“Mmm… my neck hurts.”
When I woke up, I was lying on a cold stone floor in an unfamiliar stone room. My hands were tied behind my back, and my legs were also bound with rope. The moonlight faintly illuminated the shape of the iron bars on the window, and the room was shrouded in a blue darkness.
Around me, there were more than ten women and children, all similarly tied up.
Among them, three were long-eared elves: one adult woman and two children, a boy and a girl. They were likely the ones Yustius had mentioned.
“…Are you alright?”
The adult elf woman spoke to me.
“…Yes, this is…”
“I believe it’s the hideout of some bandits. We were captured as well…”
Looking at her, I saw that the elf woman was wearing a collar that suppressed magic, and her arms had painful-looking cuts. She said she had been taken captive after the bandits took her children hostage. This place used to be a hut used by humans and elves for trade long ago, but the bandits had moved in and made it their hideout, expanding the building into a base. It had been so long ago that humans had completely forgotten about it, and their soldiers had never searched the area. This place was located far down from the forest, and the elves hadn’t expanded their search this far yet.
There were no signs of the bandits nearby, but they must be around because I could hear muffled voices and footsteps, along with the sound of metal scraping, probably from their weapons.
After listening to her story, I used fire magic to burn through the ropes binding my arms and legs. Since I hadn’t been seen using magic, and the collar suppressing magic wasn’t on me, it was easy. Even if it had been on, this type of magic suppression device wouldn’t have been able to stop all my magical power, so cutting the ropes would have been fine.
I noticed my necklace was gone, likely taken, but I had sent a signal to Belial when I first woke up, so he would have noticed something was wrong. He should be on his way now, possibly already here.
I felt relieved that they hadn’t taken my item box. To someone without knowledge, it probably looked like a cheap bag, and since the inside appeared empty, they didn’t think it had value. If they had noticed what was inside, it would have been dangerous.
I didn’t usually use them, but I had a wand for summoning magic rituals and a staff for healing magic, as well as a talisman stronger than a regular charm. I even kept a plate with Belial’s seal to ensure I wouldn’t lose it… Losing these would be a huge problem for me as a summoner.
The potions I could remake, but if I lost the materials I had compiled in Egdualm, it would be irreversible.
As I rubbed my red hands, the others looked at me curiously.
“I was caught because I let my guard down, but I’m a mage. And my contractor will come to rescue me soon.”
Ah… it’s embarrassing to admit I was caught off guard. I’m going to get scolded…
I cast healing magic on the injured and released their restraints one by one. However, I couldn’t immediately remove the magic-suppressing restraints. If I removed them carelessly, they were set to explode. How despicable…
“Thank you. But after this…”
“Are you going to be alright? Will you be killed?”
“There are a lot of scary people!”
“If we run, they’ll chase us…”
The children spoke anxiously. Some of them had been locked up here for days, and once enough people were gathered, the bandits had planned to sell them to a neighboring country. Some children had been beaten or kicked in their stomachs or covered areas, and they were terrified.
“That… Ah, so this is how it is… Everyone, please gather around me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just that help has arrived…”
I could feel a surge of magic from outside, and it was at a dangerously high level.
At the mention of help, everyone quickly gathered around me. I marked a general area and hurriedly cast a defensive spell.
“No, it’s more like help has arrived…”
The surge of magic I felt from outside was reaching a dangerous level.
At the word “help,” everyone quickly gathered around me. I decided on a rough area and hurriedly cast a defensive spell.
As I finished the chant, a thin semi-circular membrane spread around us, centered on us.
Then, an incredible explosion occurred, and with a roaring sound, the ceiling and walls of the building crumbled. The children crouched down, screaming, and covered their faces with their hands. Only the elf woman stood frozen with a look of disbelief, staring at me and the surrounding scene.
The wall was mostly gone, and instead of a ceiling, the night sky stretched above us. The hut that had been next to us was now nothing but rubble, and the other building the bandits had built—likely a second structure—looked like a ruin. White smoke rose from everywhere, and something was crackling and burning.
I couldn’t tell if the bandits were dead or alive, but it was certain that none of them were standing. Some were crushed by the broken walls, others were thrown and tangled in trees, and some lay sprawled on the ground in bizarre positions…
“So, you were here. Saved me the trouble of searching,”
Belial casually spoke as he appeared from the sky.
