The City Where the Wind Blows, Windenstadt (2)
The back alley tucked behind the market street carried a distinctly gloomy air.
Unlike the bustling marketplace, the atmosphere here felt entirely different.
Rows of dilapidated houses stood packed tightly together. Spaces that barely qualified as proper dwellings lined the narrow paths.
In a district this densely packed… tracking those bastards down isn’t going to be easy.
Creak— Thud! Thud! Clack—
The moment the residents saw us, they slammed their doors and windows shut in unison.
“The people in this neighborhood treat outsiders like monsters.”
Brita clicked her tongue, her massive double-bladed axe resting on her shoulder.
Well… looking at how you’re dressed, I can’t exactly blame them.
Even setting that aside, their reaction was perfectly normal. It would be stranger if locals welcomed outsiders barging into their territory.
“Krim, got anything?”
“A little. The mana concentration here feels slightly off.”
I pointed deeper into the alley.
Ever since I took hold of Gram, I’d become able to sense the flow of wind mana. My sensitivity had skyrocketed, but I still didn’t understand why.
“It’s subtly distorted in this direction.”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“Those black-cloaked bastards definitely headed further inside.”
“Makes sense. People who can manipulate mana aren’t exactly common,” Brita said, looking disappointed. “Aaaah… I wish I could use magic too~”
“You’ve got raw strength.”
“That’s different! Magic looks so cool!”
Does it?
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could wrap lightning around this axe blade and slam it down?”
She tapped the axe handle as she spoke.
Hmm…
“Well… it might be possible?”
“What? Really?”
“After about twenty years of training?”
“You little—!!”
I didn’t actually know for sure, but who could say? It might be possible.
Thud! Clang— Thud! Creak—
“Ha… this is really disappointing.”
As we ventured deeper into the alley, the residents’ reactions remained ice-cold.
“Do I really look that scary? Or have they never seen mercenaries before? This is the umpteenth time…”
Brita wore an exasperated expression.
“Anyone walking around in broad daylight carrying a giant axe is going to look scary.”
“Hey.”
?
Had she really not realized it until now…?
While I was thinking that, Brita suddenly pointed.
“Hey, look over there.”
I turned to where she indicated.
A woman stood just outside her door.
She had one hand pressed to her mouth, shifting her weight anxiously from foot to foot while glancing left and right.
Anyone could see she was deeply unsettled.
She might know something.
“Excuse me. Could I ask you something?”
I approached slowly and spoke gently.
“Eek!”
She flinched violently and stumbled backward.
“D-don’t come any closer!”
As she spoke, one hand fumbled behind her back, searching her waist.
She was probably looking for a hidden dagger.
“Whoa, easy there. We’re not here to hurt anyone,” Brita stepped in to clear up the misunderstanding.
“It’s you two, isn’t it?! Give me back my children!!”
Her eyes burned with hatred as she continued groping for whatever she had hidden.
She clearly wasn’t trained for combat. Just a mother who had lost her child.
“We’re here to investigate. We heard suspicious individuals have been roaming this area,” I answered calmly, staying wary of her movements.
“How can I believe that? You’re not even from this street, are you?”
The woman remained openly hostile.
“Hold on a second.”
Brita inserted herself between us.
“This ‘children’ business… you’re saying someone took the kids?”
Her eyes grew strangely cold as she spoke.
Did something about this strike a nerve…?
“…You two. You’re really not involved?”
The suspicion in the woman’s voice softened just a little.
“We’re not, so tell us. What exactly happened to the children?”
Brita’s tone was steady now.
It looked safe for me to join in.
“We obtained information from the Wind-keeper headquarters. Could you tell us what happened?”
“Ha! Those useless, slow-witted fools!”
The woman clicked her tongue sharply.
“It’s because of them that our children disappeared! They don’t even bother patrolling this street!”
Her words were tumbling out in a jumble.
She meant that the lack of patrols here had led to this tragedy. They must have redirected their manpower to suppress the commotion outside.
Considering they were even hiring mercenaries to handle the situation… this city really was a mess.
“Krim.”
Brita turned to look at me.
“Yeah, I get it.”
She wanted to help this woman. I had no objection.
Besides, those black-cloaked figures might be behind these disappearances.
Let’s check, shall we…?
…Just as I thought.
The flow of mana was severed right here.
That meant the children and those bastards were connected somehow.
If we followed the children’s trail, it would naturally lead us to them. Worth the effort.
“Please tell us everything. We’ll need clues if we’re going to search.”
“The children haven’t come home… They should have been back by now, but there’s been no word.”
It was around five in the afternoon. Definitely not a time for children to be wandering around.
“Where were they headed?”
We could start tracking from there.
“The moat outside the castle walls. They said they were going to play there.”
The moat? Kids play there?
“Ah… that’s inconvenient,” Brita muttered, looking troubled.
“The gates will be closing soon.”
Already that time?
When I looked up at the sky, the sun was already sinking low on the horizon.
“Let’s head to the gate first. We might get something out of the guards.”
