Chapter 10

The Wolves gave us a room for the night. Solicea and Maya, tired from their journey, went to sleep. Emori, meanwhile, accompanied me as I worked through the stack of papers, thinking about a plan.

The fact that we were outsiders certainly made my job harder, but it had some benefits as well. For example, an independent party didn’t need to wait for their leaders to go through a mission. Plus, if things went wrong, it would be easier for us to escape compared to an organization that had its roots in the country.

“Here’s some tea.” Regus set two cups in front of my table. They were kind enough to lend us an empty office space to work in.

“Thank you.” I took a sip, warming up my body.

“Miss Nayala occasionally teleports to Syla just to deliver delicious stuff like this.” Emori drank from her cup.

“If everyone can use Teleport, then we wouldn’t need transportation, would we?”

“Teleport is hard to do, though. Most Wolves can’t use it. The average person didn't even know it existed. There's also a limit on how many people or things you can take with you,” Regus said.

“The average person?”

“Oh, you didn't know, did you? People don't use magic in Nanawak.”

I turned to Emori.

“Is that why they misunderstood the Connect spell?” She asked, referring to when the soldiers tried to arrest us.

“Probably.” I turned back to Regus. “But I thought you need to be able to use magic to join the Wolves?”

“You don't have to be able to use complicated ones. Simple ones like Connect are sufficient.”

“I see. By the way, is there any news from the capital?” I asked Amira, who was on the sofa communicating with other Wolves all across the country.

The symbol in her right eye disappeared, then she turned to answer. “The general notion is that there is a safety concern, so many important people were gathered and held in the castle. His Majesty, Her Majesty, many dukes and nobles, all were forcibly gathered there by a combined troop of hunters and soldiers.”

“Including the duke that opposed Nayala’s marriage?”

Amira nodded.

“I thought he was arrested?” Emori asked.

“Conflicting information, the usual.” Amira shrugged.

“Why did he oppose Miss Nayala’s marriage? Did he dislike my brother?”

“No, that’s not it. The concern lies on where Boss will go after the marriage.”

“Ah, I see…”

Unlike Prilus, Nayala is an only child. They’re both crown prince and princess. If Nayala wanted to be with Prilus, one of them would have to leave the country. Teleport is an option, if both wanted to rule their domain but still remain together, but the people of Nanawak didn’t use magic. Most probably didn’t know it was possible.

“So if my brother doesn’t have a responsibility in Syla, he could come to Nanawak with Miss Nayala?”

“Probably, yeah.” I wasn’t close enough to Prilus to tell, but he didn’t seem all that attached to his position. If what Emori’s parents said was true, then Prilus wouldn’t mind giving back the crown to Emori. Only if Emori wanted, though.

“How about Na- I mean Her Highness Nayala?”

Regus set down a cup in front of Amira, sitting next to her.

“Thank you.” Amira took a quick sip before answering. “There’s no information on that front so far. The only news we knew off is that she isn’t there, and that she is ‘safe’.”

“We’re supposed to trust that vague statement?”

“I certainly don’t, but this is a weird one to be sure. When you’re holding a coup, the first thing to do is kill the heads, right? Yet they let the Emperor and Empress lived. Not just that, intel said that they’re treating them like regular.”

“Regular?” Regus raised an eyebrow.

“Good food, good service, those kinds of stuff. They didn’t just sack them in some prison somewhere.”

“Huh, that’s weird.”

I nodded to Regus’ statement. There seemed to be more than what meets the eye.

“By the way, how do we figure out Boss’ whereabouts? She’s not in the capital, so where is she?”

I motioned them to come to the table. Emori, Regus, and Amira circled the map that had my drawings on them.

“This is where Her Highness disappeared, right?”

“Yes.”

“I'll need to assume that whoever kidnapped her couldn't use Teleport. Because, if they could, then things would be a lot harder.”

“For now, it should be fine. Even among the Wolves, very few could use the spell.”

“Good to know.”

The fact that the Nanawak people didn't use magic as much as people in Syla really helped.

I returned my attention to the map in front of me. It was a map of the province of Zurowa. The map contained various information. Small villages and towns, cities, dungeons, and various other points of interest. On the right side was a black circle, marking where the convoy was attacked and where Nayala and Akareseki disappeared.

From that black circle, I drew several other circles based on the length it would take to walk to the nearest city or point. I had made several markings on the map as well.

