38 38. Conflict With Astra Part 6

The pain that aches were the one that woke Fritz up. He found himself on a cotton-stuffed bed. The back of his head laid on a hard bamboo pillow. He seated, leaning his back against the wall. Groaning as the pain acted up once again, Fritz saw the figure of a man in his steel armor. His white teeth gleamed as the rays of the sun pierced through the gaps of the thin curtains.

"Oh, kid, you are awake!" Fritz's clothes had changed. He was wearing an oversized shirt, naked underneath. "You must not move so much. You were badly hurt."

Recalling last night's incident, Fritz noticed that the system added a mission. He opened the content and read it.

[Save Your Companions]

[Content: Your party members, Lily and Newt, were captured by the heinous group 'Astra.' Find where they were keeping the two and save them along with the other abducted kids.]

[Difficulty: Platinum]

[Failure's Penalty: Death]

[Time Limit: 3 Days]

[Rewards: ???]

The first words he spouted were: "For how long have I been asleep?!"

On the bedside was a table atop it was a tray of newly cooked food and hot milk. Though it wasn't that plentiful, still, it would sate the hunger Fritz was feeling.

"Twelve hours, why?" The knight asked.

As Fritz scanned and watched intently at the thoughtful middle-aged man, he perceived that he was and would be a reliable asset.

"My friends," Fritz began, "they were abducted by some cloaked men."

"Must be Astra..." muttered the knight.

Keen senses helped Fritz got wind of what the man said. 'He knows something.'

The man in steel armor introduced himself as Claude Ferril. He works as a city guard. He was on his way to work and said that they will talk about the matter after the sunsets.

Fritz was left all alone inside the decrepit house. A small cabin where spider's webs and dust lay on four corners. Outside was the bathroom, along with the toilet.

"He's not so wealthy. His breakfast is dried peas, yams, milk, and–what's this? Grilled frog? Well, this one looks good. Itadakimasu~"

Be grateful that you are still alive, breathing, and have food to eat. Other people are starving and thirsty. Be glad.

After a loud burp, Fritz washed the plate he used and decided to clean the cabin and tidy things up.

"It will take me three hours to clean this cabin."

***

All the webs and clouds of dust that hang on the ceiling were wiped off. The dirty clothes were washed. The wooden floor was cleaned off the dirt and dried.

Everything inside the small house just looks good and clean now that Fritz had tidy things up.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and looked satisfied at the results.

"This much is what I can do for Claude's kind treatment. And, since I'm feeling generous today, I might even treat him to dinner after he goes back from work."

Fritz spent his remaining time doing his exercise and honing his swordsmanship and bow skills. For hours he was swinging and shooting

at a target.

The tramping of Claude's steel boots resonates along with another pair of feet. It was evening. They had set an hour ago and, the moon took place above the dark sky. It gives light to their path as they walked towards the cabin.

"How did you do, Fritz?" Beside Claude was a woman whom he was going out with for quite some time now. He had invited her over, for she, too, know important things about Astra.

Eagerly standing at the front door, Fritz glanced at Claude's lover. "He sure knows how to pick his woman." Mumbled under his breath.

"I cleaned up a bit and washed the laundry while you were away, Mister Claude." He emphasized the honorific, smiling.

"Cheeky brat!" Claude grabbed Fritz's head and rubbed it with his fist. "Good timing. I invited Silvana over. She's here to have dinner with us." Two paper bags of ingredients they would need was carried by the fine woman, ingredients they would need for dinner. She was wearing her casual clothes, smiling at the sight of a father-and-son-like sight.

Fritz had changed into his reserved leather clothes after tidying the house.

"Hello, my name is Silvana Ashley," she introduced joyfully. "My, your hair is all white and, you look well-dressed." If Fritz's calculation weren't wrong, Silvana must be five years younger than Claude.

"Miss Silvana is beautiful and, you are well-dressed too— Oh, sorry, I was too enthralled I forgot to properly introduce myself. I am Fritz Esecleus Desmond, your highness." He gentlemanly bowed his head. They all laughed at that spectacle and proceeded inside afterward.

Sitting on a chair in front of the dining table, Fritz watched the couple cook and prepare the food.

They served yellowfin tunas, along with brown rice that was cooked with pandan leaves which gave an aromatic scent, and stir-fried vegetables with coconut milk.

"About the abductors—" Claude put a stop to Fritz's words extending his hand, palm open.

"Not when we are eating. We will talk about it after this dinner."

