Rescue Operation (2)

The next day.

Creak.

The door to the lodging opened.

It was Kaye, the captain of soldiers.

"Come out. It's time for the operation."

I left the castle with Kaye.

We walked a long way down a narrow trail and eventually spotted a group of people.

The sun was just starting to set.

They seemed to be lighting a fire and preparing for camp.

A dozen or so large men stood around.

Each wore different types of weapons on their waists or backs.

In the middle stood a large wagon.

Thick wooden pillars were packed tightly along its sides, and a sturdy iron roof was affixed to its top.

It looked very much like a prisoner transport wagon.

Inside, about twenty children roughly my age sat crammed together.

We hid in the shade of a large tree and waited for a moment. Someone approached.

Kaye looked from me to Bastian.

"Go with this man. He's the one we've bribed. He'll naturally get you two onto the slave wagon. If you just ride along, you'll be delivered right into the Black Wolf's outpost."

I slowly nodded my head.

"Kids."

Kaye placed a hand on mine and Bastian's shoulders.

"... Make sure you both come back alive."

We had only met for a few days, but was he already attached to us?

Humans really are strange creatures.

Ah, right. I'm human too.

"Then, we'll be off. Have the horses at the promised spot, without any mistakes."

"Understood."

"Let's go, Bastian."

"Yeah! Evan."

Slap!

The man Kaye had set up for us suddenly slapped his palms together loudly.

Slap!

Again, once more.

The man shouted.

"You brats! I sent you out to take a dump, and what are you plotting here?! Get over here!"

He must have been imitating the sound of a slap.

Though, our cheeks were completely unharmed.

The more perfect the plan, the better.

Slap!

I spread my palm and slapped my own cheek.

"... Hey, what are you doing?"

"If you get slapped, you should have a mark on your cheek. Bastian, come here."

"H-huh?"

Slap!

I then slapped Bastian's cheek as well.

His cheeks immediately puffed and swelled.

"Hah, you little... Quite something. Let's go."

We lowered our heads and followed the man.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Those brats who asked to be let out earlier. They weren't coming back, so I went and dragged them here."

A burly man with a huge sword slung over his back looked at Bastian and me.

"Haven't seen these kids before, have I?"

Still rubbing our swollen cheeks, we kept our heads down.

"All kids look pretty much the same, don't they."

"Guess that's true. Get them in the wagon."

"Get in! You brats!"

The man in cahoots with Kaye opened the rear door of the transport wagon.

Bastian and I obediently entered the wagon.

The man whispered,

"... The weapons are as promised, under the wagon."

I nodded slightly and plopped down onto the wagon floor.

I looked around.

About twenty kids, all in ragged clothing.

Most of them looked about my age.

Some already had dead eyes, while others looked at me with curiosity.

Even such small actions could change the fates of these kids.

Those with dead eyes would live their whole lives as slaves.

Hmm.

Between the dead eyes and the curious ones,

One pair of eyes stood out with a different glint.

Even his posture and muscle build were unusual compared to his age.

He was probably a year or two older than me.

He was a full head taller than Bastian and me.

The largest kid in the wagon.

An interesting guy.

Our gazes met.

He also stared at me as if finding me interesting.

Late at night.

The guard on watch was dozing against a tree.

No wonder he was stuck at the bottom ranks of the bandit group.

I slowly scooted over to the unusual kid I'd marked earlier.

"What's your name?"

His eyes were closed, but I could tell by his breathing that he wasn't asleep.

"I know you're not sleeping. I asked your name."

He slowly opened his eyes.

"... Farendo."

"Are you from a noble family?"

Farendo hesitated to answer.

"Your posture, the look in your eyes, the way you talk. Just a hunch."

"Stop bothering me and get lost. Acting all high and mighty in a slave wagon."

"Guess you are a noble. But. Seems like you think you're different from us. Still, you're riding the slave wagon with us, too."

"... I am different."

"I like you."

It's only when you admit that you're the same as others that you truly become so.

That sense of difference—well,
It always starts with believing you're not like everyone else.

"Can you fight?"

"What, you wanna throw down with me? In this cramped wagon?"

"Touchy guy. Well, that's fine. People all have different personalities."

"Didn't think so at first, but you sure talk a lot."

"Hey. Is your aim also to escape from the bandit lair? Before being sent off as a slave."

He flinched—a sign that he was still just a kid inside.

"If you want to get out of the bandit lair, follow me closely tomorrow. You'll be a temporary companion."

"Temporary companion?"

"You haven't been vetted like Bastian, so you're temporary."

"... What an odd guy."

* * *

The next day, after traveling all day, we reached the Black Wolf's outpost.

Countless sentries stood at the entrance and all around.

The wagon passed through the entrance without trouble.

A little while later, it was parked next to a stable on one side of the outpost.

