Ch.211211. I’ve Come to Save You.

“Selden Alphonse, sir!!”

“Ah, you scared me!”

As soon as I safely escaped from prison, Wortman suddenly jumped out from between the trees.

Not seeming to care that he startled me, he grabbed my collar.

“D-did you meet Berik?”

“Yes, I did.”

“How did he look? He wasn’t tortured by the guards, was he?”

“He was locked up, but he seemed fine.”

“But why was Berik arrested in the first place?”

I wanted to brush Wortman off and run straight to Village Chief Loris’s house, but I thought it would be better to explain things to him.

That way, he wouldn’t keep pestering me.

“…That’s what happened.”

“Ha! I trusted Village Chief Loris until the end… What will you do now, Sir Selden Alphonse?”

“What else? I’ll go to Village Chief Loris’s house and rescue the kidnapped people.”

“But you might get caught like Berik!”

“It’s fine. If I get caught, I’ll just kill them all.”

Actually, I didn’t even need to use ‘Invisibility’ when entering the prison.

I could have just swept away all the guards or whatever.

The reason I didn’t charge in recklessly was because I had no justification.

But now.

Village Chief Loris had kidnapped three Pandera territory residents.

That makes him no different from a criminal.

It means I can now act without restraint.

Wortman stared at me with wide eyes.

“Kill them all?”

“Yeah, do you think I’m joking?”

Wortman took a short, deep breath and put on a serious expression.

“Just now, when I saw you use invisibility magic, I realized you’re a mage, Sir Selden Alphonse. And if Jawill Wilson was strong, you must be even stronger.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“There’s always a slim chance of something going wrong. Berik is currently locked in prison, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Let’s say you storm into Village Chief Loris’s house and wreak havoc. Who do you think Loris will suspect leaked information about the missing people to you?”

With his arms firmly crossed, he continued.

“It would be Berik. Only he knew the missing people were alive.”

“That’s right. What if Village Chief Loris senses defeat, escapes, and goes to kill Berik?”

“So you’re saying that with nothing left to lose, he might seek revenge?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Wortman’s reasoning made sense.

I had no intention of letting anyone escape, but as he said, there’s always that slim chance.

Come to think of it.

Friendship is truly remarkable.

Even Wortman, whom I thought was stupid, is using his brain for Berik’s sake.

With a gentle smile, I continued.

“I’ll try not to get caught, but if by chance I do, I want you to kill anyone who tries to escape from Village Chief Loris’s house. Whether it’s a guard or Loris himself.”

“K-kill them? Is that really necessary? Even the guards might just be following Loris’s orders—”

I cut off Wortman’s words and put on a completely serious expression.

“Listen carefully. If they’re kidnapping people on Loris’s orders and turning a blind eye to it, the guards are criminals too.”

“I understand that, but…”

“If you’re too soft-hearted while blocking the path and even one person escapes? Then, as you said, Berik’s life could be in danger.”

At that, Wortman seemed to make a decision and gritted his teeth.

“…Understood. If anyone tries to escape, I’ll kill them even if it costs me my life.”

“Since you seem to understand, shall we go now?”

I walked more confidently than when I first went looking for the prison.

Soon, we arrived at Village Chief Loris’s house.

I don’t know if they caught our scent, but I could see guards patrolling around the house.

“There are guards?”

“Th-that’s strange. There have never been guards in front of Village Chief Loris’s house before…”

“Hmm, this means we can’t avoid causing a commotion. I can escape using invisibility magic, but the missing people don’t know how to use it.”

“Yes, I understand. If a commotion breaks out inside, I’ll join in too.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.”

There were four guards in total.

I took a deep breath, holding my sword.

I didn’t want to kill people, but showing mercy could put Berik in danger.

I gripped the Raiden Sword tightly.

Thud-thud!

I stepped forward heavily and slowly.

Before the guards noticed me, I let my body ride the wind.

Swoosh.

Swoooosh.

Two guards couldn’t even scream as their heads and bodies were instantly separated.

