DanMachi, My Members Are From Slice-of-Life Anime

So, what was their purpose in letting so many people die here?

Ugh, so annoying. These people who plot against each other are so wicked.

As I was pondering this, I suddenly heard Lulu scream, "Watch out!"

Xia Jia snapped out of her daze and saw a dark shadow shoot out from the pitch-black basement at an invisible speed, striking the old shopkeeper on the forehead with the trajectory of lightning, before crashing headfirst into Lulu's arms.

The massive impact forced even the level 3 Lulu to stagger back four or five steps, but the dark figure continued its momentum, charging towards Shaga's face at a slightly slower speed.

"So fast!"

Xia Jia's expression changed. Something that could knock Lulu, who was at level 3, away was not weak. Moreover, strength was not its forte!

Faced with such a formidable foe, Shaja didn't have much time to think, as the dark figure was about to dart in front of him.

Shaka remained calm; he had encountered similar attacks before, even before his transmigration. He first tilted his head, the red light representing the "zone" blazing in his eyes, and instinctively spun around, assuming a hitting stance, swinging his weapon with his most familiar experience.

whoosh-

A gust of air flashed by, and a few drops of blood bloomed.

Failed!

Xia Jia's pupils contracted. Although he felt a hit, the feel was wrong. Only then did Xia Jia realize that he was holding a dagger, not a racket; the length and striking area were vastly different.

It seems like luck was the only reason you managed to accidentally scratch the other person?

Xia Jia reacted quickly, avoiding being attacked from both sides, he rolled on the spot, leaving the front line to Lulu.

When he looked up, the room was silent, seemingly no different from before.

"Don't panic, that thing has escaped."

Lulu crouched down, picked up a tuft of black hair from the ground, and analyzed:

"It's a monster. It looks like it was injured beforehand and chose to flee the moment the lock opened..."

"Conservatively speaking, it's a feline monster... a saber-toothed tiger? Too small... Hmm... could it be a subspecies?"

Xia Jia asked curiously, "Just by looking at the fur in your hand, can you tell it's a feline?"

Lulu shrugged: "Although it was masked by the smell of blood, the pungent smell of wild cats was still too obvious."

As she spoke, she pointed to the bloodstains on her clothes, a plum blossom claw mark, confirming that it was left by the monster.

Xia Jia frowned instead: "I think it's more like a shadow... Its figure is completely shrouded in darkness, and its movement is very strange, just like a shadow."

Lulu didn't object, but she couldn't guarantee it either: "Perhaps it's an enhanced species. Since it can be sold as a commodity, it must at least be a rare species."

"Let's go in and take a look; maybe we'll find other clues."

Xia Jia didn't move. He went to the old shopkeeper's side and extended a finger to check his breath.

"He's not dead, but his brain suffered a huge shock, so he probably won't wake up easily."

Lulu put her hands on her hips and said, "Just leave it alone. This old man isn't a good person either."

Xia Jia didn't think so: "Maybe we can get some clues out of him, let's try to save him."

"what ever."

Lulu ignored Xia Jia and went into the basement on her own.

Two minutes later, Shaka followed her in.

"Did you find anything?"

The basement was a mess. Xia Jia covered his nose, the red light of "zone" in his pupils had not faded, and all the muscles in his body were controlling his internal organs to prevent him from vomiting on the spot.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a horrific murder scene. If "zone" hadn't been in perfect control of his body, he probably would have been humiliated again.

Adapt, adapt.

Xia Jia took a deep breath, and a fishy stench flooded his nostrils again.

ultra!

Fortunately, Dekomori and the others weren't involved in this...

"Are you alright?" Lulu patted Xia Jia's shoulder nonchalantly.

"No, it's okay."

"First time? Do you need me to guide you? This is a piece of cake for me."

"No, no need." Xia Jia was sweating and had no time to complain.

Have you found out who these people are?

Lulu's expression turned serious. Pointing to a cage with its door wide open, she said solemnly:

"They were indeed the same people from yesterday. They were all ordinary people, except for one level 2 adventurer."

