Ch. 133

The man who kidnapped me and my friend ten years ago to sell us off looked exactly like that.

Well, technically, I’m the one who gave him that look.

More accurately, it was Rai’s handiwork.

– “Gaaah! Aaagh!”

– [How dare you do that to Master!]

– “Agh! What kind of dog is this?!”

– [In the name of Rai, I cannot forgive you!]

I still vividly remembered the moment Rai, in his snake form, strangled that man and tore off his ear.

It wasn’t a memory that faded easily. It must’ve been worse for the man.

I didn’t remember if his name was Grak. I never cared enough to remember.

“…What’s that bastard doing here?”

That weird behavior from the compass this morning flashed through my mind.

Was it pointing to him? Did it react because Grak was nearby?

“The inn staff said… that man is the boss of the Blood Wing group that controls this area. And for some reason, he seems to have a grudge against you, Miss Geenie.”

A grudge and longing are not the same thing!

Stupid compass!

“He came out of nowhere looking for you, and when he couldn’t find you… maybe he got mad and took Annie instead… Ash went after him, but… argh…”

The more he talked, the more horrified Lox sounded. His eyes looked like he was staring at someone about to die—me.

“A-And… if we want the girl back…”

“If we want?”

“He said… for you to come alone to their base…!”

“Hah. So they dared to invite me. Using a child as a hostage?”

They really knew how to piss me off.

The fact that bastard slave trader was still alive was enough to enrage me, but that he was still picking on the weak? It filled me with a certain conviction.

I guess this will be my first kill.

“Rai.”

[Should I kill him?!]

“Not him.”

Grak.

I won’t let him die easily. I’ll show him what the worst kind of pain in the world feels like. (T/N: Yes please.)

He’ll learn even in death how terrible an enemy Geenie Crowell can be—and he’ll never forget it.

I ground my teeth until they clicked and looked around the inn that was still thick with chaos.

Then I found my target.

“You, over there!”

It was the boy who usually worked the counter. He was now cleaning up the wrecked inn with a pale, frightened face.

At my call, the boy flinched and turned to me with terror still all over his face.

“M-Me?”

“Yeah! You must know where their base is.”

He lived here. Of course he’d know.

I walked toward him with a sharp glare. The boy hugged his broom tightly and backed away.

He was too scared to even say it out loud, shaking as he stammered.

“I-I don’t know! I don’t! How would I know that the Blood Wing base is in the hills behind town?! I don’t know anything!”

“Oh, so it’s in the hills behind town.”

“Gasp!”

The boy realized what he’d said and threw the broom aside, clinging to me.

“You can’t go! Please don’t go!”

“What’s your problem? Let go!”

“You must be an outsider—you don’t understand! They’re not normal! They kidnap and sell people! They’re slavers!”

“I know.”

I almost got sold myself, remember?

“They’re monsters! If you piss them off, they cut out your tongue and sell you! They’re not even human! No one can stop them—not even the nobles!”

The boy broke down sobbing, and I slipped sideways to escape his grip, wondering what was wrong with him.

“She’s right. I oppose this too.”

Just then, the cook stepped out of the dining room, taking off his white head wrap and speaking with grave weight in his voice.

Who even is this guy?

“That child’s parents were both killed by the Blood Wing.”

“Don’t go. Please don’t. Huuu…!”

“His only sister was also taken long ago. No one knows where she is. Around here, provoking them is suicide. It’s tragic that the girl was taken, but you should just give up—gah!”

What the hell is wrong with this guy? I threw the nearest thing I could grab from the table—it hit him square on.

The cook, hit in the head with a piece of bread, exploded in rage, his earlier calm long gone.

“What the hell was that for?!”

“For spewing that ominous crap!”

I didn’t back down either.

Who gave you permission to say we should give up?!

“Ominous?! You don’t know what they’re like! There’s more than a hundred of those beasts who kill and sell people without a second thought!”

“One hundred?”

“Unless the palace sends multiple squads of knights, there’s no way! Absolutely no way we can stop them!”

“What the…”

Shocking. That many slavers?

“Aha! Now you’re starting to understand! Don’t be foolish—just save your own life!”

