CH 58

Clue

The Patrol Corps was currently in an uproar because two academy students in their custody had disappeared.

Sheila was assumed to probably still be talking to Abby, so they only sent Dilliam to pick her up. Isaac had always regretted his decision at that time.

When Dilliam didn’t return, he finally sensed something was wrong and hurried to the girl’s home. Isaac didn’t make any progress and soon had to stop.

This was because he found a sword stuck in the cobblestones of an empty alleyway. It was undoubtedly a piece of equipment belonging to the corps.

Isaac couldn’t help but grit his teeth at his own lack of foresight. He believed a preconceived notion that they would never target a child they had failed to kidnap again. Why wasn’t he more vigilant?

Zola and Hyderion, who had gone to Abby’s house to check on her whereabouts, returned with bad news. The girl had been taken out by a member of the corps to inspect the scene. When Sheila was told that, she ran after her.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what had happened after that, but not a single clue was left behind.

‘The only thing that at least helped was the fact that there were no bloodstains…..’

Anyway, they could only hope that no one was hurt.

With no leads, they had no choice but to search every place and empty house they had their eyes on. Right now, the patrols were doing their best to check out every suspicious building they could find.

The students of the academy had also been dispatched because they needed more manpower. Since they weren’t allowed to act alone, there were some restrictions on their use, but in a situation where they need all the resources they could get, they had no choice but to ask the students to help them.

Cody and Hyderion were also going to join the investigation, even if the corps had stopped them, they would have shaken them off. It was only natural. They had been living and sleeping together for three weeks, and now their friends had been kidnapped right under their noses.

Isaac felt the same way. He had long felt a fondness for them, having exchanged words and shared their trust.

Surprisingly, Leidyrune was also very active in the investigation.

During his time as an academy student, Isaac had several conversations with him, but he always got the impression that he was somewhat cold. This was the first time Isaac seemed to have seen him become even slightly heated. Leidyrune was in such a hurry that even a casual observer could tell, which was unusual for a high-ranking aristocrat who was skilled at suppressing his emotions.

However, just like the disappearances so far, there were too few clues or none at all. 

What if something happened to them or Abby while time was slipping away like this? Isaac was beginning to feel frustrated and impatience, when a man suddenly appeared on the scene and helped them.

He had brought a clue with him. A blue thread, like a worn-out rag.

Where were Sheila and the others? Were they safe?

There were so many unknowns, but the man who arrived as a reinforcement was the one who would solve everything.

◇　◆　◇

Sheila began their escape plan by using her flexibility to bring her bound hands in front of her body. Dilliam was astonished, but she thought that it wasn’t particularly difficult.

“It took me a while, but anyone with a flexible body can do it.”

“There’s usually a limit to how flexible you can be.”

Dilliam’s sarcasm fell on deaf ears. As she tried to tear the rope off with her canine teeth, she thought about the reason why Abbey wasn’t here.

As Sheila had suspected, they were there for Abby.

‘I don’t know what their purpose is, but I hope they haven’t done something terrible to her…..’

As expected, it would have been better if at least Abby had escaped at that time.

Sheila continued to bite on the rope as if to vent her regrets. Little by little, the knot was loosening.

‘Anyway, let’s undo the restraints quickly and find something that can be used as a weapon. It may be difficult to leave the room because it’s locked, but I want to make sure Abby’s safe while we try to find an escape route.’

In the meantime, she succeeded in untying the knot with her teeth. She hastily removed the restraints from her legs as well.

“I’ll wrap the ropes around each wrist and ankle, in case someone from the organization comes by again. If we put our hands and feet together, it will look like we’re still tied up.”

Once everyone’s limbs were free, Sheila painstakingly cut the ropes. Of course, there were no blades, so the only way to do this was to shred it with her teeth, though it was a steady method.

The children helped her, but Dilliam insisted on keeping up his appearance, so she asked him to find something that could be used as a weapon.

“Once that’s done, the next step is to secure an escape route…..”

When she was wondering if there was some way to get out, the first boy to disappear――Melvis opened his mouth.

“I have a general grasp of the structure inside the building.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“When I was brought here, I was moved several times. In the beginning, this room only had a stick-like lock, so I think it’s because of that. I couldn’t open the lock, but I desperately learned to try to run away if there was an opening.”

It sounded like nothing, but it was incredibly important.

He had a pretty face, but he seemed to be quite strong-willed. It wasn’t every day that you could memorize the floor plan in your head to escape when you could lose yourself in the terror of being held captive.

Now there was one less thing to do. Sheila clapped Melvis on the shoulder, pleased.

“That’s really helpful. You’re a real piece of work, Melvis. You have a lot of guts, I think you’re suited to protecting someone.”

The boy was taken aback.

“Me, protecting people? Even though I’m always scolded by my mother?”

“Yeah. Melvis is going to be a cool boy for sure.”

She nodded confidently, and Melvis resumed his work, seemingly not too full of confidence.

While biting off the rope in the same manner, Sheila was thinking about materials that could be used to draw a blueprint and a way to communicate it to the people outside. Knowing the internal structure could help the Patrol Corps during the raid.

“If only there was a way to communicate with the outside world….”

Dilliam was wearing a bracelet that blocked his magic, so they couldn’t rely on magic. They could probably get by with the bed in the room as a paper substitute, but there was no way to get that to the corps. Even if they could successfully drop it outside, any suspicious piece of paper would be picked up by the organization. It was a vexing problem.

“…. Um….”

A timid-looking girl named Lina hesitantly opened her mouth.

“My dog seems to come here several times a day….”

Sheila was so surprised that she paused again.

“What? Is it really possible to have such a connection? It’s so convenient for us that it’s almost scary.”

“Ah, but he’s not that smart. I’ve never been successful in asking him to tell someone that I’m here. So, I wasn’t sure if it would really help….”

Sheila had imagined a very loyal dog working hard for its master, but maybe the dog was just playing with her.

“I see. There’s no way everything will go well. We’re on the second floor, so it would be hard to get the dog to help us.”

But they had to give it a try. As she was thinking of all the possible solutions, Dilliam, who had found nothing but a poor substitute for his weapon, suddenly raised his head.

“Speaking of which, you…”

“What is it?”

“Your forehead looks swollen, did they hit you?”

In an instant, the nightmarish event reappeared in her mind, and Sheila’s eyes became cloudy.

“….. Please don’t dwell too deep into this.”

The heavy, threatening voice scared not only Dilliam but also Melvis and Lina who nodded frighteningly.