“Why did you cross out all the dungeons?” Emori asked.

“We’ve already agreed that the monsters taking them is very unlikely. Even if it’s a demon-tempered monster, I doubt Her Highness couldn’t handle them. She had the Bearer of Nanawak with her as well. Even if she couldn’t handle them, there was no way no one would see those monsters running away.”

In fact, all of the monsters that attacked had been killed. I doubt one could sneak off carrying two people without anyone noticing.

“But couldn't the kidnappers take her to a dungeon?”

“If you're trying to kidnap someone, then the dungeon is a terrible place to hide. Sandstorms can easily close the entrance. What if you reached the place and you can no longer enter, or you entered but couldn't leave?”

“That's a good point, actually. So you're saying wherever they took her, it would be into a city?” Regus asked.

“Correct.” I then crossed out the areas that were smaller.

Considering the frequent sandstorms in Nanawak, all of the cities and villages in this country had tall walls to prevent the sand from coming in. Since a sandstorm is unpredictable, being in a small village greatly limits your mobility during a sandstorm. You couldn't move freely in and out thanks to the wall, and you couldn't find many buildings to hide in.

Had they been discovered during a sandstorm in a walled city, hiding and escaping would still be difficult, but not as hard as in a small village.

The kidnappers could also put scouts on the walls, reporting any troops that were coming. With all the benefits, I doubt they would choose a small village over a large city.

This requirement further reduced the number of possibilities. count the time it would take, we end up with three options.

“I think we should begin an investigation from here.”

I pointed to the city named Akarakura. Bringing Nayala away from that city posed its benefits, as people tend to look for someone starting from the locations closest to where they disappeared, but such an approach had its own risks.

For one, it increased the time on the road. If Nayala wasn’t properly subdued, she could make a scene, jeopardizing the plans. Second, the farther they went, the more likely someone would see them. Considering the sandstorms, there’s also a chance the kidnappers got stuck en route.

So, if I were them, I would rather choose a location closer to where they disappeared, and put extra effort in fortifying the defenses.

All of that assuming the kidnappers couldn’t use teleport. But, until we have a better lead, this was all I can do.

“Anything you want to add?” I asked the mercs. They lived in this region. They should know the terrain and customs more than me.

“Nothing else. You made good plans, Kid. Should I tell the others?” Amira asked.

“Are you sure? This is all guess work.” Personally, I preferred some more investigation into this. While I did have some investigation-ish abilities, I wasn’t the best at it. I never even wrote a guide before.

“It’s fine. It’s better than idling about. Besides, it’s not like we can do anything major without consulting the higher ups.” A symbol for Connect appeared on Amira’s eye. It was on for quite a while.

“Alright, I contacted the others. An investigation will start, starting from the city you pointed to.”

“Okay.”

“You two should head back. It’s not like you can fight without sleep.”

I stretched my limbs. “I agree. I can use some rest. How about you two?”

“We’ll go to sleep right after this.”

“Alright then, good night.”

Me and Emori stood up and left the room.

“Good night Emori.”

“Good night.”

The two of us parted ways, heading to our own rooms.

•••

We spent the next morning going around searching for monsters to kill as we waited for any news regarding Nayala. Once it was midday, we returned to base to have some lunch.

“Assuming you find her, what will the next step be?” I was sitting next to Regus, enjoying some yellow rice that the Wolves provided. We sat in the empty cafeteria. Ameri had taken the girls on a tour of the place.

“Wait, I guess.” He averted his eyes, unable to answer clearly. Something big must have happened in the history of the Wolves, for them to not take action like this. I wanted to ask, but didn’t think it was a good time. Regardless of what happened, I knew that the Wolves wouldn’t act without the princess or the second-in-command approving their plans.

Does that mean we have to act on our own?

I preferred it to not descend to that. We were still students, after all. Even with me and Maya’s high level, we wouldn’t be able to fight all those professionally trained soldiers.

“When will your leader return?”

“He’s supposed to be back next week, but who knows with the current condition.”

“Truly bad timing…” I sighed.

“All we can do now is hope the investigation came out with something.”

“Yeah.”

•••

After enjoying my lunch, I returned to the office room that had been lent to us. The other mercs treated Regus with respect, so he must be a high-ranking officer himself.

How high is he?

