Volume 5, Chapter 28 – Escape Route

While snacking on some pork mince mantou—basically just ordinary meat buns—for lunch, we gathered together to sort out the situation.

“Are you truly certain the children did not pass through the gates?”

Shizuku-san asked the General’s adjutant, who was acting as the person in charge of the soldiers remaining at the base.

“Y-yes. There is no mistake. Neither the South Gate nor the North Gate noticed the children leaving. Furthermore, according to Diao Yihua-san, the children went missing after the mountain hunt unit had departed. To overlook children at a gate where hardly anyone passes is…”

“Hard to imagine.”

“But if we’ve searched this thoroughly and found nothing, couldn’t there be an entrance or exit other than the gates? For instance, a spot that only a small child would notice?”

“But the fence is undamaged. No matter how small the child, it is impossible to slip through those gaps.”

The adjutant was right; I couldn’t imagine anyone slipping through that fence.

The walls were primarily made of planks, and even where they weren’t, the gaps between the vertical posts were less than 10 cm, since their purpose was to keep beasts from entering.

They were about two meters high and topped with sharpened spikes to ensure no one could easily climb over.

Even if one managed to climb to the top, those spikes would surely cause injury.

As we were discussing this, the General arrived for lunch.

“Hm? Saint. And what are you lot gathered here to discuss?”

“Well—”

I explained that the two children were missing.

In an instant, the General’s face twisted into a demonic expression as he roared at his adjutant.

“You incompetent fool! What in the world are you doing?! If you haven’t found them, they aren’t here! Then forget about them!”

“B-but General…”

The General glared at the adjutant as he tried to protest.

The adjutant shrank back like a frog being stared down by a snake.

This was honestly too pitiful for the adjutant, so I decided to step in and defend him.

It’s okay. Yihua-san is here too. If anything happens, I’m sure I can ask her for help.

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“General, I am the one who requested the search because I was worried about the children. He is not to blame.”

The General turned his gaze toward me.

“Hmph. Saint. You clearly don’t understand, but our mission is to annihilate those small-fry. We protect the civilians, but there is no need to protect idiots who wander off on their own.”

“What are you talking about?! They’re small children!”

I raised my voice, appalled by his words.

“Hmph. No matter what you think, if they choose to go outside in this situation, it is their own responsibility.”

“Wh…!”

I was speechless at his sheer callousness.

“Don’t you dare think of going into the mountains to look for them. The units are already deployed and conducting sweep operations. If they are to be found, those men will find them. If they don’t return, then that’s the end of it.”

“…”

“Or do you have some lead on where to look?”

“…No.”

“Hmph. Then this conversation is over. You lot, return to your posts! If you waste any more of my time, I’ll knock your heads off!”

“””Y-yes, sir!”””

Threatened by the General, the soldiers scrambled back to their positions. The adjutant apologized to me, saying, “I am sorry I could not be of more help,” before returning to his post.

“…General?”

“What is it, Saint?”

“The General… you want to travel with us, right?”

“That is correct. Have you finally recognized my strength?”

“…”

Is this man serious? Or is he saying this specifically to make me angry?

“I don’t understand. Why do you want to come with us?”

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“Hmph, it’s obvious. I’ll likely get to fight stronger enemies if I’m with you. Humans are no longer a match for me. With a Vampire, a member of the Demon Race, and a Saint like you, I’ll have the opportunity to crush such foes. My only goal is to master the martial arts and become the strongest.”

“…I see.”

Yeah, absolutely not.

Our journey isn’t like that.

Our journey is, how should I put it… yes, a nice, fluffy girls’ trip.

Please do that kind of thing with the Hero.

Just as I was thinking that…

“Um, Saint-sama.”

“Yes? Wait, eeeeeeeeh!?”

When I turned around to see who called me, there stood Chunlin-chan and Duyinxi-kun.

“Aaaaaah! Found them!”

Lu-chan screamed loudly, pointing at the two.

“Wait, where on earth have you two been until now!”

I instinctively rushed toward them and raised my voice.

“Eh? Eh? Eh?”

Chunlin-chan panicked, suddenly being pointed at and yelled at.

“We were playing in the usual spot!”

Duyinxi-kun answered loudly.

Okay, calm down, me!

“Um, Duyinxi-kun, I’m sorry for raising my voice. Where is the ‘usual spot’? Can you show us the way?”

“Yeah! This way!”

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With that, Duyinxi-kun grabbed my hand and led me toward the place in question.

The location was on the northeast side of the base. There was a massive boulder here that acted as a wall, stretching for about ten meters.

“We climb here!”

“What?”

As he spoke, Duyinxi-kun began to scale the five-meter-high boulder with ease.

It was vertical—no, it was even steeper than vertical.

“Eh? Eh? You can climb this?”

Duyinxi-kun skillfully hooked his hands and feet into crevices and protrusions, climbing with great agility until he reached the top.

Um, what should I do?

“Fiene-sama, what will you do? Now that we know the escape route, I believe we can leave.”

“That’s true. Duyinxi-kun, could you come down for a moment?”

“Eeeh? No! Let’s play together!”

Ah, I see. Since I asked him to guide me, he thought I wanted to play with him.

“I suppose it can’t be helped. Is there a ladder?”

“Yes! Right away!”

I had a nearby soldier bring a ladder, and I used it to climb up onto the rock.

The view from the top was excellent, allowing me to see the entire base at a glance, but this boulder had no way down. Every direction—north, south, east, and west—was nearly a vertical wall; there wasn’t a single gentle slope.

“We go down from here.”

With those words, Duyinxi-kun smoothly descended the north side of the rock.

“Um, what should we do?”

“Fiene-dono, use that ladder. Chris-dono, the ladder.”

“Yeah, leave it to me.”

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I see. In that case, it would be faster if I used Storage.

“No, I’ll do it.”

I put the ladder into Storage and then deployed it on the north side to descend to where Duyinxi-kun was.

“There. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Holding Duyinxi-kun’s hand, I spoke to Chunlin-chan.

“By the way, Chunlin-chan, weren’t you trying to tell me something earlier?”

“Ah, yes. Actually, I found a place with lots of those scary monsters.”

Hm? Did she just casually drop some very important information?

“Um? You found… the lair of those scary monsters?”

“Yes. So I thought I had to tell Saint-sama.”

“Where is it?”

“There were lots of them under the cliff of that mountain over there.”

“…I understand. Please lead the way.”

“Fiene-sama!?”

“It’s fine. If they’re below the cliff, they won’t be able to climb up to us. I’ll just check the situation from above and come right back. Besides, if the General is there, it’ll turn into a battle immediately.”

“…I understand.”

Chris-san seemed opposed to taking children along, but she conceded when I put it that way.

Since I’d be relying on these children for guidance anyway, they’d be safer without the General around.

“Saint-samaaa, this way!”

“Yes, yes. Please don’t pull so hard.”

Being pulled along by Duyinxi-kun, I ventured into the forest on the northeast side of the base.