I pissed blood, collapsed, and was carried to the ward. After three days, they told me my urine was completely normal, handed me some medicine, said to rest at home, and kicked me out.

  What a kind place the army’s sanatorium is!

  It was surprisingly quick, and I felt refreshed.

  I received special leave and a get-well allowance. I went home, but with nothing to do, I headed outside.

  During missions I always miss my house and bed, but once I’m actually back, the loneliness of being single hits me—or something like that. Wandering around aimlessly is my usual routine.

  But today was different.

  While I was hospitalized, there was a water bottle and glass on the small table beside the bed. At some point I noticed a piece of paper slipped under the overturned glass.

  It said only: “Old District, Dry Well, Side Tunnel.”

  What could it mean?

  The “Old District” was the area where plans to develop the sewers and urbanize the place had been shelved. A test dig had struck limestone bedrock just below the surface, so the whole project was put on hold and abandoned.

  I thought there couldn’t possibly be a dry well in a place like that.

  “A side tunnel, huh… It wasn’t even a real well since no water ever came out…”

  “Captain, what are you doing?”

  I ran into my vice-captain, Mikeiros.

  “I was just about to visit you… What’s going on?”

  I explained the situation to him.

  “You’re going there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “In that condition?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s like walking straight into a beating from some shady thugs. Just stay home and rest.”

  That area was a hangout for day laborers and low-level thugs who basically subcontracted for thieves.

  “It’s just to kill time. I’ve got nothing to do at home anyway. Besides, I hate leaving things unfinished.”

  “You’re gonna end up pissing blood again~ You really are hopeless, Captain.”

  With that, Mikeiros tagged along anyway.

  “There’s no way there’s a dried-up well in a district that hit bedrock.”

  “Well, if no water ever came out, it wouldn’t ‘dry up’… What are you talking about?”

  “The note.”

  “Ah,” Mikeiros fell silent.

  “That area’s empty during the day. Only the useless ones come back at night.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You always need everything spelled out, don’t you? During the day they’re worked like dogs on the sites. At night, the ones not out thieving are sleeping. In short, they’re the guys too incompetent even for proper bandit work.”

  “I see. You could’ve just said that from the start. Your instructions are always so hard to decode, Captain.”

  “Look, our peacetime job is patrolling the city streets. If you understood how the city works, you’d get it. That’s not prior knowledge—it’s common sense.”

  “Fine, fine. Geez, unlike you, Captain, I don’t have the luxury of going for walks on my days off. Cut me some slack.”

  “Are you calling me a guy with too much free time?”

  “That’s not what I mean. I have family obligations and all kinds of stuff. I’m away from home a lot as it is.”

  Sorry for being single, I almost said, but stopped myself.

  The Old District lies on the west side of the royal capital.

  This city is ancient, and the western quarter is the oldest part.

  While the palace area has been constantly rebuilt and expanded, the west was simply left to rot.

  Along the highway stretching west from the palace, merchant houses line the road, cargo wagons and crowds creating a lively bustle. But further on, buildings grow sparse, and on the north side of the highway lies the Old District—left behind like ruins.

  Aidonius searched for the well there.

  A few men sat idly in front of crumbling sun-dried brick walls, not even working. They were gaunt, eyes sunken, with strange, hollow stares.

  Maybe I should wrap this up quickly.

  “Shouldn’t we head back now, Captain?”

  “If you want to go home, go by yourself. If you’re following, shut your mouth and stay quiet.”

  Finding anything that even resembled a well was a pain. Everything was in ruins; it was impossible to tell one pile of rubble from another.

  Finally I found it. Peering inside, it was only about the depth of one man. A rope hung down, tied to a dead tree.

  “We’re going down…”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  When I glared at him, Mikeiros shut his mouth.

  I climbed down the rope, but Mikeiros didn’t follow.

  Sure enough, there was a side tunnel big enough for one person to crouch through, and a light was burning inside.

  There was a thud behind me.

  I thought it was Mikeiros, but then I felt something cold pressed against the back of my neck.

  “Easy there, don’t move. Your buddy’s with us too. Now walk inside.”

