The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 47
EP.47 Plan (2)
The sewers.
Not exactly a place you’d want to go to unless you had a really good reason. Whether it was because you had a task to complete down there, a job related to that environment, or perhaps it was an essential facility that not just anyone can enter.
Of course, Aetherna wasn’t exactly a hyper-realistic game. While there were some disgusting monsters here and there, that was just part of the creature design. Overall, it had a style closer to anime-inspired characters, aimed at the subculture, and was known for its long, epic storyline that wouldn’t be out of place even if the word epic was attached to it.
The sewers didn’t necessarily need to have cockroaches crawling on the walls and floors or filthy things floating around in the graphics.
Considering the size of the sewer system that spans the entire capital, fully rendering its massive scale would’ve been impossible. But since parts of the capital were accurately represented in the game, the sewers likely looked just like they did in the game.
At first, I thought about acquiring a sewer map or something. But my impatience got the best of me, and I quickly realized that getting such a map within a single day—on a Sunday, no less—was impossible. However, I wasn’t too worried. Even if I got lost inside, I could always reset the time and get out easily.
“…”
“…”
That was until the two princesses decided to follow me.
Leo and Claire had gone off to handle another request. There wasn’t any reward greater than what we had earned earlier that morning. So, instead of going through the headache of trying to beat those two to the punch, I figured it’d be better to check on something else.
But it seemed that the protagonists, who were always so diligent about their tasks in the game, weren’t all that different here in this reality.
In the game series, the party members often separated due to various events or started out in different regions. But even in those situations, the characters were always shown as being hard at work wherever they were.
To the game developers, these characters were like their children. And of course, the popularity of those characters was key to selling merchandise and sequels. That’s why I wasn’t particularly worried, even when I saw the option where a heroine could die. It wasn’t a point of controversy among the players either.
Some of the death-possible heroines were very popular.
Given the sales of the sequels and the fact that it was impossible for the developers to create separate routes for every significant choice, resurrecting a heroine was inevitable. I even suspected they might bring Claire, who was set to die no matter what, back to life.
Anyway.
In short, the game developers made sure that the heroines were always doing something meaningful elsewhere, so they wouldn’t be seen as slacking off while the protagonist was suffering.
And it seemed that same diligent personality has carried over into this world.
“Your Highness, Princess.”
Standing in front of the sewer entrance, I addressed the two who had followed me.
“Alice.”
“Please call me Charlotte.”
“…….”
“……”
If they had looked like they were determined to do something great, I wouldn’t have anything to say, but these two people looked so calm, as if they owned the place.
Well, fine. It wasn’t strange for Alice to be here, but Charlotte?
Why on earth would the princess of Velbur need to go down into the capital’s sewers?
“The inside may be far dirtier and more unpleasant than either of you imagine.”
I warned.
It would probably be much filthier and more unpleasant than I imagined. There was a sense of realism that couldn’t be conveyed through the game. The developers were notoriously bad at optimization. The absence of small bugs or rats was likely because including them would have caused the frame rate to drop drastically, not because they didn’t want to include them.
Even the sewer entrance I saw was different. In the game, it was just a generic metal door texture, but here, it was rusted in various places. Still, the surroundings weren’t too different from what I remembered. Expecting a cash-strapped company to create photo-realistic textures was unrealistic.
So… I assumed that at least the interior wouldn’t be drastically different from my memory.
“What’s the problem? As the princess of the Empire, any unpleasant territory will belong to me. Should I avoid it just because I’m the leader?”
“…”
She had a point. It was hard to argue when I was the one who had instilled this kind of thinking in her.
But… if she kept thinking like this, she’d be in for a rude awakening eventually. It had happened in the original story, too. There was a big difference between knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes.
Then again, maybe Alice wouldn’t need to witness such horrors firsthand. After all, Claire hadn’t fallen into darkness in this world, so Alice might be spared that particular trauma.
I turned my gaze to Charlotte, who stood confidently beside Alice.
“I happened to have no other plans. The royal family of Velbur doesn’t turn a blind eye when a friend is in need of help.”
I never asked for any help, though.
Charlotte had just happened to meet us while I was walking with Alice, overheard our conversation, and decided to tag along on her own accord.
But I still had something to say to Charlotte.
“The sewers are important national facilities. No matter what, it’s not appropriate to let a foreigner—”
“Oh my.”
Charlotte interrupted with a soft sound, cutting me off mid-sentence.
Her eyes were fixed on my hand.
…Where I was holding a lockpick.
Yes, that’s right. One of those lockpicks commonly used in foreign RPGs to pick locks with stealth skills or that sometimes appeared in horror games as a disposable master key.
