"Let us go!"
Both Auron and Alice went to the Skemvil. They used the teleportation gate to the nearest town and went to the village on foot.
As they were rushing, in only less than two hours, they arrived at the village. Alice wanted to go to Skemvil first before going to their destinations. Auron had already urged her to immediately went to the bandit's location. However, she refused.
Alice insisted on going to the village first. She promised Auron that it would be only a short trip. In the end, Auron had no choice but to give in.
It was already a good thing for Alice wanted to come here. What if Auron annoyed her and she became angry, she could cancel her intention to helping Auron.
Actually, the reason why Alice wanted to come to the village first was because of Auron's story. Auron had told her that her apprentice came to the village because he had to join the training.
Since there was a free time today, her apprentice decided to go hunting. However, he didn't want to hunt alone, so he called Auron to join. Then, at that time, the bandits captured them.
Alice wanted to verify the story first. Both Alice and Auron arrived at the village. Because it was already night, there were no people on the street.
Auron and Alice went to the village's head house and asked about where the corporal resided. Then, they immediately went to the house where the corporal stayed.
Knock... Knock... Alice knocked at the door. Not long after, the door opened, and the corporal went out. However, as soon as the corporal saw Alice, he saluted her respectfully.
"Ms. Alice, why are you here?" Corporal Jack was shocked to see Alice here. He asked her politely.
Alice looked at Auron and hinted him to stay outside. Meanwhile, Alice and Corporal Jack went inside the house to talk.
Auron had no choice but to wait when Alice and Corporal Jack went inside the house. However, what confused him was the fact that the corporal was so polite to Alice. He knew that Alice was a strong mage.
But, the corporal's act showed that there was something else besides being respectful to the stronger people. However, Auron didn't know about it.
"I want to ask you something!" Alice started.
"Please tell Ms. Alice, I will try my best to help you!" Corporal Jack politely answered.
Yes, Auron's suspicion was right on point. Alice was famous among the military. Even though she was only a major, she was recognized for being a strong fire mage. Moreover, she was among one of the few mages that could fight in close combat.
However, there was something else that made her famous. It was because she was General Elbert's granddaughter. Although Alice didn't say it herself, but it was already spread among the soldiers. It became an open secret.
Alice started to ask her question, "Do you know this soldier?"
"Yes, I know about him. Is there something wrong with him? Did he offend you?"
"Where is he now?" Alice didn't answer Corporal Jack's question and asked another question.
"Before, he asked to go out hunting. I didn't check on him. But, he should be already back. Let me check with his housemate."
The two of them went out, and together with Auron, they went to the house where Auron's supposed to stay.
However, they found out that Auron never came back. "This kid... Doesn't he know that the training starts tomorrow? Instead of resting, he went out playing and didn't come back at this late." Corporal Jack became mad.
"Don't worry Ms. Alice, I will punish him greatly for this!"
However, Alice stopped him, "No, you don't need to!"
Alice started to tell Corporal Jack about the reason why she was here. She also told him about the bandit's location and introduced Auron's swordsman character briefly.
Corporal Jack's expression turned serious, he wanted to come along, "I will come with you to investigate."
However, Alice refused his goodwill, "No, just stay here. I only come here to verify the news. From what I see, there might be a high chance what that guy said was true. If it is true, in the morning, there will be a big operation. You can join us at that time!"
Then, Alice looked at Auron and said, "Let's go!"
Alice had verified what she needed. It turned out what Auron said was true. So, there was a high chance that her student was really kidnapped. She had to act quickly.
During the investigation in the village, Auron was mute. He didn't say a single word at all. However, inwardly, he felt fortunate that he asked the corporal's permission before leaving. This way, he had an indirect witness.
Auron and Alice went out to the location where Auron started to chase the bandits who spotted his secret. From that point, he traced back his memory and followed the path to the cliff.
In less than half an hour, Alice and Auron arrived at the cliff. They hid behind a tree nearby. Alice was confused about why they were here when Auron said, "This is the place where I ran away."
"Before, the bandits taps several times to the cliff over there. Then, the door was opened. However, I forgot the place where the exact place."
Auron and Alice went closer to the cliff. Alice saw the cliff and tried to find something. However, she was confused.
"From the looks, this was an ordinary cliff. There was nothing special about it. However, if what this guy said was true, then there should be a hidden mechanism." Alice thought in her mind.
"Should I try to open the door?" Alice wanted to try to open it.
However, she immediately put that thought back, "No, if it was really the bandit's headquarter, then there would be a trap or something. If someone tried to open it using the incorrect way, it would trigger the trap."