Thank you to all patrons!
0Halley0, Aiji S., Alexander P., BigZak, Brben, Chocolat, Corey, Dragoncamper, Deso, DKLA, Jakers, Jason, Jaycob T., John V., Kaichu, Kiriaky, Luther S., Maverun, Max, Myla, Omniamore, Otto E., ShadeRitten, Soomin B., Taiyou D., Tim N., TsuTsu, Tuan N., Urko M. M., Will B., William H., YMK, and Z!
Previous Chapter - TOC - Next Chapter
Incident Occurs
The white defensive wall was illuminated by the morning sun. It was the north gate of Pyris. The stone walls surrounding the city had 3 gates. Among those, this one was the largest and had the heaviest traffic. It was not just a wall with an opening as a gate. Since this part tends to be the weak point, it was deliberately built to bulge outwards, giving it the appearance of a small fortress from the outside. Moreover, there were towers standing taller than the gate itself on the left and right sides.
The Esta Forestia’s army had a terribly hard time capturing this place, which had once been the capital of the kingdom. The surrounding vassal cities had been conquered, and only Pyris remained. But even though they were close to victory, they were unable to win in a naval battle, and they stubbornly withstood attacks from land as well. At that time, Pyris was a little smaller, and it did not have the eastern part of the city. The city, with the western palace at the top, was arranged in a neat circular pattern on top of a hill. The houses were made from solid stones, so even if a part of them was destroyed or breached, the houses were rebuilt as a defensive line each time, repelling attacks.
Initially, the Esta Forestia’s army aimed to starve the Pyris’ forces. But, there were ample supplies within the city, and because there was a deep well beneath the palace, they were not in a situation where they would run out of water soon. On top of that, reinforcements would come from the surrounding nations if they continued to delay. In addition, the enemy nation would probably aim for their back if they neglected them.
But, even with Pyris’s impregnable lines of defense, there were things that could not be prevented. That was.....the stagnant malice from the inside.
We spent a night in a hamlet near Pyris before hurriedly departing before dawn, and now we were here. For the normal working person, this was around the time they finished their breakfast.
I think there was no need to rush back, but as noon approaches, the traffic in the north gate would increase. And if that happens, we would have to wait for quite some time. That was why Khan chose to move fast, but I couldn't help but think that there must be another reason. The defensive wall shining in the morning sun was beautiful.
I noticed something strange when the carriage stopped directly under the large gate.
「……what’s wrong? Did something happen?」
Khan’s irritated voice could be heard from a distance.
Normally, this procedure would almost be a free pass for us, but the guards look unusually serious.
「Is there a problem entering from outside!」
「I am sorry」
The guard repeatedly bowed deeply after being shouted at. Several people scattered, opening the gate. Khan turned around and shouted with a stern expression on his face.
「Hurry」
Sensing something unusual, the carriage blew up dust behind it as it continued rushing into the city at great speed. Behind it, another iron lattice was lowered.
Khan only gave short instructions to the servants who had returned to the mansion. For now, just handle the items that need to be stored or moved right away. Once you were done with the luggage, wait in the courtyard.
I couldn't help but think that something extremely unusual must have happened. But for now, I carried the medicines I purchased to a cool, dark room.
With the immediate cleanup done, we all stood idly beside the carriage. At that moment, Ifroz came along, accompanied by Khan. Everyone immediately straightened themselves and tried to bow, but Ifroz waved his hand to stop them.
「Time is precious. Just listen. The young lady has gone missing again」
Again? That rascal. She appears earnest, obedient, and well-mannered though. But she was completely different inside.
Did she sneak out of the mansion to go out and have fun or something? In addition, this early in the morning.
The adults around had an expression that seemed to say they were fed up with this.
「Her absence was confirmed late last night」
Everyone turned their attention back to this.
「She was there at dinner time. The wet nurse also checks on her when she goes to bed. But when the waiting maid went for late-night patrol, they noticed there was something strange in front of the young lady’s room」
The strange thing seemed to be very slight.
Every night when the young lady goes to bed, no one enters or leaves her room. The waiting maid takes care of her, do take naps in the waiting room, but they generally do not go out until morning. There were also guards around, but the guards doing night watch, holding weapons, were far away.
Meanwhile, the carpet replacement work was actually carried out in the dead of the night. Since it was not possible to do so during the day when people were coming and going so they were replaced with a new and clean one late at night. Even so, they noticed there was a slightly frayed spot in the area that had just been cleaned just a moment ago. This would not have happened unless someone stepped on it.
Feeling something was wrong, the waiting maid gently put her hand on the doorknob. And surprisingly, it was not locked.
