Chapter 78

The room is too large to be called a place of confinement. There are two neat beds, a bookshelf packed with books, a desk, and a closet. Perhaps the appropriate term would be "house arrest." Regardless, it is clear that they are being held as hostages, even though no explanation has been given.

"You've been betrayed."

The words spoken by the man in the carriage come to mind. He was hired by Satuuki and had taken Harom as a hostage to restrict Kereina's movements. Of course, Milkit and Ink could do nothing. They were told this in the carriage, where they had no means to resist. First, she felt sad. To be betrayed by the person she trusted—Leech. At first, she couldn't believe it, but the fact that they were brought here was the ultimate proof.

Then, she felt regretful. She was already aware that she wasn't much help to Flamm, but now she was completely a burden. She could do nothing. She was powerless, dragging everyone down—she wished she didn't exist at all. Still, Flamm would never blame Milkit. That's why she, who couldn't be of any help to such a kind and beloved master, felt utterly useless.

On the bed, Milkit hugged her knees and dug her nails into her thighs through her skirt. If the pain could punish her a little, it would be good. However, with them being held as hostages, Flamm's movements must also be restricted. Such a small amount of pain could never make up for it.

It has been two days since they were brought here. Food is provided, but she hasn't eaten. She couldn't bring herself to do it. However, hunger relentlessly tormented her. Perhaps because she hadn't gone hungry for a long time thanks to Flamm, it felt even more painful.

"Milkit, aren't you going to eat?"

Ink, with her ponytail swaying, turned to Milkit. On the other hand, she didn't seem particularly depressed. She was eating the food offered without refusing it.

"I can't bring myself to eat when my existence is putting Master in a difficult position."

"Mmm... You really do love Flamm, don't you?"

"Yes, I love her very much. That's why... I hate myself."

"I don't think it helps to be so down."

"But, it's not like help will come from the capital, which is so far away..."

She knew they were in Irieis, a town in the northeast of the kingdom. It would take several days to reach the capital by carriage. With Flamm and the others restricted by the existence of the hostages, it was impossible for them to rescue her.

"I've been thinking... Can we escape? I don't know if we're being underestimated or what, but there's no guard watching this room. The only thing is that a patrolling soldier passes by, but otherwise, we're left alone."

A blind girl and a frail slave. The two, who now had no special powers, were clearly harmless to anyone. If they could take advantage of this complacency, they might be able to escape. Ink must have thought so. However, Milkit immediately rejected the idea.

"What about Kereina and Harom? They were separated and placed in a different room, probably because of Kereina's combat skills. We don't know where they are in this facility."

"Kereina's room is well-guarded. But at night, the guards leave for about ten to twenty minutes, probably to use the bathroom."

"How do you know that?"

There should be no way for them to get information from outside, as they had no opportunity to talk to the guards. Milkit, tilting her head, asked. Ink, with a proud expression, touched her ear with her index finger.

"My eyes may be like this, but my hearing is good. I can sort of figure out the room's location from the guards' footsteps."

"Really...!"

Milkit was genuinely surprised. At the same time, she lamented her own powerlessness. Ink had been gathering information while Milkit was sleeping peacefully, with the goal of escaping.

"If we can time it right, when the guards leave and the patrolling soldier isn't around, we can rescue them and escape together—maybe all four of us."

There is hope, Ink seemed to assert. However, she hadn't seen it.

"Um, Ink..."

Milkit hesitated to speak. This was an annex of a research facility. To get to it, one had to exit the main building through a back door and cross a vast courtyard. Even if they could escape from the annex, the main building, which was heavily guarded, would be waiting. But the real despair was something else. This place was a base for Chimera research, and mass production was also taking place.

"Actually, this building is surrounded by very terrifying monsters... Even if we could get out, we would be killed immediately."

Therefore, the courtyard connecting the main building and the annex was filled with a large number of Chimeras. The three, besides Ink, knew this. There were hundreds of these monsters, each equivalent to an S-rank adventurer. No human, probably not even one in the world, could survive such a hell.

"Maybe you're talking about Chimeras?"

"Yes, that's right. That's why it's impossible. I want to escape too, but... they are..."

"I see... That's why everyone was so scared when we got here."

Ink sighed deeply and threw herself onto the bed. She wasn't reckless enough to try such a reckless plan. However, if the hope of "maybe we can escape" was what kept her going, perhaps it was better not to know the reality. Milkit, still hugging her knees, looked down. The two fell silent, and the room was filled with silence. Perhaps because of this, Ink didn't miss the faint sound of a rustle.

"Milkit, didn't you hear something from the window?"

At this, Milkit stood up and walked to the window. The window was fixed and had no lock, and there was an iron grille on the outside. However, there was a small gap between the frame and the sash.

"There's a piece of paper stuck in it."

"Maybe it flew in from outside?"

"It seems to have something written on it..."

She picked it up and read aloud.

"'This is a test, I want the person who received it to write a mark and return it outside.'... 'su'?"

There was no signature on the note. But the ending sounded familiar.

"Could this be from Sera?"

"But for a note from Sera to fly in here, it seems too much of a coincidence."

"It could have been done by a demon named Neigus, who is with Sera!"

"Oh... I remember, I heard they can use wind and darkness magic."

"Then that's it! They must have used wind magic to target our location and send it!"

