"It's a fire!" I screamed and leaped down from Geese's shoulders.
"Mmm? Wait just a—hey!" Geese leapt to the skylight and peeked out.
"You weren't jokin' around! Wh-what should we do, boss?!"
What was going on? Here I had been planning to leave the following
day, and now if I didn't take action, we'd be baked like a couple of cakes.
"We're getting out of here, of course! And we'll use the chaos to
escape!" I declared.
"But how are we going to get out?! The door is locked, you know!"
"Don't worry," I said. "That's not a problem!" I slipped toward the
door and fished out the key I had hidden to unlock it.
"Whoa! When did you have time to steal a key?"
"Just something I prepared in case something like this happened, back
when I first started planning my escape!"
Geese said, "I see, so you're the type of criminal who waits until
everyone's distracted by a crisis before you strike."
How rude. It wasn't like I'd stolen anything. I just made a copy of the
original, that's all. In any case, I shoved the key into the lock and turned it
until it clicked as the door opened. Now for the prison break challenge!
"Okay, let's go!"
"Yeah!" Geese chimed.
The door opened and a wave of hot air slapped us in the face. Flames
danced violently as the blaze, bright and fierce, devoured the forest with a
voracious hunger. The houses on the treetops were engulfed, threatening
to crumble.
"This is really bad," Geese muttered.
No kidding. I nodded in agreement. People were probably banned from lighting fires in this forest, but no
doubt some wise guy decided to sit in bed and have a smoke, thereby causing
all of this. I didn't know who he was, but we would be able to escape thanks
to him, so I wasn't going to complain.
"Okay, newbie, which way is Zant Port?"
"What? How the hell would I know?" he shouted at me as he looked
around.
"What do you mean you don't know?" I shouted back. "You said you
knew the way, didn't you?"
"Not when we're surrounded by fire on all sides!"
Hmm…well, now that he mentioned it, he was right. After all, the
phrase "smoke screen" would have no meaning if you could just see straight
through black smoke and crimson flames.
So what to do? Put out the flames? No, we needed the confusion of the
flames to escape. If we put them out we'd be found immediately. On top of
that, we might be mistaken for arsonists. How about temporarily fleeing
outside the range of the fire so we could look for a way back to the town?
Wait…could we even escape without putting out the fire?
"What are we gonna do?! We're running out of escape routes!"
Just how big was the fire in the first place? Even if we ran and ran,
there was a possibility we might not be able to escape the enveloped area.
"Hey, boss! Look!" Geese pointed.
He was pointing at a child. A small, cat-eared child. They were rubbing
their eyes and coughing as they tottered in our direction, having inhaled some
of the smoke. Nearby, a tree's foliage burst into flames that crackled as the
whole thing threatened to collapse. The child looked at the tree, but it was all
happening so suddenly that they could only look on, dumbfounded.
"Watch out!" I cried out, instantly unleashing wind magic to fling the
tree out of the way.
The smoke had blurred their eyesight, but the child saw us and
approached. "H-help…me…"
I took them into my arms and used water magic to clean their eyes. They also had some light burns on their body, so I used healing magic as
well. I wasn't sure what I should be doing, but I hoped that would help for
now at least. What were they doing here anyway? Had they simply failed to
escape?
"Don't tell me the villagers haven't completely evacuated yet?"
"Definitely possible," Geese said. "Fires are pretty rare as the rain
season approaches…whoa!"
Another tree collapsed. A small house that had been above us was also
collapsing, scattering bits of flame like powder. It looked like no effort was
being made to put out the fire. If I kept lingering, I would be in danger, too.
Still, I couldn't just leave this child behind and run.
"All right…" I made my decision. "Newbie, do you know where the
center of the village is?"
"Yeah, I know where that is…but what are you gonna do?"
"I'm going to do them a favor so they'll feel indebted to me!"
After I said that, Geese grinned, gathered the child in his arms, and
broke into a run. "Okay then, this is the way. Follow me!"
I moved to follow…but then remembered my clothes. They might still
be hidden in that little jail. I quickly used my water magic to engulf the
building in ice before I followed Geese.