「The young lady has gone out on her own up until now. However, there has never been a case where she went out in the middle of the night. Currently, we have to assume the worst possible outcome and have closed all the city gates….and you do not need to carry out any other task. Find the young lady as soon as you can」
Khan steps forward after Ifroz’s explanation. He continues to assign areas to the usual group of people.
So, what about me? After he had assigned everyone their tasks, my eyes met his.
「Come to think of it.....」
Khan seemed to remember something while looking at me.
「Fay. I won’t give you special instructions. I don’t care what method you use, but in any case, just find the young lady or find a lead for her. Do you understand?」
「Yes」
Last time, I found her. It was a miserable result for me, and I ended up getting beaten up completely. So if possible, I don’t want to find her this time.
But, I had to go out. I put on a hat, a long-sleeved white shirt, and left the gate of the mansion’s grounds.
I strolled aimlessly in the city. But, it did not feel like a stroll.
There were unusually few people in the city. Instead of people coming and going on the streets were guards walking around while wearing armor. My goodness. They were not hiding the fact that the young lady was missing. The Viscount and his wife were currently in the residence. They should not want this scandal to become public, but it seems like they no longer had the luxury of keeping up their appearances.
I headed east, to the place where I had found the young lady previously, but there were many soldiers storming into sex establishments and love hotels. I guess they learned their lesson from last time. If someone had kidnapped her and locked her up in such a place, the criminal would surely be sentenced to death immediately.
The young lady would probably be found sooner or later if they search the city this thoroughly. Pyris was a large city, but the gate was closed at night and it was surrounded by solid walls. Soldiers stand guard day and night on top of that wall. If you want to pass through the wall, you had to turn into a bird like me.
As I was walking aimlessly, I ended up arriving at the usual bayside warehouse. I felt like going to the warehouse’s basement and really, just reading a book but.....I didn't know what I would suffer if anyone found out I’d been slacking off.
It was better when I was in Myluc’s housing facility. No matter what, I could read whenever. The kingdom of Esta Forestia’s Pyris campaign. It was put together into an interesting story.
No matter how much they struggled, the army of Esta Forestia was unable to breach the lines of defense. And just as they started to think of retreating, an unexpected good fortune came their way. The King of Pyris, who was in command at his old age, fell ill. Although it was kept secret internally, and there was no way for those on the outside to notice it at that point.
All that remained were the princess with a fiery temperament and a young, foolish prince. The princess was famous for being a talented woman, but many of the vassals considered her a nuisance. As a result, given it was a time of war, her position continued to worsen rapidly. Normally, everyone should unite with her in the center to work to defend the nation, but instead, an internal conflict broke out.
And with the help of her immediate followers, who were few in number, she attempted to escape the castle. If she had not done that, even her life might have been in danger. That said, she could not pass the castle wall. She could not pass through the gate. But if it were the sea.
She could not just start rowing on a boat. If she had done that, she would have been discovered by the patrolling warships and captured. And so, she used a large leather bag. It was filled with air, and she would just float on the sea if left as it was. However, with the right amount of weight, the leather bag was able to stay barely afloat. And, there were water currents near Pyris’s coast. The tides near the coast were actually in a cycle. There were currents heading from off the coast to the coast, and conversely, there were rip currents that often caused accidents in my previous life, so the movements that connect these two....are the longshore current that runs along the coast.
The princess let herself drift with the longshore current. And, she finally reached the coast outside the city. Then she asked the king of the enemy nation to make her his queen. Of course, she prepared a gift. She said that she had arranged for the western gate to be opened if she gave the signal. At that time, her substitute was still being held captive inside the castle. But, once her identity was revealed, she would no longer be able to do this. Those around the king were on guard, thinking it might be a trap, but the king did not hesitate.
And his decision resulted in victory. But in turn, the kingdom lost its once simple and sincere spirit and was consumed by the luxury and decadence of the southern region. The contradiction that the current Forestia nobility face could be traced back to this.
……well, no matter how tomboyish the young lady was, I couldn't imagine her preparing a leather bag or a small boat. No way, right?
I continued to walk along the wharf. There was no one walking around. Ship arrivals and departures were being restricted. The merchants must also find this to be quite a bother, as they planned to leave by noon today.
There were green plants growing thickly here and there. Come to think of it, I threw my towel into these bushes when I was rushing to deliver the forgotten items the other day. I did reckless actions such as jumping over the roof, so I had to change my appearance before going out.
And among the green color of the plants, a small pink color could be seen. Huh.
I had a bad feeling about this.
