Chapter 239 - Chapter 238: The Whereabouts of Two
Mika accompanied Paraleira all the way to the academy dormitory.
"Then, please behave yourself. I'll gather information, so if you go running around wildly in the meantime, nothing will go smoothly, you know?"
"A-ah... yes..."
Paraleira looked like a husk.
Seeing that, Mika shrugged his shoulders.
If they had used the Information Broker Guild from the start, they would have already grasped the details of Hibujiza long ago.
But that was something Paraleira could not do.
Because she did not know much about information brokers.
In the first place, ordinary people do not even know the existence of the Information Broker Guild well.
They know that people like information brokers exist, but they do not know how to make contact.
Mika himself only learned about them because Gaeras told him; before meeting Gaeras, he knew nothing at all about information brokers.
If he had just told me from the start, I could have cooperated with that...
Well, someone capable of doing that would not be in this situation anyway.
She is truly a difficult person.
Mika saw Paraleira to her room and then left the dormitory.
Now, what should I do next?
"First, the Information Broker Guild."
If I tell Lebrantes at the window, he will move.
Or rather, I did ask him to tail Paraleira that way.
Thinking that far, Mika let out a bitter smile.
I am already a person of the underworld.
Everyone else is in class, you know.
Even with free attendance, am I going too far with my own whims?
Well, I am not exactly playing around.
There are just many things to do, so the days I go to the academy have decreased.
Just as Mika headed toward the academy gate, the view before his eyes suddenly flashed brightly!
"What!?"
Overwhelmed by the brightness, he instinctively turned his face away.
"You scared me! Hey, Fee!? What are you doing!?"
Don't do something flashy like this in a place like this!
There were no people around, but even from a distance, this would look strange!
However, even though Mika called out to him, Fee continued to flash brightly as usual.
What is this?
"Stop it already! Calm down a bit!"
Mika warned Fee a little more strongly.
But Fee did not change.
Usually, when warned by Mika, Fee would look dejected.
"..., did something happen?"
Even when Mika asked, Fee continued to flash brightly as usual.
When denying, the light dims, so this must mean something happened.
Where was Fee?
Today, the last time I saw him was when I left in the morning.
Since he did not follow then, it is probably...
"Something happened at home...?"
Seeing Fee continue to flash brightly without change, Mika ran off immediately.
Kistil! Nerisfeene!
Just now, Nerisfeene's condition was a little strange.
I do not know if it is related to that, but with Fee's condition like that, it is probably a quite serious situation.
Fee landed on Mika's shoulder and vanished with a whoosh.
He is thinking and acting properly.
It seems that what happened just now was indeed an emergency measure for an emergency.
Mika ran through District 3 after jumping out of the academy gate, but there were too many people to run at full speed.
Damn it!
Even if not at full speed, if one runs seriously enough, running is faster than flying.
But if there are many obstacles, flying would be faster.
Mika jumped with all his might and leaped into the air.
"Blast!"
With that, he leaped over the Second Wall and flew toward home.
"Kistil! Nerisfeene!"
Mika landed in the yard of the house and rushed into the entrance.
Opening the dining room door, he found a single sheet of paper on the table.
It was a hand-drawn map.
We are waiting. Come alone.
That was all that was written.
Throb!
A sudden, intense pain like his heart was being squeezed.
"U, guguu...!"
Mika groaned in pain and clutched his chest, staggering and squatting where he stood.
"Ugh, guuuuu... uuaaa... aaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Mika screamed while crouching, clutching his chest tightly.
Anger dyed his vision completely red.
His whole body trembled violently, and his head felt like it was about to snap from the uncontrollable anger.
"Huuu...! Huuu...! Huuuuu...!"
The pain in his chest had subsided before he noticed.
Mika remained crouching, brought his trembling hands before him, and slowly clenched them into fists.
He had gripped them too hard, and his hands shook with a tremor.
Mika stood up unsteadily, crumpled the map on the table in his hand, and stumbled toward the entrance.
There, several knights had arrived.
"Oh, Mika-kun. Just in time."
Seeing Mika come out of the entrance, the knight's expression softened slightly.
"Is there anything abnormal? I couldn't find the knights assigned to this area. I was worried something might have happened."
Mika did not even glance at the knights and took off immediately.
"Ah, wait! Mika-kun!"