The flames had yet to reach the heart of the village. Still, I hadn't
expected what I saw. Beastfolk were trying to flee. They were panicked,
shrieking and screaming as they ran to and fro. That part I had expected, but
for some reason there were also humans in battle gear chasing the beastfolk
down. Farther off I could see what looked like the beastfolk warriors fighting
with humans. Even farther off, I saw robust-looking men carrying a child
under either arm, probably trying to cart them somewhere.
What was this? What the heck was going on?
Geese spoke. "Hmm, I thought something fishy was going on…"
"Newbie, do you know what's going on?" I asked.
"Just what it looks like. Those guys are attacking the beastfolk."
True. That was exactly what it looked like.
"I'd guess they're the ones who set the fires, too," Geese added.
So they attacked by setting fires. Almost like bandits. There really
were some cruel people out there. On the other hand, the beastfolk had
imprisoned me for a week when I was innocent of any crime. People did say
curses were like chickens: They came home to roost.
"Still, this is…a bit much."
Girls were being dragged off by men. A child was screaming, calling
out for their mother, who tried to give chase only to be cut down. The
beastfolk warriors tried to prevent the kidnappings, but their movements were
dulled. Smoke had hampered their vision and sense of smell. The humans
overwhelmed them in numbers, and the beastfolk found themselves
surrounded, forced into a bitter fight.
Terrible, truly terrible.
"So…boss."
"What is it?"
"Which side are you gonna help?"
I glanced at the scene again. Another beastfolk warrior fell. Human
men forced their way into the building that warrior had been protecting and
emerged dragging a child by their hair.
It was obvious which was the side of justice. But which one was evil to
me?
I had no idea who these humans were. Given that they were kidnapping
children, they were most likely working with slave traders or smugglers, to
whom I did owe a debt. They brought Ruijerd across the sea for me.
Although we'd offset it by murdering everyone in that base, so I considered
us even.
In comparison, the beastfolk had imprisoned me on a false charge.
They wouldn't listen to anything I said. They stripped me and threw freezing
cold water on me, then just left me in my cell. On an emotional level, I had a
poor impression of them.
Still. Even still, this scene before me…was nauseating.
"The beastfolk, of course," I said finally.
"Haha! Now you're talkin'!" Geese said before lifting a sword off the
nearest dead body and taking a stance. "All right, leave the front line to me! I
may not be much with a sword, but I can at least be a wall for you!"
"Yeah, I'm counting on you to protect me," I said and lifted both hands
to the sky.
First, I had to put out these flames. I used Squall, an advanced water
magic spell. I channeled mana into my right hand, conjuring gray clouds in
the sky. I made sure the scope and power of the spell was large. I had no idea
how far the fire had spread, but I could probably put out most of it if I
expanded my spell as much as possible. I also increased the precipitation rate
so it would come down like a vast downpour.
I manipulated the clouds just as I'd learned to do when casting
Cumulonimbus. I compressed my mana until it formed a cloud, then I
swelled that cloud bigger and bigger without letting a single drop of rain fall.
No one noticed me standing there, my arms raised toward the sky. And
thanks to the black smoke, they didn't notice the clouds growing above,
either.
"Okay!" Once the clouds were big enough, I released the hold my
mana had on them.
"Whoa…" Geese reflexively looked up as the rain began to come
down at us like a waterfall.
It was a deluge that beat down upon everyone. In seconds the area was
flooded. Flames hissed in the distance as they dissipated. People looked at the
sky, some suspicious about the sudden rainfall. Soon they noticed me
standing with both hands raised. The nearest human whipped out his sword
and started running my way.
"H-hey, what are you gonna do, boss, they're coming!"
"Quagmire!" As I spoke the spell's name, a muddy pit opened below
them. Unable to wade through it, the men lost their balance and collapsed.
"Stone Cannon!" I cast the next spell without a moment's delay, hammering
them with my earth spell and knocking them out. A piece of cake. These guys
were nothing special.
"Ooh…that was amazing, boss!"
I ignored Geese's praise and moved forward. The humans were here,
there, and everywhere. I started on one side and began pummeling them with
my stone cannon. I would continue this gradual onslaught and then take back
the kids who had been abducted. If Ruijerd and Eris were here to chase after
the thugs, the work would have gone a lot faster, but I had to be cautious
since I was going it alone.
