Luna’s gaze immediately shifted toward Ron.
Ron quickly shook his head. Of course he did.
With Dolores’ life hanging by a thread, there was no way we could reveal that we were here to hunt a demon.
Especially not when we were dealing with unpredictable kids.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just here for sightseeing.”
“Then why are you poking around the village so much?”
“We’re just doing it along the way. Some people believe Dolores might have been kidnapped, after all.”
“See? Your words don’t match your actions. There’s a gap in your story.”
Luna tilted her head, completely unaware of the mistake she had just made.
“If this were a regular kidnapping, there’d be no reason to search inside the village. The kidnappers would have already taken her far away.”“…!”
That was true.
If this had been done by slavers or human traffickers, they would’ve taken their victim as far from the scene as possible.
Searching within the village didn’t make any sense.
‘Up until now, we’ve hidden our intentions by pretending to be tourists…’
But that could only last so long.
Even the knights, let alone the villagers, had started looking at us strangely as we wandered around the village.
Well, it was still Luna’s mistake regardless.
Feigning ignorance until the end would’ve been the right move.
“A string of kidnappings in one area… In cases like this, the most likely explanation is that a human who made a contract with a demon is growing stronger. Am I wrong?”
“W-Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So you really are hunting a demon. This level of bold action… Amazing. Annwood Academy really is the Empire’s best!”
Adel stepped toward Luna with determined strides.
Caught off guard, Luna instinctively backed away.
“Dolores wasn’t the kind of person to run away so irresponsibly!”
“P-People’s hearts are unpredictable! S-Stop coming closer! Stay right there!”
But Adel didn’t stop.
Soon, he was standing right in front of us.
Panicked, Luna hid behind me.
“D-Do something about him!”
“Keke, getting cornered by a child’s logic… You need to study more.”
“Fine! Just do something! If this keeps up, the whole village will hear about it!”
Practically shoved forward by Luna, I stepped up.
Dealing with Adel wasn’t difficult.
All I had to do was feign ignorance.
Ah, if only I had a duck’s foot to wave around.
Just as I was half-jokingly patting myself down,
Thud!
Suddenly, Adel dropped to his knees.
“C-Captain!”
Shocked, Whale ran up to him.
Of course, he would be surprised.
The captain of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad had suddenly surrendered.
I was surprised, too. No—far more than Whale was.
‘Not only is this the first time I’ve seen this happen…’
Adel was a child brimming with confidence.
For him to kneel like this…
I couldn’t help but be startled.
But his next words shocked me even more.
“I know. We don’t have the strength to find or save Dolores on our own.”
“…”
“You’re the only ones who’ve actually listened to us. That’s why I’m asking like this. The knee of a future hero—it should be more than enough as payment, right?”
Adel’s lips trembled slightly.
He had swallowed his enormous pride.
For one reason alone—
To save Dolores.
“…What are you doing? A captain doesn’t kneel. You’re not an idiot.”
“Whale… I’m sorry.”
Adel hung his head low.
For the captain of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad, kneeling like this was no different from tarnishing the squad’s honor.
And he had done it without even consulting his second-in-command, Whale.
So, it was only natural that Whale felt disappointed.
Thud!
Hearing the noise beside him, Adel lifted his head—only for his eyes to widen.
Whale had knelt down beside him.
“You’re not doing this alone. We carry the weight together.”
“Wh-Whale… You…”
“Save the thanks for later. So? The knees of two future heroes—this should be more than enough of a payment, right?”
Adel and Whale lifted their heads proudly as they made their demand.
I had no idea why they were so confident.
What worth did a mere knee have?
What did the knees of a couple of kids even mean?
And yet, for some reason,
I found myself smiling, and my heart began to waver.
“H-Hey, kids! You can’t do this! People are staring at us weirdly…!”
Ron desperately tried to pull the children to their feet.
From an outsider’s perspective, it must have looked like adults were bullying children.
