CH 60

Escape

The sunlight, which shone through the cracks in the armored door, was tinged with an azure hue.

Then, through a broken part of the house that barely overlooked the back alley outside, she saw a dog. The white mongrel dog, not very large in stature, looked up at the second floor and wagged its tail without barking.

“It’s him. That’s our Mick.”

“Okay, let’s drop the floor plan down.”

Sheila shoved a piece of sheet through the gap in the window. It was possible because the windows of a commoner’s house weren’t made of expensive glass.

Somehow, a piece that had managed to pass through the gaps was fanned by the wind and fluttered down. Mick happily chased after it.

When he caught it well, Sheila involuntarily clenched her fists, but the next moment she clung helplessly to the shutters.

Its master, Lina, who was peeking in next to her, also shouted pitifully.

“No, Mick! Don’t lick it, you’ll make it unreadable. Why are you being so silly~”

Mick had licked the sheets into a sticky mess. It was hard to tell from a distance, but it might be unrecognizable now.

She had written it with true, blood-soaked passion, but the end result was tragic.

Everyone looked at Mick’s back as he happily ran away with a piece of drooling cloth in his mouth, and they all had a faraway look in their eyes, “I wonder if he’s going to bury that thing somewhere….”

◇　◆　◇

Late at night, when the children and Dilliam were all asleep, Sheila woke up with a start.

The entertainment district of the royal capital was on the other side across the central street, so the hustle and bustle were far away. Since this neighborhood was inhabited by many craftsmen who got up early in the morning, the town itself was breathtakingly quiet.

There, the sound of well-organized military boots echoed.

They seemed to hide their presence, but the sound of clashing armor couldn’t be muffled. ――The rescue team had finally arrived.

Sheila quickly stood up and began to wake the children. They immediately woke up, but were taken aback by Dilliam who was sound asleep.

How could you sleep in so well when you were responsible for guiding children in a situation where you didn’t know when rescue would arrive?

“Dilliam-senpai, if you sleep in, you’ll be at a disadvantage. I’m sorry, excuse me.”

After whispering lightly in his sleepy ear, Sheila lightly scratched his cheek.

Shocked and confused as to what had just happened, Dilliam jumped up in a panic.

“W-what? What just happened?”

“That’s not important, Dilliam-senpai, it looks like rescue is on the way. We should hurry up and get moving.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that? Is it my imagination that my cheeks are tingling?”

“It’s definitely just your imagination.”

Sheila removed the ropes from her hands and feet and left them with Melvis. She was going to have him collect the ropes for all of them while she fumbled with the key.

She quickly ran up to the door.

In her right hand, she held a piece of armoire that Dilliam had brought with him, hoping it would be useful as a weapon. It was definitely too small to be useful as a weapon, but she kept it because she thought its thinness might be useful in some way.

The piece of board was well-sharpened, and the edges were so thin that they were even sharp. She inserted it into the gap lock of the door.

Little by little, she carefully moved her hand. She felt the bar move slightly.

‘….. I can do this.’

Over and over again, she moved the piece of board in and out, moving it in small increments. Eventually, Sheila put the board slice back in her breast pocket.

She put her hand on the door and pushed, being very careful not to make a sound.

The door opened without a hitch.

“No way, it really worked….”

Dilliam was stunned by the scene before him.

Sheila smiled wryly, thinking that he, a nobleman, wouldn’t understand.

“The key fittings of this type of lock are still not quite right. The locksmiths in the aristocratic districts have good skills, but the ones in the commoner districts do a poor job.”

There were many bar locks on the market, but there were quite a few that were loose because the bar catches on the key holder.

Commoners, who had few things to steal, were less aware of the danger, and they weren’t afraid to use locks like this that could be opened if someone took the time to do so. It wasn’t good for the children’s education, so she wanted to do it without being seen if possible.

“Anyway, I think they will be coming in soon. Crow and the masked man are probably already aware of the presence outside. Let’s get out before they come this way.”

With Sheila in the lead and Dilliam in charge, they stepped out of the room. First, as planned, they had to rescue Abby.

With the slightest amount of force, she knocked on the door of the storage-like room. Was it because it was late at night, and she didn’t notice it or was she mistaking the room itself?

Perhaps because the door was so thick, she couldn’t feel the presence of people inside.

