Until now, everything had been going to plan.
I had successfully infiltrated the Gemstone Order and kidnapped Alya. I even displayed the kidnapping to the officials earlier so the academy would be informed.
After hearing from the academy, Liam would immediately spring into action and come to save Alya from us.
"Goddamn variables..."
The worst part of it was that Lily was also lucky!
The knights marching towards us blocked our path to the secret rock, and Lily didn't even know about it!
What kind of bullshit was this?
The deviled figure, who could only judge the soldiers by the sound, almost had his mask crumble as he fearfully said.
"T-here's a l-lot of t-them."
This guy isn't gonna be any help, isn't he?
Can I just escape now?
My goal had been accomplished; Alya had been kidnapped, and Liam, alongside Lily's knights, was on their way to save her.
But... then the Gemstone Order.
It was not that I cared about the devilish figure or my robot-like comrades; it was just that this was the perfect way for me to infiltrate the order and finally obtain a dagger art.
This was no longer about saving the world but conserving my own self-interests.
With that in mind, my effort immediately doubled, and my mind began to race, coming up with ideas.
To activate the scrolls, all we have to do is leave the Academy grounds, but the secret entrance is blocked...
What if we leave through the main entrance?
Who the hell would expect a bunch of kidnappers to attempt to escape through the main entrance of the academy?
Shouldn't all the guards stationed there be at the dorm building assessing the damage?
With that in mind, I calmly spoke, ensuring the impending footsteps didn't deafen my voice.
"...All we have to do is get out of the academy, right? What if we go through the front gate."
Instantly, all heads turned to me; even the robot-like comrades stared at me with disbelief. At least that's what I thought they were staring at me with; I couldn't see their actual faces through the mask.
An angry voice sounded from the horned figure.
"YOU DAMNED IDIOT, that's like robbing a store, then just walking out the front entrance like nothing happened!"
"Well, do you have any better ideas? The secret rock is blocked."
"..."
Yeah, that's what I thought, stay silent.
Finally, one of the robot kidnappers spoke and anxiously asked.
"d-do we e-even know where the g-gate is?"
Immediately piggybacking off the robot assassin, the deviled figure turned to me and said.
"Yeah, that's right. How are we gonna know where the entrance is."
With a smile behind my mask, I calmly replied.
"I know where it is!"
"... how...?"
"Did you already forget? I went scouting and spotted it!"
After thinking for a very short second, the horned-figured turned around to face the robots and calmed asked.
"Does anyone have any better ideas...?"
An awkward silence ensued.
Well, not silence; the sound of the footsteps kept coming closer and becoming louder.
Not wasting any more time, I turned to face the direction of the Academy gate and said.
"Well, I'll lead the way."
As I walked through the dense forest, I felt a sudden stirring in my arms and realized that the princess was turning and rolling around.
... Just what kind of dream is this princess having?
As we continued walking toward the entrance, the sound of footsteps kept getting closer; all be it, the footsteps were much lower in quantity.
They seemed to have decided to split into search parties to look for us.
Turning to the horned figure anxiously trailing behind me, I quietly said.
"We should start running, or we'll be found really soon."
I felt like I could now read the horned figure's expression through his mask as I guessed his anxiousness had just changed to anger.
"... you could have said that earlier.?"
Hey, I'm that one leading you to salvation; why are you complaining?
I wanted to say that, but based on the conversations thus far, it seemed like this horned figure was much higher in the hierarchy than me, so insulting him wouldn't be good.
Without waiting for the horned figure to communicate to the robots trailing behind him, I picked up the pace and started running.
...
...
...
Lily, Liam, and the badly injured Irene were assigned to one of the search parties, but amid their search, they immediately heard many footsteps running.
Liam immediately asked.
"Do you guys hear that..?"
On the other hand, Lily was so out of it that she didn't even pay attention to Liam's question.
How could this have happened?
She had warned Alya to stay in the dorm room... how could she have been kidnapped?
Lily was sure that Alya had heeded her instructions, knowing that her character was known for being cautious, but then, that meant... the kidnappers had gone to the dorm building..?
No, that was impossible; the book explicitly mentioned that they only stayed in the forest. But then, how was Alya kidnapped?
Turning around, she also looked at the injured Irene with pity; however, Irene responded with a glare.
All she had wanted to do was save some people... yet she had made it all worse.
Irene was still injured, and Alya, who was supposed to be saved by Liam, wasn't anywhere to be found.
Her plans to save people had turned out the complete opposite.
She had failed...
Snapping Lily of her sullen thoughts, Liam once again spoke.
"Guys... I think those footsteps are the kidnappers..."
Lily's heart skipped a beat.
She could salvage this!
In the future, she will be more careful and save more people!
Without waiting for Liam's instructions, she immediately darted toward the footsteps, with Liam and the injured Irene following closely behind.
After another minute of constant running, the three exited the forest, and with that, their speed massively increased as they didn't have to worry about the obstacles in the forest.
As they were running, Liam asked.
"...Isn't this the direction of the main gate.."
Lily, who had refocused and quelled her internal turmoil, thought about it before saying.
"It is, indeed."
Irene, who was lagging behind the two due to her injuries, spoke.
"T-those bastards, t-there're trying to escape."
