The owner of the voice was followed by the sound of hasty footsteps, where he showed his face from the windows of the building in between the pillars. That place seem to be the entrance/exit, as the middle-age yellow hair man came out from it.
“Halt, your name and affiliation, and why you are here.”(Vermeer)
“I-I am from the middle class district, working at an accessories shop manufacturing for them. My name is Sorzak, this is my hobby to come and examine the histories of the city.”(Sorzak)
He seems to be aware that it was illegal to open a hole without permission, as he fearfully answers Vermeer’s interrogation. Looking at his appearance, Yuusuke tilted his head in confusion, as he tries to remember where he had seen him before.
“Ng, where did I see this person……”(Yuusuke)
“Captain?”(Vermeer)
In the dark, Sorzak was not aware of the existence of the person until Vermeer’s lights shone onto Yuusuke. When he saw Yuusuke’s appearance, he showed a shocked expression and involuntarily let out his voice, “AH!”
“You….the black hair youth who was with Mr. Zeshald!”(Sorzak)
“Ng? Ah I Remembered! You are the person I saw when I came to the city for the first time.”(Yuusuke)
It was during the time when Violet exposed Yuusuke’s black hair by burning his hood, as she had suspected he was the evil god. Due to that, the fire god corps were causing an uproar, thus Zeshald began explaining his findings about the legends of the evil god and it’s shrine, this middle aged man was the person who wanted to hear more about it.
Prior to their meeting, he had already been going underground, spending his days researching the old city structures.Thus, he did not know that Yuusuke was appointed as the leader of the Darkness God corps and Zeshald’s returned from a recent infiltration mission in Blue garden..
It seemed that he had been surfacing only to shop for food when it is exhausted, only to dive back underground to continue his daily research.
Thus he became the rumored, “suspicious person with old-fashioned looking clothes”, as he was wearing an old design of clothes that had been sold a few decades ago.
Incidentally, the funds for research was acquired when one day all of a sudden, there stood a indistinguishable sightseeing tower and many merchants were recruiting manufacturers of earth arts to make souvenirs of the tower. It was there where he obtained his funds through participating in it. Thus he striked it rich.
“Old buildings, things of rare architectural style. It is so fun studying the old buildings of the previous era, located on an old map.”(Sorzak)
“Well…..It’s good to do research, but if you do a proper report, it’s very troubling.”
“Okay, at least that explains that you are not a suspicious person. Next time, listen to what people have to say….”
“Is there any other curious researchers that came down here other than uncle?”
So the identity of the ghost in the alley was just a hobby researcher, as the daunting Vermeer began to loosen up, he prompted Yuusuke and Fonke for their opinion of who was beside him and about ”the identity of the voices”, while Sorzak pointed out to him, ”isn’t that because of the city children?”
“This place is on the opposite side of the district, now it is a place with a no longer used drainage system underground.”(Sorzak)
“What’s that? I haven’t heard about this story before.”(Vermeer)
This huge city with a long history, even the soldiers from the department that were managing the city doesn’t know of such places and problems that Sorzak had just mentioned.
“For example, the ghetto slum in the conspicuous location? In the commoner district, where the divine arts users live, the presence of such place was being allowed.”
“Isn’t that good, now tell us about all the underground entrances you know of.”(Vermeer)
Vermeer had no intentions to notify this to the administrators of the city, as he requested information about the locations of the problematic areas. Without a moment of delay, Sorzak realized that it poses a matter of trespassing and condones to the information.
“.....well, that is all?”(Sorzak)
“Yea, isn’t that good. It will be hard to examine everything anyways.”(Vermeer)
So what now? As Vermeer turned his eyes towards Yuusuke while waiting for him to issue an answer of permission. That means that if Sorzak were to find something which would cause serious problems as he examines the underground city, he could approach the palace knight’s captain to deal with the problem in discretion.
After Yuusuke and his gang obtained the information, once they reached the street level, they were to dispatch people to locations where there were problems. On a later date, an appropriate policy to apply for this mission will be made for the architecture craftsmen.
“Wow, I didn’t realize, I was mistaken for a ghost….”(Sorzak)
Based on Sorzak story, there were people who had settled down in a place where it was a relatively shallow layer. It was also a place where field singers* uses it for business. There were animals that were being kept underground as some of the children’s family didn’t allow pets at home, thus it became a playground for them. There were also bird livestocks which seemed to have escaped from the farm and ended up here. While he was explained about it, a bunch of feathers flew pass by them.
The round shaped appearance, which was distinctive to a bird livestock. It could have wandered in here through a small hole.
“Well, in any case it will be tomorrow. And this will dispel the rumor of the spector.”
“Alrighty, ah when we get back let’s have grilled chicken.”
“But, to vacate those people who have settled in the basement….I am not sure whether to dispute on it.”
“That’s just great, we could make use of those idling young lads of the guardhouse to do some work.”
The tension from descending into the underground lair was no longer there, as the bunch of darkness god crops became like self-indulgence researchers while chatting along the way up towards the street level. When they reached the street, it was already dusk as the night sky was twinkling with stars.
“Mooh! Captain is terrible, you didn’t even try to contact once….”(Aisha)
“.....I’m tired.”(Shaheed)
While Yuusuke and his gang went down underground, Aisha was forced to wait in the eerie dark alley, and in order to draw her attention away from the fear, she had been garrulity to Shaheed, thus Shaheed became completely exhausted.
After the identity of the ghost was explained to Aisha, she immediately began nagging and preaching Sorzak.
“Now now, because he is able to improve the town problem area, just forgive him.”(Yuusuke)
“Captain….I understood, I will follow what captain has judged.”(Aisha)
“Kukuku, it definitely is very frightening, I say.”(Fonke)
“Fonke!”(Aisha)
Using his movement speed increase wind arts, Fonke escaped from Aisha who was flushed red in anger. Yuusuke and his gang began laughing at the lukewarm sight of the usual comedy duo. Sorzak, who felt uncomfortable with the current state, observed the members of the darkness god corp with a curious look.
The reason he felt uncomfortable with the darkness god corp was a strange feeling that didn’t exist with the other soldier corps, an intimate communication which ignores the differences in the hierarchy of the gods.
In the general populace, it is an often sight, but for a royal knight captain to have done this, it felt thoroughly out of place.
“The captain of the darkness god corps, is it because he is special, or……”(Sorzak)
Around this time, at the observation tower which height exceeds the palace in the commoner district, the appearance of many [Artless] working around the city could be seen compared to previously. A change in Sanc Adiet could be felt.
Although Sorzak was disinterested with the trends of the world, he could feel that the darkness god corps will change the trend of the times.