Seeker

Test

Chapter 359. A Brief Opportunity

A little while later, the two kidnappers dressed as adventurers stood up.

"Well, it's about time. Let's go."

"Yeah."

They brushed the dirt off their bottoms and walked toward the cave entrance.

One of them was carrying a bow.

They were going to send a second message by arrow to the Holmlund mansion.

This time, they were planning to send an arrow with the location and time of the ransom delivery.

The men suddenly stopped and looked back.

"You know what I mean, but keep a close eye on that brat so she doesn't get away."

"Although, it looks like she doesn't have the energy to run away anymore. Hehehe."

In front of the two men's eyes was a girl lying in tatters.

Her fine clothes were now ripped in places, exposing her underwear and much of her skin.

Painful traces of abuse were smeared all over the girl's body.

With her hands and feet still bound, the girl's eyes were blank, as if they could not see the light.

Tears were spilling from her eyes.

The other man, who was planning to remain in the cave, confirmed the girl's appearance and smiled with satisfaction.

He was the one who had abused the girl to this point.

"Okay, hurry up and come back. I'm going to play with this kid a bit while I'm at it."

"Ah, you're still going? You should be less of a lolicon."

"No, you idiot. I like the feeling of dominating this kid. Seeing him cry and beg for forgiveness gets me excited. You know that feeling of conquest, right?"

"Hahaha, what's the difference, you idiot? I'm confessing that I'm a bastard."

"Ah, what are you doing?"

"Later, later. I'm off now, so I'm counting on you."

"I know. Go on now."

The two men left the cave.

All that was left was one man, one girl, the boy, and the butler, who looked like a rag.

The butler was unconscious, showing no signs of moving.

The man snapped his fingers and turned his face toward the girl, full of pleasure.

"Well, then, shall we play some more, little girl? You're a precocious brat, but the real thing is yet to come, okay? I'm going to teach your body plenty about what happens when you underestimate a grown man."

"Hii...! Stop it now... No... I don't want to..."

The girl's face, which had been blank and absent-minded, seemed to be brought back to reality and twisted in fear.

She shook her head from side to side, crying, with a terrified expression on her face.

The man, who was about to walk up to the girl with a grin on his face, trembled in the middle.

"...But then I have to pee. It stinks if I do it here, so I'll go outside. Hey Nils, you understand, right?"

The man glared at the boy.

The boy replied to the man with a fawning smile.

"Oh, yeah. I'll keep a close eye on that brat."

"You should imagine what would happen if he underestimated me. There won't be a next time."

With that, the man left the cave.

Then the boy's expression suddenly changed to one of determination, and he ran over to the girl.

"Hey brat, now's the time. Let's get away."

"Eh...?"

The girl didn't seem to understand what he was being told.

Then the boy said, "Be quiet," and with the dagger he held in his hand, he cut the rope binding the girl's arms and legs.

He then wrapped the girl in his jacket to reduce her exposure, and picked her up in his arms.

"Wh-what... what are you planning to do...?"

"I told you. I'm getting out of here. Hold on tight."

"Are you a good guy...? Will you help me...?"

"Leave the details for later. Anyway, for now, just think about getting out of here without him finding you."

"... I get it."

The girl clung tightly to the boy.

At the same time, the boy activated two skills.

The first was [Stealth].

A skill that makes it hard for others to find you.

The other was [Concealment].

A skill that makes it hard for others to find something or someone other than yourself.

This activated its effect on the girl.

Both are fairly rare skills that only a few Awakened Ones possess.

Because the boy is still at a low level, the effects of these skills are weaker against higher-level Awakened Ones.

Even so, they do have some influence, making them slightly harder to find.

Because he had acquired these rare skills and healing magic, he was kept as a pet by men in the underworld for their convenience.

But now, the boy was using those skills of his own volition to fulfill his own desires.

He didn't want to see the young girl suffer anymore.

He was no doubt a scumbag himself, but at the very least, he didn't want to fall any further.

That was the boy's wish at that moment.

Holding the girl in his arms, the boy approached the entrance to the cave.

Hiding in the shadows, he looked around and spotted a man outside the cave, a little to the right, urinating comfortably against a rock wall.

Now he could do it──the boy thought.

He crept out of the cave and hid behind a nearby rock.

If he could escape here without being found by the man──

As the boy was thinking this, something strange happened.