Kays Translations

Chapter 129: The Rescue Battle—and That Shadow

　Black-Gold Wings and Naniwards moved into position without delay. They approached the building quickly, subdued the relaxed lookouts, kicked in the entrances, and rushed inside.

　Tauro’s team entered from the rear only a few seconds after Naniwards attacked the front.

　Rumeya was preparing to kick down the back door when it suddenly opened and a panicked Ruhi burst out.

　Both of them froze.

“Eh?”

　Ruhi was equally stunned to find the two children he had failed to kidnap among the adventurers blocking his escape. The moment they raised their weapons, however, his training took over and he drew his sword.

“Tch! You brats came all the way here to capture us?”

　Ruhi grasped the situation and slashed spitefully at Rumeya, who stood at the front.

　Rumeya hurried to raise his shield, but he was a fraction too slow. The blade cut deeply into his dominant arm.

“Ow!”

“Rumeya!”

　Shin stepped forward to protect him and swung at Ruhi.

　While Shin engaged the fugitive, Tauro splashed a potion over Rumeya’s wound and Aeris cast a defensive spell on Shin.

　Ruhi easily parried Shin’s attack and drove a kick into him.

　Physical combat was normally Shin’s greatest strength, but Ruhi was clearly superior.

　The kick sent Shin flying backward into Aeris.

“Aaah!”

　Shin and Aeris crashed to the ground together, leaving both momentarily unable to move.

　Tauro held his short sword low and attacked.

　Ruhi lightly avoided the blade, glanced at the identification tag hanging from Tauro’s neck, and smirked.

“For an E-rank adventurer, you’re quite skilled. But you’re no match for me.”

　With those words, he slipped into the back alley and disappeared.

　Naniwards, who had entered from the front, successfully subdued Ruhi’s men and rescued the kidnapped children.

　Ruhi had fled through the rear door just as Naniwards broke into the building. His subordinates blocked the front team long enough for him to escape.

“I never expected Ruhi to run without even trying to fight us. I’m sorry. We intended to handle him ourselves.”

　Naniwards had planned to confront Ruhi because he was too dangerous for an E-rank team. Their mistake had been assuming that he would remain and fight.

“One other man escaped, but everyone else appears to have been subdued,”

　the leader of Naniwards said after counting the fallen criminals.

“My apologies, leader. The fugitive probably possesses [Escape]. He shook me off completely.”

　The scout-like member returned after pursuing the second escapee and made his report.

“What? He managed to lose you? Impressive. At least you obtained his name with [Personal Appraisal], correct?”

“Yes. His name appears to be Soak Satou. That isn’t a name commonly heard around here.”

　Tauro had been treating Rumeya, Shin, and Aeris with potions while casually listening to the exchange. At the name, he stiffened.

　Unless it belonged to someone else by coincidence, Soak Satou was Tauro’s estranged father.

　Tauro had severed all ties with him long ago. Moreover, [Appraisal Obstruction (Extreme)] would prevent anyone from discovering a familial connection through appraisal. Even so, hearing that the wanted man was nearby filled him with complicated emotions.

　Tauro had never heard that Soak had been arrested, but he hadn’t expected to encounter him here of all places.

　Although cold sweat ran down his back, Tauro said nothing. After finishing the others’ treatment, he went to check on the children who had been freed from the basement.

“Excuse me. What kind of ability is [Escape]?”

　Tauro asked, hoping to learn more about his former father.

“[Escape] is a conditional skill that activates only while its owner is fleeing. I had heard rumors about it, but tracks don’t vanish that cleanly under normal circumstances. I can’t think of another explanation.”

　The scout seemed almost impressed by how thoroughly his pursuit had been defeated.

　Tauro had never known that Soak possessed such a skill.

　It probably explained how the man had remained free for so long despite being wanted.

　Tauro could only wish that his former father would stop appearing in his life so frequently.

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