Chapter 12

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 12

LUCA’S blond hair rapidly disappeared into the distance, fading into the crowd of people. A sense of dread encompassed Yuki. Including the man carrying her, there were four men involved in her kidnapping. They all wore revealing, leather clothing.

Why is this happening? What’s going on? Yuki’s head swayed where she hung upside down from the man’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Every time her head collided with his back it torqued her neck. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the abrupt situation she was suddenly thrust into.

Is this a kidnapping? Is that what this is? It’s the only plausible answer. Aren’t kidnappings a common occurrence in war-torn lands? But these people know my name. Is Isis trying to get back at me for what I did at Fol? But he’s being escorted to Adolunde Castle right now. I doubt he had the freedom to leak information or hire mercenaries.

Then who put these guys up to this? And for what purpose? There’s absolutely nothing in it for them to kidnap me. I have no value, Yuki thought, unable to do anything about her current situation. Before she knew it, a sackcloth was put over her head and she was carried into a building.

***

SOMETIME after she heard several doors open and close, she was released and had hit the ground.

“Ow!” She landed heavily on her butt and elbow, rolling head over heels with the impact. The sackcloth was ripped from her head, revealing four middle-aged men surrounding her.

Fear was the first emotion to overwhelm her. What do these men plan to do with—or to me? The one thing I know for sure is that it won’t be anything good for me. Will anyone come to my rescue? Yuki looked around—she was in a room similar to the inns she stayed at with Luca and Ain during their journey. Two beds lined the wall to her right, and a window was directly behind her.

The only people I know in this world are Ain and Luca. So why must I be kidnapped when I don’t know anyone and haven’t done anything? She simmered with anger.

“…What do you want with me?”

“We don’t want anythin’ from you. We were just told to capture you,” answered her kidnapper.

“Told by whom?”

“Can’t tell you,” the man smirked, revealing several missing teeth surrounded by the yellowest set of teeth she had ever seen.

Yuki’s time in Aridol may not have been long, but she had already seen her fair share of his sort. Before coming to this town, she saw a village that had been plundered by bandits. They ransacked the entire village’s food and supplies, leaving the survivors with nothing more than broken buildings. Luca searched out the bandits’ base and destroyed them before continuing their journey. The men who kidnapped Yuki were similar to the scum Luca had taken care of.

“These types will do anything for money,” Luca said to her with disgust while he cleaned his sword.

Someone must have paid them to kidnap me, Yuki thought, racking her brain for possible suspects. Is it Luca’s rotten older brother, Orga’s doing? If it is him, why would he do this?

Yuki shouldn’t have any value in their world. Aside from her rare eye color, she wasn’t even a useful pawn.

Ah, is it because I’m Luca’s Master? It fit. Luca’s country, Adolunde, was currently at war—and he was the fourth prince. He was also a Knight of high rank, and was strengthened greatly by his contract with Yuki. By killing Yuki, the contract would be nullified, weakening Luca and making him easier to kill. That reason made sense to Yuki.

The men were smirking and leering at her as they licked their lips—as if she were their prey. They were enjoying her fear.

“…Don’t screw with me,” she shouted.

“Huuh?”

“I won’t let you kill me!” Yuki bolted from the floor and charged the men. The confused men stretched out their arms to catch her, but she stooped down and slipped out of their reach. She lunged for the doorknob, opened the door, and dashed into the hallway. The men yelled behind her.

Without any idea where to go, she just ran straight. Suddenly, one of the doors in the hallway opened in front of her and a large man stepped out. Unable to stop in time, she rammed into him at full speed and fell back on her butt.

“Aaaah!”

“Whoa!” The man wasn’t affected by her small body bumping into him. “Are you okay?” he asked, offering her his hand.

“I-I’m sorry.”

The man’s long orange hair and tanned skin left an impression on Yuki. She tried to take his hand, but someone’s arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground.

“Don’t go runnin’ away!” the ruffian who kidnapped her bellowed, tightening his grip around her waist.

She went rigid. “Stop it! Let go of me!”

The man with orange hair looked shocked when their eyes met. “Help me!”

“Shut up!” the man yelled, covering her mouth with his hand. Her screams were muffled by his hand as he dragged her back to his room.

He tossed her on one of the beds this time. Just as she tried to sit up, the man pushed her down and put his weight on her. Feeling a whole different type of danger for her safety now, she kicked and flailed her arms to knock him off.

First a perverted pedophile general tried to drug me and make me his new dolly, now I’m stuck with being gang raped by ruffians who kidnapped me for who knows why! This world has gone beyond immoral and wild!

The man thrust his hand into the collar of her dress and ripped it off.

“~~~~!”

He flipped her onto her stomach, and ripped off the back of her dress.

“Does she have one?”

“No.”

The men were talking about something she didn’t understand. Yuki frantically tried to cover her chest as she shrunk away from the men. Cold air beat against her exposed back. She couldn’t tell whether she was shaking uncontrollably from the chilly air or the fear. The man grabbed her ankles and dragged her down the bed toward him.

“S-Stop it! Let go!” She struggled the best she could to escape, feeling an intense dread for what was going to happen.

“Shut your mouth! You wench!”

The sound of something impacting her face was followed by intense pain in her left cheek. Ringing filled her ears, and her mind was emptied of thoughts. Through the ringing in her ears she heard someone knocking on the door.

“Um, excuse me? Uh well, could you give me a moment of your time?” asked a carefree voice on the other side of the door where the knocking continued.

The men attempted to ignore it, but the continuous banging on the door finally annoyed one of them enough he clicked his tongue.

“Oi, shut him up.”

“My pleasure.”

One of the men went to the door. Just when Yuki thought she heard the door open, the man who opened it went flying inside and slammed against the table. The shocked group of men turned toward the door. Surprised, Yuki looked too—the man she bumped into stood in the doorway. A look of pity flashed across his face when he spotted Yuki, but it was immediately replaced by a jovial grin.

“No matter the world or country, no one should do something like this.”

“Who the hell are you!” The bandit raised his fist to hit the man with orange hair, but his opponent’s movements were agile despite his large build—the bandit crashed into the floor with a dull thud. In only a matter of moments, all the bandits were left unconscious on the floor.

“Hi there, young lady. Are you all right?”

The way you smile casually like nothing is happening is scary, Yuki thought, but nodded.

“I see. Glad to hear it… Ah, well, how should I say this? I’m staying in the next room over…and well…want to come with me? They might be a bit big for you, but I can lend you my little sister’s clothes.”

“Th-Thanks.”

He offered his hand again. This time she took it.