"I've heard a lot about you. Grandpa told me about how you found the ancestral mural and took care of most of the monsters that were spawning bases around the capital," Cristel said as she sat down on a large sofa.
They had already finished eating, and Cristel decided to take Finn and Darwin to her personal room, as she wanted to talk to them about the next quest and congratulate them.
"Wow, do all the great adventurers have their own room like this in the guild?" Darwin asked.
"Something like that. All C-class teams and above have a room where they organize their missions and equipment. B-class adventurers and above have their own room, like me," Cristel stated.
"Where do so many rooms fit? The guild building is big, but not that big," Finn asked.
"Expansion magic, a very useful magic, but difficult to master without years of practice or resources," Cristel said. "But let's get back to the point. I want to congratulate you on your mission and great work. Not many adventurers today are as passionate about their jobs as you are…" Cristel said with a big smile.
"Are you talking about the ancestral mural? How do I tell him we found it by pure coincidence?" Darwin wondered.
"Speaking of jobs, you said you had one for us, didn't you?" Finn asked, his excitement over meeting Cristel having subsided.
"Indeed, darling," Cristel replied with a big smile.
"God, I'll never tire of this way of talking about Cristel," Finn thought happily.
"According to what Grandpa told me, you two are official guild explorers, aren't you?" Cristel asked, causing them both to nod. Then she stood up and walked over to a shelf where she had several books and documents. "Well, yesterday, the villages beyond the Great Rift sent a message to all the guilds in the capital. Apparently, the goblins are acting strangely, just like the ones here. And not only that, yesterday, several Class C teams returned from their missions and reported that they had been attacked by groups of goblins who claimed to be very well organized and trained in combat. One of those teams was your old group, Finn," Cristel revealed, handing a document to Finn.
Finn and Darwin looked at the document, seeing the photos of five people: a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, a black-haired woman in her mid-twenties, a young girl with brown hair and a large magician's hat, another young woman with blond hair who appeared to be the youngest, and another young man with short hair. They were all class C and had different occupations.
'I have no fucking idea who they are...' Finn thought, not caring in the least, then handed the document to Darwin.
'Yuck, human women,' Darwin thought, then closed the document and handed it back to Cristel.
'Don't you want to keep looking at your former colleagues' report?' Cristel asked curiously.
'No need. We already knew everything it says about goblins,' Darwin replied, and Cristel nodded.
'As expected of you,' Cristel said.
'Although I'm a little confused,' Finn said. 'Why are you telling us this? Shouldn't this be handled by the guild masters?'
"Usually yes, when there are no explorers… But this time there are, or at least in our guild," Cristel said, pointing to Finn and Darwin. "This is where you two come in. Since you're the only explorers in our guild, you have the obligation to take care of these types of missions."
"What?! What do you mean, only explorers?!" Darwin asked quickly. "There are hundreds and hundreds of members who are archers, warriors, and mages, but only two of us are explorers? Out of over 1,000 members, there are only two of us explorers, really?!"
"Well… there were three more before, right when I joined the guild five years ago, but three years ago, all three of them retired due to their age and injuries," Cristel revealed, remembering the old men who used to show her around the forest when she first joined the guild.
"That sly old man… no wonder he didn't even let us choose what occupation we wanted in the guild," Finn thought, rubbing his forehead.
"Anyway, that's their mission in two days," Cristel affirmed.
"Two days, why not now?" Darwin asked.
"The vice-master has an important announcement to make tomorrow, and he wants as many members as he can here at the guild."
"Announcement of what?"
"Something about a change to the guild cards. Apparently, they've managed to make them more accurate and useful or something," Cristel revealed.
"I understand… well, better for me" said Finn thinking he could rest for a few more days.
"Also, there's something I want to show you today…" said Cristel.
"Show us something?" asked Darwin.
"That's right, you've contributed enough to the guild to gain access to the Pink Alley," affirmed Cristel.
"The Pink Alley!?" asked Darwin excitedly. "Does it really exist!?"
"What is the Pink Alley?" 'They never mention it in the novels,' Finn wondered, confused.
"That's right, today you've earned the right to enter the Pink Alley... although I have to warn you to be very careful. There are several deceitful and treacherous people there, but if you know how to move well, it could be very useful," Cristel affirmed as she headed toward the door. "Well, let's not delay too long. We don't want it to get dark and get trapped among the prostitutes in the alley."
"I do want to," Darwin thought quickly.
—
The three of them left the guild and headed toward a bus station that would take them to the center of the capital. Once there, they got off and headed toward some stairs until they reached the third floor of a building that housed an alchemy and engineering shop. Upon entering, the first thing they saw was an old man working on some kind of objects they didn't understand, and a young man cleaning the glass on some shelves.
"Oh, Miss Cristel, nice to see you again. What brings you here?" asked the old man named Dan.
"Old Dan, we're just passing through. We're headed to the pink alley," Cristel clarified as he headed toward what appeared to be a customer dressing room.
