57
My Villains Chapter 57
16. Missing (1)
A quiet amusement park.
"Oh."
I stood there with a dumb expression, holding churros.
The girl sitting on the bench in front of the flower bed waved with a beautiful smile.
"What are you doing? Standing there like an idiot."
This brat, calling her uncle an idiot.
I frowned and approached the kid.
"Watch your mouth when you're the one who asked me to buy this. Should I tell my sister?"
"What are you talking about?"
You're being particularly rude today. I really should tell on you.
The girl brushed back her curly blonde hair and bit into the churro.
"Mmm-! It's sweet!"
The girl exclaimed, her bright blue eyes sparkling as she wiggled her legs.
As I was smiling stupidly, I suddenly noticed something on her leg and was startled.
"Hey, what's this?"
"Hmm? What?"
"This, is it a scar?"
Below the hem of her skirt, there was a long scar about the size of a finger on her knee.
It was a white scar on white skin, so I wouldn't have noticed if the sunlight hadn't hit it just right.
The girl shrugged and answered.
"What are you suddenly talking about? You applied the potion yourself."
"... Potion?"
"Yeah. When I was stabbed by a spear."
What nonsense is she talking about?
"Stabbed by a spear?"
"Ah, really."
The girl put down her churro and water bottle, seemingly frustrated. Then, pressing one hand on the bench, she twisted her leg to show the inside.
"Don't you remember this?"
On the back of her knee was a scar much larger than the one on her kneecap.
"Hey, Han Ji-won. What on earth are you talking about?"
"... Han Ji-won? What's that?"
"No, you-"
At that moment, a loud siren shattered the silence of the amusement park.
Weeeeeeee.
"Ugh."
Feeling like my eardrums were about to burst, I quickly covered my ears.
On the other hand, the girl, Ellen, just stared at me blankly while taking a bite of her churro.
I felt dizzy, like I was about to collapse.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The siren sound grew louder.
My momentary daze was fortunate for the inn staff and the guards. Mr. Luke was already going berserk, and if I had lost it too, it would have been difficult for people to handle.
Mr. Luke immediately rushed to the guard barracks and requested a search.
Using the excuse that she might have been kidnapped by an informant, he insisted so stubbornly that the guard captain approved the request.
"Phoenix, get a grip! We need to find Miss Ellen!"
I finally got up from my seat at Mr. Luke's roaring shout as he returned to the inn.
"Yes, yes. We should find her."
"I'll be at the guard barracks. That's the fastest place to get information. You look for places where Miss Ellen might have gone!"
Mr. Luke left with just those words. It was a bit strange to see him act so unlike his usual self, but I was just grateful.
Come to think of it, the reason Mr. Luke accompanied us was to retrieve the bodies of his countrymen who died in the sewers.
But Mr. Luke hadn't mentioned anything about it since we first met.
He must be considerate, knowing the situation isn't favorable.
... Anyway, where do I look for Ellen?
Thinking calmly, Ellen didn't seem to be in immediate danger right now.
After all, she's a mage. Not just a wand stand with only the title of mage like before. She's a proper battle mage who can handle four, no, five spells.
Moreover, she's gotten quite smooth with spell execution after recent real combat experiences...
So, there weren't many factors that could endanger Ellen within the city.
She left the inn on her own, so she wasn't kidnapped by someone.
Right, let's calm down.
I looked everywhere she might be.
The church, Oreg's general store, the Drunken Pony tavern, and other inns.
But she wasn't anywhere.
At this point, I suddenly wondered why I was doing this. Ellen isn't my family, and it seemed a bit silly to be chasing after someone who packed their bags and left.
Feeling a bit demotivated, I headed to the guard barracks.
And there, I heard shocking news.
"Ellen- went into the sewers?"
"Y-yes."
The pale-faced soldier nodded vigorously.
"When?"
Mr. Luke answered instead of the soldier who couldn't respond.
"Right after sunset, they say."
...That's at least four hours ago.
I turned to the guard captain.
"Why are you telling us this only now?"
"They said it wasn't particularly unusual, so they forgot about it after their shift ended."
"Not unusual? What nonsense is that? A young girl went into the sewers alone, if that's not unusual, what is?"
"She's not an ordinary lady, is she? She's a mage, your companion, and someone who has entered the sewers several times already."
I couldn't help but swear at the guard captain's brazen attitude.
"Fuck, this is different. If it was right after sunset, that's when we were in the middle of the operation. You didn't stop her from entering the sewers?"
"That's..."
The guard captain, trailing off, suddenly frowned.
"We are the guard, not babysitters! She walked in on her own, why are you taking it out on us! If you keep acting so arrogantly, I'll arrest you right now, so get lost!"
At his shout, all the guards gathered in the barracks put their hands on their weapons.
... Hah, so this is how they're going to act?
I twisted my lips into a smile and nodded.
"Fine, I'm leaving. But..."
I looked each of the officers sitting around in the eye and spat out my words.
"You'd all better pray Ellen returns safely."
"... Are you threatening us now?"
"Threats are made when you want something. This is a warning."
As I was about to leave the barracks, leaving behind the stiffened men, the guard captain, unable to contain his anger, shouted.
