How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 52

58. Subjugating the Black Magician’s Workshop (3)

The inside of the pit leading to the workshop was deeper than I had anticipated.

I threw a rock down as a test, and it took dozens of seconds before I barely heard a sound.

‘How deep is this?’

It seemed reckless to jump down without any precautions, so we secured a rope and prepared to descend, but then Cruse looked at us with an odd expression.

Why? Was our preparation too thorough?

“……Oh my, you can just do this.”

Cruse, who had been quietly observing, sighed and flicked her staff.

Suddenly, my body felt lighter.

“This is…….”

“I’ll use my magic to cushion your fall, so just jump down.”

Magic. Gee, that’s convenient…….

I can see why parties with mages and spiritists are so highly sought after.

Everything becomes so much easier.

“……I’m afraid I won’t be able to cope when we do the next quest without magic.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Isn’t convenience the best? ……Let’s go.”

We jumped into the pit.

Some hesitated, but when Cruse gave them a pointed look, they eventually threw themselves down, seemingly unable to voice their complaints due to their pride.

I felt like I was falling straight down for about 20 meters [approximately 66 feet].

Just before hitting the ground, I decelerated perfectly and landed silently.

Perfect landing.

“……There are no monsters here right now.”

The room we landed in was a mess from the impact of our arrival, but there were no monsters hiding.

“They must have retreated for now.”

They’re probably planning to deploy the monsters in another area to ambush us.

Cruse landed last.

“That’s everyone.”

“Yes. From here on out, it’s the black magician’s workshop! Plunder everything you want, leave nothing behind! And we’ll hang the black magician’s head at the entrance of the workshop!”

Now that we’ve actually found his base, I’m starting to get a little excited.

A big payday is right in front of me.

More than that, saying it like this makes us sound like villains.

It’s okay, justice is on our side.

“……What are you talking about, Spiritist?”

“I’m just saying. It’s too quiet, you know? Personally, I hate the dark.”

I get anxious if I don’t talk.

“Can I turn on some light?”

“It’s better than not being able to see. Should I use my magic?”

“A spirit is more efficient in this case. Wisp, you know what to do, right?”

The summoned wisp blinked as if acknowledging the command, and soon illuminated the surroundings.

“A light spirit, I see.”

Thanks to the light, I could finally see the layout of the room we had entered.

“Oh? Surprisingly…… the interior is decent? It’s clean?”

The reason I muttered that unconsciously was because the workshop was surprisingly well-kept.

It’s littered with debris from the worm breaking through the ceiling a little while ago, but otherwise, it seems like a fairly pleasant space.

If I forgot that this is the black magician’s workshop, I’d want to take it over and live here.

This aspect is unfamiliar.

This is because the original story provides few details about the black magician’s workshop.

“Aren’t black magicians supposed to be like, relatives with mold, liking dark and humid places? This place is strangely clean?”

“……I don’t want to defend the black magician, but I don’t think that’s accurate. That’s a prejudice, Spiritist.”

Even Cruse was taken aback.

“I don’t think there’s any reason to make the workshop musty unless you’re an idiot.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“There are many things in a workshop, whether it’s a black magician’s or not.”

“Ah ah…… I see, is it a storage problem?”

I understand now.

Magicians use a lot of materials.

From simple minerals and jewels to plants, animals…… and even things that I don’t even want to mention when it comes to black magicians.

To store them all properly, the facility must be more comfortable than usual, or the materials will be ruined.

It’s a practical consideration.

“I see. Magicians must be clean. I had an image of them stacking books and living in a moldy place. The life of a magician is elegant~.”

That’s something I didn’t know.

The life of a magician is wonderful!

“…….”

“Ms. Cruse?”

“Anyway, let’s hurry. Even if it’s him, there’s no guarantee that he won’t abandon this place if he’s cornered.”

Cruse looked around in a hurry and stared at the exits.

There are doors on the left and right, respectively, in opposite directions.

“……Which way.”

I shook my head without saying a word.

I don’t know either!

Eilon Navigation Service ends here.

From here on, the map has not been updated due to lack of data, so please find your own way.

“Ms. Cruse, do you have any idea?”

“Well. Either way, there’s a lot of black magic inside, so it’ll be difficult to track him.”

That’s because this is his base.

“Is it because you can’t decide which way to go?”

Then Soland spoke up and offered his opinion.

Unexpected.

“Hahaha. Then I have a good way. We do this when we can’t decide which way to go.”

“Oh? What’s the method?”

“It’s simple. Right?”

However, the other mercenaries’ expressions are subtle.

“Surely…… Mr. Soland? Are you going to suggest that again?”

I feel like they’re embarrassed about something?

They look like they can’t stand it.

“If you can’t decide which way to go, there’s only one thing to do. Clothes!”

He suddenly kicked a stone lying at his feet.

He followed the stone with his eyes as it fell.

“It fell roughly to the right. Then let’s go to the right.”

“……Are you kidding me?”

“……Are you kidding me?”

Cruse, and even I, were so dumbfounded that we blurted out the question.

I think it’s a natural reaction.

“Hahaha! What’s wrong with that? Whether it’s right or left, it’s enough to reach the end. Once you’re inside, it doesn’t matter which way you go.”

“……Certainly.”

It’s not exactly a sound theory, but it’s not something worth arguing about.

Rather than agonizing over it here, it would be more productive to decide quickly and move forward, and then figure out how to go back or deal with any problems that arise.

“If you don’t know, you can bravely go in either direction! Hahahaha!”