For Ron, who was supposed to manage the situation, this was a nightmare.
“What the heck! Why are you two doing something without me?”
Just then, another child appeared.
The youngest member of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad—Acela.
Her entire body was covered in dirt, probably from all that intense cleaning.
“I-I want in too!”
“…Do you even know what’s going on?”
“Hehe! Who cares if I don’t? We’re the Trash Sprout Defense Squad!”
Squeezing between Adel and Whale, Acela dropped to her knees.
Ron screamed in frustration as he tried to lift the three of them up, while the children clung to each other, refusing to budge.
“…Ha.”
Watching the scene unfold, Luna’s eyes welled up with tears.
And at the same time—
Grit.
She clenched her teeth so hard I could hear it from where I stood.
“I can’t take this anymore. Let’s go beat the shit out of that bastard, Bickerd.”
“Keke, and what exactly do you plan to do?”
“Just knock him out cold. Then only that Stroch guy or whatever will be left on guard tonight.”
“If you do something like that, the enemy will notice something’s wrong and kill Miss Dolores.”
“Argh! This is driving me crazy!”
Luna stomped her feet in frustration, practically throwing a tantrum.
Rezé clung to her, trying to hold her back, while I stood behind them, lost in thought.
The duty roster, the instructor shortage due to tonight’s Caron rescue mission, the Trash Sprout Defense Squad’s plea…
It might actually be possible to carry out the rescue tonight.
But—
‘Something… still feels off.’
We had gathered plenty of clues on how to save Dolores.
And yet, I couldn’t shake the uncertainty.
It felt like… a puzzle piece was missing.
Not just any piece, but the most crucial one.
‘I’m stronger now than I’ve ever been.’
Even so, I couldn’t guarantee a 100% victory against two knights. That would be the best case scenario, since it was a fight I could win.
And if luck wasn’t on my side, Redington might be with them.
At worst, I’d be facing three knights.
In that situation, I couldn’t afford to move recklessly.
Still, something was bothering me.
‘Stroch… Stroch…’
I dug through my memories, but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t recall ever hearing that name.
Which meant he was an extra.
Not once in the game had I heard of, seen, or even fought someone named Stroch.
‘Pjol, Bickerd, and Redington all appear in a large-scale battle later on. That’s why I know their mechanics.’
In fact, about half of the names on the duty roster were ones I recognized.
But Stroch? I’d never seen him before.
Not even when gathering information from the villagers did his name come up.
That was… highly unusual.
And I wasn’t just talking about this one instance.
In all my 18 years of playing this game.
I had never once encountered this person.
Who the hell was he?
“Hey! You call yourself an instructor? You just hit a kid!”
Whale, who had been forcibly dragged to his feet by Ron, flailed dramatically, making sure the whole village could hear him.
Taking advantage of the moment, I asked quietly,
“Do you know a knight named Stroch?”
“Hm? Oh, you mean that drunkard? He’s resting.”
“…Excuse me?”
“He fell and hurt his back. He’s been bedridden for a week now. The doctor said he needs a month to recover, so he’s got about three weeks left.”
Luna’s eyes sparkled.
Mine probably looked the same.
The only ones off-duty tonight were Bickerd and Stroch. But Stroch was out of commission due to injury.
In other words, the only one guarding Dolores tonight was Bickerd.
Of course, there was still Redington, that Schrödinger’s knight who might or might not be on duty, but—
“You said one was doable, right?”
“Keke, though it could be two.”
“This is our last chance tonight. It’s not a matter of whether we should. We have to.”
I wasn’t sure about that.
My goal was to clear the final boss.
Risking my life for Dolores’ rescue didn’t exactly align with that.
But then, I heard Acela’s voice.
“I miss my sister…”
A small, sorrowful voice, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
Adel and Whale, who had been locked in a struggle with Ron, both turned toward her.
“But I won’t cry. I’m the youngest member of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad.”
