Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Bandit Group (3)
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The next day.
I arrived in the village and spoke with the villagers.
It was to figure out Mari and Sofi's usual route.
"Those kids usually head down that forest path. They'd go in there to pick flowers and come back out."
"You mean the woods to the southeast?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, the guards had already passed through that area..."
The information I gathered from Uncle Hugo and the other villagers.
Thanks to them, I had a rough idea of where the kids had gone.
I thanked them and hurried on my way.
Who knew what had happened to those kids right now?
I just wanted to know they were safe as soon as possible.
I searched for what looked like Mari and Sofi's footprints.
Ever since Yoru had taught me before, my eyes could now read the Flow of All Things.
It was originally meant for finding weak points in battle, but it was plenty useful in everyday life too.
The kids moved through the forest like it was their own backyard.
If their footprints suddenly veered off in a strange direction, it would stand out as an unnatural flow to my eyes.
"Here it is."
I'd found them at last.
The kids' footprints continued onward. If I followed them, I'd get my answers.
I steeled myself and pressed forward.
The bandits' hideout might be somewhere up ahead.
What if I found it? Should I run?
But could I even run? Didn't I have to rescue Mari and Sofi somehow?
...Could I really just pretend I hadn't seen anything?
I gripped the sword I'd brought with me.
No. There's no way I'd run. I know myself.
I'd told Father I was just out on reconnaissance, but I'd probably end up fighting.
"Hoo."
Aware of that, I calmed my tense body and kept walking.
Almost there.
The bandits' hideout should come into view any moment now... Huh?
"Huh?"
Two little girls walking from way off in the distance.
It was Mari and Sofi.
They'd been released unharmed and were walking freely on their own.
"Girls!"
I rushed over to them.
What happened? Why had they been let go?
Did the bandits release them? No way. If they'd planned to do that, they wouldn't have kidnapped them in the first place.
No, that wasn't the important part.
The key thing was that Mari and Sofi had been freed, period.
"Are you okay? No injuries?"
"Ah... Young Master Kline...?"
"It's the Young Master...?"
Mari and Sofi's faces were tear-streaked.
They must have been through a lot walking all the way back to the village.
I pulled the girls into a hug.
"Yeah, it's me. Kline. You're safe now."
"Sob... Waaah..."
I soothed Mari and Sofi as they burst into tears.
I waited until they calmed down, then took their hands and headed back to the village.
But questions still lingered.
"So, how did you get freed?"
"Uh..."
Now that they were settling down, the girls' faces relaxed a bit.
But the moment I asked, they looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
"W-We don't really know either."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah. We were locked up in some secluded spot, and then suddenly there was this huge noise. The voices from above just... stopped."
"Right. And then the door suddenly opened, and they untied us."
What?
From the sound of it, some hero of justice had swooped in.
"When we came out, two of the bandits were dead. We didn't see the others."
"Yeah. We got scared and poked them, but they didn't move. So we figured it was safe and came outside."
"That's when we ran into you on the way back to the village."
"...Hmm. No one showed themselves? No talking?"
"No. By the time the cloths came off our faces, there was no one there."
"Yeah. It felt like a ghost had come and gone. Like someone was right there, but no presence at all."
I furrowed my brow as I listened to the girls.
Suspicious. Who would do something like this?
They'd killed two bandits but let the kids go unharmed.
And without showing themselves or saying a word.
Normally, someone doing a good deed like that would at least stick around for a thank-you.
'Who could it be?'
Even right next to them, no presence at all?
Could an expert like that just show up out of nowhere?
I tilted my head, but decided not to let my guard down anyway.
From what the girls said, there were way more than two bandits.
No telling where the rest might have gone.
"Oh. But those guys said something weird."
"Something weird?"
Then the girls brought up another topic.
Probably something they'd overheard while kidnapped.
"There was this client who told them to kidnap kids like me and bring them in."
"Yeah. They were happy about it, saying they'd make a ton of money and live easy."
A client. Kidnapping kids. And paying for it.
Hmm.