……But that’s not an experienced mercenary’s tactic, but just the philosophy of a middle-aged man who lives life haphazardly, isn’t it?

It’s like the team leader at the company I used to work for.

That guy was also quite reckless.

I swallowed the words.

So, according to his logic, we.

“……Shall we go to the left?”

I felt like the right wasn’t the right way to go, so I decided to go to the left.

“Let’s do that. I agree.”

“We agree too.”

“Why is that!”

“I feel uneasy because it seems like you just decided randomly.”

“Accidents always happen when we follow your directions.”

“Ugh…….”

Only Mr. Soland drooped his shoulders as if he was embarrassed.

* * *

The structure of the workshop seems to be larger than expected.

As soon as you enter the passage, you see an endless vista.

Beyond the long corridor, there are rooms packed so tightly that it’s exhausting to count them.

……At this point, it’s practically a building stretching underground?

Cruse also looked around in amazement.

“Judging from this, it doesn’t seem like it’s only been a few years. I think he’s been here for at least 50 years.”

“Gee, the lord will faint if he hears that.”

“If that’s true, he’ll have no excuse even if he gets reprimanded for insufficient territory management.”

We continued to move forward while marveling at the scale.

It’ll take quite a while to find the owner because it’s so vast.

Just exploring will drain our stamina.

And of course, they won’t let us walk quietly.

“……They’re coming soon. Stop.”

I sensed the change and gestured, and everyone stopped.

At first, I thought the wall was melting.

Soon, a wriggling monster crawled out of it and narrowed the distance towards us, squishing and undulating.

“……Is that also a monster that the black magician controls?”

“It seems to be a monster that imitates the wall and reacts to intruders. There are all kinds of things.”

“Anyway, I don’t really want to touch that monster.”

Even the mercenaries who prided themselves on having strong stomachs were horrified by the squishing sound and the unpleasant sensation.

“If you look closely, doesn’t it look similar to a slime?”

“……Don’t be careless. Even if it looks like that, the amount of black magic it contains is unusual.”

Cruse warned quietly.

As she said, every time the flesh squirmed, black magic flowed out as if it were a thick liquid.

“That density is no different from a potent poison. It’s best not to approach it carelessly……. Oh my, Spiritist?”

Cruse turned around as if she found it strange that I was quiet.

That’s because I usually make a fuss.

“……Is that perhaps?”

“Spiritist? What’s wrong?”

Only then did I realize that I had been silent, unlike usual, and sighed.

“It’s nothing. I just thought the owner’s taste here was a masterpiece. Ah, I feel like I’m going to throw up. Um. Can I do it?”

“Shall I handle it all?”

“No. I’ll help too. I don’t want to see things like that for even a little longer. And we have to work together.”

We have to work together on what we can handle.

I temporarily put aside the impression I had just had and reached out to concentrate.

“Let’s burn it! Salamander! Push it back with fire!”

“Fire. That’ll be effective.”

The salamander summoned in front of me spat out a fireball, and at the same time, Cruse chanted a spell.

“Flare Storm!”

A vortex of flames was created in front of Cruse and swept outwards.

Of course, Cruse’s pure firepower is overwhelmingly superior.

My fire is just a little help.

The fleshy monsters were instantly engulfed in flames and turned to ashes.

The scattered black magic was also burned away by the magic in the fire and disappeared cleanly.

It’s literally ‘disinfecting the waste!’

“That said, it was a monster I’ve never seen before.”

“That’s right. ……It’s a monster that no one else has ever seen either.”

I answered as if agreeing with the opinion and replayed the thought I had suppressed earlier.

In fact, pretending not to know is all a lie.

There are factors I can guess.

* * *

After that, chimeras of various kinds continued to block our path with ambushes or formations.

But we’re not pushovers either.

“No way!”

It’s exhausting to repeat the battle, but the mercenaries’ movements have actually improved because the tension has eased appropriately.

The initial fear has faded.

“Haaaaaaat!”

Mr. Soland swung his axe mightily and sequentially smashed the heads of the chimeras in a row, clearing a path.

The individuals who were still moving while trembling even after losing their heads were finished off by other mercenaries.

While the mercenaries were struggling.

Most of the chimeras beyond them are boldly swept away by my spiritism and Cruse’s magic.

My spiritism attacks are effective enough against those who are easy to deal with to some extent.

If it seems like a particularly strong individual, Cruse actively steps in and resolves the situation.

As a result, the speed at which we broke through the workshop was considerable.

In just a few hours of entering, we had descended three floors.

“That said, the person hiding here is truly strange.”

Cruse said that after taking a sip of water during a break.

“Strange?”

“It’s because it seems like the contents of the workshop are unusually focused on one thing.”

She tilted her head and looked puzzled.

While breaking through, we searched various rooms from time to time.

What was commonly found in most rooms was evidence of intense research and experimentation with chimeras.

“Isn’t it always the case that he’s doing suspicious research?”

The mercenaries don’t seem to sympathize much because they see everything as suspicious, but Cruse tilted her head, saying, “Well?”

“Even so, something…… um…… I have a sense of incongruity, that kind of feeling.”

“……Hmm, is that so? Magicians are always thinking about complicated things.”

“We’ll find out anyway if we catch the owner of this place and interrogate him. Let’s not worry too much.”

“That’s right.”

I said to Cruse, who was suspiciously suspicious, and thought to myself.

……In fact, pretending not to know is all a lie.

There are factors I can guess.