Well, not quite. I did have Geese with me. Although he seemed rather
useless skills-wise, so I didn't expect he'd be of much help.
"Hey, there's a magician here! He put out the fire!"
"Dammit! What the hell?!"
"Kill him! Use your numbers and don't let him cast!"
As I got distracted, human warriors came charging at me, one after the
other.
"Stone Cannon!" I turned my hand toward them and pummeled them
with my spell. One, two, three… Oh crap, not only did they have leadership
now, but their numbers were overwhelming.
"D-dammit! Bring it on, then! I won't let you put a hand on my boss!"
Geese cried out valiantly, although he was gradually retreating to the side.
Useless.
What about me? Should I fall back too? I wondered.
At that very moment, a brown shadow flew in front of me. "I don't
know who you are, but thank you for the help!"
He spoke in Beast-God tongue. He was a beastman with a bushy dog's
tail who already had his sword drawn, and he cut down one of the men
coming toward us. His single stroke sliced cleanly through and sent the
human's head flying.
"We won't be defeated by your ilk, now that the rain has cleaned my
face and my nose is working properly!"
Ooh, how heroically spoken! But it was just as he said: All the
beastfolk in the area were making a comeback.
"Little magician! Please help us gather our warriors and take back our
children!"
"Got it!"
The beastman in front of me seemed a little surprised that I'd answered
in the Beast God tongue, but he nodded vigorously and howled into the
distance. Several more beastfolk leapt from the trees or the thicket to join us.
Others who had defeated their foes raced over to us on all fours.
"Gunther, Gilbad, come with me. We're going to work with this
magician to rescue the children. The rest of you, protect this area."
"Woo!" They all nodded and dispersed. I also moved, losing sight of
the warrior who had first appeared before me. Geese followed along behind
me.
The warriors largely ran straight ahead uninterrupted, occasionally
lifting their noses to sniff the air. If we met a human along the way, they
quickly dispatched them.
That was when we heard a shrill cry that sounded like a dog.
On inspection, we found a beastperson being driven into a corner by
three humans. The humans seemed to enjoy their unfair numerical advantage,
like cats tormenting a mouse. That also meant their guard was down.
I immediately knocked one unconscious with a stone cannon. The
warrior who had been running beside me leaped forward and attacked one of
the others. The last human, panicked by the fact that his comrades had been
killed so suddenly, was cut down by the very beastperson they had been
torturing.
"Laklana! You all right?!"
"Y-yes, Warrior Gimbal! You saved me!" The beastperson who had
been cornered was a woman. A female warrior. She was covered in wounds
thanks to her fight.
I was about to cast a healing spell over her when I suddenly realized I
recognized her.
She was similarly startled when she got a look at me. "Gimbal! This
boy is—"
"Not our enemy. He conjured the rain just a moment ago. He's dressed
a little funny, but he's helping us."
"What?" she gasped.
Her confusion wasn't just because only a fur vest covered my naked
(or rather half-naked) body. I knew her. I only just found out her name, but I
knew those ample breasts and skilled cooking hands. She was the one who
had guarded our cell.
She looked between Gimbal and me, her face turning pale. She
probably remembered her poor treatment of me and realized the mistake
she'd made.
Don't worry. I don't really hold it against you, I thought. People
sometimes misunderstand and make mistakes. I am Rudeus, the enlightened
and compassionate!
That aside, she needed to let me cast a bit of healing on her.
She looked conflicted as I healed her, wondering what she should do, if
she should apologize or not.
Before I could finish healing her, Gimbal yelled, "Laklana, you are to
return and guard the Sacred Beast!"
"A-all right…!" She gave no thanks. Although it did seem she had
something she wanted to say, even as she followed Gimbal's orders and ran
off.
Our pursuit continued. We left the village and entered the forest. At
this point, one of the warriors let me ride on their back because I was too
slow. From that position, I became a stone cannon launching machine.
Shoulder Equipment: Rudeus.
A piece of equipment that, upon encountering an enemy, will deflect
any attack through use of the Eye of Foresight, and also automatically knock
down enemies.
Granted, I only put in enough power to knock those men unconscious,
but the beastfolk could deliver the necessary finishing blow for me.
