Chapter 41

Feeling shocked, but since no guilt arose, Miu quickly recovered from the shock.

There’s no point in thinking about it. It’s just the way this body is. Well, as long as the villains don’t fight me, everything’s fine. Yeah, my theory is perfect. I’ll just think that way.

More importantly, I need to check the drop items.

"Artificial emeralds, artificial onyx, magic iron, magic iron, broken parts, magic stone battery. ... How disappointing."

Miu is feeling quite down. Well, it’s a common side event, so it can’t be helped. The main goal was to get this dungeon, after all.

There might be something to take from the bodies, but what should I do? The Silf 22 seems usable. There are two second-hand ones left. The rest have turned to ashes.

But if I sell this 'Magic Armor,' it might lead back to me. I’ll leave it alone.

Thinking like a complete thief, I check with Odin.

"Grandpa, how much MP is left?"

"14. There’s only enough for one 'Instant Teleport' now."

"You saved the 'Instant Teleport' portion. Thanks."

I smile gratefully, and Grandpa shrugs in response. A smile from a beautiful girl is priceless, really.

'Instant Teleport' is a spell that high-level mages learn, allowing them to move between locations like bases and dungeons. Normally, in games like this, it’s one of the first spells you learn, but in 'Magical Night,' you couldn’t learn it until you became a high-level mage.

Since there were various modes of transportation in this modern fantasy setting, they wanted players to use them. It was quite a hassle.

I made Odin my first companion because of 'Instant Teleport.' He only knows powerful spells, so his MP consumption is terrible, and it runs out quickly. But having this spell makes things incredibly convenient. It saves on taxi fares.

Exploring the dungeon is now impossible. I might as well head back, but I’ll recover the 'Magic Armor' from the bodies just in case. Then I hear a small voice. Huh? What’s this?

"Thank you very much."

The children come up from behind, timidly thanking me. Yeah, that’s good. Everyone is safe. The area-wide death spell only affects those the old man recognizes as enemies, so the children are fine. I’m relieved.

"From now on, you are free. Isn’t that great!"

I smile and reassure the children. There won’t be any scum trying to feed on you anymore. Live freely.

I try to remove the Silf 22 from the bodies and put it in the item box, but I stop. The children are staring at me intently. Did they accept my thanks? Do they need something else?

"Um, what should we do from now on?"

At the trembling voice, I freeze. Ah, right. In games, they would say "Thank you" with a smile and then leave, but this is reality. If they are left here, they’ll just be in trouble.

"Hmm... What should we do?"

In front of people, I switch to Miu’s good girl mode. I cross my arms, looking puzzled. What should we do?

Hmm? Are there other children being held captive?

"Hey, are there other children being held captive?"

"Yeah! Can you help them?"

The children’s eyes light up with enthusiasm, but I’m also at my limit. I wonder if the remaining enemies are suspicious about the boss not returning.

I check the time on my smartphone. It’s 11 PM... There’s no choice. I’ll have to stay up late.

"Grandpa, can you find where the children are?"

"It will depend on Munion’s 'Analysis.'"

It might be too much to ask. Well, Mr. Crow, please help. I thought he could figure anything out, but it seems he has his limits.

'Analysis'

Kaa-kun performs 'Analysis' on the melted metal block. The information about the block is immediately displayed in front of me as a semi-transparent board.

Name, level, attributes, rare drop items, drop items, flavor text. Hmm, there’s a rare drop item? It didn’t drop. I can’t reload, so I’ll give up on the rare drop and read the flavor text.

Age, weight, for girls, their measurements, hobbies, likes, dislikes, character introduction, home address, recent rewards and punishments, and a resume. It’s like a resume. The rest is a simple description. The rewards and punishments are all bad. What, a torture and murderer.

"Home address...?"

"Can’t tell if it’s their base or not."

Grandpa says this while looking at the analysis results. The children, who can’t see the board, look curious. I recommend ignoring them; it’s a girl’s secret.

"Yeah..."

But three out of the four bosses have the same address. The likelihood of it being their base is high. Well, let’s just go and see.

"Okay, let’s sleep for three hours and then go to this base!"

"Well, the remaining forces are probably not much."

So, Odin and I decided to sleep in a corner of the warehouse. The children are surprised and hesitant to sleep here, but sleeping for three hours will restore half of our MP. I confirmed this by dozing off in the past. Good night.

