\u201c…Oh, Arneau, is that you? Sorry,\u201d he said, grinning, as I knelt beside him and cleaned the mud off of his face with a rag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My childhood friend was tied up on the floor of a small, dark room. He came looking for me and got involved in this. The man he\u2019d knocked out had paid him back in spades. I had the intuition to tell my colleagues that a man this handsome would be worth a lot of money if we were to sell him, so thankfully, they stopped short of disfiguring his valuable face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…This is why I told you to stay away from me.\u201d After finally managing to get his life together, Sora was in this situation because he couldn\u2019t help but follow me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m the one to blame. It\u2019s not your fault. And by the way, what are you doing?\u201d he asked, confused, as I cut the ropes around his wrists and ankles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s busy preparing to switch bases. You shouldn\u2019t have trouble escaping right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gave me a troubled look. \u201c…Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019d love to, but I can\u2019t,\u201d he declared, just as I\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can also probably find that girl and help her escape too. Everyone\u2019s going to be too busy to notice.\u201d Obviously he wanted to save his teammate, that nosy Katarina girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neither of them were on the list of people we were supposed to kidnap anyway. The other guys just figured they\u2019d sell them too because we couldn\u2019t let them go home after they\u2019d witnessed one of the children being recaptured. And given how everyone was so preoccupied about switching to a new base, it wouldn\u2019t really be an issue. I thought that mentioning all of this would be enough for Sora to escape without any regrets. But…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, of course I have to save her as well. But I still haven\u2019t paid back my debt to you,\u201d he told me. Now that was unexpected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHuh? Can\u2019t you tell what situation you\u2019re in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know, but if I run away now, I probably won\u2019t ever be able to see you again. Can\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even remember any debt you have with me. Get going already!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…No can do. It\u2019s very important to me. And anyway, you like children. This job doesn\u2019t fit you. Run away with us,\u201d he invited, taking me by surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was so shocked I remained silent for a while. Not because he was talking nonsense…but because he was right. Actually, because I\u2019d just realized he was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hate kids. It\u2019s a nuisance to have them cry while I\u2019m at work, and that\u2019s the only reason why I\u2019m being kind to them. This is what I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now I remembered about the younger boys and girls I looked after back when we lived in the slums. It hurts to see children cry. Even while working a terrible job like this, I still felt protective toward children and small animals. And Sora\u2019s words had finally made me realize it. Do I hate children? No… Maybe I\u2019ve always liked them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could feel those hidden emotions resurfacing…but I couldn\u2019t admit it, and made my point clear to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou say that like it\u2019s easy, but I\u2019m knee-deep in this. I can\u2019t run away anymore. If I tried, they\u2019d just hunt me down. And I\u2019m not like you… I\u2019ve been in this world for too long. Its dirt has rubbed off on me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It all started back in the slums. I\u2019d rummage through trash or steal from people just to be able to eat. Eventually, like most other orphans there, I ended up taking on dirty jobs for a living. You couldn\u2019t just walk away from this world when you were tired of it. I started with stealing, went on to scamming rich people, and before I knew it, I was involved in child trafficking. I was way past the point of no return. Sora lived in a world different from mine, too far for me to reach him anymore. I knew that I was going to keep living like this until, one day, I\u2019d die alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…So just stay away from me from now on,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t reply. I thought I\u2019d finally convinced him to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…Even if people come after you, I can ask my boss to take care of that.\u201d He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, whispering, \u201cThis is so out of character for me, but…\u201d and then went on to say, \u201cWhat I\u2019m going to tell you is secondhand. It was that nosy girl you know about who first told it to me. But, right now, we\u2019re both here, aren\u2019t we? Our worlds aren\u2019t different. We live in the same world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After delivering that cheesy line, he stretched his hand toward me. That\u2019s right. Sora… He was always this kind of guy.