“Sorry, I really have an urgent matter, I can't stay and chat with you!”
Fran immediately tried to use that as an excuse to flee.
But her right hand was suddenly grabbed by the bald thug.
“Hey, hey, hey~ trying to just walk away after running into someone? Isn't that a bit too rude for a noble~? Next, why don't we teach you some real manners~!”
“Hehehe~! Yeah, manners you'll spend the rest of your life learning~!”
The two thugs eyed Fran with extremely sinister glares, as if calculating her specific value.
“Wait! What do you want to do?! Let me go! Let me go, quickly!”
Fran panicked completely, tugging hard at her sleeve to break free.
“Heehee, gotcha!”
The buzzcut thug leaned in, scooped Fran up by the waist, and slung her over his shoulder.
“Wait! What on earth are you doing?! Put me down, quickly! Help! Somebody help me! Help—!”
“Cover her mouth!”
“Alright, Boss.”
The buzzcut thug set Fran down, pinning her against his waist with one arm while clamping his other hand tightly over her nose and mouth.
“He— mmpf, mmpf...”
Unable to breathe, Fran struggled in agony.
Seeing this, the bald thug immediately scolded:
“Idiot! Go easy on her, don't break anything! We'll get a lower price for her if she's damaged!”
“Sorry, Boss!”
The buzzcut thug eased his grip a little, but as a result, Fran struggled even harder.
“Help... mmpf... mmpf...”
“Damn brat, quite a handful, aren't you!”
The buzzcut thug cursed and had to apply a bit more pressure.
The bald thug looked around, growing increasingly impatient. Although no one was poking their nose into their business, she was a noble after all, and there was no telling if some unexpected trouble might crop up.
“Alright, enough talk, let's get moving! Once we're back at the hideout, we'll have plenty of ways to make her behave!”
“Yes, Boss!”
And so, carrying Fran, the two thugs quickly slipped into the dark alleyway nearby...
“...Did I hear someone calling for help?”
At the end of the street, Shulim came to a halt.
Although public security in this quarter had always been poor, and hearing someone shout for help was practically a daily occurrence, Shulim normally wouldn't pay too much attention to such things—provided the voice didn't sound familiar...
Looking back at the empty street, Shulim couldn't help but tilt her head.
The cry for help had vanished, and she couldn't see anyone seeking rescue.
It was almost as if it had been an illusion.
But Shulim didn't think it was an illusion. Her long-term combat training gave her a clear grasp of her own senses, meaning she wouldn't suffer from hallucinations.
Since she hadn't misheard, she might as well go take a look.
Shulim set off, retracing her steps along the street she had just walked.
Before long, she stopped near the street corner.
“Judging by the distance of the voice, it should be around here... but where is it?”
Shulim carefully scanned her surroundings. There were no signs of a struggle, which meant there were no clues.
No, though there were no clues, there should be eyewitnesses...
Shulim looked toward a nearby corner, where a rather “miserable-looking” fellow was sitting.
“Um, excuse me—”
“Ah! My leg! My leg! You broke my leg! Pay up! Pay—”
The fellow, who had been sitting on the ground looking “miserable,” suddenly began shouting the moment Shulim spoke. He even held a “severed leg” that he had pulled out from who-knows-where, making the scene look quite horrifying.
If an unwitting passerby were to walk past, they would probably assume Shulim had done something horrific to him.
But for some reason, the moment this “victim” looked up and met his “sucker's” gaze, he went dead silent.
“...”
“...”
Whoosh!
The victim, who supposedly had a broken leg just a second ago, now proved to have all four limbs perfectly intact. With extremely agile movements, he scrambled up, spun around, and bolted, leaving the severed leg behind!
Watching the rapidly fleeing figure, Shulim tilted her head.
...
A minute later, the fully-limbed victim was kneeling before Shulim, weeping and wailing with tears and snot flowing down his face.
“...It has nothing to do with me! I was forced into it! I'm a victim too!”
“No... I'm not asking about your affairs. I just want to know if you saw a girl about my size around here just now.”
“Huh? You're asking about that? Why didn't you say so earlier! I thought you were here to pick a fight with me!”
Upon hearing that it had nothing to do with him, this “victim” instantly changed his tune, looking like a different person. He pulled a flask from his sleeve and took a swig to calm his nerves, which also explained where the tears on his face came from.
Shulim: “...”
“Uh... cough, cough. Right, well, I saw her, I saw her.”
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the “victim” sheepishly tucked his flask away, his attitude turning cautious.
“Just now, right at that alley entrance!”
The “victim” pointed toward the alleyway where Fran had been abducted.
“Two guys from out of town tied up that little girl and took her away.”
“Out-of-towners?” Shulim glanced at the alley. This alone wasn't enough to find them, so she pressed on. “Where are they?”
“That's gonna cost extra.”
“Cost?”
“Uh... no...” The victim laughed awkwardly. “Sorry, habit, force of habit.”
“I'll tell you where they are right away...”
Shulim successfully learned where her classmate had likely been kidnapped from the friendly local resident.
While using the word “friendly” to describe the residents of this neighborhood might not be entirely accurate, it was indeed the case in Shulim's eyes.
Once, because of some trivial matters that delayed her, Shulim had been on the verge of being late for training. To save some time, she had chosen to cut through this quarter.
She hadn't expected the residents here to be so incredibly hostile to outsiders. Shulim had originally planned to give up taking this shortcut in the future, but when Semilis found out, she insisted Shulim walk this path from then on.
“This is also a form of training! The dangers you will face in the future won't just come from the outside; in fact, the danger from the inside will be even more treacherous. Just treat it as adjusting in advance!”
“...”
So from that point on, Shulim continued to take the shortcut. And after multiple consecutive “warm” exchanges with the xenophobic residents, they became “friendly” toward her.
In any case, whenever Shulim passed through this quarter now, no one dared to be impolite to her. Even if they accidentally behaved rudely, they would immediately apologize as sincerely as the man just now—though Shulim didn't think he had anything to apologize for in the first place.
However, it seemed these residents judged books by their covers. While they were very polite to Shulim, they weren't nearly as polite to her classmate...
Or of course, maybe it was because they were from out of town?
Rate on N.U.