The cook seemed to interpret my frozen expression however he wanted. But I wasn’t scared.

I’d just been struck by a realization, like lightning:

If there really are that many, and I kill them all, that means I’ll have proven I’m as strong as multiple squads of knights.

I’d been wondering just how strong I really was.

Until now, my opponents had been too extreme—either Rovenin Fedri or a dragon.

It’s not exactly great, but this is a good opportunity!

“The kingdom’s not going to bother sending knights to wipe out a slaver gang, so it’s faster to learn to give up. That’s how you live lon—argh! Again?!”

I hurled another piece of bread at the cook’s head and hit him squarely. Then I suddenly shouted:

“Ah! Behind you!”

“What?!”

“Huh?”

Everyone reflexively turned their heads at my gesture. In that brief moment, I gave a quick command.

[Rai, turn into a snake.]

It only took a blink for Rai to change form. While everyone was distracted, I grabbed the spirit stone necklace he’d shed and dashed out of the inn.

“What was that just now?!”

“Hey! Where are you going?!”

“Nooo! Miss Geenie! Didn’t you hear what we said?! It’s dangerous!”

There was a commotion behind me, but throwing myself into danger had always been my specialty.

At this point, I was starting to think maybe I was born for it.

Or maybe I lost all sense of fear after going to a dragon’s lair.

…Though I might never have had any to begin with.

[I don’t understand. Are you really going to save that little brat?]

[Am I just supposed to let her die?!]

[But you said you didn’t like her. So it doesn’t matter what happens, right? You’re clearly annoyed right now.]

[I don’t want to admit it, but she got taken because of me!]

I kicked open the already busted inn door, and just then, I remembered hearing the name ‘Blood Wing’ yesterday too.

Didn’t those thieves who stole the sword mention that name?

Maybe they brought Grak in as backup. And maybe he recognized me.

Ugh, my luck really is garbage!

“Undine!”

No time to waste. For fast travel, Undine was the best choice.

[Master.]

“Save the greetings. Let’s go.”

I jumped onto Undine’s back like I was hopping onto a motorcycle.

Grabbing her semi-transparent fin tightly, I used one hand to tuck Rai’s discarded spirit stone necklace into my chest.

By then, Undine had already begun to lift into the air, and Rai, without needing to be told, coiled himself firmly around my right shoulder.

He wrapped around me like a crude shoulder guard.

In urgent situations like this, keeping Rai close to my body was the safest.

“Call the guards or something—what the hell! Look at that!”

“Miss Geenie! Don’t go—huh?!”

Chad and Lox came running out of the inn and froze, jaws dropped.

Flying through the sky wasn’t something you saw every day, even if I was the one doing it.

Chad, momentarily stunned, shouted after me as I grew smaller in the distance.

“Hey! If you’re going, take me too! You trying to die alone?!”

“…No way. Miss Geenie’s a Spirit Mage? A Water Spirit Mage like Lady Crowell?”

Lox, being a learned man, seemed to recognize at a glance that what he was seeing was a spirit.

Most people wouldn’t even know what a spirit was, so I had to give him credit.

“Wait, wait… this is all way too much overlap… No way!”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Lox?”

“Same place of origin, same name, also a Spirit Mage! And the same blond hair and blue eyes! It’s weird!”

“What are you talking about?”

Chad didn’t seem to catch on, but Lox—clearly a self-proclaimed mega-fan of mine—seemed to know quite a bit about me, even what happened after I was declared dead.

To most people, ‘Saint’ Geenie Crowell was just some gifted student from Royal Drike Academy. They didn’t know I was a Spirit Mage.

Lox’s devotion to me must’ve been that deep.

And that made his current look of utter devastation easy to understand.

“No way! Please tell me it’s not true… Miss Geenie!”

Sorry, Lox. I wanted to protect your illusion too.

Leaving his suspicions and disbelief behind, I ascended even higher.

Once I rose above the rooftops, I turned toward the direction of the hills.

Undine’s smooth gliding through the air rivaled a horse in speed. The voices of Lox and Chad calling after me quickly faded.

And of all times, just as I soared above the city… the sky darkened, and rain began to fall.