Chapter 194 – Bear-san Explains Everything to Eleanora-san
Author’s Note:
The serious tone ended with last chapter. w
As I swung my arm back to take my anger out on the toad man, Eleanora-san appeared at the entrance.
「Yuna-chan, wait!」
Just because she told me to wait didn’t mean I was going to stop.
「Ugh!」
I sunk a Bear Punch into the toad man’s stomach.
「I was too late.」
No, she made it in time. Because she had suddenly cried out to me, I only used half the usual strength.
As proof, the toad man didn’t fly off after getting hit. His internal organs didn’t burst out, either. Instead, he just passed out on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
「Eleanora-san? Why are you here?」
「I was on my way back from the Commerce Guild and saw you riding Swaying Bear with a crazed look on your face, so I decided to run after you. There was no way I could not follow you after seeing you in such a state.」
A crazed look? Had I really been making such a scary face?
I thought about it for a second. Yup, I probably had been.
The girls had just gotten attacked, so it would have been more strange for me not to look mad.
「Please don’t make the elderly run so much, okay?」
She wasn’t out of breath or anything, though.
Also, what did she mean by elderly? She looked like she was in her mid-twenties. At the very least, she didn’t look like she was 33 years old.
How mysterious.
Just about then, three more people came up to the entrance, completely out of breath.
Oh, I remembered seeing one of them before. It was Ranzel-san, the man who had helped us get rid of the thieves at the capital.
I had never seen the other two before, though. Maybe they were knights like Ranzel-san?
Still, these three knights were completely out of breath while Eleanora-san was fine.
Really, just who was Eleanora-san?
「Okay, Yuna-chan. Can you please explain the situation to me?」
Eleanora-san asked me while looking around.
The door had been blown off, a part of the wall had crumbled, and there were two people with faces covered in blood lying on the ground. There was also a toad man, foaming at the mouth. Oh, and all of his servants were just standing there, shaking in fear. It was a terrible scene no matter how we looked at it.
If I had to describe it, it looked like a wild bear had gone on a rampage.
Still, I had no regrets. In fact, I probably hadn’t rampaged enough.
I proceeded to explain to Eleanora-san that Misa had been kidnapped and that I had come here to get her back.
「Kidnapped?!」
Eleanora-san was completely taken aback by what I said and turned to Misa.
「That’s right, that person over there kidnapped me, and Big Sis Yuna came here to my rescue.」
Misa said and pointed at the black-clothed man who was collapsed on the ground.
I then began to explain the situation, starting from what had happened at Gran-san’s mansion.
I included what had happened to Fina and Noa, of course.
「Are the two of them okay?!」
「I think so. They both lost consciousness, but other than that, they were okay.」
Eleanora-san glared at the toad man, who was also on the floor.
I couldn’t blame her; any mother would have been mad to hear that their beloved daughter had been injured.
「So, Yuna-chan, you got mad and went on a rampage then.」
I suppose that would be true.
Eleanora-san was lost in thought for a bit then turned to the guards and servants.
「My name is Eleanora Foschuroze. Under His Majesty’s orders, I am putting Gerardo Salbert under arrest. We will be questioning all of you concerning this event. If you speak the truth, I promise you that your punishments will be reduced.」
The guards and servants looked at each other.
「Is that possible?」
「As long as none of you did any inhumane things, I will see to it.」
When she said that, half of the guards looked down while the other half seemed relieved.
The servants appeared to be conflicted as well.
「Also, running away will just make your crime worse. If you intend to follow our orders, take out your guild and citizenship cards.」
Eleanora-san ordered them to give her their identification cards.
Without their cards, they couldn’t leave this town, so it was almost like they were stripped of their citizenships for the time being.
They could always get a new card reissued, of course, but not if they were marked as criminals.
The guards and servants all obediently handed over their identification cards to Ranzel-san.
Trying to resist Eleanora-san would be pointless now.
「Ranzel, Vorz, question every person in this residence, but do it gently. Also, even though I think it’s unlikely, make sure that these three on the floor don’t try to escape.」
「Understood.」
The two of them quickly ran up to the three unconscious people and tied them up.
「Michel, go to the Faren Gramm family and request for Cliff and Gran-san to come here. Make sure they bring their guards with them as well, of course.」
「Understood.」
The man named Michel quickly left the residence.
「Eleanora-san, is what I did considered a crime?」
I asked her just in case.
I had attacked a noble family after all.
I honestly didn’t know what happened to people who attacked noble families in this world.
「You don’t have to worry about it, Yuna-chan. You saved a noble’s daughter. I will explain what happened here to the king, and I’m sure he will understand.」
It seemed like I had nothing to worry about.
「Also, I should probably tell you that Misa wasn’t the only one abducted. A merchant came to me and told the that their children also taken. It happened when I was at the Commerce Guild today. I actually spotted you just as I was in the middle of discussing the situation with them.」
「Where are those children then?」
「It’s possible that they are being held at a different place.」
Still, that was close.
If I had unleashed my wrath fully, I could have destroyed this place and buried the children with it.
Good thing Eleanora-san came here and stopped me from doing so.