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in the day, most of the children around us were always complaining about how bad they had it and insulting those who had it better at every opportunity. But not Sora. He didn\u2019t let others influence him, and he wasn\u2019t envious of anyone. I\u2019d always liked that in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I used to think that, if we were together, maybe we could find a better life for ourselves…but he disappeared. He was caught and sold off. That happened a lot back there, but it still made my chest hurt. And even after leaving the slums and traveling from one place to the next, I never forgot about him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I found him in this town, living a proper, good life, I was so happy. I wouldn\u2019t be able to escape this world. But if Sora had managed to, that was enough. I believed that. I tried to distance myself because of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet… I wanted to reach out and grab the hand he had stretched toward me. My own hand was soiled, and I couldn\u2019t muster the courage to touch his. He probably sensed my hesitation and stepped closer to me, forcefully taking my hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he said, and I found myself nodding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExcuse me. I happened to hear your conversation,\u201d a voice near the door spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked there and it came from one of the new recruits. He wasn\u2019t memorable in any way and I barely had any interactions with him. If he\u2019d heard us, we had to do something about him. I started thinking of how to take care of him. He seemed to be alone, so we could just beat him up, knock him out, and leave him here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Probably understanding my intentions, he put his hands up. \u201cI\u2019m not planning to report you to the higher-ups or anything. Actually, I\u2019ll help you escape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not that I was one to talk, but I knew better than to trust words from the mouth of someone doing this job. Thus, I didn\u2019t feel any safer even after he\u2019d told me that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo be honest, I want to burn down this whole operation. But I need your help,\u201d he explained with a grin that showed his pointy teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pulled back the hair that was partially covering his face, and I saw that his eyes were golden. I knew that face. This man…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…The Golden-eyed Wolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That name was famous across most battlefields in this and the neighboring countries. He was known as a fierce beast of a mercenary with golden eyes. I\u2019d seen him myself, just once, in a town near which a war was ongoing. I couldn\u2019t forget how intense, how powerful he looked then. How could I not have realized who he was after working alongside him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, you know of me?\u201d he asked, amused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The forgettable air he used to have around himself was gone for good. I didn\u2019t know that the Golden-eyed Wolf was able to hide his aura so well. He really was as impressive as they said, if not more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…But what are you doing here?\u201d I asked him. Why would a famous mercenary be in this peaceful country, moonlighting as a common thug no less?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have my reasons to want to crush this den of snakes,\u201d he claimed with a shrug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If someone as strong as he had a grudge of some kind with the organization, it meant that this whole affair was even worse than I\u2019d recognized at first. It also meant that this time, I was really risking my life. This realization, however, felt distant from me, as if the Arneau risking his life was a different person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnfortunately,\u201d the man continued, \u201cI haven\u2019t been able to find out who\u2019s at the top of the ladder. Don\u2019t you know anything about that, Arneau?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I knew that if I were only interested in my own safety I\u2019d better shut up. But I also thought that, with the help of this man, I could save Sora, Katarina, and all the kidnapped children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI only know the local boss. I think that there\u2019s someone still higher, a powerful noble or something, but we\u2019re not important enough to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see. Then tell me about that local boss, please. I\u2019ll get the information I need from him. Just leave it all to me,\u201d he promised, grinning again. Looking at this man and his dependable attitude made me feel safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWake up. Hey. Wake up!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHm? Is it morning already?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard someone call out to me, and as I woke up from my comfortable sleep, I saw a man I didn\u2019t recognize standing in front of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, it\u2019s still night,\u201d he said, furrowing his brow, before muttering to himself, \u201cHow can she sleep peacefully like this? Does she have no fear or something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huh? What\u2019s he talking about? And who is he anyway?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked around me and realized that I was neither in my room nor in the Claes carriage. I was in a small, dirty room full of children who looked scared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah-ha! I remember now. I chased after Sora and I ended up being kidnapped and imprisoned here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight, right,\u201d I whispered to myself, satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is she going on about? I can\u2019t keep up with her,\u201d groused the man. Then, with a suspicious look in his eye, he demanded, \u201cNow that you\u2019re awake, let\u2019s hurry up and go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGo? Where?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis place was found out and now we have to move under the cover of darkness. Don\u2019t give me more trouble than I\u2019ve already got,\u201d he complained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did this mean that Regina and Maria had found this place? If so, they\u2019d come to save me eventually. I\u2019d better stay here. But resisting this man sounds dangerous, and Cezar told me to behave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seeing my hesitation, the man\u2019s tone grew harsher. \u201cListen now, stop wasting time. No point in staying here. I was told not to mess you up too much, since they want to sell you, but I have permission to beat you up a little bit, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He then grabbed my arm, and I was so surprised that I lost my balance and fell forward. