Chapter 46 -  Bait

Chapter 46 - Bait

The same night I had talked to Kaen in advance and made an appointment.

In her forest, where she was supposed to meet her Kaen, he sat leaning against her tree near her, waiting for her.

[ Hmm... ]

Sierra is staring at me with her pouty face, letting her drool flow.

Even though I think I've explained enough to Sierra, she scolds me by asking if I really should have said that.

I decided to regret it.

It was because the sound of Kaen's footsteps coming from the other side was filled with her anguish.

Caen spotted me at her distant feet and hesitated to come closer.

"You're late."

I said that to Kaen, who was staring at me without turning her head.

Only then did Kaen hesitate and approach me.

As for Kaen, she was wearing plain clothes, not a uniform, as I had asked.

"I-I don't know if it's a dormitory or something, but calling me to a forest like this is..."

"How do we meet at the dorm?"

"Sneak in or..."

I ignored Kaen's murmur and stood up from her seat.

Kaen seemed like she had a lot to say, but she didn't bother to bring it out of her mouth.

Kaen also arrived, so I moved her steps to leave the academy.

As soon as she tried to move her seat without any explanation, Kaen, who muttered something like 'But it's a bit outside...', Soon followed.

I was walking through the woods like that.

ㅡ Iron puduk.

I suddenly hear the sound of Caen, who was following me, falling.

"Eww..."

When she turned her head to look, she saw Kaen, who had been caught in the roots of a tree and was lying face down.

"...Is it very dark right now?"

I asked, lifting Kaen up.

Because the 'night vision' skill was being applied, the surroundings were only brightly visible, so I couldn't tell how dark it was.

"..."

Kaen grabbed my hand and brushed off her clothes.

Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be hurt.

I would tell her to be careful if anything would trip her feet ever since.

The forest remained silent as usual.

On the way, Kaen suddenly passed out, so I stopped her in her tracks.

'Fireflies?'

In a small stream in the forest, things like fireflies were flying and giving off light.

I waited for Kaen in silence, then she came to her senses and looked at me.

"..."

Kaen's gaze moved to the bandage around my eye, and then, without saying a word, he started walking again.

After that, as they continued to walk without any explanation, dissatisfaction leaked out from Kaen, who quietly followed.

"Um, so can you tell me where you're going? Is it something that I have to go so deep into...? That, just anywhere..."

"Im here."

Calmly interrupted Kaen's words.

At this, Kaen's face is full of question marks.

"This way."

I approached a hole big enough for one person to pass through in one corner of the huge fence that surrounded the forest.

It was a side road that I often went through whenever I left the academy.

I made my way out through the hole first and waited for Kaen to follow.

Kaen, who could be seen on the other side of the fence, was hesitant to cross over.

"You made a promise... Didn't you?"

When I mention the promise, Kaen sighs and then comes out of the hole.

"The reason you asked me to come out in plain clothes was to get out of the academy... There's something around here... Ah, is it because there's nothing...?"

Kaen, who came out of her hole, mumbled as she straightened her hair.

"Let's go get her carriage."

I put on a robe and said that to Kaen.

Kaen stares at my robe and then she opens her mouth.

"...Why are you wearing a robe?"

"Anyway, I don't stand out because of 'this'."

I pointed to the 'eyepatch' around my eyes and said that.

Kaen, who was watching her, didn't know what to say, but she quietly started following me.

We moved on foot to the wagon like that.

"There's no way there could be a wagon in such a remote place..."

By the time Kaen said that, she began to see the carriage she used often.

"Hey~! I brought the lady with me this time too."

The coachman who was riding in the carriage saw me and shouted loudly.

Then I approached the carriage and paid the driver the fare and told him where I was going.

"...I guess it wasn't once or twice. Cadet Jetto?"

As Kaen climbed into the carriage, she expressed her curiosity at the appearance of the coachman and I, who seemed to be somewhat familiar.

'...I did go out a little too much.'