"You arrogant bastard! Have you forgotten that the Ship's Horn Inn is under the protection of the guard!"
What is this blockhead saying?
"Ha, so what? Is the esteemed guard captain trying to treat the residents as hostages?"
"... We could charge you with aiding a criminal."
This guard captain, I didn't realize it in the game because I only saw him dying loyally for the lord, but he's an incredible blockhead.
I glared at the guard captain, whose cheeks were trembling while maintaining a smile.
"Go ahead. I'm curious to see what I might do too."
The guard captain's face turned red with anger, but he ultimately couldn't draw his sword.
I guess he values his life. What a shame.
Mr. Luke and I left the barracks together.
Some might wonder, 'What does this mere mercenary think he's doing, acting so brazenly towards the guard captain?'
Well, it's not so much that I have something to rely on... But something interesting happened.
When I went to the Salt Castle to receive a reward from the lord, Prince Ulkar made me another recruitment offer. But this time, it wasn't an offer to join as a personal guard.
The prince, in front of gathered nobles, expressed his desire to make me a knight.
Everyone gathered in the audience chamber seemed surprised, except for the prince. Of course, I was surprised too.
I thought about living up to the name of 'Blood Knight' - but in the end, I refused.
I didn't want to get caught up in the prince's predetermined, terrifying fate so soon.
But as it turns out, Prince Ulkar's reputation is incredibly high.
Unlike his appearance that suggests he was raised preciously, the prince had been roaming battlefields since his teens, achieving all sorts of merits.
Among them, the story of him shooting down seven mounted soldiers with six arrows in the 'Battle of the Highlands' eight years ago is so famous that most people know about it.
He's especially popular among young knights, and it's common for them to memorize all the battles Prince Ulkar has participated in and the military achievements he's made. It's not like he's an idol or something.
Befitting that reputation, the knights that the prince leads are all famous individuals.
Langbolt Ershore, Ankir Whitestone, Liam Summersong, Ariad Barin... Well, there were a few more named ones, but anyway.
In this situation, a mere mercenary received a direct offer of knighthood from the prince, and then refused it.
It's only natural that the nobles, including the lord, would look at me differently. A mere mercenary and a mercenary with the ability to become a knight are different, after all.
Add to that a notorious reputation...
Well, anyway, thanks to these circumstances, I was able to vent my frustration by acting tough towards the guard captain.
"So, let's ask Prince Ulkar for help."
Mr. Luke furrowed his brow at my suggestion.
"Hmm, would the prince get involved?"
"We've got nothing to lose. It's better than asking those dimwitted guards."
I wanted to ask Grania's group for help, but... They're currently under the guard's command. The guard captain must be upset too, so it would be difficult for Grania to move.
... I should have been a bit more patient. This is why losing my temper is a problem.
"The prince only has five men under his command right now. They won't be much help anyway."
"We need trustworthy people, even if they're few. Since we can't ask the lord, we should at least seek help from the prince."
"The reason we can't ask the lord... Is it because of that informant among his close associates?"
"Yes. In the current situation, if information leaks even a little, we don't know what might happen. The informant might secretly send down subordinates..."
I said this while heaving a deep sigh.
"Of course, information might have already leaked." Judging by the guard captain's behavior, that possibility was high.
Mr. Luke rubbed his forehead for a moment and then shook his head.
"If that's the case, it's even better if just the two of us move. It's too late to ask for help and gather people."
Mr. Luke's resolute words suddenly made me feel grateful.
To be honest, Mr. Luke had no reason to care whether Ellen, who left without a word, lived or died. It's not like they had formed a great bond.
If Mr. Luke hadn't helped, I would have had to worry about all this alone.
Gratitude aside, finding Ellen is the urgent matter now.
"But how can just the two of us search that vast sewer system?"
"We don't need to search everywhere. If we move quickly along the route Ellen might have taken, can't we catch up? Once in the sewers, her destination is likely to be the secret passage."
True. Ellen's purpose for going down into the sewers was probably to leave through the secret passage to the outside.
Ah... This stupid girl. The area beyond the secret passage will be crawling with bandits. What on earth was she thinking, going down alone?
I let out a deep sigh and answered.
"Then let's at least take Ute, no, Hatanka with us. He'll surely be a big help."
"... Do you trust that man? A barbarian you've only just met?"
"Well, no- at least he won't be in cahoots with the thieves."
As I shrugged and said this, Mr. Luke warned in a firm tone.
"That's not enough. We don't know him. Barbarians are completely different from us, both physically and mentally, so it's dangerous to make such easy assumptions."
Hmm. Well, I can understand Mr. Luke's point. In the game, tribal people from outside lands were often treated as monsters.
In Utequais' case, he's at least temporarily traveling with us, so it's not quite to that extent, but it's inevitable that people look at him with suspicion.
I should have a talk with Utequais soon. If he spends a few days soaked in alcohol, he might come to his senses someday.
After a brief conversation with Mr. Luke, we decided to go down right away, just the two of us.
We immediately raided the general store that had finished business for the day and bought supplies.
We hurried as much as we could, but by the time we finished preparing and stood at the sewer entrance, it was already close to midnight.
I'm getting anxious.