Chapter 66

Compared to the young people from the countryside, they seemed more sophisticated, but they were just ordinary-looking men and women.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

The woman tugged at the man's sleeve, but he shook her off and said,

"I just had a great idea."

"Great idea? What do you mean?"

The man roughly picked me up.

"These must be pets from a rich family. Otherwise, they wouldn't dress animals in clothes, right?"

"So what?"

"Idiot, use your head! We're going to kidnap them and demand a ransom!"

The young man, who didn't look particularly evil, suddenly said this, which surprised me a bit.

We don't want to be kidnapped by these people, though.

"But that's a crime."

"If we do it right, we won't get caught. And once we get the ransom, we can pay off our debts. Then I'll marry you."

"Marriage!? Really!?"

The woman, who hadn't been enthusiastic until then, suddenly became motivated by the word "marriage."

Honestly, from what I can see, this man doesn't seem like he'll actually marry her. He has a strong "loser" vibe.

"So you should help me. It's for our future."

"Okay!"

The woman's eyes sparkled. They were a terrible couple.

Not exactly evil, but definitely disappointing.

"First, we need to identify their owner. Hey, black one, show us the way to your house."

The man roughly held me in one arm and said this to Kugarugu.

Despite the fact that he was seriously talking to an animal, which was kind of endearing, it was quite annoying at the moment.

We may look like this, but we are on a very important mission.

Kugarugu crouched down and put strength into his legs. In the next moment, he jumped up to the man's chest.

"Whoa!?"

He clung to the man's clothes with his claws to avoid falling.

The man tried to pry Kugarugu off, which only made his claws dig in deeper.

"It hurts! Hey, it really hurts...!"

Kugarugu's claws were thicker and larger than a cat's, I thought calmly while being held.

I didn't really feel a sense of crisis with this couple.

"Kyaa!"

Suddenly, the woman standing behind me screamed.

She pointed at my rabbit backpack with a pale face.

"S-Snake...!"

A snake belonging to my father had poked its head out from a gap in the backpack, and the woman screamed at the sight.

However, when the man saw the snake and realized what was happening, his reaction was even more extreme.

He opened his mouth so wide it seemed like his jaw might dislocate and screamed.

"Whoa! I can't handle snakes! I really can't...!"

"Ah, what? Really? Hey!"

The man threw me and ran away, and the woman, looking confused, chased after him.

"Ouch!"

I hit the ground on my back, but thanks to my father's snake, which had crawled back into the backpack, I didn't get hurt.

Kugarugu, who had somehow managed to get away from the man, came over to me.

"Are you okay, Millefeuille?"

"Yep."

What was that all about with that couple?

"Let's head back to the main street."

I thought we should return to a crowded area since our enemies might not know we were here.

Just then, four men walked down the alley towards us from the direction the couple had run.

Three of them were dressed entirely in black and had their faces half-covered with cloth.

The fourth man looked like a thug and was wearing a loose, flashy outfit.

The three men in black walked briskly, but the thug's movements were less refined.

(They're here!)

I recognized the men in black.

They were the enemies I had been waiting for!

"You keep watch at the entrance."

"Sure, sure."

One of the men in black instructed the thug, who stood at the entrance of the alley, keeping an eye on the main street.

"Quinquin!"

I couldn't help but run up to the three men who were approaching.

Finally! You're late! I almost got kidnapped by someone else!

The three men in black looked at each other in confusion as I approached them affectionately.

"Does anyone have food?"

"No, I don't."

"I don't have anything either."

One of them lowered the cloth over his mouth to ask, but the other two shook their heads.

"Are you really a spirit?"

"Definitely."

"You seem like a well-trained dog."

While saying something rude, one of them took out a folded burlap sack.

"By the way, I thought the same thing in the city of Gorda. What's with this outfit? What are Cromwell and Gauss thinking, dressing a spirit in such ridiculous clothes?"

"They look unintelligent."

What! I almost protested, but the next words made me forget about it.

"If it were Captain Sarell, he would have prepared a more elegant costume."

At those words, my ears perked up under the hood.

Captain Sarell!? Did you just say Captain Sarell!?

Indeed, these men in black were Captain Sarell's subordinates.

That means we're almost at the point of identifying the mastermind, but I want to drag him out personally.

It's not too late to escape even if Captain Sarell is in a position where he can't make excuses.

"It's not just the ridiculous outfit. I can't believe they let the spirit children walk around the city on their own. Isn't Cromwell being too careless?"

The serious-looking man with sharp eyes said.

"Gauss is there. He respects the spirits' will and allows his subordinates to act freely. That's why he lets these spirits do as they please. He doesn't realize that it would be better to impose strict restrictions and control their actions, like Captain Sarell would."

The man with the deep hood sneered.

Could these people be willingly following Captain Sarell's orders?

I thought they were reluctantly obeying because they had no choice due to his authority.

"Probably. Captain Gauss is optimistic."

Finally, the small, quiet man smiled thinly.

Captain, you're being underestimated too much! He may look that way, but he thinks a lot!

"Come on, hurry up."

The serious man said, and the quiet man opened the mouth of the burlap sack.

"Will you go in obediently? We shouldn't handle the spirit children too roughly..."

"Leave it to me. I used to have a dog when I was a kid."

Saying that, the hooded man reached out his hand to me first.

But he seemed a bit nervous.

"Don't struggle. Don't struggle. I won't hurt you if you stay still. Don't call for your parents."

I won't call for my mother or struggle. I'll stay still.