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EP.111 How to Take Down a Criminal Organization (3)

"Hello everyone!!!"

Ariane cheerfully enters the guard station.

The knights couldn't help but let out a gasp of amazement when they saw Ariane's small frame.

"She's really tiny."

"Hmm... this should be sufficient."

"Are you really 19 years old?"

"I think I've heard about this before. There was a particularly small-framed young lady among the noble daughters."

Ariane's eyes widened at the flood of comments directed at her as soon as she arrived at the guard station.

"I came here because you said you needed help, and this is how you treat me right from the start?"

Grrr-

Like a growling puppy, Ariane glared at them, which finally brought the knights back to their senses.

"We-we're sorry. We lost our composure."

"Thank you for coming, my lady."

Ariane might be cute around me, but to the knights, she could only be an intimidating figure.

After all, isn't she the daughter of a duke?

"Hmph, please watch your words."

Ariane spoke haughtily like a proper noble lady.

"It must have been difficult, thank you for willingly offering your help."

"They're my juniors, after all. How could I not step in when my juniors are caught up in something like this?"

In fact, Ariane readily agreed to help as soon as she heard the situation.

Some might say it's not that big of a deal, but sacrificing oneself for others deserves praise.

However, what was somewhat surprising was that Ariane didn't come to the guard station alone.

"This is Fran, the best healing awakened one in our academy."

"Ooh!"

The knight who had been somewhat troubled by Ariane bringing a classmate couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at Fran's introduction.

Being able to provide immediate treatment when hostages are rescued was not something to refuse.

"And this is the marksman Shine! She can snipe from a distance. She boasts 100% accuracy, never missing her target!"

"Ooh?!"

There's no asset more important than a sniper during an ambush.

The knights once again let out exclamations of admiration at the appearance of a sniper who never misses.

"I'm just tagging along."

Finally, Vine answered with a gentle smile.

The knights couldn't bring themselves to tell Vine to leave for being an uninvited guest.

They already knew that the two people introduced earlier would be great assets to this operation.

"They'll all contribute more than their fair share!"

Ariane proclaimed confidently.

I patted the head of the gloomy Haeshi beside me.

"See? Why are you trying to shoulder everything alone when there are so many people willing to help you?"

"That's not it!! She wants to rescue her friend with her own hands. Boss, don't you understand that feeling?"

Haeshi nodded at Ariane's words.

"But since it would be more certain if you - I mean, senior - handle it rather than me doing it, I won't insist."

"Aww, how sweet. From now on, call me Sister!"

Ariane warmly showed her friendliness by telling Haeshi to call her Sister.

A faint smile appeared on Haeshi's darkened face for the first time in a while.

"Sister will definitely rescue her safely. So Haeshi, trust us and wait, okay?"

"Yes, Sister."

It would have been troublesome if she had insisted on coming along until the end, but it seemed she had changed her mind since the seniors themselves stepped forward to help with Nairel's rescue operation.

Indeed, for kids like these, seniors are more effective than teachers or parents.

"Shall we start planning the operation in earnest?"

There were quite a lot of people participating in the operation to rescue three children kidnapped by the criminal organization.

First, the knights who would physically engage at the scene.

The teacher dispatched from the academy.

Ariane with her small frame necessary for this operation.

And the rest of the tag-alongs.

"Students participating in the operation? Is this operation a child's play?"

"Send them back immediately. This cannot be allowed."

Of course, the academy teacher who joined later opposed the students' participation in the operation, even if they were in their final year.

"Without Miss Ariane's participation, the safety of the captured children would be at risk."

"If the teachers don't allow it, I'll sneak in secretly!"

Haeshi, who wouldn't stay quiet in this situation, boldly declared she would cause trouble.

Eventually, the teachers allowed this operation.

They had to acknowledge that there was no adult who could replace Ariane.

'If not Ariane, Haeshi would have to do it, but Haeshi is too young.'

And it was decided that our tag-alongs, Fran, and Shine would stay in the rear.

This was because while they might make an exception for Ariane, they absolutely wouldn't allow other students to participate in the operation.

"Staying in the rear is no fun."

Shine said dismissively, but the others were accepting it without protest.

"Then we'll proceed with the operation like this."

Ariane had an ability called stealth, which made her very effective for infiltration.

If Ariane hadn't been a duke's daughter, they would have been ready to scout her to join the knights after graduation.

