Chapter 126

–Aegir POV–

Two children went missing . After I heard that from Dorothea, I throw off my formal wear, change into leather clothes I can easily move in and put on my steel arm guards .

「Explain the situation first . In as much detail as possible . 」

The only thing I asked about was the two kids who went out to shop and didn’t come back .

「Memel and Ami……if they don’t return . Aah! It would have been better if I went myself!!」

The conversation won’t go anywhere when Dorothea is so agitated . Myla explains in her place while she changes her clothes as well .

「The two who went missing are girls – one who is 8 years of age and the other is 12 years of age and both of small build . They went out before evening and the sun was high enough for them to return home after a short period of shopping at the nearby marketplace . 」

So two little girls went missing after they went out for a little shopping .

「It’s probably an illegal slave merchant or something of the sort . It happened to both children at the same time when the sun was still out and they were on their way to the busy marketplace . If those guys weren’t used to doing it, it wouldn’t be possible for them to capture the kids . 」

「Aaah……」

Dorothea holds her head while collapsing to the floor, which prompts Miti and the other kids to hurry over and support her .

「What should we do?」

Celia is already finished her preparations and is holding the sword made by the dwarves . As expected of Celia and Myla, they are used to being on the battlefield so they don’t panic even in emergency situations .

「Even if the kidnapping occurred in the evening, they shouldn’t have time to transport them . If a covered wagon were to run at night, it would catch the guards’ eyes, and it would be the end if they get stopped, so they probably won’t take that chance . If they want to sell the kids, they would need to wait until after the sun comes out before they can move them . 」

「So until then, they should be in some building?」

「Most likely . If we can find them tonight, we can bring them back . 」

「Is that true!?」

Dorothea swiftly lifts her head up .

「I’ll do as much as I can, so wait quietly in the house . Gido, Kroll, protect the mansion . Celia and Myla will come with me . 」

They probably aimed at random orphan kids, so there’s a chance they will aim for the kids at home too . Nonna and Claudia are at home too so I can’t just take the entire fighting force .

「If the escort squad enters, we can overwhelm them . 」

「The guards will be a bother if we gather soldiers within the capital . It would be a waste of time to explain things, and worst case the kidnappers will run away if they sense a large gathering . 」

It would be all over if they leave the capital . The girls would become playthings for perverts or be headed for the brothels .

Celia, Myla and I head out on a stroll at night wearing light armor and swords at our waists . If we wear heavy equipment, it would ultimately aggravate the guards and eat up our time .

The door closes, as if interrupting the voice of the worrying Dorothea and the bolt gets locked in place .

「Where should we search first? Perhaps a place where criminals are likely to gather?」

「Should we try the slums?」

Celia and Myla propose some ideas but eventually get rejected . If we were to run a fine-tooth comb through all the suspicious places in the wide capital, we wouldn’t even get through a tenth of the places by morning .

「Search for a prostitute . 」

「「Huh!?」」

Don’t be too loud, we’ll stand out .

「Hardlett-sama!? You were in the capital, eh? I didn’t get any customers today, you see~ I’ll make it cheaper, so one round……-wait, you have girls with you? The three of you together? It’s fine I guess, but doing it with girls isn’t my forte, you know?」

I find a street prostitute I know on the path . I’ve been with her many times already .

「That’s not what I’m here for today . Actually……」

I tell her about the place where the children were believed to have gone missing and ask about any rumors regarding illegal slave merchants targeting small kids . Those kind of guys don’t just pass along casually . In order to slip past the eyes of guards and citizens, it would require much experience and familiarity with the land .

「Aah……over there, huh……then it’s probably those guys……」

「Please tell me where their hideout is . 」

「Mmm, well it seems that they’re going out with our boss here and……I can’t really say much, and it might mean we can’t continue doing business here……」

「Please tell me . 」

I hand her the several gold coins in my pocket . This should allow her to live for the next year or two .

「Geh!? I-is this all gold!?」

「If you can’t stay here, I can bring you to Rafen and introduce you to a nice shop . Tell me quickly, please . 」

Celia draws her sword .

Please answer quick, I’m begging you .

「The ones who are targeting kids in that area are probably Baroll’s party . Their hideout……well I don’t know if they have one, but they are often seen entering and exiting that warehouse with a blue roof on the main street . 」

「Alright, let’s go . 」

I take Celia and Myla and run to the place we were told .

「Ah! Don’t forget about what you said about taking me with you, okay?」

I reply by turning back and raising my hand slightly . I can do something as long as I know the place .

「So using a thief to catch a thief……is it?」

「Exactly, playing with women can be useful sometimes, don’t you think?」

「I admit that but……in the end, you made another one into your woman, didn’t you?」

「Keep it a secret from Nonna . 」

We joke lightly while keeping our feet moving quickly . As we head to the district of warehouses the prostitute told us about, we see only one place with a blue roof . I move to the front, Celia moves to the side and Myla stabilizes the formation behind us .

We silently move all the way to the entrance but the warehouse doesn’t look any different from any of the others on the surface . Putting my ear to the door, I hear two men chatting idly but I can’t make out what they’re saying . Geez, this is troublesome, if I make a mistake when I charge in, I can just use my authority to suppress it .

I knock on the door violently .

「-!! Ya, yama . 」

A code? If this was a regular warehouse, the person who filled the place wouldn’t say something like that .

I draw the sword I received from Claudia and kick down the door forcefully . It wasn’t a thick wooden door so it breaks and falls into the room .

「Gueh!!」「Who is it!?」

The man standing behind the door fell over along with the door, while the other one tries to unsheathe his sword .

「Shi-!」

But Celia tumbles in quicker than he could do so and stabs the man in the chest . The sword with the dwarven marks is able to easily pierce through the leather armor and the man’s body .

「You’re not used to it . Don’t go up front too much . 」

Her movement is far slower than usual . She’s being held back by the heavy sword .

「Yes . 」

To be precise, the sword pierces the man’s heart and when the weapon is pulled out, blood squirts all the way up to the ceiling . In a flash, Celia swings her sword down towards the head of the man who was pinned under the door . As usual, she is merciless .

「We’ve caused quite the ruckus . They should be fairly vigilant . 」

A rattling sound can be heard from the room around us . It appears our next opponents will be heavily armed .

「Won’t we allow them to move the kids?」

「They shouldn’t think we’ve come to recapture the kids . Guys who are in this occupation have many enemies after all . 」

I grab the corpse by the neck and lift it up, taking it to the connec