-----Elise’s POV-----

We were currently exploring the bandits’ hideout. It was just as Ru had told us. The entrance was just beside a small pond, hidden by a large boulder.  

 

Fa, Ru's mother, stayed outside because she said that she needed some time to think...

 

She told us not to worry about her, that she would be keeping guard of the entrance... I hope we can cheer her up by finding something cool...

 

Anyway... Mara, the goblin sisters and I managed to push the boulder easily. Beneath the boulder, there was an entrance leading to a mine.

 

Well… I was not prepared to find such a large cave... The entire cave was being illuminated by an obnoxious amount of simple magic tools that produce light.

 

It almost felt like it was daytime inside the cave…

 

There’s also several wooden huts and tents inside of the large cave. This is the place where the bandits were living. There were tons of barrels with supplies scattered around their base. 

 

Those fuckers… Of course we wouldn’t be able to find them if they had such a convenient hideout! I’m so glad we managed to take care of them in Norvek, otherwise it would have been a pain in the ass...

 

I’m so fucking happy! I got married and I got tons of money! Not to mention that I also managed to complete the compulsory request that those assholes unfairly gave to me!

 

I have a thing or two that I want to tell them...

 

“Eww! This place is so disgusting!” Junko covered her sensitive nose. Her tail was not moving at all, which is very unusual…

 

“Who died here!?” Mi yelled as if she was in pain.

 

The rest of us were more or less fine, only the two of them who have very sensitive noses were affected.

 

“But to think that those guys would have such a base here…” Lara looked impressed.

 

“They must have been living like kings for a while… Everyone, split up! Let’s see who finds more treasure!” Mara said as she ran towards one of the huts.

 

“Ah! That’s unfair!” Na immediately followed Mara.

 

That sounds fun, but I would rather inspect this place very carefully. I don’t wanna miss even the smallest speck of dust… That would just add to my merit when I deliver the captured bandits and the letter from Timothy.

 

Hopefully, Ru and everyone will be quickly promoted after they register at the guild.

 

“What the fuck!? Junko! Please come here!” Mara called Junko from the insides of one of the huts.

 

Junko’s expression changed as she ran towards the hut...

 

I wonder what Mara and Na found there?

 

“Well, I guess we really should split. It will take a while to explore this place… Call me if you find anything interesting.” Silvia said as she walked into another hut.

 

The goblin sisters quickly scattered into all directions and started exploring the hideout. Only Gi remained.

 

“Elise! Let’s explore together!” She grabbed my hand and held it tightly.

 

“Of course! Let’s have some fun and find something cool to show Ru!” I said to the smiling purple haired goblin maiden.

 

I wonder if Ru and the goddesses are doing well…? I was pretty shocked when they showed up to get us married… I didn’t expect that they were there to get married to Ru as well… That almost made me faint.

 

Hmm? I’m fine with that now… The goddesses are actually more normal than I thought… Ah! I was not implying that they were abnormal! I don’t want to get smited!

 

“Elise, let’s start with that one!” Gi pointed at a small tent.

 

“Alrighty then!” I nodded.

 

We started walking towards the small tent… There were two goblin girls there.

 

“I’m sure there has to be treasure here!” Ra was rummaging through a wooden chest… She was throwing outside the contents of the chest. It was mostly men’s clothing.

 

“I found some books… Do they count as treasure? They must be…” Ta said while looking intently at a bunch of books she got. 

 

One of those books is an erotic novel… I know that because one of the members of my party likes reading those…

 

The goblin twins had already examined most of the tent.

 

“Seems like this tent was already taken.” Gi said while smiling.

 

“So it would seem… Let’s check that hut!” I pointed to a hut in a corner.

 

Gi and I walked towards the hut… It was also taken.

 

“Xi! Do it again! This time I’ll hit it with my club!” Ya was preparing herself… She took a stance and then…-

 

“Here it goes!” Xi yelled as she threw a ball at Ya.

 

The ball quickly traveled towards Ya…

 

“Got you!” Ya managed to hit the ball while using all of her might.

