Arc 22: If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Chapter 194: Fake Adventurers and Human Trafficking
We reached the second floor as the boy with a short spear was being blown away. The male bow user and the female magician were already hurt and were collapsed on the floor while the swordswoman and the spearman were somehow managing to protect them.
「Hey, don’t hurt them too much. They are our precious merchandise after all.」
「I’m telling ya, I know. Besides, I have to deal with this troublesome situation because you forgot the d.a.m.n paralysis poison」
「Whatever! Just do it fast. If magic beasts appear it will be even more troublesomeee-!?」
I kick the face of the fat middle-aged man that was on the lookout and send him flying inside the room. The guy flies vigorously like a rubber ball and falls down in front of his companions.
「Wha- who the h.e.l.l are you?」
「That’s my line. Who are you guys?」(Touya)
One is a Fatty, one is kind of Lanky, and the other one is a Baldy. This group can’t be more suspicious.
While wiping his nosebleed, Fatty gets up. He’s quite tough, huh? Looks like his fat absorbed the damage.
「Ara, It looks like we made it in time.」(Rin)
Rin arrived with Pola and the faces of the three men distorted pervertedly after seeing her. Lanky came towards us with a sword at hand. The other two also turn towards us with their weapons. They probably think that I only have a dagger (Brynhildr) with me. They show enough leeway to look at Rin with eyes of appraisal unlike before.
「Hihi, you’re quite a babe, huh? Looks like we’re lucky. Hey you, if you value your life leave this girl behind and scram」 (Lanky)
「…Huh?」 (Touya)
「Didn’t you hear me? I’m telling you to give this girl to us and leave! Wanna get killed, huh?」 (Lanky)
I approach Lanky who’s looking up without saying a word. Then I swing down my leg on top of his leg and crush his bones to a pulp.
「GYAAAAaaaa-!?」
Lanky holds his leg while writhing in pain, rolls on the ground with teary eyes, and gets a runny nose. Annoying. I kick his solar plexus to shut him up.
「UGOEeeeEE!!」
Why do I need to give Rin to the likes of you? Don’t talk nonsense, you delinquent adventurer. I’ll kill you.
「M-Motherf.u.c.ker! The h.e.l.l you think you’re doing!?」 (Fatty)
「We’re blue ranked adventurers! Do you think you can win…?!」 (Baldy)
「How c.o.c.ky. I bet you guys ranked up by stealing the spoils from other people, didn’t you? There is no way a blue ranked adventurer would be this weak. Don’t look down on adventurers!」(Touya)
I break Fatty’s kneecap with a kick from the front. Unable to support his own weight, Fatty falls forward and starts agonizing.
「GUGAAAaaa!? Knee, my kneeeeee!!」
「Hi, hii-!」
Baldy shows his back as he tries to run away leaving behind the other two. I take out Brynhildr, aim at his back, and pull the trigger without hesitation.
「GEHA-!?」
Baldy collapses with a thud after taking a paralysis bullet. He’s quite an adventurer for trying to escape while leaving his comrades behind. Blue rank, you say? What a joke.
「You’re quite extreme, aren’t you? It was sort of unexpected」(Rin)
Rin mutters while looking at Lanky and Fatty who were still sobbing and cowering.
「A- Sorry. I somehow got p.i.s.sed when I heard them talking about doing things to you」(Touya)
It’s been awhile since I got angry. I think the last time it happened was the case with the idiot prince from Rynie. I thought I’ve become a little patient but it seems I still have some way to go.
「Hmm, But I’m happy you got angry for me.」(Rin)
Rin gives a suggestive smile. Ku- It’s kinda embarra.s.sing. I feel like my face is getting red so I turn my back to Rin and face the newbie adventurers.
「Are you guys alright?」
「A, yes! We’re a little wounded but we’re fine. But Clauss and Ion are…..」
The male spear user looks at his two collapsed friends. I think those two have just fainted but I cast [Cure Heal] and [Refresh] on them to be sure. As such, they’ve regained their consciousness.
I, though being thanked again and again by those four, vaguely listen to them and ask what happened.
It seems that the trio called out to them inside the dungeon and told them that those three would show them some safe hunting grounds. Therefore, they followed the trio. How careless.
They, as a result, were brought here and ended up being a.s.saulted. It seems that the two who weren’t vanguards were quickly defeated and lost consciousness due to the sudden attack.
「These three are kidnappers based on the contents of the conversation, right? If people go missing inside the dungeon leaving behind showy blood stains or just their guild cards, it’ll probably be judged that they were eaten by magic beasts and there will be no further investigation.」(Touya)
「Yes, they’ve said they would sell us to slave merchants」 (Sword girl)
The swordswoman with a ponytail quickly raises her hand and makes her statement. How lively.
But a slave merchant, maybe….
I squat in front of the moaning Lanky and put the muzzle of Brynhildr at his forehead.
「Answer me with a simple “yes” or “no”. Did you guys kidnap the adventurers that have been thought to be dead until now?」(Touya)
Lanky shook his head vigorously while pouring cold sweat. As expected, huh?
Rin tilts her head upon hearing that.
「But after kidnapping those adventurers, they three can’t bring them through the transition gates now, can they? Then how did they….」(Rin)
「It’s simple. They must be coming here directly with a boat, from the slaver’s s.h.i.+p for example. Isn’t that right?」(Touya)
Lanky nods vigorously again. Just like I’ve said.
These islands are located to the south of the Sandora Kingdom, and the Sandora Kingdom still has a slavery system to this very day.
