Missing Person Search Operation (6)
The moment Tommy was kidnapped by the goblins, Trisha—who had been concentrating with her palm pressed to the dirt floor, channeling mana—clicked her tongue in disappointment.
"Haa."
As expected. Coincidence was only coincidence. Nothing more, nothing less.
In this cruel world, there was no such thing as stacked accidents hardening into inevitability—no miracle waiting at the end of luck.
From the very beginning, it had never been something a wolf pup still too young to be weaned could pull off. No—it didn't even make sense.
Trisha swallowed her regret, dusted off her hands, and rose to her feet.
"Failed."
"What?"
"The tracking magic I laid on the wolf and the seed has been cut. Looking at how they separated, he's been caught."
At those words, Angela rushed at her.
"...Is that something you should be saying right now?"
"Nothing we can do about it. Let's collapse the cave."
".........."
Angela bit down hard on her lip. There was nothing she could do. The truth was, the moment Tommy had charged into that cave, a part of her had felt relief—relief that she wouldn't have to go in herself. The thought that if it was Tommy... maybe he could manage it. She had hung empty hopes on a small puppy, and that only made the ache worse.
This was a world where people died easily and scraped by hard just to eat. In that world, Tommy had been a brief connection—but to a woman who had lived a harsh life and found herself in a cruel place, he had been precious.
She remembered him running up and nestling into her arms, warm and soft with fluffy fur. She had raised all sorts of animals while tending her master's familiars. And yet Tommy alone stuck in her memory. Why?
Her chest ached, but the situation was far from over. People were still missing, trapped inside with the goblins. Tommy might still be alive. They had to get them out. If they failed, people would die, the territory would fall, and she would lose her livelihood. Angela knew exactly how far that future would shove her deeper into the pit of despair from the miserable reality she already occupied.
She had to succeed here. Carving the pain out of her heart, she forced herself to think rationally.
"How do you intend to collapse the cave?"
Trisha drew a seed from her robes. Countless tiny runes covered its surface in fine script.
"Seeds of trees that grow large. Magic is engraved on them so they can be forced into rapid growth. I'll use these to bring the cave down while widening and reinforcing the entrance. Of course, if the humans inside get hurt or die, I take no responsibility."
Seed in hand, she looked from Angela to Squad Leader Gert.
"So let me ask. Who's in charge?"
The meaning was unmistakable.
"...I am. Collapse the cave."
After a brief deliberation, Gert gave his answer. There was no time to waste.
But someone stepped between them.
"What the hell are you saying right now?!"
It was a village youth gripping a wooden club.
"Lena! My fiancée Lena is in there! The woman I'm marrying next week! If that cave comes down, my woman could die! Are you joking?! All because you lost one damn mutt?! What's so terrifying about crawling into a goddamn cave that at most has a handful of goblins in it?!"
His face flushed dark red as he roared, reason clearly gone. The entire party fell into a heavy silence.
"Young man, calm yourself and—"
"Calm down my ass! Right now, this very second, Lena might be suffering! She even got pregnant recently! Do any of you know what goblins do to human women?! They rape them until they conceive, and if they can't get them pregnant, they kill them and eat them! I will not accept that future. I'll save Lena with my own hands. So—"
Gritting his teeth as if steeling himself for the worst, the youth thrust a hand toward the soldier holding a lantern.
"...Give me the lantern. I'll go in first."
"And what exactly do you plan to do?"
Trisha asked with a hollow laugh at the youth's reckless declaration.
In answer, Gert drew a dagger from his belt and pressed it into the young man's palm. The youth, who had dropped his club, stared at him blankly.
"Give this man the lantern. Young man—what's your name?"
"Belford. Son of this village's chief."
"Belford. Make me one promise in return. If something goes wrong once you're inside, you get out immediately."
"...I know the value of my own life too."
"Good. Lady Trisha. We'll go in without collapsing the cave."
"Is that so? Then I'm not going in."
"Why not?"
To Gert's retort, Trisha answered coldly.
"Because there are more than one or two things that feel off."
