Chapter 156 Visiting
Chapter 156 Visiting
However, to Yue Ren's surprise, when he sent the children he had entrusted home and returned to the guild, he still couldn't find any of them.
Based on their past efficiency, it's impossible that they haven't returned after so long. There's only one answer: something must have happened to them.
Although we don't know how things got into trouble with Rijkaard around, now is not the time to think about that; we need to find someone quickly.
The original plan was to temporarily place the orc child in the guild and have the service staff issue the corresponding requests, but a letter delivered directly to him by a passing child changed that plan.
Rudius's messy handwriting said that they had encountered other orc members who had come to rescue the children, and were now being invited to the orc settlement for "tea." He wanted them to be safe and led the orc children to a location in the forest.
A map of the surrounding area is included, with a certain point marked. Based on the location of the city that the Yue people know, the distance is quite far.
After reading the letter, the Yue man had a strange expression.
So it seems they were captured by the orcs who also came to rescue them?
This might explain why they were taken away even when Rijrud was present; it's likely that Rudius prevented the two sides from killing each other.
Finally, he proposed using himself and a few others as bargaining chips to exchange for their children? It was Rudius's plan, after all, it had a very distinct style.
Well, since we can confirm that there is no danger to their lives, Yue Ren is not in a hurry. Since Rudeus is so interested in the orcs, let them play for a few more days.
After all, the location indicated on the letter wasn't exactly close to this city.
He handed the letter to the cat-eared beast girl beside him. The girl was puzzled, but subconsciously sniffed it and immediately showed a delighted expression.
"It smells like the sergeant's!"
It seems there's no mistake.
"Then let's go, girls. I'll take you to your families and clean up our captain's mess once again."
Incidentally, they communicate in the language of the Beast Gods, which they learned from Rudeus.
Rudius was now feeling a bit bad about the apartment rent. Although it wasn't much, they had only stayed one night and had already paid a week's rent in advance.
He now has conflicting thoughts: he hopes that Brother Yue can bring his children over as soon as possible, but he also hopes that Brother Yue can pay for the accommodation.
However, he thought his older brother would probably choose the former option, since that little bit of money was nothing to him.
Well, this is for the best, so they can get out of their current predicament as soon as possible.
Yes, they now live in free apartments.
This is a suite. No deposit or handling fee is required, and there is no rent. Two meals a day are provided, and you can also take a nap.
The building materials used are made of wood that gives people a sense of warmth, probably some kind of tree similar to beech.
Although the downsides are insufficient natural light and the straw bed attracting insects, the price is really cheap, considering the rent is zero.
The toilet is the latest type of chamber pot, with a chamber pot in the corner of the room for urination and defecation. If the chamber pot is full, you have to take it to the hole in the corner of the room to empty it yourself.
Because there are no water pipes, hygiene is somewhat lacking, but as long as one knows how to use magic, it's not a problem, especially for a magician like him who can create hot water, so the hygiene problem can be said to be solved.
The food service provides two meals a day, which might not be enough for modern people, but the food here is of a very high standard.
Using vegetables, fruits, and meats unique to this lush, green land, this dish, with only minimal seasoning to fully bring out the original flavors of the ingredients, is sure to impress anyone accustomed to life on the Magic Continent.
Next, I'll introduce the apartment's biggest selling point.
Needless to say, it's a reassuring security structure; just look at these sturdy iron railings.
No matter how hard you knock or pull, it remains firmly in place. Although the fact that it can be opened with a magic lock is a drawback, seeing such a reliable iron railing, no thief would want to come in.
However, criminals will come in, since this is a prison!
Indeed, given their crimes of "molesting the sacred beast" and their dual roles as hostages, they naturally could not reside in this orc village as "true guests."
Fortunately, the situation did not cause him to panic, because his other two companions were also in the cell next to him.
Logically speaking, he didn't actually come here on his own initiative. The day before, the day they went to search for the missing children, everything was going smoothly and everyone was planning to head home when a few of the beastmen children complained about being left behind because of a dog they had their eye on.
Out of a sense of incomprehension but respect, Rudeus decided to go back and rescue them. After all, it seemed that the children had some unspeakable difficulties. In this magical world, it was not surprising that an animal was regarded as a precious thing.
And so he and Alice set off. Everything went smoothly at first; they found the dog and broke the magic circle binding it. But just as they were about to take it away, a problem arose.
A group of orc warriors somehow barged in. He happened to be playing with the puppy when the group attacked them without warning, muttering something like, "How dare you defile the Holy Beast!"
The enemy outnumbered them, and their leader seemed to possess some special skill. A skill resembling a battle cry unexpectedly affected the two of them, causing them to feel dizzy and lose consciousness.
When they woke up again, they had been subdued and brought to Mr. Ridge to confront him. After explaining everything, they were asked to write a letter to the Yue man who had taken the children away, requesting that the children be sent back.
As for them, they were only temporarily forced to come here as guests.
Rudius had originally suggested going to town to look for people, but they disagreed, seemingly afraid that it was a trap set by humans.
After all, it was humans who kidnapped their children, so it's not impossible to understand this idea.
After learning that they only wanted to find his missing children, Mr. Rijerud lost the will to fight. Since Rudeus and the others were still in the enemy's hands, he chose to surrender, seemingly believing that this was the best way to protect them. It must have been tough for him.
Currently, they are not in any immediate danger, and Alice has calmed down temporarily under his reassurance.
After all, the cages weren't far apart, and they could see each other. He could also use magic to help Alice from time to time, so she didn't hold much resentment.
