Chapter 20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: A Man Receiving Ejaculation Management
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The small city of Lizn, part of the Gertong Barony.
The White Rose Merchant Group's carriage arrived in Lizn.
This was the result of racing straight there without even taking a major rest.
"Come out one by one."
Even in a small city, they conducted thorough inspections.
In a world where Black Mages pulled off terrorist attacks at the drop of a hat, they were extremely strict about this sort of thing.
It was also the reason groups like adventurer guilds and mercenary guilds managed to survive.
The guarantee provided by members registered with a guild gave those guilds their own sense of purpose.
They checked the mercenaries' and adventurers' identification, then Ashy the Hero.
The procedure was complete once she drew the Holy Sword.
I had nothing of my own, but as Ashy's companion, I got solid verification of my status.
— Cleared!
Lizn's guards shouted.
The White Rose Merchant Group's carriage entered the city.
The White Rose Merchant Group headed straight to the merchant guild.
They signed the guestbook at the Lizn branch and set off toward the Yuteron Barony.
They dropped us off along the way.
"Hero, it was an honor traveling with you."
Prim bowed politely before driving the carriage away.
Her receding figure felt strangely wistful for some reason.
As if we'd grown attached in just two short days.
"Let's go, Puppy."
Ashy grabbed my leash and led me along.
The chastity cage was gone, but the dog collar remained.
'...I don't really feel like escaping.'
Was it because of that insane chastity device?
The thought that a dog collar was 'about that much' dominated my mind.
I stuck close to Ashy's side and trotted after her.
The Holy Sword she carried on her back elevated even my lowly status.
The gazes I felt were different now, filled with entirely new emotions.
It gave me a sense of security, drawing me even closer to Ashy.
Ashy led me as we searched for an inn.
It was lunchtime, so finding a carriage right away was tough, and heading all the way to Poston—where Baron Gertong was staying—might be tricky time-wise, so we planned to stay the night.
"Maybe it's because the city's so small, but there aren't any decent places."
She muttered that as we were about to enter some rundown inn with a sign out front, when someone came rushing toward us.
Spotting the Hero, she hurried over and clung desperately to Ashy's leg.
"Hero! Hero...!"
"......"
Ashy scowled fiercely at her, hand reaching for the Holy Sword's hilt.
An elderly woman with streaks of white in her hair knelt before Ashy, begging.
"Hero! P-please, just help me once! My granddaughter's gone missing. Please...!"
Ashy released the Holy Sword's hilt and shook her leg lightly.
"Ugh..."
The old woman from Lizn couldn't withstand Ashy's strength and fell away.
"Your granddaughter went missing?"
"Y-yes!"
Unaware that Ashy had shoved her off, the woman nodded vigorously.
Her wildly shaking head, her disheveled face—the sense of loss she'd endured all this time seemed to reach me.
I looked at Ashy.
Would Ashy really help this old woman?
The original Ashy wouldn't have given it a second thought.
She didn't care who died or what happened to them.
But the current Ashy was different.
Having lived her life before regression, she'd set new goals.
"......"
Ashy sensed my gaze and glanced over slyly.
"What should we do?"
"...About what?"
"Help her?"
"...?"
I had no idea why she was asking me.
I was just a powerless man with a dog collar and leash.
The old woman stared up at me desperately.
Her eyes brimmed with longing.
In this world, kidnappings were commonplace.
With slave traders operating openly, this was nothing.
On top of that, Black Mages were always on the prowl for sacrifices.
No matter how meticulous the inspections, they couldn't stop the Black Mages completely.
The people of this world knew it well.
Finding a missing person was like plucking stars from the sky.
Most gave up.
"...Please..."
Out of ten cases, nine ended in death.
The Black Mages would extract the demonic energy and incinerate the bodies.
But the grandmother before me clung to a sliver of hope, pleading.
She couldn't let go of her attachment to her granddaughter.
Ashy looked away from the grandmother and back at me.
"What do you want to do?"
"...What do you mean, what..."
If we could help, we should.
That's what I'd been taught.
My nature was deeply selfish, so jumping in to help others wasn't my thing.
But if it was possible, lending a hand felt right.
Ashy had power.
I hadn't asked for details, so I couldn't be sure.
But thanks to her previous life's experience, she seemed far stronger than in the original timeline.
If Ashy stepped in, this missing person case might see some progress.
There was someone right in arm's reach begging for help—no reason to ignore them.
"I'll do whatever you want. That's me."
"......"
Ashy spoke with sincerity.
She'd respect my opinion and follow it.
"H-Hero... Please, just once. Ease this old woman's grudge...!"
