9-42. Safe and Too Late
Uchikage, who had descended underground, walked relying only on his sense of presence without any light.
There seem to be only a few candles as a source of light here.
It’s dim… no, it seems like they have no choice but to walk in almost complete darkness.
The two behind them are not used to it.
Since it’s too dangerous to run in this dark place, they place their hands on the walls and follow Uchikage while securing their path in their minds.
Giriri…
Gyu, giriri…
A strange noise echoes.
Since it’s underground, sounds reverberate well, and it’s unclear where the sound is coming from.
However, they understood that it was ringing far away.
However, there seems to be no prison-like structure around here.
For now, it’s just a corridor surrounded by stones.
Uchikage only brings down his rack and advances down the corridor while remaining vigilant.
After walking for a while, they arrived at a slightly wider space.
It seems to be circular, and there seems to be stairs leading to the surface.
And various tools and debris were thrown around randomly.
There is no prison here either.
“Is this really the place? Even though it’s underground, there is no place to imprison people.”
“It’s here… The prison is on the upper floor.”
The underground space is just a passageway.
However, it has become a mechanism that they must pass through to escape.
The prison is on the upper floor.
It seems to be installed in the building on the surface.
It is not easy to get out, and supplies to secure food or something to keep them alive can be sent from the surface.
Impressed, Uchikage and Reizen went up the stairs to the upper floor.
It was a surprisingly well-maintained place.
It doesn’t look like a prison at first glance.
However, there are hardly any windows, and even if they exist, they are very small.
They are not big enough for a child to pass through.
It is a stone building located in a place away from the church.
There aren’t many reasons why it needs to be so heavily guarded, but it would be a good place to imprison someone.
The fact that it is located in the depths of an alley where people hardly ever go also plays a good role in hiding anything.
For the time being, is there anyone around that they can find?
However, given the size of this building, it probably can’t accommodate that many people.
The hostages might be held in a different location.
The cells are not made of iron bars, but are door-style.
Inside, there are small, dirty rooms.
Reizen broke the lock with his piercing hand and forcibly opened the door.
“Is anyone here?”
“Wha-!?”
“Uaaah, sorry… Pardon me.”
He left the door open and walked away.
He repeated this process many times, freeing the people inside the building.
They are on their own now.
“Geez, they really went all out here.”
“The church just wants pawns… disposable soldiers who must complete their given missions… How terrible.”
The freed hostages came out of the doors, looking a bit lost, but eventually everyone ran towards the exit.
For now, all the doors in this area have been unlocked.
Next is the second floor.
The three of them quickly went up the stairs, and Reizen forced open another door.
Then, in the third door he opened, he saw a child with a familiar face, looking at him with a surprised expression.
“Oh, that child is.”
“Yeah, Theik’s little brother!”
“Y-you know my big brother!?”
“Alright, first objective complete!”
Reizen was sure it was Theik’s little brother after hearing the response, so she immediately picked up the child.
“Byaaa!?”
“We did it! We finally found him, Theik!”
“Reizen-dono! He’s just a child, please be gentle with him…”
“Got it.”
“Bueeeeeeeh!”
“Uwaaaah. Sorry, sorry!”
If someone is lifted up by a stranger, anyone would be surprised. Even young children would cry in such situations.
Theik’s younger brother cries and Reizen becomes confused, but Karna and Uchikage leave the room and break the lock with a sword. They repeat the same thing two or three times and check inside, but the person they are looking for is not there.
They break the lock of the last remaining room and check inside.
“… No one is here…”
“Was it your sister?”
“Yes…”
She knew she was here. There was no mistake about it. But… nobody was there. They searched for something, but there was nothing there. So where did her sister go? Maybe someone took her away, but where to? Even if they started looking now, they wouldn’t have enough time. If the hostage who was being held here had escaped, security should have been increased in other places.
“What should we do…?”
“Don’t pull my hair. Wai- lil bro.”
“I’m not your brother. I’m Thekil…”
“Thekil, stop pulling my hair…”
“No.”
Reizen, who carried Thekil on his shoulder, came out of the room. It was a mystery how they had become such good friends in just a moment, but as long as he stopped crying, that was good enough.
Reizen stopped when he saw Karna’s state. Thekil, who was on his shoulder, saw it too.
“The lady over there is not here anymore.”
“!? You know what happened?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where she went…? When did she leave here…?”
“No, that’s not it. She’s just not here anymore.”
“””…Huh?”””
Everyone tilted their head at Thekil’s words. They couldn’t understand it at first, but they had a bad feeling.
But children don’t hold back. They just tell the truth.
“The big sis over there died, so she was taken away.”
“…”
“Hol hol hol up, Thekil… is that true? But maybe it’s a mistake. Do you know her name or something?”
“I know. Her name is Meitya-onee-chan. We were in a different room, but we were talking with magic tools. 【 Storage】 .”
Thekil created a tiny piece of wood in his hand. When he pinched the corner of the wood and pulled it, it became a sharp triangular shape.
“If we were close, we could talk with this. Meitya-onee-chan said that if she wasn’t there, her sister would be free. I don’t know what happened after that.”
“…”
“Karna… is Meitya your-…”
“…”
Karna was shaking. Although she often had an expressionless face, she showed signs of agitation at that moment. From her reaction, it could be inferred that Meitya was Karna’s sister.
“…Karna, let’s go.”
“To where…?”
“Anywhere but not here.”
“What are we going to do …?”
“I’ll think about it later.”
Reizen gradually takes Karna’s hand and leads her towards the exit.
An assassin that lost their purpose in life.
It’s all he can do for now to sort out her feelings.
But there is time.
Time to sort out her feelings, time to heal her wounds.
Reizen believes this and tries to take Karna away from this place.
However, she does not move.
No matter how many times Reizen pulls her, she remains frozen in place as if glued there.
“Why…?”
“…”
“Why did Meitya have to die? Was it because of me? Was it my fault…?”
“Don’t ever think like that. The one at fault…is that priest.”
“But, but…ugh, uaaaah…!”
Karna squeezes Reizen’s hand tightly and begins to shed big tears.
Reizen sees a big change in her expression, but cannot be happy in this situation.
She kneels down and rubs Karna’s back to comfort her.
The anguished cry of a woman echoes through the cell.
