Chapter 90 - The Kidnapping Incident
It became November.
Since Mary reached adulthood, we held a debut for her at the Marcelo Company. Although she is a pharmacist, she will be hunting monsters with us when we go to places where medicinal herbs can be gathered.
I handed over the two types of gear—Black-Purple and Green Marble—along with a hood and a neck guard for her to equip. The embroidery is light purple. Being a lover of fashion, she seemed to take a liking to the neck guard and started wearing it every day from that day on.
That was fine, but...
When entering the sewers, clothes get smelly and hands get dirty. Using that as an excuse, she adamantly refuses to do the rat extermination.
Beatrix and I tried to persuade her together, but...
"Nooo!"
She pushed through with that single word. If she hates it, there's nothing we can do. The girls reaching adulthood next month will probably hate it even more anyway.
"I guess it can't be helped. It seems foxes will be appearing around the middle of this month, so let's go together then."
"If possible, I'd like to go gather medicinal herbs once a week."
Once a week, huh. Right now, we only have work like rat extermination. Maybe we should go to the west side of the prohibited area where we haven't been yet.
"What do you think, Paul-san? We haven't been to the west of the prohibited area yet, have we?"
"If we're going, why not go all the way to the mountain stream in the north? I think we can find rarer medicinal herbs there."
"If it's that far, won't it be hard to get back?"
"What, it's just a quick hop with the Paul-style Flight Magic."
If he says that, she's bound to bite.
"Flight Magic? You can fly in the sky? Ah, I remember. It's that bowl you rode the other day, right?"
The pilot of the bowl puffed out his chest to show off.
"I want to ride! I want to ride! Because I'm the only one who hasn't. Everyone else has!"
"Alright! It's settled then. When shall we do it?"
"Um, Monday and Friday are rat extermination days."
"Then let's make it Tuesday. Tomorrow, tomorrow! I'll talk to the shop!"
Paul-san was smirking. Let's just call it kindness.
Moving via the Teleportation Circle, riding the sled to the observatory, descending the steep stairs to the lakeshore, and arriving at the goblins' nest. We chatted with Robinson-san in the log cabin built by the two from the workshop. All this in just half an hour. Compared to when we first climbed up to the Water and Sewage Management Office, it has become quite convenient.
Beatrix and I were lost in deep emotion.
"You girls are blessed. You should respect us seniors who pioneered this far."
"That's true. It would be tough if we had to walk all the way."
"Thank you, senpai. Thanks to you, it's so much fun."
Beatrix was blowing a gale of 'seniority' toward Bonnie and Mary. We also had help from others, but I understand well what Beatrix wants to say.
"Paul-san. That sled is wonderful. That's the first time I've ever been so thrilled."
"Right? For some reason, the others had a poor reaction, but the Class of 175 has produced another person who understands, following Lyudmila."
Paul-san was triumphant at Mary's words, but for me, it was exhausting. If only we didn't have that, it would be even better. Now that a second person has appeared, we'll undoubtedly end up riding it every single time.
Including Robinson-san, who would do aerial reconnaissance, there were six of us in total. We were about to set off immediately, but...
"Wait a moment. A letter arrived from Marcelo-san."
The small emergency letter transmission circle in the corner of the room was glowing, and a scrap of parchment had arrived. Robinson-san has been studying reading and writing since coming to Nakanohara, so he can easily read simple messages now.
Robinson-san's face changed color when he saw the scrap.
"It seems a robbery occurred in Nakanohara. A group of five is holding a hostage. The hostage is a prostitute."
"Who? Do you know the hostage's name?"
Mary's face paled. The ladies at the brothel are like family to her. When she heard the name, it was the lady who had been bedridden the other day. Mary snatched the letter, looked at it, and gasped.
"Now then, what shall we do?"
Paul-san crossed his arms.
"We can leave the scoundrels alone. It's not our job. The problem is the hostage."
"Please. Help her. The brothel will probably pay if it's about money, and I'll work to pay you back too."
Mary was distraught, clinging to Paul-san's sleeve.
"Calm down. Don't get in the way while Paul-san is thinking."
Beatrix pulled her away.
"But!"
"It's okay. He's not thinking about whether to help, but how to rescue her."
"Really?"
"Of course. He may look like this, but he's the technical advisor for the Class of 175. It'll be fine if you leave it to him."
Since Beatrix, who was hugging her, is shorter, I couldn't tell who was comforting whom. It can't be helped. I hugged Mary from behind and stroked her head.
"It's okay. Paul-san might seem like a strange person at first glance, but he's a crazy mage."
"Hey, that's not a compliment."
"Is it? But it's true, isn't it?"
"Well, it's not wrong."
"Hey, is it really okay to leave it to him?"
Mary had a worried look on her face.
Good, she's hooked. I moved Mary's thinking to the premise of helping. When I looked at Beatrix, she winked. This was telepathy.
"Don't worry about money, leave it to the Marcelo Company. We won't treat you badly. The prohibited area is like our backyard, our backyard."
I sat on the couch, puffing out my chest. Seeing that, Mary also calmed down.
"Alright, the policy is decided."
Paul-san showed his white teeth with a grin.
First is reconnaissance. While Beatrix drew pictures of the lady and the group of six, Robinson-san gathered birds. He showed them the pictures and sent out scouts from the air. The prohibited area is quite vast. We have to find where they are.
Before the birds returned, we exchanged messages with Marcelo-san in town to gather information. The group of six were starving drifters from elsewhere who had apparently broken into a certain village and stolen money. Afterward, after splurging in Nakanohara, they drugged a lady they liked to sleep, kidnapped her, and fled into the prohibited area.
"Can robbery and kidnapping be done that easily? Shouldn't the security methods be reviewed?"
