Kent and Catherine, having finished dinner, were worried about Marie, who had not returned.
“Mom, she said she’d be back by dinner… It’s so late. I wonder if something happened?”
It seemed Marie had told Catherine she would be back by dinner before she left the house. Dinner had already been eaten, and a considerable amount of time had passed, but Marie had still not returned.
“We can’t just do nothing because it’s just the two of us, so let’s go to the shop. I know it might cause trouble for others, but we might need to ask for help.”
“Okay.”
To cheer up the dejected Catherine, Kent decided they should go to the shop. Kent’s action was based on the thought that Catherine would feel more at ease with more people around.
“Huh? Master and Catherine, what brings you here at this hour?”
As the two entered the shop, Emily, the shop-attached fairy, stopped her cleaning to greet them.
“You’ve been working this late. You must be tired.”
“I’m just doing this because it’s what I find most calming. Catherine, you don’t look well. Did something happen?”
“That’s just it. Marie hasn’t come back. So, we came here to ask for everyone’s help.”
“I see. In that case, I can’t dally. I’ll go call them down.”
“Please and thank you.”
With that, Emily went upstairs. Kent reasoned that her sister Rachel and Elnet should be upstairs, and he thought they could consult with them for ideas.
“I heard from Emily that Marie hasn’t returned?”
Elnet came clattering down the stairs.
“That’s right. She said she’d be back by dinner, but…”
“I see… Catherine, don’t worry. I’ll help as much as I can.”
“Thank you, Older sister Elnet.”
Catherine clung to Elnet. Elnet gently stroked Catherine’s head. Then, two sets of heavy footsteps could be heard. They were likely Rachel and Emily.
“Older brother, Marie hasn’t returned?”
“Kent, is Marie all right?”
“Huh? Caro, why are you here?”
Rachel and Caro came down. Emily followed them.
“I was staying over at Rachel’s today. Then Emily said Marie hadn’t returned, so I hurried down in a panic.”
Kent thought that Rachel and Caro’s clothes were slightly disheveled, which suggested they had hastily changed and come down from relaxing.
“I’m sorry, both of you.”
“N-no, it’s not like that! What’s important right now is Marie.”
“Th-that’s right. Kent, so what is the situation?”
Feeling apologetic towards the two who were blushing, Kent explained the situation.
“That Marie hasn’t returned could mean either she’s busy with something and couldn’t return, or something has happened. The other possibility is she ran away, but Older brother, did you do something to Marie?”
“No, I didn’t do anything last night… I can’t think of anything.”
“Marie is as expected. She kept the agreement we all made.”
“Yeah. I don’t think I could have endured it.”
“Me neither.”
When Kent said that, Caro and Elnet spoke with admiration.
“Is that about giving Older brother a rest?”
“That’s right. Marie properly upheld the agreement and gave Kent a rest.”
“Wait, did Older brother do it with someone every night?”
Elnet answered Rachel’s question. For some reason, Caro turned red and lost her speech.
“Well, that’s not important, is it? What’s important now is Marie.”
“That’s right.”
Caro said hurriedly, trying to get the conversation back. This was an emergency, so there was no time for small talk.
“Well then, to be prepared for Marie’s return, it would be best to split into two groups: those who stay here and those who go to search the town. Emily, you can’t move from here, so you’ll be in the staying group. What about the rest of you?”
Rachel quickly decided on the direction. As a result of the discussion, only Emily remained in the shop, and the other five went out to search for Marie in the town.
“In case Marie returns, I left a letter at home telling her to go to Emily’s place. So, Emily, please contact us when Marie returns.”
“Understood.”
Kent left a letter at home and then said to Emily.
“Sniff… I can smell Marie’s scent… This way.”
Kent initially thought of going to the Flour Union to ask around, but Caro’s sense of smell allowed them to accurately determine Marie’s movements without such trouble.
“Older brother… Caro is amazing. This is just like…!”
“She’s trying hard, so you mustn’t say things like that.”
“Okay.”
It seemed she had headed straight for the Flour Union office after leaving the house.
“She went directly to the Flour Union office, it seems.”
Elnet said, as if confirming.
“The scent is a bit fainter from here. Perhaps she started running around this area.”
“We don’t know why she was running, do we?”
“I can’t possibly know that much… I’m sorry.”
Caro said apologetically, unable to answer Kent’s question.
“It feels like she stayed here for a little while. However, the scent stops here.”
Caro went to a secluded spot in the back alley and said.
“So, it ends here… Thank you, Caro.”
When Kent said that, Caro shook her head and continued.
“No, it’s not over yet. There are multiple scents remaining in this area. They seem to be moving together, so if we follow this, we should be able to track them.”
After that, Caro continued the pursuit, relying on the scent.
“It seems to be inside here. Well, I kind of suspected it before we even left, but it’s almost certain.”
“Thank you, Caro.”
“Caro’s amazing!”
“That’s quite an ability.”
“Mom is in here.”
Kent and his companions had arrived in front of a certain aristocrat’s mansion.
“I can’t believe the Knight Commander’s son is involved in kidnapping.”
This mansion was where Marc, the Knight Commander’s son, lived. Rachel said with a surprised expression.
“Should we go back and have a strategy meeting?”
Kent judged that it would be impossible to enter the Knight Commander’s mansion head-on in the current situation and that they had no choice but to retreat.
“That’s right. We can’t just storm in like this.”
“Indeed. I’ll speak with Father and see if he can do something.”
Rachel and Caro agreed with Kent’s opinion.
“Is Mom going to be all right? I’m worried, but if Kent says so, I guess we have no choice.”
Catherine reluctantly agreed with Kent’s opinion.
“What are you all talking about? Rescuing Marie should come first. Kent being hit, I can’t stand it anymore.”
Saying that, Elnet went to the gate of the Knight Commander’s mansion and addressed the gatekeeper.
“We’ve come to get Marie back!”
“Huh? Do you know this is the Knight Commander’s mansion? I don’t know any Marie. If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better leave now.”
“This is pointless. Fine, we’ll force our way through.”
“You, stop, or else.”
The gatekeeper called for his companions, fortified the gate, and drew his sword.
“If you draw your sword against me, you must be prepared.”
With that, Elnet drew not the sword tucked at her hip… but the special police baton she had “borrowed” from Kent. She swung it once, extending it, and assumed a stance.
