The noble district of the Royal Capital.
At the end of a street paved with orderly cobblestones, stood a stylish mansion.
In a room bathed in the faint light of the setting sun, a stout, elderly gentleman spoke.
“I must say, I’m quite surprised. To think the Vice-Commander of the Royal Guard would pay me a visit so suddenly.”
“My apologies for disturbing you during your busy schedule, Lord Calendore.”
Krishna, seated on the sofa opposite him, took a sip of the tea that had been served.
“Oof!”
“Is something the matter?”
“Ah, my apologies. A sensitive tongue is my only weakness, you see.”
“Ho ho ho, so even the <Stone Rose> has a weakness. This is a rare blend imported from the East. I do hope it suits your taste.”
“Yes, it’s quite delicious.”
It had a rich aroma and a refined, luxurious flavor.
However, for some reason, she was nostalgically reminded of the taste of the tea she had in the slums.
Looking out the window, she saw a magnificent backyard with towering coniferous trees.
Even the simple well house beside the flower bed was far more splendid than that building in the slums.
“So, what brings you here today?”
“Well, it’s about…”
She couldn’t possibly say that she had come after hearing rumors of child trafficking.
Krishna mocked herself, wondering what on earth she was doing. She had been swayed by the words of a demi-human (while getting lost) and ended up here.
The breeding ground for illegal trafficking is the nobility. That couldn’t be true. Of course, she couldn’t report such unreliable information to headquarters. She had only come to confirm, just in case, that it was merely a baseless rumor. Reaffirming this to herself, Krishna placed the porcelain cup down.
“Are you aware that thieves occasionally infiltrate the special district, my lord?”
“I’ve heard of it. I believe there’s a Lizardman bandit group…”
“Yes. We intend to further strengthen security.”
“I would appreciate that.”
“Of course. However, it’s not realistic to cover every area with security. We want the nobles themselves to be more aware of crime prevention.”
“Hmm. That is a sound argument.”
“Therefore, I would like to inspect your residence to check the current security measures and high-risk areas.”
Krishna said, observing Lord Calendore closely.
Zofia the Swift had said that, with the investigation intensifying, some of the children had been moved to special rooms in the mansion. Ordinary people cannot enter a nobleman’s mansion, and there are rooms to spare.
In a sense, it might indeed be a very safe hiding place. But there was no change in the other man’s good-natured expression.
“That’s a fine idea. However, if you had told me in advance, I would have prepared more thoroughly.”
“I wanted to see the usual state of affairs as much as possible, so I apologize for the unannounced visit.”
“Ho ho ho, I see. Very well. I have free time until dinner, so I shall guide you.”
“I am most grateful for your personal guidance, my lord.”
Krishna followed Lord Calendore and inspected the mansion.
She thoroughly examined not only the rooms but also the kitchen, bathroom, and the underground food storage, but found no trace of any place where children might be imprisoned.
–So it was just a tall tale after all.
There was no need to come all this way to check.
She felt anger and disgust at herself for being taken in by a lie, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief.
“What do you think, Master Krishna?”
“Yes, the security is even better than I expected. It will be difficult for thieves to break in.”
“Ho ho ho, it’s reassuring to have the Vice-Commander of the Royal Guard give such a strong endorsement.”
“Well, if I had to point out one thing, the uneven distribution of security…”
Krishna stopped speaking.
“Hmm, what is it?”
“…Ah, no, it’s nothing. Excuse me, but may I use the restroom before I leave?”
“Ho ho, please do.”
Krishna bowed and left the room, stepping out into the hallway.
Her heartbeat quickened slightly.
Even with all this land, Lord Calendore was somewhere between the lower and middle ranks of nobility.
It suddenly struck her as odd that the security was so tight for his rank.
It could be dismissed as him simply being a cautious person, but what was also strange was the balance of security. She had also walked around the outer walls, and she remembered that there were far more security personnel concentrated on the rear side compared to the main gate side.
Krishna opened the window in the hallway and stepped down into the backyard.
–It can’t be…
Her gaze fell upon the simple well house.
Checking her surroundings, Krishna quickly moved to the well house, hiding behind the shade of the garden trees. She had been forced to leave her magic gun when entering the mansion, and the empty holster felt strangely unsettling.
–I’ll just confirm that it’s not what I think, and then I’ll be right back.
She pushed open the door of the old shed and peered into the well.
The bottom was dark and impossible to see.
She picked up a pebble and dropped it in, and a dry, hollow sound echoed.
–The water has dried up.
There were small handholds on the inside of the well.
It’s not uncommon to have handholds in a well in case someone falls in accidentally.
But-
Krishna gulped.