"I see… but who are they? Won't the others be bothered?" asked Dan, looking directly at Finn and Darwin.
"Don't worry, old man. Those two have earned more than many adventurers the right to enter the alley," Cristel assured, pointing to a painting with several doodles on it.
It took the old man a few seconds to understand, but then he opened his eyes in surprise and nodded slightly at Finn and Darwin.
"I see, so you're the ones who discovered the new ancestral mural. In that case, there shouldn't be any problems. Go ahead," said the old man.
"How do you know about the mural? I thought it was classified," asked Finn.
"It is, however, not many things can remain classified in the Pink Alley," Dan replied.
Cristel nodded at Dan's words and then opened the dressing room door, signaling Finn and Darwin to follow her.
"Every time you want to enter the Pink Alley, you'll have to enter through here. There are other ways in, but those are for higher-class adventurers or merchants," Cristel said, entering the dressing room.
Finn and Darwin nodded and entered the dressing room with Cristel, but not before saying goodbye to Dan and young Roger, who was cleaning the windows. Upon entering the dressing room, Cristel closed the door and walked over to a long mirror on the wall.
"Show me the path," Cristel said as she placed her hand on the mirror.
The mirror shone slightly and then changed, showing the reflection of the room they were in, but empty. Cristel entered the mirror without hesitation and then pulled the astonished Finn and Darwin.
Upon entering, they realized it was as if they were in the same old place, but empty. Finn ran over and looked through one of the windows, seeing an area he hadn't seen before.
"How the hell are they hiding this?" Finn asked, amazed.
"It's thanks to writing magic. It's everywhere in the capital. It takes over all the hidden and unused spaces in the kingdom, creating a space hidden from view, yet right in front of them," Cristel revealed, looking down the vast street lit only by the streetlights.
"So... where exactly is this street located in the capital?" Darwin asked, confused.
"Everywhere, this street exists everywhere in the capital, but because it's hidden and constantly moving, you can't see it or access it unless you have a transporter that connects you directly to it. Just like the mirror we entered," Cristel said.
"Incredible…" Finn whispered, amazed.
"It's like entering another city," Darwin mentioned, seeing some people like merchants, adventurers, and even families walking the streets.
"It is. This is a completely different life from the capital. After all, this is one of the many hidden streets in the kingdoms," Cristel revealed, surprising Finn and Darwin even more.
"There's more!" Finn asked, surprised.
"Of course there's more. Why do you think this street has a name? It's so we can distinguish it from the other streets," Cristel said, smiling slightly. "Areas like these are connected to each other, forming another realm, a hidden realm within a realm, the Under Realm."
"This is different. This has never been shown in the novels," Finn thought, amazed.
"Under Realm? That means it has a King or Queen, right?" Darwin asked.
"Not exactly. Each area or street is governed by a chief, who is in charge of directing all the affairs that take place down here… or at least that's what they're supposed to do," Cristel revealed. "Down here is a place without control, without law. Only the strong or capable are accepted here. Not many people know about this place for that very reason; you can only get here by invitation."
"Is it that up there were controls and rules?" Finn wondered.
"So what about the families around here?" Darwin asked, confused.
"Those are families of capable adventurers, respected adventurers in this kingdom" Cristel clarified. "...well, let's continue. We don't want it to get too late, right?"
Cristel and company left the lonely shop and went down to the street. Walking around, they could clearly see a stark contrast between these shops and those in the capital. In the capital, they sell various types of magical items, armor, books, and even monster parts for those who create their own potions. But here in the Underrealm, things are different. Cursed items, books with magic forbidden by the kingdoms, bewitched armor, and even living beings are sold so people can do whatever they want with them.
"Why would anyone want a live harpy?" Darwin asked, seeing the harpy chained in one of the stalls.
"I've heard they have deep-throated ones," Cristel replied, looking at the harpy. "Do you want one? Monsters aren't sold in the capital as such, since many people without enough strength to train them want to buy them, and that can cause a lot of trouble in the capital. But if an adventurer captures one, then there are no problems."
"So several adventurers come here to buy monsters and then pass them off as if they had captured them?" Finn asked, looking at the imprisoned goblins, unable to imagine who would want to buy one of these grotesque creatures.
"That's right, honey. Many monsters are bought here," Cristel replied, then looked at Darwin again. "So?"
"No… I can't even imagine doing it with one," Darwin quickly replied.
"...It's not as bad as you think. I've personally done it with a horse-woman. They have very long, rough tongues, and a pretty firm body…" Cristel confessed.
"Yes, we already discovered the firm body…" Finn replied, remembering how a horse-woman almost suffocated him and Darwin with her muscles.
"Right, you've already tamed one. I'd forgotten," Cristel said with a big smile, misunderstanding what Finn was saying. "One day we should go find one ourselves. I'm sure it'll be fun," Cristel affirmed, patting Finn on the back before continuing on.
"Sigh, I hope so…" Finn whispered, resigned, following Cristel.
'What did Cristel do with the horse-woman's tongue?' Darwin wondered, following Finn.