Now there were two left.

Plop-plop!

The severed heads fell to the ground belatedly because I cut them so cleanly.

The remaining two guards were startled by the sound.

I immediately focused on my lower body.

Slash. Slash.

Have I become too accustomed to killing?

I felt not even the slightest guilt.

I wiped the blood splattered on my face with the back of my hand and looked at Wortman in the distance.

He stood with his mouth agape, unable to speak.

Swish!

With a slight nod toward Wortman, I stepped toward Village Chief Loris’s house.

Creeeak!

No need for knocking in this situation.

When I opened the door, contrary to my expectations, Village Chief Loris was nowhere to be seen.

‘Is he underground?’

Creeeak!

As Berik had said, when I moved the wooden table, I saw a small handle on the floor.

Without hesitation, I pulled the handle with my fingertips.

Clunk!

From here on, it was all about speed.

There were stairs, but they weren’t particularly high, so I jumped down immediately.

Thud!

And then.

The moment I looked up, I couldn’t help but gape.

The basement was wide open and much larger than I had imagined.

“Wow…”

As I naturally let out an exclamation, someone stared at me.

Three men, presumably the missing persons.

Fortunately, there were no guards in the basement.

“I’m here to rescue you.”

At my words, all three men raised their voices simultaneously.

-You came to rescue us!?

-Are there no guards outside?

-Can we really go back!?

After calming the three excited men, I looked them over carefully.

As Berik had said, two men who looked like they hadn’t eaten for days caught my eye first.

One was middle-aged, and the other was an elderly man who seemed to have difficulty standing.

“Haven’t you been fed?”

At my question, one of the men spoke in a voice that sounded like he was dying.

“I’m starving. Do you have anything to eat?”

“I don’t have any food with me right now. Let’s get out of here first.”

“L-leave? But there must be guards outside… What if we get hurt trying to escape…”

“It’ll be fine. And…”

Slash.

I raised my Raiden Sword and with a single stroke, cut off the neck of the young man standing behind the middle-aged man and the elderly man, staring blankly.

The remaining two men raised their voices in terror.

-I-I won’t run away!! Please spare me!

-Please!! It was all my fault!

I showed them my palm, telling them to calm down.

“Calm down. The man I just killed was a spy.”

At my words, the white-haired elderly man flinched with wide eyes.

“J-Jeffrey was a spy?”

“Do you remember when Berik came here last time?”

“Berik… he came a few days ago. He was caught by the guards shortly after…”

“How did the guards know Berik had sneaked in here?”

The old man tilted his head.

“…I don’t know.”

I kicked the body of Jeffrey, whose neck had been severed, and continued.

“This guy signaled the guards outside.”

“How could he have signaled…?”

“You might not have noticed, but this guy was a mage. He probably used magic to signal them. If you don’t believe me, search his clothes.”

The elderly man and the middle-aged man looked down at Jeffrey’s body.

Then, closing their eyes tightly, they began searching his clothes and soon were shocked.

Bread and simple foods poured out of Jeffrey’s pockets.

Thud! Thud!

“Th-that bastard Jeffrey!!”

“…No wonder he looked fine…”

The old man, with a dejected expression, turned his gaze to me.

“How did you know Jeffrey was a spy?”

I had only suspected it until I entered this place.

Village Chief Loris had discovered Berik’s intrusion too easily.

Therefore.

As soon as I entered the basement, I scanned the kidnapped men with my ‘Eye of Insight.’

And what do you know, there was a mage among them.

Would they kidnap a mage just for the simple task of brewing magic herbs?

Taking such a risk?

Someone as cautious as Village Chief Loris!?

No, that’s impossible.

If someone had wronged him, he would have imprisoned them like Berik rather than keeping a mage around.

Especially not right below where he sleeps.

‘Anyway, getting out of here is the priority.’

Looking at the elderly man and the middle-aged man, I jerked my chin toward the stairs.

“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s get out of this wretched place.”