She shrugged at Kaen's question.

We headed towards our destination, listening to the unchanging chatter of the coachman in the swaying carriage.

***

This wasn't really a quest.

It's like being involved in an accident.

Still, if you solve this problem, you can get a decent item.

In the destination city, there is a criminal organization that serves high-ranking vampires.

They kidnapped young girls in the city and offered them to vampires, and in return, they received money from vampires... It seemed to be a kind of subcontractor.

They were quite loyal and prepared a piece of armor as a gift to the vampires, but that was the item I was aiming for this time.

Since it was an armor to present to vampires, unusually, it had divine magic resistance as an option.

It was difficult to see 'Divine Magic Resistance' as a useful option for future battles.

There weren't many enemies with divine power.

But normally, 'physical defense' also belonged to a high axis, so it was a armor that received quite good reviews.

The only problem is that we don't know the exact location of their stronghold.

As the player wanders around the city, he may hear rumors that the maidens are disappearing.

The directing creates a sense of incongruity that something will happen, but after that, nothing happens even after walking around the city.

To solve this, the player had to deliberately disarm and walk around the streets at night to be kidnapped before reaching their base.

It was information that someone accidentally discovered while playing the game.

Since they were offering 'young maidens', it was only possible if the gender of the player was female.

In any case, if you are successfully kidnapped, you can wake up in their stronghold after a black screen.

However, I remember that there was no way to solve it with male characters because the part of escaping the base after clearing them safely was skipped.

That's because I don't know where it is.

It seems that the developer intentionally made it possible to solve this problem only with female characters.

Of course, when the game becomes a reality, as it is now, there can be many ways.

Even so, who knows where and when to kidnap someone and wait?

I had no way of knowing if a woman walking alone on the streets at night was a virgin, but there was a way to tell if a woman was a virgin because they had a peculiar quality.

I couldn't wait forever in the city.

That's why I didn't even think about it, but I decided to get the armor while I was getting the right to wish in a sparring with Kaen.

Kaen and I had already arrived at our destination, the city.

From now on, Kaen had to be disarmed in order to be kidnapped.

When she entered the city and wandered her streets for a while, she asked Kaen to leave her sword for a while, and she seemed to have finally reached the limit of her patience, and entered her deserted alleyway to talk with her.

"Now you want to hand over your sword?! No matter how empty the streets are, that's the case... What are you going to do here after taking the sword from me? I-I've never heard of such a peculiar taste...?!"

Kaen, who had been talking with her arms crossed, continued her words, and at last, she even pointed at me and cried.

Her fingers pointing at me were slightly trembling.

I scratched my head as I listened to Kaen's words, then opened her mouth, thinking it was time to clear up the misunderstanding.

"I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding... I didn't call Miss Kaen with 'that' intention."

"Well, what is that?! Then why do you need my body..."

As I cleared the misunderstanding, Kaen's voice faded as she didn't understand.

I leaned against the wall, turned my head in the direction of the main road, and continued.

"There's a rumor going around this city that young women are disappearing every night. I thought it was strange, so I did some research and found out that the rumor was true, and that women were actually disappearing every night. I'm assuming this has something to do with vampires."

My long-winded explanation followed.

Naturally, it was difficult for Kaen to keep up with this progress.

"Ah, a vampire all of a sudden? The conversation flows so quickly, how does Cadet Jeto know that? ...Even if that's true, I don't think it's something an academy cadet should do...?"

Kaen, who couldn't understand what I was saying, poured out questions.

"I just inherited Master's will. It's also the reason why I can finally use the sword Master gave me. As for information... I'll just let you know that I have an excellent informant."

In response, I moderated it.

In the end, it was enough to dispel Kaen's doubts about fulfilling her promise.

[What is the teacher's will... Is she going to make achievements that the original girl didn't even do? ...Well, that sounds like fun on its own. ]

The sound of Sierra snorting echoed in her head as she listened to it from beside her.

