The Missing Person 4.
Gild’s expression soured.
“This isn’t a place for a young lady like you.”
“Oh my. I thought you might run into some difficulties if you handled this alone,” Liliana replied.
Gild bared his teeth in frustration.
“And what kind of difficulties would those be?”
“For instance, if magic becomes necessary.”
At that, Gild’s face twisted as if he’d bitten into something bitter. It was only after hiring him as a bodyguard that Liliana learned Gild couldn’t use magic. Unlike Olga, who seemed to have no problem with it, Gild was a mercenary completely specialized in martial skills. Although his expertise was exceptional enough to make him a formidable fighter, it also meant he would struggle if faced with an enemy who used magic.
Gild clicked his tongue sharply, but Liliana remained unfazed. Glaring at the composed seven-year-old girl, Gild asked in a growl.
“Do you even know why I’m here?”
“Who knows? I assume you’re here to take back Yeori, but I wondered if there might be something else on your mind.”
“That’s more than enough to know! Seriously, what are you? Damn it.”
“A normal duke’s daughter,” Liliana responded.
Gild ground his teeth. “Yeah, right,” he muttered, clearly restraining the urge to shout. Liliana let out an amused laugh and asked, “So, what exactly are you here for?”
“Like you guessed, I’m here to take back Yeori—and rescue anyone else, if possible.”
It seemed Gild was convinced there were other victims besides Yeori. While the likelihood was high, Liliana couldn’t quite understand why he was so certain. She chose not to ask for an explanation, knowing he might not answer. Instead, she inquired about something else that had been on her mind.
“Do you know Yeori personally?”
“No, I don’t.”
Gild’s response was curt and final. It appeared he had come all the way here to save a boy he didn’t even know. Normally, Gild was the type to avoid getting involved in troublesome matters, yet he had taken the initiative this time. There was only one reason Liliana could think of for this.
(I can’t say I understand that mindset.)
Liliana sighed internally but then spoke up.
“I’m going to follow you, whether you like it or not. Don’t worry about protecting me. I’ll cast a concealment spell so the enemy won’t even see me.”
“Wait, if you do that, I won’t be able to see you either, right?” Gild asked, glancing back at her over his shoulder with a hint of panic.
Liliana nodded simply. “That’s correct.”
“Don’t do that, then. If I attack you by mistake, it’ll be a problem.”
Liliana blinked in surprise at his words, but she quickly regained her composure and smiled, nodding in agreement.
“Understood. Is there anything else I should know?”
“When you use magic to attack the enemy, don’t hold back on my account. I’m tough enough that most magic won’t kill me.”
Liliana narrowed her eyes slightly but nodded obediently without saying anything further.
The two of them, with Gild leading, began their infiltration of the church. Liliana kept a sharp lookout for any magical or cursed traps, while Gild focused on potential enemy attacks as they advanced.
In a hushed voice, Liliana asked Gild, “So this isn’t the place indicated by the results of the curse?”
“No, it is. When I heard the result, I figured it was here.”
Although Liliana was the one who had asked, she nodded internally, as if it confirmed her expectations.
“And the blue roof, the waterwheel, the port—what about those?”
“It’s a painting. The only one inside this church.”
Gild pointed to a mosaic on the wall. The other walls were grimy gray stone, but this one section depicted a coastal town with a blue-roofed watermill. Liliana’s eyes widened.
“You’re well-informed.”
“It’s a famous spot in the lower district. They used to serve soup here a lot.”
The use of past tense caught Liliana’s attention. It seemed such events hadn’t taken place recently. More than that, what intrigued Liliana was the way Gild spoke, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
(Was Gild once here in the past?)
It could have been just a brief stay, or perhaps he had spent a considerable amount of time here.
But now was not the time to ask. Liliana followed closely behind Gild, who walked with unwavering determination. He led them down to the church’s underground levels.
The church’s basement was far more expansive than she had imagined, extending down to three floors below ground. They descended a narrow spiral staircase made of stone. It was dark, with no light to guide their steps, so after giving Gild a brief warning, Liliana used magic to illuminate their path.
The third basement level was made up of a series of relatively wide corridors. Gild seemed to know exactly where he was headed and walked with purpose. Liliana simply followed in silence. After a while, Gild suddenly halted and used his left arm to stop Liliana. She immediately dimmed the light she was casting on the floor, reducing the brightness to keep their surroundings barely visible.
