Chapter 2 – Kidnapping (2)

[Translator – Peptobismol]Chapter 2 – Kidnapping (2)

Although I only played up to Chapter 1, the Vermont family in the story is impressive in many ways.

The head of the family, Count Drago Vermont, was executed long ago for researching dark magic, leaving the Countess to act as the head in his stead.

The eldest son, Aslan Vermont, continued researching dark magic and conducting human experiments, only to be killed by the protagonist, who sliced him in half.

The eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, became a necromancer researching resurrection magic and ended up imprisoned after being reported.

‘What a messed-up family.’

From start to finish, they are all trash.

Is the Countess the only sane one? But judging by how her children turned out, that doesn’t seem to be the case either.

There are no normal people in this family.

So.

“Aslan! This sister has brought you the perfect materials for your experiments! I saw the perfect candidates at the slave market and bought them right away!”

I should give up any hope that being cautious alone will allow me to avoid death.

“Ah, ah…”

“What? Are you so happy?”

“No, these kids are…”

“Look! Despite being lowly, their mana responsiveness is excellent, right? Oh, maybe your eyes, lacking magic talent, can’t see that. Anyway, I bought them specially for you, who will soon be the head of the family. It wasn’t that expensive. Oh! The slave trader tried to overcharge me, not even being able to see their mana responsiveness, so I cut off his arms and legs. I threw him your business card and told him to contact you if he had any complaints. He looked terrified and kept apologizing, so I doubt he’ll contact you, but just so you know.”

“…”

Irene patted my shoulder and smiled.

I realized two things.

First, Aslan’s sister and the eldest daughter, Irene Vermont, is crazy.

And second, Irene clearly hates her brother.

“Why that face? Aren’t they the kids with high mana responsiveness you’ve been searching for?”

“…”

The kids Irene brought were pushed towards me.

A small girl with green hair, trembling like a frightened rabbit.

And a tall girl with silver hair, baring her teeth and growling.

Although I hadn’t seen them before, they felt strangely familiar.

[Skill, ‘Appraisal’ has been activated.]

[Charlotte]

[Age: 13]

[Affection: -5]

[She is wary of you.]

I can see that.

[Julia]

[Age: 14]

[Affection: -10]

[She is hostile towards you.]

I expected the ‘Appraisal’ skill to reveal something amazing, but it only tells me the obvious.

Still, the ability to know their ages might come in handy.

At least I won’t make the mistake of offending a thousand-year-old loli elf. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the n0vᴇl(ꜰ)ire.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

‘So it is them.’

No wonder they felt familiar.

Charlotte and Julia.

Familiar names.

These are the kids who will become the protagonist’s companions in the future.

The protagonist, Yuri, cherishes them deeply, and they are the subjects of Aslan Vermont’s human experiments.

So, isn’t it better not to bring them here in the first place? To that question, the answer came like this:

Even if I didn’t abduct them, someone else did.

As if this was their destined fate…

“Where’s the other one?”

“The other one? What other one?”

“Wasn’t there supposed to be three of them, not just two?”

“Oh. How did you know? One escaped. I bought him for the highest price, but he got away. Tsk.”

“…”

Irene whispered to me with a meaningful smile.

The one who escaped must be the protagonist, Yuri.

A headache started to form.

“While escaping, he said, ‘Wait for me! I’ll definitely become stronger and come to save you!’ Isn’t that cute? But by the time he comes, it’ll be too late.”

“Did he really escape? You didn’t let him go?”

“Oh my. What do you take this sister for?”

Dudududu.

Grinding my teeth without realizing it, Irene smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied.

Those crazy eyes, impossible to read.

“See you next time. I personally procured the materials for you, so make sure you have results by then. Neither I nor Lord Kali have much patience.”

“…”

Irene cheerfully waved and turned away, slamming the door behind her.

Leaving me alone in the library with two terrified children.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Aslan Vermont. Welcome to the Vermont mansion…”

“S-Sob… Hic.”

“Don’t cry! If you cry, you might get hit!”

“But… Huuu.”

“Just hold on until Yuri comes!”

“Ah. This is giving me a headache.”

Is this what they call being stuck between a rock and a hard place?

It’s driving me crazy.

“Eat.”

“What is this?”

“What do you mean? It’s food.”

“Is it for us?”

“…”

When I handed them the plate of food, both kids backed away warily, showing no sign of eating.

Does being treated kindly by a villainous-looking guy make them more suspicious?

