Carl could feel it intuitively.

This was different from when Shailyn had been buried under a pile of boxes in the alley earlier.

That time was simply bad timing that caused them to miss each other, but now someone had intentionally separated them.

A small object touched his feet as he stood there blankly with his fists clenched tight.

“You……”

It was the yellow cat Shailyn had picked up from the Magic Tower.

The cat staggered as if it had been hit somewhere and tugged at his pant leg.

Carl moved his legs, recognizing this as a signal to follow.

The place the cat led him to was a green door house between alleys.

“Is Master in here?”

Carl kicked the door without hesitation and broke it.

Inside the house, dark like an abandoned building without a single decent piece of furniture, something glittered on the old wooden floor.

Carl’s face darkened as he strode over and picked it up.

‘It’s Shailyn’s earring.’

That butterfly-shaped sapphire earring she always wore.

He clutched the earring with trembling hands and soon raised his voice, searching through the house.

“Shailyn! Where are you! Shailyn, can you hear my voice? Answer if you can hear me!”

He looked through every corner without missing a single spot, but Shailyn was nowhere to be seen.

There was no response either.

Finally, Carl acknowledged it.

Shailyn had disappeared. By someone’s deliberate act.

He hurriedly ran to the Diart residence to report this fact.

The Kidnapping Is Too Much

The back of her head throbbed.

This was the first time she had felt this literally rather than as a figure of speech.

She frowned as she woke up from fainting due to the pain she felt in the back of her head.

Ow, it really hurts.

But why is there a soft pillow under her head…….

“Are you awake, Miss?”

She opened her eyes wide at the gentle voice coming from above.

The head priest was looking down at her with an angelic smile.

“Wow…… I’m alive, right? I’m not dead, right?”

“Fortunately, you’re still alive.”

“Ah, I see.”

Then this situation where she was resting on his lap pillow wasn’t a dream or fantasy but reality…….

“Gasp, I’m sorry!”

She bolted upright, finally coming to her senses.

Then the head priest widened his eyes and stopped her.

“Hey, you shouldn’t overdo it like that. Lie down a bit more, Miss.”

“……Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Then excuse me for a moment. She didn’t refuse and quickly laid her head back down on the head priest’s lap.

Ah, how comfortable.

In that position, she rolled her eyes around to assess her surroundings.

They were trapped in a damp, dark prison-like place. She could see other people beyond the iron bars.

“What happened to us, Head Priest? Where is this place?”

“Hmm, let me first explain what that green door house was.”

The head priest spoke in a gentle voice.

“That house is a hideout for human traffickers. They bring kidnapped people there and sell them at illegal slave auctions.”

“……What?”

That young girl had lured her into such a terrifying place?

“I was investigating after receiving a tip that a recently missing apprentice priest might have been kidnapped by those people.”

“Ah……”

“I never imagined I’d meet you there, Miss Sharofe. I knew even less that we’d be dragged here together like this.”

“……I’m sorry, you got involved because of me, right?”

By now, even the clueless her had figured out the trap, so she made an apologetic expression.

Then the head priest shook his head slightly.

“I was planning to infiltrate here anyway. Rather, thanks to you, I got in naturally without much trouble.”

She was deeply moved by his incredibly positive thinking. She should live with this kind of mindset from now on.

Not blaming others and thinking of crises as opportunities.

“But what do we do now? If what you said is true, won’t we be sold as slaves if we just stay here?”

She wondered if it was realistically possible for a noble young lady under the protection of a ducal family and a young, promising head priest to end up like that.

But she was worried just in case.

The head priest stroked her hair with his elegant fingers and replied.

“That’s right. But don’t worry. I’ll get you out, Miss, so you just need to escape.”

He smiled with an almost eerily calm expression.

What is this, can she trust him?

‘Anyway, if we can escape, that would be good but……’

Ugh, she sat up and slowly faced the head priest.

“How are we going to get out of this prison?”

In the brief moment he pondered an answer to her question.

—Ding!

【A mission has occurred!】

No no no no. You go back in. This isn’t the time to come out!

She cried out urgently inside, but the system window paid no attention.

【Mission: Captured Heroine!

You are currently kidnapped by human traffickers and in danger of becoming a slave!

There are two ways to solve this.

Route 1. Wait for the male lead’s rescue

Time limit: Until the illegal slave auction ends

Success condition: At least one male lead comes to rescue you

Success reward: Additional hints about the male lead provided

Failure penalty: Actually sold as a slave♥

Route 2. Escape with everyone

Time limit: Until the illegal slave auction ends

Success condition: Rescue the people trapped in prison and escape alive with Head Priest Raviel

Success reward: Identity of one male lead revealed

Failure penalty: (You can find out if you choose this route.)

Now, which route will you choose?】

“Ha……”

A sigh automatically escaped at the suddenly given choices.

This is maddening, really.

She grabbed her head once, then calmly reread the mission content.

‘Isn’t the second route better?’

Forget everything else, the reward tells you about the male lead!

She can’t resist this.

‘I’ll go with the second route!’

【Very well. The mission has been decided as the second route.

Then I’ll reveal the penalty for that route.

Failure penalty: Death】

……Huh? Death?

No, if death was going to come up suddenly, you should have told me from the beginning.

‘Then I would have at least given it some serious thought!’

She was cursing the system internally when the head priest’s mouth opened.

“Actually, I have the prison key. I’ll open the door with this, so run away.”

He actually pulled out a key from his pants pocket.

Because of the mission, she couldn’t immediately take it and was pondering when she suddenly felt something strange.

But why has he been telling me to run away since earlier? Not suggesting we go together?

“……What about you, Head Priest? You’re escaping with me, right?”

“I have something left to do. It’s okay, so you should go first, Miss.”

“That won’t do!”

My success condition includes getting out alive with you!

She immediately refused and firmly grasped the head priest’s hand.

“I can’t leave a deer-like Head Priestin such a dangerous place and go alone. And an illegal slave auction, that’s hard to just overlook.”

“Then what will you do?”

“I’ll free the people here and escape together with the Head Priest.”

The head priest’s expression became strange for a moment. Just as he was about to say something.

Creak, thud.

The sound of a thick door opening and someone entering the prison was heard.

Step, step, step.

She tensed and looked ahead at the footsteps approaching them.

Soon a rough voice and a large man appeared.

“D*mn, I thought I caught a big fish for once. But it was defective goods.”

In the hands of that man with scar wounds on his face was a boy who seemed unconscious with his eyes closed.

The man dragged the boy along the floor as he passed in front of them.

“Theo……”

The head priest, who had been staring intently at that sight, murmured softly.

Purple eyes that glowed somewhat eerily in the darkness were fixed on the boy.

‘Could that child be the missing apprentice priest……?’

Seeing the head priest unable to take his eyes off him, it seemed certain.

“Ugh, I only got stuck with disposing of annoying defective goods. Hawk, ptui!”

The man threw the boy into the prison diagonally across from them and even spat.

Is that something a human would do?

As she watched with a shocked expression, he turned around and suddenly approached their prison.

“Oh my, you were awake?”

The candle on the wall cast an eerie light on the man’s grinning face.

His glistening eyes were creepy, so she frowned and spoke.

“Are you the one who kidnapped me here?”

“So what if I am, Miss?”

“Why did you kidnap me? Do you know who we are?”