“My Lord, everything is ready.”
Crossga had barely stepped off the ship when two long rows of subordinates stood ready to greet him. His custom attire was already prepared and waiting.
“Excellent. We begin tonight. First, bring down those on the ship.”
Crossga donned his clothes, a garment emblazoned with a devil’s hand on the back. Indeed, his sinister organization bore the very name: the Hand of the Devil.
The ten young girls from the ship were brought down and led to the dungeon where other maidens were held captive. Upon seeing more girls imprisoned, the wails immediately intensified.
Unable to bear the incessant crying, the guards promptly retreated outside to stand watch by the main gate.
“The plan succeeded! I’ve successfully infiltrated the enemy’s ranks.”
The silver-haired girl beamed with pride at having infiltrated this group of girl traffickers.
‘Is this girl an idiot?’
The golden-haired girl with a single ponytail stared at her, utterly speechless.
“I’m surprised you’re so calm. It seems you really trust me~”
Noticing the golden-haired girl remained remarkably composed after entering, rather than panicking, the silver-haired girl assumed she must have faith in her ability to rescue them.
‘Truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger. I can’t just stand by and watch her do something foolish.’
Afterward, the golden-haired girl with the single ponytail stayed close behind the silver-haired girl. The silver-haired girl, genuinely believing this was an act of admiration, nodded with evident satisfaction.
“What’s your name? I’m Hilya, thirteen years old. I’ll be fourteen in another month.”
The silver-haired girl introduced herself to the golden-haired girl, though she omitted her surname.
‘She really is a newborn calf that fears no tiger!’
The golden-haired girl remained silent, simply gazing at Hilya with a helpless expression.
“Can’t you speak?”
Hilya, seeing that the other girl hadn’t uttered a single word for so long, began to wonder if she was mute.
‘I’m just too lazy to speak.’
The golden-haired girl sighed, shook her head, and turned to leave.
“Don’t go! Even if you’re mute, I wouldn’t mind.”
Hilya quickly grabbed the other girl’s hand, preventing her from leaving.
‘This girl’s imagination is truly boundless.’
The golden-haired girl sighed again, regretting that she had unnecessarily provoked Hilya earlier.
“Let’s be friends!”
Hilya took the other girl’s hand, her eyes practically sparkling with stars.
‘Damn it! This girl talks too much; she’s a total chatterbox.’
For more than ten minutes, Hilya’s mouth rattled on like a machine gun, engaging the other girl in endless chatter.
“When we get back, I’ll take you home to meet my family. Let me tell you, my older sister is incredibly powerful!”
“And also, the chef at my house makes the most delicious food! Every day it’s something different. I’ll take you to try it when we’re free.”
“My house is huge; you can come and stay for as long as you like.”
‘Will someone please save me?’
Faced with the incessant chatter of Hilya, the golden-haired girl tried to resist. Yet, once Hilya latched onto someone, she became like sticky candy, impossible to shake off.
Time ticked by, moment by moment. As nightfall approached, the main gate outside the dungeon creaked open.
A group of figures, all wearing masks resembling those of clowns, entered and stood before the captive girls.
“Open the gates and bring them out.”
The leader gave the command. The iron gates swung open, and the group entered, immediately seizing any girls who tried to resist or flee.
“Let’s go. The Lord is still waiting for us.”
Once all the girls had become compliant, the group escorted them to a specific location.
Beneath the desolate island, Crossga had spent months constructing an altar. This altar was specifically designed to unseal the ancient fierce beasts.
“My Lord, the hundred maidens have been brought.”
“Excellent! Lead them into the altar, then… kill them!”
“Understood!”
Crossga issued his final command. One by one, the hundred girls were led into the altar.
“Let me go!”
At that moment, Hilya broke free from her captors. She unleashed a fireball spell directly at the groin of the villain holding her, who instantly collapsed to the ground, clutching the injured area.
“Seize that girl!”
Crossga grew frantic, immediately ordering his men to first apprehend the disruptive girl.
“Yes, sir!”
A group of men surged in Hilya’s direction.
“Hmph! I’m not afraid of you. I am Hilya Mycenae!”
Hilya proudly declared her surname, a name belonging to the Imperial Royal Family. This revelation made Crossga utterly restless.
“Kill her! She cannot be allowed to live!”
Crossga immediately issued a direct order for her execution, and all his subordinates sprang into action.
‘What a reckless girl. To think she shares a surname with Scheffiel. All the more reason I cannot let anything happen to her.’
The golden-haired girl with the single ponytail effortlessly broke free from her restraints, knocking out a guard with a single punch.
“I don’t want to remain like this any longer.”
The golden-haired girl instantly transformed into Yue Wu. After gathering specific intelligence on Crossga, Yue Wu had altered his gender and physique, deliberately orchestrating his capture by Crossga.
“What!?”
Crossga witnessed yet another sudden turn of events and was immediately seized by a sense of foreboding. His thoughts were thrown into complete disarray.
“Guards! Kill them all!”
“What a terrible temper. But for their safety, allow me to first send these people to a secure location.”
Yue Wu acted without hesitation, instantly teleporting all the girls to a safe place: the entrance of the Adventurers’ Guild in Sachsen City. It was likely the girls would be eternally grateful to this unknown white-robed mage.
“Alright, next up is that troublesome brat.”
In less than two seconds, Yue Wu had incapacitated all the swordsmen who had surrounded him. Xiao Qing, now a small fox, returned to perch on Yue Wu’s shoulder.
“See how amazing I am! Whoa!? What’s happening to me? Hey! Why am I flying?”
Hilya, who had been surrounded, suddenly found herself suspended in the air.
“You’re truly a handful, young lady.”
Yue Wu lifted Hilya into the air and drew her close to him.
“Wow! That’s amazing!”
“Big brother, are you a mage?”
After landing safely, Hilya was incredibly excited, circling around Yue Wu.
“Alright, calm down. You can’t stay here; it’s dangerous.”
Yue Wu picked up Hilya as if she were a small chick.
“No! I don’t want to! I want to stay by your side!”
The moment Hilya heard Yue Wu intended to send her away, she began to resist fiercely.
“I finally escaped the castle; I don’t want to go back.”
“Oh~ So you ran away from home.”
“So you can’t send me back!”
“Then let me ask you, do you know Scheffiel?”
“Of course! She’s my Imperial Sister.”
“Then I know what to do. For now, I’ll let you stay here.”
“Really!? That’s wonderful!”
Seeing that Yue Wu wouldn’t send her back, Hilya was overjoyed. However, the immediate concern was the current situation: Crossga had vanished, and his subordinates were still surrounding Yue Wu.