A Price for Courage

“……Car……li…….”

“……?”

Theodore slightly frowned at the whispering voices around him.

For some reason, he had no energy in his body.

He felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.

Theodore groaned and barely opened his eyes.

“……!”

“Now, this is more or less…….”

Theodore was startled by the unfamiliar scenery that came into view as soon as he opened his eyes.

Then, he hurriedly closed his eyes again.

His heart was pounding.

He couldn’t believe what he had just seen was real.

He wondered if he was still dreaming because he wasn’t fully awake yet.

However, the increasingly clear consciousness reminded him that it was not a dream but reality.

Theodore took a few ragged breaths, pretending to be asleep.

“So, what do you think, boss?”

“Well, since opinions are divided, let the boss decide.”

“Hmm…….”

There were three men in front of Theodore.

All of them were adult men much bigger than him.

They were all dressed in black, and their faces were not clearly visible.

They looked like assassins sent by his uncle.

However, they were definitely different people.

The assassins were desperate to kill Theodore, but these men were not.

They had only tied his hands and feet with ropes to prevent him from moving, and they hadn’t injured him.

Even now, Theodore, who was lying on the ground, was not in their minds, and they were in the middle of their own conversation.

“This forest is too creepy. We’ve caught enough here, so let’s get out of here.”

“You’re unnecessarily scared, Jacob.”

Tsk tsk, the sound of clicking tongues echoed around.

The man’s dissatisfied voice pierced Theodore’s ears.

Theodore’s fingers trembled.

“Look at this guy. A beastkin with such blue fur. And there are even Dark Elf kids.

How many more rare species are there in this forest?”

“Ugh…….”

Along with the man’s loud voice, a small groan that seemed about to break came.

Theodore squinted at the familiar voice.

‘Leon……?’

Leon was being grabbed by the man’s rough hands and shaken around.

Leon, whose hands and feet were tied like Theodore, couldn’t resist properly.

In addition, Theodore and Leon were not the only ones caught by these men.

All the children who were unconscious and collapsed had black faces and bodies and long ears like Carli.

They were the children of the Dark Elf village.

‘Intruders have entered the mountain.’

That was why Sian and Carli had that conversation.

Theodore realized this now and sighed inwardly.

“Mark, you muscle-brained idiot. Can’t you feel the magic energy filling the mountain? This is definitely the Black Dragon’s lair.”

“So what? Would a dragon care about these kids?

At most, it would be angry that we invaded its territory, but we have an ancient artifact anyway.”

“Who’s the one who activates that? You’re talking too easily.”

The two glared at each other and growled.

It seemed that the difference of opinion would not be easily narrowed.

Theodore closed his eyes and calmed his trembling body.

The men seemed to have invaded the mountain to kidnap beastkin children like Leon and the Dark Elf children.

Normally, Sian would have immediately noticed the intruders’ presence, but it seemed that they had special powers.

‘Master…….’

Theodore called out to Sian in his mind and slightly clenched the hand with the ring on it.

Sian always came running to him when something happened to him.

But now, the ring with the jewel that looked exactly like Sian’s eyes was just silent.

Would his teacher come to save him if he waited?

Should he just pretend to be asleep and stay still?

What if the men took them out of the mountain like this?

Theodore thought anxiously in his mind.

“Stop it.”

“…….”

“…….”

Then, a low voice spread around.

The two who were fighting, raising their voices, immediately closed their mouths at the heavy warning.

“We’ll withdraw for today so we don’t provoke the dragon.”

“Tch…….”

“Good thinking, boss.”

One person clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and the other person’s face brightened.

He wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

No, this can’t happen.

If they leave like this……. He had to wait until his teacher came.

Sweat dripped down Theodore’s forehead.

What should he do?

Feeling anxious, Theodore twitched.

If he was dragged away like this, he would leave the mountain.

He didn’t want that.

Theodore didn’t want to be separated from Sian.

But he was powerless.

He had learned magic and swordsmanship from Sian, but he was still just a child.

However, those men were strong adults who could deceive the dragon’s eyes.

Theodore, who had awakened his mana, could feel the men’s terrifying energy.

‘But I have to buy time until my teacher comes, no matter what.’

Theodore clenched his fists in his mind.

He might die resisting them.

But he hated being separated from Sian even more.

“Then, let’s start with the expensive ones…… Ugh……!”

“Krrraaang……!”

“Mark!”

Leon, who had come to his senses, swung his claws at the man called Mark.

Mark released his grip at the unexpected attack, and Leon landed on the ground, freed from him.

“Krrreung…….”

“This guy…….”

Only the eyes glaring at Leon shone from the face covered by the hood.

Leon crouched low to the ground, raising his fur on his body, and guarded against him.

