『Collection of Interviews on the First Red Depression 11-C』


    * * *


    Dagal screamed in desperation, but the assailants did not respond immediately.


    After whispering to each other softly, they took another moment before answering.


    “We are… bounty hunters.”


    “There’s quite a hefty sum on your head, you know?”


    The assailant, no, the bounty hunter’s golden eyes scanned Dagal up and down.


    His sunken eyes as he fiddled with the sword at his waist reminded Dagal of the gaze of a butcher looking at livestock ready for slaughter.


    Dagal realized something and licked his lips. Then, in a subdued voice, he asked.


    - *How much is the bounty on my head…?*


    “Five hundred gold coins.”


    Dagal felt an unbearable sense of humiliation wash over him. However, instead of expressing that indignation, he suppressed it deep within.


    Because now was the time to endure.


    While he was still contemplating where to start, the bounty hunter spoke first.


    “I heard from the orcs. You’ve managed to squeeze quite the sum from those clans.”


    The tone displayed his blatant greed. Dagal struggled to hold back a curse rising up his throat, then regained his composure as a dignified mage and reflected.


    Yeah, that was how all those maggots chasing after bloody gold were. sea??h thё N?vel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    - *What do you want?*


    “More money than the bounty on your head.”


    This time, the answer to that question came from the wench behind him.


    “Then just die without believing.”


    Her half-curved blue eyes glimmered. She seemed to be at ease, as if she could kill him at any moment.


    Dagal lowered his head without countering.


    Was it because he had no words to refute? Sure, that was part of it, but it was also because he still had one card left to play—The poisonous insects he was raising deep in the dungeon.


    Greed always created openings. He could pretend to reveal the gold bars he had collected to create a distraction. Then, once the opportunity arose, he could use his poisonous insects to strike from behind—


    There was still a chance for victory.


    “A request? You’re not exactly in a position to make requests.”


    The two hunters exchanged glances and smirked. Then, as one of them extended the hand that had been gripping his sword, Dagal cautiously accepted it.


    As they glared at each other, tightening their grips, their opposing schemes intertwined.


    * * *


    After the handshake, the three moved deeper into the dungeon.


    Leading the way, Dagal pushed aside the bed in the middle of the cavern, revealing a staircase underneath.


    “A secret staircase? You really have everything, don’t you?”


    Ignoring Seti’s sarcastic remark, they descended the stairs, and the strong stench of blood and filth hit them.


    Even Yeomyeong, who used to be a janitor, wrinkled his nose involuntarily at the foul odor. It was the smell of corpses.


    And by the time they reached the bottom of the staircase and the dark corridor, other than Dagal, both of them were covering their noses, and Yeomyeong spoke.


    “Why did you gather slaves?”


    Dagal snickered and continued.


    “But slavery is….”


    “…”


    After Dagal finished speaking, the three of them continued walking down the corridor in silence.


    After walking a bit more, getting somewhat accustomed to the disgusting smell as they proceeded, they finally arrived at their destination.


    It was a prison lined with iron bars under the torchlight.


    Past the bars lay large chests and piles of gold coins, but what truly caught Yeomyeong and Seti’s eyes were the other items… no, the slaves.


    There were orcs, Beastfolk, and humans with their wrists chained, gasping amidst corpses and filth.


    Most of them were adults, but they could also see a few children were mixed in.


    The children were so gaunt, they could barely cry as they mumbled for their mothers.


    “…”


    As Yeomyeong silently took in the sight, Dagal, who was opening the door to the cell filled with gold coins, spoke.


    “…”


    Yeomyeong gripped his sword tightly. He wasn’t a hero, but he wasn’t a coward who would remain silent in the face of such a horrific reality.


    “…Why did you capture children as well?”


    “Don’t spout nonsense. Is this really how you would treat children you intend to sell as slaves?”


    As he spat out a rebuke, Dagal arched his eyebrows.


    “…”


    “…What?”


    As he spoke, Dagal began chanting a spell under his breath. The poisonous insects hidden in the cell’s ceiling began to stir in the darkness at his command.


    “…Know this?”


