Infiltration and a Mysterious Map

The brick tower, presumed to be the Igra city, covered in red moss, was slowly getting closer under my feet.

“…No way.”

“What.”

“A Varg, a wolf, can walk on air! This is a cheat!”

“Not a wolf, me.”

Karvan, who had corrected my astonished words in an indifferent tone, nonchalantly finished his sky walk and then lightly landed on a balcony in the middle of the Igra tower.

“N-no! I’ll open it!”

Terrified, I stopped him as he was about to tear open the window while holding me with one arm, and summoned a <Lockpick> item from my inventory and began to quietly unlock it.

“Don’t make a scene or get caught.”

As I finally unlocked the lock, receiving a gaze that said, ‘Why are you doing such a troublesome thing when you can just break it,’ I calmly explained.

“We can’t find the antidote while being chased. You can’t even fight right now because you’re not well.”

Karvan raised an eyebrow.
No matter how I looked at it, he had a look of incomprehension, but he didn’t particularly object or ask back.

Anyway, we were able to infiltrate the Igra’s tower safely without getting caught.

The place we entered was a balcony in the middle of a long corridor.
As befitting a bird beast-kin race, the corridor was softly lined with straw and feathers, so thankfully, our footsteps made no sound.

『…My goodness. What is this for several days. It’s annoying.』
『Haaam, I’m going to go eat some beetle crackers.』

Seeing two Igra tribe members walk by, chattering, I gasped, but it seemed they hadn’t noticed us, who were clumsily hiding behind a pillar.

[Kinship: Hyena tribe passive skill. Recognized as a ‘Neutral Monster’ by beast-kin until the first strike. Maintains <Undetectable> state if it does not attack first in a combat field.]

‘…This was a broken skill. They can’t even perceive us at all?’

I followed the receding backs of the Igra with my eyes, and then, while holding onto his neck, I quietly whispered.

“Don’t put me down, even if it’s uncomfortable. Got it?”

If the mounted state was released, even if they didn’t know me, they would immediately recognize Karvan, who was in a hostile relationship with them.

The man silently adjusted his hold on me.
He supported me under my thighs and then held me as if scooping me up with one hand.
Thanks to that, I ended up sitting on the man’s forearm as if on a swing.
‘How strong is he?’

“Let’s go that way.”

In any case, I started to wander around with the man of monstrous strength to find the antidote.

Normally, if it were a medicine, it would be in a laboratory or a pharmacy, but if it were according to the common sense of the beast-kin, it might be different.
‘…Ah!’
Belatedly remembering another skill of the Hyena tribe, I exclaimed softly.

“…‘Corpse Scavenger’!”

The man, who was faithfully playing the role of a ‘mount’ as I directed, glanced down at me.

“Have you developed a hobby of collecting corpses in addition to nails.”

“It’s a skill! …I was casting a magic spell!”

It was a look that said, ‘There are all sorts of strange spells.’

‘I know. The name is terrible. I didn’t want to shout it either.’

[Corpse Scavenger: Can detect high-value artifacts through walls and confirm them.]

‘But it’s a broken skill.’
I smiled proudly and began to examine the sparkling silhouette.

Thanks to that, I was able to find a room that was presumed to be a laboratory in no time.
Because potions are classified as ‘crafted items,’ and processed artifacts are priced higher, they are detected by the skill first.

“I think it’s here.”

Inside the dark laboratory, colorful potions were bubbling in numerous brass cauldrons.

Fortunately, there was no one inside, but seeing the hourglasses placed next to the cauldrons, it seemed that someone would come to check on them when the time came.

‘I have to steal it quickly before then.’
The problem was that there were so many potions that I couldn’t tell which was the right antidote.

[This item has no effect when used on this target.]
[This item has no effect when used on this target.]

Having no choice, I was trying to find the medicine by holding each one up to Karvan, when I heard voices from outside the door.

“…Quickly, quickly!”

I quickly pulled him and made him hide in a corner.
Fortunately, there were bookshelves like in a library inside the laboratory, and there were many large drawers that seemed to reach the ceiling, so it was easy to hide.

Karvan, holding me in his arms, leaned against the space between the drawers and then kicked a nearby box to cover us.
Just in the nick of time, the iron door creaked open and footsteps approached.

『Ugh, how long do we have to live with those smelly land-dwellers!』

Two pairs of legs, wearing feathered ornaments and fluffy fur pants, passed in front of us.
As befitting a bird beast-kin race, their thighs were massive and their ankles were slender.

『Only until we deal with the wolf bastards. We’ll just throw them away once we’re done with them.』
『Haa, the lion’s stench is piercing my nose.』

“…Are they birdbrains or something. They talk so much.”

Shh!
I quickly covered the man’s lips, who was muttering as if he found it amusing.

If we were caught, I could somehow make an excuse using the Hyena tribe’s skill, but it was absolutely impossible for Karvan.
Just from the reactions of Ilai and the Urf tribe, the man’s face seemed to be known to the whole world.

“……”

In fact, even if they didn’t know who he was, with that face that looked dangerous to anyone, excuses like ‘I’m lost’ or ‘I came in by mistake’ would obviously not work at all.
With my palm over his lips, I tried to ignore the gaze that was staring at me intently and listened carefully.