“Mark, he’s the most expensive one, so don’t damage him and subdue him.”

“I know.”

The others didn’t care much about Leon’s rebellion.

Rather, they were worried that Mark, who was excited, would damage Leon’s body, which would become a commodity.

Mark answered carelessly and raised a sword as big as his body.

“Come on, be good. Come here quietly.”

“Krrreureureung…….”

Of course, Leon didn’t go to the man.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of yielding, even though he knew he was at a disadvantage.

These guys will rebel again and again if you leave them alone, so you have to break their spirit from the beginning.

Mark smiled and swung his sword in an instant.

“Ugh……!”

“Oh, did you dodge that?”

Leon moved almost instinctively.

He avoided the fast movement that could not be seen even with the beastkin’s dynamic visual acuity only with an instinctive sense.

Avoiding the sword swung by the man, Leon stepped back.

Mark felt happy after a long time.

Even if he swung it gently because he was afraid of killing him, it was amazing that this child completely avoided his sword, which had reached the upper level of Sword Expert.

It was amazing even if he was a beastkin with a special color.

“This is hurting my pride a little.”

“Krrr…….”

Mark, who smiled, stared at Leon with gleaming eyes.

Leon barely managed to avoid the sword, but he was hit by the terrifying wind pressure caused by the swing.

In the first place, his physical condition was not good as he was dragged here.

The ropes tying his hands and feet dug into his skin as he moved.

The blood that flowed from there dripped on the ground.

Leon knew very well that he had no chance of winning.

But he couldn’t just be caught stupidly without any resistance.

‘He must have been caught because of me…….’

Leon glanced at Theodore, who was lying motionless.

Leon’s memories before coming here were faint.

He felt some energy while complaining in the yard, and after that, his memories were cut off.

But he vaguely remembered that he had felt something and ran out of the mansion.

Theodore seemed to have followed him.

That’s how they were caught together by these guys.

In the end, it was all his fault that Theodore was caught.

‘I have to make him come to his senses somehow and make him escape…….’

He had to make at least Theodore escape while he bought time like this.

But even in this chaos, Theodore did not move.

Feeling anxious, Leon raised his tail high in anxiety.

“What are you doing, Mark? Deal with him properly.”

“Ah, I know.”

At Jacob’s sarcastic voice, Mark grumbled and straightened his sword.

It seemed difficult to break the spirit of that little brat with ordinary methods.

The mage will heal him even if he gets a little hurt.

Mark, who had such cruel thoughts casually, raised his sword high.

“Undine!”

“Keuk……!”

Whoosh, a stream of water poured towards Mark.

Mark, who stepped back at the sudden event, shook his head to shake off the water.

Judging from the direct hit to his body, it was not an ordinary stream of water.

“What is this…….”

“Haste!”

Theodore immediately used magic and jumped forward.

From now on, it was a race against time.

He had to somehow escape with Leon while the men were confused.

“You…….”

“We’ll talk later!”

Theodore, who spoke calmly, cast overlapping magic on his body.

He had learned the theory from Sian, but it was his first time using it directly.

Feeling the power gushing out of his body, Theodore realized that the magic had worked well.

Theodore was about to pick up Leon and run away.

“Dispel.”

“Ugh……!”

All the strength in his body disappeared in an instant.

Theodore could not bear the weight of Leon and knelt on the ground.

Theodore barely turned around with his trembling body.

‘Nullification…… Magic…….’

Magic that nullifies all the opponent’s magic.

It was magic that could only be used on mages who were lower circle than himself.

As expected, the man was a mage.

The man called Jacob was also looking at Theodore with serious eyes.

“What, this brat? Using double casting at that age.”

“Is that such a big deal?”

“Of course, you ignorant idiot.”

Jacob, who clicked his tongue, looked at Theodore again, who was breathing heavily.

He was suffering from mana backlash because the overlapping magic was forcibly cut off.

‘What a monster…….’

If that little brat’s circle was even a little higher, he would have been in danger.

It was not magic that a child who seemed to be only about 10 years old would use.

Moreover, even a spirit.

“Un……dine…….”

Theodore called Undine without giving up.

But his eyes kept closing.

“To……Teacher…….”

「……!」

The voice of Undine, who was shouting next to him, was heard faintly.

In the end, Theodore, who could not bear it, closed his eyes tightly.

“He could have escaped if he had gone alone.”

If he had used magic alone to escape while everyone was off guard, they might not have been able to chase him.

The surroundings were full of monsters, so they probably would have had a hard time moving rashly.

But he wasted such a golden opportunity to save just one friend.

Jacob, who burst into laughter, stretched his hand forward.

“It’s a waste to kill him.”

But he couldn’t keep a mage with this much skill with him.

Jacob was about to use magic on the collapsed Theodore.