“Man, this is messed up.”
“Ellie! We don’t have time for this!”
“I know, I know! But chill out first, Millie.”
“…Ugh.”
I was too d*mn careless.
So caught up in looking for clues that I never once thought something might actually go down. I was confident—too confident—that I could handle whatever came our way.
But as it turned out, I was dead wrong.
As soon as we read the quest details in the forest, I rushed back to the clearing. But it was already too late.
When I got there, Elaine was gone, leaving behind only her fallen sword.
And there stood Professor Elizar and Professor Amillion, their expressions a mix of shock and despair.
‘She’s not dead, at least not yet.’
Anger bubbled up inside me, but I fought hard to keep it under control.
If Elaine had been harmed, the quest failure penalty wouldn’t be her d*ath, so I had to believe she was still alive.
‘Just rescue her, that’s all. Rescue her.’
“Captain Ordine will be here soon. We can figure it out together when he arrives.”
“…Hmph.”
Professor Amillion let out a shaky sigh and nodded at Elizar’s words. Piecing together what they told me, the guy who snatched Elaine apparently left a taunting message, acting like we already knew where he was hiding.
If that’s true, then this just got a lot simpler.
Knowing his location means we can just go there, rescue Elaine, and crush him like a bug.
“Everyone head back to your rooms for now. Go get some rest…”
“No way. I want to hear what’s going on.”
“…No. As much as I understand your concern with your friend in danger, this is not a situation for students to get involved in.”
Elizar shot me a firm look, a stark contrast to the more relaxed demeanor she’d shown earlier.
But I wasn’t about to back down that easily.
“No, this is bigger than being a student—it’s practically a national issue.”
“…Exactly why it’s a problem. To prevent it from escalating into a larger national crisis, YOU need to stay SAFE.”
“I’m just saying we should at least hear what’s going on. Listening to the discussion won’t put us in danger.”
“Hmm.”
Elizar frowned slightly and glanced at Professor Amillion, who in turn looked at me. I simply nodded.
“Fine, you can listen, Ellie. The kids should at least understand the situation.”
“Hmph, alright then…”
The door burst open with a loud CRACK just as we were hashing things out.
Captain Ordine strode in looking completely serious, flanked by a few knights.
“Elizar, report.”
“Right. Elaine St. Claire, a student visiting from Crescent Academy, has been kidnapped. The kidnapper is likely…”
“Is it him?”
“Yes. We believe so. He even left a message saying to ‘come prepared if you want to save this girl.'”
“Hmph.”
Captain Ordine didn’t give a second glance to the students present and continued the conversation.
Upon hearing Elizar’s report, Captain Ordine’s expression hardened, prompting Professor Amillion to jump in.
“The kidnapped student is, as you all know, the third daughter of the St. Claire family, one of the six great houses of Crescent.”
“…”
No one responded to Professor Amillion’s statement.
A heavy silence fell over the room.
“We must rescue her no matter what happens. Otherwise, who knows what could unfold.”
“I’m aware. Fully aware. I also know the St. Claires won’t stay silent about this.”
“…Understood.”
Professor Amillion seemed relieved by Captain Ordine’s response.
With a sigh, Captain Ordine continued:
“Well, we’d better rescue St. Claire’s daughter as soon as possible.”
“Agreed.”
“And where exactly?”
“Huh?”
“That you seem to know where Elaine is being held.”
“You…”
Captain Ordine finally turned his gaze toward me with a baffled look. I met his eyes without flinching.
If I knew where she was, I could probably handle it better on my own.
“Hey! I apologize, Captain. It seems one of us is having trouble controlling their emotions with a classmate missing. Hmm, maybe we should just dismiss the students…”
“I already know where he is.”
At Captain Ordine’s words, everyone’s attention shifted to him.
He maintained a stern expression as he continued.
“We were planning to deal with him soon anyway, to calm the Silver Eagles.”
“In that case, let’s go.”
“Though, this is something we need to handle. We can’t put Crescent Academy students in any more danger.”
“No, I should go too…”
“Enough. I understand your feelings, but it won’t happen. Students, leave now.”
“…”
Captain Ordine gave me, Cynthia, Emily, and the others behind us a sharp glare, making it clear this was non-negotiable.
It was the most authoritative stance I’d seen him take so far.
Instinctively understanding that we couldn’t stay, I made brief eye contact with Professor Amillion before leaving the meeting room.
The moment we students were out, the door shut behind us.
Inside, voices started murmuring again.
For now, I’d wait and hear the plan from Professor Amillion.
All I could do right now was wait.
“Man, that Eddi back in the forest was part of the plan to separate me from Elaine, wasn’t she?”
“d*mn.”
Realizing I’d been played gnawed at me.
Worst of all was the fact that my only option was to wait. Knowing where the guy was would make me want to jump in right away, but…
“Ryu.”
Cynthia called out to me with worry in her voice as soon as we left the meeting room.
“Will she be alright? Elaine.”
“Yeah. At least she’s not dead.”
Though I said this, I was just as concerned. The system and quests had never lied before, so Elaine should still be alive.
But ‘alive’ can mean a lot of things. Even if she’d lost a limb, technically she’d still be breathing.
Meaning there was a chance the kidnapper had done something to Elaine without killing her.
“Hmph. This out of nowhere.”
“…Didn’t you guys see anything? When Elaine got kidnapped.”
“Hmm. There wasn’t much magical energy, but then they just disappeared. Definitely wasn’t normal teleportation magic.”
“Hmm.”
Emily explained after giving it some thought.
The magical signature matched but was different from the teleportation I used, the same type Landgar and his gang had utilized.
“And Elaine couldn’t move and dropped her sword.”
Cynthia added.
Cynthia and Emily were both staring at me intently.
“Um, we’ll head back to our room…”
“A, okay.”
Anes and Marie slipped away quietly.
Good timing.
“Shall we go?”
“Huh? Where?”
“To where Elaine was kidnapped.”
Nod. Nod.
Once Anes and Marie left, Cynthia approached me seriously.
Emily did the same, nodding her head.
I was about to head out alone, but…
“You guys really shouldn’t, it’s too dangerous.”
“We’d be more help than a hindrance going alone.”
“True! And if it’s dark magic related, I can try my artifact. Aunt Yuria gave me something.”
“…Oh-ho.”
Hearing Emily out shifted my thinking.
Taking them back into Knight territory was risky, but if I stayed alert, I should be able to protect them.
Earlier I got cocky and too focused on the wrong things to notice Elaine’s predicament.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
At my agreement, both Cynthia and Emily nodded.
I checked our surroundings and extended my hands toward them.
As they took my hands, I opened the portal.
Whoosh.
With the sound of spatial movement, we arrived at the exact spot Elaine had been taken.
“The enemy can teleport with others instantly like I do. Stay close to me.”
“Got it!”
Cynthia crouched down to inspect the ground while Emily retrieved something from her pocket.
Any kind of clue would be helpful.
Whoo…
A breeze, cooler than the day’s heat since the sun was setting, blew through the area.