The knights' calls did not reach him, and Mika flew away as he was.
"This is... something must have happened."
Nuborg nodded at Neilmeier's mutter.
"Neilmeier. Let's investigate Mika-kun's house first. There might be some clues."
"Y-yes. Let's inform the Knight Commander first about the abnormality. Hey!"
The knight called by Neilmeier nodded and immediately ran off.
"Damn... I have a bad feeling."
Neilmeier glared at the sky where Mika had disappeared and muttered that.
■■■■■■
What was drawn on the map was the Viscountcy of Braikosloa.
It is a domain located between the Viscountcy of Orcosa, where Yaunasun is, and the Earldom of Latajis, where Runesarm is.
Although, the paper left behind wrote "Earldom of Latajis" with a dot in the middle.
Beyond the capital of the Viscountcy of Braikosloa, near the border with the Am-Tast Trade Alliance.
In terms of distance from the Royal Capital, it is about four hundred and fifty to five hundred kilometers.
It is quite far.
Only someone like Mika can travel such a distance in a few hours.
By shared carriage, it would take nine to ten days.
I do not understand why such a place was specified.
Moreover, the map only said "We are waiting," with no date or time written.
Is it okay to go straight there?
Honestly, I am troubled.
If the kidnappers used a carriage, swapping horses back and forth could shorten the travel time to about five days.
However, no matter who kidnapped Kistil and Nerisfeene, I do not think they could arrive in a few hours.
While staring at the road below, Mika suppressed his anxious feelings and observed for suspicious carriages.
Calm down... calm down...
Regret gnawed at Mika painfully.
Why did I not protect the two of them more firmly?
Now, various factions are paying attention to Mika.
And Mika's weakness would be discovered immediately with a little investigation.
Still, I thought that now that my overwhelming power had been conveyed to them, they would not dare to make a careless move.
But that logic only works against those who can calculate properly.
Every organization has fools.
And those fools are the most terrifying.
Those who cannot even consider being harmed themselves can act without fear.
Even if you kill that fool later, the wounds inflicted on the victim do not disappear.
Damn it... damn it... damn it...! Please... stay safe...!
Mika flew over the road, desperately praying for the safety of Kistil and Nerisfeene.
■■■■■■
Mika hid in the bushes and peeked around.
As expected, even looking down from the road, there was no way to find the two.
So, he went ahead first to check the designated location.
The designated place was a mountain.
A spot slightly inland from a town near the border.
There, a drinking party was taking place.
There were dozens of large barrels, and it seemed Red Wine was being served.
In an open area, even though it was not yet evening, hundreds of men were eating and drinking freely.
Roughly, there seemed to be about three hundred people.
And moreover...
...Is this the Greenwood, the nest of villains?
Those men did not look like respectable people at all.
They were the kind of guys you would want to write "Bandit" or "Robber" in the occupation column.
Could there be some connection between those who kidnapped Kistil and Nerisfeene?
Should I kill all of these guys first...?
Crushing the enemy's combat power beforehand is an effective method.
But if they notice the anomaly, there is a high probability the perpetrators will not appear here.
In that case, there would be no clues left.
First, confirming the safety of the two is the priority.
That is the top priority.
Unless I confirm the safety of the two...
While Mika was hiding and searching for the men, he suddenly noticed something.
...Clio?
It seemed the large barrels of Red Wine had the symbol of the Church of Light branded on them.
These guys do not seem like clergy, so they probably raided the church's supply transport and stole it.
This drinking party is probably a celebration of that?
Although, the number of people seems too large for that.
It is as if they gathered everyone from neighboring domains.
Mika once moved away from that place.
Then, hiding behind a tree, he thought.
"Fee, go vanish and check if Kistil and Nerisfeene are not in the place just now."
When Mika said that, Fee briefly brightened his light and vanished with a whoosh.
Considering the distance from the Royal Capital, they probably are not there yet, but it is best to check just in case.
Mika could do it.
I do not know who they are, but it would be dangerous to declare they cannot do it.
While Fee went to search, Mika thought about how he should move next.
Even blindly, should I go looking?
Or should I stay here and wait?
Mika leaned against the tree trunk and bumped his head against it hard.
...Please... God, Buddha... whatever else...! Do not let them be hurt any more than they already are...!
The two are already hurt more than they can bear!