I couldn’t help but wonder as I read through some books. These ones were written in Syilaian so I didn’t have any trouble reading through them.

Is there a gap between the second-in-command and whoever was next?

There must be some kind of hierarchy, right? I mean, if the third-in-command couldn’t act, then what would happen to this organization when the first two disappeared like this?

A knock came from the door. Regus, who sat on the sofa reading some documents, glanced at me and I nodded. He stood up and opened the door.

“What is it?”

“There are some sparring requests for the Kid,” Amira said. “You’re up for it?”

“Sure.” I closed the book and headed out. The two of us followed Amira to the central field where a duel was underway.

“Is that…?”

I used Zoom to look in closer. Emori was in the middle of a fight against a Wolf. The two traded spells inside a Duel Shield, a spell that could nullify any damage during the duel. It didn’t nullify the pain, though.

“She’s holding up quite well,” Amira said.

I doubt Emori was trained in close-quarter combat, or any fight against people for that matter. Unlike monsters, people’s attack patterns changed, and there was no one guide to fighting. You couldn’t memorize certain animations or movements as a sign of certain attacks. All of this made fighting a person tougher.

This made Emori’s move even more impressive. She was still losing. The person fighting against her managed to back her to a corner, but Emori endured through the attacks and fired off several of her own light spells.

I observed the fight while I descended to the field. She managed to dodge a few more hits, then counterattacked with her own light spells. She tried out several of the regular spells, like Light Spear and Bright Orb, attempting to push back her rival.

As the fight dragged on, she decided to utilize her secret spell, White Spring, but the merc was faster and managed to pin her down right after she shot her spell.

“That’s quite some power, Your Highness.”

“... I surrender.”

Despite her loss, it was still impressive how long she survived against a fully trained mercenary.

“You did well, Your Highness. It’s an honor to have a duel against you.”

“Thank you for your pointers as well.” The two of them bowed their heads and the Duel Shield dissipated.

“That’s pretty decent, Emori.”

“You think so? I’m glad, then.”

“Have you been practicing?”

Emori nodded. “I can’t always rely on you. You never know how things would be in the field.”

“Good point.”

Maya and Solicea also had a go at fighting the mercenaries. Solicea’s control over her spear had improved, even occasionally using water spells with it. But her enemy managed to gain the upper hand and defeat her. She did manage to throw her rival off balance with one of her Wave, but as expected from a trained professional, the Wolf managed to recover almost instantly.

Then it was Maya’s turn. Emori’s fighting style relied fully on magic, while Solicea’s had a balance between magic and physical attacks, even if she lean more to using the spear. Maya, on the other hand…

“... Did I go to hard?”

“I… I surrender.” The Wolf lifted both of her hands. It was a pretty quick victory. Maya struck before the Wolf was prepared, and sent her flying straight into the barrier.

“It’s your turn, Fortis.” Maya patted my shoulder. I moved into the duel field, my rival entering on the other side. A barrier was erected above us.

“You looked quite young, but I heard you’re a level 100,” he said, his sharp gaze eyeing me suspiciously.

“Hard to believe, I know.” I shrugged it off.

“Begin!”

Rock Beam! Engulf!

I merged a brown circle and a red one, then painted both symbols in my eyes. What appeared was nothing.

As expected.

I dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming sword strike.

Boost!

To fight the demon king, I needed to be able to dodge strikes while also cast multiple spells. While my first attempt failed, I needed to start learning to merge spells and cast multiple elements at the same time.

This duel provided me with the first real challenge in a while.

I wasn’t a sword fighter, not sure why I got paired up with one in the first place, but I prioritized dodging as close-quarter combat meant hell for me.

“You’re fast, I’ll give you that.” The merc continued slashing at me, the tip of his blade slicing through the fabric of my clothes. Due to the rules of Duel Shield, it didn’t pierce through nor did it harm me in any way.

I kept my concentration. As long as Boost was active, I needed to be careful. The slightest mistake could end the match.

I decided that I didn’t have much time, certainly far less than I had hoped for.

Rock Beam! Engulf!

I tried again, sure that the symbol was correct. A beam of rock appeared from the outstretched wand, fire engulfing it. I lost control of the beam. It smashed into the ground and exploded, the flames throwing both of us into different ends of the wall.

Akh!

The pain from the hit shattered my concentration and I fell face first into the dirt.

