Along with Frontier Count Lloyd, we came to the scene where the large number of human bones were found.
The place where the bones were found is the area that Maribel said that it was caved in so it couldnât be passed through.
The area is also where the large number of adventurers who had come down to the Abyss Hole were mobilized to remove the rubbles before the arrival of the knight order.
We were also helping, but to think it was discovered after we returned to the surface to restâŠ
There is no light at the end of the caved in area, but thanks to the lantern illuminating the way, we can see the depths of the pitch-dark passage.
Maribel said that this facility seems to goes around the Abyss Hole, butâŠ
Looking at this, it might be true.
With the knight at the lead holding a lantern in his hand, we pass through the caved-in part and proceed to the opposite side, and then we see a door.
âThe human bones were found in this room. The smell is so bad inside, so the door was closed after the discovery.â
âUmu, open it.â
âYes sir!â
The knight who is urged by Frontier Count Lloyd opens the closed door by pulling it.
There are several skilled escort knights accompanying us in the surrounding.
Even the light isnât on, as expected, it seems that the âelectricityâ doesnât reach this place.
Everyone is nervously looking at the knight opening the heavy metal door.
When the door gradually opens while making a rusty noise, a rotten odor leaks out from inside, and the unpleasant odor stimulates the inside of my nostrils.
This is⊠really bad.
What a terrible smellâŠ
The knights around me start to cover their nose with the cloth they brought, so I also imitate them in order to suppress the nausea that welled up within me.
Eventually, the door opens, and what appears before us are a large number of semi-skeletonized corpses, completely skeletonized corpses, and decaying corpses lying on the floor in the room illuminated by the light of the lantern.
âThis is⊠what a terrible sight⊠with just a glance, I can see that there are more than a hundred corpses hereâŠâ
âLloyd-sama, the escorts will check the safety first, so please wait.â
Meiss stops the Frontier Count Lloyd from getting inside and order his subordinate knights to get in first.
âIâm used to seeing skeletons and mummified bodies, but decayed bodies might be impossible for meâŠâ
Looking inside the room, Meila seems to feel sick at the sight inside and quietly turns away.
âIt sure was a correct decision not to bring Maribel. Weâre talking about that girl here, if she saw this, she would probably make various conjectures.â
âYouâre right. It might be as Onee-san saidâŠâ
Among the decayed bodies, there were some with tails and ears reminiscent to that of beastmen when they were alive.
Perhaps Maribelâs father is among themâŠ
Just that, to identify an individual may be difficult if they are so decayed.
More than 100 bodies, including skeletonized ones, are piled up in the small room, and they donât even wear anything that can identify their identity.
âFrom the looks of it, it is safe to say that they are the beastmen that the little girl called Maribel said were working here.â
After the escorts have confirmed the safety, the Frontier Count Lloyd also enters the room and begins to inspect the corpses in detail.
âThat seems to be the case. From the appearance of the decayed bodies, it seems that they were brought here and killed from behind.â
âDo you think it was to seal their mouth?â
âI think that possibility is high.â
Lloyd and Meiss grasps the situation while inspecting the bodies.
I had reported all the stories I heard from Maribel to the Adventurerâs Guild, so information that Maribelâs father and the others disappeared with the Abyss Walker-like creature and dubious people about three weeks ago seemed to have reached Frontier Count Lloyd.
âGuessing from the report, due to the search for the Abyss Walker, someone did this in case someone found this place. They didnât want anyone to find out what they were doing here, so they âdisposedâ those who were working here, or something along that line, huh.â
âWhen you put together various reports, such a scenario sure seems to be the most applicable here.â
âIn that case, the other party may have an organization that is familiar with various information backing them. It was said that they were working normally until three weeks ago; learning that they might be found out, they immediately took action.â
ââŠIs there someone from the kingdomâs side helping them?â
âSince this is involving Abyss Walker, I donât want to think in that direction. Although with the existences of the new type and this facility, there are many parts that would not be possible without a collaborator from the kingdomâs side.â
The faces of the surrounding knights listening to the conversation between the two darkens when they heard that there might be a collaborator on the kingdomâs side.
Because the Abyss Walkers who caused the Great Invasion should be the existences most detested by the people of the kingdom.
Are there really people helping the organization that brought along such creatures, I wonder?
Such a question floats in my mind.
[What do you think of the twoâs talk, Meila Nee-san? Do you think there are people in this kingdom who would cooperate with the organization that has Abyss Walkers?]
[Letâs see⊠There is a possibility that there are people cooperating without knowing that the organization is actually doing shady acts in the shadows while having a different side on the surface.]
Meilaâs answer is really a blind spot.
Cooperating without knowing, huhâŠ
In that case, is there a possibility that Gileâs staff was cooperating without knowing it?
I told the Adventurerâs Guild that I had reported everything, but there was one thing I didnât report.
It was that I fought creatures that looked like Abyss Walkers wearing full-body armor at the secondary residence of the commander of the Royal Guard Knight â Gile in the Royal Capital.
Of course, I have told this story to Meila, who knows that I am Sword Master Alfine.
The reason I didnât tell them was because I couldnât be sure whether the creepy knights that I fought were Abyss Walkers.
It was because every parts of their bodies were covered with eerie armor, and when I happened to destroy the armor, I just saw in a glance the black scales and green blood it shed.
Itâs not about self-protection, but when it comes to talking about it, I would have to talk about my identity, so I couldnât say it at the moment.