“…This… is this what you call help…?”
“Is something wrong with it?”
Rather than being rescued, it felt more like we had been hit by even more disaster… I never expected him to try to find us by destroying everything. What if there were other people taken in different rooms? No, he probably wouldn’t care. Based on the terms of our contract, my physical safety is the top priority. After that, he probably wouldn’t bother with anything else. I can’t afford to be careless enough to become a hostage either…
At first, the children were scared, but after seeing the bandits lying defeated, they seemed to realize they had been saved. They held hands and rejoiced.
“Anyway… Belial, can you remove this collar?”
I refocused my attention and showed him the magic-suppressing collar that had been placed on the elf woman.
Hmm, he peered into it with his red eyes.
“No problem.”
With just a touch of his fingertip, the collar fell to the ground in an instant.
“Ah… thank you!”
The elf woman, astonished by how easily it was removed, trembled as she expressed her gratitude.
“However, Iriya , can’t you remove something as simple as this? This is why you get caught, you fool.”
“…I… I have no rebuttal… but… I saw the explosion spell, so I thought it best to proceed with caution…”
Ah, as expected, he said it. But he’s grinning. Does he enjoy mocking me?
“When you’re in such situations, you close off the circuit that sends the explosion command first. That way, there’s no worry.”
“Ah… I see. I didn’t think of that…”
Ugh… this is frustrating!
“More importantly, what happened to the thing you had hanging around your neck!”
“…It seems it was taken from me. I’m so sorry, I’ll go search for it right away!”
He’s angry! Well, of course! I don’t have time to feel down. I quickly turned around, leaped over some debris, and ran. Maybe someone’s holding it, or it’s been mixed in with other stolen goods. I don’t know, but I’ll check the places where jewels and precious metals might be stored.
“That was the first gift I received from Belial, my treasure. I will absolutely find it!”
That ruby is strongly linked to Belial, so with it, he can always track my location, and if he wants, he could even easily communicate with me. He could even release the power stored in it and use it. Of course, not just anyone could do that, but a high-ranking mage might be able to understand how to use it. More than my worries about that, I can’t afford to lose something so important.
“…Honestly, you’re so careless. Even without searching, unless it’s heavily sealed, I can always find it.”
Belial sighed and flicked his finger. From between the rubble, a red light leaked out like a line.
“Ah! There it is, this is it!!”
I removed the obstructing rubble, picked it up, and immediately put it around my neck. I then tucked it securely under my clothes.
Belial watched me with a curious expression for some reason.
“…Is that it? There seem to be other jewels, though?”
“No? Those aren’t mine.”
At my feet, there were colorful jewels, golden decorations, and slightly broken art pieces scattered around. I made sure not to step on any of them.
“…Did you find what you were looking for?”
The elf woman spoke hesitantly. The children seemed unsure of what to do and were watching the situation unfold.
“I’m sorry, this is personal! So, what will you do now? Should I escort you?”
“No, no! Thank you so much for saving us, we truly appreciate it! I’m sorry we can’t offer a proper reward, but I’m sure everyone is worried, so we’ll head back to the village. Please do visit us someday, Iriya -sama, Belial-sama.”
“Thank you, big sis! Come visit for sure!”
“We’ll prepare a feast for you!”
Ah, they mentioned our names earlier. Seeing the children’s smiles, I really felt relieved that they were safe.
I asked the elf woman for directions to the village. She said we should turn three times down narrow paths, then go down a wider forest road to reach a town called Dolgo. That’s exactly where I wanted to go!
With the children, we exited the dark forest. The night path was probably frightening for them, with the sounds of wolves howling, owls hooting, and things flying off. But they were more eager to leave the bandits’ hideout, and they walked properly. The oldest child, a girl who looked a little older than Alesia, encouraged the younger children with her words.
Once we passed through the forest, we saw several settlements on the wide plain.
The nearest one, a large town surrounded by stone walls, seemed to be Dolgo. The other towns also had many lights on.
Though it was late at night, we were finally about to reach safety.
The moonlit road was empty, and the quiet forest bid us farewell as we walked on.
