“She was the only woman. She seemed to have a noble status.”

“Then we can get a good price for her.”

“So, you kidnapped me to demand a ransom? But I’m not of high status. I just happened to join that party… It just happened.”

“I don’t believe a woman’s words.”

“Geez, sexist.”

Looking at their demeanor, I could guess who they were.

“Look, are you the Chingana?”

I had heard stories about the Chingana.

They were a wandering group of various supernatural beings trying to survive. Since they had no particular occupation, they sustained themselves through various crimes like fraud, theft, child kidnapping, and so on. So, I had been kidnapped by them, even though I’m not a child!

Ha, just when I went to the bathroom.

Of course, there was no other option upon reflection. I couldn’t soil Idriche’s fur. At the same time, I couldn’t wake Idriche and ask him to go to the bathroom together.

By now, our party, who had lost both food and weapons, would probably be looking for me.

It seems my resolution not to be a burden was in vain…

At that moment, among the Chingana, a man approached me. There was no place to retreat, no room to move. The man, who had come closer, roughly lifted my chin with his rough hand. Then, he turned my face here and there, examining it.

Ugh.

“You’re pretty.”

The man stroked my hair with a chilling touch. The meaning behind his actions and his lecherous gaze was clear.

No.

When I frowned, the man smiled broadly. Yellow, even rotten teeth with black holes in some places were visible.

“No, you can’t. You’ll get scolded by the boss.”

Someone behind me stopped him.

“As long as the boss doesn’t know, it’s okay.”

The man reached for his belt. Disgusted, I was about to curse at the vile scene.

If you get scolded by the boss, just stop it!

I couldn’t bear to watch, so I quickly turned my head.

“No! I told you if you did it again, I’d kill you.”

“Ugh, annoying.”

When his colleague stopped him again, the man gave up, pulling up his pants.

“Smart thinking.”

The two men cursed as they moved away.

“Phew, I’m alive.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, they stripped me of my jewelry and even my clothes. I was dragged somewhere while wearing what seemed like a shabby attire, and we arrived at a spacious square. It seemed to have been used as a plaza before. Several large wooden pillars were driven into the ground, and there were several children tied to each of them.

Are those all the kidnapped children?

Some children looked at me with fearful faces, while others had already lost their strength and didn’t even lift their heads.

Children can’t endure for a long time in the middle of the street during this cold winter.

The Chingana tied me to one of the pillars and left.
I immediately started planning my escape. I couldn’t just sit still until Idriche and the others came to rescue me.

Yeah, even though I might seem like this, I’ve experienced escaping numerous times.

I quietly observed the situation. There was only one guard responsible for protecting the hostages here. He didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic, which was fortunate for me. However, the problem was my tightly bound wrists.

It’s impossible to untie them alone.

The ropes tightly bound to the pillar were insufficient to untie by myself. Moreover, the thin clothes made it incredibly cold.

That was the moment.

“Excuse me, have you been kidnapped?”

Where is this voice coming from? I turned my head in all directions. It was undoubtedly the voice of an adult woman, not a child. I couldn’t see anything.

“Here. Behind the pillar.”

Someone tapped my hand. I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she was a fellow kidnappee tied to the same pillar as me.

“Yes! I’ve been kidnapped too!”

I answered excitedly.

My fellow captive said she had been kidnapped to this place three days ago. Her name was Angela.

Judging by her kidnapping, she seemed like a noble lady.

“Can you reach my hand from there?”

Angela whispered while glancing at the guard.

“No, it’s difficult now. You can try moving along the pillar a bit.”

“Then would you move a bit this way? I’ll come over too.”

“Okay. Wait.”

I moved my body slowly. I moved even slower to not attract the guard’s attention, and as I moved, the rope dug into my wrists.

Ugh, it feels like my skin is tearing.

It’s okay. As long as my wrists don’t tear, everything will be fine.

I moved sideways again with all my might.

“Oh, I touched it!”

By the time sweat began to bead on my forehead, Angela’s cold fingers touched mine. We shook hands gently, as if holding the thread of life.

“I’ll untie the knot first. Wait a moment.”

I stared at the Chingana guarding us, and Angela used her fingertips to fumble with the knot on her wrist. However, the thick and tough knot didn’t easily come undone. It wasn’t until my fingertips felt numb from the rough fabric that I could finally push the end of the knot inward.

“It’s untied…!”

Angela exclaimed with a lowered voice.

“I’ll untie yours this time.”