I really wouldn’t want to hear about dead bodies of abducted children being found afterwards.
「Well, I was planning on asking Gerardo where he kept the children, but...」
The toad man was currently passed out on the floor and still foaming at his mouth. Yep, she couldn’t really interrogate him with the way he was.
Wait, wouldn’t toads wake up after getting splashed by water?
Well, we didn’t really need to wake him up though. I could just use detection magic or have my Bears sniff the children out. We could find them as long as they were in this building.
As I was about to decide on how to go about it, Ranzel-san came back after putting the three unconscious people in a nice pile and also making sure the servants were gathered far enough away from them.
「Yuna-san, it’s been a while!」
「Yes, Ranzel-san, it has. I’m surprised to see you’ve accompanied Eleanora-san.」
「I was slightly rattled by it as well. As I was practicing at the castle’s training grounds, Eleanora-sama suddenly approached me and said we were leaving so I had to pack up my things. Before I knew it, we were on our way to Sheelin.」
He answered with a smile.
I could totally see that happening with Eleanora-san involved...
「Ranzel, does Gerardo look like he will wake up anytime soon?」
「No, he doesn’t. He is completely out cold while I could say that the other two are quite close to a critical condition.」
「It will be a problem if we let them die, so please give them some first aid treatment. We do need to talk to Gerardo, however, so we should wake him up.」
Water sprayed out from Eleanora-san’s hand and hit the toad man’s face. So, Eleanora-san could use magic, huh. Well, since her daughter Shia could use it, I had figured Eleanora-san would be able to use it as well.
「W-what?」
The toad man burst to consciousness.
Yup, using water against toads worked best.
「Why am I tied up?!」
He yelled when he noticed his predicament and started to struggle.
「Gerardo, it’s been a while.」
「You... You’re Eleanora. Why are you here?」
「I came to do an inspection of Sheelin on His Majesty’s orders. We’ve heard some dark rumors about this town recently. We had no idea they would lead to the lord’s granddaughter being kidnapped, however.」
「Well, I know nothing about that. My son kidnapped her on his own. So, I didn’t do anything.」
The toad man glanced at his son next to him while still claiming innocence.
「If you’re going to arrest someone, take him. Also, I’m cutting off all ties with him. He is my son no longer; he is just a stranger now!」
「A parent is responsible for the actions of their children. He kidnapped a noble’s daughter and even injured my own daughter in the process. Do you seriously think that you’re going to get away with that excuse?!」
Eleanora-san’s words were heavy with rage.
「You can say what you want, but I had nothing to do with this, so hurry up and untie me! You can’t treat a noble like this!」
How noisy. Maybe I should hit him again to silence him.
Still, Eleanora-san was holding back even though she must want to hit him as well, so I had to hold back, too.
「It’s embarrassing to see someone like you call himself a noble, so can you please stop it. If Yuna-chan thinks I’m just like you since we are both nobles, I would be so embarrassed that I wouldn’t be able to live anymore. Besides, even if your son was the one who kidnapped Misa, didn’t you kidnap a lot of merchants’ children as well?」
「What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.」
「If you’re going to play dumb, that’s fine. I honestly don’t care if you end up like the two next to you.」
Did that mean I could hit him now?
Or, was she saying she would hit him?
「Well, even if they are here, that means I’m just taking care of them. I’ve got their parents to sign a contract as well, so it isn’t like I kidnapped them.」
That was a crazy excuse.
「Didn’t you threaten the merchants to sign the contract after you kidnapped their children?」
「You’ve got no evidence to back that up. I’m taking care of the children with the proper approval of their parents. As proof, those children are not injured in any way.」
The tied up toad man responded with a smile.
I didn’t know what kind of contracts had been signed, but it looked like it had worked because Eleanora-san seemed to be troubled.
In my former world, I had heard of people who signed shady contracts and ended up being extorted into giving money to the other party.
「You’re right... However, the kidnapping of Misana Faren Gramm is still a big issue, and I will have to investigate this residence. Of course, that means I will have to go through your room as well. I can’t wait to see what I will find there.」
Eleanora-san said with an evil look on her face.
「Don’t mess with me! I won’t permit that!」
「Oh, but I have permission from His Majesty.」
「His Majesty...」
Eleanora-san took out a piece of parchment from her item bag and showed it to the toad man.
「As you can see, I have permission to come here and investigate your belongings in the case you’ve committed a crime, which you have.」
The toad man’s expression changed once he saw what the parchment said.
「But, it’s my son who...」
「It’s the same thing. Your son kidnapped Misana Faren Gramm. Even you yourself admitted that. Therefore, we have all the reason to search through every corner of this residence.」
「Stop messing with me!」
「If you haven’t done anything His Majesty wouldn’t approve of then you have no reason to worry, right?」
Yep, Eleanora-san was completely pissed off.
「No way in hell is this fair! Somebody help me! I will pay you!」
All the servants ignored the toad man and completely avoided making eye contact with him.
Yeah, in this sort of situation, nobody in their right mind would even consider helping out the toad man.
Author’s Note:
I think we should be able to finish this kidnapping incident in the next chapter.