With no other choice, I called a maid to replate the food in a dog bowl.

“Is this better?”

“…”

I threw the kids into the next room with the food and water and returned to the library alone.

Ignoring their murmurs of ‘I’m hungry…’ and ‘It might be poisoned,’ I needed time to think.

‘What should I do with these kids?’

I’d love to throw them out immediately.

Send them somewhere, anywhere outside this mansion.

Otherwise, the protagonist, Yuri, will come to punish me eventually.

But the problem is Irene.

Would that crazy woman have kidnapped these kids purely for her brother?

Did she really let Yuri escape by accident?

Plus, there’s the subtle pressure she put on me, expecting ‘results.’

Who knows what she’ll do if I don’t produce any research results.

So I can’t harm the kids in the next room.

Yet I have to conduct experiments using them.

I’m stuck.

“Alright. Let’s escape.”

There’s no solution here.

If I start researching, I’m doomed to die by the protagonist’s hand.

If I give up, the family will pressure me.

It’s literally a death trap.

The only way out is to change it from a two-choice dilemma to a three-choice one: escape.

Change my name, hide my identity, and live quietly somewhere far away, farming alone.

[The evil god, ‘Kali,’ is watching you.]

“…!?”

Suddenly, my heart tightened, my vision narrowed, and cold sweat ran down my back.

I froze, forgetting to breathe, until the chilling sensation passed, and I could finally take a breath.

What was that?

It felt like a cold presence crept up behind me and touched my neck.

After calming my wildly beating heart, I came to a conclusion.

“Hah, hah… I’m really screwed.”

I’ve tangled with some seriously bad folks.

Why did I write a 5800-character review instead of summarizing it to 3000? What a cursed fate I’ve brought upon myself.

***

“Charlotte! No! We don’t know what’s in it…”

“But I’m hungry. Umm, um… Huh? It’s delicious?”

“Do you want to eat from a dog bowl?”

“It’s better than starving!”

“…”

Charlotte’s outburst, with her face covered in white cream, left Julia speechless.

Even though they were orphans with no education, they couldn’t be ignorant of the Vermont family’s notoriety.

A place rumored to echo with the screams of slaves daily, with countless bones buried in the mansion’s basement.

Of all places, they had to be sold here…

Without a clear mind, who knows what might happen? Despite crying from fear earlier, Charlotte was now scarfing down the cream pasta from the dog bowl.

“Julia, eat! It’s really good!”

“No. There could be poison or drugs. At least one of us should stay alert in case something happens.”

“I don’t think anything will happen. The guy who gave it to us seemed nice.”

“What? That man? Are you out of your mind?”

Julia was stunned by Charlotte’s naive evaluation.

How could that man seem nice?

With his pale, almost translucent skin from never going outside, his greasy hair, and dark circles under his eyes.

And the floor of the library covered in red magic circles and goat heads.

‘Ugh. It’s creepy.’

He was clearly a dark magician researching forbidden magic.

Just thinking about it made Julia shiver.

How could he seem nice?

Julia worried about whether Charlotte could survive this harsh world alone.

‘Yuri isn’t here. So, I have to protect Charlotte…’

Yuri managed to escape dramatically.

Promising to return no matter how long it takes or what it takes.

Since Yuri said so, he will definitely come back eventually.

So just hold on.

Endure and wait, protecting Charlotte.

Julia was biting her lip, making such a resolve, when.

“Are you behaving?”

“…!”

The door burst open, and the sinister man entered.

Julia instinctively jumped in front of Charlotte.

A man radiating a literal black aura, embodying the word ‘sinister.’

How many people had he ground up to become so ominous?

Each word he spoke seemed to freeze the air around him.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“…”

Why is he asking that? Did he put something in it?

Confronted with his creepy smile, Charlotte and Julia froze.

“Why is only one of you eating? Aren’t you hungry?”

“…None of your business.”

“You need to eat well. You need to be healthy and gain weight. Heh heh heh.”

“…!”

Facing his eerie eyes, the air turned cold.

What does he plan to do with their body after making them healthy?

“If you won’t eat, I have no choice. You’ll be punished.”

“Finally showing your true colors! Using punishment as an excuse to do something terrible!?”

“Get up and run ten laps around the yard. Now.”

“What?”

Huh?

[TL/N: The gender of “Yuri” is kept ambiguous by the author, presumably for a twist in the future. We’ll be using “He/Him” until further context is revealed.]

[Translator – Peptobismol]