Chapter 103
The research institute Norn was engulfed in a rare level of commotion due to the additions made to the Donuts case.
Despite the chaos, one man remained unfazed—Benvenuto.
Stroking his neatly trimmed beard, he analyzed the Donuts data in his assigned office.
After completing most of the decoding in about an hour, he would casually disappear somewhere. His leisurely attitude, as if he had nothing better to do, stood out in the busy atmosphere.
If he were just a regular researcher, he'd be scolded for that, but he was a unique individual scouted (or perhaps poached) by the JPA for his extraordinary talents. A specialist in Old Labyrinth Script and also the head of Norn's Transfer Department—few dared to speak against him.
"Baron Benvenuto."
This happened on a pleasantly sunny afternoon.
Benvenuto slipped out of Norn for a personal investigation, taking off five hours early, when a young woman called out to him in a back alley lined with aged Roman architecture. She was leaning against the wall of a building, waiting.
She was a girl with sun-kissed skin and a tightly curved waist.
She looked young—maybe around twenty.
"How do you know my name, missy?"
Benvenuto asked casually.
His gaze was fixed on her ample, well-developed chest. He couldn't take his eyes off the sideboob peeking from her clothes.
(What a damn sexy pair of tits!)
Benvenuto was a healthy man.
"The Baron is quite famous. I heard you're called one of the 'Four Emperors of Dungeon Studies'."
Saying that, the girl swayed her hips as she approached Benvenuto.
Drawn in by her elegant curves, Benvenuto replied cheerfully, "Well, I wouldn't go that far."
"That's just talk from people around me."
"Is that so?"
"I've got no interest in the power struggles of the Dungeon Studies conference."
"You say that, but you look pretty pleased."
"You think so?"
He was getting on in years, but still very much active as a man.
"Would you like me to test that out, Baron?"
The girl whispered with a breathy voice as she tried to wrap her hand around the back of Benvenuto's neck.
"Of course, missy."
Benvenuto responded, fully prepared.
But a flicker of unease made him hesitate slightly with his lips.
(How did this girl know I'd be walking this way...? I came home earlier than usual...)
Right after that thought, the girl grabbed Benvenuto by the back of his neck, moved behind him, and with strength unimaginable for such slender arms, began to choke him.
(Th-this girl...!! What strength...!!)
In that instant, Benvenuto reacted with inhuman speed, trying to escape the submission hold, but the girl moved too quickly for him to evade. So instead, he activated the device hidden in his coat.
The device was a self-defense weapon made by modifying a fruit knife.
Its blade was about 10 cm long, with a blue gem embedded in its hilt.
Benvenuto let the knife fall, letting gravity do the work.
This knife—the Azure Gem Knife—was the pinnacle of transfer technology developed by the Euro Dungeon Foundation.
As the blue gem shone, the falling knife vanished at his feet.
The sharp blade crossed space and reappeared above the head of the girl who was choking Benvenuto.
"—"
The girl sensed the knife's teleportation and tried to dodge.
But she was a bit too slow. The knife grazed her shoulder, cutting shallowly.
The damage wasn't serious, but it was enough to force her back. Benvenuto used the opening created by the Azure Gem Knife to escape her grip.
"Missy, I really thought you were into me."
"A dried-up, filthy old man like you? You're way past your expiration date."
"Hey now, that hurts."
As he spoke, Benvenuto instantly recalled the Azure Gem Knife to his hand and this time hurled it.
The girl tilted her head slightly to dodge the blade. But right after, the knife sank deep into her healthy thigh.
Benvenuto's face turned serious as he said, "Be grateful I didn't send it straight into your body, missy," pulling out another Azure Gem Knife and showing it off to her.
What he was really saying without words was, "I could kill you anytime."
Whether she understood or not, the girl reached for the Azure Gem Knife and tried to pull it out.
"Hey, do I need to spell it out for you? Did Uncle get a little too poetic just now?"
"You exceeded expectations. I can't believe you've mastered point-to-point teleportation this precisely. I see now why I was chosen to kidnap you."
The girl pulled out the Azure Gem Knife and casually tossed it away.
Before it hit the ground, it crossed space and returned to Benvenuto's hand.
(The Azure Gem used in the knife is made by culturing and solidifying my spinal nerves. It's not a standard process, so it gives me instinctive speed and tactile precision. As long as it's in my line of sight, I can send the knife anywhere with confidence.)