This room was, of course, also locked. It would take some time to open the door, so if they were too slow, they would be discovered.

“I still feel like Abby is here. I want to open this lock. Is that okay?”

“――Got it. You’re the one who can open the lock, so there’s no point in arguing. I’ll keep a lookout.”

Melvis stepped forward next to Dilliam, who nodded.

“I’m going to check the rooms around here just to be sure. I’ll check quietly like Brother, don’t worry.”

Lina and the others wait so as not to get in the way.

Sheila and the others moved quickly. It was a race against time.

The lock here was of the same construction as the one in the room where we were locked in, but this one seemed to be better made.

Sweat trickled down her chin from her impatience and the heat. Sheila, who grew up in a place where it was cool even in summer at night, was unimaginably hot.

Finally, she managed to unlock it.

She quickly opened the door and saw a small figure in the room without a bed.

“――Abby!”

Her light brown hair spilled over the coarse cloth. She looked a little tired and worn out, but there was no doubt that it was Abby who was sleeping there.

As Sheila shook her shoulders, Abby’s unfocused eyes turned toward her.

“…. Ah, S-sister?”

“――I told you I’m your big brother.”

She was still half-asleep and didn’t appear to have a clouded consciousness. It didn’t look like she had been given any strange drugs.

When Sheila responded while hugging her tightly, Abby moved in her arms.

“…. I knew it, you’re a girl.”

“…. Eh?”

Sensing Abby’s intent in her gaze, Sheila immediately released her. She had completely forgotten that her chest binder was gone. Even though it might not look obvious to the naked eye, it was obvious if you touched it.

Sheila began to hastily make excuses before they joined the others.

“I’m sorry, Abby. I’m really sorry that I lied to you. But in order to become a knight, I had no choice but to do this. If they find out now, I’m afraid the punishment will be more than just expulsion from school, so if you can, I’d appreciate it if you could keep quiet…..”

Abby, who was looking up at Sheila with clear eyes, smiled and nodded.

“I understand. Because Sister is a knight, I was able to get help like this. I promise I won’t say anything. In return, I want you to play with me next time.”

Sheila gladly yielded to the cute threat. In exchange, she also made Abby promise to call her “Big brother” or just “Sheila”.

Other than the lack of a bed, there seemed to be no problems with Abby’s treatment, and she soon recovered her energy. They went out into the hallway to join Dilliam and the others.

Abby and Lina seemed to know each other, and the two were happy to meet again. But soon they were hurried by Dilliam and started proceeding down the corridor as planned. Melvis’s memory was so accurate that they were rarely mistaken.

They were making their way smoothly through the spacious house. Until they noticed a figure blocking their way.

“You really are too good a girl to try to let the children escape from a potential hostage situation before the soldiers come in~”

From within the pitch-black darkness, a shadow appeared as if it had been cut out of the darkness itself.

A pair of golden-green glowing eyes appeared, looking like a nocturnal beast. Their supple gait and the smile on his lips made him look very ferocious.

If he was hired by Count Gilgner as a combatant, she knew that a fight was inevitable.

Even so, she didn’t want to fight as much as possible because she knew his circumstances―― and also the overwhelming difference in fighting ability.

“――Crow.”

“It’s really bad luck for me to be harassed while my partner is going to the boss’s place~ No matter how you think about it, it’s impossible to catch even one person without anyone getting hurt.”

As he said that, Crow held up a dagger in each hand.

Whether or not he really meant what he said, the end result was unavoidable.

Sheila stepped forward to face Crow.

“Everyone, go ahead. I’ll try to hold him off.”

If they turned left, they could still reach the stairs, although it would take a little detour. Rather, as Crow said, now that the people of the organization were out, they should be able to join the corps without any particular obstacles.

As soon as Dilliam reported the situation to the Patrol Corps, reinforcements would come.

“Dilliam-senpai, are you going to be all right?”

She looked over at Dilliam behind her. He must’ve sensed Sheila’s intention as well. He began to lead the children to a passageway that turned to the left.

“I’m supposed to be the one asking you that! You, don’t die!”

Crow glanced at Dilliam and the others as they ran, but he never pursued them.

Slowly, he turned his gaze back to Sheila.

――The battle between the two beasts began.