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact, but there was none. I felt someone supporting my weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d I opened my eyes and I saw the blue hair I knew so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you all right?\u201d Sora asked me, directing his blue eyes straight into mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes. Thank you, Sora.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I took a better look at him and saw that his clothes were dirty and his face covered in wounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you all right?\u201d I asked him, worried. Somebody had definitely beaten him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut…\u201d I started to say, but I was interrupted by another familiar face calling out to us from the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have long. If they all noticed, we\u2019d have a really bad time. Hurry up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCezar!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry for the wait, Katarina. It\u2019s night already. Ladies should be back home, sleeping.\u201d He grinned his usual grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019d probably found the information he was looking for and had come to save me along with Sora. I also noticed that the man who had grabbed my arm was now lying flat on the floor. Sora had probably knocked him out. In any case, we had no time to lose. We had to run away. They told me that the building was still full of thugs and that escaping together with the kidnapped children was going to be difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve moved faster than I expected, so I called for help, but the reinforcements aren\u2019t here yet. The thugs here aren\u2019t much to worry about individually, but could be a problem if they outnumbered us. Katarina, I heard that you can use magic. Can you defend yourself?\u201d Cezar asked me, and I told him that the only spell I could use was Dirt Bump, which, on a good day, could maybe make someone trip over and fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d Sora rolled his eyes. \u201cYou have an awesome familiar with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right!\u201d I have Pochi with me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow can you even forget about that?\u201d he asked, disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo me he\u2019s more like a cute pet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCute pet? Are we talking about the same huge deadly wolf here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had a point, but most of the time Pochi was a tiny little puppy who liked to play fetch in the garden. Of course he actually was a Dark Familiar. I knew that could be dangerous. Since he couldn\u2019t come out to play unless I was in the mansion, even if I didn\u2019t forget about him, I often forgot that he lived in my shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see you two are busy talking, but we really have no time. If you have anything useful up your sleeve, take it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I answered, and then looked at my shadow. \u201cPochi, come out!\u201d I called, and my puppy appeared with a cute bark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar, who\u2019d never seen him, looked surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWow. Magic\u2019s really amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in Sorci\u00e9, I was probably the only one who had a familiar living inside their shadow, but since this probably wasn\u2019t the time to explain that, I just smiled instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay. Let\u2019s go now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar, who already knew the building, was in front, and Sora and I followed him, bringing the children with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at Sora, who was the last one at the back, and asked him whether he knew Cezar already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI just know that he\u2019s a famous mercenary and that he\u2019s here to destroy this organization. You two know each other, right? How?\u201d he wondered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seemed that he didn\u2019t know that Cezar was actually a prince of Ethenell and he wondered why we were acquainted. As for me, I knew that Cezar used to be a mercenary, but I didn\u2019t know that he was a famous one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHm, it\u2019s kind of a long story, so I\u2019ll tell you once we\u2019re back home,\u201d I dodged the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I could have just mentioned to him that we met in the castle\u2019s garden while both pretending to be servants, and then when I went after Maria to save her, I realized that he\u2019s actually someone important. After that, I learned that he\u2019s in fact a prince. But telling Sora all that would probably have raised even more questions, so I decided I\u2019d just explain the whole thing more calmly later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSure. I can imagine that you accidentally lured him toward you like you always do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMe? Lure? I\u2019ve never done something like that!\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or was he talking about fishing? I hadn\u2019t fished in a very long time, though, so I wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean when you manage to get friendly with anyone in such a short time. It also happened with Arneau, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, that\u2019s what you meant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in my past life, it took me no time to become friendly with people. It must have been because, thanks to my good luck, I was always surrounded by kind people. Arneau, too, despite being a bit cold, was kind underneath. Huh… Now that I think of it…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSora, what happened to Arneau? He was caught too, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I found Sora, Arneau was with him. I also remember him entering the building with the two of us, so I thought that he\u2019d been caught too, but now I couldn\u2019t see him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sora looked a bit surprised, but then, after a moment, he smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s gone to stop the thugs. He\u2019ll meet us once we\u2019re out. Don\u2019t worry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs that really safe?