  I did as I was told and advanced deeper.

  The passage dropped down a step. Below was a room large enough to stand in comfortably. Another passage continued deeper into the wall.

  From behind I heard Mikeiros making a fuss.

  “Booooss~ We got guests!”

  Several men emerged from the depths. Finally one more appeared, and the others stepped aside.

  This had to be the boss.

  His forehead was greasy, hair plastered to his skin—he clearly hadn’t bathed in days. Long face, narrow eyes, a look that sneered at everyone.

  “Let go, let go!” Mikeiros shouted as he was forced to stand beside me.

  “You guys think you’ll get away with this? We’re military personnel. Do you have any idea what’ll happen to you?”

  Really, idiots never fail to annoy me.

  Revealing your identity when you’re at a disadvantage is basically begging to be killed.

  “Hahaha. So you’re army boys, huh? Even a pathetic idiot like this can join the military. The guy next to him looks pretty fed up, though?”

  “Shut up! Captain, say something!”

  “Didn’t you understand when I told you to keep your mouth shut? Because of your stupid comments, our chances of walking out of here alive just dropped sharply.”

  Now he started cursing at me, so I simply tuned him out.

  A truly stupid ally is far more troublesome than an enemy.

  The long-faced man looked us over appraisingly.

  “Captain, eh? Having a stupid subordinate must be tough. I get it. I shot my idiot superior dead in the middle of battle and took off.”

  “You’re Titus, aren’t you?”

  “Hahaha, correct. You know me well. Am I that famous?”

  “There’s only one guy who killed his superior on the battlefield and fled, so the crow feather gave it away.”

  “Excellent, Captain. Mad because your suspect got killed? You tracked me all the way here. I’ll have to find whoever talked to the military.”

  Titus glared at his men.

  Their faces changed color and they looked away.

  Aidonius didn’t miss it.

  “Hahaha, it might be one of those guys over there. If you kill me, you won’t be able to find out either. Should I just kill everyone?”

  Titus brought his face close and poked Aidonius in the chest with his index finger.

  “You’ve got some guts. But messing with that idiot over there seems more fun.”

  Mikeiros collapsed on his ass in fear.

  “Anyway, hey—we’re pulling out of here. Tie these two up and bring them.”

  “Where are we going, boss?”

  “You guys head to Targa. I’ll take the money here and stop by Leb’s place.”

  As soon as he spoke, Titus headed deeper inside.

  Six men around us, and we had one useless piece of baggage.

  The thieves closed in.

  ◇

  “No movement so far. How about your side?”

  I watched the well from the shadows.

  “Nothing here either. Wait… something’s happening.”

  I pulled a smoke bomb from my bag.

  “A man came out. Bow slung over his shoulder. Fletching… black. Crow. Probably Bernolt. Beginning tail.”

  “Roger. We’re moving in.”

  I sprinted forward, leaped down into the well, dashed through the side tunnel, struck the smoke bomb against the wall to ignite it, and hurled it inside.

  I threw knives at the two men in front. Both hit the backs of their necks; they dropped without a sound.

  At that exact moment, smoke began to fill the passage.

  “This way! Hurry!”

  Aidonius grabbed the collar of the half-crying Mikeiros on the floor, yanked him up, shoved him into the side tunnel, and gave him a hard push to get him out.

  A man charged in recklessly, swinging a fist. I kicked the inside of his knee with my heel. As he buckled, I drove my knee into his temple. He went limp.

  “Sorry. I’m still technically a soldier.”

  Now it was three against one, but they didn’t look like they were going to attack.

  I climbed the well and emerged outside. Two people were waiting.

  One was a woman.

  “Run.”

  The moment I spoke, the woman took off.

  I grabbed the arm of the collapsing Mikeiros and forced him to run.

  The woman left the Old District, headed toward the city, slipped into an alley, and stopped.

  After confirming no pursuers, when we caught up she moved deeper into a side path.

  “Thanks for the save. I owe you.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “You’re a medic, right? I recognize your face. That note was from you too, wasn’t it?”

  The woman said nothing.