It’s a country that uses the [Collar of Subordination] to take freedom from people and treat them like merchandise. It means that the people that were kidnapped are being taken there to be sold.
「So, have the adventurers you kidnapped earlier already been delivered to Sandora?」(Touya)
Lanky shakes his head this time. Does this mean they haven’t sent them yet? Then, doesn’t this mean there’s still a chance to help them?
The slave s.h.i.+p is probably anch.o.r.ed somewhere while hiding. Those fellows most likely planned to make those rookies look dead after kidnapping them from here and carry them to the s.h.i.+p, thus making them seem to be missing in the dungeon.
I find out that a medium-sized boat is anch.o.r.ed on a small island further northeast from this island containing the [Amaterasu] dungeon when I try searching for it on my map. Is it this one?
I understood the details of the case. There’s no more use for these guys so I’ve paralyzed the other two groaning people with [Paralysis].
「Hey…… What are you going to do? If you want to contact the knight order or the guild, I will go with you but…」
The swordswoman nervously asks while the other three are surmising the situation while looking here. They should have noticed the severity of the situation, but for some reason, I feel that there’s some excitement mixed with anxiety.
「It’s okay. We’ll be the ones who will contact them. Oh, that’s right, we still haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? This girl is Rin, the small bear is Pola, and I am Mochizuki Touya. The King of this country」
「「「「The Ki-i-ing!?」」」」
The four people stand up all at once with their eyes opened. They then crouch down in a dogeza in panic. Just how hectic are they?
「Oh, stand up, stand up. I don’t care about that kind of thing. You probably know that I’m a former adventurer, right? No, I am an adventurer even now」
I show my golden guild card to the four of them while saying that. Those kids have already been deceived once after all. I don’t know whether this can be proof though.
「It is golden……」
「Amazing……」
「H-he has defeated the likes of d-dragons, golems, and great demons……」
「We can brag about this to our fathers, you know……」
It seems they’ve believed me. These kids are basically the softhearted type. They will be hurt if they believe anything that’s told to them. Huh, didn’t they get hurt already?
The four introduce themselves while being overly serious. Every one of them was apparently born in a village called Pyuton in Regulus and came to this country together.
The boy with a short spear and scale armor is Ropp (TL:ロップ).
The girl with an iron sword and leather armor is Fran (TL:フラン).
The boy with a short bow and a similar leather armor is Claus (TL:クラウス).
The girl with a robe and wand is Ion (TL:イオン).
As for my impressions towards them, Ropp is obedient, Fran is energetic, Claus is their leader, and Ion feels like a clutz. Quite a worrisome party they have.
「What are we going to do then? Of course, we should help the adventurers who were caught」
「That’s right. I also learned the location of the slaver’s s.h.i.+p. Shall we board it and annihilate them?」
「E-excuse me! Is there anything we could help you with then!?」
「H-hey, Fran!」
Fran, the swordswoman, calls out to the rus.h.i.+ng Claus with a sidelong glance.
Hmm, I suppose it’s a good thing that they’re motivated. To be frank, I wonder, can the rookie adventurers be useful?
I would like them to stack up some experience and train, but well, what should I do?
「The opponents are merchants dealing with slaves. They might even have combat slaves at their disposal. What I’m trying to say is, do you think you guys will be able to manage with your skills? As the worst case scenario, you’ll be captured and be truly made into slaves, you know？」 (Touya)
「Uuu……」 (Fran)
Fran looks down in regret. These children are older than Yumina and Rue but younger than the twin sisters Elsie and Lindsey when talking about their ages. On the other hand, they shouldn’t be that far from me age-wise.
In our case, we had our circ.u.mstances like fighting Frazes, fighting dragons, getting involved in coup d’etat and so on. It’s because we had all those strong experiences… Though I am to blame for involving them in a majority of those.
「Even if those kids can’t fight, can’t they do reconnaissance?」 (Rin)
「Reconnaissance?」 (Touya)
I raise my eyebrows at Rin’s proposal. Reconnaissance you say… It should also be very risky though. They may face a cruel experience if they get found out…
「Even though I’ve said reconnaissance, I’m talking about them infiltrating the s.h.i.+p by getting caught on purpose. If they can pretend to be caught by these guys and get into the slaver’s s.h.i.+p, they will also be able to learn the situation of the other captured people, right?」 (Rin)
「Indeed… But will those guys listen?」(Touya)
I turn my attention towards the three who are paralyzed and can’t move. They may obey if I threaten them, but if their circ.u.mstances are blatantly being shown on their faces, won’t they likewise be exposed?
「Can’t you change your appearance with [Mirage]?」 (Rin)
「Ah, that’s what you mean」 (Touya)
Indeed. In that case, I can take along everyone if I disguise myself as those guys and these rookies will be able to get into the slaver’s s.h.i.+p. If they can go to the place where the captured adventurers are, they may be able to secure those adventurers safety.
It’ll be troublesome if the captured adventurers are taken as hostages. I don’t think it’s a bad strategy but…….
Frankly, I can erase my presence with [Invisible] and infiltrate the s.h.i.+p. It’ll be quicker to find the place of confinement and rescue the prisoners this way.
When I try looking at the four people, they are looking at me with sparkling eyes while being somewhat excited. Umumu. What’s the deal with them? Are they at the age where they want to go on an adventure? Beyond being made into slaves, I don’t think they will treat them roughly since they are merchandise.
「Then, shall we try it……？」
「「「「Yes!」」」」
The cheerful voices of the four people come back. Is this really alright?