance can be reached in a day and a half with an occasional break, only because the two of them were equipped with a pseudo-flying technique.
I'm starting to see something like that, but is that it?
"There shouldn't be any big buildings around here other than forts." It's time to go downstairs. "
It still takes about half a day to walk to the distant old fortress, but I can't let a human fly and get close to it.
Ardis descends to the ground and skillfully takes advantage of the shade of the trees to reach the edge of the fort.
I don't think there are many guards...
Lorna was right, but at first glance she didn't seem to be on guard.
As expected, there were not all the guards, but I suspected that it seemed to be a base where tension was unrelated to the soldiers' relaxed conversation.
"It's convenient for me." I'm going in through the blind spot over there. "
Oooh!
Without much difficulty, Ardiths break into the fort and go underground, avoiding human signs.
When I used my magic power to build the net of exploration, the number of people in the fort was about two hundred.
Most of it was concentrated in the fort's courtyard, and the magic itself was small.
I'm guessing it's a unit that needs training, as the informant said.
Maybe it's all young people who have just been hired as recruits.
But...
"Hey, Al. Isn't there anyone as strong as the five of us?"
"That's right..."
Ardis, who agreed with Lorna, found a magical reaction inside the fort that was isolated from the rest.
Obviously not a recruit or anything, but a mercenary would be an accomplished person who would be assessed as skilled.
Huh. I wonder if it would be tough to deal with just us.
"I'm not here to fight." You just have to finish it before you know it. "
"I hope so."
Fortunately, the people on the fort didn't notice any intrusion from the Ardis.
If you use magic exploration, you'll soon know its existence, but the opponent won't have enough time to explore around the clock, and even though it's not in battle, it's just a strange person who tries to explore without meaning.
Aldis and the others hid in a fortress that was not full of people, even though they were cautious.
Explore every room that seems to have a staircase to the basement, and find a pantry or paperwork room, but Ardis isn't looking for a basement like that.
After several empty gestures, it seems that there is a staircase leading to the basement.
Sentinel...?
If there was an entrance to the dungeon in the structure of the fort, it would be here.
Inside, there was a magic reaction for two humans.
At that time, one of the magic reactions in the room moved.
"Hide."
Ardis and Lorna immediately hid behind their backs.
While the two of them were breathing, the door of the small room opened and a soldier came out.
At that moment, in a slightly peeked room, Aldis confirmed the presence of the stairs leading to the basement.
The soldier who came out of the room walked away.
After the footsteps stopped being heard at a distance, Rona appeared and opened her mouth.
Did you see that?
"Yeah, I saw it."
Perhaps this is the room with the stairs leading to the dungeon.
Unlike other places, the presence of guards is also very likely.
What do we do? Shall we try to find another way out?
No, I don't think there are two or three exits to the dungeon.
Well then, there's only one person in the room right now, and I'm going to kill you?
Lorna was right. Now was our chance.
"I won't hold back if they're on the outside of the experimental facility..."
As expected, Aldis and the average soldier who had no grudges were reluctant to kill easily.
"Just keep it down until we get out of here."
Nah, I'll take care of the blindness.
Instantly sharing the role, Ardis pushed his hand against the door leading to the small room.
"What's the matter? Even if you forgot something..."
Apparently, a soldier who mistook Aldis for a co-worker asked a casual question and gave a surprised expression.
We shouldn't miss that gap.
When Lorna entered the room through the door gap, the magic filled the room with darkness.
At the same time, Aldis jumped out and instantly closed the distance from the soldier, first thrusting his right fist into his abdomen.
Guuuuuu!
The next moment I silenced my voice, I shot the soldier's jaw from the side with my left fist.
The unconscious soldier collapsed with the blow.
Is it better to pretend to be asleep or to keep it tied up?
Lorna, who had defused the darkness, approached.
”... I'll tie my mouth and limbs and throw them underneath”
With this declaration, Aldis used his handmade cloth and rope to seal the soldiers' mouth and limbs, then lifted them onto his shoulders and went down the stairs.
Down the stairs was the dungeon, as I suspected.
But it was much larger than Aldis and Rona had expected.
"I can't see them."
"How long does this jail last?"
As soon as they threw the soldiers from the stairs into the nearest cell, Aldis and Rona walked along the dungeon path side by side.
Next to the strangely long passageway was a small cell that was delimited by fine lines.
But there are no people in it.
The passage lasted so long that it could not be seen in the dark, and although there were a large number of cells in proportion to their length, there was no sign of anyone around.
"Nobody's in there."
It's normal time.
Even in wartime, there weren't many people who could be put in the fort's dungeons.
Not to mention the fact that it's been a long time since I gave up my role to the new fort near the border.
Probably only used to occasionally detain soldiers and suspicious travelers who caused problems inside the unit.
Even so, it's a long time, right?
"Maybe it wasn't a cell in the old days, it was an underground passage."
Looking closely, the construction of the aisle section and the cell section was so far apart that it was unlikely that they had been built at the same time.
Aldis, a layman, is not sure, but the ceiling and walls of the aisle seem to deteriorate more severely than the jail.
Could there be an exit ahead of us?
Otherwise, you wouldn't have bothered to build a dungeon with such an unexplained shape.
I see.
Lorna took Aldis's claim lightly.
Probably this dungeon stretches out like a jump out of a fort site.
In common sense, it would be natural to make it to fit inside the premises.
Was it a cost issue or a construction issue?
It seemed that the original underground passage had been diverted and renovated into a dungeon for some reason.
Walking sideways to see the empty cell continue, Aldis and Lorna eventually fell silent.
Only the sound of footsteps in the aisle, which seemed to continue all the way, disappeared, leaving a dry echo.
Eventually, when I passed the empty cell for about fifty minutes, Aldis' magic detector captured the human existence.
You know what, Rona?
Yeah. It's very weak, but it has magic power.
Naturally, Aldis's legs accelerate.
Having a magic response meant I was alive.
Unlike the uncertain information so far, this time it was quite credible.
The story of the prisoner in this fortress on the frontier didn't flow to the outside.
In that sense, I certainly didn't get caught up in the search for Aldis.
It was highly probable that Rouchell himself was captured.
I don't know why I've been held captive for more than three years.
But you just have to stay alive.
You can go back to the Wisteria Mercenaries after you've been rescued from here, or you can quit the mercenaries and continue your casual journey with Rona.
It's also good to settle down somewhere and live an idyllic life.
Aldis just needs Rouchell to be next to him.
But Aldis, who only wished for it, had forgotten.
That the world is not so kind.
Ardis, who was joyfully rushed into a magic cell, was knocked to the bottom of despair the next moment.