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These thugs were kidnappers. Wouldn\u2019t it be dangerous for a single person to try and stop them? I suggested that maybe we should go and help him, but Sora shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s his way to set things right… At least that\u2019s what he said. And he can hold his own in a fight. Let\u2019s just trust him and wait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t understand what exactly Arneau had to set right, but Sora looked like he wouldn\u2019t budge. I just nodded and went along with it. Right about when we were done talking, we ran into a man who was probably working with the kidnappers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, you… What are you\u2014\u201d he sputtered, but before he was done, Cezar had already knocked him out. This was the kind of speed one expected from a famous mercenary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, another man walked up on us moments later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cH-Hey! Someone\u2019s running away with the kids!\u201d he shouted, calling for reinforcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar clicked his tongue in annoyance, and then warned the children to stay behind him. They were scared, but they listened to him and didn\u2019t move. Sora was also on guard. As for me, I couldn\u2019t really do anything if we had to fight, but I made a fighting pose just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One after the other, thugs started coming out of the neighboring rooms. There were a lot of them. If this was an RPG, I\u2019d try to run away without fighting…but in reality we had no choice. We were surrounded. Even if we wanted to run away, we would need to knock a few of them out to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you trying to steal our merchandise?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you think we\u2019ll let you off easily!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men shouted all kinds of threats as they started attacking us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar dodged all of their blows and swiftly moved behind them, counterattacking. Realizing that Cezar was out of their league, they moved toward Sora, only to be met with another excellent fighter. I wasn\u2019t fighting, but Pochi had become bigger (just a little, since we were inside a building) and was biting and scratching anyone who tried getting close to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knocking out some and intimidating others, we managed to clear a path between the mobsters, proceeding toward the exit while taking care of any thug who still tried to fight us. We eventually managed to leave the building thanks to the combined efforts of two young men and a dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c…Just how many of these people are there?\u201d I muttered exhaustedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even outside, there were still gangsters surrounding us, shouting while they attacked us. They reminded me of cockroaches. When you saw one of them, you could be sure that there were a hundred of them hiding nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar, Sora, and Pochi were doing their best, but the difference in numbers was starting to become too serious even for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the thugs slipped in between our three fighters and tried to grab one of the children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No! I quickly moved in front of the child to protect him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But since I wasn\u2019t as strong as Cezar or Sora, and my magic wasn\u2019t that impressive either, I just got caught instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019d better stop moving if you care about her!\u201d the man shouted while closing his hand around my neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cezar and Sora stopped fighting, looking nervously at the man, and Pochi, while he was still baring his fangs, knew he couldn\u2019t do anything in this situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGood. Now go back inside,\u201d the man crowed, suddenly feeling like he had the upper hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s all my fault…again… Sora being caught was my fault to begin with. Just how much trouble am I going to be for my friends? I have to do something! I have to get free! I mustered up my courage and, with all the strength that I had, I bit the arm of the man who was holding me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWh-What the hell are you doing?!\u201d he screamed, loosening his grip a bit, but I didn\u2019t get away in time and he caught me once again, gripping my neck even more tightly now that he was mad at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUgh!\u201d the sound escaped my throat. I might have made things even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKatarina!\u201d Cezar and Sora both shouted at once, while Pochi growled. And then, I saw a light. A soft light engulfing all of us like a mist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201c…Oh, Arneau, is that you? Sorry,\u201d he said, grinning, as I knelt beside him and cleaned the mud off of his face with a rag. My childhood friend was tied up on the floor of a small, dark room. He came looking for me and got involved in this. The man he\u2019d knocked out had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3597,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3596\/revisions\/3597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}