Chapter 76
On our second day in Gadeland, with Zackhart-sama unable to get away during the morning because of other business, we decided to visit the village of Kuzel.
Kuzel.
It was my birthplace.
A village I had no reason to return to.
My parents had passed away long ago, and I had already vacated our house. We had never had much in the way of property to begin with.
"There's really nothing there. It's just a tiny fishing village, you know?"
"Yeah, but since we're here, I'd like to see it. Right, Lapy-chan?"
"Yes. I'd like to know what kind of village could produce such an unusual person."
"I am interested as well. Perhaps I might catch a glimpse of one aspect of Roa-dono's thinking."
All three of them showed interest.
"It's a nice place where time passes slowly," Baylieuse-san was the one who said it, and had apparently been entrusted with entertaining us for the three days.
Though it was nearby, it was still a fair distance on foot, so we first headed to the stables to retrieve our horses.
By then, the fishermen who had finished their morning work were settling down, and the harbor had taken on the leisurely atmosphere peculiar to this time of day.
As we strolled along, a sudden, loud scream rang out ahead of us!
"Stop!! Stoppp!!"
From the voice, it sounded like a child.
Just as we started running to see what was happening, something unbelievable took place right in front of us.
A man who had forcibly lifted the screaming girl up threw her with all his might toward the sea!
"Aaaahhhhh!!" The girl fell helplessly from the quay into the sea. The quay was high to accommodate moored ships. It was far too high for a girl to climb back up on her own.
"You bastard! What do you think you're doing?!" At Baylieuse-san's furious shout, the man fled at top speed.
"I'll get the girl! Baylieuse-san, go after that man!" I shouted, and before I could even hear his reply, I ran to a suitable spot and jumped into the sea.
I had played in the sea since I was little, after all. I was reasonably confident in my swimming ability. Fortunately, the waves were calm, and I quickly reached the panicking girl.
I did my best to soothe the sobbing, screaming girl.
"Don't worry! You're safe now!"
Taking care not to let go of the still-thrashing girl, I called up to Wickhart and Rapiria, who were shouting down to me from the quay. "A rope! If you can, bring a lifebuoy too! Ask a nearby shop!" The two of them hurriedly disappeared.
Until they returned, I focused solely on calming the girl in the sea. When she had finally calmed down somewhat, a lifebuoy and a rope were thrown into the water near me.
I put the lifebuoy around the girl and asked Wickhart to pull her up. By then, residents who had heard the commotion had gathered, and it had turned into quite a scene.
With Wickhart's help and the cooperation of the residents, the girl was safely pulled up, and cheers erupted.
A little while later, another rope was thrown down.
Using the rope, I hauled myself up onto the quay, prompting another round of applause and cheers. The girl didn't seem to be injured, and she was clinging to a woman who appeared to be her mother. Apparently, she had been playing nearby when she got caught up in this.
Wondering what on earth the man had been trying to accomplish by throwing the girl, I began looking for Baylieuse-san. Then I suddenly noticed something wrong.
"Where's Lufa?"
I called for Lufa over and over amid the crowd, but no voice answered my calls.
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"What are you all doing, standing around like this!!!!!"
When we hurried back to the Third Knight Order's barracks, we were met by Zackhart-sama's thunderous reprimand.
We hadn't found Lufa. I asked the people who had gathered during the commotion, but apparently Lufa had already disappeared by the time they arrived. Lufa's appearance was distinctive. It was strange that no one had seen Lufa.
There was no way Lufa would have gone somewhere alone under the circumstances. That left only one possibility: kidnapping.
There was no time to wonder why. After giving the mother who thanked me for saving her daughter only a cursory response, I rushed into the Third Knight Order's barracks.
"Zackhart-sama, you can scold me as much as you like later, and punish me however you see fit. But now is not the time. We captured the man who threw the girl into the sea, and he said he had been paid to cause a disturbance. This may have been aimed at Lufa-sama from the very beginning."
Even in the face of Zackhart-sama's fury, Baylieuse-san did not back down, calmly reporting the situation.
"Who was the person who hired that man?" Zackhart-sama asked, his gaze filled with terrifying bloodlust.
"All he would say was that it was someone from the back streets."
"Until now, I had been willing to turn a blind eye to some extent, thinking that some of them must have their reasons... But no more. I'll crush the back streets. Gather the soldiers..."
"Yes, sir!"
Baylieuse-san immediately left.
After Baylieuse-san had gone, Rapiria-sama spoke.
"Zackhart-sama, may we split up and act separately?"
"What do you mean?"
"The kidnapper may have already left the city."
"...Do you have any basis for saying that?"
"...I can't tell you right now..."
"At this point, there is still something you cannot tell me...?"
"Yes. I can't tell you—not even for Lufa's sake."
Rapiria-sama and Zackhart-sama stared each other down. It was Zackhart-sama who backed down.
"If the kidnapper has fled the city, we can't afford to waste time. Do as you please. But tell me which way you're going."
"If my reasoning is correct, north."
North.
Not east or west, but north.
An ominous premonition swept through me.
What lay to the north was "that country."
"...When you return, you will tell me everything. Understood?"
"...If I have Lufa's permission first."
"Then that's tantamount to saying you'll tell me! Go!"
Driven onward by Zackhart-sama's angry shout, we set off running to rescue Lufa!