Mr. Rijerud sat quietly in the other cell. When he turned his gaze towards him, he nodded slightly to indicate that everything was alright. He was always like this, Rudius thought. If necessary, he could sit like this for days on end without moving.
Yes, it's easy to understand. As long as it doesn't involve things like children, he's surprisingly a very quiet person.
But this wasn't a good solution. He could only pray that Brother Yue would arrive soon so that the misunderstanding could be cleared up and he could perhaps visit the place.
He's very interested now, and the reason is that the female soldier in charge of guarding their cell is a real character.
She was slimmer than the Gileadians, with a large chest and a beautiful face. Her animal ears, tail, and clothing that covered her private parts, reminiscent of the Farsighted Tribe, certainly gave rise to all sorts of fantasies.
There must be many more beast girls like this in this settlement; it's truly a paradise for otaku.
Of course, it would be even better if he didn't look at him with that disgusted expression of "looking at a pervert" when they delivered his food.
He was just petting the puppy. After all, it was a large, long-haired dog similar to a Tibetan Mastiff, and it was so soft to the touch that it was hard not to want to touch it, right?
Unfortunately, in the eyes of this ethnic group, such behavior is like defiling a noble saint in a religious country, directly reducing his reputation from zero to negative.
What a terrible thing to do.
After all, nothing is more painful than having something beautiful right in front of you but being unable to appreciate it. He's been practicing diligently the "appreciation method" his older brother taught him for getting along well with women.
"Meow~ Big brother, your playing is so beautiful, meow~ How did you do that, meow?"
At the same moment, on a carriage heading towards the great forest, several beast-girls clapped their hands and stared at the Yue man who had just finished his performance, saying this with starry eyes.
Considering the long distance and the large number of children with him, Yue Ren went to the market and bought a horse-drawn carriage. It wasn't the kind used by high-class nobles, but more like the kind used in the countryside for hauling goods.
The rear seating area has been replaced with the largest size so that all the children can sit down.
Although it was somewhat rudimentary, no one complained. Instead, they kept flipping through the pages and playing around, making Yue Ren feel that the children of the beast race all seemed to have the potential to be mischievous. However, compared to Alice, they were much more gentle.
When children are playing around, Yue people usually pat them on the head. This trick works wonders on these little guys. As long as they are gently patted on the head, they will always quiet down for a while, which saves Yue people a lot of effort.
After replenishing the necessary supplies, he set off with the children.
They were on the road, and the Yue people were controlling the carriage while playing music for everyone using their skills as "bards," both to relieve the boredom of the journey and to soothe the children's emotions.
Although it had been explained that they were being taken home, most children in this situation would be somewhat uneasy, so Yue Ren decided to use this method of diverting their attention to appease them, and it seems to be working quite well.
"Hmm... Techniques are part of it, but the key is to have a calm and serious mind. As long as you really want to learn, it's not difficult if you concentrate."
"I see. So, can others learn this?"
"certainly!"
The Yue people would never stoop to deceiving a child. They casually took out a spare flute and handed it to the girl, then began to teach her the simplest melody in an easy-to-understand way.
Thanks to Yue Ren's meticulous teaching methods and the girl's quick wit, she soon learned quite well. The changes in her partner immediately aroused the curiosity of the other children, who all started to call out to her. Yue Ren, of course, welcomed all of them.
After a period of communication, the girls, who felt that the Yue people were gentle, gradually became bolder and started chatting with them about all sorts of things, explaining why they cared so much about an animal.
In their words, "Because the Holy Beast is the symbol of the race, we can't leave it in a place like that, meow."
What could the Yue people say about this? They understood why the little ones didn't want to go into details. After all, it was a precious symbol, and it wasn't a good habit to casually tell strangers about it. From this perspective, it seems their parents had consciously taught them this principle.
The Yue people accepted their apology, which made the girls like this gentle older brother even more. Some of the bolder girls even dared to touch him inappropriately.
The Yue people's way of dealing with this is to let them go as long as it's not too excessive, and to pat their heads if they want to play a prank.
And so, the journey lasted three days. During the day, they traveled, practiced their music and enjoyed the scenery. In the evenings, Yue Ren would tell everyone about his experiences and encounters with "Dead End." His humorous adventure stories drew stares from the group, making Yue Ren feel like a teacher with kindergarten children.
On this day, the Yue people, who were moving forward amidst laughter and joy, keenly sensed that someone was rapidly approaching.
The opponent was incredibly fast and had a very strong presence, coming from deep within the forest.
Auras began to appear around them one after another. Although they could not be seen with the naked eye, their disguises were still easily detected by the Yue people.
Since they are able to use their surroundings as a good cover, they must be very familiar with the forest. And now that they have almost reached the location marked on the map, the answer should be easy to guess.
The Yue people stopped playing.
The sudden stop of the singing puzzled the children behind him, and he sensed that the figure had also stopped before entering the attack range.
Emerging from behind the trees, he was a male beastman, wielding a thick-bladed sword resembling a woodcutter's knife.
Seeing that the Yue people were completely unprepared, he did not underestimate them, but quietly prepared for battle. Despite his advanced age, he still exuded a calm and composed aura.
He was a soldier.
"Ah, it's Grandpa, meow!"
A cat-eared girl behind them saw the old beastman, shouted, got out of the car, and rushed over.
"Tona! Are you alright?"
The veteran hugged the girl who jumped toward him, a relieved expression on his face.
Witnessing this scene, the Yue people smiled.
The dog-eared girl seemed to recognize the other party as well, and rushed over as well.
"Is Tirusena alright too? That's great..."
"The older brothers from 'DeadEnd' saved us! And this Yue man, he brought us back and even taught me how to play beautiful songs."