Ok, now I am actually worried. The sun is already setting and they are still not back, although we agreed to meet up for dinner. I would be glad if they are just late, but somehow I have a bad feeling about it.

I just left the inn to look for them. Well, I have no idea where they could be, so I start with the Adventurer Guild. But even before I arrive, I already know that they are not inside.

I still enter the building, because I recognized another familiar smell.

“Oh, hey Benji. It’s unusual to see you this late.”

“Hey Nora. Did you maybe see Rika or Thalia today? They didn’t return to the inn, so I am getting a bit worried.”

Nora tilts her head and seems to think for a moment, before answering.

“No, I didn’t see them today.” Her eyes narrows, when she adds, “Do you think it could be…”

She tried to ask if it has something to do with the problems regarding the noble, but I stop her, before she can finish the sentence.

“Not sure, maybe. But we don’t know who is listening.” I answer her, almost whispering.

“I see. Do you want to meet with the guild master?”

I think for a moment, but then refuse. “No, I think for now, I am just going to look for them. But I have some information I’d like to report at a later time.”

“Okay, then I am going to report your current situation, if that’s alright with you.”

“That would be great.”

After leaving the guild, I head to my next planned stop. The main branch of the Saule Trading Company. My current strategy for searching the two girls is to check all the points of interest and hopefully find any signs of their presences.

But I don’t find them there either. Since I am already there, I also check the rest of the shopping district. Also, without result.

I take a short detour back to our inn, just to check that they are still not back. Of course, they aren’t.

I really have a bad feeling about this.

My next stop is that viscount’s villa. Well, at least the area. It takes too much time to infiltrate the wealth district, and I don’t even know if they are really there. So I head just to the part of the wall where his villa is closest to. It’s close enough to check if he managed to get them inside. Even if it’s barely inside my detection range.

While heading there, I wonder if he really might have gotten them somehow. It could be a reason why they didn’t come back. I don’t even want to think of that possibility.

I clench my fists while trying myself to calm down. It’s not even safe that he really managed to get them.

Upon arriving at the wall, I came to a halt, my shoulders slumping down. Part of me is glad that they are not inside the villa. But that also means that I still don’t know where they are.

But I also sense that the viscount is not at home.

So what next?

With that, I checked all the places I could think of. Well, there is also the place where the black market auction was held, but that place is inside the shopping district, so I already got that covered.

I guess I have to search the city systematically then. I start right here, at the wall splitting the wealth district and the common district, and from here I start with circling around the common district along the wall.

It’s already gotten completely dark, and I still have no idea where they are. Was it maybe a bad idea to just leave them alone? While I go in offense against that viscount? I don’t know. I still hope that nothing happened to them.

At this point, I already passed the library, and I am just about to pass the guard station at the gate to the wealth district when I suddenly stop. The guard is watching me at the gate with a curious expression. I probably shouldn’t draw any more attention, so I start walking again.

“I finally found them.” I whisper into the darkness while clenching my fists. It surprises me how cold my voice sounded. Calm down. I need to calm down. I can’t let my rage overcome me.

The reason for my rage is one of the other presences that is with Rika and Thalia.

As soon as I am out of vision from the guard station, I start running until I arrive at the building where Rika and Thalia are. It’s a small two-story mansion without a garden and if I am right, it should also have a basement, since I am sensing their presences from below me.

I resist the urge to just charge through the front door. I take care that no one is watching me from any of the windows and slip into the alley next to mansion. It doesn’t take long to arrive at the back of the mansion, but unfortunately, it doesn’t have a backdoor.

I look through one of the windows of an empty room. Actually, there are a lot of empty rooms, since there aren’t many people inside for some reason.

The window is locked, of course. But with a bit of force, I can open it anyway. But before entering, I wait for a moment, and see if someone heard me. Fortunately, no one is coming to check the room, so I slide the window open and enter the mansion.

It’s weird. No one is walking through the mansion. Everyone is just waiting in different rooms, except for the four presences in the basement. Well, that’s actually good for me, so I can just focus on getting to Rika and Thalia.

I quickly find the stairs to the basement and sneak up to the room where all four people are.

“You are finally going to be mine. I am really angry about how long you resisted. You just delayed the inevitable outcome. So as a remuneration for all the problems you caused me, I’ll take your sister, too.”

This voice… Just hearing it makes me furious. So how do I proceed? I think about just killing the viscount, but… I feel like that would be a too light punishment. I think I have a better idea. Yes, I should have done it way earlier. All of it just happened because I am scared of my abilities. I really should stop holding back.

And yes, one of the guys inside the room with Thalia and Rika is that orc noble. The other one is his attendant who I listened to when I scouted the mansion.

“Did you already notify the slaver to override the slave crest and also get a new one?”

“Yes, I sent the two who caught them.”

“Good. Make sure to give them a reward later. To think it would be so easy. Hahaha. Now that I have those two, I don’t have to care about that weird adventurer anymore. There is nothing he can do against me. He should choose his enemies more carefully.”

Now, let’s get moving. I kick against the door and it completely bursts out of its frame.

“Now, I can just that advice return as is. You should choose your enemies more carefully.” I tell him in a cold and angry voice.