The orcs’ spawning point was likely related to the capital’s underground sewers. However, I had no intention of heading in right now. Who knew what was down there.
It was better to gather at least some basis for my argument and go through the proper channels. The plan was simple. First, I would report it to the capital guard.
They would probably dismiss it as nonsense. Then, I could use the fact that I was ‘ignored’ as justification to get Valerius or the princess involved. And so, I arrived at the guard headquarters.
"Salute! Senior Researcher Upperhills, what brings you here!"
The guards standing watch straightened their backs and saluted. I was dumbfounded. Since when did I receive this kind of treatment?
It seemed I had gained some recognition after my last speech.
"Salute."
I returned their salute. According to Imperial law, a medal recipient was to be treated as an officer.
"The reason I'm here is none other than…"
I began by explaining the situation to them. I had found an orc, and given the location, I suspected the sewers. This was the part where they were supposed to tell me it was nonsense…
"Is that true?"
"Damn it… We shouldn't have been searching the forest!"
They took me more seriously than I expected.
"We should report this to the higher-ups immediately…"
"No. It might be better for him to meet them directly…"
"Yeah, that sounds better."
The guards muttered amongst themselves before starting to lead the way.
"The captain's office is this way!"
Before I knew it, I was on my way to the guard captain's office.
‘Good thing I brought the evidence, just in case.’
The moment the door opened, I doubted my eyes. Inside the office, a familiar blonde princess was pressing the guard captain.
"So you're telling me it's been weeks and you haven't even identified the cause?"
"My apologies, Your Highness. But there are no traces of mana, which is making the tracking difficult…"
Thinking I had walked in at the wrong time, I tried to take a step back, but the princess spotted me and smiled brightly.
"Oh, Isaac! Perfect timing. Come, have a seat."
Escape was impossible. Since it had come to this, I might as well make my report here. I got straight to the point.
I explained my encounter with the orc on the outskirts of the city that morning and my theory that they were moving through the underground sewers. After hearing my entire story, the princess rested her chin on her hand and grinned.
"So, you took care of that orc in an instant?"
"I did, but let's focus on the case for now."
"As it happens, I was just about to assign this case to you."
The princess handed me a request form for an [Investigation into the Abnormal Orc Occurrences near the Capital]. Seeing my name on it, it seemed she really had intended to commission our school. She asked me, "Did you investigate beforehand, knowing I would pass this request to you?"
"No. Of course not."
"Liar."
The princess seemed to have already made up her mind. There was nothing to be gained by arguing the point. Time to talk business.
I pointed to the map of the capital spread out on the desk.
"Until now, the capital guard seems to have inferred that an undiscovered orc habitat has formed somewhere near the capital… but I see it a little differently."
I took a few pieces of parchment from my coat and overlaid them on the map.
"This visualizes the orcs’ appearance routes, and this one marks the capital's sewer outlets."
The princess’s eyes narrowed.
"They overlap quite a bit."
The guard captain interjected.
"Orcs in the sewer? An orc's food intake is no joke… they couldn't survive in there."
"Captain, be silent."
The princess's cold words shut the captain's mouth. If I didn't show some support here, my relationship with the guard captain would sour. So, I spoke to the guard captain.
"That's right. Orcs are not suited to living underground."
"…Are you saying I'm right?"
"Yes. Both you and I." "What do you mean by that?"
"Some organization is raising orcs underground and releasing them to the surface for a specific purpose."
The guard captain was speechless once again. After a moment, he said, "I must dispatch my men at once."
I nodded.
"That's one way to do it. There's a risk the enemy might escape, but it could close the case."
"…You say that as if there's another way. Speak."
I told them, "We need a sewer analysis."
The next day, Marcus of the capital guard was wrestling with a mission unlike any he had ever experienced. In his hands were samples of sewage scooped up from manholes all over the capital, reeking of a foul stench. They were all meticulously sorted by time and location.
"What in the world are we supposed to do with this…"
His colleagues answered his question.
"It's the hero's business. He'll know what to do."
"Right?"
Let’s just do as we’re told. The higher-ups will handle it. The guards carried the sewage samples up the Magic Tower.
They arrived at the lab of the Magic Tower's School of Water Element Magic. The young ‘hero’ had said he would borrow the facilities here to conduct some sort of investigation. As soon as he entered the lab, Marcus sensed the tense atmosphere.
A palpable tension flowed between Isaac and the mages who belonged to the lab.
"Mr. Upperhills. How many times do I have to tell you that we've already completed a mana scan and found nothing!" a man who appeared to be the senior researcher shouted.
But Isaac didn't bat an eye as he retorted.
"I'm not looking for mana, but for biological markers. This is an order from Her Highness the princess, so please cooperate."
At the mention of the ‘princess,’ the lab personnel reluctantly made way. As they passed Marcus, they muttered.
"Damn it. Just you wait if this fails."
It seemed they didn't have the guts to say it to his face. Marcus ignored the researchers and handed the samples directly to Isaac.
"We're counting on you, Mr. Upperhills."
Isaac replied to his words.
"Collecting them must have been hard work. Thank you."
The black-haired hero, Isaac, offered Marcus a handshake. His hands were dirty from carrying the samples… Marcus subtly tried to pull his hand back.
But Isaac firmly grasped his hand.
"They're dirty."
