novelraw Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter 107 : Chapter 107
Chapter 107: Kidnapping (1)
Variables existed anytime, anywhere.
And that was a problem that even the regressed Harad could not escape.
On the contrary, it might be even more fatal.
A stranger might not think much of it, but from Harad's perspective, it meant that the future was changing.
But he couldn't just stand by. He had regressed to change the future.
A regressor had to create variables and yet keep those variables under his control.
Seria was a clear variable.
The week wasted because of her was the same.
But the immediate victim was not Harad.
-Peeeeep!
Fireball puffed up its cheeks.
The question of whether a bird could make such a gesture was unnecessary. That was a Magical Beast. A Magical Beast with fire instead of feathers.
-Peep!
When Harad said nothing, Fireball puffed up its body as well. It was a gesture like a hedgehog raising its quills. Instead of quills, flames shot up.
"Understand."
At that one word, Fireball shrank its body.
-Peep.
Fireball considered Harad its mother.
Or something just as precious.
Harad felt a sense of familiarity from Fireball, which was rubbing its cheek against the back of his hand. The fire that served as Fireball's feathers was Crimson Flames.
The momentum of that Crimson Flame was slightly subdued.
"Your fire has weakened a little. Is it because you were starving?"
-Peep.
Fireball nodded.
Harad extended his palm to Fireball.
A flame bloomed on it. Fireball pecked at the flame.
"Did you eat anything in the meantime?"
Fireball shook its head while eating.
It meant that it had starved for a week.
'But to this extent.'
Fireball's condition was better than he had thought.
So he had thought it had hunted something.
Normally, a living creature becomes endangered after starving for a week.
Given its characteristic as a Fireball, it couldn't drink water, so it would have been even more so.
'Is it okay because it doesn't need water?'
Indeed, Fireball was a peculiar Magical Beast.
"The maintenance cost is better than I thought."
That was Fireball's advantage.
The fewer the troublesome points, the easier it is to raise.
-Peeeeep!
Suddenly, Fireball cried out. It was a smart one.
It seemed to have understood it as meaning that he wouldn't be given much food in the future.
"Don't worry, I'll give you some whenever I have the chance."
He had the chance today. The flame flowing from his palm became denser. Crimson Flame. Fireball, having confirmed it, pecked at it faster.
"……It's a real Magical Beast."
Horn, the 2nd Deputy Commander, who was watching, had a rather stiff expression.
The fact that Harad was coming and going from the Boundary through the tunnels was now an open secret among the knights.
Horn was surprised enough by that.
But Harad had taken it a step further.
"Amazing. Did you really tame a Magical Beast."
And its food was magic.
And it was the flame that had once burned Horn.
"This one is special. Are you tempted?"
"Not at all."
Horn answered immediately.
Magical Beasts are enemies.
"Does His Grace the Grand Duke know?"
Using the tunnels and raising a Magical Beast were different matters.
"The Grand Heir knows."
"In that case."
Only then did Horn observe Fireball with a relaxed mind.
Thus, the trust in Elaine was on par with that of Grand Duke Aratus. It was an excessive trust for a 20-year-old.
To the point where Elaine couldn't help but feel burdened.
"Can you tame a horse-like Magical Beast?"
Horn's eyes were shining like a child's.
He had said he wasn't tempted at all, but he couldn't seem to help his curiosity.
It was a curiosity that arose because he had learned through Harad that Magical Beasts were no longer the minions of mages.
Ordinary horses die as soon as they enter the Boundary.
But there were definitely horse-like Magical Beasts in the Boundary. If they could just put a saddle on it, it would be a boon for the knights.
"That's a good idea. But it's best not to have high expectations."
A way to tame a Magical Beast.
At least, the Harad of the past life did not know.
Fireball is just special.
"By the way, are you alone here?"
It was a tunnel located in the underground of the Flower District's inner flesh, but Horn was alone.
Normally, a team of three was the standard.
Also, the tunnels had to be managed 24 hours a day.
The 2nd and 6th Knights managed it in three shifts.
They were supplementing their slightly insufficient manpower with the strength of Cassion, Horn, and the 6th Knights Commander.
"Because I'm a deputy commander. I have to perform the role that suits my position."
