By Zephyria 
We stood beneath a fancy wall.
The Spirit stuck close to the wall, hiding in the alley. Seeing that, we did the same. There was no one coming or going, so what were we being cautious of? Full of bewilderment, we held our breath and waited. The Spirit blinked for a long time, then raised both arms in a ‘hurray’.
[Here! The Priest is sleeping here.]
“…Sleeping?”
The Spirit cupped its hands before its mouth, mimicking a whisper. The creature’s voice, right next to my ear, had the same pitch and volume as before. Yet, it insisted on acting so coy. Still, I had no room to be moved or find it cute.
[Yes! Zzzzz.]
My mind chilled.
Ruben wasn’t in his right mind. After all, no matter how cute or pitiful he might have seemed to me, he was a decent Martial artist. If he had been woken, he would have undoubtedly tried to escape on his own. I wondered if he was hurt anywhere. Was he suffering greatly?
Just as the path this Spirit led us on wasn’t a proper one, I couldn’t guess what the human sleep it saw would look like.
Suppressing my rising breath, I asked again. I deliberately asked aloud, considering Hugh Benson was listening beside me.
“My Priest… is he perhaps hidden?”
[Hidden? Is he? Hmm…]
“Ask how many people are guarding him.”
“How many people are guarding him,”
Before I could finish asking, the Spirit spread both hands wide.
It was surprising that such small hands had proper fingers. Ten fingers in total, five on each hand, and it held up three on each. The Spirit tilted its head, looked at its fingers again, then folded and unfolded one.
“Six?”
[Yes!]
“Their skill?”
[I don’t know!]
Right. It was only natural that I couldn’t know everything for free.
The Spirit grinned and placed both hands by its right ear, pretending to listen.
Then, from far away, from the floor inside the gate that seemed just within my reach, I heard something moving. A rustling, a shifting, then the presence vanished. The Spirit blinked slowly and smiled.
[The door will open now.]
I immediately gave Hugh Benson a hand signal. I pointed towards the inside of the gate, holding up only my thumb. Both he and I melted into the shadows.
Then, the Spirit tapped the wall and slid down, landing with a thud in front of it. Its posture was sloppy, but perhaps because its body was so light, it ended up perched like a spore on the pile of weeds beneath the wall.
[Why?]
[I can’t go in here.]
Why? I started to ask for the reason again but closed my mouth.
Having come this far, there was no need for a lengthy explanation. While this Spirit had been a great help, it was luck that wasn’t mine to begin with.
What should I ask? I squeezed my eyes shut once and opened them. In a low, soft voice that Hugh Benson could hear, I asked again.
“The building with the child, is it perhaps—”
[The Priest is in the middle building, in the room with the five-colored windows.]
“The first floor?”
[Yes!]
“The middle building, first floor, the room with the five-colored windows.”
[That’s right, go on!]
I immediately looked for a way to enter, examining the wall, when Hugh Benson let out a sigh and asked.
“Hey. Benjamin?”
“…Ah.”
“I’m telling the kids later, you punk.”
Hugh Benson nudged my thigh as if to kick it. I felt embarrassed and awkward. Thinking Ruben was right in front of me, I finally came to my senses. I pulled my knees to my chest and asked the Spirit, who looked up at me with round eyes.
[By any chance, are the Mercenaries who were guarding my Priest also there.]
[Yes!]
“…He says they are.”
“Let’s go.”
I followed Hugh Benson, hiding among the shadows.
If I saw Benjamin again, I promised myself in my heart that I wouldn’t scold him but treat him well, feeling deeply sorry.
❖ ❖ ❖
There were three buildings on this estate.
The main building in the center was horseshoe-shaped, embracing a garden, while the two annexes on either side were lower than the main building. The area closer to the main gate was decorated with low-flowering trees, creating an open view, but the sides had many grand and lush trees, suitable for hiding.
We immediately hid among the trees and headed towards the back of the main building.
Unlike Diamant Manor, the fact that the child wasn’t inside Semora-Gula eased my mind just a little. Even if some Contaminated Mana had seeped in, I could fully heal Ruben once I got him, but I preferred he not be hurt if possible.
I wondered how Ruben was. To bind children as top-tier Sword Experts, a special Artifact would be needed. I worried if they had laid a hand on the child.
Come to think of it, I was also curious whose bloodstain had fallen on the rug. If he was injured, he should have been treated promptly. If the child had been fully treated, I would have been willing to cut off the kidnappers’ heads and send them away without pain.
However, I couldn’t see any rooms with large, ornate windows.
