Chapter 119: Cave
It was a rainy summer day.
“A complete success! I never thought it would go this well!”
“Gahahaha! Even a princess is helpless like this. She can’t do a thing!”
“We’re going to be rich!”
About five men had gathered in a dim cave, making a great deal of noise. They clinked beer mugs together and gulped down their drinks.
“Hey! Drink if you want, but don’t let the drink get the better of you. If she escapes before the handover, it’s all over. Isn’t that right, girl?”
“…!”
The largest of the men grinned at the young girl he was literally sitting on.
Gagged and lying on the ground as the man’s seat, the girl—Emma, Second Princess of the Lunoa Kingdom—glared angrily and desperately gathered her mana.
Emma was still young, but she had received an advanced education as a royal and had already learned magic. She could easily burn an ordinary person without magic to a crisp.
“Anti-magic barriers are incredible! They make it easy to neutralize nobles. Even a princess is just a brat once she’s caught in one.”
“…!”
But Emma’s magic wouldn’t activate. The anti-magic barrier stopped it, and the man merely slapped her, leaving her cheek red and swollen.
“Magic is still frightening, so we’ll take turns. Switch with me when my mana gets low. I don’t want to sit on this brat forever.”
“We know, Boss! That’s why we’re celebrating now!”
“Tch… It’s troublesome that I have to stay this close to keep her inside my barrier.”
The man drank as he watched his subordinates carouse.
“Looking at her now, she really is pretty.”
“Huh?”
“Think I can have a little fun with her? We have time.”
The man put down his beer mug and slowly approached Emma.
“You want to play with a brat like this?”
“A hole is enough. I don’t know whether the lower one will take it, but she can at least use her mouth.”
“Are you that pent up?”
“Of course! It’s been ages. Nobody forbade us from having a little fun.”
“True. Our only job is to hand her over to the Friez Kingdom. They said her condition didn’t matter… But are you really planning to start while she’s still under me?”
“Why not? Just use the anti-magic barrier while you do it. It works without much concentration.”
“Fine, then. I’m having a turn too, so don’t make a mess of her.”
“Oh, you’re interested too, Boss? Want to go first?”
“Hah… I prefer watching a woman sink into despair first. That gets me excited.”
“You’ve always had twisted tastes, Boss.”
“…!?”
The attack had been terribly sudden. Emma had been abducted when her guards happened to be spread thin, but she had struggled to remain dignified as a royal.
“…Mmph… Mmph…”
But under their vile gazes, her face went pale and tears gathered in her eyes.
“Heh heh. This will be fun.”
The man’s grin widened as he approached her—and then:
“The moon is beautiful.”
The heavens split open, and light poured in.
“Don’t you think so?”
A hole opened in the ceiling of the cave where Emma was held, and a boy slowly descended through it.
“W-Who the hell are you?”
His silver-white hair shone in the moonlight. Descending from the sky, he looked like an angel wearing a halo.
“Hmm? I heard a princess had been kidnapped, so I’m just an ordinary person who came to rescue her.”
“Tch! A pursuer!?”
One of the five drew a gun from his waist.
“…Ah.”
But the boy pulled the trigger first. His movements as he drew and fired were astonishingly fast.
“Guns are nice. Easy to use.”
One shot, two, three.
He immediately shot three men and dropped them to the ground.
“Wait, you bastard!”
As he moved to kill the last two, the man who had approached Emma pressed a gun to her temple and took her hostage.
“Try anything and I’ll kill her! Drop the gun!”
“…!”
“…Sigh.”
Seeing the princess taken hostage, the boy quietly lowered his gun.
“Y-Yes! That’s right!”
“Well done!”
The large man who had been sitting on Emma stood, cheering, and picked up the rifle propped beside him.
“Heh heh… I’ll turn you into a beehive.”
The situation reversed in an instant. Grinning maliciously, the large man placed his finger on the trigger of the rifle—far more powerful than a pistol.
“Diiie!”