“... A draw?”

Murmurs began to appear from the crowd. I guess my failed spell still had a level 100 strength behind it.

“Are you alright?” Emori rushed to my side. She took my body and flipped it, my face now facing up.

“I’m fine.” The effects of Boost quickly dissipated and I could move once more. I turned to look toward the mercenary, who struggled to get up. I made my way to him and extended my hand.

“Nice one. Shouldn’t have underestimated ya.” He smirked and pulled himself up. We shook hands and he left the field. After that, several more mercs came up to me to have a try in sparring against us.

•••

The girls did several more spars with the Wolves. After my second victory, I decided to retire, as I wanted the girls to get more training.

“Promise me you'll spar with us one day, okay?” Regus said.

I nodded to his words. “Yeah. For now, let's let them get some experience.*

“Regus!” A voice called out from behind. A wolf came running in and spoke with him.

“... okay.” He turned to Emori who was in the middle of a fight, and the three girls behind her.

“Play time’s over!” He clapped, bringing attention to him.

The fight stopped.

“Ah, you're no fun,” the wolf fighting Emori complained, but stepped out of the shield regardless. “It's an honor to fight you, Your Highness.”

“Likewise.”

The girls then approached us and Regus took us back to the office.

“What happened?” Emori asked.

“I'm not sure.”

We arrived in front of the office. I knocked on the door and opened it.

“... What are you doing here?”

Inside was Prilus, and next to him sat a large man. He had a short white beard, a scar decorating the left side of his face.

Prilus let out a sigh. “Sit down.”

We did as told, sitting down across from him.

“Mister Vorak? You’ve returned?” Regus asked. The man nodded. “I’ve heard of the situation.”

“So, what are you doing here?”

Prilus shook his head. “I’m here to take you back.”

All of us gasped. “Take us back?” Emori tilted her head.

“This isn’t an issue for us to deal with.” Prilus folded his arms and glanced at Mister Vorak. “I’ve talked with him. After some discussion, we decided that the four of you are going home.”

Emori shot up. “But-”

“I understand how you feel, Your Highness,” Mister Vorak said in a heavy voice. “But there is no need to worry. We will deal with this by ourselves.”

“... Brother-”

“Shut it, Emori. There’s nothing we can do about this.” Prilus averted his eyes. “This is an order. We’re going back.”

“...” Emori fell silent. I thought about something to say, but I somewhat agree with Prilus here. This was a risky endeavor, no matter how you see it. Not something a princess of a country should be doing.

Prilus stood up, extending his hand. “Fortisbel, take us back.”

“... Please let us gather our belongings first.”

“Fo- Fortis?”

I stood up and left the room. Emori caught up to me.

“Fortis? Are you going to give up just like that?”

“As I said, Emori. Politics isn’t my strong suit.”

“But… But surely there’s something you can do, right?”

I stopped. Emori bumped into my back.

“Emori… Sorry, but I’m not a god.”

Just because I have my past experience with me, just because I have my abilities, that doesn’t mean I can just push through every issue I face. There are times when even I need to retreat and regroup, this is one such time.

“I couldn’t just flick my fingers and solve every issue.”

“... Fortis…”

I turned around, finding Emori standing there, her eyes looking at me.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“... Okay…” She turned around and left. I couldn’t say anything as she went farther and farther away from me.

… Damnit.

I hurt her again, didn’t I?

I stood there, unable to say anything.

•••

“Everyone’s ready?” I asked, checking my surroundings. We had gathered all of our stuff. On my right was Maya and Solicea, and on my left was Prilus and Emori. Unlike usual, Emori distanced herself. I could understand her somewhat. Worried sick about her friend, yet the one that she relied on couldn’t do anything. I wanted to say something, but decided it would be best if we both cool down for a bit.

“Yeah, ready.”

“Ready.”

“Kid… it been a short while, but thank you for everything you did,” Amira said. Regus nodded as he stood by her side. “We’ll do our best, so please don’t worry.”

With Regus, Amira, and Mister Vorak standing there, I gave them a smile. I looked around one more time, burning the image of this room into my mind. I tried my best, memorizing every detail about the room.

“Kid?”

“I’m going to miss this place.” I let out a sigh. I then painted Syla’s castle in my vision.

“See you later.” I completed the symbol for Teleport, and we went back home to Syla.