Chapter 13 – The Wandering Pursuers
Chapter 13 – The Wandering Pursuers
“No signs of them stopping here either.”
“You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir!”
Damn it. What’s going on? Winter’s almost here, and there’s no trace of them in any town or village?
We’ve been stopping at small villages and towns in order since we left their starting point, asking around everywhere, but we haven’t found a single lead.
And this is a direct order from His Holiness the Pope himself.
If we can’t track their movements, does that mean they’ve already been killed…?
No, kidnapping is a possibility too.
But would S-rank adventurers go down that easily?
I’m just getting antsy.
Maybe I should head to the Adventurer Guild in the next town and get the details on those S-rank adventurers.
“Um, Holy Knight sir. Is something the matter?”
At some point, a ragged old man had approached near the horses.
I signaled to my subordinate with a glance—who are you?—and he whispered back in a small voice while coughing, “He’s the village chief.”
I see.
“No, we’re just looking for someone. Don’t pry.”
The cowering village chief bobbed his head repeatedly and shuffled back into the crowd of villagers.
“Let’s move out.”
“Yes, sir!”
We hurried onward toward the next town.
“Captain, let’s lodge in the next town tonight.”
“Yeah. Someone go ahead and secure rooms at an inn.”
“Yes, sir!”
The back of the one who dashed off in an instant…
You don’t need to go yourself, Vice Captain…
Whatever.
“Is it even possible to travel with a little kid without stopping in towns?”
“Kids can’t handle it. They get sick right away. Even a seasoned man would struggle with nothing but camping.”
Yeah, true.
My own six-year-old daughter can’t sleep without a fluffy bed and her stuffed animals. She starts bawling if she can’t see her mom. A long trip camping in a monster-infested forest without parents? No way.
Did they already pass us by?
Maybe the kid wanted to go home, and they’re on their way back right now.
Should we turn around once?
Or maybe the adventurers dropped the kid off somewhere and went to fetch the parents.
Should we focus on tracking the adventurers instead of the child first?
I was mulling that over when the next town came into view.
The vice captain was waving both arms wildly in front of the outer wall gate.
That guy’s always having fun, huh.
“Captain!! We have a lead!!”
“Oh! What is it!! Let’s go!”
Suppressing my eager impatience, I spurred my horse toward the gate.
“Gate guard, relay what you told me to the captain.”
“Yes, sir. A party of S-rank adventurers with a girl about five years old passed through a little while ago.”
“What did they look like? Was the child beige-haired with blue-green eyes?”
“I don’t remember the details that well, but she had a stunningly beautiful face, a dead ringer for her father, and they seemed really close.”
“Dead ringer for her father?”
“Yes, exactly alike.”
Hm? Wrong people?
For now, we’ll stay the night and check the Adventurer Guild tomorrow.
We handed our horses to the gate guard without drawing attention and slipped into the town.
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“No, we confirmed with the gate guard that the S-rank adventurers Black Dragon came to this town.”
“They did come, sold some materials, and left right away. I don’t know anything you’d be interested in, Holy Knight sir.”
I asked the guild master about the S-rank adventurers’ whereabouts, but he seemed clueless.
“Captain! I found where they stayed!”
One of my subordinates had dug up another lead.
Nothing more to gain here.
“Thanks for your time.”
As I turned on my heel to leave, killing intent stabbed into my back from the guild master. “What are you gonna do if you find them?”
“Just take the girl they had into protective custody. We have no business with the adventurers.”
I said that much and left the Adventurer Guild.
To think he’d unleash that kind of bloodlust…
I guess I underestimated adventurers a bit.
“Guild master, Gain’s hunch was spot on.”
“Yeah. Pursuers might come sniffing around here.”
“What do we do?”
“Tell the trustworthy branch guild masters the situation and have Fernet gather intel. No matter what, we’ll see this request through for the guild’s honor.”
“I’ll arrange it right away.”
What the hell is going on here.
And that Holy Knight—he’s got skills on par with an S-rank adventurer.
If it came to blows, even we’d lose in numbers.
For a Holy Knight of that caliber to move in such force… what the heck is that girl?
We’re operating on an official request from the parents, fully paid up with no cancellation.
S-rank job or not, we can’t afford to screw up against the church.
Thank you for reading.
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thanks for the chapter