Acela lifted her head proudly.
Instead, it was Adel and Whale whose eyes were brimming with tears.
“Dolores always played with Acela, but all we’ve done is get her hurt…”
“If only there were a legendary hero… No, if we had just one real knight…”
Drip. Drip.
Against the backdrop of the burning sunset, drops of water fell to the ground.
Ah, this was cheating.
Damn these twisted game developers.
“Keke, are you crying? I thought the Trash Sprout Defense Squad doesn’t cry.”
“B-But… time is running out…”
It was.
But there was no need to worry.
Because tonight—
‘We’re bringing her back.’
That night.
Three beasts, their faces concealed by animal masks, appeared in the village.
“Mm…”
Late at night, Rodelin opened her eyes in the dormitory.
She shut them again, but sleep wouldn’t come.
“Insomnia… How troublesome.”
Her teammates were fast asleep, completely knocked out thanks to Lowell’s brutal training.
Carefully, Rodelin slipped out of the room and headed to the common area.
As she rummaged through her bag, her hand grasped something small.
A handmade doll.
It looked more like a cat than a lion. A strangely shaped, hand-sewn doll.
Even at a glance, it was poorly made.
Well, that was only natural.
She had made it when she was four years old.
A handmade plushie she had crafted as a birthday gift for her older sister, Lowell.
A matching set, in fact.
Though, thanks to her lack of skill, they barely resembled each other.
—I’m going to do the same thing as you, sis! Your dream is my dream!
—That’s my little sister! You have to keep that promise, okay? No take-backs!
—Of course! I promise!
…Did her sister even remember that promise?
No. She wouldn’t.
It had happened so long ago.
To Rodelin, it was a precious memory, a vow.
But to Lowell, it was probably nothing.
“She probably doesn’t even remember this doll anymore.”
Possessions, love, memories…
She had probably forgotten all of it.
“…Maybe it’s time for me to move on, too.”
The memories of being cradled in her sister’s arms.
The times she spent being carried around all day as they toured the estate together.
The memories of the love and affection her sister once gave her.
It was time to move on from them.
“I’m not a child anymore. I’m an adult now.”
She had a duty to break the demon’s curse that plagued her family.
Just as she was about to toss the doll into the trash bin, her hand hesitated.
“…”
Rodelin ended up slipping the doll back into her bag.
Once again, she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away.
No—she couldn’t throw away the memories of her sister cherishing her with love.
Slap! Slap!
Rodelin lightly patted her cheeks with both hands.
Her personal family matters could wait.
For now, solving the issue at hand was the priority.
“We’re short on time… This is a problem.”
Baron Kelven was suspicious, but there was no concrete evidence against him yet.
Feeling frustrated, Rodelin opened the door and stepped outside.
The cool night breeze helped cool her sweat, and only then did she take in her surroundings.
“But there isn’t a single trace of a demon, not even any suspicious people around…”
Ah, if only some shady people would just conveniently appear right in front of her.
Maybe they could even drop from the sky.
Rustle— Rustle, rustle—
“Hm?”
Just as she was entertaining such absurd thoughts, she heard the sound of someone stepping on grass.
She figured it was probably a lost little animal.
But the moment she turned around—Rodelin saw them.
Black cloaks, embroidered with blood-red clouds.
Low, stealthy postures.
Animal masks covering their faces—a snake, a cat, and a rabbit.
Even at a glance, they were clearly suspicious.
“Good evening! We’re just honest, law-abiding citizens.”
The one wearing the snake mask greeted her.
His voice was distorted with a voice modifier, but one thing was clear—he was a man.
His absurdly confident demeanor made Rodelin instinctively nod.
“I see. Law-abiding citizens, you say.”
Yes, just as he claimed. No matter how she looked at them…
“You’re obviously suspicious!”
“We’ve been caught! Run for it!”
“Stop right there!”
And just like that, a chase beneath the moonlight began.
–TL Notes–
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