I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Heroine Who Paved a Flowery Path 045
“Can you pinpoint their locations too?”
Alex nodded and crouched down on the ground, drawing something with a stick. Dain and Ben settled beside him to examine the sketch.
First, three circles appeared near the rock drawing.
“There are three guards at the entrance. The strongest one should be weaker than you, Dain.”
“No mages?”
“None. But it looks like they have a Communication Device and Magic Scrolls.”
[Attack Magic!]
“Attack Magic Scrolls.”
Alex drew seven more circles scattered in groups of two or three, positioned some distance from the guards’ markings.
“The missing people are spread out like this, and they seem to be doing something.”
“Are they digging or doing construction work?”
“Probably.”
“Without a mage, this is doable! We just need to watch out for the Communication Device and scrolls.”
At Dain’s words, Alex looked at him intently.
Dain tilted his head, puzzled.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You’re planning to fight too? Just telling us this much is already more than enough.”
The request was to find Milo, not to ask him to help with combat.
“Well… we still don’t know for certain that Milo is down there, do we? If he isn’t, we’ve got the wrong location. We need to confirm either way.”
Dain grinned and continued.
“Besides, compared to the information you’ve given us, this is nothing. And even if the Crow Guild isn’t known for charity, we can’t just leave these kidnapped people behind!”
Ben and the other guild members nodded in agreement.
“And you’re only a 2-Circle mage. The guards seem stronger than you—how do you plan to win?”
[Alex looks like a 2-Circle mage on the surface, but his magical power is more like 4-Circle.]
[If he just pours out magic, it’s over!]
[Though the Underground Space will turn into chaos, of course.]
[It might even collapse.]
Hearing this, Alex couldn’t help but laugh.
“Then I’m grateful for the help.”
After they decided to fight together,
the meeting continued.
“Are there any emergency exits? They probably made at least one.”
At Ben’s question, Alex shook his head.
“Unfortunately, I can only see people and magic from above ground. I can’t see inside the structure itself.”
“Still, that’s a remarkable ability.”
Dain marveled.
To peer through solid earth from the surface, and even identify the type of Magic Scroll—
it was an impressive and enviable power.
With just this magic, infiltration would become far simpler and easier.
“It’s a shame I’m not a mage. If I were, I could’ve learned it.”
Yi Baek spoke up with pride at Dain’s genuine regret.
[I’m pretty good at it!]
Of course, since it wasn’t actually magic, Yi Baek would never know he couldn’t learn it.
“Then we need to be careful not to let the guards escape. It’d be best to capture them alive if we can.”
“Right. We should find out who’s backing them too.”
Alex nodded at Dain’s words.
If it really was connected to a dark mage, capturing them alive would be the better approach for interrogation.
Alex stood and walked some distance away from the rock. Dain, Ben, and the guild members watched him.
“There should be a path down to the Underground Space somewhere around here.”
Alex drew a straight line connecting the rock to where he stood.
“The strongest guard is positioned here, the second-strongest here, and the last one over there. The Magic Scroll is here, so keep an eye on it. The missing people are scattered a bit further—around here—so you don’t need to worry about them.”
Alex spoke with such certainty, as if he could see through solid earth itself. Dain’s eyes gleamed, and Ben and the other guild members gasped in admiration.
“Then I’ll take on the strongest one. Ben, you handle the second-strongest. You two can manage the last one.”
Dain pointed to two particularly skilled guild members.
“Alex, you provide magical support. Take care of the Scroll and Communication Device too.”
Alex nodded.
[Aren’t you going to fight?]
[If you really went all out, you could probably sweep through them alone?]
But he’d never fought people before, so that was the problem.
If he made a mistake, he might end up killing the enemies outright, so it was better to leave capture to someone reliable.
Still, he had no intention of standing idle and watching.
“I’ll attack first with Water Ball, and you can subdue them in that opening.”
“Oh, that works? Having a mage around really does make things easier.”
Dain seemed satisfied with Alex’s proposal.
“Good. So the question is how to get underground now. Can’t you dispel the magic?”
Alex shook his head at Dain’s question.
[Shame, but she’s still only a Second Circle.]
[Can’t manage advanced spells yet.]
Ignoring Yi Baek’s remark, Alex offered his own suggestion.
“Leave the stone alone and dig another entrance beside it.”