 

The ball instantly returned to the insides of the hut… It barely missed Xi’s head… The ball had made a hole on the wooden walls of the hut.

 

“I did! Hehehe!” Ya smiled warmly.

 

“Let’s play some more! Ah… Elise! I swear we were not playing around! We checked the hut properly! There’s nothing that could be worth some candy here!” Xi suddenly got all stiff.

 

“No shinies here!” Ya also got stiff.

 

“Good job! I don’t mind if you play for a bit if you did your job properly. By the way, that was a nice throw and a nice hit! We’ll continue to look around.” I smiled at the two.

 

Ya let out a sigh of relief while Xi suddenly blushed a lot… I was told that Xi is weak to compliments. What a cutie!

 

“Don’t play too much though! Mi will surely scold you if she finds you playing around.” Gi said with a smile.

 

Ya and Xi got stiff again…

 

We then moved towards the next tent.

 

Mi and La were there examining everything…

 

“I don’t get it… Why would a group of men need women’s clothing? Do they like dressing like women?” La was wearing lingerie…

 

It is not what you’re imagining… She’s wearing some black panties on top of her head…

 

“Grr…!” Mi seemed pretty angry… She was holding a bra that only voluptuous women could wear.

 

Yeah, I think it is for the best if we give her some space…

 

I looked at Gi and she nodded at me… We skipped the tent where Mi and La were.

 

I’m curious about the women’s clothing in that tent though… I don’t think the guild received any reports of abduction… How weird…

 

We moved to the next hut… Inside the hut, there were at least half a dozen wooden chests. Lara and Da were looking at the insides of one very intently.

 

“So shiny! Hehehe! I think we have enough to buy a mansion now!” Lara was wearing a golden necklace. She was looking at a big wooden chest with glee.

 

“That would be a bit pointless since we already live at Silvia’s castle. It looks good on you though!” Da said to Lara with a happy expression.

 

“Ah… I guess that’s true… What’s the point of having treasure if you already live in a castle…?” Lara asked herself that question.

 

“Isn’t this the funds that were supposed to go into the construction of the highway? I think we should give this to your family, Lara.” I said to her.

 

I mean, this must be what they got from stealing from the caravans. It is only natural to use it for its intended purpose. After all, Lara’s family is now my own as well.

 

“Ah… Now that you mention it… Mom will get really happy as soon as we give her this treasure.” Lara nodded as she placed the golden necklace back into the wooden chest.

 

Hmm? Why don't I want the gold? It is very simple… Gold is important, we don’t live off air after all… But, the adventure is what really matters to me!

 

“I wonder what kind of smile she will show us when we give her this as a gift?” Da smiled.

 

We spent a few minutes helping Lara and Da to move the chests and to examine the hut… The hut was pretty empty besides that.

 

Gi and I left to go to the next hut.

 

“...” Wa was silently looking around. She seemed to be really happy in this environment.

 

This hut was filled to the brim with weapons and armor. Most armors was made out of leather. 

 

I think we can get some coins for all of this stuff.

 

“Wa… Please call Elise or Mara… I think I found something.” I heard Silvia’s voice. It came from a room deeper inside the hut.

 

“Don’t worry! I’m here! What did you find?” I said as I walked towards the room.

 

Gi and Wa followed shortly after.

 

We found Silvia crouching in a small room… There was a hole in the middle of the room.

 

“It is better if you see for yourself…” Silvia turned around. She was holding a skull…

 

At first sight, the skull might seem like it belongs to a human, but it doesn’t… I think it belongs to a demihuman…

 

How do I know? The surface on top of the skull seems somewhat sunken… It is sunken where catkins or dogkins would usually have their ears.

 

“She was a catkin. An illegal slave.” Silvia said while looking at the skull.

 

Hold up… Slaves? Seriously? Slaves!?

 

“Slave? What’s that?” Gi had a curious expression on her face.

 

“...” Wa also seemed a bit curious.

 

“A slave is a person who doesn’t have any freedom. A person who is forced to obey the commands of their master…”

 

“No freedom huh… Why don’t they fight back then?” Gi asked.