It was just as Beatrix said.
"They're too skillful. They might be specialists."
"Specialists? There are people like that?"
"Deep in the mountains of the Western Plains. Apparently, there are bandit-types there."
"The Western Plains... where the mines are..."
"That's right. It's a place for serious criminals and those who drifted from other countries to become bandits, people serving prison sentences."
Of course, not everyone working in the mines is a criminal, but it seems to be a fact that the majority of prison sentences involve mine labor.
"Apparently, some took advantage of the loosened security during the Demon Lord's army subjugation to stage a mass breakout. We don't know where they're hiding, but many have military experience, so they'll be tough."
"Is the lady okay?"
Mary had turned pale.
The opponent is just too bad...
"She should be fine. Since they fled to the mountains, they must have a base somewhere. Until they get there, they won't lay a hand on her unless she does something strange."
"What do you mean by 'something strange'?"
"If the hostage resists pointlessly and becomes a burden, they'll kill her without hesitation."
"That's..."
Bonnie and I hurriedly supported Mary, who looked like she was about to collapse.
"She's a prostitute. She's got guts, so she'll be fine. She'll stay quiet and prioritize her safety without panicking. Besides, it was only discovered this morning, right? Not even half a day has passed. Since fleeing is their priority, they're likely still in the middle of running through the mountains."
"Are we going to catch them while they're fleeing?"
"No, if we launch a surprise attack, the hostage will be in danger. I don't care about the bandits; first and foremost is ensuring the hostage's safety."
"What are we going to do?"
"First, we have to pick up their trail."
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When the sun went down and the surroundings were shrouded in darkness.
Five men were sitting under a tree by a campfire, gnawing on stolen dried meat and bread.
"Boss, things went well, didn't they?"
"What are you saying? It's only just beginning."
"Even so, once we've come this far, those guys will mostly give up."
"That's not it. I'm not worried about human pursuers from the start. The problem is monsters."
"It'll be fine. Even if there are any around here, it'll be goblins or, at most, orcs. We've got silver swords and silver arrows. Right, you guys?"
In the direction he turned, three men nodded while gnawing on the dried meat in their hands. All three were likely archers. Their left hands didn't let go of their bows. Their quivers were tied to their waists so they could grab an arrow fletching at any time.
"More importantly, give that woman some bread and water. We went to the trouble of kidnapping her. If she gets weak and dies, we won't achieve our goal."
"Heh, understood."
"Here, you eat too."
At the end of the man's gaze, a woman whose head alone stuck out from a fallen hemp sack was gagged. Seeing that only her eyes were moving, her limbs were likely tied inside the bag.
He pulled out a knife and pressed it against the woman's throat, speaking in a low, threatening voice.
"We're already in the forest. If you stay quiet, I won't kill you. Just eat your food without saying anything. Got it? If you make a loud noise, I'll kill you. Understand?"
When the woman nodded, he stood the hemp sack up to raise her body and removed the gag.
"Here, I'll feed you, so just bite it."
"I'll do it myself, so untie my hands. My legs are tied anyway, so I won't run away."
"Can't be helped, I guess. In exchange, I'll cut off your right thumb. If you don't want that, just bite it like this without complaining."
"Yes, yes, I understand. This is fine."
Seeing her bite into the bread he held, the man smirked.
"Help me! Someone, is anyone there! It's a monster! Help me!"
Suddenly, a loud voice was heard.
"Hey!"
When the man who seemed to be the leader called out, he gagged the woman and pushed her into the bag. After tightly closing the mouth of the bag, he drew his sword and stood ready. The others also notched arrows and pointed them toward the voice.
"Help me! Is anyone there! A monster appeared! Ah! You guys, help me! A monster, a monster appeared!"
The man who was shouting came rolling to the feet of the five.
He was probably in his thirties. He wore fur, held a bow with a snapped string, but had no quiver. His face and body were covered in mud.
"Help me, a monster appeared. My partner was killed."
"Hey, give him some water."
"Right. Here, calm down."
He took the offered canteen and hurriedly took one, then two gulps of water while coughing, then collapsed on the spot as if falling apart.
"What happened? Where did you encounter the monster? And who the hell are you?"
"S-Sorry. Just ahead, there were five or six orcs and ogres. I-I'm a hunter from around here, but my companions were killed. T-There were three of us, but everyone died."
"A hunter from around here? I heard this is a prohibited area."
"Hehehe, poaching. Keep it a secret. This year's catch hasn't been good. That's why I came to the prohibited area where I don't usually enter. I'll do anything, just help me."
"Poaching, huh?"
He laughed obsequiously, "Hehehe."
"Uwah, they're coming! They use strange magic!"
In the direction he pointed, there were four lights like fireflies... floating and drifting.
"What's that? You, are you afraid of something like that?"
The lights seemed to sway closer, then dropped to the ground in front of them. They continued to glow faintly.
"What is this? Isn't it just a bug?"
As one person approached, the man who had rolled in let out a scream and tried to flee, but his legs seemed to tangle and he fell onto the hemp sack.
Suddenly, the light intensified, blinding the men. At the same time, a violent wind attacked.
"Uwaaaa!"
The three companions who had stood up and notched arrows were blown away and slammed violently against the trees.
"Boss!"
"Ah, I don't know if it's a monster or a human, but they seem skilled."
The two of them dropped to one knee and drew their silver swords.
For a moment, the front flashed white.
"Here it comes!"
Voom!
Another sudden gust. This time the wind pressure was stronger than before. They hurriedly prostrated themselves on the ground.
Crack! With a dull sound, a tree branch snapped.
"Guh, I'm being blown away..."
The two who somehow managed to endure hurriedly fled the scene as soon as the wind subsided.