“They’re here,” Gild muttered in a low voice. He had likely detected the presence of enemies. As a precaution, Liliana cast a protective barrier around both Gild and herself.
“This means we can’t attack either, right?” Gild asked quietly, frowning.
“No, I’ve modified it so that we can attack from within,” Liliana calmly reassured him.
Gild’s concern was dismissed with ease. Liliana had realized this limitation during the rescue of Petra and Tania when they had encountered a monster. While barriers were convenient, they had the drawback of only allowing for defensive actions. If they were surrounded by enemies, they would be trapped. This had led her to develop a barrier that was strong against external impacts but weak against attacks from within.
“...That’s brutal,” Gild muttered, his face slightly pale, clearly imagining the horror of facing such a barrier as an enemy. However, when used by an ally, it was a near-perfect defense.
Sure enough, the enemies, having spotted Gild and Liliana, launched an attack without warning. Although Liliana couldn’t see the attack coming, it was easily deflected by the protective barrier, and a dark object clattered to the floor. It turned out the enemy had thrown a knife.
There were three enemies, their eyes wide with shock. Without hesitation, Gild sprang from the barrier and cut them down with a single stroke. The sound of stone walls crumbling echoed as the enemies were sent flying.
“My, what strength,” Liliana remarked, her emerald eyes widening slightly in surprise as she smiled.
“You really are strong,” she added.
Liliana had never actually seen Gild in combat before. However, she knew he was the kind of man who would fight to the end, as he had during the monster stampede. Despite rarely reporting back, Gild had also dealt with all the assassins who had attempted to infiltrate the mansion. If it had been Olga, she would have reported the assassins’ presence, so it was safe to assume that Gild had handled most of them on his own. Normally, Liliana would have scolded him for not reporting it, but she was satisfied as long as the job was done.
Gild likely found reporting to be a “hassle.” He probably wasn’t even aware that Liliana knew of his actions. And even if he did, he likely thought it didn’t matter as long as she didn’t say anything. Despite being a mercenary, Gild seemed more than capable of handling assassins, a type of adversary typically incompatible with mercenaries.
After dispatching the three enemies, Gild glanced back at Liliana and then resumed walking. Liliana silently followed, stepping over the fallen men to catch up with him. Along the way, they encountered a few more enemies, but Gild dispatched them with a single blow each time. Liliana had nothing to do but maintain the protective barrier and observe from behind.
Eventually, they came upon a cell up ahead. Inside, seven small figures were huddled together—it must have been the captured children. There were no enemies nearby.
Still cautious, Gild approached the cell. Liliana observed him closely, noticing something odd.
“Gild, could you stop for a moment?”
“Huh?”
At Liliana’s request, Gild stopped. Liliana squinted at the cell before telling Gild to come back. He wore a suspicious expression but seemed to sense something from Liliana’s demeanor. Heightening his vigilance, he quietly returned to her side.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Gild asked.
But Liliana didn’t answer.
“<Dispel>.”
In the next moment, the cell that had been in front of them vanished. While Gild looked shocked, Liliana remained calm, and the two moved in unison. The flames of the magic attack that had been cast by the now-revealed enemies were blocked by Liliana’s barrier, and before the mages could launch another attack, Gild leaped from the barrier and closed the distance in an instant.
“<Wind Scythe>!”
While Gild subdued the three enemies, the wind magic Liliana had unleashed incapacitated four more. Though she had held back the power compared to when she fought monsters, it was enough to disarm the enemies.
“<Magic Negation>,” Liliana chanted, ensuring the mages could no longer use their spells. To finish them off, she cast “<Bind>” to tear through the mages’ robes and bind their bodies. Watching this display, Gild could only look on in exasperation.
“You really don’t need a bodyguard, do you?” he muttered under his breath.
“Gild, I think it would be best to secure the children’s safety first before interrogating these individuals,” Liliana suggested, ignoring Gild’s grumbling. The key was to find out where the children really were and where they were being taken. Gild sighed but quickly refocused.
“If they’re not here, then they’re probably on the other side. There’s another cell over there.”
“A prison beneath a church? How unsettling.”
“It’s not a prison—it’s a catacomb,” Gild corrected.
Liliana nodded in understanding. While some catacombs were filled with piles of bones, the one beneath this church seemed to be a simpler type where coffins were stored.
