Seeker 163

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Chapter 163. Sneaking Mission

Sometime between morning and noon.

The sky, which had been clear until a little while ago, is now shrouded in dark clouds.

Right now, Kazane-san and I are standing in front of the wealthy merchant Goldo's mansion.

It's in a quiet upscale residential area. 

However, when I say 'in front of the mansion', it's the backside.

Stealthily, we've come through a narrow alley between this mansion and the neighboring one, making our way to the back alley on the opposite side of the main entrance.

Right in front of us stands a stone wall almost twice our height.

Even if I reach up with my hand, the wall is still about a meter taller than that—

"—Here we go."

First, Kazane-san shows off her impressive jumping ability with a vertical leap, grabbing the top of the wall with both hands.

Using only the strength of her arms, she pulls herself up.

Despite her delicate appearance, her jumping power and strength are beyond an ordinary person's jump.

With her [Stealth] skill activated, Kazane-san exposes only her head over the wall, glancing around.

"Daichi-kun, you good to go?"

Kazane-san says that and then lightly jumps down to the other side of the wall.

Following Kazane-san's lead, I climb over the wall and leap to the other side.

Naturally, my [Stealth] skill is also active.

I land on the ground covered with grass without making a sound, quickly dashing to the shadow of a nearby building, where Kazane-san is already hiding.

—And that's how we find ourselves sneaking into Goldo's mansion.

Our objective is to locate Eslyn-san and, if possible, rescue her.

Additionally, it would be ideal if we could find evidence of Goldo's involvement in human trafficking.

As for Yuzuki, she's staying back with Griffin this time.

Since only Kazane-san and I possess the [Stealth] skill, there's no other choice.

Fuumi-san confirms that there's no one around, then speaks in a small voice.

"With the [Stealth] skill, it's easy to sneak in without making a sound. The problem is whether we can figure out Eslyn-san's whereabouts."

"Yeah. But Eslyn-san was likely brought to this mansion. She should be somewhere in this place."

On this point, Eslyn-san's attendants did a fine job.

They conducted inquiries around town and acquired a valuable piece of information.

According to the testimony of townsfolk, they witnessed a burly adventurer-like man loading a certain "package" onto a Goldo Trading Company carriage in an alleyway.

The package seemed to move as if shifting inside, and they could hear a muffled woman's voice.

The package appeared to be large—perhaps human-sized—wrapped in a blanket and tightly bound with ropes.

Then, the carriage carrying the package headed toward the upscale residential area. 

That was the story just a while ago.

Furthermore, the very same carriage from the testimony is now parked within the grounds of this mansion.

In other words, there's a high likelihood that somewhere within the premises of this mansion.

That "package"—likely Eslyn-san—is present.

Our current mission is to pinpoint exactly where inside the premises she might be. 

Kazane-san and I circle the building from the back, making a half-loop to reach the front entrance.

"Kazane-san, do you sense anyone inside the carriage?"

Peering from the shadow of the building, I glance at the front entrance where the carriage is parked. 

A maid is tending to the flowerbed near the carriage, but she doesn't seem to notice us, who are utilizing the [Stealth] skill. 

The [Stealth] skill muffles noises and makes our presence less likely to be detected through a kind of supernatural power. 

This effect is particularly potent against regular people without seeker abilities.

Unless we're being overt, we shouldn't be noticed.

"Nah, I don't think anyone's in the carriage."

"Does that mean Eslyn-san has already been taken out of the carriage?"

"I believe so. But since the effectiveness of the [Presence Detection] skill isn't certain, should I confirm just in case?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Please do."

Since it doesn't require us to go, Kazane-san, who is more agile, dashes alone to the carriage. 

It's a nearly instantaneous action. 

The maid tending to the flowerbed remains completely oblivious to Kazane-san. 

After inspecting the driver's seat and the cargo bed of the carriage, Kazane-san returns to my side.

"She's not in there."

"So by elimination, she must be inside this building."

"Seems likely. Daichi-kun, there looks to be an entry point here."

Kazane-san points at one of the mansion's windows. 

The window is open, making it a perfect entry point. 

After confirming there's no one around, we slip into the building through the window and begin our search for Eslyn-san.