"You're the coward here."
Angela snapped at her over those words.
"You're a guest of the manor, but... I never imagined you'd be a cowardly elf worse than a mutt."
"Don't run that mouth of yours just because it opens. You foolish human."
The two women faced off. Angela clenched her fist; the claws hidden in her gauntlet clicked free with a sharp snap. She flexed her wrist, retracted them, and checked her armaments.
"As you say, humans may be foolish and stupid."
At the same time, she accepted a lantern and spoke while watching the youth slip into the crack in the cliff.
"...But it's better than losing something precious. Making a foolish choice for something so precious you can't put a price on it—that's what it means to be human."
"......"
At her words, the scornful smile on Trisha's face went blank.
A foolish human, she said.
This woman.
She was just like that man.
Ten years ago. The man who had shown her kindness in the depths of war. The foolish human who had embraced them even in the moment he was betrayed by everyone he trusted and stabbed in the back by his own subordinates. The human who had ignored Imperial policy and enacted generous measures without discrimination between races.
Viscount Hodin Esper.
This human woman was one of that Hodin's people. Looking at the spirited figure before her, Trisha couldn't help the chill that ran down her spine.
...Truly, a human of the great Esper family.
As expected. Sending her subordinates to the Sachsen Viscounty and coming to the Esper Baronry herself had been the right choice.
Without realizing it, a smile touched Trisha's lips.
"Fine. But I'll go in last."
"Thank you."
Angela bowed her head politely in gratitude.
The whole party filed back into the crack in the cliff. When the village youth leading with the lantern tried to crawl straight into the cave mouth, Gert caught his shoulder.
"Shh. Quiet down and wait a moment."
Gert looked back at Trisha. She stood with her eyes closed, as if concentrating on something. Her pointed ears twitched a few times, then her green eyes opened.
"Doesn't seem like there's anyone nearby right now."
Nodding silently, Belford fastened the dagger to his belt, held the lantern upright, and crawled forward.
Swish... swish... swish....
With the scrape of cloth against stone, Belford crawled roughly ten meters in and stood. Gert crouched at the entrance, watching to make sure he got through safely.
"...Have you arrived inside? If it's safe, blink the lantern a few times."
When light flashed several times through the gap at the bottom of the cave, Gert finally relaxed and gestured to the soldier behind him.
"One person goes all the way in, then the next enters."
"Yes, sir."
Next, a soldier crawled inside. When he was about halfway through, Trisha—who had been listening intently—seized Gert's shoulder.
"...Tell him to come out right now. Hurry."
"What?"
The instant the words left her mouth, a scream erupted from the bottom of the cave.
"Go...goblins!"
"Damn it."
Gert cursed and peered down.
"Th-there's so many! Too many! Just the ones I can see—dozens— Aagh!!"
"Get out! Get out of there!!!"
Crash!!!
Whoosh!!!
Kyaaaaah!!!
The sound of a lantern shattering and catching fire mixed with monstrous shrieks. The soldier who had been halfway in bellowed, then hurriedly hauled himself free. Right after him, the village youth shoved his face into the passage at the bottom of the cave.
Like a bug trapped in a narrow crevice, he writhed desperately forward—then his face suddenly contorted in agony.
"Gyaaaaaah!!!!"
Kerrrr!
Keruk!
Keruk! Keruk!!!!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud-squelch! Crunch! Crrrunch!!
The sounds of countless goblins behind him. It was obvious without looking what was being done to his lower body, trapped in the middle of the passage. Gert threw himself forward and crawled into the bottom tunnel.
"Captain!"
"What are you doing?! Grab my legs from behind! Come in like a chain!!!"
"Save me! Please save me!!! Don't leave me!!!! Aaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Gert crawled deeper. Seizing the arm of the youth who was being dragged backward while wailing, he shouted to the soldier who had followed.
"Grab my legs! Pull!!!!!!!!!!"
At his signal, every soldier in the passage seized the legs of the person ahead and hauled. At the entrance, Angela and Trisha clamped a soldier's legs under their arms and pulled with everything they had.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!"