"That's the last one!"
The last human halted the moment we caught up, dropping his cargo so
he could draw his sword. The cargo was a young boy with a bag over his
head and his hands bound behind him. Judging from how limply he fell to the ground, he was likely already unconscious. The man knelt beside him and put
a sword to the child's neck. A hostage, huh?
"Grrrr…!" Gimbal and the others snarled and surrounded the warrior,
maintaining their distance.
The man seemed unperturbed as he scanned the scene, until his eyes
finally landed on me. "Kennel Master, what the hell are you doing here?"
I recognized his bearded face. Gallus. The man who smuggled Ruijerd
across the sea for me, the one who entrusted us with a job. The one who
worked for that smuggling organization.
"Well, a lot happened…and you, Mister Gallus, why are you here?"
"Why? Hmph, this was my plan from the very beginning."
Gimbal and the others looked between us, wondering if we were
acquaintances or comrades.
Ugh…I didn't really want to talk about this here, but I couldn't keep
silent, either. "What do you mean by that?"
Gallus hocked and spat. "There's no need for me to tell you."
Well, that was true. But this was a little odd. "You're the one who
asked us to save the beastfolk children. You said it'd cause trouble for you in
the future otherwise. But here you are kidnapping them…so what exactly are
your intentions?"
Gallus smirked and looked around. Even though he had three beastfolk
warriors, myself, and Geese surrounding him, he still seemed relaxed. "Yeah,
the brats were one thing, but if they kidnapped the Doldia's Sacred Beast too,
that would really get us into trouble."
Apparently that pup was the problem. I wish he'd said so from the
beginning. He could've at least told me to release the dog.
"I thought we had a good plan going. We timed it right and leaked
information to the Doldia's band of warriors so you'd run into each other.
Then while the Superd massacred them all, we would sneak in, attack their
settlement and steal the rest of their children."
"…"
"It'd be too late by the time their warriors realized there was an attack on the village. Once the rainy season hit, they'd be unable to make a move
and would just have to cry themselves to sleep at night since they couldn't
come after us."
During the rainy season, most people couldn't leave the village. The
smugglers must have thought they could cut off their pursuers by timing it
just right.
"You sure do go about things in a very indirect manner," I said.
"I told you, we aren't a united organization. Can't let my comrades get
ahead of me."
How vulgar. He would release his comrades' slaves, then sell his own.
He would see a huge profit while they wouldn't get even a penny. His rank
would rise while his failed comrades' would sink. After carefully sowing his
seeds, Gallus would reap the rewards.
"Did you know, Kennel Master? These Doldia brats sell at an
exceptionally high price. Some perverted noble family in the Asura Kingdom
adores them and those guys will pay a lot of coin for them."
Ah, yes. I think I know which family he was talking about.
"It didn't go exactly to plan, but your Superd kept the Doldia warrior
band tied up at Zant Port. Why is it, then, that you're here?"
"I screwed things up and got caught."
"Oh yeah, then why don't you join me?"
At those words, Gimbal turned his gaze toward me. He seemed to
understand the tongue of men to some degree, and he watched me warily. I
really wished he wouldn't do that.
"Mister Gallus… Sorry, but when I rescue children, I'm not Kennel
Master Ruijerd. I'm Ruijerd of the Superd tribe. And Ruijerd never forgives
those who would sell children as slaves."
"Hah, so Dead End likes to pretend it's on the side of justice, huh?"
"That's what I'd like people to believe."
Negotiations had failed.
Gallus kept his sword trained on the child's neck as he stood. He cast a
look around at Gimbal and his men, who were trying to surround Gallus, and chuckled. "I see… Well, Kennel Master, you've made a mistake."
I literally just told you I'm not the Kennel Master, I'm Ruijerd, I
quipped in my head.
Two of Gimbal's men slipped behind Gallus, sneaky as cats, creeping
up on him.
"Five of you aren't enough to defeat me."
The three of them jumped on him almost instantaneously. From behind
and to the right came Warrior A, slashing; and to the left, Warrior B swept in,
attempting to rescue the child. Gimbal used that beat to attack Gallus from
the front.