Moreover, I sensed the aura of a curse in the cellar, and the result was obvious: the monster had broken free of its cage and was now retaliating.

"It could use curses at will, and it killed everyone very cleanly and without anyone noticing."

Her thoughts raced. Xia Jia looked at the enormous iron cage. It hadn't been forcibly broken from the inside. Suppressing her nausea, she continued to search the vicinity of the cage. Sure enough, next to a corpse missing an arm, she found the key.

"It seems they opened the cage themselves, but why?"

"I think I guessed that."

Lulu stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment, then pointed to the structure of the iron cage and said:

"This cage is sealed on all sides and is made of expensive, exquisite metal. For some reason, these mercenaries are not comfortable with the goods they are transporting, so they want to check and confirm, which is why they took the initiative to open the cage."

Shaga questioned, "Did they not even know what they were transporting?"

"This is normal."

Lulu kneaded the metal cage and explained, "For mercenaries, as long as they know they are transporting something, what the goods are actually doesn't matter."

Lulu pouted and said, "Lord Hermes often receives similar requests, and we also investigate them ourselves out of curiosity, thus obtaining a lot of valuable information."

Xia Jia pondered for a moment, then opened his narrowed eyes: "In that case, there is only one question left."

"According to the old shopkeeper, the merchant named Baker and the level 3 guard are missing! Also, I ask you, [Mud Dog], which clan did the level 2 adventurer who died belong to?"

Xia Jia had a vague suspicion in his mind, which was just waiting to be confirmed.

"We'll find out the merchant's whereabouts when that old man wakes up. As for the clan..." Lulu's expression was strange: "It's Ikelos."

Xia Jia's expression froze.

really……

Chapter 32 Heretic

"Heh heh, they're a clan that's been missing for years, how do you, a country bumpkin, know about them?"

Lulu pinched a sly look on her face. According to Hermes, this kid must be from a small village.

Shaga calmly replied, "This is a clan secret; you should ask God Hermes."

Lulu scoffed and, clutching her head, asked, "So, what's your conclusion?"

How should I put it?

Xia Jia organized her thoughts for a moment, then slowly said, "I wonder if you've ever seen a kind of demon with extremely high intelligence?"

"Oh?" Lulu showed a curious expression, signaling for him to continue.

Xia Jia pointed to the key on the ground, the iron cage, and the horrific battlefield around him, and speculated, "For now, let's assume that this monster possesses intelligence that is no less than that of humans."

"Then, we make a conjecture: it had already figured out the mercenaries' combat strength. And after learning that its strongest fighters had left, it lured the guards to open the cages and carry out the escape."

Lulu raised a question:

"Since it's just a guess, then ordinary monsters could probably do what you're saying."

"This is what I mean by the reason for having wisdom."

Xia Jia analyzed, "You should understand that, as a commodity, to ensure quality, even monsters should be 'trained.' Even if they aren't submissive, they should be controlled by some kind of magical tool."

"The buyers are most likely nobles from various countries. To ensure the safety of the buyers, there must be some precautions. At the very least, there should be matching collars. Otherwise, it would be suicide."

“That’s right.” Lulu agreed, “So, does that mean it’s impossible for monsters to have any accidents?”

Xia Jia said in a deep voice:

"This is what I'm going to talk about next. From the moment it was captured, that magical beast was showing weakness and pretending to be obedient in order to gain the seller's trust. Now, when the time was right, it broke free in one fell swoop."

"Hiss—" Lulu gasped, "This is beyond the intelligence a monster should have! Are you sure? Monsters developing intelligence is completely unbelievable."

Shaga himself couldn't be too certain. The conclusion was drawn from the fact that he knew Ikeros was involved with the seller, and that he might be a heretic.

It can be described as a God's-eye view.

The appearance of highly intelligent monsters is not exclusive to heretics; some enhanced species that have consumed large amounts of magic stones can also exhibit similar behavior.

such as……

The moss giant from the main story.

It's more accurate to describe it as an enhanced hunting instinct than as intellectual.