The grandmother knelt and begged.
Up close, her body looked gaunt and frail.
Where had she found the strength to run over earlier?
It must have been pure desperation.
"...If we can help, I think we should..."
As I spoke while gauging Ashy's reaction, hope flickered in the grandmother's eyes.
She had no guarantee the Hero would save her granddaughter, but at least she might learn if she was alive or dead.
Ashy stared at me and chuckled softly.
"What if we could help but don't?"
"...It's their choice, so I don't have much to say."
"Puppy's the same as ever."
"......"
Who was Ashy seeing in me?
Probably first-run Kang Ajin.
What had that guy done to captivate her like this?
I had no clue.
"Alright, let's go find your granddaughter."
The grandmother's face brightened a little.
Ashy helped her to her feet and asked,
"Grandma, when did your granddaughter go missing?"
The grandmother stood shakily on trembling legs.
"Yesterday... She went out to play on the shopping street, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone... That's what my son said."
She forced out the words in a quivering voice.
Ashy took the lead and walked ahead.
"Where's that?"
"I'll show you. Follow me."
The grandmother dragged her heavy legs along.
At a slow pace, she led us to the shopping street.
It was a small city, but the streets were well-maintained.
As we trailed behind her, we drew the stares of Lizn's citizens.
The Hero naturally attracted attention.
"R-right here."
For the grandmother, this was just a rough guess of where she'd vanished.
She'd been with her son, the girl's father.
She couldn't know for sure.
Besides, remembering exactly where she'd been lost was suspicious in itself.
It was a disappearance, plain and simple—knowing the circumstances didn't add up.
Ashy looked around the street.
Nothing stood out, no peculiarities.
"No demonic energy traces."
Using black magic left traces of demonic energy.
Only Heroes could sense it, but Ashy detected none.
That meant no black magic had been used.
"Not every Black Mage blasts black magic everywhere, though."
Black Mages weren't idiots.
They knew it left traces, so they didn't just unleash it willy-nilly.
Black Mages used black magic only when necessary.
It activated when they had no choice, even if it left a trail.
Ashy was relaxed.
She'd decided to find the grandmother's granddaughter but wasn't rushing.
She seemed vastly changed by her regression, yet in some ways, completely unchanged.
"We'll find her eventually if we look around slowly."
"...Please..."
"Grandma, where's your son?"
Ashy went looking for the girl's father.
The man who'd been with her when she vanished.
"You're too slow, Grandma. Better to go with the guy."
"...H-home..."
Traveling with the grandmother would only slow us down.
She was holding Ashy back.
She understood and directed us to her son.
A shabby private home.
A two-story building right in the middle of the street was the grandmother's house.
As we opened the door and entered, a man inside was pacing anxiously.
"Mom, where the hell have you been?!"
He rushed over the moment he saw the grandmother.
With his daughter missing, he was on edge.
"I'll find Marie, so stay home since your body's not well...!"
He scolded the grandmother harshly, then glanced warily at us.
Eyes full of suspicion.
The grandmother waved her hands, smacking the man's back.
Assuring him we weren't bad people.
"It's the Hero! They said they'd help find Marie. Open your eyes properly!"
"H-Hero...?!"
The man's gaze shifted to Ashy's back.
The Holy Sword strapped there, symbol of the Hero.
"Hero!"
"Yeah, whatever."
Ashy brushed off the man's eager greeting with a flick of her hand.
"Time's wasting. Follow me if you want."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't you want to find your daughter?"
"No, yes! Of course! Please find Marie."
We'd come to help these people, yet Ashy stayed sharp and curt.
"She was kidnapped yesterday. Won't end well if we don't hurry."
"...You're right. Hero."
No matter who the culprit was, a missing child's life wouldn't last long.
Especially short if it was a Black Mage.
As her father, he needed to move fast.
"First off, question: Any trash organizations in Lizn?"
"...Nothing comes to mind. It's a small city."
"Huh."
Human trafficking was common.
But cases by back-alley gangs were rare.
"Makes sense. No reason for those scum to act so boldly with Heroes glaring around."
Most missing persons cases ended up pinned on Black Mages.
There was good reason for that conclusion.
Heroes roamed the continent.
Righteous folk bound by a greater cause.
Once they caught a whiff, Heroes wouldn't let go.
From a criminal gang's perspective, was there any merit in risking it?
Practically none.
That left Black Mages as the culprits.
"No demonic energy inside Lizn. Looks like they took her outside."
Ashy declared and headed out of Lizn.
"Gotta keep open the possibility she went willingly."
We followed behind Ashy.