Chapter 416: No Escaping Nil’s Nose
Since I hadn’t marked each child with Spatial Magic, I had no idea where the two were. Even when I expanded my Presence Detection throughout the city, the sheer number of responses made it impossible to distinguish who was who.
“They weren’t at the shop. According to the owner, they finished work as usual and went home.”
Ivan’s voice came through the Telepathic Communication we had established. The two of them worked at a restaurant just before the harbor. Although they were at different establishments, it seemed they had carved out their own niches in the culinary world, so they weren’t direct competitors. After helping with the lunch service and preparing for the dinner shift, the children would head home.
“So, could it be a kidnapping?”
“What would someone want with orphans?”
“Yeah, right.”
With no relatives to speak of, there was no way a ransom could be demanded. No one would imagine an orphanage overflowing with funds. I was slightly concerned about the Brassveik people who had landed earlier, but it was hard to believe that orphans would be used as hostages against the city or the nation.
“But still, the possibility isn’t zero…”
With fishing prohibited in the open sea, any ships out there would stand out. While it’s common on Earth to fish at night, it’s almost unheard of in this world. I extended my Presence Detection to the harbor, but there didn’t seem to be any suspicious auras. I couldn’t sense any life forms in the sea either.
“Hey! Wait, Nil! Where are you going?”
While I was lost in thought, it seemed Nil had taken off, leaving Ivan behind. Since Nil often played with Phonia and the orphans, I figured he must have recognized their scents. If he had a lead, I needed to follow.
“Nil seems to have found something, so I’m going after him.”
“Got it. I’ll keep an eye on the orphanage.”
“Thanks.”
After exchanging a quick word with Rio, who had been listening in on our Telepathic Communication, I dashed out of the orphanage. The surroundings were dark, and there were few people around, so I quickly made my way to where Ivan was.
“Woof! Woof!”
I arrived at the harbor, the same place where I had extended my Presence Detection earlier. Nil stood at the edge of the dock, barking toward the sea.
“Ivan!”
“Oh, Shuu. It’s been like this for a while now.”
I squinted toward the ocean, but I couldn’t see anything. Thanks to my Night Vision Skill, it wasn’t that I couldn’t see in the dark, but anything beyond the horizon was out of reach.
“Nil, did the two of them come this far?”
As I petted Nil’s neck to calm him down, he turned to me and barked once before taking off into the sky, heading toward the ocean. With such confidence in his actions, I had no choice but to follow. I called out to Ivan before soaring into the air after Nil.
After a while, I spotted what appeared to be a ship moving across the sea.
“No way.”
It was hard to believe, even though I was seeing it with my own eyes. The reason was that I couldn’t sense any presence at all. However, it was impossible for it to be moving without anyone on board, and when I enhanced my vision, I could indeed see silhouettes of people moving about.
The ship seemed to be on the smaller side. There were no sails in sight, so it must have some other means of propulsion. I had only ever seen sailing ships at the harbor, so if there was a vessel like this, it would have stood out. Perhaps they had hidden it somewhere?
I considered confirming whether they were heading toward the larger ship, but I decided to charge in as is. For some reason, they didn’t even try to hide their accented speech.
“Let’s go, Nil!”
“Woof!”
The surroundings were already dark, so I landed boldly on the deck of the ship without trying to hide. A few people working on the deck finally noticed us and froze.
“E-enemy attack!?”
However, some of them seemed to remember their duties and ran off, shouting.
“Who are you!?”
The remaining crew members only needed to speak once for me to understand. If the two were on this ship, it would be a clear case of guilt.
…Or so I thought.
“Woof…”
Nil sniffed around, looking dejected as he folded his ears back. Could it be a dead end?
Now that we had boarded, I could sense the presence of people on the ship. It seemed there were indeed individuals inside, but judging by Nil’s demeanor, it didn’t look promising.
“A few people from the city have gone missing, and we tracked them here… Do you have any idea where they might be?”
Not having a good impression of these individuals, I decided to skip the pleasantries and directly present my demands. Besides, I could sense Mr. Miles from the Rashiyu Trading Company among the people on board. Could he have been kidnapped? No, it was also possible he had seen a business opportunity on the island across the sea… but that seemed unlikely.
“Huh? What are you talking about? …More importantly, how did you get here?”
The person feigned ignorance, but the moment I mentioned the missing individuals, his demeanor shifted to one of hostility. The narrow deck was filling up with people, blocking our escape route. About six of them approached us, weapons drawn.
It seemed neither side was willing to answer questions, but given their attitude, I could safely assume guilt.
“If you won’t answer, I guess I’ll just have to ask the missing person directly.”
“What the hell are you rambling about…! Hey!”
He pretended not to understand my words, but one of the gathered crew members turned and headed back into the ship, while the others drew their weapons from their scabbards.
I didn’t have time to waste on this ship, so I decided to act quickly.
“Nil, play with them.”
“Woof!!”
“Damn it, you guys, take them out!”
And thus, the battle on the ship began.