Then Kaen, who was looking down at her floor, murmured softly.

"Master..."

Does she remember her own teacher, the Sword Saint?

Since she was also a disciple of the Sword Saint, she must have known very well how great a being as a teacher could be to her disciple.

"...Yes. That's as far as I'm concerned. But is that a reason for me to leave the sword with you?"

Kaen, who accepted the setting I made up without a long thought, asked me that.

"I said that Miss Kaen's body was needed for something, right?"

I moved closer to Kaen, who was leaning against her wall, saying something rather meaningful.

When the word 'body' comes out of her mouth, Kaen's face instantly turns red.

"Even my brilliant informant couldn't find out where their base was. So I decided to change my strategy."

I continued her words while staring at Kaen, whose cheeks were still blushing.

"Operation...?"

Caen, who could hardly understand what I was trying to say, tilted her head.

"We're going to release the bait, find out their stronghold, and then attack. ...This 'bait' here will be Miss Kaen."

"Then... Well, now that means... So you said you need my body..."

Kaen, who had become a bait in an instant, finally understood the situation and stuttered her words.

"Right now, innocent young women are being sucked by vampires."

He slowly approached Kaen, who was backing away from me.

Then I press her face in front of her nose and open her mouth.

"...So, leave the sword to me and be abducted meekly, Miss Kaen."

Saying that, Kaen gave her a smile that gave her confidence so that she could reassure her.

***

Kaen eventually decided to follow my advice.

'A promise is a promise, but if it's true, you can save people!'

Kaen said that, and she showed firm determination.

It was a remark worthy of a swordsman's disciple.

So I climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and passed from roof to roof, following Kaen while hiding her presence.

Looking down, I see a girl with pink pigtails walking restlessly down a street where no one can be seen.

[Is it really okay...? ]

Sierra, who was floating next to me, asked me in a cautious voice if she was worried about Kaen.

"It will be fine."

Nothing dangerous ever happens to her.

If I missed Kaen, she might be in danger, but it never occurred to me that she would miss the pink hair in her eyes as her vision was enhanced by 'night vision'.

I remember that they were around level 20 in the first place, so if it was a level 30 Kaen, she would be able to deal with them with her bare fists to some extent.

How many tens of minutes did he follow Caen like that?

She noticed that a guy wearing a silk hat was secretly approaching Kaen from behind.

'It finally appeared.'

He's the one I saw in the game.

The 'unicorn horn' implanted by the vampire must be hidden inside his high hat.

The unicorn has a deep connection with the toxic 'virgin' in any media.

Even in this game, unicorns were monsters, but virgins had the ability to distinguish between non-attacking virgins.

Vampires love the blood of virgins.

This vicious vampire planted a unicorn horn on the human head to drink her virgin blood.

He used the unicorn's horn to identify her virginity.

The horns were supposed to be some kind of radar that detects virgins.

"Gee, it's so nice that there's no one on the street...?"

Kaen, noticing the approach of a suspicious creature, spoke in a voice with a clear sense of awkwardness.

'Did I have to say something like that?'

She seems to be trying to act as if she didn't notice that she was about to be kidnapped, but Kaen thought she was good at acting, so she was masked.

[Are you deceiving me that you are deceiving me...? ]

Sierra seems to have the same thoughts as me.

Contrary to our thoughts, however, the guy wearing her hat secretly approaches Kaen without any suspicion and covers her mouth and nose with a cloth.

"Eup... Ugh..."

Kaen struggles moderately in response, and she soon loses her mind and collapses.

"Uhhh... Easy, easy."

He laughs sinisterly and then takes off his hat.

The horn of the unicorn on the top of his head is clearly visible.

Then her bastard thrusts her own horn at Kaen who was lying on the floor and shouts.

"I'm sure she's a virgin...!"

Sierra's low voice echoed as she watched this absurd sight.

[I think I know why that clumsy smoke was eaten...]

"...Iknow, right."