Against these agile beasts, Gallus moved almost sluggishly. First he
launched the child at Gimbal. Gimbal caught the kid in his arms while
Warrior B, who had now lost his target, fumbled for a split second. It was in
that moment, using the momentum he'd gained from discarding the child,
that Gallus pivoted around and butchered Warrior A. His blade was a
common longsword, which he used to deflect the oncoming attack before
burying it into Warrior A's chest.
He pulled his sword free while backing into Warrior B just as the latter
fumbled his attack. At this point, Warrior B and Gimbal were both in a direct
line in front of Gallus, and Gimbal's arms were preoccupied with the child
he'd recovered, so he couldn't move. From out of nowhere, Gallus drew a
short sword with his left hand and drove it deep into Warrior B's chest. Then
he used the warrior's body as a shield and charged right at Gimbal.
Gimbal slipped the child under the crook of his arm and tried to
intercept Gallus, but it was already too late. Gallus unleashed his attack
between the gap of his shield's legs, piercing Gimbal. As Gimbal dropped the
child and began to collapse, Gallus instantly sliced his blade clean through
his opponent's neck.
Swift, precise and over in seconds. I didn't even have a chance to help.
While I stared dumbfounded, the beastfolk warriors spilled blood from their
mouths before collapsing where they stood.
Are you serious? I thought in disbelief.
"H-hey, boss, this is bad. That's North God Style right there. And also Atofe-style. No clever tricks, just a raw fighting style that comes from being
experienced in facing multiple opponents in battle."
Gallus reacted to the panic in Geese's voice with a laugh. "You know
your stuff, monkey man. That's right, I'm the Cleaner, the North Saint
Gallus." By the time Gallus said that, he already had his hostage back in his
grasp.
This was bad. I didn't think he was as strong as Ruijerd, but at that
rank, he was probably still more than I could handle. Just how much could I
fight him with my Eye of Foresight?
"Pretty interesting, isn't it? The North God Style even has a tactic for
fighting while using a hostage."
I remembered how my father in this world, Paul, used to disparage the
North God Style at length. Now it made sense. I could understand why
someone would hate a style that had battle tactics like this. It was a disgrace.
Truly underhanded. I wanted him to fight fair.
"Well, bring it on, Kennel Master. Or are you a coward who's lost the
stomach for it, so now you'll let me go?"
No amount of mentally criticizing him would change our
circumstances. Perhaps I should just let him go? I wasn't like Ruijerd. I
didn't have such a strong sense of justice that I would put my life on the line
to save children I didn't even know. The only thing worth risking my life for
was Eris.
"What, so you really aren't going to come at me? Okay then, that's
fine. Does us both a favor."
In contrast, Gallus seemed to be wary of me. Maybe he'd witnessed me
using magic to stop the forest fires. I had also shown him I could use magic
without chanting. He might come lunging at me the moment he saw any
indication that I was going to cast something.
No matter how great Gallus' estimation of my abilities was, there was
nothing I could do right now. Even if I used my Eye of Foresight, defeating a
master swordsman like Gallus without harming the hostage was most likely
impossible. If attacking him meant the loss of my own precious life, then I
had no choice but to let him walk.
"All right," Gallus started to say. "See ya around then, Kennel Master.
If we meet again somewhere—"
"RAAAAH!"
At that moment, just as he let down his guard and hauled his hostage
up into his arms, a white blur tackled Gallus from the side. It bit into his
sword-wielding hand.
"Gaaaah! What's this?!"
A dog. That enormous white Shiba Inu had suddenly leaped from the
bushes and sunk its fangs into Gallus.
I moved reflexively, using magic to create a shockwave between
Gallus and the hostage.
"Guh?!"
This created a recoil that forced the two of them apart. The Sacred
Beast also distanced itself at the moment of impact.
Gallus retrieved his sword and turned toward me. "Dammit, Kennel
Master! I knew you'd come at me!" His eyes burned with hatred, as if I were
the one who had launched the initial attack. "It's just like the rumors said!
You really do set your dogs loose on people. What an underhanded trick!"
What kind of rumor was that?! No, leaving that aside, the more
important thing was that I was actually trying to help Gallus there.