    And the next moment, Dagal commanded his poisonous insects.


    Before the mana finished aligning and the spell was cast, the poisonous insects surged forth, plummeting to cover Yeomyeong and Seti’s heads. Or rather, they tried.


    However, Yeomyeong’s sword was faster.


    With a flash, his Sword Aura sliced through the air, and the accompanying gust of wind blew away all the descending poisonous insects.


    Seeing his trump card thwarted, Dagal tried to escape by transforming into an insect, but Seti and her hammer were somewhat quicker in striking his body.


    Struck by the hammer, Dagal was hurled over the iron bars, landing on the pile of gold coins. Coins flew in the air, and his limbs broke as he coughed up blood.


    Dagal desperately tried to cling to his fading consciousness. If he could transform into an insect, somehow… somehow…


    However, he never got the chance to complete the spell.


    Seti, who had approached him by then, stomped on his mouth and asked.


    “Do you enjoy torture, by any chance?”


    * * *


    Like all Mages beyond the Dimensional Portal, Dagal staunchly believed that he was a special being.


    Of course, unlike the other Mages, he hadn’t been born of noble blood. His mother was merely a lowly back-alley prostitute.


    But wasn’t it said that truly great people were not born but made?


    He rose above his inherent flaws and awakened mana on his own.


    Though he was too old to become a noble or enter the Magic Tower, he managed to secure a post by catching the eye of the West Count Palatine of Dreitherial, or rather, that greedy pig.


    Sewer manager.


    It wasn’t exactly a prestigious position. For a regular person, maybe, but to a Mage, it was the lowest of the low.


    However, Dagal willingly accepted the position and swore loyalty to the Count Palatine.


    He was confident he could rise to even greater heights.


    The insect-controlling magic he had honed over a period of time was specialized for covert eavesdropping, and there was plenty to overhear in cities like Dreitherial.


    Companies dumping waste illegally, nobles turning a blind eye to it, secret backroom deals among organizations, and the dirty tastes of the high and mighty.


    Using his sewer flies, he uncovered countless secrets.


    With his natural talent and the right information, Dagal’s rise to power was practically inevitable.


    He quickly escaped the sewers and joined the court, becoming part of Count Palatine’s personal mage corps.


    To be precise, he almost became one.


    However, the day before he was to join the counter-intelligence unit, he happened to overhear a secret he never should have.


    Was it a mistake to wander into the sewers while lost in thought for the first time in a while?


    Or was it a mistake to unknowingly follow the Count Palatine as he snuck into the sewers?


    Whatever the reason, if he could go back to that time, Dagal would have never eavesdropped on the conversation between the Count Palatine and those beast-headed creatures…


    “…A beast’s head?”


    The temperature suddenly dropped, and the hammer that had been pounding Dagal’s body halted.


    A brief silence ensued.


    Seti turned her head, and Yeomyeong, who had been quietly listening until now, finally spoke.


    “Was the beast head perhaps one of a cow, pig, or horse?”


    - *Y-you… you all… know… those people too?*


    Dagal, barely a lump of flesh at this point, trembled as he responded. The reply, close enough to a confirmation, made Yeomyeong’s eyes turn cold.


    Dagal began to explain slowly.


    “…Chicken?”


    With that, Dagal trailed off, drooling as seemingly reached his limit.


    In a way, it was a natural response. He’d been hammered so many times that he should have died a dozen times over by now.


    “Is it impossible to get anything more out of him?”


    As Yeomyeong glanced at Dagal, who was on the verge of death, Seti shrugged.


    “I’ll give it a try.”


    No sooner had she spoken than Dagal, nothing more than a lump of meat, screamed miserably.


    His attitude was completely different from when he had tried to ambush them with his poisonous insects.


    Yeomyeong looked down at him, then turned his gaze toward the corpses of the children.


    He did not hesitate.


    “…Get everything you can out of him. Especially the city’s dirty secrets, even the most insignificant ones.”


    And so she did as he said. As mana coursed through the lightning keeping Dagal’s nervous system and heart barely functioning, she raised the hammer once more.


    Dagal screamed, but there was no one around to hear his cries.