 

“They can’t. This person had a spell that prevented her from killing her captors… There’s a dozen more like her down this pit.” Silvia said with a sad expression.

 

I tried to have a look at the bottom of the hole… Sure enough… There’s a dozen of what seems to be demihuman skulls in there…

 

“All of them were slaves?” Wa asked with a blank expression.

 

“Yeah…” Silvia closed her eyes and prayed for the souls of those poor people.

 

I immediately imitated her and muttered a prayer to the Goddess of the Dead…

 

“I don’t get it though… Why would anyone try to go against the commands of the gods?” I asked Silvia after we finished praying.

 

There’s three commands that the gods imposed upon mortals. Those who dare disobey them will face an eternity of damnation.

 

Those are: 1) You will not try to take free will from other people. 2) You will not try to bring the dead back from their slumber. 3) You will not try to summon people from other worlds.

 

Those commands are actions that only the gods are allowed to perform, but even they follow those commands.

 

The bandits or the ones who enslaved these people were going against the first commandment.

 

I could only clench my fists in anger… Now I get why the bandits had so much women’s clothing here...

 

“Beats me… I will bring Junko here to purify this place later...” Silvia said as she placed the skull of the demihuman on the ground.

 

“We need to find the one who did this! These people deserve their rightful retribution!” I said with indignation.

 

“I agree. But we shouldn’t invoke the God of Vengeance here.” Silvia said with a calm expression. 

 

Silvia simply stood up and urged us to get out of the small room… Perhaps she did it because she noticed how I was feeling...

 

We were now back at the room that was filled with weapons.

 

“Did you have any luck?” Silvia asked.

 

“Lara and Da found some treasure! Mi and La found women’s clothing and Ta found a few books!” Gi gave a report of what we found.

 

“I see… What about Mara, Na and Junko? Did you see what they were doing?” She asked.

 

“We were about to do that. Wanna come with us?” I asked. I was still angry about what I saw in that room…

 

“I think I will pack the things in this room. It is likely that we can sell everything for a good amount of coin.” Silvia said that with a warm smile.

 

“Those knives are pretty… I wanna keep them.” Wa smiled warmly.

 

Wa really loves knives huh… That’s pretty cute and terrifying in my opinion.

 

“We will tell you if they found something. Let’s go Gi.” I said to the small goblin maiden beside me.

 

“Okay!” Gi grabbed my hand again.

 

The two of us then walked towards the hut where Mara, Na and Junko were in.

 

“Are you okay, Elise?” Gi asked.

 

“Nope… What happened to those people is inhumane…” I said with sadness.

 

It doesn’t take a genius to know what happened to them… I can only pray for them to be happy in their next life.

 

“I see… That really looked cruel…” Gi nodded in understanding.

 

“Please don’t get the wrong impression that the human race is like that... Most of us are not like those monsters...” I said to Gi as we entered the hut where Mara, Na and Junko were in.

 

What I saw inside made my blood boil…

 

“Gi… Please call Silvia here.” I said to Gi with a flat tone.

 

“Okay!” She immediately ran back to the hut where Silvia and Wa were in.

 

I was clenching my fists…

 

There was a mousekin girl lying on the ground. Junko was by her side using Healing Magic. Junko looked extremely angry while the mousekin was breathing roughly…

 

Mara was sitting on a desk and reading some letters. Her usual easygoing smile was long gone… It had been replaced by a blank look.

 

There was an open door behind Mara. I could see Na running around and looking for things in that room.

 

“Who is she?” I asked Mara.

 

She simply shook her head.

 

“I found her tied to that wall… She was barely breathing when I found her.” Mara said while she was reading some letters.

 

The mousekin girl had short grey hair and two enormous ears. She seems to be 1.40 meters tall. She’s very thin… It is like she has not been fed properly in weeks...

 

There are several whip marks all over her small body... There were even more scars beneath those whip marks...

 

“How cruel…” Junko muttered with that same angry expression.

 

“May the gods have mercy upon the ones who did this, for I shall give them none.” I muttered unconsciously.