I left the lookout to Gery and Flex.

In conclusion, a building a little distance away turned out to be the 'Chimera' base. It was a five-story building with windows sealed with steel plates, looking like a fortress. The corridors were blocked by fire shutters, lockers, and desks, and if the 'Chimera' boss was there, they would appear on each floor.

Unfortunately, there were no more forces left. Only about three mages remained. The rest were just low-level thugs. Nod nod.

I should mention that our levels didn’t go up. There were no mountains or seas, and the base was quickly taken over.

In the basement, there were iron-barred cells where about 15 children were held in poor conditions. I had no sympathy for the thugs. I just sent them off to the afterlife with a "Serves you right."

Some of the children were so emaciated they looked like skeletons.

'Healing I'

I used 'Healing I' to recover a few children who were suffering from 'Disease I.' Star-shaped light was absorbed by the children, and the gaunt faces of the children became slightly fuller and redder.

I rescued the children from the 'Chimera' base and gathered them in a large room to heal them.

It was an empty room, like a karate dojo, with nothing in it. It was a room where rough men would gather with weapons, ready for war.

This building now has only the children and us. The people who got on the bus are nowhere to be seen. The ashes will need to be cleaned up later, but that can wait.

"Thank you~"

"The pain is gone."

"My body feels lighter."

The gaunt children thank me with smiles, making me feel sad and almost cry. This is a fictional world, but it’s too cruel. ... In games, I often saw dungeons with bones everywhere, but in reality, it hurts my heart.

Grandpa Odin, thinking his part is over, is drinking wine while fiddling with the ogre parts.

Since there’s nothing to do, I’m bringing food from the building’s refrigerator. There are many snacks. The only thing that fills the stomach is rice. Fortunately, it seems a large number of people lived here, and there was a large rice cooker.

There it is... but I’m sleepy. The exploration is over, and it’s already 4 AM. It’s 4 in the morning. In my previous life, it would be time to get up for work.

"Um... I’ll cook the rice."

"I can make fried eggs!"

"I’ll make miso soup."

The 12-year-old children, seeing me about to fall asleep, take over. I’m so sleepy. I’m at my limit. My parents will definitely worry if I don’t go home.

The children are diligently making the meal.

I’ve done all I can. ... What should I do with these children? I can’t start a company selling bread rolls. After all, I’m only 9 years old.

Hmm, if I leave these children here, it could be dangerous if any of the remaining enemies are still around.

I can build robots as a 'Mechanic,' but the initial equipment is poor. To make them stronger, I need better weapons, and since they don’t have a perpetual motion engine, I didn’t use them.

The MP of my companion robots decreases with every action, making them hard to use. Upon reflection, that was probably a substitute for energy. They would probably stop moving soon.

"Should I take them to an orphanage?"

I sit on the floor and look at the gaunt children, thinking. The important thing is to get them out of the slums. There might be someone who sells mithril, so it’s best to leave.

"Clearing the event and having a happy ending isn’t that simple."

I’m at a loss, Miu. The dungeon has only been in use for a few days. Someone might come to check on 'Chimera' if they notice something is wrong.

Honestly, I would be anxious if I didn’t control the security. But since I’ve already taken over the security system of this building, there’s no problem for now.

The smartphone of the goat-headed guy is linked to the surveillance cameras, so if they come unprepared, they’ll be caught on camera.

The effort was great, but the rewards were small.

"Should I look for an orphanage far away? I hope it’s not a corrupt one. I can probably tell if it’s a corrupt orphanage using 'Analysis.'"

I’ll secretly leave them at an orphanage. I helped the orphans. I hope it’s safe to get them out of the slums. It’s not a perfect solution, and the orphans might still be in danger, but I’m only 9 years old.

For now, I’ll delete the list of children from the base, both electronic and paper. The electronic one was easy to access with 'Key Opening II.' Passwords and electronic keys are treated as keys, of course. The contents of the safe... I’ll make it look like it couldn’t be opened by damaging the keyhole and the door.

I won’t leave any bodies or evidence on the cameras. They might think it was an attack by another enemy force. Since none of the bosses survived, they’ll probably look for the bosses rather than the children.

I’ll give up on my Saturday and Sunday training and dive into the dungeon every day. It’s power-leveling in short bursts.

I have to raise my base level and put off increasing my proficiency. I’m counting on you, Grandpa Odin.