『Why did he order us to make an antidote, anyway?』
『He must be thinking of negotiating with the Varg bastards. Ah, wait a minute. How much of the Yutarka leaves are left in stock?』

One of the Igra, who was chattering and stirring a cauldron, turned this way.
‘Hah,’
I quickly ducked my head into the man’s embrace like a mole.

‘…Please don’t come, don’t come this way.’

As if to mock my desperation, the Igra who had approached started to rummage through the drawer right behind where we were sitting.
I could see them getting closer and closer from my point of view.

『Where is it? Augh, clean up a bit, clean up!』
『I clean up every time, you’re the one who messes it up!』

Screech, thud.
Screech.
My heart pounded every time the drawers opposite me were opened and closed in turn.

As the voices got closer and closer, I was anxiously rolling my eyes when my eyes met the man’s, who was looking down at me intently.

‘What if we get caught?’

As I mouthed the words with an anxious face, Karvan tilted his head.

No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem to have a single thought.

‘Ugh, I’m an idiot for asking.’
Sighing, I just stuck my eyes out over the man’s shoulder and watched the situation.

“…If we get caught.”

As I was anxiously watching the busy Igra tribe, a hand slowly touched the back of my head.

“I’ll just kill them all.”

A chill ran down my spine.
If it had been anyone else, I would have told them not to bluff.
But knowing this man, I knew he might actually do it.

“I won’t let them lay a single finger on you.”

As I was just staring at him, frozen, he twirled my hair with his fingertips as if playing a prank and added.
His expression, with one corner of his mouth raised like a crescent moon, was unbelievably relaxed for a poisoned patient.

『Hey, I found it!』

Scrape, crash!

Just then, I was terrified by the drawer that was roughly opened right behind me and I cowered.

『What, there’s still a lot left?』

Afraid that he might feel my gaze and turn around, I was about to lower my head, when a hand came under my tightly clenched jaw.
I wondered why he was doing this again, but I awkwardly lifted my head, following his gently raised hand.

Mwah.

For a moment, I was staring at him, stunned, and then he kissed my forehead again, mwah, and whispered.

“…You’re such a scaredy-cat.”

‘I’m not the one who’s scared, you’re the one who’s crazy!’
I was in a daze, and then belatedly mouthed a protest.
Regardless, he pulled my flailing hand and, as if to show off, kissed each of my knuckles.

‘Someone is going crazy with anxiety, and he’s just leisurely kissing in a life-or-death moment like this!’
The face I was glaring at resentfully was smiling crookedly, so it was clear that he was teasing me again.

‘Don’t!’
Afraid of being caught, I couldn’t even get angry, and as a sign to stop, I snatched my hand away and then gently pulled the man’s ponytail, and he suddenly grabbed the back of my neck and lowered his head.

Mph!
Without even being able to make a sound, my tongue was sucked on.

『…Huh? Did you eat something?』
『No, why? I am a bit hungry. What’s for lunch today.』
『I thought I heard a smacking sound, did you swallow your saliva?』
『I told you no. I must be going crazy because I’m hungry.』

After chattering for a bit, the Igra soon closed the laboratory door.

Mmm, mmph, hmph!
As soon as the heavy iron door was firmly closed and the footsteps faded, I pounded the man’s chest.
Only then did he slowly pull his head back and wipe his lips with his thumb, looking at me.
My horrified face was fully reflected in his satisfied eyes.

“Are you crazy?!”

“It was time for an antidote.”

‘…Ugh, he makes me speechless again.’
‘If he really needed treatment, he could have just kissed me briefly, why did he have to swallow my tongue and make a fuss?’
I was about to snap at him, but I held back.
‘If I try to understand this beast-man’s strange behavior, my head will just explode.’

Letting out a deep sigh, I began to search the laboratory again.

Thanks to the unintentional hint from the Igra, finding the antidote was not difficult.
I followed the path they had been loitering on, collected the raw materials and the recipe, and while I was at it, I also swept up some herbs.

“…Huh?”

In the middle of that, a sparkling golden light on the desk suddenly caught my eye.

[The <Corpse Disposal Squad> passive skill has been activated.]

It was a sign that the skill had been applied.

‘Wait a minute, if it’s golden, it’s at least S-grade or higher, right?’
My eyes lit up for a moment.

“Karvan, over there.”

As I gestured urgently, Karvan, who was holding me in his arms, headed for the desk.

‘Could it be a kick-ass armor recipe?’
‘Or maybe a guaranteed enhancement scroll?’
Swallowing my pounding heart, I pulled out a rolled-up parchment and spread it out, but it was a map.

Seeing the faint red lion seal stamped on the background, it seemed to have been made by the Nemea tribe.

[Acquired <Unknown Map (S)>.]

Thinking it might be a place where an SL-grade weapon was buried, I looked at it carefully, and the internal structure was strangely familiar.

‘…Wait a minute, this. Isn’t this Midvalen?’

My eyes, which had been looking at the map listlessly, changed to a look of confusion.

The plaza with the statue of Baalzeph, that’s the audience chamber.
This is the corridor to my room, the way to the arena.
It was a place I could navigate with my eyes closed after having been stuck there for a year.