"So it's not a skill, then. Even though you're supposed to be an explorer."
"Unfortunately, I wasn't blessed with any skills. But you, missy, you're quite the high-level explorer, aren't you? C-rank, maybe B-rank. Probably shows up with a single search."
"No, you're mistaken, Baron. I'm not an explorer."
"Don't lie."
Benvenuto threw the knife.
(Guess I'll wreck that other leg too. Damn shame though—those sexy thighs...)
Thinking that, he warped the Azure Gem Knife through space, aiming to stab her.
But the knife just spun around in midair. It didn't teleport.
(Wh-what!? The knife won't "jump"!?)
Right as Benvenuto panicked, his face was violently struck.
The unprecedented blow overwhelmed him, and his consciousness began to fade.
He floated briefly, then slammed into the hard floor.
Not understanding anything, Benvenuto's awareness slipped away.
In his final sight, the girl casually snapped the Azure Gem Knife in her fingers and murmured, "You can't kill someone with a toy."
(I know I warped that knife...)
"Thank you. I might've failed if I'd been on my own."
"I'm glad I came. If you'd failed, it would've jeopardized the plan."
He recognized the face peering at the collapsed Benvenuto beside the girl.
Slender, a bit unreliable, but always in a rush—Benvenuto's assistant, Bruno.
————
Benvenuto awoke on a hard floor.
The room was filled with damp air, carrying the scent of moss and a jagged texture. It was chilly and deeply unpleasant.
"Where am I? ...Ow."
A sudden jolt of raw pain coursed through his body. Judging by the dull ache, not much time had passed since he'd been beaten by that mysterious beauty in the streets of Rome.
"What the hell is going on? That girl, and that bastard Bruno... Am I caught up in some massive conspiracy?"
Benvenuto stood up and looked around.
It was a dark and narrow room. A desk and chair sat in the corner, and a heavy metal door seemed to be the entrance. Just one glance told him: "You're not getting out of here."
On the desk were a PC and several sheets of paper.
They were covered in lines of Old Labyrinth Script.
There was also a pen and a blank notepad.
On top of the notepad was a letter labeled "Instructions."
""Good morning, Baron Benvenuto. We'd like you to decode this document. We have no intention of harming you. We hope you'll be a good collaborator." ...A good collaborator, huh?"
Disgusted by the absurd request, Benvenuto crumpled the letter and threw it away.
All his belongings had been taken except his clothes. His only hope was the PC, but it didn't seem to be connected to the internet. Not that he was surprised.
"An intranet, huh? So they want me to decode this and send the answer via the editor?"
Looking through the PC's applications, Benvenuto guessed the captors' intentions. With a deep sigh, he turned his eyes to the document written in Old Labyrinth Script.
"Whether or not I tell them what I find... I still want to know what this says."
Just what kind of mess had he gotten himself into?
The reason must be right in front of him.
Benvenuto began decoding the document, mobilizing all his knowledge.
"Still, it's dark in here. And this fog's weird too..."
The mist was so thick, he had to lean in close just to see the PC screen.
Strange circumstances in a strange environment—his unease only grew.
——Some time later
Benvenuto was stunned by an ear-splitting, cataclysmic blast.
He had been decoding the document at his PC when suddenly a shockwave tore through the air, sending cracks splintering across the room.
The impact blew the metal door off its hinges, and a fragment narrowly grazed the tip of Benvenuto's nose.
Benvenuto collapsed to the ground in shock. When he looked back, he saw the hinge embedded in the wall.
If it had hit him, he'd be dead. This time, he could clearly feel his luck. After all, in dungeon studies, "fate power" has been scientifically proven to exist.
(Luck's never really been on my side. Maybe someone else's good fortune saved me...)
"That was close... But seriously, give me a break already..."
Benvenuto wiped the cold sweat from his brow and stood up.
Suddenly, he sensed someone—or something—approaching from the other side of the mangled door.
Benvenuto instinctively held his breath. Something told him he mustn't be seen.
The metal door creaked open.
Peering in from the other side was a monster.
A humanoid monster, black and slick with an organic sheen.
"Haah... I wanna go home..."
Benvenuto resigned himself to death.
But he wasn't going down without a fight.
Hoisting a chair as a weapon, Benvenuto growled defiantly, "All right, bring it on!"