On the surface, it sounded like plain old human traffickers.
But I didn't buy that.
'If it were just run-of-the-mill traffickers, the bandits wouldn't go along with it.'
Father had said they were the kind who stuck to petty crimes.
No way they'd risk something as dangerous as kidnapping without a damn good reason.
'Must've offered an insane reward.'
And from the girls' story, it was something any criminal could claim.
Someone with serious money. Or serious backing.
"..."
For some reason, vampires came to mind.
The villains who hadn't yet revealed themselves to the world. The Crimson Blood Cult.
Maybe one of them was behind this.
'Just a hunch for now.'
I'll keep it in mind.
With that, I brought the girls back to the village.
I needed to show everyone right away. Uncle Hugo and the villagers would finally relax...
"Huh?"
But what I saw instead was eight people who looked like bandits, bound and kneeling.
**
"What happened here?"
"Ah, well, Young Master. See..."
First, I'd returned the girls to their families.
Their parents tearfully thanked me, but it felt awkward.
I hadn't done anything.
More importantly, these bandits took priority.
What the hell? These guys?
"They showed up at the village out of nowhere, confessed they were the culprits, and turned themselves in. Then we arrested them."
"Wait, what? That makes no sense. They just let themselves get caught?"
"Yeah. I can't wrap my head around it either... But they insisted, so what could we do? Couldn't just let them go. We were about to go search for the kids since they claimed not to know where they were, but you brought them back."
"Haa."
What kind of situation was this?
Headache. Why did everything escalate so fast before I could even understand it?
I approached the bandits first.
And prodded the one who looked like the leader.
"Hey."
"Y-Yes!"
"What's your name?"
"B-Bern, sir."
A guy way bigger and older than me, trembling in fear.
Especially when he saw my face—he started twitching.
What the...?
Did he know me?
"You know me? Why are you so scared?"
"N-No! Master Kline Leonhart doesn't know me at all! First time meeting today!"
"I never told you my name."
"...Ah. Hahaha! Investigating your targets is Crime 101. Of course we looked up your info."
Suspicious.
He's definitely dodging.
How did this leader Bern know about me?
Even though it was clearly his first time seeing me.
"Fine, whatever. Not important right now."
"H-Haha. Yes, sir."
"So why'd you let the kids go? Why are your men dead? And why turn yourselves in? Spill it."
"H-Haha. Hahaha..."
Bern's eyes spun in circles.
Scrambling for an excuse?
No.
It looked more like he was agonizing over how to answer without breaking some promise.
"There were guys who resisted. So we killed them. We let the kids go because we got scared. The thought of the Leonhart Ducal Family chasing us down made us panic. And we turned ourselves in because our consciences got the better of us. We want to start a new life."
"..."
He rattled it off like a machine gun, then shut his mouth.
His eyes darted all over the place.
No, it was more like he was watching someone's reaction.
I followed his gaze.
'No one's there.'
Nothing.
No reason anyone would be there anyway.
No presence...
'Wait.'
No way?
"Hey."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
I grabbed Bern's chin.
Shoved my face right up to his eyes and asked.
"You met a white-haired girl, didn't you?"
"H-Hiii!"
Bern convulsed like he was having a fit.
He even tried to stand despite being bound, and toppled over.
Thud!
Even flat on the ground, his whole body twisted.
"No! No! I don't know! I don't know anything!"
"You really don't know?"
"I don't! I didn't see a thing!"
Anyone could tell he'd seen her, you bastard.
I sighed and stepped back.
Then a nearby guard spoke up.
"Young Master. Figured anything out? Why they're acting like this?"
"Got a rough idea. Hand them over to Father for now. I've got somewhere to be."
"Ah, yes. What are you lot doing? Take 'em to the mansion!"
The guards grabbed the prisoners' ropes and hauled them up.
And just like that, the kidnapping incident that had the village in an uproar came to an end.
A happy ending that put everyone's mind at ease.
But.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue and headed for the mansion.
Looks like I'd need to have a talk with my little sister.