85. Ksarezwi, Lowell
“Come in! Hey, this way!”
We walked across the pupil, where wooden crates of unknown contents were neatly piled up, following the lead rat.
Contrary to my concerns, she readily returned my wallet. If I didn’t give it back and endured, I wouldn’t have known what I would do, but it was fortunate.
“Because it’s been a while since I’ve had a guest, I might make a mistake without even realizing it.
“Yes. All right.”
“That, and, the wallet, I’m really, really sorry…. Recently, there are no cows, no customers, no…. I’m hungry….”
“Ahahahaha…. It’s okay because I got it back.”
I felt it earlier… This man stutters too much. Is this kind of person a competent informant?
Okay. It doesn’t look that way to me.
She quietly followed her, feeling awkward for nothing, so I addressed her as she hummed.
“Hey, so….”
I can remember this name, but what was your real name? I’m sure Becky told me.
As I paused her words, she turned to me and said.
“My name, Lowell! It’s Lowell!”
Yes. That was the name
“Ah, then…. From now on, we will call it Lowell. The name rat is a bit….”
“Yes yes! Yes, call it whatever you feel comfortable with!”
“My name is Austin. This is Robin, and this is Luna.”
“mmm! Austin, Robin and Luna! Wow, I definitely remembered!”
The rats who knew us as guests— Lowell looked pretty excited. I wonder if there are no customers today, and I was sullen, so maybe I was excited because a customer came after a long time.
By the way….
‘I was worried because it was called ‘Rat,’ and it lived in the sewer…. Than you think….’
This abandoned sewer, unexpectedly, wasn’t that dirty. No, it even looked clean.
As we followed the excited Rowell to the inside, a door with luxurious decorations regularly appeared in front of us.
“Austin. That door….”
“I’m watching too.”
Surprisingly, that solid-looking door seemed to be made of gold, out of step with this shabby sewer. Following the light of the lantern in Rowell’s hand, the door blocking our way shone golden.
“Hmm hmm hmm~.”
Rowell, who was humming his song, took out a set of keys from his chest and opened the door. Unlike the previous time when I opened the sewer entrance, the key I pushed in this time turned smoothly without any misalignment.
The door opened, and we cautiously stepped into the room, following Rowell, who opened the door and entered as if we were accustomed to it.
“… And.”
My first impression after entering Lowell’s room was that it was an unexpectedly luxurious and calm atmosphere.
The bookshelves placed on both sides of the wall were perfectly symmetrical, and the luxuriously decorated desk and soft-looking chair were also symmetrical from left to right without any error. The room was painted white, and the floor was made of gleaming marble.
The floor and top of the desk were clean and without a speck of dust, which seemed to show Rowell’s personality.
Thinking about it now, it didn’t look that dirty from the time it entered the sewer. No, it looked rather neat. It didn’t even smell like sewage.
“hehehe. Uh, how is it?”
Rowell asked, tapping the floor with his tail. Well, what about this….
“You live very neatly.”
Obsessive grooming habits. She definitely seemed to have a problem somewhere.
As we wandered around the room, Rowell, who was sitting at the desk, offered us a chair.
“That, uh, sit down!”
“Ah. Thank you.”
I went inside and was about to sit down in a chair when Rowell suddenly screamed.
“Wait a minute!”
“Yes, yes?”
As I paused in a hesitant position just before sitting in the chair, Rowell covered his face with his hand and pointed to the middle chair.
“Uh-uh, can’t you sit here?”
“There’s nothing that can’t be done…. Why….”
“That, standing, gender, symmetry….”
“… Ah.”
Woman Man Woman. He seemed to be saying that sitting like this is symmetrical and comfortable.
Come to think of it, Becky also called Lowell a b*tch.
… I don’t think that’s wrong.
Rowell’s expression softened as I sat in the middle chair, with Robin and Luna sitting on either side of me.
“hehehe…. Joe, good! So, whoa, what information do you want?”
Rowell asked with a smile on his face. I quietly rummaged through my pockets and took out the envelope that Becky had handed to me.
“Actually, this… ?”
“You.”
As soon as I pull out the envelope, Rowell reaches over and slaps my wrist! Caught.
“What, what is it?”
Bewildered, he tried to shake off his hand, but for some reason the hand held by Rowell did not budge.
