The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 106

The two people who entered the building stayed inside for about thirty minutes before coming out. Though they called for a carriage for their return, they didn’t bother hiding this time. They were obviously heading home—and besides—

“I’ll do the scouting alone.”

Semeion had gone inside to investigate.

“Ugh, I always feel uncomfortable coming here. It’s stifling enough without windows, but they insist on making it so dreary.”

“Hmm.”

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard till this late, Chief Manager. Now you should rest.”

“Right. You’ve worked hard too.”

In the cold, they made meaningless small talk, not paying much attention to anything of note. But just as they were about to get into the carriage, something caught my ear that was hard to ignore.

“By the way, your instincts are unparalleled, Chief Manager. That manager said there was nothing wrong, but there was an intruder, wasn’t there? He was trying to let this slide, how outrageous.”

‘…Intruder?’

Had someone already noticed the suspicious activity and tried to approach?

“It must have been a trivial matter to them. But it’s fortunate they caught him.”

“True, but I wonder what kind of scent drew him here. Must have been the guy who disappeared today, right? It would have been nice to see his face, though.”

“Well, they’ve already taken care of it, so there’s nothing we can do. We can only hope it was him. In any case, we can’t leave this unchecked. We’ll discuss it with the higher-ups first thing tomorrow.”

The subsequent conversation wasn’t audible. Watching the carriage depart with the two people inside, I looked back at the building. It remained silent and shrouded in darkness, with no sign of any human presence.

“Prince Sei.”

“…!”

Just then, a familiar voice greeted me from above. I reached out my hands and caught him as he flew swiftly towards me. Seeing him uninjured and safe, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you for waiting. The interior was more complicated than I thought, so it took some time.”

“I’m fine. How did it go?”

Semeion shook his head with a bitter expression. The faint hope I had was quickly extinguished.

“So, it wasn’t here, then.”

I had thought this might be the place where the captured Clonnes were being held. No wonder it felt like things had been going too smoothly. It seems luck can’t favor us constantly.

“Did you find anything else? I overheard a conversation between the two who just left, saying there was an intruder here today. They said they caught and dealt with him. It seemed they mistook that person for me.”

Semeion hesitated briefly before answering.

“I found something somewhat related.”

“Were there any bodies inside?”

“…It would be best if you saw it yourself. I also found a way we can move around without being detected, so I’ll guide you.”

I quietly observed his somewhat grim face. For someone who would usually suggest we leave at once, his insistence implied he had found something quite serious. Something even he, who prioritized my safety above all, couldn’t ignore.

“Let’s go.”

Instead of the heavy magicl sword, I drew a dagger. Nodding, Semeion led me to a side door at the back of the building. It seemed to be used by workers, and there didn’t appear to be any guards. As soon as I entered, I understood why.

The interior was far darker than I expected. There were no windows, and no lamps either, making it even darker than outside. It’s hard to adjust to the darkness without any light at all, so I had no choice but to rely on my other senses. To be honest, I couldn’t bring myself to take a single step.

‘How did Semeion manage to scout this place?’

By now, I was even more impressed by how he managed to find something here.

“This way.”

But he led the way without any trouble. Although he was in an artificial body, it was said that some of his sensory functions, like sight and hearing, had assimilated with his original body—an innate ability. It seemed there was a reason he was a knight.

Anyway, following his lead blindly for a while, we cautiously descended a staircase that seemed to lead underground. As we approached, amid the dust and mold, new odors began to mix in.

The stench of sewage and decay. The smell of something burnt. And something odd and fishy, perhaps blood.

Each was an unpleasant odor, but the most bothersome was the smell of smoke. It was oddly familiar, like something I had smelled before…

‘Ah.’

The memory quickly resurfaced.

“Prince Sei, here it is.”

At that moment, it seemed we had reached our destination, so Semeion stopped moving.

We stood in front of a door. I carefully found the doorknob and pulled, and the door opened without resistance. Semeion wouldn’t have led us to an empty room. It seemed no one had anticipated an intruder here.

‘Or they were confident that no one could do anything even if they got inside.’

The smell of smoke intensified as soon as the door opened. This confirmed my suspicion. It was the same smoke I had smelled at the Emperor’s chambers—’poison smoke.’

“…”

The darkness inside was still completely unseeable. I could barely make out lump-like figures sprawled on the floor. Still, I could guess what they were without needing to confirm.

“Are they people?”

“…Yes, they are.”

All of them were alive. Most likely, they were poisoned by the Demonic Beasts, just like the Emperor had been. There seemed to be at least a dozen of them.

‘Was this a feeding storage?’

I had suspected such a place existed. The Demonic Beasts must be numerous, and hiding their presence while being active meant they were getting food from somewhere. Though they occasionally went on a rampage, for the most part, they hunted secretly.

‘It’s fortunate that they were found alive.’

Still, seeing it in person took my breath away for a moment, especially considering it was disguised as a renowned merchant’s warehouse.

Anyway, I understood why Semeion had brought me here. The blood of the Clonne was essential to neutralize the poison of the Demonic Beast. Only I could do that here.

“We need to wake them up.”

I stepped inside and extinguished the incense burner that had been releasing the poisonous smoke. Ventilation would have been ideal, but given the airtight room, simply pushing the remaining smoke out the door had to suffice. When I finally drew my dagger, Semeion sighed deeply. He had guided me here out of necessity, but he clearly wasn’t happy about the situation. Given his sensitivity to me getting hurt, it was understandable.

“Judging by their condition, they don’t seem too deeply poisoned. It hasn’t been long since this happened. You don’t need to give too much of your blood.”

His attempt to conserve every drop even in this situation made me smile.

Shaking my head, I made a cut on my palm. Moving among the seemingly lifeless prisoners, I let my blood drip into their mouths. Their breathing started to strengthen, and soon, groans began to fill the room. They were waking up. The first to regain consciousness staggered as he sat up.

“…Where am I?”

“Shh, don’t speak loudly.”

At my whispered command, those looking around warily paused. The others who were similarly regaining consciousness also swallowed their breaths and stopped moving. Perhaps it was the pitch-black darkness causing fear, but thankfully, they seemed quick to grasp the situation.

“W-who are you? Where are we, and why is it so dark?”

Someone cautiously asked.

“Given the situation, it’s difficult to light a fire. I’m here to rescue you.”

“R-rescue us?”

“Do you remember anything from right before you lost consciousness?”

The person asking questions took a deep breath at those words. Others seemed to recall their situations as well, as they began to tremble one by one.

“As you might have guessed, you’ve been kidnapped. You’ve been asleep under the influence of poison. I’ve managed to detoxify you for now, but your bodies won’t be in perfect condition yet. Now, we need to escape from here. Do you all understand?”

Everyone who had been silently holding their breath slowly nodded. Though they still looked confused, it seemed they were focusing on the need to escape. As I continued to instruct them to check if they could walk, a faint voice echoed among the dark figures.

“Officer…?”

“Could it be… are you Officer Sei?”

“…!”

A familiar voice grabbed my attention. Just as the speaker recognized me, I couldn’t help but recognize him. The problem was that it made no sense. The owner of this voice was someone I would never expect to encounter in a place like this.

“…No way.”

I hoped I was mistaken, but that hope didn’t last long.

“So, it really is Officer Sei, isn’t it?”

“…”

The voice grew brighter, filled with relief. But I couldn’t share that sentiment. I barely managed to swallow the curse that rose in my throat.

Your Highness the Crown Prince.

What in the world are you doing here?

—–
(T/N): Didn’t see that coming lol