Volume 6 - CH 16

Chapter 16 – Taking Control of The Fort

The Knights and soldiers, led by the Hero Ronaldo, in the end, managed to take control of the fort.

All nobles involved in the kidnapping case, illegal slave trafficking, and barricading themselves in the fort, including the Acting Lord Riesenbolt, were arrested. When the Knights surrounded them, they no longer had the spirit to fight for their lives. And because the fort was located in the center of the lake, it was not possible for them to run away.

The Knights also managed to save a total of 57 kidnapped victims who were held all over the fort. The victims were in poor health when the Knights and soldiers found them, and those who were used as shields were assaulted routinely and were in danger if not treated immediately.

With that, the medical team brought by the Knights immediately began giving first aid to those victims. At the same time, they also requested the support of medical personnel from the territory of Veil.

—

Sorano, who went through the second gate from the large hole made by Ronaldo’s attack, went up to the wall using the stairs in the rear. There, she found the garrison soldiers that she and the elves defeated with their bow scattered around. Large and small pieces of destroyed wall are also scattered, and Sorano proceeds to the center of the second gate while avoiding them. When she arrived just above the gate, she found a man in full-body armor lying down looking up at the sky.

Sorano looked at the man for a while, until suddenly, she knelt down and lifted the man’s helmet. The man’s left cheek was unsightly and distorted as if it had been scooped out by something.

‘As expected it was him, huh.’ Sorano thought.

Yes, that man was the man who hung the hostages at the gate and made the stupid statement to the Knights. When she heard his voice before, Sorano had already thought maybe the man was ‘him’.

There was a nobleman who tried to violate Sorano, who had just been made into a criminal slave. At that time, Sorano bit at the nobleman’s left cheek and bit it off. And the man who was dead in front of her right now, was definitely that nobleman.

Now, she didn’t feel any anger or sympathy toward the man whose name she didn’t even know. However, she thought that her actions might have driven the man mad. And the man’s madness might be the thing that created such a kidnapping case and made the hostages suffer.

“But, there was nothing I could do except that at that time.”

Sorano muttered, keeping her eyes on the man’s left cheek.

“Sorano. So you are here. Eto is calling for you.”

Kohaku’s voice was heard from behind. Hearing that, Sorano looked away from the man’s face and relaxed her mouth. Kohaku said that it was a coincidence that she found her there, but it was actually difficult even for Sorano to reach the place Sorano found the nobleman. So, Kohaku must have been worried about Sorano, so she went to look for her.

“Aa, I will go now.”

Sorano replied to Kohaku and gently returned the man’s helmet back to its place, thinking that she probably won’t even remember the man again. With this, Sorano felt that the series of events that made her a slave had finally come to an end.

—

While exploring the fort, the Knights found several dead bodies in an underground prison. It seems they were offhandedly thrown into the prison, and there are traces of torture on their bodies.

Normally, the Knights would inquire about their identity and the body would be handed to the bereaved family, but as their bodies already decayed, it was decided that they will only take some remains of the body and cremate them. After that, the interrogations will be held to identify the person who tortured them, which will definitely result in severe punishment.

After that, Eto and his group remained in the fort for a while to take care and be the advisories to those who had been held hostages. And since most of the hostages were women, the presence of Sorano and Kohaku, who had experience escorting victims of kidnapping, was very helpful. Eventually they will also be sent home, but that will have to wait until they recover both physically and mentally.

Sunny and the elves disappeared when the fall of the fort was confirmed. It is a wonderful way to leave, like the saying “a bird does not foul the nest it is about to leave’. Eto also hasn’t thanked Sunny yet, but, even without any proof, Eto believes that he would meet Sunny again soon.

The same goes for Narl and Nii, the investigators of the Adventurer’s Guild, who disappeared. Right after the fall of the fort, they told Eto and his party that they were going to leave because they had other work to do, and just like that, they were gone the next day.

As the days went by, doctors, pharmacists, and priests were dispatched from the territory of Veil, and they set up a medical system in the fort. Many of the victims wanted to leave the fort, which became a dark memory for them, and go home as soon as possible. Therefore, Eto and his party decided to return to Veil with those who wanted to go back.

The day before their departure to the territory of Veil, Eto and his party greeted the people who took care of them while they were staying in the fort. Apparently, Kohaku became friends with the Knights’ scout who were with her in the assault unit, and was taught how to hide her presence and detect the enemy. That made Eto think, what a terrifying thirteen-year-old girl. For some reason, Amou was relied on by the men of the battering ram unit, and led them to clean the fort. On the other hand, Sorano exchanged greetings mainly with medical personnel, as she was helping the victims together with them.

Meanwhile, albeit reluctant, Eto decided to show up to the Commander and Ronaldo. Because in the siege, his strategy wouldn’t have been possible without their cooperation.

The Commander was in a good mood from the beginning to end, thanks to their victory. He praised the swordsmanship of the Hero and the maximum magic of the Master Magician, and also spoke loudly about the achievements of the Knights. Apparently, he completely forgot about Eto and his group’s achievements, but as Eto thought it would be troublesome if he got in a bad mood, he just matched the Commander’s talk.

When Eto headed to Ronaldo’s place, Mirei and Lana were also in the room.

“Thank you for your help this time.”

Mirei said to Eto with ‘reluctant but at least I should say it’ expression. Next to her, Lana shook her hands together, as if saying “Sorry.”

Ronaldo and Mirei’s attitude toward Eto have become a little milder, probably because Lana has helped clear the obstacles. Thus, Eto thought that the next time they met, he had to treat her to something to express his gratitude.

After greetings, Eto suddenly thinks about something and takes out a golden jewel from his pocket and shows it to Mirei.

“What is that jewel?”

“A jewel that was saved in the Royal’s Treasury. This was a reward for solving the Goblin Stampede, but if you grab this jewel and use support magic, you can cast wide range support magic with one cast.”

“What! Such a thing… Show me a little more.”

Eto lifted his hand holding the jewel so Mirei could see it easily. Mirei brings her face closer to the jewel and examines it carefully. As Mirei was about to extend her hand to touch the jewel, Eto stored the jewel back into his pocket.

“This jewel has no effect on attack magic. It also has no magic amplification effect. It can only be effective with Support Magic. I think it is something that is useless for Mirei-sama.”

“Fun! That’s true. Jewel, is it? I will remember it.”

The power of Mirei’s maximum magic was tremendous. She played an important role in Eto’s operation. Since she already showed that much, Eto thought he would just reveal how he applied his support magic in a wide range with just one cast.

Finally, Eto also greeted Ronaldo.

“See you.”

Ronaldo stared straight at Eto and told him to greet his party for him.

“Ee, see you again somewhere, Ronaldo-sama.”

When Eto heard Ronaldo’s words, Eto thought ‘Are, does he think of me as a friend or something?’, but he wouldn’t complain if Ronaldo treated him in a friendly way. So, he replied adequately.