How does this much power come from such a skinny physique?
I gulped and looked into Rowell’s eyes.
“Hey… ?”
Rowell’s eyes weren’t looking at me. I rolled my eyes following Rowell’s gaze.
Rowell’s gaze was fixed on the envelope in my hand. No, it was fixed to Becky’s lip mark left on the envelope.
“What is your relationship with Becky?”
“No, what….”
In a strange situation, like asking an adulterer, I was more than embarrassed and even stunned.
What’s your relationship with Becky, just a business partner and friend?
“Just friends?”
“… Isn’t that a lie?”
Rowell’s eyes rolled and turned towards me. There was no life in her eyes, and her face was so horribly expressionless that you might think it was a doll rather than a person.
“I am not lying. Really just friends I just brought this letter because Becky asked me to give it to you.”
“Be, be, be, Becky is….”
Rowell’s face immediately relaxed. What is it?
“Yes. Becky asked me to pass it on to you. These lip marks were also done by Becky herself….”
“Ehehehehe…. Be, Becky, G, directly….”
Rowell’s eyes began to flash dangerously. I involuntarily pulled my body back little by little.
“… Hey? Lowell?”
“Oh, come on, give it to me!”
Rowell stared at the envelope in my hand, drooling to the point of saliva, then quickly reached out and snatched the envelope.
The envelope was taken, but Rowell did not open it right away. For a while he looked back and forth between Becky’s lip stain on the envelope and us, then bit his lip and said,
“Um, over there…. I’m sorry, but would you like to go outside for a minute? Oh, because it won’t take long….”
* * *
“Sup…. Big hum. Sorry. You looked a bit confused.”
“… ….”
We sat back in our chairs without saying anything. I glanced at the envelope on the desk,
Becky’s lip marks on the envelope were extremely damp. On top of Becky’s lip marks, there was a pattern that looked like someone else’s lips.
‘Becky, you are suffering too….’
I’ll admit that Becky is an attractive woman, but she didn’t know that she would flirt with the same woman.
Anyway, let’s talk about work.
Lowell, who enjoyed a lot of happy hour after we kicked him out, was a lot brighter than the gloomy atmosphere he had when we first met.
I sighed quietly and looked at Rowell, who was still glancing at the envelope, hurriedly took out his letter and opened it.
“Uh… therefore…. First of all, I read all the letters Becky sent me. Are you saying you guys are incredibly useful friends?”
“Did Becky write that?”
“Yes. You guys are amazingly good at one thing, so if there is anything I want to ask you to ask me to do it.”
Rowell said with a grin. Thank you so much for this. If it’s a side income, I don’t mind it either.
“Thank you very much for that.”
“Hmm…. And, other things….”
“… Wait a minute.”
I felt it was strange a little while ago, but Rowell’s tone, which had been seriously stuttering, was back to normal as if it had never been like that.
“You don’t stutter anymore?”
“Oh, that….”
Hearing my question, Rowell continued, blushing and twisting his body.
“Because I supplemented the beki ingredients….”
“… Let’s talk about work now.”
“Yes! Yes! Talk about work!”
It was as if I had glimpsed into the abyss for a moment. Becky, do your best.
Rowell jumped up from his seat, approached the bookshelf to his right, and began to rummage through something in his hand.
“Not even this…. This too…. Ah, this!”
Soon, Rowell took out a roll of thick paper and unfolded it in front of us, who were staring blankly at the desk.
“This is….”
“… Is this a map?”
“Senior. What is this?”
The identity of the scroll Rowell showed us was a map.
As we looked at each other in puzzlement, Rowell tilted his head.
“Huh? Didn’t you know and ask?”
“… Yes?”
Rowell unfolded the stationery that had been folded on the desk again, and he began to read the contents of the letter.
“Becky said… You guys are interested in exploring the underground of Mettelheim?”
“No, what?”
This sounds like nonsense again. Let’s talk nonsense without my knowledge, Rowell huh? I continued to read it out loud.
“Didn’t you know that an unknown underground space was discovered under Mettelheim? The people outside are in an uproar right now?”
“We knew that too.”
“Then, do you know that the Adventurers Guild and the Mage Tower are trying to recruit an expedition this time?”
“… No, wait.”