But, now that I’ve found something, I couldn't just do nothing. I unwillingly approached it.
It was clearly a woman’s, and a small handkerchief at that. It was a high-quality handkerchief.
If it were lying in a place like this, then.....
No, no.
There was no evidence that this was the young lady’s. No way.
I look around. There was no one here. Yosh.
With just a mere thought, my body vanished, and in its place appeared a large, light gray dog.
I gently brought my nose close to the handkerchief and confirmed the scent.
I wonder if this was the young lady’s? There was no way to know that. But it would be a different story if I had sniffed the young lady’s scent when I was in a dog form even once.
But, even though I doubted it, I decided to dispel my doubts. There was a sea right next to me. The return trip, when going against the longshore current, would be tough, but I should be able to return with this dog’s stamina. I resolved myself and jumped to the water.
It was easy to go but hard to return. I was smoothly being carried to the wall’s side even without swimming. I observed the coast while paddling.
Looking over, I saw a patch of trampled earth not far from the city wall. I went ashore and checked the scent.
And.....oh my. I unexpectedly found something I’d rather not find, again. It seems like I really had bad luck. It was always like this. Like, for example, finding Yokona’s letter, or Myluc’s affair.
No, the discovery this time was certainly a coincidence, but as long as time passes, the soldiers would surely find it too. At least the handkerchief. There was nothing to see around the wharf and no place to hide, so there was little chance the young lady would stop by there, and the fact that the search had not reached that area yet. However, they would eventually assign some men here as well if they could not find her elsewhere.
Only, the problem was whether they would realize there were people who slipped through here using the same method that was used hundreds of years ago. This would have been difficult without a dog’s sense of smell.
And, the dog’s sense of smell also picked up other information. A smell that was probably coming from a human male. Men had a stronger scent than women after all, and it was easy to tell. I had smelled plenty of it back when I stirred up that big dog parade in Korapt. Furthermore, there was also a strong bad smell remaining in the air. Multiple of them. This was.....horses.
Looking closely at the ground, indeed, there were faint traces of hooves left on the ground.
It was confirmed, then.
This was a kidnapping. In addition, Liliana had already been taken outside of the city. Moreover, I don’t know about right now, but at least the culprits used horses that could cover a long distance when leaving from this place. Therefore, a quick response was needed.
But, how do I tell people this information?
Eei, there was no point even thinking about it. My responsibility only goes as far as reporting this information.
I hurried back, desperately clinging to the coastal rocks, and made my way to the wharf.
「This, at the shrubbery on the wharf?」
「Yes」
Hearing my report, Ifroz and Khan looked at me with serious expressions.
「I could not find the young lady nearby. Normally, there’s no way someone would drop or throw away a handkerchief in such a place. Considering the closeness to the sea, there’s the possibility she was taken away by a small boat or something」
The worst of the worst situation. A reality they do not want to admit.
Ifroz was by no means shaken by this information, but he seemed to clearly realize how serious the situation had become.
「Wait a minute」
He turned his back and briskly walked to the back room. On the other side of the door were probably the Viscount and his wife.
A while later, the Viscount rushed out vigorously. He ignored me and continued to walk off to the other end of the corridor. After making sure he left, Ifroz spoke to me.
「It has now been decided that one part of the search party will search outside of the city. But, even with your information, we still could not rule out the possibility that the young lady is inside the city」
Ifroz said bitterly while clenching his fist tightly.
「You did well finding it, Fay. But, continue searching inside the city」
That was meaningless. I could not explain it, but I had proof that the young lady has been taken outside the city.
But, Ifroz spoke gently, as if to calm and gently chide me, when I showed a protesting expression.
「Outside the city walls is not safe at all. Despite there not being many, bandits, wild animals, and monsters often appear in the highway outside the city. I know that you are sharp and clever. But, what could a 6-year-old child do in such a dangerous place?」
This too, I could not explain. I could not explain it, but if the opponents were creatures from this world, then I could probably defeat them in a one-on-one fight and in one blow, no matter how strong the opponents are. Even if it was not to that extent, I could overwhelm intermediate-level adventurers if I freely use my Physical Enhancement Magic and Staff Technique. And most of all, only I track the kidnappers’ scent.
「You should leave the dangerous things to adults.....you can rest for a bit and then please continue helping us」
Ifroz turned away after telling me that. Send out part of the troops. He was probably going to give such instructions.
I silently bowed and stepped back. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Previous Chapter - TOC - Next Chapter
Support me through Patreon (by clicking on that Next Chapter) or through ko-fi here
No comments:
Post a Comment