When he had been defeated so easily during a spar with Harad once, it wasn't because he was weak, but because he had been careless.
Horn, who had mastered the countermeasures against mages, was a powerhouse who could face a 4th Rank mage alone.
"You're going through a lot. I'm sorry."
From the 2nd Knights' perspective, they had gained another task because of Harad.
And it was a very troublesome duty that required them to wake up even at dawn.
"Don't mind it. It's only natural."
Horn seemed unfazed.
On the contrary, he had a slightly proud expression.
"The other 2nd Knights think the same as me. It's a merit you've established."
Discovering the tunnels is Harad's merit.
And the 2nd Knights willingly monitored those tunnels. They had already acknowledged Harad as a comrade.
"I don't think I've made that good of an impression on you all."
It might be different for the 1st or 3rd Knights, but there wasn't much Harad had proven to the 2nd Knights.
Because Cassion's identity is a secret.
"You're the commander's friend, aren't you."
"……Friend? Me?"
Harad pointed at his own face.
"Yes. That's more than enough. You know how much the commander loathes mages."
How amazing must he be to have become friends, breaking through that loathing.
That's what Horn was saying.
"I see."
Harad did not bother to correct him.
If he could be acknowledged as a comrade for that.
Getting close to a fool was something he had done in his past life as well.
"Do you have plans?"
Horn suddenly asked.
"What plans?"
"The festival is soon. Auspicious days."
"Isn't the subjugation first?"
"Even that is a festival."
The new year was not far off.
Subjugations and festivals awaited the North.
"Harad, isn't it a break for you?"
"Probably."
There would be no role for Harad in the subjugation.
His identity was a secret. It would not be known to the soldiers. The same went for the rear knight orders.
Harad's identity was only permitted up to the Wall knights.
"You guys are on break too... hmm. No, you're not. I'm sorry again."
Originally, the 2nd Knights would have been on break too.
If it weren't for the tunnels.
"No need to worry. It's a three-shift system. Everyone has time to play on their own. If you have time, let's have a meal... ah. That would be difficult."
"Hmm?"
Harad tilted his head.
Horn was acting as if Harad was a busy person.
"Isn't it a time when you're short on time. I understand."
"……?"
"But why are you alone today? What about Ellen-nim?"
"She seemed busy."
Subjugation and festival.
It was time for Ellen to return to her main job.
That was the reason why Harad had come to meet Fireball alone.
Today, Ellen had not come to Kubel's annex for a meal.
The amount of backlogged work from having been with Seria until yesterday must be considerable. From now on, it would pour in even more.
"She's busy?"
Horn tilted his head.
Ellen was from a branch family of Serzila and an agent of the Intelligence Bureau. And yet she did not leave the territory.
To anyone, that meant she was an idler.
"There's something like that."
"I see. As expected of someone from the Intelligence Bureau, she must have her own troubles that we don't know about."
Horn nodded.
"And Harad, you know about it."
And then, for some reason, he looked at Harad with a sly gaze.
"I guess the rumors were true after all."
"Rumors?"
"Yes. But are both of them true?"
It seemed there were two rumors.
"Your thoughts are probably right."
Harad did not bother to ask what the rumors were.
It must be a baseless rumor like the one about him being friends with Cassion.
"That's a relief."
What's a relief?
"Be careful of the 1st Knights. Those guys are smarter than us 2nd Knights."
"Isn't the word 'smart' an insult?"
"It is an insult."
"……."
"So I'm telling you to be careful. They might pull some strange stunt."
It was a meaningful piece of advice.
* * *
The North is a vibrant land.
That is not just a story of the Serzila territory. Even the northerners who live in colder, harsher, and more dangerous places are full of vitality.
Because vitality is heat.
Not everyone who lives in the North is a northerner.
The Elaine of the past life had said so once.
Only those who uphold the ways of the North and deny death until the day they die are northerners.
Rick the Tunnel-Digger was an excellent northerner.
He sought to uphold the ways, and he yearned for life even in times when death was a liberation.
Anyway, the vitality of the already vibrant territory was heating up even more.
Because they, who are more faithful to the present than anyone else, will be more faithful than anyone else to the upcoming subjugation and festival.
