Elnet walked slowly, proceeding into the grounds.
“Kent, make sure you stay close to me. We’re going in!”
“Damn it, stop!”
“Now, try and stop me. Let’s go!”
With that, Elnet charged the gatekeepers.
“They’re coming! So fast!”
“Gah!”
Elnet took down two gatekeepers with her first strike.
“This woman is strong, be careful! Aim for the ones behind her!”
The leader of the gatekeepers gave the order. The gatekeepers bypassed Elnet and aimed for Kent and his companions.
“K-Kent-san.”
“Catherine, it’s all right, don’t worry.”
Catherine grabbed Kent’s clothes in fear. Kent gently patted her head, pulled her behind him, and assumed a stance. However, he had no weapons, so he would be defenseless if they attacked.
“I won’t let you!”
“Gah!”
Elnet quickly circled around and silenced a gatekeeper who was about to attack Kent and his companions by striking him with her special police baton.
“Um… weapons, weapons…”
Kent frantically took out his terminal and searched for something that could be used as a weapon.
“Older brother, in times like these, you need something like a crowbar!”
“Right… a crowbar, a crowbar… found it!”
Kent hurriedly pressed the purchase button, but in his haste, he made a mistake in the quantity field. He ended up ordering two extra crowbars besides the one he received.
“All right! Got the weapon!”
“Kent-san, I’ll borrow it.”
Kent, Rachel, and Caro, now equipped with crowbars, took defensive stances to protect Catherine. However, Elnet’s movements were so swift that Kent and his companions ended up merely brandishing their crowbars and did not participate in the fight. They broke through the gate.
“Toria!”
“Explode, door!”
“Um, I have to do it too, right? Here!”
Kent, Rachel, and Caro began to smash the closed building door with their crowbars. The wooden door gradually deformed, and they succeeded in breaking the lock. Elnet, who had been keeping watch nearby, kicked the door down and entered the building.
“They’re coming!”
The moment Elnet, who had entered, said that, knights, who had been stationed inside for security, attacked. Due to the position of Knight Commander, there were many external threats. While the knights themselves were lower aristocrats, unlike Caro’s mansion, the security here had been strengthened to the level of an upper aristocrat’s mansion to prepare for such situations. Accordingly, a small number of knights had also been deployed for security.
“Those appear to be knights. Only members of the aristocracy can serve as knights, and their abilities should be considerably high.”
Caro explained.
“But they’re being beaten one-sidedly, aren’t they?”
Rachel said, observing the current situation. She thought Elnet, lightly armored, might be at a disadvantage against fully armed knights, but just like the gatekeepers earlier, Elnet mowed them down.
“What’s wrong? Can’t even defeat a mere young girl?”
“Elnet-san, you called yourself a young girl. You’re quite old now, aren’t you…”
“What did you say?”
“I’m sorry, it’s nothing.”
Elnet glared at Rachel, who had made an unnecessary remark. Faced with Elnet’s sharp gaze, Rachel could only apologize.
“Well, I’ve dealt with these weak knights, but which way should we go…”
Elnet was pondering which direction to take. She had three options: go right, go left, or go upstairs.
“Upstairs. The scent continues in that direction.”
“Thank you. Then let’s go up!”
Caro, relying on scent, indicated the direction they should go. Elnet followed, keeping an eye on her surroundings, and went up the stairs, with Kent and his companions following her.
“No one passes beyond this point!”
As they reached the top of the stairs, instead of knights, men who looked like thugs from the town appeared. They were already in a combat stance with their swords drawn.
“What a low-class bunch has appeared.”
Elnet spat, looking at the men who were out of place in a noble’s mansion.
“This is the scent of the people I was tracking. It seems they are the ones who kidnapped Marie.”
“Oh, so where is Marie?”
“Too bad for you. She’s probably enjoying herself with the young master right now. She’s probably screaming on the bed already.”
Caro pointed and said. Elnet asked the men they were confronting.
“I won’t forgive you.”
“Careful, Kent! Don’t go forward!”
“Kent-san!”
“Older brother!”
Upon hearing the thugs’ words, Kent unconsciously grabbed his crowbar and lunged forward. Elnet tried to stop him in a hurry, but it was too late. He swung the crowbar down at the nearest thug.
“Hmph, this thing.”
“Kk”
Kent’s blow was easily deflected.
“Terya!”
“Gyaaa!”
At that moment, Elnet intervened and delivered a follow-up attack, defeating him.
“These guys look like mere thugs, but they seem pretty capable. Leave them to me and watch our backs.”
“Understood.”
Kent, regaining some composure, followed Elnet’s instructions and retreated to the rear. Elnet moved to the front to take his place.
“Now, I’ll take care of it.”
“Just one woman… Gwah!”
“Gie!”
“Bugo!”
Elnet weaved through the thugs with movements that looked like dancing. After she passed, a pile of defeated thugs collapsed.
“You’re the last one!”
“Aggh!”
Elnet defeated the final opponent and secured the area.
“Now, which way is it?”
“Um… I can’t determine if they’re here…”
When Elnet asked, Caro seemed troubled.
“I was tracking their scent, but the source is here, and the scent is being masked, making it difficult to pinpoint.”
Caro said apologetically. There were two options: go right or left.
“We have no choice but to pick one randomly…”
“Wait a moment. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s an emergency, so I have no choice.”
As Kent was about to randomly choose a path, Caro stopped him.
“Caro, what are you doing?”
“Doing this will allow me to identify it more accurately.”
Caro got down on all fours, put her nose to the floor, and began sniffing.
“Is this like… bugo!”
“You shouldn’t say that.”
Rachel tried to say what she saw, but Kent struck her head with his hand, stopping her.
“Oh? This smell…”
“Caro-san, did something happen?”
“No, nothing. All right, it’s this way.”
Caro identified the direction, and Elnet followed her instructions, proceeding with caution.
“We won’t let you go to the young master’s room!”
“We cannot let you pass from here!”
Two young maids appeared in front of them. They held knives and blocked their path.
“I don’t want to resort to rough measures, but I won’t hold back even against women.”
Elnet warned the maids.
“This is our duty!”
“Prepare yourselves!”
The two maids simultaneously attacked Elnet.
“I commend your dedication to duty, but you’re amateurs, after all.”
“Kya!”
“Ugh!”
Elnet quickly got inside their range and delivered a blow to their stomachs with her bare hands. The two maids collapsed to the floor, not even realizing what had happened.
“Older brother, they’re real maids! They’re so cute. We could take one home right now.”
“Rachel, stop joking. You’re making Kent-san uncomfortable.”
Rachel said while observing the faces of the fallen maids. Caro reprimanded her.
“You’re right. They look like dolls. Hey, they won’t get angry if we take just one, right?”
Catherine sat next to Rachel and said, observing them similarly.
“Taking one home is fine, but rescuing Marie is the priority now. Let’s hurry!”
Elnet urged them on, looking exasperated.
“This must be the room.”
“Thank you for guiding us.”
After advancing a little, Caro identified the room where Marie was likely to be and informed them. Elnet rammed the door and burst it open.