Clearly, this wasn’t the behavior of someone who had been given permission to enter. Because, well, I hadn’t been given permission. This area only opened up after a specific main quest in the game. And we were still in the very early stages of the game. It would be a long time before this place became accessible.
“Keys these days have quite a unique design. Perhaps they’re made disposable for security reasons?”
“……”
Without changing her expression, Charlotte gave me a look that clearly mocked my efforts, but I just turned back to the lock without saying a word.
The lock was somewhat a bit odd. Although terms like ‘magic’ and ‘energy’ were casually thrown around in this world, the setting was still fundamentally steampunk. The brass lock looked sturdy enough.
However, its internal structure was much simpler compared to modern Earth locks. They could make it as complex as they wanted, but it was just a sewer. There was no reason to use an expensive lock equivalent to a pocket watch here.
And because of that, the lockpick worked easily.
Having realized that my physical abilities paled in comparison to the monsters of this world, I had decided to expand my skill set into more utility areas. One of those areas was lockpicking.
In the original game, there were important scenes where locks were picked to open doors, so I thought I could do it too. It took a lot of perseverance, but I eventually learned how to pick locks.
“Why? You can keep staring at me, but it won’t change my mind.”
Alice said, lifting her chin as she noticed my gaze shift toward her.
No, I was hoping she could do something about Charlotte… but fine. The main reason this place was sealed off was to prevent people from getting lost inside, not because of any real danger. And it wasn’t as if Charlotte would plant a bomb in here or anything.
Besides, if the smell inside was too overwhelming, they’d probably run away on their own.
Suppressing a sigh, I turned back to the lock.
I knelt down and inserted the lockpick into the keyhole. After fiddling with it for a while—
Ping—
A clear snapping sound rang out as the lockpick broke in half.
The lock didn’t open.
To make matters worse, the broken lockpick jammed the keyhole, making another attempt impossible.
“Ah.”
“…”
“…”
There was complete silence behind me.
…But I could easily imagine what kind of expressions they were making.
Without bothering to look back, I thought to myself.
Again!
*
Click.
With a crisp sound, the lock opened.
“You have quite the talent.”
Charlotte said, sounding genuinely impressed as I opened the maintenance door to the sewer.
Though both Charlotte and Alice were capable swordswomen, having reached the level where they could emit sword energy, it seemed neither of them possessed this kind of finesse. Not just Charlotte, but Alice, too, was looking at me with a hint of admiration.
“It’s nothing special.”
I answered, then entered the sewer—
—It was fortunate that I went in first, so they couldn’t see my expression.
My face must have crumbled terribly at that moment. I barely managed to reset it to a neutral expression, but after inhaling the stench that filled the air, I seriously considered turning back.
“…”
And it seemed that the two who followed me inside felt the same way.
“Ugh.”
Alice’s voice was cut off abruptly, as if she had clamped a hand over her mouth to stop any sounds from escaping.
Having finally managed to control my own expression, I turned to look at them and spoke.
“If either of you wishes to turn back now, feel free to do so.”
Alice, who had been holding her mouth with her hand and squinting her eyes in discomfort, removed her hand from her mouth. To my surprise, beneath her hand, she was smiling.
“You’re the one whose expression is saying otherwise.”
“Is it really that bad?”
Charlotte, who was peering at me from behind Alice, tilted her head, but Alice was right.
“If you want to leave, you can still go back. Isn’t that what you said?”
Alice continued, still smiling.
“…”
With Alice’s words, I turned back around.
Alright, I get it.
If I had come alone, I would’ve probably given up and turned back by now. But with Alice acting like that, any thought of giving up vanished completely.
Fine, let’s see who gives up first.
*
“But, the weapon you’re holding now…”
Charlotte asked, looking at the weapon in my hand.
The weapon I was holding wasn’t my usual firearm. It was a crossbow that looked like it was made from brass and steel parts intricately intertwined. Its size wasn’t much different from the Ergensen rifle I usually carried.
It had all sorts of cranks and gears inside, allowing it to be loaded with minimal effort. However, compared to a firearm, its only advantage was that it was relatively quiet. In terms of reloading speed, rate of fire, bullet speed, and durability, it didn’t compare favorably to a bolt-action rifle.
“It’s just in case.”
For now, it was just the smell, but this was a sewer. If there was any gas buildup, using a firearm could result in an explosion.
Of course, if the gas concentration was that high, our bodies would show signs of distress before the weapons caused an issue.
“I see.”
Charlotte responded.
Fortunately, while the stench was strong, it wasn’t unbearable, and there didn’t seem to be any gas that would make us dizzy or sick. Still…
…I didn’t want to stay here any longer than necessary, so I decided to check what we came for and leave as quickly as possible.
Raising a mana stone lamp above my head, I made my decision.
Honestly, I had planned to wander around a bit more if I came alone, but that was definitely not going to happen now.