NOVEL WEB Chapter 16
“Alright, that’s done.”
“I can’t believe I get to use this.”
“Just so you know, this is the real deal. What was attached to Jema was a modified item. It’s usually something the intelligence department uses for testing, but someone must have smuggled it.”
A collar was placed around the neck of a guy named Kol.
“Here, you hold the key.”
“So this is the key to the collar.”
Though it was called a key, it was clearly a card key to anyone who looked at it.
If I had crossed the gate with Jema, I could have easily released it.
The original purpose of the collar was solely to restrain the opponent conveniently.
However, that convenience was unparalleled.
“Get up.”
Even in a dazed state, Kol’s body naturally moved to follow us.
I sat him in a corner of the seat and waited for him to regain consciousness.
After a while, Kol, coming to his senses, tilted his head in confusion, unable to comprehend his situation.
“Are you back to your senses?”
“Why am I…?”
His hands and feet were bound with ropes, leaving him unable to move.
I took off the hood I was wearing and shoved a flyer in front of him.
“You! You deceived me!”
“The one who was deceived is the one at fault.”
Just moments ago, it was Aila who was handling the news, but now it was my turn.
If he had moved under Juan’s orders, there were many questions to ask.
“Just answer my questions.”
“…….”
“Are you not going to answer?”
Zing.
In an instant, a dagger appeared in my hand, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“I-I have to be asked questions to answer.”
“When did we become familiar enough for you to talk informally?”
The panic in his expression was evident.
“Jema. Where did Ririan learn that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Threatening.”
They might have been speaking softly, but I heard their conversation clearly.
“What’s your name, where are you from, and what was the purpose of chasing us, or rather, me?”
“Cornelia Catherine. Latnia.”
“You’re missing one. The purpose.”
“Me, kidnapping.”
As the word ‘kidnapping’ came out of her mouth, Aila’s sharp gaze fixed on her.
An intangible aura began to seep out around Aila.
It was enough to intimidate the opponent, so I didn’t particularly stop her.
“If it’s kidnapping, are you referring to me?”
“No, me.”
I was momentarily at a loss for words at the unexpected answer.
“I don’t understand, so explain it.”
“You see, you’re all wanted criminals. I was wondering if you might kidnap me.”
She’s a crazy woman.
Who in the world would want to be kidnapped by a criminal?
“No one here has committed a crime.”
At Aila’s words, she looked at each of us one by one, now very flustered.
“I don’t know about others, but you, you stabbed someone!”
“It was self-defense.”
I could partially guess what Juan had said while issuing my wanted poster.
“I have something to ask. What charges do we have in Tolis?”
The wanted poster didn’t list any charges.
“First, that girl and the man are fleeing. And you are charged with serial murder, attempted murder, and being a spy for the enemy nation.”
“You mean I’ve killed someone? More than one, at that?”
“They’re trying to pin crimes on you that you didn’t commit.”
I nodded slowly in understanding of Aila’s analysis.
“So a task force has been assembled. They’re coming to capture you.”
“And at that point, I have to be in a kidnapped state?”
“Exactly. Can you do it? Kidnap?”
I asked her why she was so fixated on being kidnapped.
“The people on the task force are all the children of nobles. If you are captured and then rescued, you might be freed from slavery.”
“You won’t escape a life of slavery even if you are rescued.”
“Why not?”
“What benefits would they have from rescuing you from us?”
Only now did she seem to realize it, staring blankly at her reflection in the window for a moment.
“Our family used to be nobles in Latnia.”
“Used to be? When?”
“About 300 years ago.”
It wasn’t a hard story. The ancestors of Catherine had gone missing while investigating beyond the gate.
After that, their family gradually fell into decline and eventually collapsed, a common tale.
Catherine had committed these acts thinking she would marry a noble to restore her family.
“Were there slaves in Tolis?”
I racked my memory but couldn’t recall seeing anyone who looked like a slave on the street.
“Officially there were none. But unofficially, they exist.”
“That’s right. They’re bound by a promissory note.”
At the mention of the promissory note, I glanced at Aila.
“Don’t worry. Yours is an indefinite interest-free loan. You just have to pay it back diligently.”
“You borrowed money from Ririan?”
“Um, well…”
“Where do you think your medical expenses came from?”
Aila revealed what I had been trying to hide.
At those words, Jema grabbed my hand and moved us to a place without people.
This time, I would be entering the place where I had just knocked out Catherine and brought her.
“Now, tell me. What do you mean by the promissory note?”
“I borrowed money to cover your medical expenses.”
“How much?”
I spread my five fingers to show her.
“Five hundred?”
“No.”
“Five thousand?”
As I nodded slowly, Jema let out a deep sigh.
“I’ll help you repay it too. Let’s rewrite the promissory note later.”
“That’s enough. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Ririan….”
When I returned to my seat and sat down, an announcement began to flow from the train.
[Next station, Nekon. This is Nekon.]
“I’m getting off here.”