"Hands are naturally dirty. Dirtier than a toilet seat."
He didn't know what that meant, but he was a little moved.
‘He’s definitely not just a scholar.’
Sir Hero would have adapted well even in the army. Marcus asked Isaac, "When should we return?"
"It won't even take an hour. You can watch from the side."
"Understood."
Isaac vigorously spun each vial, filtering out the sediment from the sewage. Then, he dropped an unknown reagent into each test tube. The liquid in several of the test tubes turned a vivid green.
"Just as I thought. It was the underground."
"What kind of magic did you just use?"
"It's not magic. I added a reagent that reacts to orc excrement."
"... Oh, there's a method like that."
A low murmur of admiration erupted from the guards.
"But Mage sir, don't you specialize in orthodox magic, not alchemy?"
"It was an open major, so I learned most of this stuff as an undergrad."
"Pardon…?"
"It's just one of those things."
The ‘graduate student’ mages, outmatched by ‘undergrad’ knowledge, fell silent. Isaac spread out a map and marked the collection points of the samples that had turned green one by one.
"Calculating backwards from the concentration levels, the most suspicious area is the underground of block D-7." "Understood. Then I'll report this immediately…"
"Wait a moment."
Isaac held up another test tube. It had turned a dark, bloody red.
"It seems you'll need to prepare for deployment, not just a report. Full combat gear."
Marcus asked, "What is it?"
"Sample number 7 tested positive for human hemoglobin. And there's a periodic difference in the concentration of the hourly samples."
"Uh… I'm sorry, Mr. Upperhills. Could you please explain it in a way I can understand?"
Upperhills said, "Someone has been dying underground." An icy silence fell over the lab. Marcus asked, "How many?"
"About one person a day. If we don't hurry, there will be more victims."
At Isaac's words, Marcus and his colleagues quickly prepared to leave. Something terrible was happening beneath the capital's feet.
Deep beneath the capital, in a damp, dark natural cave connected to the sewers. Anna Upperhills regretted her decision on the cold stone floor. She shouldn't have believed the words about a good job for an orphan.
The place she followed them to was a hell. Here, they were ‘livestock.’ She and the other orphans were periodically dragged out to have their ‘blood and mana’ drained.
Some children lost their lives in the process. Whose turn would it be today? When would this suffering end?
It was at that moment.
Creeak.
The back door of the cell they were trapped in opened carefully. In the pitch-black darkness, the silhouette of a man in armor was revealed.
"Hic…!"
Anna covered the mouth of a younger child next to her who was about to scream. She whispered in a hoarse voice, "Are you… here to save us?" Guard Marcus was surprised to see the girl before him.
A gaunt body, eyes filled with terror but not having lost their reason.
Marcus nodded.
"You're a sharp kid. That's right. Everyone, follow me quietly."
The guard's plan was simple. While he, a knight-type, escaped with the children, the main force, which included a combat mage, would charge from the front. There was no way an underground organization could defeat the capital guard, so his mission was simply to escape safely.
But as he took a few steps leading the children, a chill ran down his spine.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
From behind, in the darkness, a sinister voice echoed. Marcus said, "You're…"
"The master of this farm, Malakai."
Beside him stood a monster twice the size of a normal orc.
"And this friend's name is ‘Red Ear.’"
"But… the other guards should have gone your way?"
Malakai chuckled.
"Ah, you mean those noisy friends? See them back there? I threw them to my cute baby as a delicious meal."
While Malakai continued his explanation, Marcus gave Anna a look. Anna and the other children understood Marcus's signal and carefully slipped out the back door. Now it was his turn to buy time.
"You… you bastard! This is for my comrades!"
Marcus deliberately shouted as he charged at Malakai. The more attention he drew, the higher the children's chances of survival would be. As expected, his sword never reached Malakai.
Thwack—!
A single blow. The orc’s massive fist struck Marcus in the abdomen, and his body was slammed into the wall.
Crack.
"Keuk…!"
Hehehe, Malakai let out a laugh.
"Sword-wielders are all the same. They think they can win if they get close. They don't even know how strong ‘Red Ear’ is."
Malakai looked down at the fallen Marcus and muttered, "Skin with magic resistance pushed to its limit, and muscles that can crush steel." Marcus looked up at Malakai and thought, ‘Are mages always this long-winded…?’ If this were the northern front, that mage would be dead by now.
But this wasn't the north. There were no comrades to help Marcus.
‘Damn it…’
Marcus found that fact deeply regrettable. Even as Marcus's consciousness faded, Malakai's monologue continued.
"And judgment that resembles a human's. A perfect living weapon. Soon, the capital will be at my feet…"
His monologue was cut short.
Splat—!
Hot blood splattered across Malakai's cheek.
"... Huh?"
Malakai turned his head in a daze.
"What… is this…"
The head of the ‘Red Ear’ he had been boasting about just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Crunch—! Crack~!
With a series of tearing sounds, the orc's arms also exploded like watermelons.
Thud!
Without even a death cry, Red Ear’s enormous body collapsed limply. Into Marcus’s fading consciousness, the figure of a man appeared.
"Mr.… Upperhills…"
He walked forward, dozens of iron balls floating around him.
Step, step.
The hero of the capital, Isaac Upperhills, said to Malakai, "What a disgusting sight. I feel like I'm about to throw up."