She swiftly descended the handholds, and the bottom opened into a small room-sized space.
Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness.
At the back was a heavy iron door with a padlock.
“No way…”
Feeling a slight dizziness, Krishna stood there.
–What should I do…?
There was no time to think slowly.
Ideally, she should confirm the inside with Lord Calendore present, but if he refused, that would be the end of it. And once a noble refuses, it becomes difficult for even the Royal Guard to enter the residence without clear evidence.
She could only use this pretext once.
If she was going to check, it had to be now.
However, on the other hand, there was a good chance that this was just a hidden treasure vault.
If she opened it without permission, she would, of course, be charged with a crime.
“Even so-…”
Krishna slowly took a step forward.
If.
If children were imprisoned inside.
If they were waiting for a hero to save them…
Krishna held her breath, unfastened her belt buckle, and inserted the tip into the lock. The Royal Guard learns the structure of locks in crime prevention training. It would take some time, but she could open most locks. She managed to unlock it, grasped the handle, and pushed open the heavy door.
“Ah…”
Krishna groaned.
Beyond the iron bars were a dozen or so children. All of them were blindfolded and had iron shackles on their hands and feet.
The girl at the front said, trembling.
“S-Scary person?”
“It’s okay. I’m often told I look scary with my expressionless face, but I’m not someone who will harm you.”
Seeing them huddled together, terrified, her heart ached.
Anger towards Lord Calendore and herself swirled in the pit of her stomach.
But she had confirmed the evidence with her own eyes. This should be enough to mobilize headquarters.
“You must have been scared. Just wait a little longer. I’ll be back to rescue you soon.”
“W-Who are you…?”
“Me? I’m a hero of justi…”
Thud!
Krishna felt a burning heat in her back and crashed into the iron bars.
Enduring the intense pain, she looked back to see Lord Calendore.
He was holding Krishna’s magic gun.
“The Royal Guard’s magic guns really are different, aren’t they? If I set the firepower to maximum, even a capture shot has this much power. I can use this to threaten the brats too.”
The gentle expression from earlier was gone, replaced by a sadistic smile plastered across his face.
“You were taking so long to come back, I had a bad feeling and came to check, but I never thought you’d find this place. You shouldn’t wander around without permission.”
“D-Damn it… Gwaah!”
She tried to lunge, but another shot was fired, and a shock ran through her left hand.
The blindfolded children also seemed to sense the change and began to sob in unison.
“D-Do you think you can get away with this?”
“Yes, I do. If I eliminate you here, everything will go back to the way it was. No one was ever here in the first place. Right?”
Cough, she coughed, and fresh blood spilled from her mouth. Her side was gouged, and her left arm was gone from the elbow down.
Krishna collapsed to her knees on the spot.
–Pathetic…
She hated the poor, doubted the poor, and cracked down on the poor. But in this case, the poor were right.
She couldn’t even save a single crying child, she was just a fake justice after all. This is the end of a sham hero.
“The Royal Guard shouldn’t meddle in the affairs of nobles.”
Lord Calendore, with an expressionless gaze, slowly approached her with the gun in hand.
She had already stopped feeling pain.
“You should just keep quiet and control the commoners. Right?”
To prevent stray bullets from hitting the children, Krishna gritted her teeth and crawled away from the iron bars.
“Hahaha, the perfect <Stone Rose> in such a miserable state.”
–I’m sorry.
“Just because I kidnapped a few dozen brats from the slums, you’re making such a fuss.”
–I’m sorry, everyone.
“I am a noble. Unlike the commoners, I am allowed to do whatever I want. Do you understand?”
–I’m sorry, Mother.
“It’s almost time for dinner. Hurry up and die.”
–I couldn’t become a true hero.
“…Hmm?”
Lord Calendore momentarily paused his finger on the trigger.
It seemed a bit noisy outside.
Suddenly, a man, likely a guard, shouted.
“Thieves! Thieves have infiltrated!”
“What?!”
Roars echoed from outside, and Lord Calendore looked up. The sound of multiple people fighting reverberated through the space.
The next moment, someone landed lightly in the well.
“What, you’re still alive? I should have come a little later.”
A woman with long black hair and sharp, upturned eyes spoke in a languid tone.
“Zofia, the Swift… W-Why…”
She muttered, spitting blood, and then another voice was heard from behind her.
“Honestly, you’re reckless. You never fail to disappoint, in a bad way.”
In the dim light, the outline of the approaching figure gradually became clearer.
“I came all the way here for a house call. Be prepared to pay a fortune, because it’s going to cost you your life.”
Clad in a black cloak and complaining with apparent annoyance, this figure was, however unmistakably a hero.
A/N: A premonition of long-awaited action…?!