“Are you taking me with you too?”
“Of course. You were kidnapped after all.”
Though she was kidnapped as she wished, she would never be rescued.
The moment she was rescued, her death would be assured.
The region known as Nekon was quite a large commercial city.
It was also a perfect hiding spot, as demons and humans were mixed together.
“It should be about time for them to arrive.”
“Who?”
“I thought it would be difficult to protect you alone, so I called over one of my subordinates.”
After waiting momentarily at the station, a carriage quietly came to a halt.
As the window rolled down, an arm reached out and beckoned us over.
After loading the cargo into the compartment and getting onto the carriage, a black figure was seated in the driver’s seat.
“Hello, Captain~ So you guys are them.”
“Hello.”
After an awkward greeting, it didn’t take long for the carriage to turn into a secluded alley.
“Since this is a special operation, I expect a bonus. Captain.”
“Don’t call me Captain outside. Is there a need to get my identity exposed?”
“Got it. Ma’am.”
Turning around the narrow alley, the carriage came to a stop in a quiet location.
We hadn’t even received an introduction yet, but we got off the carriage with our luggage.
While moving, the man continued to report to Aila without taking a break.
“That’s why we can’t go to Serreb.”
I heard that the Latnia Empire had blocked the route to Roran while we were on our way here.
It seemed that Solche had mentioned that in the end, we couldn’t help but collide.
“Targeting the area with the weakest defenses.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
As we entered a dilapidated building in the corner of the alley, a staircase leading down to the basement appeared.
“Let’s go down and discuss the details.”
Wasn’t what we had talked about up to now detailed discussions?
Unlike Tolis’s secret base, this place was just a shabby underground storage.
“I should have introduced myself earlier. I’m Riki. The deputy commander of the Imperial Second Knight Order.”
Though Aila was a beastman, Riki appeared to be an ordinary human.
“This is Ririan, Jema, and this is Catherine.”
Aila introduced us all at once, finishing it quite simply.
“So, how skilled are you all?”
“Two are useful, and one isn’t known.”
Riki asked the same question about Jema and Catherine.
“What weapon do you wield?”
“I use a sword.”
“Only stabbing….”
As Riki rummaged through the storage, he brought out a large box.
Upon seeing the contents of the box, Aila exclaimed in surprise.
“This is magic stone armor!”
“Calm down. It’s not stolen.”
The item called magic stone armor was black, with a red gem embedded in the center.
“This was purchased with my own funds.”
“You mean it’s not from the Knight Order?”
“That’s right. And look, the others aren’t embedded with magic stones either.”
“What about this one?”
Aila pointed to a peculiar black sword.
“You’re quick on the uptake. That’s a magic sword. Even the Captain shouldn’t handle it recklessly.”
At the mention of the magic sword, Aila paused just as she was about to grab it.
“Don’t bring in troublesome items.”
“It’s good for training once a day.”
Riki handed each of us a set of armor.
While it looked like iron armor, it seemed as though the material was not iron.
It fit comfortably like clothing and conformed well to the body of the person wearing it.
“There are no magic stones, but it’s more useful than regular armor.”
“I wish I could get at least one if I could.”
Riki looked at Aila with a look of surprise.
“Who are you planning to use it for?”
“For her.”
Aila pointed at Jema.
“That girl seems to have more talent in magic.”
“Exactly.”
“Magic stones are precious. Obtaining them means….”
“We’ll have to score some, right?”
Aila gave a suspicious smile while looking at Riki and me.
Riki gave me a pitying look, as if to say he felt sorry for me.
Fully armored guards stood at the entrance.
“How on earth will we take them down?”
“Easy. Just stab the joints. Ririan, you’re good at stabbing, right?”
“I can cut as well.”
Riki and I watched as Aila observed the entrance of the large mansion from a distance.
The reason was, just moments ago, Aila had mentioned needing a magic stone.
Magic stones were items that weren’t sold in regular shops.
It was said that only nobles or wealthy people kept them as decorations or collectibles.
The place we were observing was the house of the market lord of Nekon.
Riki had received information that this market lord was secretly trading magic stones.
“But why don’t I have any armor?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any for children…”
“There’s nothing to be done about it.”
I understood that Riki didn’t particularly ignore me for that reason.
We cautiously approached the entrance to subdue the guards.
Perhaps because I was leading the way, the guards didn’t seem to pay us much attention.
The advantage of heavily armored guards is that even if a person inside loses consciousness, it can’t be known from the outside.
Aila and Riki quickly slipped sharp objects into the gaps of the guards’ armor.
Their speed was so fast that people passing by probably didn’t even notice.
After a while, as the guards lost consciousness, we propped them up awkwardly at the entrance and confidently entered through the front door.
“The magic stone’s location is… over there.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s an item with highly concentrated mana compressed in it. It’s easy to find.”
“Then the remaining problem is.”
The three of us looked up at the mansion, pondering how to reach the room with the magic stones.