I got the information from Gotts and came back to my room.
I'm home.

Thanks for your help.

Oh, Leena. Good job, Leena. You were very helpful today.
　When I got back to my room, I found that Leena and Belle had come back in addition to Shelly.
　They both looked like they were fresh from a bath and were wiping their wet hair with a towel.

'No, no. It's nothing to worry about.

Thank you so much for not doing that.
　If it wasn't for Leena's help, it would never have gone as smoothly as it did.

No, I'm glad I could help you, Leo.

Thank you, Belle.
　Belle was working hard with Leena, too.

'No, I was just helping Leena.

But thank you.
　Then I patted Belle's head.
　Belle happily leaned in closer.

Oh, it's not fair!

Okay. Thank you, Sherry.
　An angry Shelly came up to me, wanting to pet me too, so I stroked Shelly's head as well.

"Heh heh.
　Shelly sounded happy as she was stroked on the head .
　I'm not sure if I should go too.

'Come on, Leena,'

Yes, sir.
　A little embarrassed when I called out to her, Leena came running up to me, looking happy to see me.


"So, did you get anything out of Gotts?
　I was patting them on the head for a while when Shelly asked, sticking close to me.

'Yeah, I could hear where you got them from.

The girls taught me a few things, too.
　Huh?　You could have told me that already?
　Everyone trusts Leena, right?

Can you tell me what they said?

'Yes. The girls were on their way to the country of men when they were caught by bandits and others on their way out of their homeland and were made into slaves. Then they were taken to the basement of this city and have not been seen above ground since.

'I see. ....... I knew what Gotts said was true.
　But still, that's a very vicious thing to do when you've just flown out of your hometown.

What did Gotts say?

There's a place underneath this city called the Kuro Market District, where you can get stuff that's banned in the world.

There's a place for that. There you are, Mladin, the center of the universe.
　I guess it's the center of the world, for better or worse .

'Well, now that I've found it, I've got to crush it somehow: ......

That sounds like a lot of work.
　Yes, it's going to be a lot of work: .......

It's really hard work. . so I'm going to go check it out now.

'What?　Alone?　Isn't it dangerous to be a Leo?　I don't know what's in there, okay?
　Yes, but ...... you can't take someone with you, can you?

Well, don't worry. I got this.
　Then he showed them the cloak I was now wearing.

"Is this the cloak Leo-kun always wears when he's serious?

Yeah. It's actually a trick that lets me turn invisible. Watch and learn.
　Then I used the Invisibility Cloak+ to become invisible.

'Huh?　Gone?
　Sherry said and looked around scornfully.

'Master Leo's scent has vanished.
　Sniffing and sniffing, even Belle was surprised.
　Come to think of it, this cloak not only makes you invisible, but it also eliminates your smell and stuff.
　It's a good thing my grandfather gave me this.

That's great. I've never felt anything like it.

Isn't it great?

""Yikes!"
　I gave them a collective hug from behind, and they let out a loud scream in surprise.
　Did I startle you a little too much?

So I'm going to sneak into the black market now.

Don't ever take any chances, okay?


　Leena looked me in the eye and reminded me.

"I know, I know. I'm just going to watch and not do anything today.
　So don't worry about it.

Okay, we'll be watching the monitors again.
　Well, it's better than waiting around and worrying about me.

"Yeah, all right. Okay, I'm going to go now. Oh, and I think I'd better take Elena with me, just in case.
　As expected, it would be better to have a proper weapon this time.
　Thinking about that, I took Elena out of my backpack for the first time in a while.

It's been a while. (Leo)
　Elena, whom I haven't seen in a long time, seems to have become much more devious and dangerous, just like a magic sword.

Hi, long time no see, Elena.

You've left me alone for so long.
　I'm sorry, because I never had a chance to use it before.

I'm sorry. Maybe soon you'll be able to use it to your heart's content, so please forgive me.

(Soon?　(So what's today?)

Today is just a precaution, just in case.
　Maybe they'll know I'm hiding.

(That's too bad. As far as I'm concerned, I hope it's just a matter of time before it happens.
　Yeah, let's try not to be: .......

''It's been a long time since I've had a magic sword. Is the Holy Sword good?
　As I was telepathizing with Elena, Leena came up to me.

"Yeah?　Yeah, Serena can summon it from a distance.