"Grrrr…!" The Sacred Beast was ready for battle. Before I'd even
noticed, it had come to my side, taking up a supportive stance with its body
crouched low.
"Heh heh, just what I'd expect from you, boss. Take care of my ashes
for me after I die." The newbie, Geese, positioned himself just slightly in
front of me, timidly holding his sword at the ready.
Gallus didn't let his guard drop for an instant as he took a stance
directly facing me. It seemed like I couldn't back down now even if I wanted
to. Oh well. I did decide I would make the beastfolk feel indebted to me, so
why not see it through to the bitter end?
"Sorry, Gallus. But Dead End's Ruijerd can't be the bad guy."
The words sounded heroic enough, but my situation wasn't ideal. We were currently three against one, but so were the beastfolk warriors, who had
certainly looked stronger than our current group, and they were all
slaughtered instantly. Right now Gallus didn't have his hostage, but all we
had was an unreliable group of three: the newbie, the pup and me. I dearly
wished Ruijerd was among our number, but… No, this was a good
opportunity for me to practice.
"Boss…buy me a little bit of time."
Just as I was mentally preparing myself, the newbie whispered to me.
Did he have some kind of plan?
"Since he's a North God Style swordsman, I think I have something
that will trip him up."
"…Okay." I stepped out directly in front of him. So this meant I was
going to face off directly with a Saint-tier swordsman? Crap, my heart was
pounding furiously. Calm down, just calm down, I told myself.
"Woof!" As if to instill courage in me, the ball of fur beside me barked.
"Graaah!" And as if in response, Gallus kicked off from the ground. He
sprinted toward us, and the Sacred Beast rushed to meet him.
He's going to cut around and launch a slashing attack at the Sacred
Beast from below. I could see it. If I used my stone cannon… No, the Sacred
Beast was in my line of trajectory. I needed to use a different spell. What to
use? The newbie told me to draw his attention, so…
"Explosion!"
"Gaaah!"
Just as the Sacred Beast sprang at Gallus, I conjured a small explosion
right in front of his eyes.
"Not good enough!" Gallus drove all the weight of his body to the
ground and rolled. He managed to slip right out from under the Sacred Beast,
and after one roll, began to stand…
Just as he begins to stand, he's going to slash at me from down low.
"Ha!"
I stepped back to evade the attack. That was close. If I didn't have the
Eye of Foresight, I would've died instantly.
"Tsk, so you're going to avoid that one!" Gallus shouted as he charged
forward again, whipping his blade through the air.
He's going to slice at my abdomen from the side, then use that
momentum for a return slash.
If I could see it, I could dodge it. He was faster than Eris, but he didn't
have that unique rhythm of hers that was so difficult to read. There were no
openings for me to launch a counterattack, but I saw the Sacred Beast getting
back up in the periphery of my vision, so he could come bite Gallus from
behind.
He's going to suddenly change his sword-wielding hand, then twist his
body and leap upward.
For a moment I didn't understand that. I didn't understand what
Gallus' movements meant.
"Gah…!"
Out of reflex, I stepped to the side instead of stepping backward. By
the time I realized what was happening, his short sword came at me from
straight above and drove right through the top of my foot. Even through the
intense pain that shot through my body, I could see what was going to happen
next.
Gallus is brandishing his sword, ready to swing.
My brain slowly worked out just what had happened. It was his foot—
he'd hurled that short sword at me with his foot. Most likely an attack built
into his boot! Being able to see into the future didn't help me at all with an
opponent like this. I should have known better!
"It's over, Kennel Master!"
"Graaah!" The Sacred Beast leaped in and sunk its teeth into Gallus'
shoulder.
"Gwah! You little…!"
"Yelp!" The pup screeched as it was flicked off, smashing hard into a
tree.
In the lag of that moment, I channeled mana into my hand and
launched a stone cannon.
"Tsk!"
My spell flew toward him at top speed, but Gallus just split it in two in
mid-air. Sparks erupted from the blade as it broke free from Gallus' hand.
Good, now I could use this opportunity to pry the short sword from my—
Gallus is going to pick up the sword at his feet, and that'll be the end
of it.
Oh no. That's when I realized that at some point he'd managed to back
me into the place where the bodies of those beastmen were. The blade at his
feet belonged to them. He'd led me here.