There had to be passages underground anyway, so they’d just need to dig through the adjacent earth until they connected. Since they wouldn’t touch the stone, the Alarm spell wouldn’t trigger.
It was a method that the Brave Leo and his companions had often used in the “future”—one that the “future Dain” had taught him.
“That’ll work!”
Dain nodded at Alex’s words and quickly ordered the guild members to bring shovels.
“Wait, can’t you do it with magic? That’d be faster, wouldn’t it?”
[Of course it can!]
Yi Baek answered, though no one could hear him.
[The incantation is Dig.]
[Think of digging. Making a pit, clearing out the soil….]
[Well, being a farmer like you, it should be easy to imagine.]
Exactly as he said.
“Dig.”
Alex, a former farmer whose labor had been turning earth, learned Dig instantly and carved out a deep hollow.
It was a cavity so deep that a person would need to use a shovel many times over to match it.
“That’s incredible!”
“A mage really is different.”
Dain, Ben, and the other guild members marveled at the suddenly excavated ground.
[They have no idea he just learned this spell moments ago.]
Yi Baek chuckled to himself.
“Dig.”
Alex carefully dug the earth wide enough for people to move through without the walls collapsing, and Dain and the guild members packed it down with their hands and feet.
“But you’re really Second Circle? Most Second Circle mages can’t use spells like that right away—and you seem to have plenty of mana too.”
The Second Circle mages Dain knew couldn’t cast many spells before growing exhausted, and using them continuously was a strain.
[That’s because this one isn’t an ordinary Second Circle mage!]
“Magic from the school I learned operates this way.”
“Oh, is that so? I don’t know what school it is, but that’s impressive!”
Dain was simply curious and didn’t press further.
“Dig.”
Before long, an open passageway appeared ahead—one that looked like someone had already dug it out.
“There’s the passage.”
The tunnel was wide enough for two people to move through side by side, and it descended toward the Underground Space.
“Shall we go in?”
“Wait.”
Alex pulled a piece of paper from his chest and handed it to Dain.
Dain blinked.
“What’s this?”
[That’s the Gratitude Token that Caldis the sub-lord was supposed to give to the count’s daughter!]
“I got it through a noble acquaintance who knows the Brodell family. Since we’ll have trouble cleaning this up between ourselves, I thought it’d be better to bring them in too.”
He could manage Milo alone somehow, but with twenty missing people, it would be difficult for Alex or Dain to handle.
“Just hand this to the count’s daughter and tell her about the situation here.”
Dain’s expression shifted in surprise at the unexpected connections, then he nodded.
He’d thought Alex was just a common mercenary, but he turned out to be a mage of unusual skill—and now someone with connections to a count’s house.
He really was a peculiar fellow.
“Jack!”
“Yes! I’ll be back in no time!”
Jack, a guild member, carefully took the letter bound for the count’s estate and quickly rode off into the forest.
“Let’s go.”
At Alex’s words, Dain, the guildmaster of the Crow Guild, took the lead.
The underground passage was pitch-black without a single light, but Dain and the information guild members walked easily through it as if the way were lit.
[Footsteps made no sound at all.]
Soft whisper—soft whisper—
Alex was being careful too, but couldn’t match the silence of the Information Guild members.
Especially Dain.
He moved swiftly yet made no sound, and oddly, one couldn’t even sense his presence.
Soon the dark tunnel leading underground ended.
A broad, well-lit chamber opened before them.
Thanks to the location details Alex had provided, Dain moved smoothly ahead alone to scout the interior.
The Underground Space appeared to be divided into two sections—front and back. Guards occupied the front area, making it impossible to enter or exit without passing through.
The back section was sealed shut by a thick door. The missing people had to be in there.
Dain studied the guards carefully.
As Alex had described, there were two on the left and one on the right, with something like a desk where a Communication Device was visible.
“Haaah.”
The guards slouched in their chairs, yawning without a trace of vigilance. Bottles and playing cards were scattered nearby.
It made sense.
Twenty starving commoners could hardly threaten those who’d never lose to a healthy peasant.
Besides, they’d been watchful at first, but after months with no visitors, their guard had slowly worn away.
The timing was perfect.
Dain gestured toward the back.
A coded signal for the guild members, but loose enough for Alex to catch on.
[Looks like he’s saying to attack on the count of three.]
Just as Yi Baek had said.
Dain raised his right hand, extending three fingers.
Three.