Within the next few minutes, the three students could see the five figures in the distance, and they also saw the princess. However, the gate was there, too...
Knowing that the criminal organization likely had access to teleportation scrolls, Lily started panicking.
If they get through that gate, it's all over...
Alya will be gone...
Instantly, Lily regained control of her thoughts before commanding.
"Irene, throw fireballs at the gate; WE CAN'T LET THEM ESCAPE."
Even Irene, who despised and hated Lily, couldn't help but feel inclined to obey her commands due to Lily's serious tone.
Three fireballs immediately appeared to the three students, and they charged forward at the gate.
The next second, the fireballs made contact with the gate, causing the gate to collapse under the impact.
"LIAM, GO STALL THEM."
Liam, taken aback by Lily's sudden command, didn't have time to react. Lily's wind magic suddenly lifted him up and hurled him towards the kidnappers.
While Lily and Irene started catching up, Liam landed on his feet in front of the kidnappers.
After giving a quick glance to sleeping Alya, Liam felt a surge of anger erupting within him.
... These bastards dare kidnap someone right on academy grounds.
They had to be punished.
Was death really enough punishment for them?
" *tsk* it'll have to do for now."
3 kidnappers immediately darted forward, charging at Liam. However, Liam simply felt too powerful at the moment.
Immense power was gushing through his veins. Despite having 3 attackers, Liam parried all of them instantly, and he also counter-attacked one of them.
The injured one fell back, stroking the bloody wound on his knee, while the other two kept furiously attacking Liam.
A surge of red aura enveloped Liam, pushing back the two advancers, and Liam, not wasting the moment, charged forward, striking yet another attacker in the knee.
One of the injured kidnappers muttered out.
"h-hes t-too s-strong."
"Damn right, I'm strong. You guys are just a bunch of low-life kidnappers. Prepare to meet your end."
At this time, he felt two new presences at his side, and he glanced around to see both Irene and Lily had caught up to him.
"This battle is as good as over; die gracefully at the very least, rat bastards."
Irene, who had three more fireballs floating above her head, glared daggers at the group of kidnappers who had ambushed her while they were looking for Alya.
"Liam, they're mine. My fire will destroy them all."
As the three students prepared to kill the kidnappers, all the kidnappers seemed to huddle around a single person.
The single person, adorned with full black and an Iron badge, stepped forward while holding the unconscious Alya in his hands.
Holding a twisted dagger in his hands, he calmly spoke despite facing the three overpowered students.
"Take another step, and the princess dies."
Silence immediately descended upon the three students.
They thought they had the upper hand this entire time, just for it to disappear with one sentence.
Liam, trembling at the thought of watching one of his classmates die, spoke to Irene and Lily.
"w-what d-do we do...?"
The other two students seemed to react similarly as they had no answer to Liam's question. After another second, Lily spoke.
"...Stall for the guards?"
Irene, standing behind Lily, interrupted.
"What if they kill her n-"
Interrupting the student's heated discussion, the man holding Alya spoke once again.
"Move out of the way."
Lily fell back into her internal turmoil.
What could they do now?
If they didn't move, Alya would meet her death.
If they moved, the kidnappers would escape, and Alya would perhaps meet a fate worse than death.
It was all because of her...
She thought that everything would go exactly as planned just because she knew the future.
However, now, she learned a grave truth.
"There will also be variables..."
Before the three students could give the man an answer, the man walked back over to his group and started discussing.
Liam, once again, started the conversation.
"...What now."
Irene, with blood still oozing from her wounds, answers.
"We can't let them go with Alya... she'll meet a fate worse than death."
Nodding his head in agreement, Liam turned to face Lily, who was known for intelligence.
"I-i d-don't know."
Tears started to flow down Lily's face.
For the first time in this world, she felt utterly powerless...
After riding the high of saving the village of Cordu, she felt unstoppable, but in a single instant, all of that confidence was gone, and now despair.
Liam wanted to comfort Lily, but he knew it was futile. The odds of Alya's death were 100%...
Interrupting the conversation between the three students, the group of kidnappers walked forward with the man still holding a dagger to Alya's neck.
The group prepared to attack.
They had come to a silent agreement.
Allowing Alya to be kidnapped would be far worse than letting her die. Who knew what those criminals would do to her... torture or maybe worse.
Then, the man holding Alya suddenly tossed her to Liam. Liam caught off guard, still managed to react and catch Alya, preventing her from receiving any wounds.
Shocked, the three students stood still while watching the kidnappers walk away empty-handed.
Liam was once again the first to break the silence.
"w-what just happened...?"
...
...
...
Convincing my comrades to surrender Alya was much easier than I thought. All I had to do was tell them that we would be dead if we didn't, and surprisingly, they listened.
After all, these guys are criminals at heart who value their lives above anything else.
Of course, I didn't come back empty-handed.
In my right hand, I held a sparkling ring with a diamond as its core.
As the five of us left the academy gates, I turned around and spotted dozens of guards charging towards Liam and Alya.
Wow, just in time, these officials are impeccable with their timing!
Struggling to hide my laughter, I stepped towards the horned figure as he tore open a scroll.
The space around all five of us began to distort, and when it stabilized, we seemed to be somewhere underground.