Ugh. What should I do? It’s dark and scary to go out now. But I don’t think I can hold it until the sun rises.

In the end, unable to help it, I slipped out of Idrish’s arms, who kept trying to pull me back.

The sentinel, Jo, who was standing by the campfire, spotted me and greeted me with a bow.

“Thank you for your hard work until late.”

“It’s a job everyone takes turns doing. But where are you going? It’s dangerous in the dark. I’ll accompany you.”

“Huh? Oh, no, absolutely not. I’m fine.”

I waved my hands.

There was no intention of asking him to watch me as I urgently took care of business.
“But… I understand. Then, please be careful. If you need help, shout.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

I quickly waved a farewell with the intention of turning off my attention, then headed to the restroom located in the distance. While doing so, I stealthily glanced back to see if the guard was still watching me.

Now he’s not looking.

I confirmed and hurriedly ran to the restroom.

In a hurry, in a hurry.

“Ha, I’ll survive.”

Only then did the surroundings become visible.

There was no light, and the sky was full of stars.

“Wow. Beautiful.”

It would be nice if Idrish could see it too. No, Idrish wouldn’t say, ‘Is that pretty?’ even if he saw this, right?

I chuckled alone. It’s not bad to enjoy such moments. It’s important to be together even if we don’t empathize with each other.

Thinking that I should soon watch the stars in the night sky with Idrish, I moved my steps to the campsite.

At that moment, I heard a rustling sound in the darkness, the sound of grass brushing. I froze like ice. My entire body was covered with goosebumps.

I rolled my eyes around to scrutinize the surroundings. Because of the darkness, unfortunately, I couldn’t see anything.

Heh, it’s probably the wind. What else could it be? No, no. I saw it while coming. There’s no one around.

Rustle!

“Ah!”

At the sound that rang out again, I ran towards where the tents were gathered.

“Idrish…!”

But my scream didn’t last.

“It’s an ambush!”

At the urgent shout, the knights who were sleeping jumped out. But the knights who came out were confused. The smoke filled the surroundings, and nothing could be seen. Someone intentionally set off smoke bombs.

“Stay close together, be prepared for a surprise attack!”

At Idrish’s command, the knights formed a solid formation. But it was strange. No attack came.

Then, why was the smoke set off?

While pondering, the wind scattered the smoke. In the cleared vision, no injured or fallen people were visible.

“All the provisions have disappeared.”

“We have no weapons.”

And…

“Miss Cecilia Erizo is not here.”

Cecilia was also missing.

“Why did you kidnap me? Hey, can’t you hear me?”

I was tightly bound with ropes and thrown into their midst. I couldn’t even turn into a hedgehog with whatever device they used.

Even if I cursed, they didn’t pay the slightest attention to me. I breathed evenly and surveyed the surroundings. It wasn’t too far from where I came. Somewhere nearby, Idrish and my party should be.

Dawn was just breaking. There were splendid buildings that seemed to have once flourished around. However, most of them had collapsed and decayed over time, now appearing uninhabitable.

Is this Artigrado?

So, the distant sight is…
At the end of the road, a golden spire was visible. There is the royal palace of Artigrado.

It seemed that this place had become a lawless land after the fall of Artigrado, left to marauders.

I shifted my gaze back to those who kidnapped me.

They all wore shabby clothes and had unkempt hair.

Now, they were busy eating the stolen food from our party.

Ha, we worked so hard to get that. Should our party go hungry now? It’s a big problem. It’s cold, and we need a lot of energy. I never dreamed we would encounter thieves like this.

I called out to them again, raising my voice.

“Excuse me, who are you? Why did you kidnap me? Surely, you must have a purpose!”

One of them, chewing on jerky, stared at me intently.

“Not a kid, huh.”

At his words, the others all looked at me. The dull pupils sent shivers down my spine.

“A kid? No, I’m an adult, just short.”

“Oh, well, can we get a good price for you?”