Chapter 60
Ch.60 Deep Into the Mine Shaft
"Hey, Luo Nan — you're an ordinary person, so why do you insist on going to dangerous places yourself? Wouldn't it be better to just stay home like a good boy?"
Leaving Serela's private residence, Anya — well-fed and fully satisfied — stretched with a lazy yawn, her fitted Warrior's jacket riding up slightly to reveal a sliver of pale skin at her waist.
She raised a hand to stifle the yawn, her eyes narrowing to half-mast, seemingly tempted by the thought of an afternoon nap.
"Anya Sivans — you don't need to know my reasons. All you need to do is take your pay and faithfully carry out your duty to protect me. Don't ask questions that aren't yours to ask."
Luo Nan offered no explanation of why he wanted to go himself. After all, he could hardly tell her plainly that the Limestone Mine Shaft was a dungeon from The Shining Myriad Trails — one that contained a plot item of critical importance to the game's 'Imperial Storyline.'
It had only clicked after hearing Serela speak the name aloud. He hadn't made the connection immediately — it was only when he saw the expression on the Imperial Princess's face, cold as ice, that he had gone digging through his memories from his previous life and found it.
That realization had also become a key driving force behind his change of mind — the decision to go himself.
"Tch…there you go being a riddleman again. If you're not going to say it, then don't. This lady can't be bothered to pry."
The girl gave her limbs a leisurely stretch and didn't take Luo Nan's riddle to heart.
She knew perfectly well that this person had always enjoyed playing riddleman in front of her — he'd strung her along several times already.
This time, she wouldn't be strung along!
'If it weren't for this guy being so free with his money — ten Gold Faras for this one trip — I wouldn't bother with something this troublesome.'
'This guy is annoying, and he loves his riddles — but the one thing you can't fault him on is his generosity. Just the one redeeming quality, though.' The girl mused privately.
Luo Nan turned toward the other person following behind him — the female knight whose entire frame was encased in gleaming silver armor. "Miss Tanya, I'll be counting on your attentiveness throughout what comes next."
"……It is my duty." A crisp, capable female voice emerged from within the full-coverage helmet, though the tone carried a distinct note of reluctance.
Tanya was Serela's personal guard and would follow the Imperial Princess's orders without question — but she had heard plenty about Luo Nan von Medillion's unsavory reputation, and she couldn't fathom why her Princess was so invested in this particular person's affairs.
But if it was Her Highness's command, she would carry it out with loyalty.
Luo Nan caught the undercurrent in the female knight's words and paid it no mind.
He had enough self-awareness to know that his public image was still very much that of an 'erratic and debauched young scoundrel.'
"Alright then — ladies, into the carriage."
Given that their destination was property under the Perez Family's granted title, any insignia belonging to other noble houses or the imperial family was naturally out of the question. With that in mind, Luo Nan had no choice but to spend heavily and purchase a top-of-the-line standard carriage from a coach dealer.
As for why he didn't rent one?
Would Luo Nan von Medillion ever be caught doing something as undignified as renting?
The carriage set off at a brisk pace from the Upper District of Opalia, rolling through the clean, orderly boulevards of the Upper District, passing through the chaotic but vibrant alleyways of the Lower City, and finally leaving behind the sprawling metropolis of nearly two million souls entirely.
Out in the city's outskirts, Luo Nan opened the carriage window. His gaze followed the Lune River as it wound its way out of the city, stretching all the way to the golden-green patchwork of farmland in the distance.
"The autumn harvest must be coming soon. The wheat is looking wonderfully promising."
At the sight of wheat fields stretching to the horizon, Luo Nan couldn't help but murmur softly.
His gaze continued along the river, passing over the fields, until it settled at last on the mouth of an abandoned mine shaft.
"We've arrived."
The three of them stepped down from the carriage and made their final preparations for the exploration ahead. Since the group were effectively 'stowaways' who had not obtained the Perez Family's permission to enter, they had put together simple disguises.
This was especially true for Luo Nan, whose face was far too recognizable.
"Let's go."
Human-skin mask in place, Luo Nan — now transformed into the appearance of an entirely unremarkable middle-aged man — turned to the two women.
"That face you're wearing…it's truly hideous."
Anya gave Luo Nan's disguise a look of mild distaste. When this person talked to her with his real face, she had never particularly noticed it — but now that he'd swapped it for this ugly mug, she found him even more insufferable.
'Hm…I really don't know what stroke of luck Luo Nan pulled to end up with such good looks.' Anya grumbled internally.
As for her own disguise — she naturally couldn't afford something as costly as a human-skin mask, so she had wrapped strips of cloth around her face instead, leaving only a pair of golden eyes exposed.
Luo Nan had a nagging feeling that Anya's disguise looked strangely familiar — as though he'd seen it somewhere before — but try as he might, he couldn't place it.
'Never mind, it's probably just my imagination.' If he couldn't think of it, there was no point stressing over it. Luo Nan never let himself go in circles over things.
As for the female knight Tanya — she had no need to disguise her face, since the visor of her helmet already covered it entirely. She simply used a prop to coat and conceal the imperial insignia engraved on her armor.
Drip, drip—
The three entered the abandoned mine shaft, and a gust of hot, humid air swept over them from within.
"According to the intelligence files, this Limestone Mine Shaft was abandoned nearly ten years ago due to resource depletion." Luo Nan briefed the two women on the shaft's details.
"What were they mining here?" Anya asked curiously.
Luo Nan didn't answer directly. He walked to the edge of the mine wall and ran a hand along the dark gray rock face, then held his coal-blackened fingertips up in front of the girl. "What do you think?"
"……" The girl felt her knowledge had just been looked down upon once again.
"According to the intelligence Serela provided, although this Limestone Mine Shaft is a shallow-vein mine, the tunnels inside branch out in every direction — it's very easy to get lost without a detailed map."
With that, Luo Nan produced the interior map of the mine shaft that the Perez Family had submitted to the government.
"The interior map the Perez Family provided is only the original version from when preliminary excavation first began thirty years ago. Over the decade or more of active mining, changes to the tunnel layout — and any internal collapses — would have rendered its information outdated."
Luo Nan continued explaining the mine's interior conditions to the two women as he consulted the map to get his bearings.
"So the three of us should try to stay reasonably close together." At this, he gave one of the already-teetering support timbers a deliberate tap. "In case an unexpected collapse separates us."
"After all…there are quite likely Followers of 'Nature' in some number concealed inside this mine shaft, and they're far more dangerous than this unpredictable environment."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll stay close to you — can't let your ten Faras go to waste, can I?" Anya replied offhandedly.
The girl finished speaking and edged herself slightly closer to Luo Nan.
Fsssh—
After confirming it was safe and wouldn't trigger an explosion, Luo Nan produced a lighter and struck a small flame.
"What are you doing?"
In the dim surroundings, the flame in Luo Nan's hand cast its glow across the girl's curious face — and within those pair of golden eyes, something that looked very much like barely-contained excitement seemed to be hiding.
Yes — this was exactly the feeling. The feeling of exploring a dungeon alongside party members!
Except for one insufferably useless member of the party who couldn't tie a chicken down — otherwise, everything was exactly what Anya had imagined 'running a dungeon' to feel like.
"Finding direction." Luo Nan replied.
"Finding what dire——"
"The ventilation shaft. We've been inside the mine for a while now. Watch the way the flame leans…to the right. There's a passage to the right that exchanges air with the outside."
This time, Luo Nan didn't play riddleman — before Anya had even finished her question, he had already explained his purpose in full.
"Oh……" The girl felt thoroughly outclassed again.
"Let's move. And remember — don't tip off the snake by disturbing the grass."