episode_0064

“Please help! Children, children have been kidnapped!!”

What was heard along with the knock on the door was the voice of a middle-aged woman. She shouted as if it was really urgent. The adventurers began to wake up one by one to that voice.

“What’s going on?”

“The resident lady came to visit.”

Instead of opening the door right away, I turned on ‘Wolf’s Pact’. The field of hearing expanded, and the commotion outside could be heard clearly.

-What, how did this happen?!

-I do not know. When some pitch-black guy appears…

The village was in an uproar because of the missing children. Seeing that there was a lot of noise even in a place quite far away from the house where we were staying, it seems that what the woman said was not a lie.

While I was overhearing the commotion outside, Sister Nella opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh my, Sister… Please, please help me…”

The middle-aged woman held Sister Nella’s hand with a trembling hand. I spoke with tears streaming down my face.

“Our kids disappeared. Please help me…”

“Sister, first calm down and tell me what happened. That’s how we can help.”

Sister Nella tried to calm the woman down. However, the woman continued to panic. We were able to hear an explanation of the situation from the village chief who arrived late.

“So, are you saying that men in black robes kidnapped the children?”

“Yes, it is. I gave up my empty house because I had no place to stay, and this unfortunate incident happened…”

The village chief’s face darkened. I approached the village chief and the woman.

“I understand. First, let’s discuss it among ourselves. Please leave for a moment.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

“Adventurer, nun! Please help our children…”

A middle-aged woman came out and tried to grab the nun’s pant legs. The village chief grabbed her and dragged her out of the house.

He sent the two people out and closed the door. I turned towards the nuns and adventurers.

“What are you going to do?”

The adventurers did not have an easy answer. As they were looking at each other, a nun with a fierce look stood up and said.

“Of course you have to go find it!”

She took out her weapon, the mace. It looks like he’s about to run out right away. The adventurers stopped her.

“Sister, calm down. The discussion isn’t over yet, right?”

The nun frowned.

“Do we need to discuss this? Don’t they say children are dangerous!”

The adventurer who had been blocking her with that reckless spirit raised his hand and backed away. Several adventurers sighed. I spoke to the fierce-looking nun.

“Just calm down for now. We didn’t just say we wouldn’t help, right? Just discussing. If the nun continues to do this, it will only delay the time to save the children.”

The nun’s eyebrows twitched when she heard that it was too late to save the children. She tightened her grip on the mace and relaxed it with a sigh.

“I understand. Let’s discuss it.”

She stepped back. I said, looking at the adventurers and nuns.

“First of all, I don’t think what they say is false.”

Iron Grade questioned.

“How do you know that?”

“It got noisy outside, so I opened the window and looked around. All the village residents were busy. Of course, that can be called acting… but is there really a need to do it like that?”

They may covet our equipment and money. Now, it could be that they are clearly trying to deceive us. However, there was no reason to lie about the children disappearing just to get our money.

The adventurers did not question whether they had similar thoughts. The fierce nun stood up with great vigor.

“Then…”

“The story isn’t over yet. Rather, it is important from now on.”

I looked around at the adventurers. They seemed to know what I was going to say.

“It’s good to go to save children. The problem is that we don’t know how dangerous it will be. We don’t know who the people who kidnapped the children are.”

“Cultist.”

The blue-haired nun muttered to herself. The adventurers’ eyes focused on her.

“If the black robes kidnapped the children, they are probably cultists.”

“Is there a reason you assert that?”

The nun nodded and answered.

“In recent years, the activities of cult members have increased exponentially. Of course, the damage caused by them also increased. Among the victims, the most common cases involved kidnapping and sacrificing young children. It’s probably similar in this case.”

When the nun finished speaking, the adventurers murmured.

“Cultist? Those crazy guys?”

“But isn’t it worth it for cult members? I was just a little crazy, just like any normal person.”

“It depends on whether you are a cult or a cult. It is said that the large scale of the place is comparable to that of any temple. If you go wrong, we’ll find you.”

Opinions were divided even among adventurers. Sister Nella interjected.

“It would not be a large organization to secretly kidnap children from a small town like this. No more than ten people at most.”

I turned on ‘Wolf’s Pact’. I tried to hear footsteps a little further away from the village. But no human footsteps were heard. It seems that he has already fled to a place some distance away from here.

The discussions between the adventurers and the nuns continued while I turned on ‘Wolf’s Pact’.

The nuns were still in the position that they had to go to rescue the children, and the adventurers were divided in half. As a result, little by little, I gained strength to go rescue them.

The same grade said.

“Okay, I understand. Then let’s go rescue him. Because there is no benefit in delaying it any further.”

The nuns’ complexions brightened at that. But the story of this class is not over yet.

“Instead, I need to give you more money for this job, which is separate from the escort mission.”

“Yes?”

Sister Nella asked in surprise. He spoke as if the same grade was natural.

“Our mission is to escort the nuns. That doesn’t include rescuing kidnapped children. Isn’t it natural to pay more for the more work you do?”

“Ha, but this helps poor kids…”

“I understand. If you can rescue the children safely, I will pay you more.”

The blue-haired nun said, interrupting Sister Nella.

“How much can I give you?”

The iron grade raised its hand.

“You can give me 1 more silver.”

The same class raised their hands.

“2 Silver will do.”

After that, we each talked about the amount we wanted. Sister Nella looked at me with a slightly anxious face. I turned my head and avoided her gaze.

No matter what, you have to get what you get.

“Tongue, brother…”

I heard her dark voice, but I ignored it.