What are you talking about? Are you saying that the exploration of the underground space you heard from Royman will be entrusted to mercenaries and adventurers rather than to the Kingdom?
And, did Becky say we were interested in the expedition?
… This crazy b*tch
I waved my hands and denied Rowell’s words.
“No, no. For a moment. We have no intention of doing so, and we are not very curious. I just came up to recuperate.”
“Um…. For a moment…. Ah! It says this at the bottom of the letter! If Austin refuses to participate in the expedition, the money he earned at the currency exchange… ? You said you would give me as a reward?”
“I have always been interested in exploring the unknown. Becky knew me very well. He is also a considerate friend. I’d love to hear more details.
Are you referring to the money he robbed at Harman’s Levener exchange office?
It sounded like he was going to pay that amount as compensation. The money robbed at the exchange office must have already been returned to the exchange office.
I nodded, and I could feel Luna and Robin looking at me with a little fed up expression.
“What. Why.”
“… No. Because I was curious too.”
“Austin…. You really….”
“Don’t worry. Of course, I’ll discuss it with you guys and decide…. But first, let’s hear about the reward.”
When I spoke softly, Robin and Luna’s expressions softened a little.
“Is the story over?”
“Yes. It looked a bit messy just now, but…. Anyway, let’s listen first.”
Rowell’s fingers touched the old map spread out on the desk.
“So, this is the map.”
“A map of the underground Mettelheim?”
Robin asked back, and Rowell shook his head.
“No. It’s a map of the underground sewer, to be exact. It’s lost now, so maybe this map I have is the only one?”
“Hmm….”
I stared at the map for a while, then touched my chin and lost myself in thought.
The unidentified underground space Royman talked about. To explore that space, the Mage Tower and Adventurers Guild are trying to organize an expedition.
I don’t know how he got that information, but what I was more curious about was why Becky was interested in this nonsense.
It doesn’t seem to make any money at all. What for?
As if reading my eyes, Rowell trembled and opened his mouth.
“That, that’s…. Actually, Becky asked me last time. The Mage Tower side is trying to organize an expedition, but they want to select excellent personnel….”
“… ….”
Becky, this b*tch sold me out.
I closed my eyes tightly. My eyelids trembled.
“How much did you get?”
“That….”
Rowell came closer and whispered in my ear.
“… Really?”
“Really….”
… At an amount I could never have imagined, my mouth dropped open without even realizing it. No, the Mage Tower and the Adventurer’s Guild are trying to recruit an expedition by paying that much money?
When I asked why Becky was interested, he said it’s worth the challenge for that kind of money. Even more, we are talented people who pride themselves on having their own skills.
… No, wait. If we were to organize an expedition, what would Princess Alexis do?
As I raised my troubled face, Rowell spoke urgently.
“Ah, but! There is still a lot of time left before we can organize an expedition.”
Rowell didn’t seem to want to be hated by Becky. That’s why you’re desperately trying to convince me like that.
“How much is left?”
“Uh… About a year?”
It’s been a year. A year would be enough time for Princess Alexis to graduate from the academy. Then you’ll have plenty of time until then.
Although, the party of warriors who have to deal with the demon king won’t be able to survive until then.
I don’t think this is something I’ll decide on my own. It’s a bit risky to just look at money and accept it….
“I don’t think it’s something I’ll decide on my own, and I think I’ll have to discuss it with my colleagues. I’ll go and think about it then.”
“Oh, yes! Instead, if you have any questions, just ask! Even if I’m like this, I know a little bit more!”
“Really? Then….”
This is the information you want to know. I don’t have anything right now
“I don’t have anything in mind. I’ll come back later if I remember.”
When I got up from my seat after grabbing a map of Juseom Juseom, Rowell jumped up and saw me off.
“Yes! This is my home, so come visit me whenever you need me! You can come and play!”
“Yes. I will definitely come back next time.”
“Mr. Lowell! Nice to meet you! I’ll come visit again next time!”
“Hmm. Come back next time.”
When I came out of the sewer while being seen off by Rowell, it was already lunchtime.
“Time flies so fast.”
I thought of Lowell. It seemed that the taste had gone a little, but it seemed that he had his own skills as an information merchant.
The time when you need it later will definitely come.
My intuition told me so.