They were nearly sold by their father and must now spend their lives interacting with family and others as strangers.
Betrayed by the church, they have suffered worse than dying by curse in a darkness with no light.
And yet, must the two still be hurt more than this!
Must they still bear suffering!
Out of frustration, his vision warped.
His clenched molars clicked... and tears spilled.
Fools...! This is not the time to cry! Think! Think! Think!
His emotions were a mess, and nothing came to mind.
Mika scratched his head wildly and roughly wiped away his tears.
Dark emotions surged, uncontrollable.
But raging here will not improve anything at all.
Mika closed his eyes tightly and quietly repeated deep breaths...
After waiting a little, Fee returned.
"Did you find them?"
Mika asked Fee, but the light dimmed.
It seems he could not find them.
"Fee, return and hide. I will go back to the road and look for the two. If you see any movement, come and tell me."
When Mika said that, Fee vanished again.
Fee knows where Mika is no matter where he is.
With this, he should come and tell me immediately if anything happens.
...I will definitely save them...
Muttering that, Mika leaped into the sky.
■■■■■■
Morning.
Mika, hiding on a tree several hundred meters away from the open area, had been watching the all-night drinking party without moving.
The men's drinking party had already ended; some were sleeping in a heap, while others were still drinking because they were not satisfied.
Mika had run back and forth on the road during the night, but there were almost no people or carriages.
For the rare carriages that passed, he tried to scout them with magic range, but found nothing suspicious.
The kidnappers must have hidden in some inn or hideout.
Imagining what kind of treatment Kistil and Nerisfeene were receiving made him feel like he was going mad.
Still, if Mika lost his temper, even those who could be saved would become unsavable.
Mika gave up searching the road and switched to monitoring the designated location.
He could not feel like resting at all.
If he stayed still, only unnecessary things would float into his head, making it difficult to suppress the urge to rampage.
Therefore, Mika thought of nothing and simply watched the drinking party.
At that moment, Fee came before Mika with suppressed light.
And pointed toward the direction of the mountain path.
"..., is someone coming?"
A person was seen climbing up the mountain path from far away.
That person was running up with incredible speed, as if climbing a mountain path was impossible.
What is that!?
Mika hid and carefully observed the person who had climbed up.
It was a man.
A man with long black hair.
Or rather, I have seen him before...?
Hibujiza!
Mika gasped in surprise.
Why is Hibujiza here!? N-no...!
In the first place, how could someone who was in the Royal Capital yesterday morning get here in just one day?
He ran up the mountain path with incredible speed, but could he really have run all the way from the Royal Capital?
I also ran and checked the road. So, it is not the road!?
The most commonly used route is the road connecting the Royal Capital and Sarbengeal.
Mika ran and confirmed the route that passes part of that road.
But he was not there.
Was he staying at an inn at night?
But then, the speed of movement would be outrageous.
Even running all night, the speed is like a horse galloping, but considering the time to rest at an inn, it would be an even more impossible speed.
Mika, forgetting to blink, looked at Hibujiza as if seeing something unbelievable.
Hibujiza entered the open area and turned his head toward here.
As if staring fixedly at Mika.
...It is impossible to see. How far do you think we are? Hundreds of meters.
Mika was monitoring with "Telescope".
There was no way Mika in the tree could be seen.
But Hibujiza made a gesture as if beckoning toward Mika.
Then, holding the Magic Bag, he took something out of it.
A person—
Nerisfeene!?
Coming out of the Magic Bag was Nerisfeene!
Mika was shocked, his eyes wide open.
A Magic Bag that can hold a person!?
What is that!
Hibujiza continued and took out Kistil as well.
Swish!!!
Mika leaped out of the tree with force and ran at once.
You put the two of them in a Magic Bag like that!? You are kidding me!
No matter how much you search, you cannot find them in that.
Could a back-alley magic shop sell such things?
Or is it a homemade item made by some crazy fool somewhere?
Mika ran through the several hundred meters in one breath and threw his body into the open area.
Some of the men who were drinking noticed Mika and stood up.
Then, they woke up the other men around them.
"Kistil! Nerisfeene!"
Mika shouted with all his might the names of the two he had been searching for.
Hibujiza, with a creepy smile on his face, stood Kistil and Nerisfeene in front of him and grabbed their necks from behind.