None spoke after that. They kept on relishing every spoonful and chowed on the tunas. Fritz and Claude ate all of the rice and dishes when Silvana ate the amount of food she usually consumes.

Simultaneously, the two males burped aloud and said their gratitude to their cook, Silvana. She basked in compliments as she collected the dirty plates and bowls.

"Now, we can talk down to business," Claude started. "Your friend was abducted, right?" Fritz nodded. "I will start to what I know. It was five years ago when the first abduction occurred here in Malkar. The kid was a ten-year-old boy who was living with his mom. He was a promising kid whose magic power was far greater than those of the other kids. One night, when the kid and his mother were having supper, a group of cloaked men barged into their house. They captured the kid, wounded his mother to the extent where she won't be able to call for help. However, neighbors bear witness to the abduction. They notified the city guards, aided the injured woman. But, the kid was never found and, it throws his mother into extreme sadness. She went insane and was later found hanged. That incident was the start of the never-ending abduction of kids."

Small tears were forming at the corner of Claude's eyes.

"I was the first and the last guard whom his mother turned to. When I learned of her death, I was devastated, totally. For the past five years, I've been in pursuit of Astra. I've been searching all over the city for their base, where they bring the kids. But, all of my efforts were futile."

Seeing how hurt Claude was, Silvana couldn't help but pat his back and comfort him with some good words.

"Do you perhaps have a map of the city?" Fritz asked all of a sudden.

"I think so. I reckon," Claude said shortly. Silvana knows where it was. She gets it for them and unrolled it on the table. "You're going to make guesses now, won't you?"

A small, round badge was brought out into the surface by Fritz. The badge which Claude and Silvana had seen several times in the past got tired of looking at it. "You are right," Fritz answered, grinning. "As you can see, this badge portrays a constellation." Wait, do they even know what a constellation is? He thought.

"That much, we know."

"But didn't pay much mind to the portrait," Fritz added sarcastically. "If I am not mistaken, Astra means star. So, if we have a good look at this map, the land's shape is like that of a star."

Countless Astra badges were stashed inside a small chest. When Fritz was cleaning the cabin, he happened to accidentally kick it and, the chest's content rolled all over the floor. To his surprise, at the position of the badge, it somehow created a star.

Six Astra badge was on Fritz's hand. He placed it on top of the map, forming a star based on its corners.

"Are you pointing out that the place where the kids are are on one of these badges?"

The North, West, East, South southeast, South southwest, and the center of the city.

"That is quite right. So, guess, where do you think are they holding the kids captive?"

The plausible spot where Astra's hideout is for Claude and Silvana would be the East and West. It was near the outskirt of the city.

'I'm sure they have searched that place.'

At the center was the city guards' headquarters. At the North was a burned-down area, almost deserted. No building or house was erected. The remaining two was the place where ferocious, deadly monsters lurk.

"I knew you'd pick both flanks. But that is not the correct one but this." Fritz pointed out the center of the map, where the city guard's headquarters erects.

"That is absurd!" burst Claude, rising on his seat. He saw that Silvana was looking at him as if he had scared the little child in front of him at the sudden grumble. "M-my bad."

Fritz wasn't fazed. In fact, he was smirking at the sight. "Claude is a man of justice and has high respect to those he fights to serve it. He would never suspect the headquarters being the place where the kids are."

"What made you think so, Fritz?"

"I have wandered around the city. Actually, I was quite confused why it was called Malkar City when this place is so small to be a city. It should have been called Town of Malkar instead." Even if Claude doesn't explain why Fritz already knew, he had already asked the townsfolk for that matter. "Why do you think the city guards aren't doing anything about the incidents of abduction?"

"It's because there are more problems to deal with and, I personally asked the general to let me take care of this incident along with Silvana."

The latter stayed silent. She just let the two men exchanged words.

"But what if that ain't the case? What if the general is backing Astra and is profiting in these abductions?"

Fritz has been waiting and glancing over at Silvana. It seems to him that she, too, has her suspicions about the general.

"But the general is so nice and, he doesn't look like the kind of man." Claude rejected such thoughts stiffly.

"You can't judge a book just by its cover. Just face it, Claude. Your so-called justice is what was corrupting this whole city. I also bet that the ringleader of Astra is a noble, or maybe something higher of position than that."

Claude was slowly being forced to face reality. Being forced by a kid, he barely knows. It pains and angers him that such words are being thrown into the city guards, the workplace he goes to.

'God, Silvana, say something! I have been waiting for you to speak! Slap some sense into your damn justice-loving boyfriend!'

~