Gild led them through another passage, heading toward the opposite wing. Liliana followed closely, remaining vigilant of their surroundings. Eventually, they reached the far end of the underground area. Ahead of them was a cell, where children were huddled in the shadows of three coffins. The cell was surprisingly sturdy for a catacomb, as if it had been modified to serve as a prison instead. The materials suggested that someone had reinforced it specifically for this purpose. It wouldn’t be easy to break through by force, and it was also designed to resist magic, making a rescue challenging.
(With my level of magic power, I might be able to manage, but it would be smoother to stabilize the foundation and pillars with earth magic first, then shatter the stone above and below the iron bars) Liliana thought, surveying the situation. The children, seeing Gild suddenly appear, looked at him with fearful expressions. They didn’t even glance at the delicate-looking Liliana. Gild, his expression tinged with bitterness, ignored the children’s reactions and spoke.
“Do you have the Ash Tree Key?”
Of the seven children, five looked confused, but the other two immediately lifted their heads and stared at Gild. The older of the two, a boy with a serious expression, cautiously responded.
“The green key’s steed of the gods has long since withered.”
“Your name?” Gild asked.
“Yeori,” the boy replied.
Liliana surmised that this was some kind of code. Judging by the exchange, this boy was likely the one they were looking for. The other child who had reacted to Gild’s question, a girl, introduced herself next.
“I am Innyebori, comrade of Yeori.”
Gild responded with, “My name is Gild,” before muttering something under his breath, his voice so low even Liliana couldn’t hear. But the atmosphere around him changed immediately.
“Gild?” Liliana asked, frowning.
In an instant, Gild’s presence swelled many times over. His upper body began to expand, his already well-built mercenary frame growing even larger. Even Liliana was taken aback by the sight. The five other children were terrified, while only Yeori and Innyebori remained calm.
Gild reached out with one hand and grasped the iron bars of the cell. Though it didn’t seem like he was exerting much effort, the bars began to bend. He forced them apart, creating a gap large enough for a child to slip through, then stepped back. Yeori and Innyebori immediately stood and hurried out of the cell, followed quickly by the other children, who were still trembling with fear.
Gild turned his gaze to Yeori and Innyebori.
“Are you returning to the Marquis’ estate?” he asked.
“Yes. We’re staying there for now,” Yeori replied.
Gild nodded slightly, then shifted his attention to the other girl.
“And you?”
The girl gasped but replied clearly, without any sign of fear.
“I… I have nowhere else to go, so I’ll go with Yeori.”
“Got it,” Gild responded with a nod. He didn’t bother to address or even look at the other children. Although Liliana felt more confident about her suspicions, she kept silent for now. She glanced at Gild as if to ask what he wanted to do. He turned to face her.
“I’m just glad we managed to save them. From here on, I’ll follow your lead.”
“How nonchalant,” Liliana said with a soft chuckle, turning her gaze to the children—most of whom were older than her.
“I will now take all of you to the Marquis’ estate. It would be dangerous to walk there from here. However, you must remember that you made your way out of here on your own and reached the Marquis’ residence, where Yeori’s acquaintance lives. Is that clear?”
As soon as Liliana said this, a dazzling light enveloped the children. When the light faded, only Gild and Liliana remained in the room. Gild blinked in surprise, then turned to Liliana.
“Did you teleport them?”
“Yes, and I also slightly altered their memories from the last few minutes,” Liliana answered bluntly, admitting to the mental manipulation without hesitation. Gild looked at her, bewildered. He knew that altering memories was a forbidden practice, but that wasn’t what had left him astounded.
“I knew you were extraordinary, but you’re really something else. Manipulating the minds of five people and teleporting seven of them at once… No wonder you managed to single-handedly stop the monster stampede.”
“There’s no record of me stopping a monster stampede,” Liliana replied calmly, though she sighed inwardly. It seemed Gild had realized that she had used the highest level of holy magic during the stampede. She tilted her head as she addressed him again.
“When you say you altered the memories of five people, does that mean the other two still retain their memories?”
“Yeori and Innyebori weren’t affected by the spell.”
“Just like you, I presume?” Liliana asked.
Gild hesitated for a moment, but realizing that Liliana had already figured it out, he didn’t bother to deny it.
“That’s right. Magic doesn’t work on those of us who are ‘Descendants of Alvaldi.’”
“Descendants of Alvaldi…” Liliana blinked in surprise at his words.