Originally, the festival was to celebrate the safe return from the subjugation, but it had now become a mere formality.
At some point, the festival started before the subjugation.
Because there was no way the subjugation would fail.
"I hear the Grand Heir will be leading the subjugation party this time too."
At the center of that northern event is, of course, Elaine.
The Grand Heir loved by the North.
The North's love for Elaine, its fervor, would be on par with the faith of the Church.
The Elaine of the past life was grateful for that love, and she loved them back. And she felt burdened.
He hopes it won't be like that this time. Elaine deserved to enjoy that love to the fullest.
On the particularly bustling streets, familiar faces were not uncommon. They were knights. They must be off-duty knights.
They play when they play.
Serzila had a strong ethos of that.
Since you don't know when you'll die, you have to play hard when you play.
The knights of the North were the most vibrant people in the North.
"……?"
But Harad felt a strange sense of oddity from a certain knight, not vitality.
The knight was glaring at Harad who had just passed by. He was from the 1st Knights.
'Skos?'
It was a familiar face.
He couldn't speak to him. The person, after making eye contact with Harad, left with a quick pace.
'What was that?'
Harad was reminded of Masker Isotta.
It was a suspicion to the extent that he wondered if someone had disguised themselves as Skos.
But Isotta was dead, and Skos of the 1st Knights was a knight he could meet at any time.
Harad did not bother to catch up with Skos.
This was the first time he was experiencing the event in this life.
He had no particular intention of enjoying it, but he didn't want to interfere either. The more vibrant the festival, the happier Elaine would be.
"You're here, Harad."
"Have you been well?"
Harad smiled at Kubel who had opened the door for him.
A delicious smell wafted from Kubel's annex for the first time in a week.
While Seria was staying, Kubel and Shura had to hide in an Intelligence Bureau safe house.
"You've gone through a lot. I heard that children often cry when their sleeping place changes."
"It was you and Ellen-nim who went through a lot. Shura slept very well."
Kubel's smile as he said that was somehow awkward.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing at all."
There is.
Kubel avoided his eyes.
Harad's eyes, looking at him, narrowed.
"Th-The rumors, I mean."
Rumors. They must be the same rumors Horn had mentioned.
"Speak."
"I heard that you and Ellen-nim are getting along well."
"Me?"
"Y-Yes. The one who is the 3rd Knights Commander..."
While listening, Harad scanned the annex.
He felt a warmth. It was a raw heat rather than from the heating. It meant that fire had been used until just now. It must be cooking.
"That's open to misinterpretation. Ah. I heard there were two rumors."
"Y-Yes. The other one is that Harad fell for the priest who visited this time..."
"Me?"
Harad's eyebrows furrowed.
His gaze was still scanning behind Kubel.
A delicious smell had been wafting from outside the annex. It was a spicy smell.
Shura can't eat spicy food.
Ellen did not eat here today.
She won't be able to come in the evening either, and Kubel knows that.
Ellen had told him while playing with Shura last night.
"Someone ate here. And more than one."
"……."
"You must have heard the rumors from them too. So, who was it?"
Kubel avoided his eyes.
No, he turned towards someone who was hiding.
"You quick-witted bastard!"
Someone shouted. It was the kitchen.
"Get him!"
Someone was also hiding on the left wall of the door.
The person pushed Kubel aside and tried to grab Harad. Harad kicked him in the solar plexus.
"Ugh."
Suddenly, presences shot up from all sides.
Two of them were felt from the yard. They had just gotten behind him.
Harad reflexively tried to manifest magic but held back.
The one he had kicked in the solar plexus was Gullen.
'1st Knights?'
Be careful of the 1st Knights.
Horn's advice flashed through his mind.
"That's why I told you to keep a better watch."
Gullen said while coughing.
"What is this..."
Someone hugged such a Harad tightly.
The muscles were immense.
"Got him!"
It was Derrick.
Another knight covered Harad's face with a black cloth. It was the kind used for criminals.
"Harad, who dared to look at a priest, has been captured!"
It was Tursten.
"It's a festival!"
Then the hiding knights shouted.
"You're being kidnapped."
Gullen whispered in the ear of the Harad who was being transported.
"Crazy bastards."
Rumors.
That was the reason why Harad was being kidnapped.