Lucia is Happy and Maria is Safe

I was alone when I woke up. There was a nice breeze blowing in through the open window. Where am I? It looks like a room at the inn. I went through my hazy memories as I glanced around the room. I was slow to recall anything. We definitely got to the town of Amarith. So I was in Amarith’s inn, right?

“...Miss Maria!” I exclaimed in a panic. Going through my memories, I remembered her and realized. That’s right! How could I forget! We needed to go search for Miss Maria!

As I got up to jump out of bed, the door opened. “Eh...!?”

“Ah, you’re awake. Are you okay? You don’t feel sick or anything?”

The one who stepped into the room was none other than the vanished Miss Maria. She had a lovely smile on her face, but I was so confused. I thought she was kidnapped... Huh? Was I wrong? Was that a dream?

“Miss... Maria...?” I whispered.

“That’s right, I’m Maria!” she replied, standing up straight. “Eri-kun woke up, so I figured you’d wake up soon, and I was just in time!”

She was speaking normally, and I couldn’t see anything wrong physically. She was completely the same. Was it really just a dream that Miss Maria was gone...?

“What’s that blank look for! Ah...is your memory fuzzy? I think Reynard said that might happen.”

“My memory... Fuzzy?”

I blinked as Miss Maria petted my hair, and then filled in my missing memories. It wasn’t a dream that Miss Maria had been kidnapped. The one who had kidnapped her was Ronnie, the inn worker who had gone missing at the same time. The Gorgonne, a local merchant family, had taken his lover Gisella hostage, and he tried to exchange Miss Maria for her. I was shocked that Ronnie would kidnap someone like the Sacred Maiden who would save the world.

With a wry smile on her face, Miss Maria said, “Surprising, huh? I might be pretty, but I’m the Sacred Maiden, right? Was he fine with me not purifying the Cristallo Sacro? But he was at the end of his rope, and hadn’t thought that far, apparently. He actually thought I’d be able to save him! Hilarious, right?”

Shrugging her shoulders, she continued, “So they drugged me unconscious, but before they could sell me off, you, Eri-kun, Celes, and the bear came and saved me. The Gorgonne bosses were gonna try to shut the perpetrators up, but Fer came in and got them all arrested.”

“Drugged!? Miss Maria, are you alright!?” My face paled at the thought of her getting drugged, but Miss Maria just smiled and waved it off with a slender hand.

“I’m fine. You and Eri-kun got the same stuff, but for some reason it didn’t last as long on me. Instead of lasting until the next day, I woke up quick, with my memories fine to boot. I was talking with Ed, and he thinks it might have affected me differently because I’m not from this world.”

That must’ve been why my memories were fuzzy. The last thing I could remember was Sir Celes and the others going to search for Miss Maria, so the fact that my memories had been cut off bothered me immensely. But even if Mister Ronnie and the Gorgonne family were caught, what had happened to the missing Miss Gisella?

“Um, were they able to find Miss Gisella?” I asked.

“Ah, her? It looks like they got her location out of them and are on their way to go get her.”

Apparently that shady merchant wasn’t just dealing drugs, but he was into human trafficking, too — Miss Gisella had already been sold off to one of their regulars. The inn worker committed a crime by kidnapping Miss Maria, but he might be able to return here after he served time for it. And of course, the serial rapist was caught as well; he’d been buying drugs from the Gorgonne family and using them in his crimes.

Now that she mentioned it, I remembered that Sir Gaius and Lord Reynard warned me about that foul criminal. A chill ran down my spine at the thought that someone like that could have taken part in Miss Maria’s kidnapping. I’m so glad she’s safe. After hearing everything from Miss Maria, and being sure she was alright, I realized that I hadn’t apologized to her. If I had realized this sooner, she would’ve never gone through such a scary experience. I was embarrassed, having told her that I would protect her.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you, Miss Maria. It must have been scary to be kidnapped.”

“I’m just fine! You guys came and saved me. So, thanks!”

She gave me a bright smile, and I couldn’t help but cling to her; she hugged me tightly back. Miss Maria’s sudden kidnapping debacle ended Amarith’s string of kidnappings, and things went back to normal. After waiting for Miss Maria, Eric, and I to recover, we left the town.