If that was the case, the request to return it outside—Milkit took the quill from the desk and wrote her name, "Milkit." The writing was still clumsy, but it should be readable. She then slipped the note back through the gap in the window. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and the paper was carried away by the current—

◇◇◇

Neigus and Sera were hiding in the bushes on the north side of the mountain, observing the facility. A white piece of paper flew towards them as if drawn to them. Neigus smiled in satisfaction as she caught it between her index and middle fingers.

"Hehehe, how about that? Did you change your mind?"

She said this proudly, clearly wanting to be praised with "Wow, Neigus, you're amazing! As expected!"

However, Sera sighed and said in a cold voice.

"I thought Neigus could do something like this. So, what does it say?"

She kept her distance. Neigus, with a dejected expression—realized that the content wasn't actually insulting. In fact, it was more like a compliment. This meant that her feelings had finally reached Sera, and they were now in a mutual love, so it would be fine to do all sorts of things right here—

"Sera-chan, I love you too!?"

As Neigus tried to kiss her with pouted lips, Sera's palm struck her cheek. The world wasn't that sweet.

"Never mind that, can you tell me what it says!?"

"Sure..."

Neigus, with a dejected look, showed the note to Sera.

"Milkit's name is clearly written. It seems to have reached her."

"If we keep this up, we might be able to rescue the four captives..."

"How long are you going to mope...?"

"Until Sera-chan turns around."

"Which means forever. Well, let's send the next note now."

"Smooth and sharp."

But Neigus, who had gotten used to Sera's responses recently, wasn't discouraged by this. However, she was still an adult. After a bit of silly banter, she took out a pen from her cleavage and started writing the next message on the paper.

"It's frustrating, isn't it? We're so close, but we can't help them. If they could just get outside, I think we could take advantage of a gap and take them away."

"That's impossible. With so many monsters, no one can get close."

However, Sera also felt frustrated, and to convince herself, she cast a "Scan" on the Chimeras visible in the distance.

--------------------

Chimaira-Werewolf

Attribute: Earth

Strength: 6519

Magic: 6163

Health: 6121

Agility: 6784

Senses: 6511

--------------------

--------------------

Chimaira-Anzu

Attribute: Wind

Strength: 8945

Magic: 8269

Health: 8181

Agility: 7692

Senses: 7399

--------------------

--------------------

Chimaira-Wyvern

Attribute: Wind

Strength: 12412

Magic: 10972

Health: 10367

Agility: 8915

Senses: 9976

--------------------

No matter how many times she looked, the numbers were discouraging. There were individual differences, but their stats were similar. The names were probably given by the researchers, and their mechanical nature only emphasized the abnormality. The base monsters were the source, but if they were to be described more easily, they could be called "werewolf-type," "lion-type," and "wyvern-type" in order of size. The werewolf-type was based on a werewolf, but its head was that of a bird with excellent vision, its arms had the strong claws of a bear, and its back had the wings of a harpy. It was clearly a different creature from its origin, and with the power of the Origin Core mixed in, it was impossible to imagine what magic it could use. The attribute was probably just a decoration; if one fought it with earth or wind magic in mind, they might be caught off guard. The lion-type and wyvern-type were similarly mixed, with the body of an anzu with the upper body of an ogre, or a wyvern with a torn belly from which countless tentacles emerged, and a giant single eye on its head. It was difficult to even recall the original form of the monsters.

"I can't say 'I can take them all down' either."

"But, Sera-chan, you've become much stronger since we met."

"Well, Neigus taught me a lot about handling magic."

"Right, right, after holding hands and doing all sorts of things, I even took her lips—"

"Save the nonsense for when you're asleep."

Demons have higher techniques for handling and training magic than humans. Neigus used this to train and secretly strengthen Sera. Since demons are generally forbidden from interacting with humans, this was a clear violation of the rules, but since they were already breaking the rules by acting together, it didn't matter. As a result, Sera's stats improved dramatically.

--------------------

Sera Ambilen

Attribute: Light

Strength: 875

Magic: 2197

Health: 747

Agility: 948

Senses: 651

--------------------

A total of 5418, equivalent to an A-rank adventurer. But that wasn't her only strength. Neigus also taught Sera the technique of forbidden spells. Although it was inefficient, she could now cast light magic with output comparable to an S-rank adventurer.

"Even so, I feel like you've grown too much."

While scanning Sera, Neigus realized this again. Honestly, the one who taught her was the most surprised. Thinking about it, Sera was kidnapped by the church because her talent was recognized. She might have the same or even greater talent as Maria. Even so, her rapid growth in a short time and the potential for further growth were terrifying.

"Neigus, how long do you plan to keep talking? We need to reply to Milkit soon."

"Oh, you're right."

Neigus focused this time and wrote a longer message on the note.

"The biggest problem is how much Milkit and the others trust Neigus."

Sera, leaning against a tree, looked at the note in Neigus's hand.

"We should write the reasons too. After that, we just have to trust them."

"If we tell them that Flamm is being used, they will probably act."

Before returning to this place from the Demon King's castle, the two had stayed in a different town. While gathering information at a bar, they overheard a conversation. According to the adventurer who had moved from the capital, the current king had been deposed, and his son's right to inherit the throne had been revoked. The queen and trusted ministers were also executed one after another. The current pope was also executed, and Satuuki Lanagarki was appointed to the same position. A man named Slough Caroll, who claimed to have "the blood of the rightful king," was crowned as the new king. Of course, the people were resentful of the meticulously planned rebellion, but it was the heroes, Kiril and Flamm, who quelled it.

"Even so, I don't understand what happened just from that story."

"We can look into the details later. If Flamm and the others