Ben and the guild members split into two groups, and Alex used Mana Detection to pinpoint the enemies’ exact positions.
Two.
They all raised their weapons, and Alex rotated his Mana Circle, channeling Mana through the circuits running through his body.
One!
“Water Ball!”
Three Water Balls materialized in the air and shot straight at the enemies.
Whoosh—!
At the same moment, Dain and Ben and the guild members burst forward.
Alex used Body Enhancement to harden his legs and kicked off lightly.
His body shot forward as if pulled by a rope.
Unlike before when he’d stumbled clumsily, he now had perfect control.
In that instant—
“Agh!!”
Two of the three guards took the full weight of impact and staggered.
“Who—!”
The strongest guard noticed the Water Ball and dodged quickly, but couldn’t escape Dain’s attack coming from behind it.
“Ungh!”
The wounded guard stumbled backward, drawing his sword.
Ben and the guild members pressed their attack on the reeling guards.
Clang—! Clang!
Between the clash of blades and daggers, Alex moved quickly to secure the Magic Scroll and Communication Device.
[Good. Let’s attack too!]
Retreating, Alex surveyed the situation.
The ‘Sight’ he’d trained by watching the hero party’s battles in the ‘future’ could easily track the swift movements of the Crow Guild and the guards.
Clang—!
Even the movements of Dain—the strongest—and the guard were crystal clear.
But he couldn’t just fire a Water Ball right away.
Since they were fist-sized and (relatively) slow, if the enemy dodged, it might hit his allies instead.
To quicken his attacks, Alex reduced the Water Ball’s size.
“Water Ball!”
The shrunken Water Ball was now the size of an arrowhead.
Smaller certainly made it feel much easier to control.
Alex fired the tiny Water Balls at the enemies as fast as possible.
Thunk!
A small hole opened in the enemy’s thigh—there was no chance to dodge.
[Oh!]
[This is nothing like a gun!]
Reeling from the sudden assault, the enemy staggered backward. Seizing the opening, two Crow Guild members launched simultaneous attacks.
“Water Ball!”
In that same instant.
Alex conjured several small Water Balls and sent them flying toward the remaining enemies. He aimed deliberately at their limbs, careful to avoid anything that might prove fatal.
“Damn…it!”
An opponent of comparable skill in front, a mage behind.
The small magical projectiles raining down from all sides were fast and hard to see, making them nearly impossible to dodge.
Clang!
Pressed to their limit, the guards wielded their swords with difficulty, but they couldn’t hold out for long.
“…Ugh!”
Spotting their openings, Dain, Ben, and the other guild members brought the hilts of their weapons down on the guards’ heads and necks, knocking them unconscious.
Then, with practiced efficiency, they tore the fabric from the guards’ clothes to gag them and bound their hands and feet tightly with the remaining cloth. They collected and stashed away all the weapons.
The entire process unfolded in the blink of an eye.
[Wow. That was smooth.]
[Definitely the work of seasoned professionals!]
Even in the ‘future,’ Alex had often witnessed the Crow Guild members’ efficient work, but it never failed to impress him with its speed and precision.
‘Leo learned this too….’
In the ‘Age of Ruin,’ there had been many occasions requiring torture and interrogation to extract information, which meant capturing enemies unharmed without serious injury.
Because of that, even the Hero Leo and his companions, who frequently encountered high-ranking demons, learned kidnapping techniques.
‘I wish he hadn’t had to learn it.’
As his guardian, Alex had hoped Leo would learn only good things, but as a ghost of an uncle, he had no authority to object.
“Wow, impressive! I’ve never seen magic that fast before! And your timing was perfect!”
The younger Dain, whose past Alex had glimpsed—the very ‘Teacher Dain’ who had taught Leo that unsavory skill—beamed widely and clapped Alex on the shoulder.
“Alex, we make a great team! Want to join our guild?”
“No.”
Alex’s voice seemed, if anything, colder than before, but Dain paid it no mind.
“Come on. Don’t decide so quickly.”
[In the future he was recruiting Leo, and now he’s recruiting his uncle.]
Yi Baek chuckled softly.
“See, once you join the guild, you can work whenever you want, day or night….”
Tuning out Dain’s spiel about the guild’s merits with practiced ease, Alex reached for the key hanging on the wall and positioned himself before the door.
Dain fell silent, and Ben moved to stand beside him.
Creak.
The firmly closed door swung open.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————