Chapter 143. The Kidnapped Princess (3)
The request for help with the quest.
It was a plea that Theresia had painstakingly brought up during a late evening visit.
However, Yuri couldn’t understand and tilted his head in confusion.
“What quest? How am I supposed to help with Teshia-senpai’s quest?”
Theresia and he were clearly in different years.
So how could he help with Theresia’s quest?
Sensing Yuri’s confusion, Theresia calmly began to explain.
“There are quests that you can participate in regardless of the year difference. For example, the Dragon’s Battle at the end of the year allows all cadets to join. Even outside of that, there are occasionally quests that different year groups can collaborate on.”
“This time too? A quest where the first and second years can participate together?”
“No, this time it’s a combined quest exclusively for the 49th batch.”
“…….”
Yuri’s face immediately soured.
The look in his eyes seemed to ask if she was making fun of him, a signal that he was about to have a fit.
Theresia quickly pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him.
[On the day of the quest, gather at the next meeting point with one acquaintance among the Cradle’s cadets.]
After confirming the contents of the paper, Yuri tilted his head.
“What is this?”
“It’s an order sheet. It was distributed to all members of the 49th batch at the last assembly.”
“They notified you about the quest in advance?”
“Yes, it’s my first time encountering a quest like this too.”
“Interesting.”
Yuri’s eyes sparkled slightly.
As he returned the order sheet to Theresia, he asked, “Was there any other information besides this?”
“During that assembly, only this order sheet was handed out individually. They didn’t tell us what kind of quest it is.”
“The acquaintance mentioned here doesn’t necessarily have to be a junior, right?”
“That’s right.”
“When does the quest start?”
“Tuesday.”
“Tomorrow?”
Nod.
When Theresia nodded, Yuri’s eyes narrowed, and his lips twitched.
“The last assembly was two days ago, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re just now asking me to go with you?”
“…Yes.”
“Why me, of all people?”
“…….”
Theresia closed her mouth.
In that brief silence, Yuri patted her shoulder with an understanding look.
“You must have been desperate…”
Theresia felt a surge of annoyance at his pitiful tone.
His face seemed to say, “You must be so lonely to come to me with a request like this.”
Her fists clenched involuntarily.
‘How can someone be so infuriating with that face?’
Does he practice that every day?
Or is it just a natural talent?
While Theresia was trying to calm her irritated heart, Yuri rubbed his hands together.
“Alright, then…”
But Theresia interrupted him.
“You’re talking about the reward, aren’t you?”
“Of course! You really know me.”
At least their time spent together hadn’t been in vain, as Theresia instantly knew why Yuri was rubbing his hands like that.
Actually, she had anticipated this outcome from the moment she decided to ask Yuri for this favor.
So she had come prepared with an answer.
She spoke firmly.
“Fifty percent of the final reward.”
“Half, huh… that’s fair.”
Yuri stroked his chin.
He still didn’t know what the quest was about.
So it was a gamble for Yuri.
‘Since they asked to bring an acquaintance, it seems they want to assign some role to them….’
If the acquaintances had significant roles, he’d work hard and take 50%, but if their roles weren’t important, he could easily get half with little effort.
‘Do I work my butt off for half, or do I sit back and get half?’
Considering that this quest was exclusively for the 49th batch, it seemed more likely that he could relax and still get half.
Having quickly reached a conclusion, Yuri shouted confidently.
“Alright! I’ll do it! Teshia-senpai’s acquaintance!”
Seeing Yuri’s gleeful smile, Theresia felt a twinge of regret.
She wondered if bringing Yuri, of all people, was the right decision.
‘…Should I look for someone else, even now?’
She decided to think it over once more.
The next day.
Drip, drop—
As the rain started to fall, Yuri and Theresia headed together to the meeting point.
After much deliberation, Theresia had finally decided to go with Yuri.
“Come to think of it, the 49th batch always gathers on Tuesdays, huh? The first years gather on Mondays. Is this a fixed schedule?”
“Yes.”
“The third, fourth, and fifth years gather on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday?”
“Probably?”
“Hmm… Did the Black Sword Corps deliberately set the meeting days like that to work only five days a week?”
“Sounds plausible.”
As they exchanged idle chatter, the two arrived at the meeting point on time.
What greeted them was not a group of people, but a forked path.
At the entrance of the fork, there were two signposts.
[49th Batch Entrance]
[Acquaintance Entrance]
The two arrow-shaped signposts indicated the paths for Yuri and Theresia.
Judging by the clear footprints on the wet ground, many others had already split off at this point.
Theresia and Yuri looked at each other.
“This kind of quest is a first for me.”
“Wow, this smells fishy right from the start.”
Bringing acquaintances only to separate them from the 49th batch?
It was obvious that the Cradle was up to some tricks again.
The two stood there for a moment.
But they couldn’t stay still forever.
As footsteps approached from behind, Yuri stepped onto the path to the right first.
“I’m going ahead. See you later.”
“Okay.”
After watching Yuri stride forward, Theresia turned onto her designated path.
Who knew what lay at the end of this road?
She certainly didn’t.
After parting ways with Theresia.
The path Yuri took was narrow but well-maintained.
It was easy to tell this was a human trail, so he didn’t stray off the path and kept moving forward.
There wasn’t much inconvenience.
However, there was one problem.
“…How long am I supposed to keep walking?”
The problem was that the path stretched on quite long.
Even after walking for a full fifteen minutes, the end was nowhere in sight.
‘What on earth are they planning?’
With a cautious eye, Yuri tried to make sense of the situation so far.
