Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

As he stepped into the room thick with the stench of blood, Finn reached out and pulled aside the curtain. The overwhelming smell hit him immediately.

The gruesome scene inside came into view at once.

Lying on the floor was a man's corpse, dressed only in his underwear. Half of his head had been crushed, the fragments scattered across the ground.

On the bed sat a man—Villy, the owner of Villy Inn.

He sat with a troubled expression, lost in thought.

"Ah... why did something like this have to happen in my inn..."

An adventurer dying in his establishment was a nightmare scenario. He'd built this inn to make a living, after all. Now, with a case like this spreading through the City of Rivira, it would undoubtedly take a heavy toll on his business.

Listening to his resentful muttering, Finn could easily sense how bitter the man was. But just a glance at the body on the floor made it obvious why.

Something like this happening at any inn would be disastrous.

Before Finn could speak, angry voices rang out from outside.

"Hey! This area is off-limits right now!"

It was understandable.

An adventurer had just been killed here, and they'd just set up a perimeter to prevent anyone from entering—yet someone had barged in anyway. Anyone would be furious in that situation.

Finn turned toward the familiar voice and immediately greeted him.

"Long time no see, Bors."

"...So it's you, Finn."

The irritation vanished the moment Bors saw who it was, replaced with wordless exasperation. Internally, he couldn't help but grumble, 'Why is it always this guy showing up at times like this?'

Finn, however, wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Bors, we're planning to stay here for a while. If it helps resolve things faster, how about we lend a hand?"

Looking down at the corpse, Bors sighed. Of course it would be best to wrap this up quickly.

But even so, he couldn't help responding with a sarcastic half-smile.

"You really haven't changed at all. Still the same smooth talker, Finn."

Finn didn't mind the cold reception. After all, the City of Rivira was Bors's turf—it wasn't unreasonable for him to resent their sudden appearance.

While Rivira did have adventurer ranks, it wasn't on the same level as Orario. Built inside the Dungeon itself, the strongest adventurer in Rivira was only around Level 3. Bors Elder, for all intents and purposes, was the head of this street.

Now a group of higher-level adventurers had shown up uninvited, making the locals seem like small fry by comparison. As the local leader, Bors had every reason to be annoyed.

Still, Finn didn't take it personally. He wasn't a resident of Rivira anyway, and he was only getting involved to prevent the situation from becoming even more troublesome.

As the leader of the Loki Familia, Finn had no shortage of patience.

He turned his gaze to the corpse on the floor.

"Bors, do you have any leads on the murdered adventurer or the killer?"

Bors motioned toward the man sitting on the bed.

"Villy, stop holding your head and whining. Say something already."

The man raised his head with a pained expression and took a moment to organize his thoughts.

"Yesterday, that guy and a woman in a robe came to me to rent a room. The man wore a helmet, and the woman had her hood up—you couldn't see their faces. Even if I saw them again, I wouldn't be able to recognize them."

Finn nodded, understanding the situation. Judging from the fact that the man died in only his underwear, it seemed he hadn't even had the chance to react before the woman killed him.

"They came together, so what about the robed woman? If she left, you should've seen it, right?"

Villy turned his head away, clearly embarrassed and avoiding Finn's eyes. But given what had happened in his inn, he knew that if he didn't give a proper explanation, they might not catch the culprit—and that would only make things worse for his business.

"I... I wasn't at the inn at the time."

Finn let out a quiet sigh. Seeing Villy's awkward demeanor, he understood immediately.

"So... the woman was really beautiful, wasn't she?"

"Of course! She looked like a total knockout!"

Just moments ago, Villy had been full of grief and gloom. Now his tone was practically gleeful, his voice even a notch louder.

And most tellingly, his nose seemed to grow with every word.

"...Seriously?"

"Oh! I caught a glimpse of her yesterday too. She wasn't wearing much—her figure was unreal!"

Even Bors, who had been keeping a straight face until now, suddenly chimed in, his nose figuratively stretching as well, and his face lighting up with that all-too-familiar grin that only men understood.

Disgusting.

Tione and Tiona shot them both sharp, disgusted glares—like they were looking at the most repulsive trash imaginable.

Feeling their stares, Bors and Villy quickly straightened up, clearly aware that this wasn't the time or place for that kind of talk in front of women.

Finn, watching their reactions, pieced the situation together easily.

"So, you really have no idea when that woman left?"

Villy nodded, looking troubled.

"You can hear everything from the rooms in this place. I didn't want to hear... those kinds of sounds, so I went to a bar to kill time."

"But when I came back about two hours later, the smell of blood hit me hard—so strong it nearly knocked me out."

As a Chienthrope, his sense of smell was extremely sharp.

But in that moment, Villy truly wished he wasn't one. At least then, his nose wouldn't have been so sensitive.

"What about their registration?"

"...They paid extra. What could I do?"

This kind of thing wasn't unusual in the City of Rivira. If someone paid enough, some adventurers could find ways to keep their identities hidden.

Villy paused, then added something unexpected.

"Right... I remember—after those two rented the room, another adventurer came along. Also cloaked and hooded. They rented the room next to them."

That was a surprising piece of information.

"Tione."

"Yes, Captain."

Tione, who had been standing near the doorway, immediately headed into the neighboring room. She pulled back the curtain—but there wasn't a trace of anyone inside.

With her answer clear, she quickly returned to report.

"Captain, the next room's empty."

Finn figured as much.

"Looks like the only ones who know what really happened are that robed woman who was with the victim... and the adventurer who stayed next door."