“You’re… really going to help?”
The woman stepped closer, eyes desperate.
If we didn’t help, she might never find her children.
“Yeah. You said they disappeared. We have to at least look.”
Brita accepted the woman’s plea.
“How much do you want?”
“For what?”
“Payment, obviously. You two look like mercenaries.”
“It’s fine.”
“Huh?”
“You probably don’t have any money anyway.”
Brita turned her head, avoiding the woman’s gaze.
That was a lie.
She was just making an excuse because she didn’t want her kindness exposed.
You… you’re so obvious.
“…”
Whether she understood that or not, the woman fell silent for a moment.
“Thank you… truly, thank you…”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
No matter how chaotic things were outside, did the Wind-keepers really not care about their own citizens?
With that bitter thought, I started walking again.
“Krim.”
“Yeah?”
“We have to find them. Those kids.”
Brita’s eyes had grown sharp.
“…Yeah.”
Windenstadt castle gate entrance.
THUD—!!
“Ugh!”
“Aaaah!!”
The sound of a massive axe slamming into the desk jolted the sleeping guards awake with pathetic cries.
“Wh-wh-who the hell are you?”
…They looked utterly terrified.
“Causing a ruckus in the middle of the night… eek!”
“Hey.”
Brita glared at the guard.
“Did any kids pass through this afternoon?”
“What the—! How am I supposed to remember every single person?!”
“Maybe if I crack that tin can on your head, it’ll jog your memory?”
“W-wait! J-just wait a second!”
The guard frantically raised his hands to his head, then glanced at the other guard beside him.
“You, you remember anything?”
“R-remember what?”
“Weren’t you on duty this afternoon?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I—”
BANG!
Brita slammed her fist on the desk.
“Eeeeek!”
“Huk!”
…Were these guys really guards?
With reactions like that, no wonder the kids got ignored.
“L-look, even if you threaten us, way too many people pass through here! Cut us some slack!”
“Slum kids.”
“H-huh?”
“Children from the back-alley slums.”
“…Ah!”
The guard’s eyes suddenly widened as if he’d remembered something.
“One girl and one boy. Two little kids left the castle!”
“Which way did they go?”
“I don’t know that.”
Brita raised her fist again.
“I really don’t know! I swear! You can’t see from here!”
He was going to get punched at this rate.
“Ahem!”
I cleared my throat to redirect attention.
Beating the guard wouldn’t bring the children back.
“Which direction did the children head?”
The guard thought for a moment before answering.
“R-right! From here, they went to the right!”
To the right…
When I turned my head and looked up, I saw the mountain where that unpleasant sound had been coming from.
“That’s enough, Brita. Let’s go.”
“Ugh… fine.”
I grabbed the flushed-faced Brita and pulled her away.
She sighed several times while glaring at the guards before finally turning to follow me.
“What the hell! Those girls! Trying to assault people in the middle of the night!”
The guards’ complaints followed us as we walked away.
“Hey, Krim.”
“Yeah?”
“Can’t I… just hit them once before we leave?”
No, you can’t.
“Just hold back. For the captain’s sake.”
“Ha…”
At the mention of the captain, Brita finally lowered her fist.
“Let’s piece together what we know.”
As we walked, we combined our clues.
“On the way here, there was that mountain making those awful sounds.”
“Yeah, that place with the horrible noise.”
Brita, having regained her composure, responded to my words.
“And the kids from the slums were headed for the moat outside the walls.”
“Why would children even go that far? Don’t kids usually stay inside the walls?”
She was right. Why indeed?
“The mountain lies in the direction they went.”
“So the abnormal phenomenon and the children’s disappearance are connected?”
“Exactly.”
“Then we can kill two birds with one stone. But still…”
“What?”
“Let’s return the kids to their parents first.”
“…”
“They must miss their mother so much…”
There was a hint of sorrow in her voice.
It probably came from personal experience.
“That was the plan anyway. We still need more information from the Wind-keepers. Once we’re done, we’ll have to come back.”
As unreliable as they seemed, the Wind-keepers here probably knew the most about that mountain.
Rushing into what might be enemy territory without any information would be extremely dangerous.
We’d have to use the missing children case as leverage for a deal.
“Then let’s go as soon as the gates open tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
A tavern in the town square.
The room was decently sized for two people.
Brita lay sprawled on the bed without even removing her armor, breathing heavily.
“Just how does this city even function? Kids disappear and they do nothing about it.”
“…”
Shing— Shing—
Instead of answering, I silently sharpened Gram’s blade with a whetstone.
Moonlight seeped along the edge, giving it an icy gleam.
“Hey, Krim.”
“What.”
“As soon as the gates open tomorrow morning, we rush out.”
“I already said that earlier.”
“Yeah, you did.”
She must have been really bothered by it.
Those black robes. That unpleasant symbol.
If those bastards were responsible…
…I couldn’t let a single one live.
Shing— Shing—
The sound of the blade being honed echoed through the room.
It was an unusually cold night beneath a silent moon.