"I told you it was the end. Stop struggling, Kennel Master!"
I channeled mana between both my hands, betting my last hopes on
this. Time seemed to slow. Gallus took a stance with his sword lowered
toward his hips, about to unleash his attack. Even if I unleashed a shockwave
to put distance between us, it was already too late. Instead of using stone
cannon before, I would have been better off yanking the knife out of my foot
or using the shockwave then. I'd made the wrong move.
"A North God Style original, Crying Bomb!" Just then, I heard the
newbie's voice call out from behind me. Something suddenly went flying
over my head—a black bag? And as it did, my vision of Gallus blurred.
Gallus will move to cut the bag full of powder in half but then will
hesitate and cover his face with both arms instead.
The bag plopped against Gallus' face. An ash-like substance exploded
from it. Something to blind him, I guessed. But unfortunately, it failed…
Wait, no, he was open!
In that moment I finished my spell and triggered a fiery explosion in
the space between us. My body was thrown backward at a ridiculous speed.
For just a split second, my consciousness left me.
I endured the pain that wracked my body and my foot alike and forced
myself back up. The wound on my foot was…fine. Apparently the impact
had wrenched the knife free. All of my toes were still intact. I could use
healing magic to recover from this. To be honest, it hurt enough that I
couldn't walk, but this was no time to be whining. I needed to stand right
now and fight. The battle still wasn't over.
"Huh…?"
Gallus was already on the ground, lying face-up. His body didn't even
twitch.
"…Woo-hoo! We did it!" When I glanced sideways, I saw Geese with
his fist in the air. "The moment those North God Style guys hear the name
'Crying Bomb' they always use both hands to cover their face!"
I had no idea what that meant, but apparently those trained in the North
God Style had some weird habit. Regardless, I approached Gallus with great
caution.
"Hey, boss, be careful!"
Just as the newbie advised, I kept my guard up as I surveyed our
unconscious opponent. I picked up his sword, which he had dropped nearby,
and chucked it away. When I did, the Sacred Beast leaped into the air and
caught the sword in its mouth before returning to me, tail wagging
vigorously.
Yes, yes, you're a good boy, I thought. But let's play frisbee another
time, okay?
"Newbie, take this." I patted the pup on the head a few times before
tossing the sword over to Geese. Then I picked up a stick and started to prod
at Gallus with it.
He didn't move. Even prodding around his eyes didn't get a flinch out
of him. I bound his hands and legs and fastened a gag in his mouth, but his
eyes remained shut. It seemed he was completely unconscious.
"We won." As the words tumbled out of my mouth, the Sacred Beast
whined and Geese, who had removed the bag from the hostage's head,
laughed. Had we really won? I was still basking in the afterglow of victory
when the hostage child woke and began sobbing. Shortly after that, the
beastfolk warriors finally arrived.
***
This had been quite the unique kidnapping case. It was a large-scale operation that the smuggling organization had plotted. They planned to steal
the Sacred Beast, the Doldia's guardian deity. Their exact motivations were
unclear, but apparently many people desired the Sacred Beast because of how
special it was.
That said, even the simple act of kidnapping the Beast would prove
challenging. Assuming they did manage it, the beastfolk, with their advanced
sense of smell, would be hot on the smugglers' trail and immediately
recapture the Beast. That's why the organization executed their plan around
the rainy season.
The rainy season lasted three months. Each settlement busied itself
with preparations, and warriors from each village had their hands tied. That
said, it was impossible to sail a ship in the middle of the rainy season.
So right before the rains began, they would steal the Beast and carry it off to
the Demon Continent. That way they could get away with it easily and the
warriors couldn't give pursuit.
The beastfolk were, of course, vigilant. During the preparations for the
rainy season, children were forbidden from going outside and even the adults
were cautious. It went without saying that the Sacred Beast was also well-
guarded during that time. The organization took this into consideration as
well.
First they employed every kidnapper in the area, and then they waited
patiently. When the right time came, they raided each village and
simultaneously abducted women and children. That's when the warriors
panicked. The organization had intentionally hired those people to lower the
kidnappings during the year so the beastfolk tribes would consequently lower
their guard. Then, in one fell swoop, the smugglers kidnapped women and
children from various settlements.