"Alright, let's go have a beer to celebrate a job well done."

"Man, I was bored out of my mind. Not gonna take on a job like this again."

"Like we get to choose our missions, in our situation."

"True that. Anyway, let's go get drunk."

The dozen or so bandits who brought us disappeared towards the center of the outpost.

Once we were actually inside, there was no need to keep watch over the wagon with child slaves inside.

This, too, was part of the plan.

I pulled a rough key out of my pocket.

It was one I had received in advance from the collaborator.

Farendo, surprised, asked,

"You? What's that?"

"Now you react. I told you, if you want out, follow me."

As I was about to unlock it, Farendo suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"Is your plan just to walk out like this? Don't you realize we're in the middle of the bandit group's outpost? How do you plan to get out?"

"We're not just leaving. We're breaking someone out first."

"Who are you breaking out? You mean you came here on purpose for that?"

"That's right."

Farendo pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Ha. I thought something was off from when you just got on the wagon. Hey."

"My name is Evan."

"Alright, Evan. Just settle down. We'll be shipped to the auction house in a few days—that's the best time to escape. But not now, not while we're in the very heart of the outpost. Even if we open that lock and get out, we'll just get caught and killed for nothing."

So sure of my death.

Interesting guy.

"Killed for nothing? I wonder how many won't die so pointlessly."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, I wonder how many will try to stand in my way."

Clack.

The wagon's lock opened.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

"What do we do?"

The kids riding in the wagon began to stir uneasily.

"Up to you. If you want to try escaping, go ahead. If you're scared, just stay put. At least if you get caught here, you probably won't be killed."

"What a crazy—"

While Farendo stood there at a loss, Bastian and I quickly got off the wagon.

Bastian crawled under the wagon.

"They're really here!"

He soon emerged from under the wagon, holding two arming swords.

The swords that Kaye, the captain of soldiers, had arranged in advance.

They were just the right length for an adult man to swing comfortably with one hand, their blades tapering to a sharp point.

Hmm.

I suppose you could call these "swords".

I had asked for the blades to be painted black to keep them from reflecting light.

A simple cross-shaped guard protected the hands, and a pommel at the end of the grip acted as a counterweight.

It was the most common type of sword used by the military—typically paired with a shield in the other hand.

But Bastian and I couldn't handle shields.

A "one-handed sword" for an adult would mean we'd have to use them more like two-handed longswords or bastard swords, since we were short and small.

I had given Bastian a quick crash course in handling arming swords during the three days we stayed at the castle.

How well he put that training to use was up to him.

Bastian had survived among the bandits for four years, after all.

He'd more than pull his weight.

"Let's go, Bastian."

"Okay! Evan!"

Before departing,

I looked back one last time.

"Farendo, what'll you do? Seems to me now is the best time to escape if you're coming with us."

Farendo hesitated.

"Fine, do what you want. We're going."

"Damn it! If you came this prepared, you must have a plan. I'm coming, too."

"Good. Stick close."

The three of us moved slowly, keeping to the deepest shadows.

* * *

Recalling the map Kaye, the captain of soldiers, had shown us, we headed for the building where Espin was imprisoned.

The place behind us was already getting noisy.

It seemed they had discovered the open wagon.

"We'd better hurry."

"Alright, Evan!"

We were hugging the building walls and moving quickly when—

Bang.

The door in front of us suddenly burst open, and three bandits stepped out.

"Who—ugh!"

Just as they saw us and began to shout,

I drove my sword straight into the guy's stomach.

If he followed what I taught, next—

Shwik!

An arming sword shot out from behind.

It was Bastian.

Clang!

The bandit drew a heavy machete and blocked Bastian's sword.

But that was enough.

Bastian had bought me the crucial moment.

I yanked my sword from the first guy's stomach and slashed the second guy's throat.

The tip of my sword merely grazed his neck,

But it was deep enough to sever the windpipe.

"Gah!"

After letting out a choking gasp, the bandit collapsed, blood spurting from his neck.

Now, only one left.

Best finish quickly before things got any more chaotic.

"Huh?"

Slash!

Farendo swung a machete in a diagonal arc, opening a deep gash across the bandit's chest.

The thick machete that the second bandit had used was, before I knew it, in Farendo's hand.

This guy.

Not bad.

The three of us quickly moved between buildings.

Unless we wanted to face dozens of bandits at once, we needed to relocate immediately after each fight.

"... You're pretty good, Farendo."

"I could say the same about you, Evan."

Farendo.

He really knew how to handle a blade.

It was worth bringing him along.

I knew he'd be an asset.

After a few more skirmishes, we reached the building where Espin was being held.

Farendo asked,

"So what's the plan?"

The plan?

Of course there is one.

A perfectly complete plan.

"We wait here."