"Today's planned operation will proceed in secret. I would appreciate particular attention to security. There's a possibility that the criminal organization has a collaborator within the academy."

"There's a collaborator in the academy??"

"That can't be.... Why?"

"We won't know unless we catch and interrogate the culprit."

Meanwhile, I thought to myself.

'Should I step aside now?'

It's good that I brought Ariane here after asking for her help, but now my position is becoming a bit awkward.

The ones being deployed for this operation are the most skilled among the teachers, and the same goes for the knights.

Among the people gathered here, I'm probably the weakest and most useless.

"Mister... will Nairel be okay?"

Ah, is there one thing?

"She'll be fine. They probably didn't kidnap her just to hurt her."

They must have kidnapped her to use the children's powers, so she'll likely be kept in good condition.

"I hope she comes back as soon as possible."

Haeshi clasped her hands together as if in prayer.

The one most anxious here was Haeshi.

And I realized that, just as I've been doing until now, I should just keep an eye on the kids.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Tap-! Clack-! Thud!

The Academy City had very few places where criminals could hide.

This was because security was so well-maintained.

Land prices were high, and there were a lot of people around.

Some scruffy-looking young men were huddled around a campfire.

They were cursing with deeply furrowed brows.

They clearly weren't happy with the current situation.

"Damn, it's freaking cold. Why is it so cold here?"

"Still no contact today?"

"Nope."

"At this point, they must've been caught. Give up."

"Yeah, it's been how many days now?"

"Sigh~ Those bastards... their abilities were useful at least."

Though their personalities were garbage, their abilities had been helpful, so the empty positions they left behind were quite regrettable.

"Look at the mess those idiots made. There's no better place than this, but we have to leave because of them! It's already hard enough moving around with the kids with all this surveillance!"

It had been days since they lost contact with their fellow organization members.

At this point, they were most likely captured.

Yet they couldn't abandon their hideout for practical reasons.

They needed to move with two children without drawing attention, and finding a spacious hideout where everyone could rest comfortably was extremely difficult.

While this place wasn't exactly comfortable, at least it was spacious enough.

"How much money do we have left?"

"Not much. We barely secured the next hideout."

They had boldly kidnapped three children, but only managed to get one out.

The child they successfully took required a lot of effort to kidnap, while the ones left here were just extras they'd greedily tried to grab while they were at it.

In other words, the two children here were just bonuses - nice to have but not essential.

"Should've just left with what we had instead of getting greedy."

They never imagined the Academy would impose a lockdown so quickly.

They tried to escape with the two, but missed their chance due to the knights and Academy teachers strictly monitoring the city.

By the time they realized what was happening, the lockdown was already in place.

"We underestimated the Academy. Damn it!!"

"We should have risked it and escaped when we had the chance..."

Who would have known the time before the lockdown would've been their best opportunity?

"How long is this damn lockdown going to last?"

"I know. It's driving me crazy that we can't contact anyone outside. We can't even ask for help."

Even their main organization would have trouble helping them.

After all, it was impossible for anyone to come and go in this situation.

"Let's hang in there a bit longer. Even the Academy can't maintain a lockdown for more than 30 days."

Once the lockdown ends, they'll leave this cursed city behind.

One might think they could just give up the kidnapped children if things got too difficult.

But these children had seen all their faces.

They'd rather kill them than let them go.

'So what, just kill them? Think the lockdown will be lifted if there are no children to find? You idiot! How can you even suggest that?'

If a child dies, both the Academy and the knights would hunt them down even more relentlessly.

It would only give them more reason to extend the lockdown.

But the guys who caused trouble this time had been complaining about everything.

'If you're stupid, at least try to understand.'

Those guys wouldn't back down from their opinions.

When their opinions weren't listened to, they whined like babies, said they were going out drinking, and never came back.

Obviously, they couldn't release the children, and they couldn't kill them either.

Just holding on was their wisest option.

"Sigh~ Just thinking about those guys gives me a headache."

"Don't think about it. Better we cut ties early. Staying with idiots like them would only cause us trouble too."

"But what were those guys doing when they got caught?"

They didn't know.

That they were caught trying to impulsively kidnap a kid who could teleport.

"At least we're lucky today. Not many people wandering around."

"Is today D-day?"

"Yeah, we have to move today. Are the kids being managed well?"

"Keeping them sedated. Don't worry... Wait, shh! Someone's coming."

Knock knock. Knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock. Knock. Knock knock.

A rhythmic knocking sound came from the hideout door.