  “You used me as bait.”

  “Sorry. That’s correct. I was looking for Titus.”

  “I see. So everything went according to plan.”

  “This part was unexpected,” she said, pointing at Mikeiros.

  “Same here.”

  Hearing that, the woman laughed.

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  She nodded.

  Aidonius lent his shoulder to Mikeiros until they reached the entertainment district, then told him he could go home by himself and started walking with the woman.

  The entertainment district could be found just off the main roads in every direction, but the west side was the cheapest.

  Taverns, brothels—many establishments lined the streets.

  Aidonius entered a common teahouse called the Lamp Pavilion.

  It was the kind of place frequented by pairs and lone customers—where bar girls waited for clients.

  He sat at the very back against the wall.

  At some point the woman had let her hair down.

  Women really are mysterious creatures.

  Just changing her hairstyle completely altered the atmosphere.

  The soldier’s face had become a woman’s.

  This was interesting.

  “Marcus Aidonius. Technically a soldier. And you are? I don’t expect complete honesty, but I’ll ask anyway.”

  “Romies Enola. I really am a medic. I won’t lie about that.”

  “Why did you leave that note for me?”

  “Because you’re a rare type of soldier in charge of security and specialized in investigations. You don’t go to war; you only handle cases—and you’re the only one connected to that incident.”

  “Why leave a note instead of talking to me directly?”

  “I wasn’t sure you’d accept if I asked outright. It would’ve been awkward if you refused after I explained.”

  “What were the conditions?”

  “After you accept certain conditions, I want your cooperation in securing Titus. Of course, I’ll pay a reward.”

  Aidonius thought for a moment.

  “What are the conditions?”

  “We will take custody of Titus.”

  “I figured as much. All right, I accept.”

  Enola’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “Is it that surprising?”

  “Well, you’re a soldier. I thought you’d be worried about letting him escape.”

  “Really? If I had captured him, that man would have been eliminated.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Enola frowned.

  “You seem to understand but not fully. This incident has a leak inside the military.”

  Aidonius leaned forward and spoke in a low voice.

  “An insider?”

  “It was the second day after we secured Bat Serra. A messenger was sent to report the confession, and the round trip to the capital for transport orders took a full day. Titus was already within reach. Don’t you think the response was awfully fast? And he perfectly secured an escape route and vanished. They even predicted I would take the open coastal road on the east. If I had caught him, the man who knows the full picture would have ended up dead in his cell.”

  Enola listened intently, staring into his eyes.

  “I don’t know where the leak came from—my direct superior or higher—but there’s no way to tell who’s backing whom. Thinking about it is just a waste of time. But I can immediately figure out who’s behind you.”

  “……”

  “Aelius Lunafrea, right?”

  “Why do you think that?”

  “The ones chasing Titus are the Aelius family. Even for them, slipping through the search net spread across the peninsula and tracing clues from Bat Serra’s murder scene wouldn’t be possible with normal methods. The suspicious people caught in the net were on the north side. The murder scene was in the south. Even though the search net was disrupted, they were conducting intensive mountain hunts in the south. Yet he still got away.”

  “You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

  “No, I’m honestly impressed. We couldn’t locate his hideout. I’d love to know how you found it, but I suppose you won’t tell me.”

  “That’s right. Not right now.”

  “Who’s Leb?”

  “I can tell you that. The Revenant Company.”

  “I see. That explains a lot. There are endless dark rumors about them. So he was acting as Titus’s intermediary. Amazing. Does she have her own intelligence agency? …This is getting interesting. I’ll fully cooperate with you. Luckily I’m on leave and have plenty of time.”

  “Ah… thank you…”

  “Also, I have one condition from my side. I want to hand him over because I need to know the full story. Once it’s resolved, share every detail with me. Of course, I won’t tell anyone else.”

  He looked at her as if to say, How about that?

  Thank you so much for reading! ??

  If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a rating or a review!

  Your feedback is greatly appreciated and really encourages both the original author and the translator to keep bringing more chapters.

  You can also read the original Japanese version here:

  See you in the next chapter!