Calika Nehu
But Lady Laswin quickly dispelled her magic. Once she calmed herself, she turned to ask me,
"Let's go somewhere else."
"Okay."
The longer Elda was missing, the more anxious and stressed I became. I nodded and immediately continued the search.
I had the slaves take turns shouting, calling out for Elda, adding that her sister Calika was looking for her.
As for me, I kept shouting her name nonstop.
We searched every house, checked every child, even considering the possibility that Elda might be disguised as a boy.
Anyone who seemed suspicious, Lady Laswin killed without hesitation.
We cleared out seven brothels, over forty small-time thug groups, numerous notorious criminals, and searched every house we passed.
But there wasn' t the slightest trace of Elda.
"Elda! Where are you?!" Cough, cough!
"Take a break, or your throat will get inflamed."
Lady Laswin floated down to tell me this for who-knows-how-many times.
But I shook my head, refusing every time. Even if I lost my voice forever, it didn' t matter.
Lady Laswin could only sigh and float back up to keep watch.
"Hm? Calika, order everyone to follow me."
When we reached the spot Lady Laswin had scouted ahead to,
we found a cart filled with the corpses of fish-like monsters with two human-like legs. The group pulling and guarding the cart had been dealt with by Lady Laswin, left just barely able to move.
"Where did you get these monster corpses?!"
"Uh, well… um…"
The man being interrogated darted his eyes around suspiciously.
"Shoot!"
A black orb fired a spiraling gust at the cart per my command.
The cart and the monster corpses were torn to shreds.
"The next shot goes at you."
"I' m not the dungeon owner! I just transport the corpses for them! I don' t know anything!"
"Which dungeon?! And who do you work for?!"
"Eek! The old sewer, sir! I work… I work for…"
Lady Laswin feigned saying "shoot," and he blurted out,
"For the child-snatching gang [Ghost Rats] ! Please, no!"
"Tie them up."
Since we had no rope, we tore old clothes to use as makeshift bindings.
"Calika, can I go check that place out?"
"Sure, we can search for Elda along the way."
I assigned ice soldiers to guard the captives while they led us to the location.
As we approached the old sewer,
Lady Laswin shot ahead, unleashing spiraling gusts in all directions.
Screams and the sound of houses being destroyed echoed relentlessly.
Once the dust settled, we charged in.
We saw the gang trying to escape with the kidnapped children.
Lady Laswin stopped her attack because the head of the orphanage here ordered the slaves to hold swords to the children' s throats, threatening to kill them if she attacked.
I scanned every child, trying to see if Elda was among them, but the group consisted only of boys.
"So it' s you lot who' ve been ruining our business," the leader said, glaring angrily at the guides who brought us.
"You filthy rats! We paid you well, and you still betray us?! Just smuggling out corpses—is that so hard?!"
"I' m sorry, but I couldn' t resist!"
"We couldn' t fight back!"
"She' s an [A-Rank] adventurer! We had no chance!"
The other captives echoed similar sentiments.
"Lady Laswin, Lady Forsythia, could you let us go?"
"Get lost," Lady Laswin said, releasing them and the child hostages without a second thought.
"Yes, we' ll get out of here right away!"
I looked at the children, their eyes pleading for help.
I turned to Lady Laswin, about to ask her to assist,
but she shook her head and said,
"Don' t worry, and don' t give any orders. Just have the slaves keep searching for kids around here. It won' t take long."
Then Lady Laswin shot into the sewer alone.
I ordered the growing number of slaves to spread out and search for a black-haired girl.
Not long after, the blood-soaked ice soldiers returned with the group of children who had been held hostage.
No wonder Lady Laswin said not to give orders—it would' ve messed up the ice soldiers' plan.
Once I saw the children, the slaves who had been ordered to hold swords to them began unlocking their chains.
It seemed the ice soldiers brought the kids back to show me the situation was handled, then let the slaves with the keys free them.
The children scattered in all directions, though we had to escort many to the edge of the slums.
The slaves then knelt before me, pledging loyalty to their new master.
I described Elda' s appearance and asked if they' d ever seen or met a girl like her.
"Have you seen her?"
"Don' t think so."
"Probably not, Mistress."
I sighed, clenching my fists in pain.
"Oh! Wait, I remember!" one said. "A merchant came to buy her because she was pretty."
"Yeah, he bought her while we were busy releasing the girls per the boss' s orders."
A lead at last.
"Do you know who that merchant was? What did he look like? Any idea where he went?"
"He was a middle-aged man, average build, with a sharp, curled mustache and neatly trimmed short hair. No idea what his name was."
"The guy came with about ten bodyguards, probably adventurers. No clue where they went."
"But I overheard something. If I heard right, the merchant told his guards to 'set off immediately.' "
"How long ago was this?"
"About an hour before Lady Laswin trashed this place."
So it' s possible Elda was taken out of the slums already—maybe even out of the city.
"Everyone, stop searching! We' re leaving the slums now!"
BOOM!
All the slaves and I flinched at the massive explosion from the old sewer where Lady Laswin had gone.
"Ice soldiers, go check on—"
Before I could finish, Lady Laswin shot out, her face tense, shouting loudly,
"Get out of the slums now! Calika, I' ll find your sister! Order everyone to flee! The slums aren' t safe anymore!"
I was startled by her urgent tone but pulled myself together and replied,
"Uh, okay! I got a lead that my sister was taken out of the slums."
"Good! You go now. I need to head to the main office first. I' ll come help you once I' m done, Calika!"
"Okay, thank you so much!"
Lady Laswin encased herself in a black spiraling wind and shot toward the city at high speed,
leaving a black orb in front of the sewer entrance, now collapsed by her handiwork.
*****
Laswin, [A-Rank] Adventurer, Known as the Raging Tempest
Before entering the sewer:
"Don' t worry, and don' t give any orders. Just have the slaves search for kids around here. It won' t take long."
I noticed the subtle movements of the assassin ice soldiers slipping away one by one to avoid suspicion.
There was something more urgent to investigate. I shot straight into the old sewer, the place they used as a holding area for kids before selling them.
I pulled out a magical device made from a monster' s remains.
It was a tile-sized plate.
To use it, you press the center and shake it a few times, and it emits light in all directions.
The sewer was in terrible shape, the stench so foul it reminded me of my childhood in the slums.
I shook my head, casting aside those awful memories.
I went nearly to the end of the path and found strange cracks in the wall.
I waved my hand, sending a gust into the crack, then pulled back. The wind I sent out rushed back,
slamming into the crack and revealing a hidden door, just as I suspected.
That' s when a salty smell hit me full in the face.
No way.
I rushed through the door. Inside was a long, sloping passage.
It was deep, taking a while to reach the end.
And it was exactly as I feared.
The [Ghost Rats] had found a dungeon in a residential area and didn' t report it to the guild.
"Those damned bastards!"
My fist, wrapped in black swirling wind, smashed the wall to dust.
And what kind of dungeon was it? A sea dungeon.
One of the hardest types to destroy.
The first floor was half sand from the entrance to the middle, with the other half knee-deep seawater.
The path to the second floor was underwater.
It' s tough because, from the second floor down, it' s all underwater, and sea dungeons have no natural light like others.
I hurried to find the path to the second floor, praying they weren' t that stupid.
As expected, those idiotic [Ghost Rats] thought this dungeon only had one floor.
The path to the second floor was still sealed shut.
I needed to interrogate them about when they found this dungeon.
That' s when the stone sealing the second floor was blasted open.
Fish-like creatures with arms and legs poured out in countless numbers. When they saw me, they charged with bloodlust.
"You fed it until the dungeon broke, you stupid filth!"