All the rooms connected to the backyard had wooden doors with the family crest embossed on them. Only by opening them could I see if there were windows decorated with any light, but as an intruder, I couldn’t go around flinging open every window.
Entering through the main gate was also difficult.
At Diamant Manor, we had hidden in an annex, so there weren’t many servants and knights moving about. But a noble family’s main residence inherently had many hidden passages, and people could pop out from under the floorboards. To move swiftly and hide quickly, we had to decide on a suitable direction from the outside before entering.
Ultimately, we decided to use the same method as at the auction house. Hugh Benson and I agreed to move with our presence suppressed from opposite ends, checking the presence in each room one by one, and crouched low.
This land was filled with complex Magic. I put all my effort into calming my thumping heart, fearing I might be discovered and chased away by the blades of grass brushing against my feet. Since I couldn’t see, I pricked up my ears. I gripped the relief on the wooden door and peeked through the gap to steal a look inside.
After scanning about three or four rooms like that.
Thwack!
“Why are you hitting the kid!”
The sound of someone being beaten echoed from inside. Someone shouted loudly. Startled, I moved towards the sound. Hugh Benson followed, having heard the same thing. We both pressed our faces against the gap beneath the same window and peered inside.
Four Sword Masters… and two Martial artists of the upper Sword Expert level. One of them was a familiar face. Raul. So it was him. I suppressed my urge to grind my teeth. If I made any harsh sounds now, our stealth would be useless.
I saw two youths lying on a bed far away, without blankets. The clothes and shoes of both children were familiar. I found them. This was the place.
First, I heightened my Eye Force to the fullest and checked the breathing of Ruben and Benjamin. Watching their chests rise and fall shallowly for about twenty seconds… Their breathing wasn’t labored, which was a slight relief.
Only then could I scan the interior more calmly.
The five-colored glass windows were connected to the indoor corridor, not the outside. They were opaque decorations so that one could sense people passing by. That’s why I couldn’t recognize them immediately. I realized anew that I shouldn’t blindly trust the Spirit’s vision.
Inside, there was one large bed, two big sofas, and a low table.
The space between the bed and the table was wide, and a simply shaped rug was laid between them. Light filtered through the colored glass, casting shimmering patterns on the rug. A Red Bird, a blue Dragon, a bright yellow flower…
Come to think of it, the scene was strange.
Raul was kneeling on the rug. One Sword Master, panting heavily, glared at him with an extremely angry expression, seething as if he would beat him at any moment. Another Sword Master, a woman, who was blocking him, took the kick in his stead.
“Kid? Kid? Damn it, you’re the one who’s truly crazy. Insane. How did you get caught by a guy like that!”
“And what did you guys do right? Did you know? He said he didn’t know either! He said he wouldn’t have done it if he knew! How many days has it been already!”
“So? What are you going to say when the Owner asks why he chose these two? We can’t take them back, can’t throw them away! It’s all his fault, you know? You don’t know who that bastard is, do you?”
These guys?
Was he referring to the children? And who was the Owner? The man who had been panting raised his fist again, but in his frustration, he let out a roar and collapsed onto the sofa.
The others standing askew beside him laughed hollowly and glared at Raul.
“If you didn’t know and still messed with them, then… we won’t say anything.”
“…”
“You really didn’t know?”
“…Yes.”
“Yes, damn it!”
If you’re going to clench your fist, you should at least land a blow. Is just making a punching motion enough? I inwardly cheered for the man scolding Raul, but he didn’t get up again. He just scratched his short hair and spewed his annoyance.
Would it be better to strike now? Wanting to get the children out of the hands of those suspicious men as soon as possible, I signaled Hugh Benson. But he shook his head slightly and pointed behind his back with his right thumb. Should we leave? Now?
[But, Senior.]
Hugh Benson was firm.
But I had only just seen Ruben with my own eyes; if he disappeared again while I was looking away, what then? I also stood my ground and shook my head.
Then, Hugh Benson held up four fingers with his left hand and bent and straightened his fingers. With his right hand, he pointed to himself and me, holding up only the number two. The tips of his fingers tapped together. He meant that with four Sword Masters, we were at a disadvantage.
Adding two more to my right hand, the four met the other four. …He wanted to call Marianne and Elvin. But.
[Then I will stay here and guard. Please go ahead.]
He glared at me. It couldn’t be helped, even if he looked stern.
[You never know.]
Hugh Benson stepped back, clenched his fist, and shook it up and down, then disappeared before my eyes without a sound. We had wandered Dunmel Canyon together for a year; he couldn’t possibly not understand those words.
If you act on your own, you’ll die, you punk.
I heard his unspoken words with my eyes. I pressed myself against the window frame again and peered inside.