‘The path twists around, making it difficult to keep track of direction. But one thing is certain: it’s leading upward.’
Thanks to the thick forest, the path behind him wasn’t visible, but he was sure the slope was getting steeper.
He must have climbed quite a height by now, but the alternating turns of the path made it hard to perceive the incline.
Yuri continued on for quite a while longer.
By the time the rain, which had started when he left the hideout, had thickened considerably, Yuri finally reached the end of the path.
The moment he stepped out of the forest, the wind and rain lashed against his face.
Whooosh—
Patter-patter—
At the same time, Yuri gasped at the scene before him.
“Wow, this is something else.”
The path ended at a towering cliff.
Beyond that cliff.
Separated by a chasm that looked to be at least 50 meters wide, another cliff stood imposing on the opposite side.
Two cliffs facing each other, with a strong current flowing below.
Of course, it wasn’t just this sight that made Yuri gasp.
What impressed him was the massive structure on the opposite cliff.
A lone, towering gray castle perched on the cliff.
Soaked by the rain, the castle appeared an even darker gray, exuding an eerie and ominous aura.
It was like…
“…A Demon King’s castle.”
It resembled the Demon King’s castle from a fairy tale.
Rumble— Boom!
No sooner had Yuri murmured than lightning struck behind the castle, causing its structure to appear dark.
While Yuri was staring at the gray castle, as if entranced, he finally noticed another sign.
[Acquaintance Entrance]
Following the direction of the arrow, he turned his gaze and saw a swinging bridge made of wood and rope.
Clearly, it was a sign to cross the bridge to the cliff on the other side.
Sure enough.
[Acquaintance Entrance]
In front of the swaying bridge, another sign with an arrow pointed toward the opposite cliff.
“Hmm…”
Looking around, there was no other path connecting the two cliffs except for that swinging bridge.
Yuri clicked his tongue at the sight of the violently swaying bridge.
“If I’m not careful, I’ll be flung off while walking.”
Being in a narrow canyon, the wind was already strong.
With the bad weather making things worse, the bridge was shaking like crazy.
It was so unsteady that it was hard to even stand still.
‘If I fall, I’m dead, right?’
Crouching at the edge of the cliff, Yuri looked down at the current rushing between the two canyons.
The raging torrent was as wild as the swinging bridge.
From his experience as a decent swimmer, Yuri was sure of one thing.
Even a fisherman with decades of diving experience wouldn’t survive if they fell into that current.
After assessing the surrounding terrain, Yuri got up and set foot on the swinging bridge.
Step.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
Left and right, up and down.
The wildly swaying bridge made anyone feel dizzy just by looking at it.
But Yuri’s face remained remarkably calm as he walked across.
Not just his face, but his entire body was calm.
Although he was walking on a violently swaying bridge, his body seemed to move as if he were strolling on flat ground.
He didn’t even hold onto the side ropes while walking.
A movement akin to an extraordinary feat.
Unlike the many who had crossed before him, Yuri passed the swinging bridge effortlessly.
Soon, he reached the gray castle.
Squelch, squelch—
In front of the castle gate sat a Black Sword Corps member in a raincoat, casually crossing their legs.
“Huh?”
With their head slightly lowered and the hood pulled low, the face wasn’t visible, but the cigarette poking out from under the hood was something Yuri recognized well.
As he approached her, Yuri muttered softly.
“Coco?”
As soon as Yuri’s murmuring ended, she slowly lifted her head.
Whoosh—
With a puff of smoke, the hood was slightly pulled back.
And there was her familiar dark face.
“Yeah?”
Coco, finally noticing Yuri, spoke in a detached voice.
“…What? You’re in on this too?”
“Yeah, that’s how it turned out. So, Coco, are you moonlighting again?”
“Well, yeah, it turned out that way.”
“So, what’s today’s side gig? Gatekeeper?”
At his question, Coco silently got up from her seat and beckoned Yuri with her hand.
Gesturing for him to come closer, Yuri lazily approached her.
When the two were about a meter apart.
Clank—
“……?!”
Yuri’s eyes widened at the sudden, cold sensation on his wrists.
Startled, he raised his arms to see black cuffs around his wrists.
‘When did she…?’
There had been no visible movement.
But instinctively, he knew.
Coco was the one who cuffed him.
Coco smiled as she watched Yuri’s startled expression.
At the same time, a strange feeling came to his ankles.
Clank—
“Huh?”
Yuri let out a sound that was half sigh, half groan, as he looked down.
And, of course.
There were now black shackles around his ankles as well.
Yuri grimaced and tried to summon his mana in response.
But what was this?
The mana that always responded instantly to his call didn’t budge.
“……?!”
This had never happened before, so Yuri was deeply unsettled.
Maybe noticing his unease, Coco chuckled and said,
“Your mana isn’t moving, right?”
“What… is this? What did you do to me?”
“What did I do? It just means those things clamped around your arms and legs are doing their job. Don’t break them—they’re expensive.”
At her casual response, Yuri let out a small sigh.
“Sigh… Why are you doing this to me?”
“You were curious, weren’t you? About my side gig.”
“……?”
“Today, my side gig is kidnapping.”
“…What?”
“Kidnapping.”
“Then this is…?”
Yuri raised his hands to show the cuffs.
“Yes, exactly.”
Coco dangled the key to the cuffs in front of him with a smirk.
“You’re kidnapped now.”
After Yuri was kidnapped by Coco, time passed.
A short-haired Black Sword Corps member in charge of the 49th batch announced,
“The name of this quest is ‘Rescue the Princess’!”