Oh, that's right. I hadn't seen you use it recently, so I'd forgotten about it.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry ......'
　I felt like Elena had sent me a reminder, so I apologized anyway.

'Huh?　Why are you apologizing?

'No, just a little: ....... I'll be off then.

You must come back to us unscathed!

Yes, sir. I'll be back without a scratch. Bye.
　I said that to the three of them, and then I moved to Gotts' basement.


"I heard there's a hidden door here: ...... Anna, do you know what it is?
　As we searched the depths of Gotts' dungeon, he asked Anna.

(Yes . (Could you touch the wall in front of you, please?)

Yeah. I touched it.
　I did as I was told and touched the wall in front of me.

A little to the right, a little higher, uh, too far. Yes, right there. (Press hard on that.)

Pushing?　Okay.
　When I moved my hand as Anna had told me to, I pushed hard and the ...... wall started to move and a door came out .

Oh, it's open. He's spending way too much money on something else.
　As I opened the door, I complained to Gotts for the umpteenth time.

'So let's get this infiltration underway, shall we?
　Using his cloak to become invisible, he advanced through the door.

　On the other side of the door was a long passage.
　And from the end of the passage, I heard a man's voice.

"Hey. You hear that?　Looks like the chairman's been captured!
　As I walked down the corridor, trying not to make a sound, I could hear the voices clearly.
　Apparently, at the end of the passage was a room.

　I looked into the room and saw a desk and a chair used by a high and mighty person, and two men were talking in front of it.
''Yeah, I know. The new lord has found out about the embezzlement.

If the Chairman is caught, won't the Empire find out about this place?
　Mr. Chairman?　Oh, you mean Gotts. Are these two executives?

No, I don't think so. It's not the Chairman's fault they got him. It'll take longer for people to find out about this place. But before that, the Chairman will be executed or enslaved, won't he?
　Normally, yes. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have found Gotz's basement, so I'm pretty sure Gotz would have died before he was asked about the black market district.



That's true, but . If the chairman has spoken: ......
　Too bad, I guess I already told you~ .

''Well then, I'll ask the assassin in the black market district to kill the chairman later so that it won't happen if it does.
　That's a problem. We need to fortify the castle when we get back.

That'll make us feel safer. So what are you going to do about the president-elect?

''What to do: ....... According to the law here, the rule is that whoever controls the territory here will be the chairman of the black market street to avoid conflicts among the executives. The lord this time is still a kid, right?
　What's the code?　It's a reasonable way to avoid conflict.
　But I'm not going to be the chairman of the board, okay?

Yeah, the kid. Isn't it the other way around?　As I recall, it's rumored that you're a womanizer, and if we give you female slaves like Gotts that you wouldn't normally get to play with, then we can still run the black market district like we have been, right?
　Huh?　What am I, famous for being a womanizer?
　The last time I heard that, the maids at the castle told me: .......

Yeah, now that I think about it. I'll send out an invitation tomorrow. There's a ridiculously rare woman in my shop right now, and if you sell it cheap, it'll work.
　A very unusual woman?　Oh, my God, that's scary.

Oh, you're gonna sell her out?
　The other guy asked back, with great surprise.

　Huh?　Are you going to sell me a slave to get a reaction like that?
　I'm just a kid, you know?

Yeah, why not?

"Okay, but I'm not going to put ...... that thing on the ground: ......
　Oh, my God!　I think anything that looks bad enough to be put out on the ground is bad enough to be left underground!

It'll be fine. It's getting a little out of hand for me. You think you might want to give it to a rich guy?
　No, there's no way I'm going to be able to handle something that's getting out of hand for a professional in the field!

'Yeah, right: ....... Just make sure they don't scare you or anything, okay?
　No, because I'm already scared!

It's okay. When you see him, I'll drug him to sleep. He's a cute little boy in his sleep, okay?
　If you didn't know if it looked pretty ...... or if it was sold to you without knowing it, maybe you were tricked .......

'Well, well, ......'
　I hate it: ....... But we can't just leave such dangerous slaves out there and let this place go down. .......

''That's what I'm saying. Then you're going to tell the executives about this . They're all going to be anxious to get the chairman captured.

Yeah, okay.
　They said that and walked out of the room.

　We'll take care of your slave then.
　Right now, we need to do the inspection first.

Anna, show me the way from this room to the black market district.

I understand.
　I left the room with Anna.