A tug-of-war over a human body began between goblins and men.
Clinging to Gert's arm for dear life and thrashing wildly, the youth bit down so hard against the pain that his front teeth shattered.
Crrraaack!!!!
"Grrk...grrrrrh!!!"
Then Belford's eyes rolled back; he seemed to lose consciousness and go limp.
"Fuck!!! Stay with me! Stay conscious!!!"
At Gert's rough shout, spit flying, the youth who had briefly blacked out threw his head back toward the ceiling and forced his eyes wide open.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!!!
"Aaaaagh! Aaaaaaaaaah!!!! Kyaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!"
Unable to endure the pain, he began slamming his head back and forth against the narrow stone. Gert, still gripping his arm, kept shouting.
"Pull! Faster! Faster!!!!!"
"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!"
"Stay conscious, you bastard!!! You can make it!!! Get out!!!"
"You said you were getting married, you fucker!!!"
"You idiot—I knew this would happen!!!! But first just stay alive!!!"
Along with Gert's words, the soldiers behind poured out their own rough, encouraging curses.
And so, at the end of that brief contest of raw strength—while Gert stared straight into the village youth's bloodshot eyes—an ominous sound reached his ears.
Rip... crrraaack!!!!
"F...fuck!"
The sound of flesh and bone twisting. Then the laughing cheers of goblins rang out. The instant that sound hit, Belford suddenly began sliding free all at once.
"Now!! Every ounce of strength you've got!! Pull!!!"
"Uryaaaaaaa!!!!"
At his signal, everyone combined their strength and hauled. Starting with the soldiers who had entered the bottom passage, Gert himself came free.
Finally, when the village youth whose fiancée had been taken—Belford—emerged....
"Fuck!!!"
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"Those bastards!"
"Fuck... how... this...."
".......*grit*."
Everyone stared in horror at what remained of his legs.
One had been torn away all the way to the pelvis and was simply gone. The other showed only the broken shinbone below the knee.
"Aaaaah!! Aaaaaaah!!!"
Every time Belford thrashed, blood sprayed like a fountain from the severed stumps, soaking faces and cave walls alike.
While the others stood frozen, not knowing what to do, the elf who alone leaned against the wall with an eerie smile opened her mouth.
"Foolish."
She snatched the lantern from a dazed soldier's hand, drew a shortsword from her robes, and stepped forward, swinging it toward Belford's ruined legs.
Slash. Slash.
Cleanly severed cross-sections. Everyone stared at Trisha in shock.
"Hold him down."
Understanding at once, Angela and Gert moved. Gert pinned Belford's thrashing body; Angela seized both stumps. The soldiers piled on as well.
"Put something in his mouth!"
Someone shouted urgently. One soldier shoved a wad of leather armor between Belford's teeth, and Trisha pressed the lantern flame to the raw cuts.
Sizzle...!
"Mmmmmmph!!!"
The horrific smell of roasting meat filled the air. The simple village youth pinned beneath them writhed, shedding tears of blood, before finally losing consciousness.
After cauterizing both wounds, Trisha pulled a small jar from her robes, applied ointment, tore a strip from her sleeve, and bound the stumps under tight pressure.
When the chaos finally settled, everyone collapsed, dripping sweat.
"Huff.... huff...."
"Oh god.... good heavens...."
"Damn it... I should have gone in first...!"
Among them, still panting and swallowing hard on the floor, Angela had already sprung up, deploying the claws mounted on her gauntlet and scanning their surroundings with sharp eyes.
"Everyone get up. Quickly!"
Patapat. Pat. Patapat...!
Kerruk. Keruk. Keruk.
From the bottom of the cave came the countless light footsteps unique to small creatures, mixed with the unpleasant laughter of goblins... And the more terrible fact was that the same sounds were coming from the cliff entrance they had used as well.
The languid expression gone from her face, Trisha flicked the blood from her shortsword once and slipped a throwing knife into her free hand.
"They're coming."