They also sent groups of armed forces they had prepared to strike those
villages, but left the Doldia tribe's village untouched. Since this meant the
Doldia's warriors were unoccupied, the other villages demanded assistance.
The Doldia had to divide their forces to deliver aid to the various settlements.
As a result, the Doldia's village defenders were left shorthanded.
That's when the smuggling organization used its elite forces to attack. They
succeeded in abducting not only the tribal chief's granddaughter, but the
Sacred Beast as well. It was a blitzkrieg tactic where minor forces distracted other settlements while the main force achieved their true objective.
The attack of armed forces, the kidnapping of children, and the
kidnapping of the Sacred Beast… With all of that, it didn't matter how
exceptional the beastfolk warriors were if there weren't enough of them. The
tribal chief, Gustav, decided to abandon the children. He gathered his
warriors and bolstered the village's defenses, then commenced a search for
the Sacred Beast. The Beast was an important symbol to their village.
It seemed to them pure luck that they discovered the smugglers'
holding area. They got a solid tip, and marched on the building in question.
For now, let's just ignore that the source of this information was a separate
force spearheaded by Gallus.
This was where the story I didn't know began: a story of what Ruijerd
did in the intervening week when he left me in that cell.
Apparently Ruijerd became openly angry at the smugglers when he
heard about what led to all of this. He proposed attacking their ship before it
departed from the harbor. Gustav, however, disapproved. "We don't know
which ship the children are on, and they know how to suppress our sense of
smell."
That's exactly where Ruijerd came in. He proudly said he could use the
crystal on his forehead to seek them out. As for Eris, she didn't participate as
she had taken it upon herself to guard the children. With a great big grin on
her face, I might add. That was certainly her Greyrat blood at play.
Anyway, Ruijerd's attack proved successful. Tragically for the
smugglers, he discovered their ship and captured them only after beating
them all half to death. The children came shuffling out from the depths of the
ship. There were at least fifty of them. Everyone was saved and it was a nice
happy ending, yay! …Not.
Zant Port officials claimed it was an attack on the final voyage from
that port before the rainy season began. There were important goods stored
on that ship and attacking it was a serious felony.
Gustav, of course, protested this. The kidnapping and enslavement of
beastfolk was a crime as far as the Holy Country of Millis and the tribal
leaders of the Great Forest were concerned. Being punished for stopping that
on their own shores seemed bizarre, he said. That only incensed the Zant Port officials. They insisted that they should have been informed ahead of time.
But they'd just subdued the smugglers in the nick of time. They had no time
to explain anything. Plus, there were fifty victims. Not five, not ten, fifty
children! One or two were kidnapped from each settlement. Zant Port
officials hadn't noticed any of it. In fact, some of the officials had taken
bribes to pretend they knew nothing.
That was a violation of the treaty. If left as-is, it would create a huge
fissure in the relationship between the beastfolk and the Holy Country of
Millis. In the worst-case scenario, war would ensue. That's how dire the
conversation became. At Gustav's command, the warriors were called to Zant
Port and they stood at the entrance to the city in a standoff with its garrison.
In the end, Zant Port backed down. They paid the beastfolk a hefty sum
in compensation. It took about a week for those negotiations to conclude and
for the children to be returned to their parents. That was why I was left there
for a week in that cell, to be dealt with last.
Well, not like there was any other choice. In fact, I thought it was
amazing they managed to accomplish that much in just a week.
That's where Gallus took advantage of the situation. The Doldia's
village defenses were weakened when Gyes called their band of warriors to
Zant Port. Accompanied by his troops, Gallus stormed the settlement. He did
this for the exact reason he'd mentioned before. He and those comrades he
trusted would kidnap the children, and then he would be the one to make a
profit.
Gallus targeted the period right before the rainy season began. He
prepared for it by threatening the leader of the shipwrights into secretly
building him a single ship. He must have been planning this for a while.
Things had not happened exactly as he anticipated, but close enough for him
to act. Sadly for him, his ambitions were left unfulfilled. In the end, his plan
failed and he was handed off to the Zant Port officials. Thus the matter was
resolved, and we had our happy ending.