* * *

In the end, the adventurers were promised an extra day’s wages. We went to the village chief and asked about the circumstances of the incident.

“Ah… Thank you so much for your help.”

“No. Of course it’s something that needs to be done. I’m sorry, but could you tell me how it happened?”

“Yes, of course.”

The village chief began to explain how the children were kidnapped.

According to him, after we rented the house, seven men in black robes came to see us. It was a little suspicious, but he wanted a quiet place to stay, so he rented an empty house like us.

The problem is said to be what follows. In a short period of time, the village children began to disappear. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find the children. So I went to see the men in black robes just to check, but they weren’t at home.

“Keuheuk…! I shouldn’t have let them in when I thought it was suspicious… Sisters, please save our children. Those children are the future of our village.”

“Don’t worry, we will definitely get it for you. Rather, the place where the kidnappers are expected to head is…”

I turned around while listening to the conversation between the village chief and the nun. I walked over to a middle-aged woman who was crying nearby.

“Hey.”

“Black… Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but could I take a moment to look at the items your child was using? I thought it would be easier to find if I had that.”

“Yes? Yes…”

The woman was puzzled by my words. However, he soon went into the house and came out with a small piece of clothing. It appears to be clothes worn by a child. I turned on ‘Wolf’s Pact’ and smelled it.

“Um, over there?”

The woman looked at me a little embarrassed. Anyway, I smelled it a few more times and returned the clothes.

I walked around and looked for a smell that was identical to the smell coming from my clothes. It didn’t take long. I approached the nun who was talking to the village chief and said,

“Nun. It looks like we have found the whereabouts of the kidnappers.”

Sister Nella looked at me in surprise.

“Yes? Really?!”

“Yes, please follow me.”

We walked along the smell with the nuns and adventurers. We left the village and climbed the mountain. The adventurers began to complain little by little.

Most of them were complaints like, ‘Is this the right path for that guy?’ However, when it started to get a little worse, Sister Nella asked me carefully.

“I… Brother, I don’t doubt it, but… is it right to go this way?”

“Yes, this one is correct.”

“Can I ask how you found out?”

“It is a bit harsh to say that because it is my starting point. Just trust me. Would I really lie in this situation?”

“No, I’m not saying I don’t believe it…”

Sister Nella was embarrassed and started gibbering. I ignored her and followed the scent. The smell grew stronger little by little, and we arrived at a small cabin in the mountains.

“I think it’s there.”

Relief flashed across the nuns’ faces. Sister Nella made a fuss.

“Brother, you are amazing! How can it be so easy…”

“Better than that, what should we do now?”

“Don’t you have no choice but to go in?”

“I told you how to enter.”

“Ah…”

We had a short meeting about how we were going to get into the cabin.

As a result, four adventurers decided to watch the outside of the cabin, while the rest rushed inside. Sister Cerise, Sister Nella, and I were the rush team.

The first to enter were the blue-haired nun faction and their escorts. They were followed by a faction of fierce nuns.

“Let’s go in now.”

I, Sister Nella, and Sister Cerise were the last to enter. However, the situation inside the cabin was strange. The nuns and adventurers who entered first were confused as they looked at the empty cabin.

‘The smell is definitely strong.’

As I was looking around, a nun with a fierce look came trotting towards me. He grabbed me by the collar.

“How is this happening?! I came after you, and instead of finding children, I found only an empty cabin!”

She contorted her face and expressed her anger. I followed the scent regardless.

‘It’s definitely coming out thick here. It’s much darker than outside.’

“Can’t you hear me now!”

“Sister Glass! What are you doing now? Just let it go and talk about it.”

“Sister Nella You really need to be quiet. Even as we do this, children are probably shaking in fear. Maybe you’ve already been through some rough times. We lost the time to save our children because of this man!”

“That’s absurd! First of all…”

The fierce nun and Sister Nella were arguing. I continued to follow the direction of the smell. And I was able to realize…

‘It’s darker at the bottom.’

I tried to tell the nun to let go of her collar so I could check the bottom. Before I could open my mouth, Cerise came over. She grabbed the nun’s wrist and gave her strength.

“Ahh!”

The nun’s hand left my collar. The arm I was holding trembled slightly. She glared at Cerys.

“ Don’t let this go… Argh!!”

The nun knelt down. Cerise said, looking down at the nun.

“Why are you grabbing Yoosung by the collar?”

Seris’ voice was cold and subdued. The fierce nun tried to free her arm from the hold with her other hand, but it was impossible. Instead, when Seris gave her more strength, she just trembled and could not move.

“Oppa, are you okay?”

Kara came over and brushed off my collar.

“Yes, it’s okay. Seris, you too, stop.”

“…Yes.”

Cerise let go of the nun’s hand. The fierce nun moaned as she held onto the part that had been grabbed.

“Yu, Sister Yuri, are you okay?”

Sister Nella, who didn’t know what to do, looked at the fierce nun’s wrist. The eyes of the adventurers around us were focused on us. I ignored them and walked towards where the smell became stronger.

I squatted on the floor.

‘It’s a wooden floor…’

The smell is definitely the strongest here. Not only the child’s smell but also other disgusting smells are mixed in there. I looked at the floor. There was a slightly unnatural gap.

‘There’s no such thing as a handle.’

Is there some other way to open it? I held the dagger backwards and struck the floor. A dagger was stuck in the wooden floor. As I lifted it, the trapdoor came up along with the dagger.

“I think it’s here.”

The adventurers and nuns’ eyes widened.