 

“Don’t invoke the God of Vengeance here, Elise. Now is not the time… Junko, will she live?” Mara asked with an expression of concern.

 

“Luckily, she will. Her organs seem to be fine. There’s no internal bleeding despite the wounds she suffered. There’s no brain damage either… She needs to eat soon, otherwise she might be at risk again.” Junko diagnosed the mousekin girl.

 

“That’s good… Elise, come here please.” Mara urged me to come towards the desk where she was sitting.

 

I couldn’t stop looking at the mousekin girl, but I did what I was told.

 

“Can you make some sense out of this? I’m not good at this kinds of things… My husband was the one who handled investigations when he was alive…” Mara admitted as she handed me a letter.

 

I grabbed the letter and started reading…

 

<“Neville, you have done a good job so far. Without the funds and workers, the Blanshes are doomed to fail on the project. As usual, I have sent you your favourite toys! I hope those things are able to raise the morale of your men!

 

As soon as I gain control of that town and the highway project, we’ll be able to execute our next move. If all ends well, you will be a knight again. My contacts in the Theocracy of Washa, the Kingdom of Ruthenes and the Principality of Bres will all support our cause. They will send troops when the time is right.

 

There are rumours that the King and the rest of the royals will do a pilgrimage this year. I will contact you again when I have confirmed those rumours.

 

For now, focus on Norvek.

 

For a prosperous and glorious future,

Wyvern.”>

 

“Hmm… I don’t really understand it either…” I said while analyzing the contents of the letter.

 

“Yeah, The only thing I recognize there is the name of the fallen noble house of Timothy and Orella.” Mara said with a difficult to read expression.

 

The two of us were trying to make some sense of what we had read… Silvia suddenly came into the room...

 

She immediately went to help Junko to heal the mousekin girl.

 

“Where did you find her?” Silvia asked as she casted a healing spell.

 

The whip marks were quickly disappearing from the mousekin girl’s body…

 

“In this very same hut. She was tied to the wall. I suspect that this is the hut of the boss of the bandits. We also found some letters that we cannot understand at all.” Mara replied.

 

“I see… We need to take the girl back to the camp as soon as we finish with her treatment.” Silvia said with an expression filled with determination.

 

I started reading the letter again. I read it over and over again to make sure I could get something out of it.

 

A wild idea suddenly crossed my mind…

 

“A rebellion… This ‘Wyvern’ guy wants to kill the royal family...” I muttered after reading the letter for the last time.

 

That’s the only conclusion I could reach thanks to the mention of troops and the King going on a pilgrimage…

 

“Well, I guess that sucks for the King. What do we do now?” Mara shrugged.

 

I’m not really sure… I don’t think we can hand over this letter to the guild or the authorities of the Kingdom… They might think that we are conspiring with this Wyvern guy.

 

Suddenly, the mousekin girl started coughing…

 

“That’s a good sign. Thank you, Silvia… It would have taken me a while for me to heal her alone…” Junko cleared the sweat off her forehead.

 

“Don’t worry about it, we are family now. I wouldn’t relax too much though… I want to continue her treatment as soon as possible. Let’s take everything we can from this place and let’s return to the camp.” Silvia said with a serious expression.

 

“I’ll take her to the camp.” Mara stood up and walked towards the mousekin girl.

 

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Junko said with an expression filled with determination.

 

Mara and Junko soon left with the mousekin girl leaving Silvia and I alone in the hut…

 

“Elise, can I see those letters?” Silvia asked me.

 

I walked towards her and gave her all the letters that were on top of the desk. She read the same letter I was reading a few moments ago.

 

“This does smell like a rebellion… Wyvern and the Blanshes… I guess the Blanshes are Orella and Timothy. That means that Wyvern must be one of the nobles that hold a grudge against them… The Count of Alorari is the first one who comes to my mind.” Silvia said while reading the letters.

 

She was carefully analyzing everything…

 

In the end Silvia and I were in that hut for five more minutes… After that, Silvia used her magic to send everything of value towards the Castle.

 

Wyvern… We must find that person and bring justice to their victims!