Episode 13.10

A parked carriage.

What does that mean.

Roads around here aren't suited for carriage traffic.

No house here would warrant a visit from a carriage either.

And yet, it parked in front of Lecan and Eda's house.

(Was she kidnapped?)

A carriage that shouldn't have been there, and Eda that should have been at home, putting two and two together it's logical to guess that Eda had been abducted by that carriage.

There's only two possible party who would kidnap Eda.

Ceres Temple.

Goncourt House.

However, the vice temple head has vowed against taking forceful actions on this matter. She's also aware how their temple would be reduced to a pile of rubble were they dare to incur Lecan's wrath.

How about Goncourt House then.

It's too quick.

It's just way too quick.

They made the house call to Goncourt House yesterday morning.

Old man Prado surely wouldn't so quickly come out of his first peaceful sleep after so long. He might be surprised at his condition once he woke up. But even at the latest, that should take until yesterday's afternoon or today's morning.

Could he really realize that his wellness was unlike anything before and it was thanks to Eda's <Recovery> in a mere half a day time. On top of that, he came up with such an extreme measure as abduction, looked for and found where Lecan and Eda lived, got everything in order to send a carriage and abducted her. Is that really possible.

Besides, thinking calmly, the fact that the house did not get roughed up is weird.

Eda's reflexes aren't bad at all. Or rather, they're outstanding.

Even if she's taken by surprise, she's not a girl who would let herself get abducted without putting up a fight. Despite her usual demeanor, she's still an adventurer at heart.

Which means, she must have gone out on her own volition. Thinking that it was an abduction would be a mistake.

She wasn't leaving for good since she left her important belongings behind. She ran out for an errand. Something urgent that came up suddenly.

But what if the other party was someone with assassination skills like Dovor and Gido. It's not unthinkable for someone like that to invade unnoticed and knock Eda out before she could realize anything wrong.

Besides, this world houses all kinds of Grace-laden items. There might be a Graced item that can knock someone unconscious from a distance. There might be a magic tool that can hide an intruder's body and sounds.

Just how should he proceed with this.

(Why am I this at a loss?)

Anxiously worrying over things is wholly unlike Lecan at all.

Lecan's strength lies not on his brain, but his decisiveness to promptly take actions.

And yet, why does he keep mulling over this in circles.

<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka.com >

(Am I... upset?)

Lecan closed his eyes and looked back on Eda.

Their first encounter couldn't have been any farther from a good impression. They took an escort job together, she was completely useless from the start until the very end.

Their second encounter was at Vouka downtown. She called out to him out of the blue. Lecan treated her coldly, yet he told her about how she was a mana holder.

Which connects to their third encounter. Eda went looking for Lecan and made her way to Shira's house.

Then little by little, Eda stayed by Lecan's side. For some reason, Shira was very accepting toward her, she even had Lecan teach Eda magic and take quests together.

She was quite an inexperienced adventurer, but her being 14 came as quite a surprise. A fourteen years old who could move with such nimbleness and master a magic bow, she's in fact extremely adept. She's got talent in magic as well. Too much of it.

Lecan suddenly recalled their time at Kogurus

In the reception room of Zaikaz Company, how Eda stuffed herself full of snack like a small animal in defiance of bizarre pressures emanated from Zack Zaikaz, his butler and Dovor. Lecan found her figure back then comforting.

In that situation, an adventurer wouldn't have been able to even drink the tea served unless they had a heart of steel. Neither can you face that if you keeled over either. Her audacity is an indispensable trait of an adventurer that's hard to come by. You could even say that was the exact moment Lecan deemed Eda a comrade.

Zack too must have been impressed by Eda's boldness. It was as if Zack's pressure was completely ineffective on Eda. In a way, Eda came out victorious against Zack at that time.

However, was her behavior only possible thanks to her nature by birth.

Indeed, Eda may be naive, yet she's not a coward. But is that really all there is to it.

Probably not.

Eda believed in Lecan from the bottom of her heart. Hence how she could be so rambunctious at that time. She was even acting spoiled on Lecan.

That's right.

Not clear when it started, but Eda had placed her faith in Lecan for some reason. An unconditional trust. She took to Lecan, clung to him.

Except during their first escort quest, Lecan can't recall Eda ever bearing malice or doubt toward him. Eda always opened her heart to Lecan.

Why would she.

Why would she believe in Lecan and act that way toward him.

He doesn't understand why.

Lecan is bad at trying to guess how other people's minds work.

He's bad at trying to guess how women's hearts works.

He's bad at trying to guess how children think.

Eda is all three of that. There's no way he could understand.

However, he doesn't really have to. The issue is what Lecan himself thinks about it.

Lecan never considers the trust Eda put in him as being unpleasant. The opposite even actually, it's rather pleasant.

Which means, this is really all so simple.

He simply needs to move as his heart tells him.

To begin with, Lecan has taken upon himself to protect Eda.

It was never necessary to mull over this so hard.

If she went out due to some unexpected business or something urgent came up, she would return on her own eventually.

If that's not the case, and she's been abducted against her will, Eda is in a predicament right now.

He should move under the later assumption.

Which one is the most suspicious?

It's Goncourt House.

Then he's just got to head there.

Head there and see for himself.

Defeat anyone who stands in the way.

Smash any door blocking his way.

If Eda is not at Goncourt House, he just needs to look at the temple afterward.

And if Eda comes back home while he's looking for her in both locations, that's also fine. Nothing wrong with that.

Lecan opened his right eye wide and grinned broadly.

The grin of a beast of prey.